I have a life simulator.

The dough should be a bit firm, so that it has a more realistic chewing feel.

Only a tiny bit of chili is needed, and the broth shouldn't be too thick, because I was taught from a young age to eat less oily and spicy food in order to protect my voice.

I don't like cilantro; it's probably just something I'm born with.

Add more vinegar to the noodles for an extra flavor and make them more enjoyable to eat.

[Strong noodles, slightly spicy, with vinegar, no cilantro, and a bland broth]

That's roughly the requirement.

Squinting, Liang walked onto the pedestrian crossing. When the green light came on, he lifted his foot and walked to the other side of the road.

He had walked this road countless times; he knew it intimately.

A screeching sound came from the right, like the friction between the tires of a speeding vehicle and the ground.

I instinctively turned my head, and the blinding headlights of the vehicles almost instantly filled my field of vision in the darkness.

I heard the man in the driver's seat screaming in terror.

I felt pain, but it lasted only a short time.

Then came endless darkness.

-------------------------------------

In the central theater, posters displayed in the corridors bore eye-catching phrases such as "Shakespeare's classic masterpiece," "one of the four great tragedies," and "a play you must see in your lifetime."

The audience had mostly entered, and as the scheduled start time approached, the curtain on the stage slowly rose.

The meticulously arranged stage depicts the interior of a medieval royal palace, with the newly enthroned Danish King Claudius seated on his throne. Before him stands Hamlet, his back to the audience, his body upright.

"My beloved nephew Hamlet, my son..."

That was an opening statement filled with hypocrisy and probing.

"what……"

The soft sigh miraculously reached the ears of every audience member.

"Although we are blood relatives, we are not the same kind of people."

The murmuring whispers, the breaths exhaled from Prince Hamlet's heart, carried a hint of weariness and resentment.

Claudius, seated high on his throne, posed a question to Hamlet, a question born of the condescending attitude of a victor:

"My son, why are you still shrouded in a dark cloud?"

Hamlet turned slightly to the side, the stage lights shifting appropriately. Under the blazing spotlight, a slight, mocking smile played on his lips as he looked at Claudius. But he quickly bowed again, his left hand resting on his chest.

"No, my lord, I have received too much of the sun." (Here, "sun" sounds like "son" in English, carrying a sarcastic tone.)

"He's a child actor... oh."

Shiina Hiyori, sitting in the third row of the audience, let out a small gasp. She was sitting on her mother's lap, tilting her head up as if she wanted to get closer and see more clearly.

"She's said to be a child actress who debuted around the same age as Hiyori, and she's quite the performer."

With a gentle smile, her mother whispered the introduction to Shiina Hiyori.

Her daughter showed a love for reading from the age of four or five, and had even read a simplified version of Shakespeare's plays. In order to cultivate her daughter's artistic sensibilities, she chose to bring her to the theater to enjoy a play.

Seeing that her daughter was indeed very interested, the mother relaxed and curled up in the large and comfortable chair. Just as she was about to use her free right hand to pick up the water glass next to her and have a drink, her daughter's little hand unexpectedly grabbed her tightly.

When the mother turned her gaze over with some doubt, she saw Shiina Hiyori watching the performance on stage with her mouth slightly open, looking completely absorbed. Judging from this, she was probably just unconsciously acting because she was too engrossed in the performance.

I never expected Hiyori to be so interested in drama; she seems to enjoy it on par with mystery novels.

But I always feel that kids who like these things might have a harder time making friends.

After pondering her daughter's future with a touch of worry, the mother decided not to break free. She let her daughter hold her right hand while she composed herself and watched the story of "Hamlet" on stage.

She recalled the contents of the poster she had seen before entering:

"I remember his name was Kitagawa..."

In a corner of the audience, a small girl with long honey-colored hair stood up and kept looking at the stage, prompting her parents to scold her playfully:

"Hui, please be mindful of this, this is a public place."

Although forced to obediently return to her seat due to her parents' scolding, the little girl's bright blue eyes still sparkled with delight.

It's cool!

Chapter Two: His Smile

"A noble heart is now broken. Goodnight, dear prince, may the songs of angels lull you to sleep."

With Hamlet's death, the play "Hamlet" finally came to a close, the stage lights dimmed, and the curtain rose again.

You could feel the sigh of relief from the entire audience. This wasn't a hasty expression of relief like "it's finally over," but rather a genuine feeling of being captivated by the performance on stage. It was as if their hearts were completely held by the protagonist, and only now, after the play had ended, did they seem to come back to their senses and express their feelings.

Some people even stood up and started clapping before the troupe took their final bow.

The enthusiastic response and cheers brought the atmosphere in the theater to a climax.

The stage curtain was drawn back up, and all members of the troupe, including the backstage staff, lined up to thank the audience.

The most eye-catching person for the audience was the lead actor standing in the very center of the first row, who had just given them quite a shock.

Compared to the adults around him, the audience realized that the person who had shown such amazing acting skills on stage was only a child of at most eleven or twelve years old. After the makeup was washed off, what was revealed in his eyes was more of a childlike innocence.

"amazing!"

"Looking forward to the next one."

People who are willing to spend several hours at the Central Theater to enjoy a play are mostly either pretentious or genuinely immersive and fond of this art form. Even if they have only seen one of the performers' debut performances, some have already recognized the potential and possibilities hidden within Kitagawa Ryo.

"It's about 80%, from the understanding and changes to the script, to the interpretation of one's own style, and then to the actors' performances."

Shiina Hiyori overheard her mother unconsciously commenting on the performance of Hamlet, and she shook her mother's hand, saying:

"But I think it's especially beautiful, especially Hamlet!"

As she said this, Hiyori Shiina's gaze remained fixed on the stage, her eyes wide open.

"Yes, yes, then let's change it to full marks."

The mother covered her mouth and chuckled. She wasn't surprised by her daughter's reaction. Although she was still a child, she had read the original script of the play before. As a work that has made its mark in the history of drama, Hamlet was naturally one she had read in advance.

In other words, Hiyori Shiina watched the performance with an understanding of the story's development and plot. It's only natural that she was captivated by the passion and charm of theater, having started her first theatrical experience with such a professional performance.

What's more, the lead actor is a child star who is about the same age as my daughter.

"That's amazing!"

After savoring the aftertaste for a long time, Shiina Hiyori finally snapped out of her daze and stammered out her praise:

"It's almost like magic."

"Is this how all theatrical performances are? When the main character is on stage, it feels like you only see him and hear his voice."

"It feels like something real, something that truly exists; you can't feel that the actors are performing."

She spoke a lot in one breath, and Shiina Hiyori's deep purple pupils seemed to be shining.

"How about we go present him with flowers that day?"

The mother pointed to the staff in the corner of the stage, where they were selling some troupe-related merchandise, such as autographed posters or small toys related to the play. There were also bouquets available for the audience to choose from. After all, the troupe's situation was different from before; they couldn't survive on ticket revenue alone, so they had to find other ways to make money.

"Yeah."

Shiina Hiyori nodded excitedly, her silver hair brushing against her mother's face, which made her laugh as well.

Considering that the actors' thank-you speech wouldn't last long, the mother quickly stood up to help her daughter choose a bouquet of flowers. Perhaps because the performance was indeed quite wonderful, there were still quite a few people at the stalls. The bouquet of flowers held by the boy on stage grew larger and larger, and the other actors next to him chuckled, seemingly teasing him.

Having finally managed to buy the flowers, the mother quickly handed the bouquet to Shiina Hiyori. Watching her daughter dash onto the stage, she shook her head with amusement. After all, there were very few things that could get Hiyori moving around. Most of the time, she just stayed in her study reading. Her social relationships were so weak that even she herself was starting to worry.

"...Hamlet!"

After running onto the stage with the bouquet in her arms, Hiyori Shiina awkwardly realized that she didn't seem to know the lead actor's name. She stammered for a while before finally managing to come up with this title.

The other actors burst into laughter, seemingly amused by the scene before them.

"Little girl, Hamlet is long dead."

A male actor made a joking gesture from the side.

"Go away, don't scare the little kid."

Another actress laughed and cursed a few times, then pulled Shiina Hiyori a little further away, bent down, and said to her:

"This is Kitagawa Ryo, our troupe's rising star."

Perhaps because she rarely sees such young audience members, she said a few more words:

"Just call him Liang. He has a strange temper and doesn't like people calling him Beichuan."

"Oh."

Nodding as if she understood, Shiina Hiyori returned to Kitagawa Ryo's side:

"The acting was superb!"

Remembering her earlier instructions, Shiina Hiyori quickly added:

"Liang's acting skills are really amazing!"

"Thank you for your praise, I will continue to work hard."

Kitagawa Ryo thanked him very politely in a low voice. He accepted the bouquet from Shiina Hiyori, his actions and words no different from when he had faced other audience members who had presented him with flowers.

"I will come to see Liang's performance again."

Shiina Hiyori didn't notice anything unusual. She nodded, turned around, and walked back to her mother's side down the stairs.

Kitagawa Ryo watched the other person's departing figure thoughtfully.

Although he had some suspicions when he heard words like "Tokyo Advanced Educational High School" on TV news a few years ago, it was only after actually seeing "Shiina Hiyori" that he realized he hadn't simply been reborn into the past due to an accident; it seemed more like time travel.

He transmigrated into the "Life Restart Simulator" game he had played before he died, but everything about him was no different from his previous life.

Father, mother, older sister, myself (who debuted as a child star), and Hotaru.

As if intentionally trying to make up for his regrets, Kitagawa Ryo closed his eyes, and a page that was almost identical to the main menu of the game in his previous life naturally appeared in his mind.

[Solidated Talents: Perseverance (Gold), Grand Master (Gold), Conman (Gold), Super Detective (Gold), Veteran Actor (Gold)...]

The talent that was originally virtual is now truly and accurately imprinted on him.

[Veteran Actor (Gold): You possess astonishing talent on the theatrical stage. Everyone is captivated by your skills. Every move you make, every exclamation you utter, touches the hearts of the audience.]

Kitagawa Ryo focused his attention on this talent.

Based on the course of my past life, I should be forgetting my lyrics on my very first debut performance and running away in disgrace amidst boos from the audience. But with this talent...

The bouquets in her hands were almost too many to hold, and the other actors in the troupe were also very friendly to her.

After calming down her slightly flustered emotions, Kitagawa Ryo breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Shiina Hiyori leave the theater chatting and laughing with her mother.

Because he had truly come to this world, Kitagawa Ryo was initially worried about whether the things he had simulated in the past had actually happened, and whether the heroines in those stories still retained their memories. However, judging from his contact with Shiina Hiyori today, it seemed that it was the first time she had met him.

The worry that had been weighing on his mind for so long was finally put to rest. After all, his last simulation had completely fooled Shiina Hiyori, even unlocking an achievement called "The Heartless One." If she didn't remember, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Wow! Today's performance was outstanding!"

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was deep in thought, another figure suddenly darted in front of him. He looked up, his honey-colored long hair swaying, and met a pretty face with a charming smile.

Karuizawa Megumi.

It was quite unexpected to run into Shiina Hiyori and Karuizawa Megumi on the same day. However, considering that they probably didn't have any memories from the simulation, Kitagawa Ryo didn't feel any guilt. After all, to them, he was now just a familiar stranger.

"Thank you for your praise, I will continue to work hard."

Using the same social niceties as before, Kitagawa Ryo looked at the girl in front of him, who was also meeting him for the first time and seemed like a little fan chasing after a star.

He remembered that Karuizawa Kei had been bullied at school about six months later when she entered junior high. Although he initially wanted to avoid getting involved with them and focus on resolving his own issues, when he actually faced Karuizawa Kei in person and thought about what she would become, Kitagawa Ryo finally pursed his lips and addressed the audience who had not yet left:

"Thank you all for coming to watch the play today. The next performance is scheduled to be Sophocles' tragedy, Oedipus Rex."

"The oracle of Delphi was mentioned in it, and I share it with you here, as well as with myself."

“γν θι ζεαυη ν—Know thyself.”

Thinking that Kitagawa Ryo was probably advertising for the theater troupe, the other troupe members also applauded.