I have a life simulator.

For Tianze Yixia, only the second half of the content remains.

So, which match is the one she's most resentful about and still wants to win back to this day?

Tianze Yixia has never been the best chess player in the world, not because of talent.

But also because—

From then on, she only studied one opponent.

Chapter 512: I'm going to make a scene! I'm going to make a scene right now!

"Well then, starting today, Kanzaki and Himeno will learn some chess skills from me. As for the location... let me think... could we just borrow your dorm room, Kanzaki?"

Since he was still keeping a mistress and a cat in his dorm, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't just invite the two of them to his room to study. After thinking for a while, he decided to ask Kanzaki Ryuji for his opinion.

"no problem."

Ryuji Kanzaki nodded in agreement.

"Okay, shall we head over now? Or do you need to go back to your room first and spend some time tidying up?"

"No need, you can just come directly. There's nothing special that needs to be packed or tidied up."

Just like Ryuji Kanzaki's frank attitude, the other party's dormitory room was also decorated in a fairly proper and standard style. Apart from a few drama-related posters hanging on the wall, everything else was quite normal.

"I just happened to be passing by when I grabbed some chess pieces and a chessboard from my room."

Did Kitagawa play chess often before?

"I wouldn't say often, but I do download them quite a lot, although most of the time it's with the same person. Thank you."

After taking a sip of the hot water poured by Kanzaki Ryuji, Kitagawa Ryo began setting up the Go board and pieces on the coffee table. Just as he finished, he heard Himeno Yuki, who was kneeling opposite him, speak up:

"Actually, I lied just now. I know absolutely nothing about chess; I don't even know the basic rules."

"Oh, I guessed it."

Kitagawa Ryo's reaction was quite calm, showing no surprise whatsoever. He continued arranging the chess pieces as if nothing had happened, and only after finishing did he smile and reply:

"Actually, even if you, Ji Ye, hadn't volunteered, I would have eventually called on you to come and learn chess."

As the girl who was most out of place with the overall style of Class 1-B, Yuki Himeno was actually unable to participate in the large-scale, multi-person projects that Class 1-B had applied for, which required teamwork and cooperation. However, it wouldn't be good to just single her out like that, so Ryo Kitagawa had already planned to find a pretext to single her out.

"Oh...thank you."

After quietly thanking her, Hime Yuki still seemed a little awkward. After all, she wasn't shameless, and this blatant act of dragging her down really put her under a lot of psychological pressure.

"But you two don't need to think too much. After all, for Arisu, there's no difference between a novice who knows the rules and has played a few games and an outsider who doesn't even know the rules. Her skill level has already surpassed amateur level; she is undoubtedly a professional, and one of the highest-ranking ones at that."

"...If that's the case, is there any need for practicing like we did today?"

"Of course."

Faced with Ryuji Kanzaki's confusion, Ryo Kitagawa simply nodded confidently:

"Even so, Class B is not without a chance of winning this match. The reason we brought you two here today is to take a more foolproof and secure approach."

Then, Kitagawa Ryo patiently explained to them:

"Because the one-on-one spot for Class A of Grade 1 was used for the computer typing competition in another village, this chess competition adopted a two-on-two format."

"And this is the first possible breakthrough."

“It’s not just Arisu who’s good at chess in Class 1-A. If the other person is also selected to participate in the event, she will give you both hands-on guidance on the field.”

"what?"

"what?"

Upon hearing Kitagawa Ryo's words, Kanzaki Ryuji and Himeno Yuki both stared wide-eyed in disbelief, exchanging a bewildered glance.

"Is Kitagawa your spy?"

"Even a spy shouldn't betray the class so openly, right? How is she supposed to stay in Class A after this?"

"Well, this is actually a long story. It's not about espionage or not. Well... the person in question has arrived, so I'll just let her in."

After glancing at the message on his phone, Kitagawa Ryo stood up again and, to the surprise of Kanzaki Ryuji and Himeno Yuki, opened the door to the room, letting the student in.

"Yah hello—"

"Tianze?"

"It's definitely me."

The girl who walked into the room with a bright smile was Amaze Ichika from Class 1-A. As if she was afraid of the cold, she tucked her hands into her sleeves and casually flicked her half-empty sleeve at the two of them before sitting down next to Kitagawa Ryo.

"You're the helper Kitagawa mentioned?"

"Hmm, from your Class B's perspective, I do seem to be a great help. After all, without me, you would have had a lot of trouble with this project."

As she spoke, Tianze Yixia exaggeratedly adopted a pitiful tone:

"But I didn't do this to help your Class B. Well, when you put the words Arisu and chess together, I really couldn't help it. After all, they didn't want to betray the class."

