I have a life simulator.

It was Kitagawa Ryo, whom she had just thought was still in Hokkaido.

"Fan Bo."

Upon seeing Honami Ichinose, Ryo Kitagawa, who had been leaning slightly against the door, raised his hand and called her name.

It had been almost a month since I last saw her, and I could clearly sense that the girl in front of me had a different aura than before. This was not due to the professional attire she was wearing, but rather a genuine change in spirit and energy emanating from Ichinose Honami, completely different from her previous self.

"Ryo is back from Hokkaido?"

Upon seeing Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami was momentarily stunned, but she quickly ran over, unlocked her door, pushed him inside, and then followed him in.

"Yes, my flight was this morning, and I haven't even been in Tokyo for two hours yet."

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo rubbed his temples wearily. He could only say that the Hokkaido story was essentially an enhanced version of last year's cruise ship story. If he had known, he would have preferred to stay in Tokyo and be researched by Shiina Hiyori. At most, he could have added Karuizawa Megumi as well. The bond between the three members of the last simulated hospital riot was indeed more than the sum of its parts.

"Let's not talk about that. How's Fanbo doing here?"

"It's great. My seniors and superiors take good care of me. I guess Liang deserves some credit for that. In essence, I'm just taking advantage of their influence."

“Fanbo, you don’t need to say that. Before I came to find you, I specifically asked around the company. Everyone had a good opinion of your work attitude and ability. In fact, as an intern, you have done a great job. Most of the interns at Dongyu are still at the stage where they consider it a victory if they don’t cause trouble for the company.”

"But it feels like it's still far from being at a professional level."

"Fanbo is only a second-year high school student now. After this special exam is over and he returns to school, he can find some books on this subject to study, or he can pursue further studies in a related major at university after graduation."

Kitagawa Ryo was well aware of the reason why Ichinose Honami suddenly showed such a high level of interest in this industry, and of course he wholeheartedly supported her. After all, just as the other party thought, when it came to money, he was naturally willing to appoint his most trusted person or confidant. Rather than saying that Ichinose Honami was willing to take the initiative to take over this matter, it was to relieve his worries.

"That will have to wait for several years."

"No matter how many years later, the company will always reserve this position for Fanbo. And it's not just Fanbo; I also have to follow my family's arrangements and take over various tasks step by step. So there's no need to worry about anyone falling behind anyone else; our pace is always in sync."

Reality is not like what is shown in TV dramas. Of course, Kitagawa Ryo could not tell his family directly that he had already trained for more than ten years in his previous life. The training of heirs by large conglomerates is a rather long process.

It is precisely because of this that the three years spent at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School can be said to be the last period of time that Kitagawa Ryo could freely control in the next ten years or so. It can only be said that since he inherited the convenience brought by that talent, the corresponding responsibilities and sacrifices were also unavoidable.

"Ah."

For any girl, it would be hard to resist a moment to plan for the future with her sweetheart. This was especially true for Honami Ichinose, because for a long time, she had sadly believed that their future would be like two parallel lines that would drift further and further apart and never intersect, with no possibility of ever meeting.

Then, the two of them sat together on the dormitory bed. Ichinose Honami leaned back against Kitagawa Ryo's chest, tilting her head slightly up to look at him with a rare playful expression, and asked him:

"Isn't Liang worried that it might be a bit unsafe for someone like me, who has a history of theft, to work in the finance field?"

“Fanbo isn’t anyone’s accountant or housekeeper. From now on, he’ll be my accountant and housekeeper. So what’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine. There’s no need to do this kind of left-hand-to-right-hand thing.”

"On the contrary, I'm afraid that Fanbo will be stingy with himself as before."

"mean?"

"Yeah, even stealing wasn't for himself but because of his sister's stinginess. No one in this world can be nice to another person all the time, so sometimes you have to learn to be nicer to yourself."

"But if I never learn it in my entire life, does that mean Liang has to obediently learn to be good to me every moment for the rest of his life?"

"Even if Honami doesn't do it this way, I will still try my best, so I will try my best to learn it."

The peach-pink hair clip is engraved with an exquisitely crafted mythical bird with outstretched wings, its tail feathers trailing waves of gradually changing crimson flames.

As he spoke, Kitagawa Ryo took out a gift from his pocket that he had specially brought back from Hokkaido for Ichinose Honami.

It remains a small and exquisite hair clip.

In fact, he had given Ichinose Honami a phoenix-patterned hair clip several years ago, but she never wore it for the next two years until she finally resolved her inner conflict and was willing to wear it.

Even the prettiest girl needs to learn how to dress herself up, just like even the most beautiful jewelry needs to be worn in different ways, right?

Kitagawa Ryo gently removed the hair clip that Ichinose Honami was still wearing, the one he had given her years ago, which bore the marks of time, and handed it to her. Kitagawa Ryo then reached out and grasped the girl's long, golden-pink hair that was scattered across his chest, and pinned this brand-new snowflake-shaped hair clip to her.

Honami Ichinose quietly let Ryo Kitagawa do these things, her eyes fixed on the hair clip that had been replaced in her hand, seemingly lost in thought.

She used to think that even the prettiest hair clip only came alive when it was worn; once it was taken off, it became a mosquito's blood, a dull and lifeless red.

But now it seems that's not the case. What can truly bring an inanimate object to life is the memories and emotions condensed on it, just like the hair clip she's holding tightly in her palm right now.

It will be, and should be, one of the memories, not the only one.

The former is used for commemoration, while the latter can only be used for mourning.

Even ten or twenty years later, when her child finds it again at the bottom of the dressing case, she should still be able to smile and tell them:

This is the hair clip that Mom and Dad liked to wear most when they were dating.

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

PS2: Tomorrow I will post the last chapter of the main story, followed by the epilogue and side stories.

Final Chapter: Our Beginning and End

Without a doubt, Ayanokoji Atsuomi was a cautious person, especially when it came to his own safety.

After all, when he first joined Naoe's ranks, he did some shady things for him, such as introducing underage girls, bribing officials, and conducting espionage activities against rival organizations. Naturally, he sometimes resorted to mafia-style and semi-thuggish violence. Many of his victims died directly or indirectly at Naoe's hands, and quite a few were even sealed in cement and sunk into Tokyo Bay.

Unless it's a situation like at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School where bodyguards are explicitly prohibited, Ayanokoji Atsuomi always brings his trusted bodyguards with him whenever he goes out, even in the white room under his complete control.

Even so, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was still confident that he could put in the effort to subdue his bodyguards on the spot, after all, he had done it once before in the White Room.

But the risks of doing so are undoubtedly high.

Firstly, Ayanokouji Atsuomi would never be foolish enough to sit idly by and watch his bodyguards surrender after being subdued by him. This man would immediately get up and run away the moment he sensed something was wrong, and given his cautious nature, he would never give him another chance if he missed this opportunity.

Secondly, this does not meet the expectations of the other forces that he and Tsukishiro Tsuneo had painstakingly won over. After all, what they wanted was to make things bigger. Ayanokouji Atsuomi's life was even insignificant in the eyes of some of them. What was more important was how to spread the fire to the person behind him.

Finally, and most importantly, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka did not actually want to achieve a one-for-one exchange with Ayanokoji Atsuomi.

After all, his initial intention in wanting to kill the other party was to break free from his control and freely explore and experience the rest of his life. If it was only to pursue the result of killing the other party, then it would be putting the cart before the horse.

It was precisely because of all of the above that Kiyotaka Ayanokouji ultimately turned his attention to Masaru Nagumo.

In a sense, Nagumo Masaru now is no different from Ayanokouji Atsuomi back then. Both of them are willing to abandon their past survival principles and their past concepts of good and evil in order to get a little bit of power. They are the easiest people to use.

During this month-long special exam period, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji had Masaru Nagumo do two things.

First, they would stake out the locations where various politicians were giving street speeches and instruct them to appear extremely enthusiastic and interested in the ideas and thoughts of the Oni Island faction politicians when they were giving speeches, while showing extreme indifference or even harassment towards Naoe's people.

Secondly, it was what Nan Yunya considered a 'loyalty test' or a pledge of allegiance.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji wants him to withdraw from Tokyo Advanced Educational High School on his own initiative.

In fact, this was exactly what Nangumo Masaru had been hoping for. After all, Dongyu was just a place for children to play house in his eyes, not to mention that he had always been ostracized there. Now that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had ordered him to drop out of school, didn't this show that he and his father, that really important person, Ayanokouji Atsuomi, were really determined to have him work for them?

As expected, after deliberately provoking trouble at the university where she was auditing classes, Nagumo Masaru, who seriously violated the rules set by Tokyo Advanced Educational High School for this special examination, was successfully expelled.

When he secretly approached Ayanokouji Kiyotaka again after receiving this pledge of loyalty, Kiyotaka, quite seriously, finally discussed with him the real plan that he, his father, and Naoe had jointly devised after receiving these instructions.

"At this time tomorrow, my father will be campaigning for the candidate in the House of Councillors election in this constituency, Kamogawa, at this station square."

“All you need to do is pretend to be an audience member at a street speech, then blend into the crowd with this, and shoot your father after he takes the stage.”

As he spoke, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji took out the crudely made homemade gun that he had originally kept in the package and pushed it in front of Masami Nagumo.

"Is this supposed to be a staged assassination scene? That's why I was made to deliberately show my political leanings towards the Oni Island faction before."

Nan Yunya's mind was indeed quite sharp. She subconsciously voiced her guess while unconsciously swallowing hard, and reached out to grab the homemade gun.

Is this a prop?

"It's not entirely a prop, but it's the most suitable assassination tool for your identity. Although we can provide you with real controlled firearms, the others aren't stupid. They'll definitely think first of how a high school senior like you could get your hands on such a thing, and their attention will be diverted."

At this point, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji tapped the homemade gun, which resembled a camera, again:

"But you don't need to worry. The bullets inside are specially made. Even if they are fired at close range of three to five meters, there is no possibility of death from a hit. Besides, Father was wearing a special bulletproof vest under his shirt that day."

"Are you taking such a huge risk just to pin the blame on the Oni Island faction?"

"Of course not. This is also for our side, especially for Father's positive publicity. To be honest, Father asked a lot of people for help in order to get this spot for the show."

Faced with Nagumo Masayuki's question, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka simply shook his head, then pulled up a photo on his phone and showed it to Nagumo Masayuki.

That was during the American election last year on the other side of the ocean. A candidate was assassinated at a speech. After being shot in the ear and bleeding, he was surrounded by bodyguards who rushed to protect him. However, he still raised his right hand as if to shout, with the American flag half-fallen behind him. The scene was coincidentally captured by a photographer at the scene and played a wide role in the publicity of the subsequent election.

"You should understand now, right? This is the effect Father wanted."

Regardless of whether the assassination attempt on the other side of the ocean was real or not, there is no doubt that Ayanokoji Atsuomi intends to replicate it in a similar manner.

"There were photographers nearby who had already found the best positions and angles, so all you had to do was get close and shoot."

"...But I'll be arrested on the spot, won't I?"

Although she understood what Ayanokouji Kiyotaka meant, Nagumo Masaru was still clearly a little hesitant and uneasy about this matter.

"Yes, you will be apprehended on the spot by your father's bodyguards and arrested, but in fact there will be no real danger. After all, firstly, you can only be considered an attempted assassination, and secondly, neither our side nor the Ghost Island side will dare to make any rash moves against you. So the final result will be a few years in prison."

"Of course, we have also prepared a backup plan for you, but listen carefully, this is only for your sake, and has nothing to do with other people from Naoe."

It must be said that Kiyotaka Ayanokouji has a remarkable talent for imitating aura and eye expressions. After all, he is a stoic person with little expression, and he can easily give people a sense of suffocating pressure by just slightly changing his eyes.

"When you give your testimony at the police station and in court, you can put more thought into your motives and try to gain public sympathy in exchange for a reduced sentence or a lighter punishment. I have prepared these materials for you. What you need to do today is to write them down as much as possible and then reasonably incorporate them into your own story."

Faced with the several pieces of dark history involving certain figures handed to him by Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, Nagumo Masa broke out in a cold sweat again, sensing that the Ayanokouji father and son intended to use this opportunity to settle personal scores and bring down a few competitors.

But the more he schemed and plotted, the more real Nan Yunya felt about the matter, even experiencing a strong sense of excitement that gave him goosebumps—the feeling that he was about to participate in something that some people could never experience in their entire lives.

“We will also ask someone to contact the best lawyers for you. If all goes well, you can be out in about three or four years, which is about the length of a university degree.”

