I have a life simulator.

"How about we give them a discount?"

"It's a former classmate, the kind with whom I had a very bad relationship."

"Really."

The man with the buzz cut gestured with his chin at the two men, pointing to his right white running shoe and saying:

"Then there's no discount, the price is one million yen."

"It's just a little mud on it, why would it cost so much money? And why are you arguing with a cat?"

"Ichinose Maki, holding a cat, peeked out from behind Karuizawa Megumi and called out."

The incident stemmed from Hotaru accidentally brushing against the other person's shoe while running aimlessly on a mountain path. Although the other person kept complaining about it being a limited edition brand, Ichinose Maki felt that an apology plus reasonable compensation was enough.

"What does a little brat know?"

The man with the buzz cut took out a cigarette from his pocket, completely ignoring the "No Smoking in Tourist Area" sign, lit it, and put it in his mouth.

"One million yen. As long as we get the compensation, we brothers will leave on the spot."

Karuizawa Kei looked at the five or six delinquent-looking students following behind her with some apprehension. On this rugged one-way mountain path, she wasn't confident that she could lead Ichinose Maki, who was almost out of energy, down to a more crowded area.

"Brother Jian, actually I have another idea."

Karuizawa Kei watched as Emi Eura clung to the man's ear like a snake, her tongue flicking as she whispered:

"If you can't afford to pay for it, why don't you just have her lick it clean for you?"

The other person's words were like a sharp knife reopening the scabbed wound. Karuizawa Kei pursed her lips tightly as she looked at this former classmate who had bullied her for the first time. Even though the other person had been expelled from school after stabbing her in the left abdomen with a knife filled with pure malice, Karuizawa Kei's life had already been ravaged beyond recognition. From the age of fourteen to the present age of sixteen, the label of "bullied" that the other person had branded her with was still closely linked to her.

"It's fine."

She whispered words of comfort to Ichinose Maki.

When she was first bullied, Karuizawa Kei would cry to her parents and complain to her teachers, but the bullying never ended. So she learned to be silent and accept it. Sometimes, after licking girls' shoes, being splashed with water in the toilet, or cleaning up a dead mouse in her desk, she would go to the nearby woods and cry alone. She would hug a tree and a stone and cry, treating them as living beings. She fantasized about creating a protector for herself.

Of course, these wooden and stone protectors won't actually stand up and walk around to protect her. The only things they can teach Karuizawa Kei are loneliness and patience, and it is with these two skills that she has stumbled and crawled to where she is today.

Until a few days ago, they suddenly came to life and reached out to her in genuine help.

Maki Ichinose's phone had been switched off an hour earlier, so Kei Karuizawa had to operate the phone with her hands behind her back to send the location and recording to the first person in the first row of her contacts.

After doing all this, Karuizawa Megumi finally raised her head and looked directly at Emi Eura.

She believed he would come, that he definitely would come.

Karuizawa Kei only knew Kitagawa Ryo for a few days, but in that short time together, if Karuizawa Kei was confident in anything, it was that she could surpass Ichinose Honami in some aspects.

That leaves only the matter of trusting him.

enough.

Today's update will be a little late.

Due to some real-life matters, today's update will probably not be available until the afternoon. I'll take this opportunity to make some revisions. I hope you all understand.

I wish every reader good health.

I wish every reader good health.

I wish every reader good health.

I wish every reader good health.

I wish every reader good health.

Chapter Fourteen: The Actor (The End)

It must be said that although there is a straight mountain path leading to the top of the mountain, most tourists do not choose to follow the path properly. In the surrounding forests, there are also various winding paths worn by people. For many tourists, this seems to be a better way to get closer to nature. Since the scenic area closes the mountain for clearing and afforestation regularly, there is no danger of wild animals. If it weren't for the fact that Ichinose Honami was wearing a skirt today, the two of them might have chosen such a path.

After climbing the mountain path for half an hour, I spotted a pavilion for tourists to rest. Inside, there was a large vending machine. Kitagawa Ryo went over to take a look. It seemed to contain drinks, snacks, and drinking water, and the prices were a bit higher than outside.

"Take a break?"

