I have a life simulator.

"Who told you that?"

Seemingly realizing that continuing this back-and-forth questioning wouldn't yield an answer anytime soon, Hotaru proactively made a pause gesture and spoke first:

“I was told this by my seniors, Sakayanagi and Amasawa.”

"I guessed it myself."

They finally managed to change the subject, but then they both said the same thing in unison:

So, is my guess actually true?

"So, do you really like my brother?"

Hotaru quickly made a pause gesture again, then gestured with her chin towards Tsubaki Sakura:

"I asked the last question first, so you go first this time."

"……I have no idea."

Tsubaki Sakura shook her head honestly:

"If my sister's feelings for Ryo-senpai are what you call liking, then mine are definitely not."

Compared to Tsubaki Sakura, who said nothing at all, Hotaru readily admitted:

"I definitely am."

Then, she let out a long sigh:

"It's so much easier to say it out loud—there are so many people in this world, whether on the internet or in real life, who I don't even know, who can casually say things like 'I like Ryo!' 'I've always liked Ryo and I'll continue to like her in the future,' but when it comes to saying it myself, I can never seem to do it. Isn't that strange?"

“I couldn’t tell the difference before, but now I can tell the difference.”

"Is it really harder to ascertain your identity than I am?"

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

PS2: I saw that another fanfiction about the "Real Classroom" series on this site has been completed. Mine should be finished soon too.

Chapter 51: Remember to bring Ying back

Just as Kitagawa Ryo left the backstage dressing room, wondering if his sister and Tsubaki Sakura had gone the way of the back door, a pure white figure suddenly darted past him. The figure ostentatiously visited each dressing room, and then, amidst the exclamations of the school staff, began to swagger away.

"Why are there cats here?"

"Is it a stray cat from school?"

"No, it's the one that Ms. Chabashira from the second grade lost a few days ago! I've looked at the photo countless times, there's no way I could be mistaken. So it was hidden here? Let's catch it!"

Before Kitagawa Ryo could react, several staff members excitedly gathered from all directions and began chasing the suddenly appearing kitten down the corridor.

Ever since Chabashira Sae publicly posted a missing cat notice to the entire faculty and staff at the Valentine's Day matchmaking event, countless male teachers at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School have been thinking about a cat day and night, all hoping to become the savior who can help Chabashira Sae find her lost cat.

But three months have passed, and apart from occasional eyewitness testimonies from a few students and a few fleeting glimpses of pure white figures on the surveillance footage that prove the cat's existence, the faculty and staff who were eager to find it haven't even been able to find a single cat hair. Now that they have finally discovered the cat's exact whereabouts, they are naturally putting all their efforts into chasing after Ying in the direction she fled.

Without a doubt, this was yet another unexpected and unforeseen event that Ying had not discussed with him beforehand.

Kitagawa Ryo used Chabashira Sae's words to give Hotaru a barely legal identity, and also to appease her. But this did not mean that Hotaru had really obtained a get-out-of-jail-free card and could move freely in the school area. If she was caught, she would definitely be escorted back.

As for where she will be escorted back, it will definitely be to her current nominal master, Chabashira Sae.

To be honest, Kitagawa Ryo doesn't want to get involved with the other party anymore. After all, Chabashira Sae's mental state is not exactly healthy. She's like a hidden dragon and a phoenix chick, and she might just put on a classic scene like "You don't want your kitten back either, do you?" for him.

Thinking of this, Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to put aside his sister's affairs for the time being. After all, the cat-like Hotaru was much more capable of causing trouble than his sister Hotaru. In fact, it was more accurate to say that the latter's current state was largely due to the former's guidance, as the Valentine's Day letter was still stamped with her cat paw for verification.

As Kitagawa Ryotō turned and rushed out with the crowd, he could see that the group chasing the cat on campus had expanded again, now numbering five or six people.

Just as the kitten was about to run and jump into the grove of trees by the roadside, two teachers who thought they wouldn't get the credit for finding the cat started calling Chabashira Sae. One reason was to contribute the credit of tipping them off, and the other was that perhaps their large group of strangers had frightened the cat, and only Chabashira Sae, its owner, could capture it easily if she came over herself.

As luck would have it, Chashu Sae was actually located near the Great Hall.

She wasn't an advisor for any club, so today was a day off. As she wandered around campus, she unconsciously thought of Kitagawa Ryo's drama club, which seemed to be performing here today. Subconsciously, she drifted over here and watched the drama club's performance from a corner of the audience. Just as she came out, her phone rang. Text messages and calls were all informing her that the cat had been found and that she should come to the auditorium to claim it.

After wandering around in a bit of a daze, Chabashira Sae happened to stumble upon a group of people performing a chaotic performance art piece on a tree inside, while on the treetop, a small cat sat there looking extremely smug.

"Chabashira-sensei is here."

"Make way for Ms. Chabashira—let her call the cat down."

"Tea Pillar Teacher, actually, I was the first one to spot this cat because I have sharp eyes."

Upon seeing Chabashira Sae arrive, the group made way for her, some of the more eager ones already trying to curry favor, all wanting to show off in front of this rare and beautiful teacher at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School.

However, Chabashira Sae herself was a little scared. Only after she actually got there did she belatedly realize that she regretted it. After all, she didn't know the cat at all, and she was never the owner of the cat.

...If you can't get them to come down on your own in a little while, then you can only make excuses by saying that the other person has been running away for three months and has become wild.

Just as Chabashira Sae approached the tree with some trepidation, she suddenly caught sight of Kitagawa Ryo, who was among the crowd that had gathered nearby to watch the commotion. Their eyes met briefly in the air, and he nodded at her, as if to indicate that everything was alright.

Once she had settled down again, Chabashira Sae awkwardly called out the kitten's name, "Hotaru," twice. She tried her best to act like her owner and waved her hand at her in the treetop. The kitten twitched its ears, its fluorescent pupils darted around, and then it lightly jumped down from the tree, landing directly on Chabashira Sae's chest.

In that instant, the kitten felt a tremendous squeezing force that was no less than, and perhaps even slightly greater than, that of Ichinose Honami, prompting her to quickly pull her head out and breathe in some fresh air.

"Even though it was lost for three months, it's still so close to Chabashira-sensei. It seems that Chabashira-sensei took good care of it in the past. I'm also planning to get a cat recently. I wonder if Chabashira-sensei would be willing to share some of his experience in this regard?"

"Get lost! Your dorm is so filthy and you still keep a cat. Teacher Chazhu, let me tell you, when that cat suddenly darted out of the auditorium, I was the first to spot it, and I was the first to call you."

Seeing that the scene was about to turn into a large-scale courtship event, Chabashira Sae felt a chill run down her spine. She quickly picked up the well-behaved kitten in her arms and politely waved her hand, saying:

"Everyone helped in finding Ying. Thank you all so much for your help during this time. But since the kitten has been missing for three months, I need to take it to the clinic to check if it has any parasites or other diseases."

After saying that, Chabashira Sae quickly left with the kitten in her arms, and as she left, she gave Kitagawa Ryo a wink, indicating that it was not convenient to communicate with him now because there were too many people around, and that they should arrange another time later.

Watching Chabashira Sae casually carry Hotaru away, and Hotaru obediently being carried away by Chabashira Sae, Kitagawa Ryo could only shake his head, feeling completely baffled as to why his little cat had put on such a show.

She wouldn't actually want to see a scene like, "You don't want your cat to get into trouble here either, do you...?"

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

"I'm back, huh? Where's my brother?"

Meanwhile, after reaching a somewhat subtle consensus with Tsubaki Sakura, or rather, after giving her courage by example and pointing out the way for her, Hotaru returned to the backstage dressing room with her, only to find that Kitagawa Ryo was nowhere to be seen.

"The minister just went out to chase after you. Didn't you run into him?"

"They've gone after us?"

Hotaru didn't react much to this, since she had already done it on Valentine's Day. On the contrary, Tsubaki Sakura was startled and her expression changed slightly. After all, she wasn't ready for this yet, or rather, she hadn't even confirmed her true feelings.

"Yeah, but judging from your expressions, you probably didn't run into them. There were a lot of people shouting 'cat, cat' outside just now. I guess the minister went to join in the fun."

Seeing that Tsubaki Sakurako's expression and behavior were normal, Nanase Tsubasa finally felt relieved and casually made a hypothetical statement for Kitagawa Ryo.

As one of only two girls in the room unaware of Hotaru's existence, Tsubaki Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in acceptance of the assumption. After all, watching the spectacle of a cat was much more acceptable than actually following behind them and overhearing their entire conversation.

"By the way, have the results of this special exam come out yet?"

"Well, the judges have just given their scores, and it's a bit of a pity."

This time, it was Karuizawa Megumi who answered Tsubaki Sakurako. Her tone was deliberately casual, as if she wanted to gloss over the failure and not put too much psychological pressure on her two juniors.

However, perhaps Hotaru's private conversation earlier really worked, as the tense atmosphere around Tsubaki Sakura eased considerably, and she apologized very sincerely:

"Yes, I know. I performed terribly this time. I will continue to practice hard."

"I am me too."

