I have a life simulator.

Xue had only intended to tease Kitagawa Ryo. After all, she had lived here for almost a month and knew that this cramped place couldn't possibly fit two students. So she quickly gave up, humming a song as she took the shower gel and closed the bathroom door again.

Although the dormitories at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School are single rooms, they are actually quite small because they are fully equipped with a kitchen and bathroom. Two people can barely fit into the kitchen, but at the cost of barely being able to turn around. As for the bathroom, there is no way to fit it in, since it is connected to the toilet and there is really not enough space.

While waiting for Yuki to take a bath, Kitagawa Ryo began to take a look at the room's furnishings. After all, the last time he came here was on the first day of school, and there weren't even the most basic daily necessities in the room.

However, after nearly a month, the different dormitory rooms gradually took on the style and color of their respective owners, and Xue's dormitory was no exception.

If one had to use an adjective to describe her, Kitagawa Ryo would probably choose 'simple and clean'.

At first glance, it looks almost exactly the same as when I first came here. There are hardly any brightly colored decorations. The wallpaper or upholstered beds that are popular in the freshmen dorms are nowhere to be seen. There are no small ornaments or potted plants on the desk either, just a computer.

The only thing that might add a touch of femininity to the room's layout is the bedding. From the quilt to the sheets to the pillows, Xue specially chose cherry blossom patterns for everything, but they were pure white cherry blossoms, like snow. So overall, it was quite plain and you might not even notice it if you didn't look closely.

To be honest, this room inevitably reminded Kitagawa Ryo of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, or rather, the White Room, in every way.

However, unlike the snow, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji couldn't even see the cherry blossoms on the bed, making the whole scene seem even more monotonous.

"Phew—I'm all done washing up."

A short while later, Xue emerged from the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel and steaming hot.

Her hair wasn't very long, just reaching her shoulders, similar to Arisu's now unconsciously growing it longer.

"How was it? Did anyone see you come here?"

"No."

"whispering sound--"

"You seem a little disappointed."

"Yeah, actually I was thinking of letting you make a grand entrance on our floor right after Liang carefully made your way to the eleventh floor."

"...Well, thank you for not doing that."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't mean he didn't want to go public with his relationship with Yuki. After all, some students with excellent memories had already dug up photos from last year's cultural festival on the forum, confidently stating that the two of them had been having an affair for a long time. But the situation for first-year students is different from that for second-year students.

And to be honest, if Kitagawa Ryo were to choose a girl who might actually do something "unbecoming of a high school student" with him, it would definitely be Yuki.

The main reason is that Amaze Ichika has already repented, while Sakayanagi Arisu still retains the reserve of a noble lady, but Yuki has neither.

Just like what Kitagawa Ryo said to Tsubaki Sakura before, the other person has too few anchors of connection in this world, or rather, too few things that she cares about, so she naturally becomes extreme.

"After all, Ryo specifically instructed me to come to my dorm tonight, and I'm also very happy that Ryo is willing to come to my dorm. Well—I don't have any security bars here."

Seeing that Yuki was still upset about what happened on the first day of school, Kitagawa Ryo didn't delve into the topic any further. Instead, he took the towel from her and skillfully started drying her hair.

You know what, he's really quite skilled at this job. After all, it all started when he was taking care of Hotaru. And back then, it wasn't just her hair; he was responsible for his sister's entire life, from the time she basically lost all ability to take care of herself.

"Actually, I've always wanted Ryo to do this for me, but we always meet after dinner and shower, which is a bit of a shame."

Although Amazusa Ichika always felt that she and Yuki each occupied Ryo's day and night during the White Room period, this perception was actually inaccurate, because the time Kitagawa Ryo and Yuki spent together was essentially only the short period of time before falling asleep.

However, it's only natural to envy others for having things that you don't have. After all, Tianze Yixia might be even more eager for the experience of them often ignoring the upper and lower bunks and sleeping together in the later stages of their relationship.

"Then I'll make it up to you now."

After having worked on Horikita Suzune's incredibly long and flowing black hair, which was notoriously difficult to maintain, Kitagawa Ryo was naturally much more adept at handling this medium-length hair. He easily dried, straightened, and combed each strand of hair before stopping with satisfaction.

"The snow in my yard is especially beautiful."

It's probably only when it comes to Amasawa Ichika and Yuki, who both come from the White Room, that Kitagawa Ryo could so naturally offer such straightforward praise, almost like coaxing a child.

As the longest simulation in terms of time span and the most recent one, the profound impact of the last simulation was not limited to the three female participants; Kitagawa Ryo, of course, also retained some of his habits.

"Uh-huh."

