I have a life simulator.

Because they are just kids, they won't hold it against you.

But things are not like they were ten years ago now.

If the heir of Nogi Pharmaceuticals were to say the exact same thing to Ishigami Kyo today, "I'm going to have my father destroy your parents' company," how would the other party respond?

Could he possibly threaten to say that he's going to run around and make a scene, embarrassing his father?

The same words spoken by a child are just a joke, and the same thing done by a child is also normal. But if a child goes a step or two above that, they become a genius.

But some things that children do are considered geniuses, while if they are a few years older, they become commonplace.

He is not Yuecheng Changcheng, and Shishang Jing is not Nan Yunya.

However, in some aspects, they are often common.

Therefore, what truly frightens us is the unknown. Once we can see things and people clearly, they cease to inspire fear.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka certainly didn't know how to deal with the so-called Ishigami Kyo, but he had taken down an overconfident 'assistant' named Yagami Takuya when school started last year.

Why did he dare to act so decisively at that time?

Since the other party comes from the White Room, and he is the greatest masterpiece in the White Room, it would be strange if he didn't make a move.

After all, even if he's a frog in a well, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is still the strongest and biggest one in that well, the one who has seen the most of the sky.

And the same is true right now.

Perhaps it was because he had been observing Kitagawa Ryo for too long that he himself had been subtly changed by that person. Just a few years ago, he had single-handedly defeated more than a dozen strong men in the combat assessment in the White Room, and even planned to kill them without any mercy.

Just think back to how I acted and looked back then...

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji stood up with lightning speed and reached out his hand. The next second, Ishigami Kyō's head was tilted and pressed into the plate on the table. His arms were twisted behind his back at a twisted angle. At the same time, he used his knee to press against the other's waist, easily subduing him.

Is that so?

"I am Ayanokoji Kiyotaka."

He introduced himself indifferently.

"Next time we meet, remember not to hold your head so high."

"This is not the attitude a subordinate who comes to take orders should have."

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Just as Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was secretly meeting with Kyo Ishigami, Ryo Kitagawa was also approached by Tsubasa Nanase, a first-year student. However, the atmosphere here was much more harmonious and friendly than there. Judging from the various desserts and black teas laid out on the table, it was more like a leisurely afternoon tea.

"You mean they were discovered by students from Ayanokouji's camp?"

"Yeah, but that's normal, since I've joined the drama club."

Nanase Tsubasa continued eating her dessert with gusto, seemingly without the slightest hint of nervousness.

"Speaking of which, have we identified exactly who the opposing team is?"

"The one in your class should be Ishigami."

“Ishigami, he does have that feeling.”

"Has Class A not elected an official class leader yet?"

"Not yet, since everyone's OAA rating is quite high. We usually discuss things together, and this special exam is no exception. We just need to find a second-year student to partner with, and we won't interfere with each other."

“Class A certainly has the confidence to do so, and the first special exam is the most suitable written test to assess your academic abilities.”

"Yes, yes."

As Nanase Tsubasa spoke, she quickly picked up her teacup and took two sips before letting out a satisfied sigh:

"No matter how many times I eat here, I always feel that Minister Kitagawa's cooking skills are really good. Can you open a shop in the future? I want to get a lifetime membership card!"

"maybe."

After giving a perfunctory reply, Kitagawa Ryo returned Nanase Tsubasa's phone to the other party. This was because the other party had just shown him the text messages and handed them over. It can only be said that in some ways, this kid really has no sense of caution.

"But Nanase, you don't need to worry too much. This special exam doesn't involve first-year students dropping out. And any non-regular dropping out besides the special exam will result in a deduction of 300 class points. Ishigami wouldn't do something like that. After all, it's not like he can get rid of me by sacrificing those 300 points."

"Just be careful of them framing you in other ways, such as falsely accusing you of assault, theft, or serious violation of school rules."

After briefly mentioning to Nanase Tsubasa what happened at Sudo Kenji's place last year when school started, and advising him to be careful, Kitagawa Ryo waved for him to leave.

"Anyway, if anything unusual happens, just come and find me."

"Hmm, is the minister planning to go straight back afterwards?"

"No, that's not it. I'll tidy this up in a bit. I need to have a study session with Sakura. We're partners for this special exam."

"I see."