Of course, Nanase Tsubasa wouldn't let Tsubaki Sakura take all the blame for the failure alone, so she quickly chimed in with a couple of lines, essentially turning the page on this special drama club exam.

At this moment, Kitagawa Ryo finally returned to the lounge, belatedly explaining where he had been, and then nodded to Hotaru:

"I need to go to the infirmary in a bit. I'll have Hui and Airi accompany you to explore other places."

"Okay, brother, go do your own thing."

Ying nodded understandingly upon hearing this, and then waved at him again:

"Remember to bring Hotaru back—"

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

Let's organize the outline of the last part.

There should only be two or three major plot segments left. However, as long-time readers know, each major plot segment in my book is particularly long, and it's also a major summer exam (emphasis added), so there should still be a lot of content. The final version should be around 3.5 million words, which is roughly one of the two longest fanfictions in the "Classroom of the Three Kingdoms" genre.

Thank you all for your continued reading and support. If all goes well, we will be able to witness the end of this story together in the first half of this year.

Chapter 52: Farewell, the Whole Audience Responds

"Huh? So Hotaru knew about Hotaru?"

Although the sentence was quite awkward and difficult to understand for Nanase Tsubasa and Tsubaki Sakurako who were completely unaware of it, Karuizawa Megumi still subconsciously asked Hotaru in surprise after Kitagawa Ryo left.

"I know."

Ying answered casually.

"...So this is how nonchalant the younger sister's reaction was when she found out that her older brother had named the cat after her?"

"Should I now make a disgusted face and drawl out 'disgusting—'?"

Hotaru tilted her head in confusion. She and Hotaru were originally one, so they should naturally share the same name.

"Um—excuse me for interrupting, although this is a bit sudden, could you please explain a little?"

Nanase Tsubasa, standing nearby, raised her right hand:

"I just checked the school forum, but the cat that the minister mentioned that went missing and was found should be the one cared for by the teacher of Class 2-C, Chabashira, right?"

"That's a cat that my brother is fostering... no, I should say it's nominally fostering at her place. After all, Tokyo Advanced Educational High School's rules prohibit students from keeping pets, but there's no such restriction for faculty and staff."

"I see. So the minister has been secretly keeping a cat in his dorm room?"

"That's right, but you probably haven't been to my brother's room yet, so it's normal that you don't know."

"Can we go next time? (Referring to the cats)."

"This reason has definitely been used by others before, so it's a no-go. Besides, we don't even know if Ryo can get Hotaru back."

It was Karuizawa Megumi who initiated the defensive counterattack. Whether it was the earlier incident where she deliberately revealed the information about Neko-neko Hotaru, or now, she was testing her sister's thoughts and observing her reaction.

"Indeed, Hotaru must have had her reasons for sneaking out this time."

"It sounds like you're talking to a human being..."

"Well, after all, Hotaru has always been a very clever little cat... otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to stay obediently in Dongyu until now without being discovered by anyone else, right?"

Feeling that the deeper the conversation went on about this topic, the more information would be revealed, Ying quickly changed the subject, waving her camera in her hand:

"It's almost noon, let's go have lunch first. The food at Dongyu School's cafeteria should be much better than ours! Looking forward to it!"

"The cafeteria, huh? I haven't eaten there in a while. Let's go, I'll treat you to the most expensive deluxe set meal! Tsubaki and Nanase too, you've both worked hard this morning, so I'll treat you to lunch today."

"Let's invite them both together. After all, I'm considered a senior. By the way, can I see Ying's camera? I want to see the results of the photos taken this morning."

"Well, here you go."

As she spoke, Sakura Airi reached out and took the camera Hotaru handed her, beginning to examine the photos and videos inside with practiced ease.

"Could you send me a copy of all of them later? Many of them are quite good. I'll do some minor post-processing and then send them to the parties involved."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Hotaru herself knew that compared to herself, who knew nothing about this, Sakura Airi was undoubtedly more experienced, so she readily agreed, but still gave one more piece of advice:

"Especially that photo of me and my brother, please, I want to use it as my phone or computer wallpaper later."

"Speaking of wallpapers, I remember that Fanbo's phone wallpaper is also a photo of him and Ryo. Speaking of which, did Hotaru see her and Maki when she went out just now?"

"They're still over on the field, but the competition should be over by now. Should I send them a message and ask them to come to the cafeteria for lunch?"

"Then I'll send it."

Sakura Airi received a reply to her message shortly after it was sent.

"Let me see... Fanbo said it's not possible for the time being."

"What's wrong? The competition isn't over yet? Track and field events can't drag on longer than our drama club, can they? Or do you need to do activities with the club members?"

"neither."

Sakura Airi shook her head, then read aloud Ichinose Honami's reply: