I have a life simulator.

Incompleteness is loneliness, and seeking to make up for it is to escape loneliness. When one loneliness seeks another, the desire for love arises.

But since he was destined to be absent, he simply decided not to participate at all.

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

Sakayanagi Arisu changed into a thick protective suit and pressed her hand against the transparent glass window. This scene reminded her of the time she went with her father to the white room deep in the mountains.

Through the glass window, all that could be seen was Kitagawa Ryo surrounded by equipment. Things had finally reached their worst point, like a nightmare suddenly appearing in reality.

Kitagawa Ryo finally returned to a quiet white space. Sakayanagi Arisu spent two years decorating his "home," and she can still clearly remember all the decorations in that hospital room.

His hospital room was painted with that bright rose red, visible as you walked in and out. The red roses blooming on the white wall were so vibrant, as if they were trying to add this intense color to Kitagawa Ryo's life so far.

From the moment Sakayanagi Arisu met Kitagawa Ryo, he never left this place.

This could perhaps be considered another kind of "white room".

How is the patient?

Sakayanagi Arisu, who had entered with her, inquired of the doctor beside her. The doctor, also bundled up tightly, sounded somewhat muffled and said in a low voice:

"If we're optimistic, we should be able to get through this New Year."

It is now the end of August, the last month of summer, and Kitagawa Ryo has been sentenced to death while in a coma, with a six-month reprieve.

Time, however, can never be stopped by anyone as in fairy tales.

August, September, October, November, and December.

Then comes the New Year.

It's New Year again.

People have started exchanging New Year's greetings and gifts again. Musical greeting cards, which were popular in previous years, are no longer sought after. Children are busy chasing the trends of the new year, trying to figure out what kind of gift to give to their crush to bring a sweet smile to their face. Adults are also starting to show off the results of the year: new clothes, new shoes, and new cars.

Everyone follows the same routine year after year, as if the day they wake up in the morning of the new year will suddenly transform, becoming dazzling and turning into the different outcome they dream of.

Sakayanagi Arisu doesn't even have the chance to give New Year's gifts this year. If a gift can't reach the person she wants to give it to, then there's no point in giving it, unless it's just to move herself.

The TV was showing a scene of the male and female leads parting ways in life and death. The female lead, who was about to die, was held in the male lead's arms. She held one of her hands in his hand and was spitting out blood while saying her last words. The man put the woman's hand to his face and cried, begging her not to say anymore. Then, with tragic background music and slow motion, the woman's hand suddenly fell down.

But for Sakayanagi Arisu, the passing of a person often doesn't have such a story; it's more like water flowing past her, something she can't stop no matter how hard she tries. She can only watch as it slowly passes through her fingers, her body, and her blood, and then leaves silently.

March marks the arrival of spring, the season when rabbits go crazy.

Firefly nimbly jumped onto the windowsill, then slipped behind the curtains, lazily basking in the warm sun through the glass window.

Then Ying was quickly pulled down by a pair of hands, and the owner of the hands said in a detached tone:

"Don't fall."

Ying flailed her paws in protest. After all, Ying was an incredibly intelligent cat, how could she possibly make such a foolish mistake as falling off the building?

However, Sakayanagi Arisu stubbornly held Hotaru in her arms. She held Hotaru's two front paws with both hands and lifted her up. Her face seemed to have turned a little paler. After all, Hotaru remembered her human owner's number one, two, three, four... It didn't matter anyway. In short, it seemed that her human owner hadn't left the house for several days.

Hotaru mercifully spared Sakayanagi Arisu's somewhat awkward action, only struggling symbolically before obediently blinking her round eyes at Sakayanagi Arisu again.

Hotaru tried her best to put on a cute smile, like the smiling cat in that story.

"Your master is dead."

Sakayanagi Arisu suddenly said that she stopped reading fairy tales when she was seven years old, but now she talks to animals just like the little girl in the fairy tale.

"It's freezing cold."

She repeated it again, as if afraid that Hotaru wouldn't understand, and then added:

The person who gave you to me is dead.

Sakayanagi Arisu pressed her forehead against Hotaru's eyes:

"...You only have me now."

As if suddenly realizing how foolish she had been, Sakayanagi Arisu decided to do something even more foolish. Looking into Hotaru's eyes, she said:

"So, from today onwards, your name is Liang."

Actually, she doesn't like cats.

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

A year later, a major breakthrough was achieved in the research on the pathology of congenital heart disease, which was led and sponsored by the Sakayanagi family. After the news media revealed that the deceased wife and only daughter of the head of the Sakayanagi family were both patients with congenital heart disease, it caused a great deal of discussion in society.

Although the main public opinion focused on hot topics such as "true love moves heaven" and "the best husband and father", mainstream media also affirmed the epoch-making significance of this technology in the field of congenital heart disease, which gives this group of patients suffering from the disease another way of life besides heart transplantation.

However, a very small number of people still sharply satirized, saying, "If congenital heart disease can be cured, it seems that ALS is only a few chaebol only children away from a major breakthrough."

People spent another New Year amidst all the noise and commotion, and then immediately began chasing after new hot topics.

After all, most people are healthy, and congenital heart disease is a rather vague term for them.

However, none of this has anything to do with Sakayanagi Arisu.

She moved into the same ward as she had in the past, becoming the first beneficiary of the new technology.

In fact, this is also one of the points of criticism from the public.

Although apart from a handful of people, no one knew that the foundation for this groundbreaking technology was initially laid solely for Sakayanagi Arisu.

Every summer, Arisu Sakayanagi would go to the beach. She no longer needed a sun hat or a walking stick; she would walk barefoot on the sand, step by step, and then stop at some point.

The sounds of the wind, the waves, the flowing water, and the voices of others... everything in the world suddenly fell silent at this moment.

Then she heard her own heartbeat.

Earing, jointing, flowering, and flower falling.

Sakayanagi Arisu heard the sounds of life, like the growth of all things.

It was firmly and powerfully located within his chest cavity.

It's a heart that won't break no matter how fast it beats, won't stop beating no matter how passionately you kiss, and will be qualified to be a mother no matter what.

But it is destined to beat alone for only one person in its entire life.

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

[Congratulations to the player for achieving the ending: May you find one true love]

[May I find one true love: You are my dark fairy tale, a beautiful dream within a dream, and a nightmare upon waking.]

Chapter 77: Ying Remembers You

[Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievement "One Heart, One Mind". This achievement was already unlocked in the first chapter, so no further rewards will be given.]

[Single-minded: Throughout a simulation, he remained single-mindedly devoted to the heroine of this story.]

[Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievement "Heaven's Jealousy" and obtaining the special talent refresh card (Disease)]

[Divine Jealousy: Complete a simulation while holding the "Divine Jealousy (Gold)" talent]

[Special Talent Refresh Card (Disease): If the talent you draw contains a disease-related negative effect, you can use this talent card to remove the negative effect of that talent.]

[Congratulations to the player for achieving the achievement "A Healthy Heart" and obtaining the item "Sakayanagi Arisu's Wish"]

[A Healthy Heart: Completely Cure Arisu Sakayanagi's Congenital Heart Disease in Any Simulation]

[Sakayanagi Arisu's Wish: Before each simulation begins, players can designate a talent and eliminate any negative effects that talent might have]

[Congratulations to the player for achieving the "Two-Way Journey" achievement and receiving one Talent Stripping Card]

[Two-way pursuit: Gain the affection of only the main heroine in a single simulation. Prerequisite: Achieve the achievement "One Heart, One Mind" simultaneously.]

[Talent Stripping Card: Allows you to solidify the knowledge and experience gained in this simulation into your own "talent" form]

[Analyzing player information in this simulation]

The following are the talent options that can be detached:

[I. A complete pathological analysis and treatment plan for congenital heart disease can be categorized as a special talent: "Special Attack on Congenital Heart Disease"]

[Congenital Heart Disease Specialist: No level required, a branch of the Physician talent tree. When performing surgeries related to congenital heart disease, the success rate is greatly increased.]

[II. Limited drawing experience can be categorized as the "Artist (Blue)" talent]

[Artist (Blue): You have some talent in drawing (but only close to genius level)]

[III. The mindset transformation and mental fortitude experienced by terminally ill patients facing life and death can be summarized as the innate talent of "unyielding perseverance (purple)"]

[Perseverance (purple): Striving, working hard, and never giving up. (This is the cornerstone of success.)]

[This option is unavailable because the player already possesses the higher-level "Perseverance (Gold)" talent.]

Kitagawa Ryo chose the first option almost without hesitation. This was what he had come up with in the first place, and the first simulation did indeed proceed as planned, judging from the results.

In fact, after establishing the plan, Kitagawa Ryo only brought a small amount of talent into the simulation. The talent [Heir of a Wealthy Family] guaranteed that he would definitely have the opportunity to come into contact with the social class of Sakayanagi Arisu, while [Perseverance] guaranteed that he could complete the final research despite the torment of illness. These two talents, together with the [Jealousy of Heaven] he had drawn, formed the cornerstone of the plan.

Kitagawa Ryo discarded all the remaining potential variables, such as talents like "Unforgettable", "Close Family", and "Mutual Affection", which is why the network of interpersonal relationships he constructed in this simulation was so small.

The location was limited to a hospital room, and the interpersonal relationships were limited to interactions with the Sakayanagi Arisu family. Unlike the previous simulations, there were no random and unexpected "younger sister" or "fiancée" elements. However, judging from the appearance of the characters and the progress of the events, it was a rather bland simulation.

After all, it's a story whose ending was predetermined from the very beginning.

Feeling a little tired, Kitagawa Ryo rubbed his temples and hugged Hotaru, who was fiddling with the little flag. He clearly remembered that he hadn't even chosen to allocate points to the [Hotaru] talent just to be on the safe side, but the little guy still inexplicably appeared in the simulation.

Thinking about it carefully, from Ichinose Honami's first simulation to now, there have been a total of seven simulations, and Hotaru actually attended all seven. If she weren't a cat, the hidden fifth chapter of the simulator might be called something like "The Life of My Scumbag Cat Owner".

Kitagawa Ryo was stroking the cat while zoning out his mind. Although it sounded mundane, this simulation had really exhausted him, especially the last few months of his life. It was supposed to be a story with Sakayanagi Arisu as the heroine, but by the end, Kitagawa Ryo had barely seen her a few times. He was lying alone on the intensive care unit bed, slowly feeling his life slip away.

"So, being healthy is a good thing in itself."

Kitagawa Ryo flexed his fingers, deftly reaching out his right hand to scratch Hotaru's chin, almost as if he were getting used to the feeling of having his arm under his control.

It's the end of May now, and the next special exam for Tokyo Advanced Educational Junior High School won't be until summer vacation in July, followed by a final exam before summer vacation.

As expected, the midterm exams for Class 1-D resulted in a dropout, along with Yamauchi and Ike, who had long been ignored by everyone. Additionally, Kyosuke Okiya, Minami Hakuo, Chiyo Sonoda, and Ruri Ichihashi were expelled for failing their exams.

Kitagawa Ryo only saved Sudo Ken. Of course, if Sudo Ken cannot pass the final exam on his own merit, he will not give him a second chance.

Kitagawa Ryo rolled over in bed and yawned lazily. Sakayanagi Arisu would only gain all the memories related to the simulation after she completely completed it, so there was no need to worry too much during these few days of rest.

Let me take a nap first.

After drawing the curtains to block out the afternoon sun, Kitagawa Ryo turned off his phone, used his foot to fluff the folded blankets and casually spread them on his stomach, then closed his eyes, not intending to think about anything anymore.

Difficulty sleeping!

I wonder if the little fairies who bring sweet dreams to good children work during the day.

If you're here, please give my two little kids double the amount of their sweet dreams.

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

Sakayanagi Arisu finally submitted her application for exemption from the special summer exam. Although she had signed her name on countless similar statements in the past, this time it felt particularly unsettling.

Her repeated absences seemed to be a constant reminder of the shortcomings in her life.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at Kitagawa Ryo's room. Sakayanagi Arisu simply used the spare key she had brought to open the door, intending to chat with Kitagawa Ryo for a while.

But when she changed her shoes and went into the room, she found Kitagawa Ryo fast asleep on her bed in a rather unladylike spread-eagle position.

Hotaru, who was lying to the side, called softly to Sakayanagi Arisu, as if reminding her not to wake Kitagawa Ryo.

Sakayanagi Arisu certainly wouldn't do something so unromantic; the sound of her opening the door hadn't even woken him up, so he must be sleeping quite soundly.

Gazing at Kitagawa Ryo's sleeping face and listening to his even breathing, Sakayanagi Arisu, who was sitting quietly to the side, suddenly remembered that when she was a child, she had been stubbornly trying to hear other people's heartbeats.

Like a delicate string in her memory being gently plucked, there was a moment of familiarity and disorientation, and Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head.

She stopped caring about others a long time ago; she had long been used to it and satisfied.

"cold."

Sakayanagi Arisu called out the other person's name almost imperceptibly.

The cat next to them immediately perked up its ears.

Then, a second later, he realized that it wasn't calling him.

Damn it, starting today, Sakayanagi Arisu's level as a cat owner has been downgraded by two levels!

Ying made a fierce declaration in her heart.

Chapter 78: The Stage Has Been Set Up