Nanase Tsubasa nodded in realization, and then, after leaving the room, she immediately and nervously took out the small notebook containing the strange tales of the drama club's rules from her pocket and added the latest entry:

No, no, no, no—

It's not that joining the drama club actually requires dating the club president, but rather that it seems like everyone who joins is dating the club president.

The horror stories in the drama club are terrifying!


I have H1N1. I'll update tomorrow.

I've been lying in bed like a corpse since yesterday, and I even forgot to send the leave request in my daze. I got up today to go to the hospital, got some medicine, and started taking it. I should be able to resume updating tomorrow.

Many people have been infected recently, so please take good care of your health and wear a mask when you go out.

Thank you all for your continued reading and support.

Chapter Nineteen: Sincerity and Deception

Although they told Nanase Tsubasa that they were having a study session, neither Kitagawa Ryo nor Tsubaki Sakurako were actually students who needed tutoring. The former was the student with the highest academic ability in the entire second year and even the whole school, while the latter, even though her data on OAA was mediocre, was something she did deliberately to be in the same class as Yuki.

After all, in Tsubaki Sakura's opinion, her older sister had spent so much time in the hospital, and even if her recovery was good this year, she probably wouldn't be able to get into Class A of the first year. So she deliberately suppressed her grades. But who knew that Yuki would pull off a big move and get herself into Class D of the first year, making Tsubaki Sakura's plan fall through.

In fact, as Xue herself admitted, her younger sister, who is a year younger than her, does possess similar outstanding talents, and is equally academically gifted, to the point that she does not need any extra tutoring or remedial instruction.

That's why their study session should really be called a storytelling session. This is something Kitagawa Ryo had promised Tsubaki Sakurako before, that he would slowly tell her about his past with Yuki.

"...In short, because of the launch of the Rhesus Monkey Project, my life and Xue's, who were not in the same cohort and therefore would never have met, came together. That's roughly the first part of the story."

Since it was a memory spanning several years, it was impossible to recount it all in one or two hours. Therefore, during today's study session, Kitagawa Ryo simply explained the inside story of the White Room Project and the background of their first encounter to Tsubaki Sakura in detail.

"Actually, I couldn't understand why my father would send my newborn sister to such a place at first. It seems that this plan was originally disguised with a pretty glamorous facade... But it's still too much. Instead of raising his own daughter, he chose to believe in some newly established, seemingly unreliable talent training institution."

"Although I'm reluctant to say it, this should be considered a political donation and a move to take sides, because your father's position at that time was close to that side."

Kitagawa Ryo took a sip of the tea in his cup and then explained:

"Moreover, the situation of the fourth generation is different, because Ayanokouji Atsuomi, the proposer of the White Room project, also chose to put his own son into the facility that year. Whether you call it following the example of the superiors or not, that's how it happened."

"It's hard to accept that the person who did this is still at large."

“They will get their comeuppance, all of them, I can guarantee that.”

"After all, senior was also a victim of the White Room... although he doesn't look like one at all."

After muttering the second half of her thoughts aloud, Tsubaki Sakura couldn't help but glance at Kitagawa Ryo a few more times.

Having learned part of the truth, and as the mystery surrounding her sister gradually dissipated, she found Kitagawa Ryo increasingly mysterious and intriguing.

After all, every person eliminated from the White Room that she had encountered in the past few years was a patient with severe psychological disorders who was completely unable to interact normally with society. But Kitagawa Ryo always acted quite normally, showing no trace of the White Room. However, judging from what he said, the harm he suffered in the White Room was no less than that of his sister.

"Because snow really did heal me."

Kitagawa Ryo calmly gave his answer: the white room was indeed an environment where communication and interaction between people were so scarce that it was outrageous, and everyone's emotional expression was so thin that it was unimaginable. In such a place, Yuki, who could cry and laugh like an ordinary person and chat with him endlessly, provided him with considerable spiritual comfort for a long time.

It must be said that Yuki and Tsubaki Sakura are indeed biological sisters with completely different personalities. The former can spontaneously learn to express and output emotions in a place like the White Room, while the latter, living in an ordinary society, seems to have somewhat indifferent and thin emotions. At least Kitagawa Ryo has hardly ever seen the other smile.

"So, if that's the case, then the senior and the older sister could be considered childhood sweethearts? Although it sounds a bit like it was created."

"If we define it this way, then the vast majority of relationships in the world are artificially created after birth. After all, the traditional childhood sweethearts are just because their parents are familiar with each other and their houses are close to each other. There is no need to dwell on these things."

"Too."

For Tsubaki Sakura, Kitagawa Ryo's decryption chapter did not disappoint her expectations, which had been building up over the years and stemmed from her curiosity. Even after only hearing the opening background introduction, the story and drama were quite satisfying, and she couldn't wait to find out the whole truth.

"After that..."

"It's about time, let's call it a day. I need to meet Xuejian; she asked me out yesterday."

"Oh... Oh."

Watching Kitagawa Ryo's departing figure and the clock hands on the wall that had already passed two hours, Tsubaki Sakura belatedly responded in a low voice.

Let's do it next time then.

She comforted herself in this way.

After all, the other party is her sister's lover.

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"The student council has finally come to a conclusion. The final round of interviews will begin the day after tomorrow. They will not expand recruitment, but they will recruit up to the previous limit, which is four first-year students to join the student council."

As soon as Kitagawa Ryo met Yukimi, she immediately informed him of the student council's announcement. It's worth mentioning that the last person to talk about work as soon as they met was Horikita Suzune, but now that she's become the student council president, she doesn't talk about work anymore, which is quite remarkable.

"Four... I think Xue should still be able to get in."

"Even if they only hire one person, I feel like I'll be the one who gets the job."

"Indeed, speaking of which, have you two had a private conversation since you teamed up with Arisu? Yuki was quite keen to have a private talk with her before."

"No."

Faced with Kitagawa Ryo's probing, Yuki shook her head directly.

"I sense she's been in a bad mood lately, so there's not much to say in this situation. Liang should understand what I mean, right?"

"perhaps."

What Yuki could never let go of was the subtle sense of superiority and pride emanating from Sakayanagi Arisu, which was naturally different from the children from the White Room. However, with Amazawa Ichika's preemptive strike, Arisu was now almost a broken beauty, and her aggressiveness had diminished considerably.

"Before I enrolled, I thought Arisu would still be as smug as ever, but now she seems listless. To be honest, I'm not used to it."

After making this remark, Yuki looked at Kitagawa Ryo again:

"Didn't Ryosuke organize a performance for her at Tokyo Tower and give her a ring?"

"But Yuki also knew that it was a performance in Tokyo. At that time, Arisu and I were both on campus. The same was true for the ring. I wasn't even by her side when I gave it to her."

"Eh—Ryo, you actually did something like this? This doesn't feel like your style at all. Or do you also think that Arisu went too far in some ways?"

"I view Arisu from the same perspective as I view snow."

"...It's that kind of cunning way of putting it again."

Yuki gave Kitagawa Ryo a slightly disgruntled look, then continued walking ahead on her own.

“I’m never the same as Arisu.”

"Different people will always have something in common in terms of certain emotions."

"I don't deny that, because my feelings for Liang and her are similar in that we just happened to be different, even though I didn't want it to be that way."

Having probably discussed this too many times before, Yuki seemed unwilling to continue debating the issue of Sakayanagi Arisu this time, and simply changed the subject:

"Ryo, tell me about Shiina."

"Sunny Day?"

"Yes, the girl from Class 2-C I met last time."

"Is Yuki interested in Hiyori?"

"There's no point in pretending to be stupid about this. Ryo should know my thoughts best."

"Knowing or not knowing is one thing, but agreeing or disagreeing is another."

“…bad intentions.”

After a moment of silence between the two, Kitagawa Ryo finally spoke up again:

"I met Hiyori in the theater troupe, and we became close because of our shared love of reading. There were no thrilling stories, or did Yuki want to hear about the hundreds or thousands of mystery novels we had talked about? We just naturally and simply fell in love with each other."

"Ordinary and taken for granted... that's fine too."

Xue muttered to herself. Actually, she had always wanted to ask whether they could have gotten together in such an ordinary and natural way if they hadn't had their experience in the simulation. But there was no answer to this question from the beginning, because no matter how many times she came, her fate always started from the white room, and the only point of divergence was whether Kitagawa Ryo entered the white room and whether Sakayanagi Arisu took him out.

A white room is destined to be anything but ordinary.