Tokyo: Simulation Begins with the Big Sister Next Door

rustling...

Nakano Aoi took the lunchbox out of the bento bag and placed it on the table.

Anze Liang's gaze remained fixed on Nakano Aoi, and when he saw the food in the bento box, a strange look flashed across his eyes.

He and Nakano Aoi had eaten bento boxes together several times before, and he clearly remembered the portion size of the double-person bento boxes that Nakano-kun brought each time.

However, the bento box she took out wasn't very large... It looked like a normal single serving, a little bit too much, but even Nakano Aoi, a girl, could easily finish it.

This proves that Nakano's reason that "I brought too many bento boxes and couldn't finish them all" was fabricated.

That's a lie.

Yasuzawa Ryo believed that with Hoshimiya Rin's meticulousness, she would also be able to discover Nakano Aoi's flawed lies.

But the president calmly held his chopsticks and slowly ate his bento, seemingly completely believing Nakano Aoi's reasoning.

Anze Liang understood that the president, like him, had guessed that the person eavesdropping was Nakano-kun, but out of consideration for Nakano-kun, or for other reasons, he did not expose him.

So An Zeliang naturally couldn't expose them, and they tacitly agreed to have dinner together.

"Anze, try this hamburger patty. My sister-in-law made it with fresh beef. It's delicious."

At that moment, Nakano Aoi also picked up a small piece of hamburger patty and was about to place it on Ansawa Ryo's plate.

pat!

For some reason, Nakano Aoi's chopsticks suddenly loosened, and the hamburger patty crashed onto the plate, splashing sauce all over Anze Ryo and spilling onto the table.

"Ah... I'm sorry, I didn't expect the hamburger patty to be so slippery. Luckily, Anze, you didn't get it dirty."

Nakano Aoi was taken aback. She apologized while frantically searching for tissues, but the more anxious she was, the harder it was to find the things. Finally, Hoshimiya Rin reminded her.

"Nakano-kun, the tissues are in the cupboard where the cutlery was placed."

"...Oh, I forgot."

Nakano Aoi took some tissues to wipe the table clean. After eating for a while, she remembered something and turned to ask.

"Anze, how did the hamburger patty taste?"

"Mmm, it's delicious. The meat has a great texture." An Zeliang wiped the liquid from his chest and praised with a smile.

"Oh, that's good."

"... "

Inside the activity room, the three ate and chatted, and their lunch break passed by little by little.

After finishing my lunchbox, it was almost time for class.

"President, then Nakano and I will head back to the classroom first."

Anze Liang greeted them, while Nakano Aoi tidied up the lunchbox.

"Okay, I should head back now."

Hoshimiya Rin also stood up, nodded slightly in response, and then stepped out of the activity room. Her student leather shoes made a crisp, unhurried sound as they stepped on the ground.

“Anze, classmate.”

Before leaving, Hoshimiya Rin suddenly said something.

"Tomorrow is the third weekend of this month. According to school regulations, tomorrow is a full day off. Please don't forget our appointment."

Upon hearing this, Nakano Aoi looked over with some confusion.

"Agreement? What agreement?"

"It's nothing, just reminding Anze not to forget our promise that we don't have to go to class tomorrow."

Rin Hoshimiya's voice remained calm, as if it were just a routine reminder.

"Oh." Nakano Aoi responded with an "oh," seemingly naively believing this absurd reason.

But Anze Liang was very clear that the president meant for him to remember to respond to the issue of the ship tickets.

"Well, I see."

Although she did not receive a definite answer from Anze Ryo, Hoshimiya Rin did not forget that she was leaving in the afternoon, so she decided to cancel the afternoon club activities and gave him instructions.

"Nakano-kun, I have some things to do this afternoon, so today's club activity is temporarily canceled. Could you please inform Tamamo-kun for me?"

"Huh? Why are you canceling it again?"

"I have something to do today."

"

"Are you going to Anze's house to play games again? Can I come along?"

"It wasn't for playing games, sorry."

"... "

After saying goodbye to Hoshimiya Rin, Yasuzawa Ryo and Nakano Aoi left the activity room and headed towards the classroom.

But after walking for a while, Anze Liang felt his stomach was still growling and he was not full at all... After all, Nakano Aoi's bento was only enough for one person, and it was impossible for three people to get full if they shared it.

An Zeliang usually has a large appetite and needs at least a deluxe bento box to feel full. Sharing such a small bento box would definitely not be enough.

An Zeliang didn't feel wronged by his stomach. He walked to the corner and saw a vending machine in the distance downstairs, so he stopped and said.

"Nakano-kun, I'm a little hungry. I'm thinking of buying some bread and drinks. Do you want some?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Then why don't you go back to the classroom first, so you won't be late?"

"Oh," Nakano Aoi replied, picked up her lunch bag, and left, her figure quickly disappearing from sight.

An Zeliang walked up to the vending machine and bought a popular cheese garlic bread and a bottle of juice. While drinking the juice, he started to think.

Today, Nakano-kun... seems really off.

Something's been wrong since this morning.

Normally, Nakano is always enthusiastic and lively, but today, whether answering questions or chatting, he seemed absent-minded.

Especially when she responded to people's questions, her replies were always just a soft "oh," very perfunctory, and she seemed completely out of sorts...

While pondering, An Zeliang returned to the classroom.

He glanced at Nakano Aoi subconsciously. At that moment, Nakano Aoi was looking down at her textbook, seemingly preparing for the first class of the afternoon, but her eyes were glazed over, and she didn't even blink, looking as if she had just broken up with someone and was in a daze.

This situation further confirmed An Zeliang's guess.

Sitting in his seat, An Zeliang opened the bread packaging and ate the soft bread while his thoughts continued to wander.

In fact, from the moment Aoi appeared at the door of the activity room, Anze Liang had already guessed that something was wrong.

Because Hoshimiya Rin had said beforehand that Nakano Aoi didn't need to come to the activity room, but she still showed up outside the activity room door, and even brought a single-serving bento box saying that she couldn't finish it and wanted to share it, which was very strange in itself.

Just... why?

Why is Nakano acting strange?

With a mouthful of cheese and garlic bread, An Zeliang took a sip of juice.

After thinking it over, he felt that the most reasonable explanation was that Nakano Aoi saw him and the president walking out together this morning, and then the president called him over alone to talk about something.

Nakano Aoi mistakenly thought that the president and she were about to have a conflict... Perhaps in order to prevent everyone from having a conflict, she did something unusual and came to eavesdrop.

That's a normal way of thinking.

Nakano Aoi's personality is like that of a Yamato Nadeshiko: gentle, understanding, and tolerant...

If it were any other girl, An Zeliang would definitely think, "She likes me! She has a crush on me! That's why she sneaked out to eavesdrop."

But Aoi isn't exactly a conventional girl.

She is the white moonlight.

Go, go, go.

An Zeliang finished his bread, crumpled the drink box and threw it into the trash can, then twisted around to relieve his soreness.

The neck.

Aoi's strangeness is a minor issue; he is now facing a much bigger choice.

Rin Hoshimiya's invitation!

Invitation from Hayano-sensei!

Who is it?

As a seasoned player, Anze Liang knew this wasn't just a simple invitation. It might be a choice to pursue a romantic relationship!

Although Hoshimiya Rin didn't show it much from beginning to end, she has a rather aloof and indifferent personality... It probably took a lot of courage for her to invite people like this.

"I don't want to be a scumbag," An Zeliang murmured.

Ding Dong!

Just then, his phone rang. An Zeliang took it out and glanced at it, only to find that it was another message from Hayano-sensei.

"Anze, were you busy during lunch break? Why didn't you reply to me?"

"Oh, right, I just received a notification from the school."

"I might be leaving in the next few days. Before I go, I want to have one last good game with Anze. Heh heh, this time, I'll definitely unleash my full power and make you cry!"

"So? Do you dare accept the teacher's invitation?"

"... "

As text messages flashed by, An Zeliang slowly frowned.

He unconsciously touched the ship ticket in his pocket before looking at the information displayed on his phone screen.

Text message, boat ticket.

Who should we choose?

An Zeliang didn't want to be a hesitant scumbag. The reason he hesitated was because he might have slept with one of the girls. If he chose the other girl he hadn't slept with, wouldn't that make him a complete scumbag?

That's why he was conflicted.