I have a life simulator.

After all, the two were linked together because of their smiles, and when she first met Kitagawa Ryo, the first expression she saw in his eyes was also a smile.

Kitagawa Ryo looked at Yuki standing there smiling at him, and he also remembered the scene when the two first met. At that time, the other was a small child, wearing a pure white sweater uniform and holding a standard pure white quilt, standing in front of his dormitory door.

Now, the white outfit has been replaced by a red one.

Originally meaningless, natural smiles are now given meaning by human intervention.

Both her appearance and her inner self have been completely transformed.

But I still feel that I haven't changed, that I'm still pure white.

After a few seconds of eye contact, they tacitly looked away from each other.

Kitagawa Ryo lowered his eyes again.

If you were to ask him to find a reason for Xue in a single sentence...

That is because the smiles she gave him—whether triumphant, caring, heartbroken, comforting, encouraging, or joyful—were just as numerous and weighty as the tears and blood she shed for him.

Emotions too... share the same roots and origins.

Chapter 3: The Eternal Summer (4k5)

In this opening ceremony, which was undoubtedly quite boring and perfunctory for the upperclassmen, among the second-year students, besides Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose Honami closely watching the first-year students, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was doing the same thing.

However, since he was currently in Class 2D, which was quite far from the first year, he couldn't see very carefully. But he still quickly confirmed that the four students he had chosen had indeed entered the four classes A, B, C, and D as he had hoped.

Kyo Ishigami from Class 1-A was less a supporter of him and more a follower of Atsuomi Ayanokoji's ideology.

Osamu Takahashi, a boy in Class 1-B, looks a bit like Honami Ichinose or Kikyo Kushida, and he is quite adept at interpersonal communication.

Riku Utsunomiya, a student in Class C of the first year, is taciturn and his specific talents are not yet apparent, but Kiyotaka Ayanokouji feels that he might bring him unexpected surprises.

Finally, there's Takarazumi Kazutomi, who was assigned to Class 1-D. His massive size is noticeable even from a distance, making him an undisputed delinquent. He also seems to have a grudge against Ryuen Sho from the past, having publicly disrupted Ryuen Sho's event during last year's school festival. This is also the reason why Ayanokoji Kiyotaka chose him to join his team.

According to Kiyotaka Ayanokoji's own assessment, at least three of these four people should be able to become class leaders naturally, not only because of their personal abilities, but also because they have a better understanding of the inside story of Tokyo Advanced Educational High School, making it easy for them to quickly gain leadership of the class after the start of the school year.

Of course, things aren't always certain, since Kitagawa Ryo also had students who chose his side.

However, the only one that Kiyotaka Ayanokouji can confirm at the moment is Yuki from Class 1-D, which is why he just determined that at least three out of the four would be Yuki. The extra variable is from Class 1-D.

As a fellow student in the White Room, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was well aware that the training intensity and curriculum they received as fourth-generation trainees were different from those of other test subjects, and the difficulty was several times higher.

That is why, even though Xue was the one who was eliminated halfway through, she was still, in fact, the second-best among the fourth generation of the White Room, and even the best among the fifth generation, Tianze Yixia, was no match for her.

Of course, the above are just inferences made by Ayanokouji Kiyotaka based on her past performance. After all, since being expelled from the White Room, she has suffered almost irreversible and devastating damage to her heart. Even if she recovers now, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka cannot guarantee that she can still perform at some level of what she did back then.

Frankly speaking, even if all that remained were memories of his childhood training, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji would not doubt that the seemingly tall and strong Hosen Kazutomi would lose to Yuki in a fight. The White Room has always been second to none in terms of combat training, otherwise it wouldn't often be referred to as the White Gym.

Although he had decided to step outside the chessboard and directly confront the real player behind the scenes, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was also aware that before everything was ready, he still needed to conscientiously play the part of someone seriously playing the game, making each move as reasonable and aesthetically pleasing as possible so that the audience wouldn't notice his underhanded tactics.

Moreover, the clearer it became to understand the perilous nature of what he was about to do, the more Kiyotaka Ayanokoji cherished the time he could still spend at To-Yuk University.

He turned his gaze away from the first-year students in the distance and slowly scanned the entire gymnasium, from the chairman of the board, Sakayanagi, who was speaking on the stage, to the third-year students on his right, the students in his own class behind him, and the students in Class 2-C on his left. He memorized everything in the present moment and this temporarily peaceful time.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji heard that people have flashbacks of memories before they die.

I want more vivid and colorful memories.

Just like the first touch of blue he hesitated for a long time before applying in that sketchbook, it was a summer vacation with blue sky, sea, deserted island and cruise ship.

He didn't like the idea that all he would see when he arrived would be the pure white of the white room, since pure white is, in the end, just a colorless void.

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

After the opening ceremony, students from all three grades were led back to their respective classrooms by their homeroom teachers. First-year students were given cell phones and given a brief explanation of personal points before receiving their first 100,000 personal points. Upper-year students received a more detailed explanation of the academic year's arrangements.

Just like what Hoshinomiya Chie said at this very moment.

"Well... first of all, congratulations to everyone on successfully advancing to the second year. Now you've all reached the stage where people will call you senior, so I hope you'll all be more careful and thoughtful before you speak and act."

"Then comes the most important explanation of this academic year."

"According to the school, this year's special exams will significantly increase the proportion of cross-grade unified exams. In other words, you will need to cooperate or compete with first-year students and third-year students in many special exams."

Hoshinomiya Chie's words caused a slight commotion in Class 2-A, but thanks to the class's consistently excellent discipline, it quickly subsided. However, judging from the eyes of many students, they were not yet able to accept the sudden announcement.

After all, in their first year, let alone large-scale special exams that cross grade levels, there were very few activities that cross grade levels. I can only recall the last event of the sports festival and the cultural festival, which is supposed to be competitive but doesn't really have any punishments.

Even in the special mixed-grade training exam at the beginning of this year, although students from different grades were indeed grouped into large groups, everyone's daily activities were still with students in the same grade group.

But judging from Hoshinomiya Chie's words, it seems that there will be even closer cooperation or competition in the future.

"Well, I should also give you a heads-up here. The first special exam of this academic year might come quite soon, so I hope you can be mentally prepared. If possible, try to build a good relationship with the freshmen first, because they will be your partners for the first special exam."

"Of course, this news needs to be kept secret from the new students until the specific exam notice is issued. But I think even if we tell them, they probably won't think anything of it, since the new students probably don't even understand the concept of a special exam."

After briefly outlining the preliminary arrangements for the academic year, Hoshinomiya Chie concluded with a word of encouragement:

"After a year of hard work, we are now in Class A. I hope everyone can continue to maintain this in the new school year and graduate as Class A for three years. Okay, that's all for today, meeting adjourned."

The students in Class 2-A gave them a very respectful and enthusiastic round of applause. They probably didn't realize that their homeroom teacher, Hoshinomiya Chie, wasn't actually that proud of them.

To reiterate, whether I'm in Class A or not is unimportant, but the fact that you're not in Class A is very important to me.

Thinking of this, Hoshinomiya Chie leisurely hummed a little tune as she left the classroom. The students of Class A, who had basically finished their tasks for the day, also began to pack up their backpacks, which they didn't actually need, and called their friends to go shopping or go back to their dormitories.

"Fanbo, will you come with me to the student council to pick up the things we need for tomorrow's club recruitment?"

It was Karuizawa Kei who took the initiative to help Kitagawa Ryo get rid of Ichinose Honami. Although Kitagawa Ryo knew it was just an excuse to get rid of her, he still nodded in agreement. However, he was still quite worried and walked over to Kitagawa Ryo first, reaching out to straighten his tie and collar near his neck before leaving the classroom with Karuizawa Kei.

And so, Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Megumi both went to the student council. Horikita Suzune and Sakayanagi Arisu, who were already student council members, were also extremely busy with club recruitment for the start of the school year. Kitagawa Ryo, who was alone for the first time, was just about to get up and go check on the first-year students when Amasawa Ichika appeared in front of Class 2-A.

"I knew you'd come here."

"Of course, after all, it's the day Xue starts school."

"Don't they even call her Sister Xue anymore?"

"I feel like calling it that again sounds a bit sarcastic. Didn't we mess it up at the last cultural festival?"

"...I think that what made Ichika so angry at the cultural festival wasn't just about a form of address."

"Really? Anyway, she has a younger sister now, so she doesn't need me as a fake sister anymore. By the way, does Ryo need me? I'm very good at playing this kind of role. Honami and Yuki have both certified it."

"I have a firefly too, okay?"

"Hotaru isn't Ryo's biological sister."

"I don't know why, but hearing this established fact again always makes my head start to hurt again."

After making this somewhat ambiguous comment, Kitagawa Ryo looked at Amasawa Ichika and spoke again:

"Let me make it clear first, it would be better for Yi Xia to tone it down a bit, at least until I resolve the issue."

"Hmm... Haven't I always been a good girl and listened to Liang?"

"They squeezed a little too hard."

"Actually, this is their natural voice."

"...I've heard your voice at all ages, okay?"

"Wow, that sounds really cool. If there was a girl standing next to you, she would definitely think it's an unintentional show-off, right? Right?"

Although Amazusa Ichika was still her usual carefree and playful self, and hadn't directly agreed to his request, Kitagawa Ryo was quite relieved. After all, the other party had clearly demonstrated his stance and thoughts during the special end-of-year exam a little over a week ago.

Not only will she not cause trouble, she will also help resolve the issues between Sakayanagi Arisu and Yuki, using her own example.

In this respect, Tianze Yixia was indeed the most obedient and willing to listen to him, at least in the last simulation of this large ward.

"The first-year students' meeting hasn't ended yet... I heard cheers, does that mean they've announced that 100,000 points have been credited to their accounts?"

Looking at Amasawa Ichika, who was so lively and charming, with her delicate features displaying a wide variety of expressions, Kitagawa Ryo thought of Hotaru again.

Perhaps it's because of their similar eye color. Maybe he had hoped that Hotaru would develop such a cheerful personality after recovering, instead of that gloomy feeling of forcing herself to be strong.

Actually, a few years ago, Hotaru was quite in line with Kitagawa Ryo's expectations. She was basically like Ichinose Honami's younger sister, Maki, a carefree little girl. However, ever since Hotaru went abroad for medical treatment and returned, he always felt that there were other changes in her mentality. Anyway, when he went back to celebrate Hotaru's birthday around Christmas last time, it made Kitagawa Ryo a little embarrassed.

Although it was a bit of a nightmare, it's fair to say that he had never raised a younger sister who grew up so smoothly.

"Actually, I met Xue outside of school last Christmas."

As his thoughts drifted back to the end of last year, Kitagawa Ryo naturally mentioned snow, taking it as a casual chat with Amasawa Ichika while waiting for the first-year class meeting to end.

"I would find it strange if you two hadn't met, since Ryo always goes out of school under the guise of the drama club to meet with Yuki, right?"

"Well, before Xue enrolled in school, this was the only way we could meet, plus that one cultural festival."

"Hey, can you stop sounding so guilty every time you talk about this kind of thing? That's why Ryo can't get along with Yuki normally, okay? You feel guilty and she feels guilty too, so why don't you just bow and apologize to each other when you meet?"

Tianze Yixia muttered this with a hint of dissatisfaction:

"By the way, before that, please apologize to me first. If you really want to count, I've been waiting for Liang longer than for Xue."

As soon as she finished speaking, she shook her head quickly again, her two ponytails tied at the back of her head swaying with the movement, the strands brushing against Kitagawa Ryo's nose and tickling him slightly.

"Forget it, I've already forgiven Liang, so there's no need for an apology. What good does it do to keep thinking about this kind of thing except to make yourself sad and make others sad with you?"

Will Ichika be sad?

"Wow, Liang, don't think that just because I'm super normal and super sunny right now, it means I'm not sad or hurt. Besides, I'll really cry right here and now, and no amount of coaxing will make me happy."

Amused by Amazuki Ichika's somewhat exaggerated performance, Kitagawa Ryo temporarily put aside the slightly heavy memories that had flooded his mind with the arrival of snow, reached out and touched her little head, casually untying her braids:

"It's crooked, let me tie it back up for you, sit a little closer."

"Okay."

Countless times, Kitagawa Ryo began braiding the other person's hair.

"Ryo definitely didn't know this from the beginning. I bet he learned it because of Hotaru."

"Ah."

"When Liang first started braiding my hair, was she also thinking about her younger sister?"

"It's not entirely true that there isn't any."

"what about now?"

"There's only one summer left."

Kitagawa Ryo could see the smile on her slightly upturned face. This was his answer to her, but it was also her answer to herself.

He suddenly felt an urge to whisper something in her ear, so Kitagawa Ryo brushed aside the red hair fluttering by the girl's ear, brought his lips to hers, and recited the poem that first came to mind.

In the white room, he had talked with Yuki about names countless times, telling her that snow was a white substance that was cold to the touch. But Kitagawa Ryo also had things he wanted to say to Ichika about this, things that were his blessings and love for her.

And so, here he is today, presenting her with this eternally classic sonnet from his favorite Shakespearean collection:

"May I compare you to a summer day?"

"Although you are more lovely and gentler than summer."

"Every beauty will be ravaged by time."

"But only your long summer is eternal and never fades."

Chapter Four: Half, the Other Half

Perhaps because the homeroom teachers of each second-year class mentioned cooperation with the first-year students, as time went on, quite a few second-year students came to the first-year floor to inquire about the situation. However, most of them left after taking a look and finding that the first-year classes were still having class meetings, unlike Kitagawa Ryo and Amasawa Ichika who waited there.

Actually, it makes sense when you think about it. After all, even if you really wanted to build a good relationship in advance, coming here to block the door on the first day of school would give people the feeling of being overly solicitous. Besides, everyone here has been a student on the first day of school and knows very well that the freshmen who have just received their 100,000 personal points should be thinking about eating, drinking, having fun, and spending it all.

Besides, even if you really want to exchange ideas, tomorrow's club recruitment fair is undoubtedly a better choice. There's really no need to rush over here today.

"It should be finished before noon, since we all need to eat eventually."

After glancing at the time on his phone, Kitagawa Ryo turned his gaze back to Class 1-D:

"That big guy in Class D, Hosen Kazutomi, should be one of the people Ayanokouji chose. He looks pretty good in a fight, and he also has a grudge against Ryuen. He's a good fit in every way."

"Yeah, and I feel like Ayanokouji will make Hosen follow the same path as Ryuen, turning Class 1-D back into what used to be Class 2-C."

Tianze Yixia nodded in agreement, but immediately smirked with schadenfreude.

"However, with Xue around, this matter is most likely to fall through."

As students who had all undergone training in the White Room, Amazusa Ichika was undoubtedly well aware of the value of that facility in terms of physical fitness. Even as a fifth-generation student, she had several ways to easily defeat Takarazumi, who looked even bigger and more menacing than Ryuen Sho, not to mention Yuki, who ranked second among the fourth-generation students.

"They even used the word 'high probability'?"

"Because it's not clear whether Sister Xue has regained her past self. After all, in this timeline, she doesn't have a body that has been trained and never relaxed since childhood. Instead, she's a mess after being eliminated from the White Room and then bedridden for psychological treatment."

"Of course, with Arisu as a precedent, I feel that almost a year is enough time, after all, the foundation is still there."

As she spoke, Tianze Yixia playfully wagged her finger again: