I have a life simulator.

"what happened?"

"Ah, I was wondering if there might be a special little gift that Liang prepared for me inside this cake. After all, there are such plots in many literary works, like inside dumplings or buns."

"No matter what, putting it inside a cake is just too outrageous. Rinne, you can eat it without worry. Besides the person's heart, there's only sugar and spices in it."

"Oh—woof."

"I didn't let you eat such a big bite... Here, a tissue. Never mind, I'll wipe it for you myself."

Kitagawa Ryo pulled two tissues from the tissue box on the table, stacked them together, and reached out to wipe the cream off Horikita Suzune's lips. It can only be said that he is indeed an expert in this regard. Whether it was taking care of Hotaru in the past or taking care of Amasawa Ichika in the white room, it was all patience and skill honed over the years.

"Speaking of which, does Ryo know why we eat cake on birthdays?"

Having toned down her eating manners a bit, Horikita Suzune chewed on her cake while casually asking Kitagawa Ryo a question.

"Well, actually, it's because medieval Europeans believed that birthdays were the days when the soul was most vulnerable to demonic possession. So on birthdays, family and friends would gather around to offer blessings and give cakes to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits. The custom of lighting candles on cakes originated from the Greeks, who would light small candles on round, moon-shaped honey cakes and then place them on the altar of the moon goddess Artemis as offerings. According to the folk beliefs of that time, candles lit on birthdays had magical power and could make wishes come true."

As the possessor of the golden talent 'well-read', Kitagawa Ryo was equally adept at this kind of knowledge, and he gave Horikita Suzune the answer with almost no thought.

"I see."

So, they chatted for a while about birthday-related topics, and after answering a series of questions for Horikita Suzune, who had turned into a curious child, at a certain point, the two of them stopped what they were doing and stared blankly at the two pieces of cake left in front of them.

"What a blunder... we didn't finish it."

"It's probably because we ate a lot at noon, and Ryo and I aren't the type to eat sweets. I feel like even if we brought over that girl who ate two big meals at our shop during the cultural festival, it wouldn't be enough for her to eat one meal."

"Nanase does seem like a child who can eat a lot..."

"Are Liang and she very close?"

"We just met that day, but I think we'll see Lingyin again in April. She's on our side, I guess."

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was wondering whether to put the remaining two pieces in the refrigerator to eat tomorrow, Horikita Suzune in front of him seemed to suddenly remember something. She picked up one of the pieces and carefully and slowly brought it closer to him. Then, at an even slower pace, she patted, or rather, pressed, the cake onto Kitagawa Ryo's face.

"Snapped--"

Since there was absolutely no sound, Horikita Suzune even verbally prolonged her tone, then tilted her head in confusion:

"This doesn't seem fun."

But not long after, as she put down the cake in her hand, she saw Kitagawa Ryo's face, which seemed completely unaware of what was happening and whose lower half was covered in cream, and she subconsciously raised the corners of her mouth and laughed.

"Snapped."

But the next second, Kitagawa Ryo smeared cake all over her face, and the corners of her mouth, nose and cheeks that she had just wiped clean were once again covered with large patches of cream.

The prince and princess atmosphere vanished in an instant. The two children, like children who had successfully played a prank on each other, couldn't help but laugh at their own creations. After a while, they hurriedly rushed to the sink, pushing and shoving each other to wash the marks off their faces.

If life is a blank book pre-bound with pre-numbered pages, then some people's names are indeed unconsciously written with too much ink and too much emphasis from the very beginning, so much so that the ink marks left can seep from the first page to the last and cannot be erased.

All the time and memories overlapped only on him.

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

For the first time, Horikita Suzune tried to ask for more than just the usual hugs and kisses. In this respect, birthdays may really be, as Kitagawa Ryo said, the day when the soul is most easily invaded by demons, because what she is longing for and craving is like going crazy.

In fact, the two of them had already prepared for everything, but they just hadn't gone through that final step naturally. Hotaru's actions did accelerate things, but not by much. After all, what he and Horikita Suzune sought and obtained from each other was already enough, so it was more like a direct trigger.

"cold."

When Kitagawa Ryo came out of the bathroom after taking a shower, Horikita Suzune was already holding him at the door. The girl, who had not withered away and had not been tamed by others, was clearly asking him for love.

How exactly should one describe this feeling?

Is it a deeper affection, mixed with respectful longing, or an uncontrollable desire to possess?

Kitagawa Ryo was too lazy to define or think about these issues anymore, because at this moment, there was only one thing he needed to do.

Of the many paths he has taken in life, some have passed him by and gone forever, while others have taken root in his heart and soul, where they have been sculpted, shaped, refined, integrated, and become part of him.

Kitagawa Ryo took Horikita Suzune's hand and took out the ring that she had received from Hotaru, which originally belonged to her.

It still fits perfectly.

Although there were no cheers and blessings around him this time, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction, as if a paper airplane from his childhood had flown back into his hands.

Get married quickly, only to regret it later?

Slowly get married, then quickly regret it?

If Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Manabu were to interact again, the promise he would make at this time would be quite different.

I have no regrets about getting married now.

In a sense, tonight is a rehearsal.

It is neither simple nor shabby.

After all, a wedding is something that only requires two people.

Chapter 497: The Great Election Campaign (4k5)

It has to be said that for most students at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School, their mental world during this period has been remarkably rich, with all sorts of juicy gossip never stopping. To borrow a well-known internet meme, the entire Tokyo Advanced Educational High School is a huge world of gossip and entertainment.

If you want to be a gambling god and maximize your odds by betting on the biggest upsets, you can try the Investment and Financial Management Mini-Lesson; if you want to watch White Album, Autumn in My Heart, and Tokyo Love Story, you can watch it all the way from before Valentine's Day to after the celebration; if you want to step outside the student world and see the gossip drama among teachers, you can see the drama of a cat causing a lot of male teachers to jump around and become obsessed. It can only be said that everyone has fallen into the pit together. Life without the pressure of exams is so simple, plain and happy.

Of course, for the four candidates who are now in the spotlight, the situation is quite different.

If most students initially viewed the student council election as just a fun event—after all, it's only once a year, and the second and third-year students had experienced it once or twice—the investment and financial management mini-class undoubtedly heated up the atmosphere to another level, turning it into a business that everyone could participate in.

As a result, within just one day and one night, students had already launched a clear-cut battle of factions on the forum. It didn't look like a high school student council election at all, but rather an election for the next prime minister of Japan.

No, perhaps they care about this matter much more than the latter.

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo, as the acting student council president, finally realized the objective rationale behind Tsukishiro Tsuneaki's decision to bring him to work in the student council. After all, once the election campaign officially began, the four first-year candidates had basically reduced or even given up their work in the student council, which was a practice that the student council had always tacitly approved.

Firstly, this is to give everyone ample time and energy to campaign for votes. Secondly, it is also to prevent direct competitors from hindering or even sabotaging each other in the student union.

Therefore, various tasks naturally fell to Kitagawa Ryo and several second-year student council members.

"What's the situation now?"

After clearing away all the accumulated tasks at hand, Kitagawa Ryo rubbed his temples wearily and sent a text message to Amasawa Ichika to inquire about his situation.

"Katsuragi and Ayanokouji are working together, with the latter in charge. They go to the Keyaki Shopping Center after school."

"Arisu and a few girls are trying to communicate with the boys in the class, led by Sudo, but it doesn't seem to be going very well."

"Lingyin went to several large clubs. I went with her and we're negotiating, but progress is quite slow. After all, the drama club incident can't be considered completely over yet."

After reading Tianze Yixia's segmented report, Kitagawa Ryo also stood up from his seat, stretched his limbs, and looked out the window at the darkening night sky.

Unlike Ichinose Honami, who had rested all day, Horikita Suzune, who had maintained a consistent exercise habit since she was very young, was indeed superior in physical fitness. In less than a day, she was able to quickly get into the zone and start working. Kitagawa Ryo almost suspected that the person who had made him hold his hands together for ten or twenty hours earlier was someone else entirely.

However, the contrast is indeed fantastic.

"Have you finished your work, Liang? If you are, come over to the stadium for a bit. We can chat and have dinner together."

"Well, I'll be right over."

After saying goodbye to Mizowaki and the others who were already packing up to leave, and reminding them to lock the door of the student council office before leaving, Kitagawa Ryo rushed towards the gymnasium after finishing his work.

Ultimately, this student council election is about winning over students from all three grades. So even though the three groups of candidates have chosen different targets, they are all essentially aiming at the students themselves.

If Kitagawa Ryo's prediction is correct, then Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Katsuragi Kohei are probably trying to reach a cooperation agreement with the businesses at the Keyaki Shopping Center. Although the students of Toyu University aren't the kind of elderly people who can be appeased by simply giving them a bag of eggs, if the businesses are really willing to launch some supporting promotional activities for Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, it's possible that they could attract some hesitant students who want to get something tangible rather than just attending investment and financial management classes.

As for how to persuade them, Kitagawa Ryo already had two guesses. One was to learn from his recent Valentine's Day celebration and make similar promises to the merchants at the Keyaki Shopping Center, or to offer other similar incentives.

On the other hand, it takes a more roundabout approach, which involves using the merchants in the Beech Tree Shopping Center as intermediaries to conduct other transactions.

Actually, Kitagawa Ryo himself had just done this.

Even though the Valentine's Day celebration had just ended, it was clear to everyone that he had a lot of personal agenda involved by the end. However, no one was able to report him for abusing his power. Whether it was the temporary kitchen set up outdoors at noon that occupied the event space, or the photographers taking pictures on the rooftop that was locked down at night, Kitagawa Ryo had chosen to use various businesses as intermediaries from the very beginning. He used their names and claimed it was a special Valentine's Day package. From the application to the final invoice issuance, there was absolutely nothing wrong with it.

The student council election at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School is, after all, an election, and basic fairness and impartiality are certainly emphasized. Although there will inevitably be students who want to convert their votes into personal points, and there will inevitably be candidates who want to use personal points to buy votes, these things cannot be discussed openly. Once discovered, they will immediately cause a scandal.

At this point, an intermediary channel that can legitimize and whitewash the transaction becomes extremely important.

Of course, this was just Kitagawa Ryo's subconscious thought, given that he had been a working professional for a long time in the Sims. Perhaps Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Katsuragi Kohei didn't think that much about it at all.

It's understandable that Sakayanagi Arisu went to Sudo Takeru and the others to communicate. After all, the situation in Class 1-A is quite clear now. Most of the girls support Arisu, and the boys support Suzune. If one of them can win over the other's votes first, it will be a huge blow to the other.

Suzune's idea of ​​going to a club is even more straightforward. After all, in a high school, the only groups students belong to besides their class are clubs. In fact, for many students who focus their energy on club affairs, the latter has a stronger sense of identity than the former.

Thinking this, Kitagawa Ryo quickly walked to the entrance of the gymnasium and saw Horikita Suzune and Amasawa Ichika seemingly whispering something to each other.

"Rin, Ichika. Is it over?"

After a brief greeting to the two, Kitagawa Ryo got straight to the point and asked this question.

"Ah, Liang is here. Hmm... the situation is a bit complicated. Let's eat and talk. It's so late, my stomach is growling."

Upon hearing this, Amasawa Ichika raised her head, smiled brightly, waved to Kitagawa Ryo, and then, patting her belly, spoke to Horikita Suzune beside her:

What does Lingyin think?

"It is indeed a bit late. I'm so sorry to have troubled you to stay with me until now."

After belatedly glancing at the time on her phone, Horikita Suzune shook her head helplessly.

"Let's just go to the Beech Tree Shopping Center and find a restaurant. It seems like we won't have enough time to buy groceries and cook."

"Ah."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in agreement, and looking at Amasawa Ichika, who had seamlessly blended into his dinner time, which was usually just him and Horikita Suzune, he suddenly realized that this little guy's talent in this area was also ridiculously strong.

When Kitagawa Ryo suddenly glanced at her, Amazawa Ichika grinned and then hugged Horikita Suzune's arm affectionately, already acting like good friends.

"Today we mainly visited the soccer and basketball clubs."

Unaware that she had fallen into the same trap as Ichinose Honami, Horikita Suzune, without resisting the other party's actions, composed herself, brushed the stray strands of hair behind her ear, and began to explain the situation to Kitagawa Ryo.

"The resistance from the football club is still significant; Nagumo's influence has indeed penetrated too deeply."

Even setting aside her glorious experience of leading others to victory in the soccer club, just the fact that she was a former student council president who came from the soccer club shows that after taking office, Nan Yunya treated her former employer with utmost care and resources.

That is why, even after the other side had completely fallen, many second- and third-year members of the soccer club still remembered them. Whether it was out of genuine gratitude or simply a desire to maintain their privileged status, they did not show excessive enthusiasm for Horikita Suzune's attempts to win them over.

"All I can say is that Xin Kui's current main players in the first year, Shibata from Class B and Hirata from Class C, are speaking up for us, otherwise the situation would be even more awkward."

"What about the basketball team?"

"It's much better. Sudo's status in the club is higher than I imagined. Rather than being a key player, he's already on par with the captain in terms of prestige. Also, there are quite a few members in Class D in the basketball club, so they'll feel a bit more favored to me."

"Of course, the most important thing is still the issue of compensation."

At this point, Horikita Suzune herself was somewhat helpless:

"Although I know it's quite common to make grand promises to people during the election campaign, some of the conditions are just too harsh. In fact, they can't be discussed openly at all. No matter what attitude I show, Liang will probably see the fabricated posts on the forum tonight."

"This is part of the trap, they've dug a pit for you to jump into."

As they spoke, the three of them walked over to the Keyaki Shopping Center and casually found a restaurant with an empty private room to sit down. When Kitagawa Ryo came over, he specifically looked around and didn't see Katsuragi Kohei and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. But that was actually normal, since the place had several floors and was definitely not small.

"In fact, Shiki and Fanbo both said they could come with me at first, but I didn't think it was necessary to bring so many people. Actually, I didn't want to agree at first, because I always felt that it was a bit of a stunt for members of the drama club to appear in front of other clubs. But she said it meant it was a bad idea."

"Well, it's good that the drama club is on hiatus for a while. It's perfect since I, the club president, have been pulled into the student council. Everyone can take a break. As for Ichika, her situation is indeed special. First, she's in the same class as Suzune, and second, I feel more at ease with her by your side. After all, there will probably be quite a few people trying to take advantage of Suzune during this time."

"Yeah, but I'm used to this kind of role."

Having already served as a bodyguard for Sakayanagi Arisu during the deserted island exam, Amasawa Ichika proudly raised her hand, practically ready to shout out her loyalty.

"Rin, don't think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. It's always good to be vigilant at any time, including when you go to the bathroom."

Unconsciously, Kitagawa Ryo recalled the girl named Yamamura Miki, whom he had once ambushed in the bathroom, sent by Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, and reminded her again.

"Well, I see."

Horikita Suzune knew that Kitagawa Ryo was never one to speak without reason, so although she felt that the statement was a bit nonsensical, she still nodded seriously and accepted it.

"Then, in addition to the votes held by the students, we student council members who are not participating in the election also have votes, and they carry even more weight. This is an old tradition of Dongyu. However, I am only the acting student council president. Otherwise, if I cast my vote, Lingyin's position would probably be a foregone conclusion."

After smiling and thanking the waiter who served the food, Kitagawa Ryo brought up matters concerning the student council.

"Actually, there are only four people in the student council who can vote. I, Mizowaki, and Tonokawa will definitely vote for you, Suzune. The only one who is uncertain is Kiriyama. Although he had a good relationship with Horikita-senpai, that was a long time ago. Suzune herself can probably sense that."

"Yes, his personality has changed quite a bit. My brother also told me this, and told me not to trust him unilaterally."

"Yes, and considering that I helped Asahina defeat him during the second-year integration, Kiriyama probably won't support Suzune."

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo paused again, carefully considering his words before speaking:

"If we consider the worst-case scenario, the other party might have already sided with Ayanokouji."

"If that's the case, then this isn't really a matter of three to one vote within the student council, but a more complicated situation, namely the possibility of Kiriyama playing a role in a different person, because from most students' perspective, his image hasn't actually collapsed yet."

"He was promoted by Horikita, constantly clashed with Nagumo, and was even demoted from vice president for offending him. Although he lost to Asahina-senpai in the competition for the second-year leadership, this did not affect the persona he had established."