I have a life simulator.

Cheer myself up, and hope that things won't end badly.

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Chapter Twenty-Four: Which Chronicle of Time is the Best?

"Okay, if that's what my sister says, then it is."

Perhaps sensing how much Yuki cared about this issue, Tsubaki Sakurako didn't want to continue arguing with her about it.

"After all, I've never been in a relationship before."

But do children really develop such a clear sense of romantic love?

Instead of voice her question, Tsubaki Sakurako suppressed it in her heart for the time being, but she couldn't help but glance at Kitagawa Ryo on the other side, because from beginning to end, neither of the parties involved in this relationship had expressed their own opinion.

Or is it that the one who is loved is often less perceptive?

Xue was unaware that in such a short time, her younger sister's mind was already racing with countless thoughts. She was like a bloodthirsty giraffe that had found a new audience who had accepted her recommendation and had a pure mind that had never known the relevant plot before. She couldn't wait to get the reactions she wanted from Xue's face and words.

"So, Sakura also thinks this is a more exciting and engaging story than those scripted productions by unscrupulous production teams."

Tsubaki Sakura simply commented calmly:

"After all, a white room sounds very unrealistic. If it were some kind of fantasy world, I feel like you two could both have developed the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"Celebrating the most basic and essential human emotions in a non-realistic worldview has always been a popular theme in literature. But precisely because of this, when it actually happens in reality, everyone will find it to be a unique and incredible experience."

At this point, Tsubaki Sakura nodded gently at Yuki again, and said thoughtfully:

"In that case, I can understand my sister a little better."

"Huh? Really?"

But in response to Tsubaki Sakura's words, Yuki suddenly lost her smile, and her aura became dangerous, even aggressive.

“I don’t want to hear words like ‘empathy’ or ‘understanding’ from Sakurako’s mouth.”

Tsubaki Sakura nodded hesitantly.

This isn't a reaction to having one's most painful experiences touched, or a feeling that anyone who hasn't gone through that period is unworthy of empathy. Rather, it's more like a more extreme emotion.

She has an almost obsessive instinctive defense against not only the past itself, but also the emotions that others show towards that memory.

It's as if everyone just needs to stand outside the dividing line she's drawn, without questioning or denying anything, to appreciate the drama she's directing and starring on screen, and then show the expressions she wants and give the comments she wants to hear.

You cannot question, you cannot doubt, and you cannot even empathize; not a single thing is allowed.

"After that, since I left the white room, she'll have to tell you about the snow herself."

Kitagawa Ryo spoke up at the right time, easing the atmosphere slightly. However, what he said was not untrue. Although he later returned to the white room and saw some of the snow's reaction after he left through Ayanokoji Atsuomi, it was only a fleeting glimpse, and it was what the other party wanted him to see. More inside stories and details really need to be supplemented by the parties involved.

"Hmm...actually, I can't remember it at all."

Seeing the two people who both turned their gazes towards her, Xue herself shook her head in a rare moment of bewilderment:

"I always felt like I was in a daze during that time, and when I thought about it again, I had already been taken away by Liang... to participate in the recording of that variety show."

For Xue, it was the first time she had left the white room and gone out into the world. It was also the first time she had seen a natural scene with the same name as her that she had never seen before, and she truly held the existence of Xue in her own hands.

"Recording a variety show?"

"That's something that happened much later, and it's related to Arisu. I'll tell you about it slowly when I have time later."

Seeing that Xue didn't seem to be deliberately hiding anything, Kitagawa Ryo didn't press the matter further.

"Sakurako, is there anything else you'd like to ask me since you're coming over tonight?"

"I want to hear my sister tell me about what happened in the white room."

After hesitating for a moment, Tsubaki Sakura still gave the same answer.

She knew very well that what Yuki said must be vastly different from the truth of what happened back then, but she did this not to find out more of the truth, but to find the source of the illness from the other person's words and descriptions, and to compare them with what Kitagawa Ryo said.

"Okay, but since it's been a long time, there are some things I don't remember very clearly. But the most important thing is still how I felt back then."

"Sakurako knows that many things are memorable not because you remember every single moment of cause and effect, but because you can still clearly recall your feelings at that moment long afterward. It's a very strange feeling."

As she spoke, Xue unconsciously reached out and clutched the front of her dress, as if trying to comfort herself.

"First and foremost, it has to be my first encounter with Ryo."