Looking at the time on his watch, Kitagawa Ryo led Ichinose Honami to the pavilion and sat down. There weren't many tourists today, probably because the weather was too hot. Most tourists chose to climb to the mountainside and then take the cable car to the top. So there were only Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose in the pavilion.

"Ah."

With a fine layer of sweat on her forehead, Ichinose Honami sat resting to the side, slightly out of breath, and subconsciously took out her phone as if to check her sister's location.

"Fanbo seems a bit distracted today, is he tired?"

Kitagawa Ryo lay on his seat, tilting his head back to count the patterns on the top of the pavilion. They seemed to be carved with cuckoos, one, two, three, four in total.

"fine."

Honami Ichinose also put her phone away somewhat guiltily. Although she found it strange that Maki Ichinose had remained motionless in one spot for almost twenty minutes, she didn't want to ask Karuizawa Megumi, who was with her sister, at this moment. Instead, she apologized to Kitagawa Ryo:

"It's probably because it's too hot."

The sun on the horizon was indeed scorching. She took out a handkerchief from her bag and handed one to Kitagawa Ryo, while wiping the sweat from her own forehead.

"Fan Bo."

Every time he opened his mouth, it sent a shiver down my spine, as if my heart was soaring to the clouds and then crashing back down into my chest.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

But she still had to pretend to be nonchalant, like an actor who had already messed up but was still trying to finish reciting her lines.

"I dreamt last night that we played together when we were little."

Looking at the smile on the boy's lips across from her, Honami Ichinose felt inexplicably annoyed and resistant to the topic.

She was a girl who was more enthusiastic about the future than she had been in the past. When Kitagawa Ryo was seventeen, she was still reminiscing about her seven-year-old self, but when she was ten, she wished she could suddenly become twenty. This strange sense of disparity made her feel a strange hatred well up from the bottom of her heart.

Kitagawa Ryo's childhood was almost always filled with the shadow of Ichinose Honami, but besides Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami's childhood also included her younger sister, her mother, and her father, whose face had become so blurred that she could no longer recognize him. When Ichinose Honami was a child, she often dreamed of a faceless monster with her mother by her side.

It wasn't until later that she realized the monster was actually her father, because she had never seen him since she could remember, let alone what his face looked like.

To her relief, after Ichinose Honami turned twelve, she never had such a dream again, because she could finally banish this non-existent man from her life. From reality to dreams, she would never mention the word "father" again, which made her feel unprecedentedly relaxed.

"Hmm, what did you dream about?"

She asked another irrelevant question, which would have been noticed by the normal Ichinose Honami, but at this moment, her mind was in turmoil, and she was only caught up in her own negative emotions, desperately suppressing those surging feelings back into her body, and transforming back into the Ichinose Honami she was at the beginning.

"It's like dreaming about those soda-flavored popsicles that we used to eat all the time, the kind that you could buy for 60 yen."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed oblivious to Ichinose Honami's strange behavior, still lost in his memories as he described the things that were no longer available.

"Oh, that really is delicious. I remember there was a chance to win a prize, right?"

When Honami Ichinose raised her head again, she returned to her usual gentle and approachable demeanor. Since she had already made up her mind to do this, she had no intention of leaving herself any way out.

However, when she met Kitagawa Ryo's dark eyes, she still felt a little cruel. She was someone who cared more about the feelings of others than her own. If she were to become an actress, before the audience could even express their opinions, Ichinose Honami would feel embarrassed for them.

"Mmm, one more, please."

Kitagawa Ryo simply sighed softly:

"It's a pity that you can't buy them now. Maybe in two years, the kids won't even know that these popsicles exist."

"Isn't it enough that those who have eaten it remember it?"

Honami Ichinose also imitated him, resting her head on her hand and sighing:

"But it really is very cheap. If you win, it's equivalent to thirty yen a stick, right?"

"When I was little, I never thought about such things. Every time I won a prize, I just felt like I had gotten 60 yen for free. Sometimes I was even reluctant to use it to exchange for a new popsicle."

Honami Ichinose burst out laughing at Kitagawa Ryo's serious tone:

Don't you feel dirty using leftover sticks?

"No no no."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head in rejection:

"I would wash it clean and put it in my pocket to keep it safe. Thinking back now, I would even show it off to other classmates. If anyone got it dirty or took it, I would tell the teacher and get it back."

