I have a life simulator.

Chapter 19: Horikita Suzune's Rescue Plan (Not Really)

[Talent extraction complete]

Seven talents have been selected for the player, as follows:

[Photographic Memory (Gold): Your memory is almost at the limit of human ability (Go study humanities!)]

[Close Relatives (Gold): You have a publicly known kinship with the female protagonist of this chapter (please confirm the specific relationship after entering the simulation)]

[Master Chef (Purple): Your culinary skills are among the best in your field (To win someone over, first win their stomach)]

【Strong enough to lift a tripod (purple): Your physical abilities are outstanding (you could even support yourself by carrying bricks on a construction site)】

[Eagle Eye (Purple): You possess exceptional eyesight, allowing you to perceive more details (please do not use this to spy)]

[Pianist (purple): You played the piano very well (but you didn't encounter the violin-playing beauty)]

[Abandoned Child (Green): You don't know who your parents are, but perhaps one day they will find you (wait and hope)]

[Please select a fixed talent]

Currently, the player possesses fifteen fixed talents: Childhood Sweetheart (Gold), Unforgettable Love (Gold), Perseverance (Gold), Grand Master (Gold), Conman (Gold), and Super Detective (Gold)

[Orator (purple), Imposing without anger (purple), Adorable to all (purple), Pet owner (purple), Fighter (purple), Photographer (purple)]

[Extensive reading (blue), Some assets (blue), Shared interests (blue)]

"Remove the phrases 'childhood sweetheart,' 'unforgettable,' and 'mutual affection.'"

The objective of clearing the third chapter will definitely be related to Horikita Suzune. Now that you know about her inner conflict, you just need to eliminate all the uncertainties, and clearing the chapter shouldn't be too difficult.

As Kitagawa Ryo pondered, he carefully selected the talent to bring into the simulation. Unlike the previous two chapters, he now knew Horikita Suzune inside and out. In addition, the talent he drew included [Three Relatives and Six Families], which meant that Kitagawa Ryo did not need to establish a connection with Horikita Suzune through other talents.

He didn't want to see his "unforgettable" talent create another marriage contract for him.

Actually, Kitagawa Ryo didn't care much about the initial talent he drew this time. After clearing the game twice in the past, he had accumulated a lot of golden talents in his fixed talent slots. As long as the initial talent didn't hold him back, he could clear the game with his fixed talents.

Moreover, although the initial talents this time are not of particularly high quality, there are no major flaws. Apart from the green talent "Abandoned Child", the other talents are quite practical.

After all, Kitagawa Ryo doesn't have any talent refresh cards in his current inventory. If he encounters a bad talent, he won't even have the ability to replace it.

Moreover, he also had two rather useful tools at his disposal.

[Ichinose Honami's Self: Before each simulation begins, randomly upgrades three of her qualities (gold talents cannot be upgraded further, including initial and fixed talents)]

[Karuizawa Kei's Self: Before each simulation begins, randomly upgrade one talent to the highest gold level]

[Talent selection complete. The effect of the item "Ichinose Honami's Self" has been activated, randomly drawing talents for upgrade.]

[The talented culinary master (purple) has been upgraded to a culinary god (gold)]

[Master Chef (Gold): Your culinary skills have reached the pinnacle (a dish that glows)]

[Her talent, admired by all (purple), has been upgraded to unparalleled in the world (gold)]

[Unparalleled in the World (Gold): Your appearance is the most perfect work of the Creator (sculpted by Nuwa herself)]

[The talented cat owner (purple) has been upgraded to Ying (gold)]

[Firefly (Golden): The average lifespan of a cat is ten to twelve years, but Firefly will stay with you forever (please scoop the litter box for this little darling for life)]

[The item "Karuizawa Megumi's Self" effect has activated, randomly drawing talents for upgrades.]

[The talented but abandoned child (green) has been upgraded to a prodigy (gold)]

[Heir of a Wealthy Family (Gold): You don't know who your parents are, but perhaps one day they will find you (and return to inherit the family business)]

"……this."

For the first time, Kitagawa Ryo showed obvious emotional fluctuations. He twitched the corners of his mouth, but in the end, he could only choose to confirm.