"Of course, if I really get kicked out, Liang, remember to take me in! Ah... I'm thirsty."

"It would be absurd to say that Yi Xia will be kicked out; rather, this special exam was indeed designed to create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Kitagawa Ryo stopped Kanzaki Ryuji from getting up to pour water, and handed his own water glass to Amasawa Ichika:

"In the two-on-two chess competition, if you, Ichika, are really selected, then the only students who can see what's happening in the competition arena will be me and Suzune, the two commanders, and the four of you participants."

"Moreover, to ensure fairness, the proctors were assigned to different classes for this exam. The teachers supervising our two classes' competition were Sakamoto, the homeroom teacher of Class C, and Chabashira, the homeroom teacher of Class D. They wouldn't care what students from other classes did on the day, as long as it wasn't blatant misconduct."

"However, the rules of this chess game do not prohibit teammates from communicating with opposing players."

After explaining the venue and rules, Kitagawa Ryo held up two fingers again:

"Therefore, we only need to consider two scenarios now."

"First, if Xia herself is selected to participate in this chess event, then things are very simple. You two just need to follow her instructions."

"Second, if Ichika himself is forced to leave the previous event and is unable to participate in this chess event, then Kanzaki and Himeno will need to put in a little extra effort. However, it can't be called a little extra effort; it will be a very difficult task."

Tianze Yixia then smoothly picked up the conversation, picking up the chess pieces on the board with interest and fiddling with them, while adding with a smile:

"Well, to put it simply, all you two need to do is memorize the board. For example, let's say I'm Arisu, and my first move is this piece, and the moves are like this. Then what you need to do is move this piece to this position."

"What if the opponent doesn't move their piece like that as their first move?"

"This is the most likely opening scenario for Arisu, with a probability of over 70%. Of course, I have other plans prepared as well. Let me think about it. As for the first step of the opening, you should memorize about four or five scenarios. If two people divide the work, the amount of memorization will not be too large."

At this point, Amazuki took out a whole stack of documents from his bag, covered with dense diagrams of various game scenarios, which made Kanzaki Ryuji and Himeno Yuki somewhat dizzy.

"You don't need to worry about why you have to go this way. Just memorize most of the scenarios, and make sure you can get through the first thirty minutes so that the situation isn't too chaotic when Ryo takes over."

Looking at the marks at the top that were clearly not written in the last two days, Ryuji Kanzaki swallowed hard again.

"Um, if I may ask, would you mind revealing some of the reasons why Tianze did this? It seems a bit too outrageous, no matter what."

"Oh, didn't Ryo tell you guys? Actually, the reason is quite simple: I lost to Arisu once before in this area."

Although her tone and smile remained unchanged, still displaying a relaxed and cheerful demeanor, even Kanzaki Ryuji and Himeno Yuki, who didn't know much about Amasawa Ichika, could clearly sense that her inner emotions didn't seem to match her outward appearance when she spoke so casually.

Kitagawa Ryo also said he had no idea what to do about it.

Actually, it wasn't him who took the initiative to implement this plan this time. Rather, it was Tianze Yixia who approached him and explained the plan to him with an attitude that made it impossible for him to refuse.

However, just as Amazusa Ichika just said, she doesn't have any deep prejudice against Arisu herself, but the fact that the name Sakayanagi Arisu is associated with chess again can only be said to have awakened a kind of almost instinctive stress response in her in an instant.

Kitagawa Ryo himself didn't really remember what happened in the white room that day. After all, he was still unconscious in the hospital bed when Amasawa Ichika and Sakayanagi Arisu were playing chess. If it weren't for his good sister physically breaking down the door of the hospital room, the simulation would probably have ended in a tragic bad ending without ever meeting the chapter's heroine.

But you know, Tianze Yixia isn't as fragile as you think.

The sentence above is out of context, so please cross it out.

However, Kitagawa Ryo could also understand how deep Amasawa Ichika's obsession was with that defeat. Sakayanagi Arisu entering the white room was indeed the beginning of his story with her, but it was also the end of his story with Yuki and Amasawa Ichika in the white room.

If I had to describe it with an emoji, it would look something like this:

"I'm taking this child away. I don't think the White Room is qualified or capable of raising him."

And so, when Sakayanagi Shigemori uttered those words.

The lives of Oyuki, Yuki, and Ichika were completely changed.

"In any case, on behalf of myself, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Tianze for your help."

"Besides, rather than having the two of you here doing the homework, I'd much rather be chosen to go in directly. Otherwise, even if we win, it won't feel quite right."

In response to Ryuji Kanzaki's thanks, Ichika Amasawa simply rested her chin on her hand and gave a perfunctory reply before taking Ryo Kitagawa's hand:

"Then you two can spend some time memorizing the chessboard, pieces, and information. Liang and I have something to discuss privately."