Faced with Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's rather suggestive remarks, Nagumo Masaru quickly made up her mind.

He was certainly willing to gamble three or four years for a brighter future. After all, as the other party said, it was just the time it takes to attend university. When he and his peers who had just graduated from university entered society again in three or four years, he would already have a significant head start.

After briefly instructing Nagumo Masami on firing and aiming techniques, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka put the weapon away again.

"Someone will bring it to you tomorrow at noon, since it's not convenient for you to keep it at home now."

"it is good."

After explaining everything and seeing off Nanami Aya, who had checked him before he arrived, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka sat back down in his seat and subconsciously took out his phone from his pocket.

For a fleeting moment, he did have a strong urge to call or text Kitagawa Ryo, but he managed to suppress it.

It is precisely at such sensitive moments that we must pay extra attention to all our interactions with the other party.

But for Kiyotaka Ayanokoji at this moment, Ryo Kitagawa was indeed the only one who truly knew what he was thinking and what he was doing, and with whom he could talk about anything.

Perhaps this is what they call friends, as described in books.

Remembering the sketchbook he had given to the other person before the start of this special exam, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji also sat down, put down his phone, closed his eyes slightly, and began to rest.

Pure white is colorless, but colorless means that all sorts of other colors can be splashed on it freely.

Just as life is sometimes good in its meaninglessness, because only in this way can each person give meaning to it.

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

On the last day of the summer special exam, Kitagawa Ryo, unusually, called all the girls he could to his side, intending to take advantage of the fact that both Hotaru were present to tell him everything he had told only four people so far about himself and Hotaru, as well as the truth about the Sims.

However, Hotaru certainly wouldn't say that she had only initially chosen four female leads for Kitagawa Ryo, but later, due to unforeseen circumstances, her brother ended up having so many relationships. And objectively speaking, Shiina Hiyori and Sakura Airi certainly have something to say too. The reason they weren't chosen is simply because their personalities are perfectly normal. Even if they have a few minor issues, they are minor issues, and there's no need to go through such a complicated process of matchmaking.

Therefore, from this perspective, Hotaru's selection should be called a gathering of problem children. Moreover, just like Horikita Suzune and Amasawa Ichika still don't actively seek out Kitagawa Ryo and Hotaru's past images, compared to the romantic comedy that is happening in reality, would anyone really want to have another complete tragedy in their life?

It can only be said that the previous girl who had such thoughts has been thoroughly corrected by Kitagawa Ryo. After all, desperately showing others one's shameful past is, in a sense, a form of cyber exhibitionism, which is definitely not a healthy mentality.

That's why Kitagawa Ryo hopes that everyone can view and joke about those failed lives as bad endings collected in a game, with a more optimistic and even humorous attitude. After all, everyone is a living being in the present moment, and the rise of life simulation games is largely to allow people to temporarily forget the reality in front of them.

Conversely, when reality has become the most perfect path in a dozen or so restarted lives, Kitagawa Ryo loses the motivation and necessity to simulate life again, just like the ending he has achieved now.

He didn't know what kind of lives these girls would have in the timeline without him, but he had already seen several timelines where he still managed to create a bad ending despite his intervention. Sometimes, Kitagawa Ryo would even have a momentary daze about whether his involvement was a blessing or a curse for them. But it was just a fleeting thought, because he had now truly intervened in each of their lives and his fate was intertwined with theirs.

Of course, this is only the first stage of all of their lives.

It's far from the so-called end or conclusion; in fact, it's still a long way off.

But compared to their previous lives, they have truly put an end to the burdens they carried in the past.

This is the end of the road of the past, and the beginning of the road of the future.

"eggplant--"

With this thought in mind, Kitagawa Ryo, who was surrounded by everyone, raised the two front paws of the solid-colored kitten she was holding and, together with the girls, gave the camera the best smiles.

'Crack--'

On one side of Tokyo and the other side, one camera and another 'camera' were captured together by their owners pressing the shutter.

(End of text)

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

PS2: The main text ends here, but there will be a lot of epilogues, personal side stories, and "what if" side stories later, so please check back. The author's closing remarks and new book announcement will also be released after the side stories are finished. Thank you again to all readers for your reading and support so far. Remember to check back for the side stories tomorrow!