[Player has completed all talent selections]

[Photographic Memory (Gold), Family and Relatives (Gold), Perseverance (Gold), Grand Master (Gold), The Conman (Gold), The God of Cookery (Gold), Unparalleled in the World (Gold), Super Detective (Gold), Veteran Actor (Gold), Firefly (Gold), Heir of a Wealthy Family (Gold)]

[Powerful (Purple), Eagle Eye (Purple), Orator (Purple), Imposing Without Angryness (Purple), Fighter (Purple), Photographer (Purple), Pianist (Purple)]

[Extensive reading (blue), Some assets (blue)]

"It's getting more and more luxurious."

Looking at the row of talented people in front of him, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't help but sigh softly.

[Chapter 3 Completion Objective: Find and correct Horikita Suzune's personality weaknesses until she is free from the shadow of her older brother, Horikita Manabu]

As expected, things went as planned.

【Simulation starts】

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

As usual, the inorganic classroom was filled with inorganic teaching.

Horikita Suzune stood tall and straight, standing out among the students around her who were either slumped, lying down, or hunched over.

The first class in the afternoon happened to be math, which makes people drowsy. Spring drowsiness, summer fatigue, autumn lethargy, winter hibernation—students can always find a reason to sleep in every season.

The atmosphere in the classroom came to a standstill with the math teacher's silence. Some students were startled by the sudden silence and quickly opened their half-asleep eyes to glance at the blackboard, where a long string of rather complicated equations were written.

"Actually, solving this problem only requires modifying the method I just taught you. Would anyone like to give it a try?"

The math teacher's voice rang out again, and the sleepy students in the back row lowered their heads again as if they had received some permission. After all, this problem was obviously complicated, like a tangled ball of yarn.

"Then I'll call on someone randomly."

Everyone snapped to attention immediately. Some hurriedly put on their glasses, some took out water glasses from their drawers and gulped down half a bottle of water, and some picked up pens and started scribbling and drawing patterns in their notebooks that they didn't even know what they were.

"Horikita Suzune."

The performances didn't stop until a name was spoken.

So, under the watchful eyes of the whole class, Horikita Suzune walked up to the podium. With her back to them, she did not immediately begin solving the problem, but paused for a moment.

The students in the class stared at Horikita Suzune's back. In the dull classroom, if they could see someone make a fool of themselves, the whole atmosphere would suddenly become lively. As long as one person started to laugh, everyone would start to revel without restraint.

It's like celebrating some kind of holiday.

Especially for Horikita Suzune, who was always disliked in the class, the girls in the front row couldn't wait for her to say, "Teacher, I don't know how to do this problem."

But Horikita Suzune quickly picked up the chalk, and as if she were playing some kind of magic, she added a few auxiliary lines that are very easy to understand in hindsight, and then the messy knot was untied.

As a result, the whole class wilted down, like eggplants that had been drenched in a downpour.

"Good solution, you can go now."

The math teacher waved.

Other students might try to feign humility at this point.

However, Horikita Suzune nodded smugly and calmly, then walked back to her seat with her back straight.

School was the best place for Horikita Suzune to gain confidence.

Because once you get home...

"This is the same version of the Olympiad math problem book that he used before. It took me a lot of effort to buy it."

Just as Horikita Suzune was trying to share her joy at solving a complex math problem in front of the whole class at school today, the boy standing in front of her interrupted her cleanly and decisively.

He held out his hand, where a brand new workbook lay.

"If all goes well, I should be able to make it to the math Olympiad in the second half of this year."

After somewhat roughly shoving the workbook into Horikita Suzune's arms, Kitagawa Ryo turned his back on her own.

"Take a look through it first, then we'll get ready to eat in ten minutes."

"Oh."

Horikita Suzune obediently agreed. On the wall in front of her was a schedule accurate to the minute, which she and Kitagawa Ryo had agreed upon together.

These are all things that must be accomplished in order to surpass his older brother, Horikita Manabu.

We should not be complacent with our current achievements; we should continue to work hard.

Just follow in your brother's footsteps, and you'll catch up eventually.

Horikita Suzune encouraged herself. Although she hadn't seen Horikita Manabu much since childhood, it didn't stop her from taking this older brother as her role model and goal.

She took the workbook to her desk, and the orange light from the desk lamp instantly filled the entire desk. Horikita Suzune held her pen and began to try to solve the problems.

Being good at basic courses at school doesn't prove anything; his older brother, Horikita Manabu, is a champion in the International Mathematical Olympiad.

Just as she had a clue, she heard Kitagawa Ryo calling her to eat. The faint aroma of food wafting through the air tempted Horikita Suzune, but she waited until she finished solving the problem before leaving the room.

Kitagawa Ryo didn't pick up his chopsticks first. He seemed to be browsing trending news on his phone at the table. Horikita Suzune glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. It seemed to be gossip headlines about celebrities and idols.

"Liang shouldn't focus her energy on these things."

"It's of no use except as a waste of time."

Horikita Suzune pulled out a chair and spoke to her cousin, who was currently staying at her house.

"Anyway, I don't have any talent to begin with, so let it go to waste."

Kitagawa Ryo replied with his legs crossed:

"After all, it's you who needs to defeat Horikita, not me."

Horikita Suzune paused in her act of picking up food, and said sarcastically:

"I heard there is a kind of bird that can't fly, so it lays an egg and waits patiently for the egg to fly for it."

"Rinne wasn't born of me, and I've never forced Rinne."

Kitagawa Ryo pursed his lips and counted on his fingers:

"Besides, it was clearly Suzune who heard that I was quite familiar with Manabu and wanted to get to know him through me."

"By the way, because you're late, you only have five minutes left to eat."

"Today's lessons include piano, aikido, and cooking."

"I have to study interpersonal relationship management tomorrow morning. I just heard from my family that Xue has already joined the student council, so Lingyin must also join the student council."

Horikita Suzune silently quickened her pace of eating.

After she finished eating, Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune went to another small room together.

A brand-new electronic keyboard sat quietly in the corner, covered with a thin layer of black velvet. It was purchased by Horikita Suzune with money borrowed from Kitagawa Ryo because Kitagawa Ryo had said that Horikita's piano skills had improved by leaps and bounds in recent years and were already quite superb.

Horikita Suzune had only been learning piano for a few days, and Kitagawa Ryo had only taught her some basics. But whenever her fingertips danced on the black and white keys, Horikita Suzune felt as if she were leaping up one step after another, and could fly to Horikita's side in a flash.

"wrong."

But Kitagawa Ryo's voice quickly brought her back to reality.

Leaning against the window, his voice seemed to come from a distant place. Kitagawa Ryo came up and played the short passage that Horikita Suzune had previously misplayed again. The sound was desolate, reminiscent of the bright moonlight.

"Sigh, it's far from good enough."

Kitagawa Ryo sighed with deep sorrow. He pulled a photograph from his pocket and used tape to stick it onto the piano.

The person in the photo was wearing glasses, and the red uniform made his tall figure look even more dashing. His lips were pursed into a resolute arc. Even though it was just a photo, it made Horikita Suzune feel genuinely breathless.

"This is the goal you must overcome."

"Practice hard, haven't you always wanted to surpass him?"

So Horikita Suzune continued practicing the piano, and on this early autumn night, Kitagawa Ryo was her only listener.

It's unclear how long they practiced before Kitagawa Ryo finally called for a stop.

Horikita Suzune wiped the sweat from her forehead. The photo of Horikita Manabu that was pasted on the piano seemed to suddenly grow larger, hanging above her head like the sun. It was just like in the past, no matter how much she struggled, the other person was always stronger than her.

Although she hadn't seen Horikita Manabu for a long time, and the last time the two of them had spoken was two years ago.

It's like chasing after a phantom in a vague and ethereal shrine.

Horikita Suzune had that illusion for a moment, but she quickly dismissed it.

That was her brother; she had set a goal for herself since she was a child to surpass him.

If Horikita can do it, then I can definitely do it too.

That's why I, who always adheres to the principle of going my own way, let Ryo stay here.

"Next, Aikido."