I have a life simulator.

[Karuizawa Kei quickly found the remote control in the cabinet, and the next second the quiet hospital room was filled with the sound of the evening news broadcast. You didn't mean to listen; you turned on the TV just to add some background noise to this quiet environment that was almost enough to make you fall asleep again. Karuizawa Kei, however, listened to the evening news with great interest. In her hand, she took out an apple from somewhere and was clumsily peeling it with a fruit knife.]

With a rustling sound, the unevenly thick apple peel began to fall in circles. Just as the snow-white flesh was about to be fully revealed, you heard hurried footsteps coming from the corridor, followed by the sudden opening of the hospital room door.

The girl's long, golden-pink hair, once praised and admired by many, was now disheveled and clung to her forehead. Her right shoulder was soaked, and a patch of yellowish-brown on her white shirt, stained by the rain, was glaringly obvious. Matching her upper body, her trousers below the calves were roughly rolled up, and her sandals looked as if they had been soaking in water for a long time; her once plump and translucent toes were now wrinkled, and there were even some raindrops clinging to the arches of her feet.

You suddenly recall a line from Yuji Sakamoto's "Quartet":

The first step in seduction is abandoning humanity.

Basically, there are three main approaches.

[Become a cat, become a tiger, become a dog soaked in the rain]

The large umbrella she was holding was still dripping wet; drop after drop of rain rolled down its surface. The handle of the umbrella was engraved with I&K, the first letters of your and Ichinose Honami's names in Romanized form. It was a gift you had given her before. If she was still getting wet while holding this large umbrella that could easily cover both of them, she must have run here.

Honami Ichinose looked up.

The evening news was still broadcasting on television, and the anchor was smiling as he began to speak:

"Based on relevant weather forecasts, this year's fireworks display may be held earlier, on the 22nd of this month, which is four days later. We hope all citizens can enjoy this grand annual celebration."

[Scene CG triggered: Fireworks Fade Easily]

Fireworks fade easily: Just as fireworks fade easily, so too do relationships end easily, and hearts are easily broken.

[Would you like to watch this cutscene? (This may be helpful for your subsequent gameplay)]

Chapter Seventeen: Fireworks Fade Easily (Part One)

You often think back to that autumn day in the park, where you and he buried the cat named "Ying" together. This pure white, fluffy cat had been with you for eight years, from your childhood to adulthood, while it went from the beginning of its life to its end.

As you dig the hole with the shovel, you realize you don't feel like crying. You blink, and your eyes are still so dry that it's unimaginable that you just lost a pet cat you've had for eight years.

You only start to feel heartache when you see him crying uncontrollably, his face a mess of snot and tears. You've never seen Kitagawa Ryo like this before. At such close range, you see his dark eyes filled with tears.

His emotions seemed to be reflected through his tears, clearly reaching your heart.

"The reason I refused is because I have someone I like, and her name is Ichinose Honami."

"The person I like is Honami Ichinose."

Then, he confessed his feelings to you.

Even though you had already decided to say no, at this moment you are seriously thinking about dating, about your lover, and even about your future wedding dress and bouquet. You can almost see yourself walking down the long red carpet, waiting for him in his suit at the end of the road.

But it only lasted for a brief moment.

Perhaps everyone who knows you would assume that you will definitely be together, and even this white cat, which has been accepted by the earth, is only most affectionate towards the two of you.

But your mother had already told you about his fate:

In the future, you will have to endure being separated from the boy who confessed his love to you, endure the gradual drifting apart between you, and endure seeing photos of other women on his social media. At that time, you might still like them, as long as he is living a stable life and finds his own happiness.

Of course you can be with him. You've been together for a long time. You can be his lover, but you're destined not to be his wife.

Following your mother's words, you imagine a future day, five or ten years from now, when you meet another girl he brings to you. By then, you should have the money to buy yourself a decent and nice outfit, preferably one he has praised. The top should be a little loose, as he is more easily embarrassed now that he's entered puberty than he was in childhood. The waist can be a little tight, so you can prove that you haven't gained weight in the years you've been away from him. The skirt doesn't need to be too long, just slightly past the knee, no need for lace. A pure black hem is his favorite color, even though you used to think that color would make you look old-fashioned. But who told him to be such a tasteless person?

You don't need to tie your hair up or put it in a bun. Just let it hang loose, with the ends falling over your shoulders and down to your chest. Of course, you definitely haven't dyed your hair; it's still golden pink and still smells like green orange. After all, once you've used a shampoo, you're too lazy to change it.

Okay, if you do that, the girl who hasn't shown up yet will definitely think that you, her so-called childhood friend, are here to show off to her. If you ruin Ryo's relationship because of this, it seems to go against your original intention.

Fairy tales only end with "The prince and princess lived happily ever after." If your story with him ended there, and time and the world stood still, you could proudly record, "You lived happily ever after." But reality doesn't stop for two people; its pages turn with the years until the very end of life. Of course, you won't see the final ending, but you can be certain of one thing—

You cannot agree to that.

Your mother, your sister, his father, his mother. Love is never a fairy tale for two people. As your mother once said, the woodcutter can't play with the cowherd. When the day is over, his work is done, but where's your firewood?

Moreover, your sister also harbors unusual feelings for him. You have long known that the current state of the Ichinose family is so fragile, like a clay giant that will collapse with the slightest push. The current Ichinose family cannot allow him to exist; he will destroy this even illusory peace.

So you rejected him. You've rejected many guys' confessions in the past year. At first, you were annoyed, wondering if your tone and words were too harsh. But then you saw a guy who confessed to you just yesterday go to see another girl the next day. You started to feel at ease, like you were repeating a job on an assembly line.

Listen patiently, smile, shake your head, refuse, bow slightly to express your gratitude and apology.

But this time, you couldn't do any of the steps. You tried to force a warm smile like usual, but your vocal cords seemed to struggle to move even a little. In the end, you could only give him a "no" answer to his confession.

The day after that, Kitagawa Ryo moved out of that apartment building, his reason being... he couldn't remember.

It took a whole day to pack the furniture and luggage. By dusk, you were still helping him pack the last room. For the first time, he was as silent as a wall in front of you, and you didn't have a single unnecessary conversation with Kitagawa Ryota. You deliberately avoided his gaze, feeling like a prisoner you had personally captured and nailed to a cross, awaiting judgment.

Your sister is still wondering why the neighbor's brother, Kitagawa, suddenly moved away, but your mother is unexpectedly happy. She probably thinks that the only variable in your life has completely left. You haven't seen your mother so relieved in a long time.

Of course you didn't hide the fact that he confessed his feelings to you. Your mother has always looked down on the so-called "liking" at this age, and she would always comment with the tone of someone who's been there all along:

Boys this age change every day, with new ideas and interests every moment. They are generous with their promises, always displaying the same boldness as when confessing their feelings to a girl. However, they are never reliable. Even if their confession is genuine at the moment, it will change afterward.

Why must everything be brought up in the context of romantic relationships? People don't live for love alone.

You couldn't refute your mother. She rarely talked to you about your father, whom you had never met. She told you about her passionate love affair with your father during her student days, and how the man who claimed to be going abroad on a business trip shortly after marrying her never came back.

She had been lured in before by the other person's constant "darling" and "baby," those sweet words like the most delicious bait, only to find after swallowing them that the sharp hook had already pierced her throat.

When the man had just abandoned her, she called him day and night, fantasizing that he was just too busy with work to have time for her. While taking care of her two children, she sent him long text messages, as if she wanted to pour all her feelings and even her body into the words, as if that would make him change his mind.

This self-destructive lifestyle lasted for a full six months before she finally realized that the other person was not coming back.

The man who had made countless promises to her disappeared without a word. She tried to scoop the moon out of the water for half a year, but in the end, all that remained in her palm was the distant moonlight.

So she's happy that you've escaped this fate.

You are struggling internally. Your mother's happiness is enough to make you happy. You even consciously or unconsciously seek her approval in everything you do. You have always followed the life path she set for you and have gradually grown up with the most honest and sincere personality. You like to see your mother's furrowed brows relax, and you like to see her smile and praise you for doing well.

However, you can also feel Kitagawa Ryo's suppressed pain, like reaching into a freshly opened clam shell and probing its tender flesh all the way to the deepest part. This scene that you only caught a glimpse of on TV is now vividly imprinted in your mind.

As you stepped out of the apartment, the sky was already overcast and it was raining. This late autumn rain knocked down many leaves that had turned yellow but had not yet fallen from the trees along the roadside. The leaves, softened by the rain, did not feel as crisp underfoot as when they were dry, but rather felt more dull.

You held up the big umbrella and escorted him to the car, saying "See you tomorrow."

The first time you blamed the umbrella was that it was so huge, big enough to cover two people and block out all the rain, so much so that you couldn't deceive yourself into thinking that what was blurring your vision were just splashing raindrops.

But you feel fortunate, because you only need to lower the brim of the umbrella slightly, and it will be enough to conceal your expression.

I&K, you stroke the patterns on the umbrella handle, watching the vehicles drive away.

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

After Maki Ichinose's birthday party ended, Megumi Karuizawa and Honami Ichinose had a conversation.

Karuizawa Kei looked up at the girl in front of her, the hot cocoa in her hand steaming upwards.

"Karuizawa-san, is there something you wanted to ask me to come out?"

Across from her, Honami Ichinose was also holding a warm cocoa. The way she sipped it looked just like an adorable hamster. Even though she was the same sex as her, Kei Karuizawa had to admit Honami Ichinose's charm as a woman, from her appearance and figure to the kind of approachability that she could never have.

"this is for you."

Karuizawa Kei took something out of her bag—a long, thin wooden stick, crudely made and of poor quality.

A marriage fortune slip?

Ichinose Honami took the item with some confusion, then suddenly remembered what had happened the day before yesterday:

"It's from that temple..."

"Yes, it's the fortune slip you and the senior drew that you got back. I went and got it back later."

Karuizawa Kei gently bit her straw and explained to Ichinose Honami:

"In fact, after I got home, I found out about that temple on an online forum, including their custom-made marriage fortune slips service. They would have the words you thought of beforehand engraved on them, and then they would manipulate the process to ensure that the two people would draw the special fortune slip. That's why they don't interpret marriage fortune slips there. Whether you like it or not, let one of you write down your own words. The marriage is already set, so why bother interpreting it?"

"So, this must be what your senior wanted to convey to you."

Karuizawa Megumi stared into Ichinose Honami's eyes, trying to find some turbulent emotion within them, but ultimately she sensed nothing.

She smiled with genuine resignation, as if she had heard a story unrelated to her own life:

"Oh, I see."

"Aren't you going to watch it?"

Honami Ichinose returned it to Megumi Karuizawa, then lowered her head and sipped her coffee.

"There's no need to look; it's probably a confession."

These are words that would make a girl's heart race at this age, but they sound so ordinary coming from Ichinose Honami's mouth, a tone that even annoyed Karuizawa Megumi.

Karuizawa Kei knew all of Kitagawa Ryo's arrangements on that mountain, from the foot to the summit. If Ichinose Honami and he were to actually reach the summit that day, they would witness a sky full of fireworks rising just for her, and see hundreds of drones forming a confession formation in the air. It would be the most romantic confession scene that any girl could cherish for a lifetime.

"Tsk."

Karuizawa Kei suppressed the faint disgust welling up from the bottom of her heart. The role she was playing did not allow her to show such emotions. She was a catalyst for the two people's relationship. What she had to do was to give Ichinose Honami a hard push from behind, just like the white cat named "Hotaru".

That's the role she plays now.

"She clearly likes her senior, but she is unwilling to accept his confession. She keeps fantasizing about using their childhood friendship to bind the two of them together, leaving her fate entirely to be decided by an unknowable future. Isn't that wrong?"

Karuizawa Kei thought she acted brilliantly, and if Kitagawa Ryo were here with her, he would sincerely praise the jealousy contained in her words.

"Why does everything have to be tied to romantic relationships? People don't live in this world just for love."

As Karuizawa Kei looked at Ichinose Honami, who was still smiling, the phrase "premature aging" inexplicably came to mind. It was as if she was facing not a fifteen-year-old girl, but a thirty-five-year-old single mother who had been abandoned by her husband and was struggling to make a living with two children.

"Then just reject his confession outright, like before. Find another guy and tell him that you like him and that he's your boyfriend now. Go tell that to your senior."

Anger surged through her chest, shattering her prepared lines, but Karuizawa Megumi still stared directly at the girl, like a raptor pecking at her flesh layer by layer until she saw the bloody nerves beneath. She relished the gruesome sight, a cruel smile curving her lips, and added in a low voice:

"He'll confess his feelings to you during the fireworks festival."

"what are you saying?"

Honami Ichinose's tone suddenly turned cold.

"What are you afraid of?"

"Go reject him again. Didn't you already decide to do this?"

Karuizawa Kei then answered, and for the first time she felt that she had finally angered Ichinose Honami.

Today, Karuizawa Kei finally learned two facts:

First, Ichinose Honami is not a gentle and omnipotent angel; she can also cast hateful glances at others. This fact makes Karuizawa Megumi extremely happy. She can't wait to see Ichinose Honami truly abandon her pretense and have a heart-wrenching cry.

Secondly, she also understood why Kitagawa Ryo had subconsciously ordered her a hot cocoa when he took her to meet Ichinose Maki for the first time.

Even after Honami Ichinose left, Megumi Karuizawa remained sitting there for a long time. Before leaving, she murmured as she threw the wooden piece directly into the coffee shop's trash can. She thought she could finally open the rose-scented perfume with a clear conscience.

"After all, it was you who didn't want it."

Chapter 18: Fireworks Fade Easily (Part Two)

"Hanbo?"

Kitagawa Ryo's mind cleared instantly. He almost yanked the needle off the back of his right hand, and hurriedly moved his legs to the bedside to find his shoes. He didn't even notice when Karuizawa Megumi, who had been sitting by the bed, stood up. She thoughtfully held the IV tube and stand for him and stood beside him.

"It's cold, go back to bed first."

Honami Ichinose wiped her wet hands again on the hem of her shirt, leaving two faint handprints. Although she looked a little disheveled, her spirits were quite good, and her tone of voice was as energetic as ever. She turned to Megumi Karuizawa and said:

"I'm feeling a bit unwell right now, could you please help Ryo back?"

"Ah."

Seeing the stubborn look on Ichinose Honami's face, Kitagawa Ryo stopped struggling and obediently let Karuizawa Kei help him back to bed. By the time the thick blanket was covered over his legs, Mr. Izaki had already handed Ichinose Honami a warm towel and taken the dripping umbrella before leaving the ward.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the rubbing of Ichinose Honami as she wiped her arms, face, and calves. In fact, not much of her body was wet, and it was far from revealing anything. Apart from the obvious wet patch on her right shoulder and her hands and feet, most of her clothes were only slightly damp.

"call."

After wiping her cheeks with a hot towel, Honami Ichinose turned her slightly flushed face this way. Her snow-white skin was tinged with red, her waist-length hair still damp with moisture, her azure eyes shimmered with water, and her moist lips glistened. Although such words might not be appropriate to describe a girl of this age, somehow this posture was somewhat touching.

"It feels warmer now."

Honami Ichinose sat down naturally beside Ryo Kitagawa's hospital bed. Seemingly concerned that her clothes weren't clean, she sat even more carefully than Kei Karuizawa had before, in an extremely awkward posture, just finding a small point of support for her body. She then wrapped her hands around Ryo Kitagawa's left hand.

Kitagawa Ryo's hands are very beautiful, just like his handsome face; every part of them leaves a very deep impression on girls.

On his fair and nimble fingers, the rounded and neatly trimmed nails gleamed under the incandescent light. It was a very beautiful, slender hand, the kind of hand that would make one think the young man in front of him was a famous pianist or magician.

At that moment, she gently took his hand into her own palm. Ichinose's left palm was pressed against Kitagawa Ryo's palm, and her right palm was close to the back of his hand, just like when she gently blew air into her hand when it was snowing in winter. Kitagawa Ryo could feel the warm, moist breath on his fingertips. Ichinose Honami was closer than he had imagined.

"It's very cold."

"Are you still feeling bad now?"