Yuki was clearly pleased with Kitagawa Ryo's praise, her smile was especially bright. Their relationship originally started with these compliments. The more emotional and sensitive a person is, the easier it is for them to get positive or negative feedback from the words of others.

After realizing that Yuki might not be the quiet and indifferent girl he had previously imagined, Kitagawa Ryo began to try to adjust his way of getting along with her, trying to replicate some of the habits he had only used on Amasawa Ichika.

So far, the effect seems to be quite good.

In any case, Tianze Yixia's success story proves to him that children who are absolutely self-centered may be easier to manage and satisfy.

So, for Yuki, a girl with both a childlike inclination to act spoiled towards him and a maternal instinct to act spoiled towards him, Kitagawa Ryo is trying to first try to evoke the former side of her.

At least it's cuter this way.

After all, Kitagawa Ryo felt that even if he really wanted to seek that kind of older sister feeling, he should either seek it from a real senior like Asahina Nagisa, or from Honami, or at the very least, from a certain Miss Alice.

However, Kitagawa Ryo really had no such thoughts about Yuki.

Because they met too early and were both too young, it was unlikely that Kitagawa Ryo would develop such feelings of dependence on a child who was only a few years old.

So the truth is that, for the vast majority of the time, Xue never fulfilled the so-called 'cotton mother' duties competently.

As for why Yuki herself stubbornly held such an idea, one reason was the persistent, day-and-night indoctrination and brainwashing from the White Room. Another reason was that Kitagawa Ryo himself was also completely ravaged by drugs later on, which objectively gave him the idea that "he is very weak and I should take good care of him."

From this perspective, Tianze Yixia's suggestion is not entirely without merit.

He needs to regain control first.

And then again, how can dominance in that area not be considered dominance?

According to Tianze Yixia, some men can be brought to the point of awakening their inner femininity through sexual stimulation, so what he's going to do tonight is—

"Dong dong dong..."

There was a knock on the door.

Chapter Twenty-Three: The First Stage of Talk Therapy

The moment he heard the knock on the door, Kitagawa Ryo instinctively looked at Yuki, unsure if this was also part of the other party's plan. Yuki herself also looked bewildered, not knowing who the visitor was, and gently shook her head at his questioning gaze, indicating that she didn't know either.

"Who?"

After hesitating for a moment, Xue still chose to walk to her door. Instead of opening the door immediately, she asked the person outside the door with a puzzled look.

"It's me, sister."

The familiar voice from outside the door made the two people inside the room breathe a sigh of relief. However, Xue still didn't open the door for her younger sister outside, but continued to ask through the door:

"Is there something you need so late?"

"Um... I have something I'd like to talk to my sister about, because I recently heard some things about her from the minister."

Facing the snow that turned its head to look at him, Kitagawa Ryo nodded without changing his expression, indicating that he had indeed talked to Tsubaki Sakurako about some things from their past recently.

"But I'm a little tired tonight, maybe next time."

Feigning a tired yawn, Yuki politely declined her sister's request to meet, but immediately heard Tsubaki Sakura outside the door speak again:

"But I just saw Minister Kitagawa come into my sister's room."

"……Forehead."

Upon hearing this, Xue rolled her eyes at Kitagawa Ryo with some dissatisfaction. After all, he had just said that he had not been discovered by anyone along the way, but he was immediately caught red-handed by his own sister.

But Kitagawa Ryo himself was also innocent. He had been extremely vigilant the whole way and was certain that he had not contacted any outsiders at all, let alone been noticed by anyone. Although Tsubaki Sakura also lived in this first-year dormitory building, she shouldn't have been able to see him.

However, since the truth had already been discovered, there was no point in hiding it anymore. Besides, they were family, and the other party wouldn't take the initiative to talk about it outside. So Xue had no choice but to open the door and pull in Tsubaki Sakura, who was waiting outside.

"Sister, and the minister."

As soon as Tsubaki Sakura entered, she greeted the two of them naturally. Today, she wasn't chewing a lollipop, but rather seemed to be chewing gum.

It's not so noticeable when they're wearing school uniforms, but seeing the two sisters in casual home clothes today reveals their distinct tastes and styles. The younger sister's style is more in line with her high school age, appearing youthful and vibrant with a wider range of colors, although her facial expressions are still less expressive.

"Come and sit."

Because of his sister-in-law's sudden intrusion, Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to temporarily abandon the certain colorful ideas that Amasawa Ichika had implanted in his brain and take the initiative to invite her to sit on the sofa in the living room.

"Ok."

Although she usually gives people the impression of being unapproachable in class, and completely ignores students who come up to talk to her after learning that she has joined the drama club, Tsubaki Sakurako's attitude towards Kitagawa Ryo and Yuki is still very good, except that the latter is as always, while the former has only recently started to be friendly.

"Did Ryo tell you everything about me and him? Why didn't Sakura usually tell me about this?"

"I deliberately told Sakura not to tell you."

Faced with Yuki's doubts, Kitagawa Ryo preemptively explained:

"Because I wanted Sakura to hear the whole thing first, and then if Yuki wanted to say something more, she could say it from your perspective. This would make it easier for her to truly understand the whole picture of the event. Otherwise, if we just keep talking back and forth, it can easily cause confusion. After all, even if it's the same thing, we can look at it from different angles and stand on different sides."

Despite explaining all that, it can be summed up in one sentence: Kitagawa Ryo has no doubt about Yuki's ability to chronicle the history of time.

However, calling it a history book isn't entirely accurate, because for many patients who have suffered significant psychological trauma, the process of gradually beautifying past hurtful memories over time has always been a form of therapy.

They can't forget, so they can only resort to this self-deception, using their mind to fool their body, and their soul to fool their body.

Kitagawa Ryo once read the autobiography of a female victim who had suffered long-term sexual abuse and abuse during home tutoring, which contained the following sentence:

"I've figured out the only solution: I can't just like my teacher, I have to love him. You can do anything for the person you love, right? What a wonderful thing thought is! I'm a counterfeit of my former self. I have to love my teacher, otherwise I'll be in too much pain."

It's hard to say that Xue's mentality doesn't align with this, because judging from their daily interactions, the other party does have this tendency.

The outside world might just be a bigger white room in her eyes, but it's far too big and there are far too many people. All she wanted in the beginning was a white room where they could have a little more freedom, better treatment, and no one would get hurt.

I want freedom, but I only want a little bit.

"I see, that makes sense. Sakura, what did you hear?"

"It's roughly the part where Sakayanagi-senpai enters the white room and the club president leaves the white room."

"Hmm... this can be considered a wrap-up. Speaking of which, it took Liang several days to finish telling you this story?"

"It's been about ten days, one to two hours each day."

"That's more like it. After all, it would be too vague to summarize those years in just a few words."

Xue nodded contentedly upon hearing this.

"I know Sakurako has always been curious about my past. So, Sakurako-san, what are your thoughts after listening to the first part?"

When she asked this question, she sounded almost like a reporter interviewing a casual viewer who had just watched a variety show, her tone full of eagerness and anticipation.

"Just like I expected?"

"For example, my sister and the minister have known each other for a long time, but I really didn't expect that you two would be roommates who share a bunk bed in the same dormitory."

"There's already a bedmate on the other side?"

"This word sounds like you made it up on the spot."

"Because there really isn't a suitable description."

"My lover, my lover."

"Does anyone really think that a child of a few years old would have this kind of romantic awareness? At most, it's just a vague stage of liking someone."

Faced with Tsubaki Sakura's doubts, Yuki stubbornly insisted:

"certainly not."

"There is."

"That's when I fell in love with Ryo."

Bonus Chapter: The Most Yandere Episode

Important Notes Before Reading: This chapter is the third epilogue to the second simulation by Sakayanagi Arisu, which is also the epilogue to the last simulation. It is a story that takes place on the same timeline as the first epilogue, "The Two Rabbit Chaser," and the second epilogue, "About Children." However, this chapter will be told from Yuki's perspective. It also serves to supplement the story that took place during that simulation and on the extended timeline of that world, so that readers can better understand the characters' mental journey and actual actions in the past, present, and future.

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If it can still be used even when it's dirty, then it's better to use a colored one from the start.

White must be pure white.

——"Heart", Natsume Soseki

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The White Room was completely shut down, all related materials were destroyed, and its head, Atsuomi Ayanokouji, was dismissed, investigated, and eventually committed suicide to atone for his sins. All of this was undoubtedly the best news for victims of the White Room project like Yuki, because it meant that no other children would become test subjects like her and fall into the same tragic fate.

Those children were saved because of this.

But at the same time, the white room of the past could never be erased or forgotten in her heart.

On the contrary, she wanted to engrave it even more firmly in the deepest part of her memory, into her blood and marrow.

This was to save herself.

The white room was both a misfortune and a blessing for her, representing both shattered innocence and endless possibilities.

Therefore, Xue had recalled more than once the scene when she went to see Suzuki Kagetsugi, the researcher in the White Room.

Looking back now, her questioning that day seems too little, and her punches too light. After all, how could others know her true feelings if she didn't cry loudly or show any sadness?