"I'll be back in a bit."

Tianze Yixia half-dragged and half-carried them to the corridor. Instead of taking the stairs, the two slowly walked down the stairs that were rarely used. For a while, the only sound in the stairwell was their footsteps.

"If I do end up playing, I'd like to ask Ryo to explain things to Suzune after the exam, since she doesn't know about what happened between Arisu and me."

After a while, Kitagawa Ryo finally heard Amasawa Ichika say this to him.

"Well, if that situation really happens, I won't use the Command Tower's intervention authority. Ichika and Arisu will settle things fairly and squarely."

"it is good."

After hesitating for a moment, Tianze Yixia couldn't help but ask again:

"Won't Ryo think I'm weird? If it's just about the outcome of a game, I could just go to Arisu and ask her for another match... right?"

"This shows that for Yixia, this is no longer a matter of winning or losing a game of chess. If you think you can overcome this hurdle in this way, I don't find it strange at all."

As someone who has been through countless battles, Kitagawa Ryo has seen all kinds of psychological problems over the years. Even if we don't mention that he and Karuizawa Megumi deliberately avoided each other for several years because of what happened back then, and they never met, in the last simulated ward, Amasawa Ichika was the one with the mildest symptoms.

You know...

Although Kitagawa Ryo also felt that this was related to the other party's explosive speed and quick action, the fact that his mental illness hadn't had time to take over his intelligence before being replaced by physical satisfaction.

"That's good."

Tianze Yixia breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. It can only be said that children are indeed quite self-centered when they are making a fuss, but after they finish, they are still afraid of being scolded by their parents.

After confirming that Kitagawa Ryo had no objection to her antics, Amazusa Ichika took the initiative to bring up the topic of Valentine's Day, specifically the performance that took place off-campus and was therefore unknown to most students on campus.

"I promise, Sister Xue definitely saw it!"

"Did you call for your sister again at this time?"

"Of course! We are the real White House Alliance!"

"So this alliance hasn't broken down yet? Come to think of it, it seems that last year at the cultural festival, we were forced to retreat to the dorms because of you and me."

"Yes, that's why I helped you two take your relationship a big step forward."

"Thank you so much."

Although they were still exchanging banter with Amaze Ichika, Kitagawa Ryo's mind was once again reminded of Yuki's face because of what she said.

In fact, the last time the two met was on Christmas Eve last December, almost three months, a whole season ago.

He suddenly recalled a line from "Silent Night" by the British writer Carroll:

Winter is a time when snow slowly siftes through the darkness.

Chapter 513: The Special End-of-Year Exams Begin (5k)

After another week of preparation, March 21st marked the official start of the final special exam of the academic year.

The special end-of-year exams for grades one through three were all scheduled for this day. However, the exams for grade three should probably be called graduation exams, since their high school careers would come to an end after today, even though there would still be a graduation ceremony and a closing ceremony.

With this in mind, Kitagawa Ryo, who was in charge of Class 1-B in this special exam, arrived at the designated location, the multimedia classroom, about fifteen minutes early.

As the final special exam of the school year, the school was undoubtedly quite generous in rewarding the classes with points. In extreme cases, it was even possible that all four classes (A, B, C, and D) would be rearranged after the exam.

Of course, the price of failure is equally heavy. Either the commander himself will drop out of school, or two scapegoats will be chosen from the class. In any case, after this special exam, at least two more students in the first year will drop out.

When Kitagawa Ryo arrived, Horikita Suzune, the commander of Class 1-A, and Ryuen Sho, the commander of Class 1-D, were already in place. However, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the commander of Class 1-C, was nowhere to be seen. The teacher waiting there kept checking the time on his phone, seemingly discussing the matter with other colleagues.

About three minutes before the exam was about to begin, a student from Class C finally arrived, but it wasn't Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, but rather Kohei Katsuragi who was in a hurry.

At the same time, the teacher in charge here also announced a temporary message to everyone:

"Due to a temporary illness, the original commander of Class 1-C, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, is currently unable to continue participating in this special exam. Therefore, after consultation and communication within Class 1-C, Kohei Katsuragi will replace Kiyotaka Ayanokoji as the commander of Class 1-C to participate in this special exam."

"Of course, Kiyotaka Ayanokoji himself will also be prohibited from intervening in this special exam in any way."

As soon as the staff finished reading the message, the students present showed varying degrees of surprise. But before they could ask any more questions, the teacher in charge announced that the exam was about to begin and instructed the two pairs of command towers, A and B, and C and D, to go into their respective classrooms for final preparations.