I have a life simulator.

Karuizawa Kei suddenly felt a pang of confusion; she remembered herself and Kitagawa Ryo.

"Macbeth? Talking about it is not as good as practicing it once."

Kitagawa Ryo laid the script out in the center of the table, pointed to the lines with his right hand, and spoke earnestly about his thoughts while pursing his lips.

"No, this line should be read like this."

The two little ones began to practice gently together. Kitagawa Ryo had excellent delivery of lines, and his beautiful words shone even brighter under his interpretation. In stark contrast, Karuizawa Megumi's lines were stuttering and halting.

"Hmm... just add a little bit of longing."

"Don't rush things, Hui can do it."

Those were truly memorable days.

"Alright, I have something to do, I'll be going now."

After confirming that Horikita Suzune had no feelings for Kitagawa Ryo, Karuizawa Megumi stopped paying attention to her, shared her understanding, and then prepared to leave.

"……Thanks."

Horikita Suzune said "thank you" very quietly.

Karuizawa Kei waved casually.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep, please sleep in my arms."

As she walked toward Kitagawa Ryo's house, she softly hummed Lady Macbeth's lament.

I realized I haven't been to Liang's house since I came back, so I thought I'd go check it out today.

Maybe I can even get a free meal.

I'm craving cold food.

However, Karuizawa Megumi's good mood only lasted a few minutes.

"Liang, it's me."

She gently knocked on Kitagawa Ryo's door.

The girl opened the door.

Arisu Sakayanagi.

Take a day off

I spent a day volunteering for the orientation, which mainly involved putting up various "Welcome New Students" flags and making some promotional posters. However, as a senior, what I really wanted to say was "Run away!"

In short, I'm too tired to write anymore, but thinking about it, volunteering for one hour during orientation is worth two hours, so it's still pretty good.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! Update tomorrow.

Chapter Sixteen: I Don't Care

Why is Sakayanagi Arisu here?

Karuizawa Kei's inner alarm bells went off for a moment, but fortunately, she managed to control her facial expressions, so it only looked like she was slightly surprised.

Sakayanagi Arisu seemed to be about to leave. After observing Karuizawa Megumi for a while, she spoke up:

"You must be Ms. Karuizawa. I am Arisu Sakayanagi, and I am currently learning chess under Ryo's guidance."

"I won't talk much today because of time constraints. I really enjoy watching your plays."

Having succinctly explained her relationship with Kitagawa Ryo, the reason for being at Kitagawa Ryo's house, and her praise for Karuizawa Kei, Sakayanagi Arisu stepped aside and walked out of the house past Karuizawa Kei.

Karuizawa Megumi then realized that the current Sakayanagi Arisu didn't recognize her at all, and politely replied in return:

Thank you, it's a pleasure to meet you.

"Then I won't bother you two any longer."

Before leaving, Sakayanagi Arisu bowed slightly again, her manners impeccable.

Before having any actual contact with Kitagawa Ryo, she had naturally collected information about him, so she was no stranger to Karuizawa Kei.

Holding her cane, Sakayanagi Arisu walked down the stairs step by step, recalling Karuizawa Megumi's first reaction when they met earlier.

Even though it was the first time she and Karuizawa Megumi had met each other, but...

"Hello, Father."

A slight vibration came from her phone in her pocket. Sakayanagi Arisu stopped thinking and answered the call from the corner of the stairs.

"Yes, I submitted that list of family members for the cultural festival myself."

"Anyway, my father only ever went through the motions, and in the end, he just left me alone."

Sakayanagi Arisu gave a slightly bitter smile:

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blame my father."

Even after her mother passed away, her father still tried his best to provide her with a warm and relaxed family environment. Even though he had to contact her less in recent years due to his busy work schedule, Sakayanagi Arisu did not complain.

"Okay, thank you, Father."

With her finger touching the red hang-up button, Arisu Sakayanagi ended her brief conversation with her father.

In the end, her father agreed to her willful decision to act first and ask for permission later. This meant that in November of this year, when winter had just arrived, Sakayanagi Arisu had a companion to stroll around the school's cultural festival with for the first time.

She walked out onto the street and turned her gaze toward the window of Kitagawa Ryo's house.

The closer he got to the other person, the more he could feel the talent hidden within him.

But setting aside talent, there are many things in this world that can only be experienced through close interaction with others.

"Cough cough."

Perhaps because she had walked too quickly downstairs, Sakayanagi Arisu coughed a few times, feeling a bit congested in her throat.

However, for her, who had suffered from congenital heart disease since childhood, this was nothing new. After readjusting her breathing rhythm, Sakayanagi Arisu walked towards the car that was parked nearby to pick her up.

If you take the meaning of life to its extreme, it boils down to nothing more than birth and death, and the pain that comes with them.

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

Karuizawa Kei only breathed a sigh of relief after the other person's figure had completely disappeared from her sight.

"Oh, it's Hui."

Kitagawa Ryo, who had just walked from the kitchen to the living room, glanced at the doorway. He had just finished washing the dishes and was drying his hands with a towel.

"Hmm, was that little kid Liang Xinshou's student? What grade is he in elementary school?"

As Karuizawa Megumi changed into her indoor shoes, she casually asked a question.

"Although Arisu is indeed not tall, she's not exactly a primary school student."

Kitagawa Ryo also smiled and explained:

"She's in the same grade as us."

"That Liang is really amazing, he can even take on students his own age."

"You'd better not say these things in front of her in the future. Today, you can be considered ignorant and innocent."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head and gave a word of advice:

"She has a congenital heart problem, which is why she looks smaller than other children her age."

"Sorry, I understand."

Karuizawa Kei stuck out her tongue and turned her gaze to the chess pieces and board on the table. She figured she probably wouldn't be able to learn this even in two lifetimes.

"Actually, I didn't treat her as a student; it was just that she unilaterally recognized me as her teacher."

As Kitagawa Ryo tidied up the scattered black and white Go pieces on the table, he joked:

"Hui really stole the show at the drama club this afternoon?"

"It was Kushida who told you, right? Actually, he just chatted with the freshmen for a while."

Karuizawa Kei also helped Kitagawa Ryo tidy up the chess set and put it in the cabinet:

"But you, the minister, haven't been there even once since the start of the school year, have you?"

"That's true, but maybe the people in the drama department are already used to me being a hands-off manager. If I actually went there, they might not be used to it."

Kitagawa Ryo first took a can of carbonated beverage from the refrigerator for himself, intending to make a cup of hot cocoa for Karuizawa Kei, but when he turned his head, he found that Karuizawa Kei had already started making it herself with ease.

"Drinking iced drinks in April? If you were still in the theater troupe, the old man would have scolded you to death."

After Karuizawa finished making her own cocoa, she returned to the living room. Her cup was steaming hot, and Kitagawa Ryo's cup was also steaming with bubbles rising to the surface.

"Anyway, I'm no longer here, so there's no need to be so rigid about the rules."

The two had spent more than two years together in the theater troupe, and their conversations were quite casual.

"I met a very interesting freshman in the drama club today, and she is also related to Ryo."

"Horikita Suzune? She really went to find you?"

Kitagawa Ryo asked with some surprise. He thought Horikita Suzune was going to continue to struggle alone, but he didn't expect her to take the initiative to approach Karuizawa Megumi.

"Well, at first they wanted to ask me for advice, but then they tried to bribe me. It was quite amusing."

Karuizawa Kei took a sip of the cocoa in her cup:

"Actually, it's really tough on Ryo. I've looked at her information. During her elementary and junior high school years, Horikita Suzune had many conflicts with her classmates. She's probably the kind of lone wolf type of girl."

“A person’s character cannot be changed overnight, and Liang should know that too.”

This is what Karuizawa Kei herself finds strange, because no matter how hard Horikita Suzune tries, she cannot abandon the values ​​and worldview she has built up over the past few years in a short period of time, and therefore cannot pass the final review of the drama club.

Children at this age are at their most stubborn and self-centered, especially Horikita Suzune.

At least Karuizawa Kei couldn't imagine Horikita Suzune portraying Lady Macbeth.

Or rather, she simply didn't believe that Horikita Suzune was capable of teamwork with anyone other than Horikita Manabu.

No, the current Horikita Suzune probably wouldn't be able to say a decent word when she meets Horikita Manabu.

"Yes, so I never intended for Horikita Suzune to pass the final review and enter the drama club through acting."

Kitagawa Ryo smiled casually:

"But that depends on whether she realizes it herself."

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

Horikita Suzune felt like she was going off track.

For the first time, her biological clock deviated from the schedule that had been meticulously planned and followed for the past year.

When Horikita Suzune first looked at the "7:03" time displayed on her phone with dark circles under her eyes, she realized that she had actually stayed up late reading the script last night.

Because of the tight schedule, Horikita Suzune chose a simple and convenient homemade sandwich for breakfast. Living alone, she had been learning to cook for a long time.

After quickly preparing breakfast, Horikita Suzune put the extra portion into a bento box and stuffed it into her schoolbag for lunch, then hurriedly headed to school.

After receiving advice from Karuizawa Kei, she locked herself in her room and practiced in front of the mirror many times. This afternoon, she could go to the drama club to test her practice results, since the final audition was in two days.

In order to get into Tokyo Advanced Educational High School and see my brother, I have to join the drama club.

Having made up her mind, Horikita Suzune listened attentively to the morning's lessons and then headed towards the drama club during her lunch break.

There are very few people at this time, so eating lunch on the way can save time.

While calculating, she took out the sandwiches she had prepared that morning from her schoolbag. Unlike the kind of sandwiches bought from convenience stores that were wrapped in plastic wrap or similar thin film, she always used sandwich-shaped packaging bags with zippers. Not only was the shape suitable, but they could also be reused multiple times after being washed.

Because she was looking down and unzipping her bag, Horikita Suzune bumped into a girl who was coming from the corner. Fortunately, neither of them fell, but the lunch that the other girl was holding, which seemed to be a pineapple bun or something, rolled to the ground with a thud.

"Sorry sorry."

"Feel sorry."

Both of them instinctively apologized immediately. Horikita Suzune quickly picked up the dusty pineapple bun from the ground. The girl who bumped into her was wearing a mask, and her slightly long bangs covered part of it, so it was impossible to tell whether she was angry or not.

Horikita Suzune looked at the bag of sandwiches in her hand and took one out:

"I'm so sorry, I was in such a rush just now. Let me make you another one."

"it's okay no problem."