As if she felt that words alone were not enough to be intuitive, she quickly stood up, picked up a quilt embroidered with cherry blossom patterns from her bed, raised her chin to signal Kitagawa Ryo to stand up, and then pressed him down under the quilt with her whole body.

"That's about it."

If their past were to be made into a movie, Xue would undoubtedly be the most suitable director, because these scenes have played countless times in her mind over the years, and she has tried countless different angles and filters.

Accidental things are given an air of inevitability.

The unexpected encounter was imbued with a sense of destiny.

What seemed ordinary at the time has now become extraordinary.

In terms of imbuing meaning into things, snow might be the one that excels at it the most.

Hugging and kissing through covers such as blankets or curtains is a common scene in works of art, because it is full of complex emotions that are hard to describe, enough to make viewers and film critics write thousands of words of reviews.

But the truth is sometimes more boring than people imagine.

At least that's how Kitagawa Ryo sees it.

The exaggerated performance is for the audience's benefit.

But for those who experienced it firsthand, it is an outright lie.

He silently felt the weight pressing down on him through the blanket, the softness of the cotton and the warmth of his skin transmitted simultaneously. Combined with Xue's words, it almost made one believe that this was how the two of them first met.

But not really.

At that time, Xue had never hugged him so tightly or for such a long time.

They were just kids who had only known each other for a short time.

Cognitive bias.

Kitagawa Ryo silently added this last detail to his mind for the other person.

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Due to Tsubaki Sakura's unexpected intrusion, the battle plan obtained from Amaze Ichika had to be temporarily shelved. That night turned into a one-man talk show stage for Yuki, and he had to cooperate and perform whenever he felt like it. By the time he came to his senses, it was already very late, and in the end, everyone went home.

As for why Tsubaki Sakurako would come to him at that exact time, Kitagawa Ryo already had a guess.

He did not disturb anyone when he went to Yuki's room, but there was still a way to confirm his exact location without meeting him face to face, which was his terminal communication with Sakayanagi Arisu.

The two were set up as a couple following each other on a fitness app. Originally, the app used two matching fitness rings for location tracking, but after Kitagawa Ryo gave Arisu a ring, Arisu stopped wearing the ring all the time, so the app was changed to use mobile devices for communication.

That is why, theoretically speaking, Sakayanagi Arisu could indeed confirm Kitagawa Ryo's exact location at all times.

It's not surprising that Tsubaki Sakurako got involved with Sakayanagi Arisu, since he enrolled in Tokyo Advanced Educational High School to pursue the truth about what happened to Yuki back then, and the two most important people involved besides Yuki were him and Arisu.

As for the reason why Arisu let Tsubaki Sakurako act that day, that's a matter of opinion, and Kitagawa Ryo didn't intend to ask her directly.

After all, although he didn't make any substantial progress using Amaze Ichika's method, Tsubaki Sakura did manage to get some information for him, so overall it wasn't a complete waste of time.

Let's take it slow from here on out.

For second graders, the most important thing is undoubtedly the special exam that is just around the corner.

On April 30th, the first special exam began on time.

It took almost a whole morning and half an afternoon to finally finish all the exams.

Seemingly to allow students to have a relaxing and enjoyable May Day holiday, Tokyo Advanced Educational High School acted quickly, announcing the results on the very evening the exams were completed.

First, the class ranking based on overall scores:

First place: Class 2D, average score 725.

Second place: Class 2A, average score of 673.

Third place: Class 2B, average score of 642.

Fourth place: Class 2-C, average score of 621.

The rankings were not surprising. Class D, the class with the highest overall academic performance, took the lead. In addition to the reasons why they widened the gap with Class A, Class A students also took the initiative to help a group of first-year students who were not doing well, due to the class's strategy and their own personalities. Class D did not have this consideration. The few students who helped female students in class also received benefits, so their average score was naturally higher.

Class B narrowly lost to Class A, and Class C coming in last was a fact that everyone could have predicted. After all, their partner this time was Class D from the first year. It was already a good performance that the weak alliance managed to keep someone from falling behind and dropping out. Anyway, fourth place wouldn't deduct class points.

After the rankings of each class were determined, the class points for each class also changed accordingly:

Class A, Grade 1: 1263 points (originally 1213 points).

Class 1B: 949 points (formerly 919 points).

Class 1-C: 560 points (formerly 560 points).

Class 1D: 609 points (formerly 509 points).

Thanks to their outstanding performance in this special exam, Class C and Class D of Grade 1 have once again swapped class order. After all, the last time they swapped was a month ago during the special exam at the end of the first year.

The main issue is that their class points have never been significantly different, so it's quite normal for the situation to change after a special exam, with each side trading points. Although it still seems quite tense.

Regarding the individual group rankings, the top three are:

First place, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka & Ishigami Kyo.

Second place: Kitagawa Ryo & Tsubaki Sakurako.

Third place, Sakayanagi Arisu & Tsubaki Yuki.

To be honest, for Kitagawa Ryo, missing out on first place in his group in this special exam was actually within his expectations.

The moment he stepped into the examination hall and received the exam paper, he realized that for him and Kiyotaka Ayanokouji, this supposedly difficult test was actually not difficult enough.

This means that both of them can easily achieve a near-perfect score on the exam paper.

And that is indeed the case. Apart from a few humanities subjects, both of them got full marks in science subjects such as mathematics.

Therefore, the real winner is their respective partners.

Judging from the results, in terms of academic ability, Tsubaki Sakurako is indeed slightly inferior to Ishigami Kyo.

Kitagawa Ryo guessed that this was also related to the fact that she hadn't been focusing on her studies at all recently, but had been listening to short stories with all her might.

However, since the group rankings were not linked to class points but only to individual point rewards, Kitagawa Ryo didn't pay much attention to it and closed the webpage indifferently after glancing at it.

His application to leave the drama club was approved by the student council a few days ago. He will be leaving Tokyo Advanced Educational High School tomorrow during the Golden Week holiday, so he has to pack his things tonight.

As Kitagawa Ryo leisurely packed his belongings and change of clothes into his suitcase in his dormitory room 408, just like when he left school before, the cat lying on the sofa next to him nodded in unison and waved its front paws, seemingly in the same good mood.

After almost a month, it's finally finished!

History books of time... Pshaw.

Director's Cut, in action!

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Telepathic Connection Between Sisters

As one of Japan's longest and most important holidays, Tokyo during Golden Week was undoubtedly more bustling than usual. Looking out through the one-way transparent car window, one could clearly feel the increased flow of people, and the busy roads naturally became more congested. The driver, Sima Kedian, was forced to step on the brakes every few seconds, clicking his tongue in exasperation as he looked at the crowded streets in front of him.

This trip for the drama club was once again supervised by the club's advisor, Sima Kedian, and he was once again traveling in the same car as Kitagawa Ryo. After all, even after a new round of recruitment, Kitagawa Ryo was still the only male member of the drama club, so there was no way to add a new member to the car.

Besides Amasawa Ichika, who had left the drama club and transferred to the student council, the drama club also brought two new members with them on this trip out of school. However, since they had only been enrolled at Dongyu for a month, the two of them were not particularly enthusiastic about leaving school. Tsubaki Sakura was playing on her phone in the corner, while Nanase Tsubasa casually leaned against the last row with her head tilted to the side, as if she had already fallen asleep.

However, for the other members of the drama club, the last time they left school was around Christmas last year, which is more than four months ago. So they all gathered by the car window, looking at the scenery outside and talking to each other in hushed tones.

"Will Fanbo's family come to visit this time?"

Karuizawa Kei gently nudged Ichinose Honami with her elbow and asked in a low voice.

Taking the opportunity to leave school to briefly meet with family is already one of the unspoken understandings among the drama club members, but among them, Ichinose Honami has met with them the most times and for the longest time.

After all, everyone knows what's going on with Amazu Ichika; she's someone they don't even want to see. As for Karuizawa Kei, her parents completely let her be. Anyway, after Karuizawa Kei made a name for herself a few years ago, they realized that their daughter was far more outstanding than them, so they didn't want to interfere. Sakura Airi is in a similar situation. After all, being successful in her career and financially independent makes it easy to gain a certain status and voice at home.

"My sister will probably come, but my mom might not."

Honami Ichinose answered in a similarly low voice.

"Honami's younger sister... Maki should be in her third year of middle school this year, right?"

"Yes, she's the same age as Ying, and they're in the same school and class now."

"Speaking of Hotaru, she should be coming this time, right? After all, school is on holiday."

"She should come over. She always comes back to watch Liang's performance whenever she has time, and after all, the two siblings haven't seen each other for almost half a year."

"I heard from Ichika that Hotaru asked Yuki to bring a letter when she enrolled, and yes, there was also a Valentine's Day chocolate."