Tokyo, 1991: Starting as a bank clerk.

The April night breeze was still cool, causing the wisps of hair on his forehead to sway slightly.

Watching these people leave, Kiryu Yaya suddenly felt a strange sense of familiarity.

In his previous life, he worked as a corporate client manager at a commercial bank in China.

The endless social engagements and drinking sessions he had to deal with every day brought back this memory.

"Kiryu-kun."

A voice came from behind me.

He turned around and saw Keiko Miyazawa standing at the entrance of the izakaya, carrying a handbag in one hand and gathering her long hair, which was ruffled by the wind, with the other.

"Want to take a walk together?"

Kiryu Yaya glanced at her but did not answer immediately.

The night breeze blew through the gap between the two, carrying away the lingering smell of alcohol and the noise in the izakaya.

The streetlights cast long shadows on the damp sidewalk, like two silent trees.

However, at this moment...

A semi-transparent interface suddenly popped up in front of Kiryu Yaya without warning:

The Life Choice System has been activated.

[Keiko Miyazawa, deeply saddened by her father's passing, recalls your experiences during high school and, feeling a sense of shared sorrow, invites you for a walk after the gathering.]

The options are as follows:

[Fork in the road 1: You choose to pretend you didn't see her, exchange polite greetings, and then part ways.]

(Reward: A peaceful night's sleep, nothing happens.)

[Branch Two: You are willing to listen to her, but only listen.]

(Bonus: Bank deposit increased by €5)

[Branch Three: You not only listen, but also offer your business card, indicating that you can help her to the best of your ability.]

(Reward: Skill "Banker's Eye" – grants access to the target's assets and liabilities.)

[Fork in the road 4: You choose to press her for details about her father's death and her current situation, then hold her in your arms and say, "Miyazawa-san, let me be your support!"]

(Reward: Increases Keiko Miyazawa's affection level, with a certain probability of unlocking a romance route)

Chapter 2 The Lingering Fragrance of Cherry Blossoms

After traveling for so long, the cheat code has finally arrived.

Kiryu Yaya is usually calm and collected, but he couldn't help but pause for a moment when he looked at the panel.

What kind of life choice system is this? This is clearly a dating choice system!

He paused for a moment, then made his choice.

As a time traveler, he knew all too well which option to choose in this situation.

"OK."

The two walked along the street in Beixindi.

The silence lasted for about two hundred meters.

Keiko Miyazawa spoke first.

"Kiryu-kun has changed a lot, but he's still as quiet as ever."

"Ah."

Keiko Miyazawa chuckled softly, a sound so faint it was carried away by the wind.

"actually……"

Her steps slowed, her gaze fixed on some uncertain spot ahead:

"Actually, I called you today because I have something I want to tell you."

Kiryu Yaya didn't say anything, but simply slowed down to match her pace.

They walked past a flower shop that was closed.

"My father..."

Keiko Miyazawa's voice became very low:

"He left last month."

Kiryu Yaya paused for a moment.

Liver cancer.

She continued, her tone so steady it was almost numb:

"From the time he was diagnosed to the time he passed away, it was less than four months. I stayed at the hospital for three nights when my father passed away."

"At that time, he could no longer speak. He just looked at me and kept looking at me. I knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to say sorry, to say that he had dragged me down. But he couldn't say it."

"I suddenly thought of you during those days."

A night breeze blew from the direction of Midosuji, brushing the stray hairs from her forehead onto her cheeks, but she didn't try to brush them away.

"During my senior year of high school, when rumors about Kiryu-kun's family were circulating in the class, I never dared to ask you about it."

She looked up at Kiryu Yaya, her eyes slightly red, but she didn't cry.

“I don’t know how to bring it up. I’ve never experienced anything like this before. But during the time my father was hospitalized, many people who used to be on good terms with me gradually stopped coming. The phone calls became less and less frequent, the visits became shorter and shorter, and eventually it was just my mother and me…”

"It was then that I realized that people are actually quite clumsy when faced with the misfortunes of others. They don't know what to say or do, they are afraid of saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, or being dragged into it. That's why most people choose silence and distance."

She looked at Kiryu Yaya, the light in her eyes trembling slightly.

"Just like I did to you back then."

"During those months, I kept thinking, was Kiryu-kun feeling the same way back then?"

"He went to the hospital alone, handled everything alone, and returned to that empty apartment alone. Everyone around him pretended that nothing had happened. He hadn't done anything wrong, but he had to carry everything forward alone."

"I'm sorry, Kiryu-kun."

"I'm sorry I couldn't be by your side back then."

The night wind passed between the two, scattering her apology into the darkness of North New Town.

In the distance, there was the faint sound of a tram passing by, as if it were coming from a very deep tunnel.

Kiryu Yaya looked at her:

"Miyazawa-kun is still the same as always."

Kiryu Yaya's voice wasn't loud, but a smile played at the corners of his mouth.

Keiko Miyazawa was slightly taken aback.

"After all these years, you're still so understanding. Even when you're in so much pain and so sad, you still think about others. You're just too kind."

Keiko Miyazawa's eyelashes trembled.

What she just said was clearly an apology—an apology for her silence back then, and for not being able to stand by his side.

But Kiryu-kun didn't mind at all and even comforted her, which was something she couldn't have imagined.

Kiryu Yaya turned around, put his hands in his trench coat pockets, and slowly walked forward along the street.

Keiko Miyazawa paused for a moment, then subconsciously took a step and followed him, walking beside him.

"My parents have been gone for five years, but what they just said..."

Kiryu Yaya looked at her, a hint of peace in his eyes:

"This is the first time I've ever heard of it."

Kiryu Yaya shifted his gaze from her face and looked towards the end of the street:

"You just said that most people choose silence and distance themselves when faced with the misfortune of others. That's true. But you missed a point—that's human nature."

"It's normal for a 17-year-old high school student not to know how to deal with other people's misfortunes. Not everyone is capable of saying the right thing at that time. You can't, and neither can anyone in the class. It's not your fault, and it's not their fault either."

Keiko Miyazawa's lips moved slightly, as if she wanted to say something.

Kiryu Yaya didn't look at her and continued talking.

“My father’s company went bankrupt in 1986. That year, the Plaza Accord had just been signed, the yen appreciated, and a large number of export companies went bankrupt. His company was a small and medium-sized enterprise that did metal processing, and it didn’t last for more than six months. After the bankruptcy, he owed about 40 million euros. Debt collectors came every day.”

“My father passed away that winter. It was a Friday. When I came home from school, I found him lying in the bathtub.”

“My mother had always been in poor health. She had heart disease, and she passed away a week after my father.”

Kiryu Yaya paused here.

"So what you said, going to the hospital alone, handling everything alone, returning to the empty apartment alone—yes. That's exactly it."

He turned his gaze away from the end of the street and looked back at Keiko Miyazawa.

"But you didn't cause those things."