"You boys are really exaggerated."

Honami Ichinose looked at her phone and asked with some confusion:

Did Maki text you? I haven't been able to reach her for an hour.

Kitagawa Ryo took out his phone after hearing this, as he had kept it on silent because he planned to spend the day with Ichinose Honami.

He swiped open his phone, and the first thing he saw was a location and recording from Karuizawa Megumi.

The sending time is—

Three minutes ago.

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

In fact, Karuizawa Kei is definitely a beautiful girl who is far above the standard, but appearance is not always a good thing for girls, just like now.

According to Emi Eura, the other party was nothing more than a weak person who could be trampled on without arguing or resisting. Whether she was dragged into the toilet by the girls and splashed with water and beaten, or forced to pick up the overturned bento box with her mouth and eat it, or had her skirt pulled down in public, Karuizawa would obediently endure it.

If I hadn't stabbed him in the abdomen, I might have been able to play with this toy for another two years.

Jiangpu Huimei picked at her nails with a hint of regret, thinking that she and Karuizawa Hui were similar types of girls, but compared to Karuizawa Hui, she was more used to interpersonal communication. That's why she became the leader of the girls' group when she first entered junior high school, naturally isolating and bullying Karuizawa Hui.

Why did I dislike her so much in the first place?

Emi looked at Karuizawa Kei with a sinister gaze. Karuizawa Kei stared back at her with her pursed lips, her azure eyes meeting hers without fear, and she even glared back at her fiercely.

Tsk.

It was only at this point that Emi Eura realized that the reason she started bullying Karuizawa Megumi was simply out of jealousy and malice.

She just wanted to see that annoying face trampled underfoot.

Didn't you hear what Brother Jian said?

Jiangpu Huimei continued to urge her on, and even made a plan that as soon as the other party gave in, she would not hesitate to trample her back into the dirt.

"Or do you want me to... you do it here again?"

Jian, who was standing nearby, stopped Jiang Pu Huimei's threatening behavior and said to the two of them with a grin:

"Actually, it's not like there's no room for negotiation. If you don't want to lose money or lick shoes, how about having a drink with the brothers when you go down the mountain later?"

The group of delinquents behind them burst into laughter and jeers. Emi Jiangpu looked rather unpleasant, but knowing she couldn't offend Ken-san, she could only continue to watch Karuizawa Kei's movements like a venomous snake.

"My boyfriend will be here soon; he just went to buy water."

Karuizawa Kei took a step back, as if there was truly someone standing in front of her.

"Boyfriend? Then we really need to run!"

Jiangpu Huimei seemed to have found a sense of belonging, and stood up to tease Jian Ge beside her:

"After all, half the boys in our school have been confessed to by this Karuizawa-kun, right?"

Her exaggerated movements and words drew another round of laughter from the delinquents behind her, and even Brother Jian laughed and said:

"That is indeed a bit scary. These days, junior high school students look young, but they're quite adept at playing games."

"Hey, Karuizawa, if you really have a boyfriend, what does he think about that scar when you're intimate with him?"

Emi Emi still has no intention of letting go:

"Why don't you sweetly tell him that these are the marks left from someone's C-section?"

A torrent of lewd and obscene words flooded Karuizawa Megumi's ears. She simply had Ichinose Maki behind her cover her ears, took a deep breath, and remained unmoved.

“Brother Jian, slap this kind of bitch and she’ll behave. I’ve seen plenty of people like her. They act all respectable now, but they can cry like the worst person in the world later.”

Emi noticed Karuizawa Megumi's slightly trembling fingers. She knew that the other person was not as strong as she appeared. She was just putting on a brave face because she was worried about the kid behind her.

Seeing Ken nod at her, Emi Jiangpu also stepped forward to Karuizawa Megumi's side and whispered in her ear:

"Karuizawa? Pretending must be exhausting. No matter how much you try to hide it, aren't you still afraid?"

"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of me? You must be afraid of me."

She licked her lips, the tip of her tongue a bright red.

"But it's really beyond my expectations that you haven't been ruined yet. It seems that the other girls weren't as ruthless as me."

She raised her hand high: