I have a life simulator.

As the heir to Kanzaki Heavy Industries, Ryuji Kanzaki did not encounter particularly harsh realities in his childhood, but he also had aspects that he was not good at and was troubled by them. Therefore, when he saw what Karuizawa Megumi, who was the same age as him, went through, he inexplicably developed a rebellious mentality, or rather, he projected himself onto her to some extent.

"As for his pairing with Kitagawa..."

Although typing this word on the keyboard is incredibly natural in everyday life, saying it aloud in real life still feels a bit awkward. Ryuji Kanzaki hesitated for a moment before speaking:

"Perhaps at the beginning, I just longed for this kind of relationship where mutual trust is at its extreme, just like Kitagawa never said that he needed to change the female lead, and he always said in various interviews that you were the most suitable partner for him, just like you finally met his expectations."

Karuizawa Kei nodded her head rapidly, revealing an expectant expression that said, "Go on, please."

"Starting with my debut in 'Romeo and Juliet'..."

Every word Kanzaki Ryuji said stirred up her memories.

In the end, even she herself was somewhat dazed that so much time had passed, so much so that Karuizawa Megumi could hardly remember what she was like in the past.

Kei Karuizawa and Ryo Kitagawa's first official debut was in Shakespeare's *Romeo and Juliet*, which was also their first time playing a couple in a production. The promotional posters for the theater at the time featured:

Starring: Ryo Kitagawa, Megumi Karuizawa

However, starting from the second time, only Kitagawa Ryo's name remained on the theater's promotional posters; she was moved to the "starring" list below.

But during the last few revival performances before Kitagawa Ryo left the stage, Karuizawa Megumi's name returned to the lead actress section, listed alongside Kitagawa Ryo.

Karuizawa Kei looked up at the dazzling night sky, and suddenly a strong longing welled up from the bottom of her heart.

at last.

Inthebookofthedestiny,wetogetherbetweenarowofcharacters.

In the book of destiny, we are on the same line of text.

—Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare

Chapter 175: What's wrong with changing for someone you like?

After a sumptuous dinner, the four members of Kitagawa Ryo's group, along with Sakura Airi and Amasawa Ichika, gathered around the campfire and chatted casually about everyday topics.

Perhaps because of the addition of the other two, Ichinose Honami and the others tacitly did not suggest playing 'Truth or Dare' like they did the night before. Instead, they simply laughed and talked about the interesting things that happened during their exams these past few days, just like a typical girls' gathering.

"I heard Airi was in grid E5 today and even got first place in the [Lyrics] project?"

"I almost regret not going to see Airi's performance live since I didn't have to pay for a ticket. Otherwise, I could have cheered you on. Although there were no glow sticks, water bottles could have been used instead... I guess?"

As Kitagawa Ryo spoke, he took out two empty mineral water bottles from his backpack, stood up, and performed a routine of otaku art (a dance or cheering gesture performed by otaku with glow sticks at idol performances or other events).

"Does Liang know how to make this?"

This was the first time Tianze Yixia had ever seen such a sight. She stared wide-eyed in surprise, her round, fluorescent green eyes curiously scrutinizing Kitagawa Ryo.

The other girls present, besides Sakura Airi, were also quite intrigued. Watching Kitagawa Ryo's animated performance, they couldn't help but smile. Horikita Suzune even chuckled softly.

"Ahem... It's been a long time since I played, so I've gotten a bit rusty."

Kitagawa Ryo, without changing his expression, put away the mineral water bottle, sat down again, shook his head, and said:

"And not wearing a support shirt or a headscarf really doesn't feel right."

"You guys haven't seen the scene when Airi performs. People like me are usually in the front row, and everyone there is a gachi (true fan), an otaku artist, and their slogans are chanted in perfect unison."

"Shizuku ~Infinite Eternity~ Forever a favorite!"

Kitagawa Ryo's shout made even Sakura Airi feel a little embarrassed, and she retorted with a slightly flushed face:

"She's not bad at letting her fans down either. She's clearly an actor in the theater world, but she's totally following the idol industry's path."

As she said this, Sakura Airi recalled the content of the support sign for Kitagawa Ryo she had seen back then:

"What... Liangbao is so handsome, Mommy loves you, and there are also little angels and such."

Honami Ichinose was the first to break down; she too had witnessed Kitagawa Ryo's period and nodded with a smile, affirming:

"That's true, and we've received a ton of letters from fans."

At this moment, Amasawa Ichika acted like a curious child, quickly grabbing Ichinose Honami's arm and shaking it, wanting her to explain in more detail.

"To put it simply, Liang was only twelve years old when he first debuted. Although his acting skills were very good from the beginning, what really made him a big star was his later role in 'King Lear.' At that time, a still of Liang giving a monologue in a storm was uploaded to the internet, attracting many viewers outside the industry."

Honami Ichinose explained with a smile:

"Back then, he was considered the contemporary Atsumori Taira, possessing a profound sense of melancholy."

"The truth is that everyone is a shota-con."

Kitagawa Ryo curled his lip in disdain. Taira no Atsumori was a historical figure from the Genpei War. In fact, he didn't have any great achievements. It was just that his outstanding appearance and the experience of dying in battle at the age of fifteen were very much in line with the beauty of 'mono no aware' that people admired at the time, and he became a frequent character in various literary works afterward.

The famous poem related to Oda Nobunaga, "Life is but a dream, a fleeting illusion," is also from a song called "Atsumori" by Yukiwaka Mai.

Edgar Allan Poe once said that the death of a beautiful woman is the most poetic theme in the world, and the same is true for men.

Ichinose Honami disagreed with Kitagawa Ryo's statement and continued enthusiastically:

"Thinking about it now, Liang was a little shorter than me back then, and quite slender, so it seems normal that she could attract so many older fans..."

"It's just that girls develop earlier than boys. Do you want to see how much taller I am than Fanbo now?"

Kitagawa Ryo waved his hand helplessly:

"Actually, I didn't want to at first. After all, I don't have a good impression of idol fans. I always feel that they are seriously immature."

"..."

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo paused, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke somewhat shyly:

"But if the person I'm a fan of is myself, that seems pretty good too."

"The taste..."

The girls around Kitagawa Ryo unanimously responded with disdain to his remarks.

"After all, having a group of people who unconditionally support you no matter what you do is indeed a very satisfying thing."

Kitagawa Ryo tilted his head and spoke to himself.

At that time, he had not yet met Horikita Suzune, completed her simulation, let alone obtained the manifested talent of "Heir of a Wealthy Family".

At that time, Kitagawa Ryo went to the stage of drama simply for his younger sister and to escape his family of origin. His only guiding principle was to raise money for Hotaru's treatment.

So even though he knew that introducing idol audiences from outside the drama circle was a risky business, Kitagawa Ryo still resolutely went along with it.

"Back then, I did earn more money than I ever imagined, and I also gained considerable fame."

Kitagawa Ryo looked up and gazed at the starry sky:

"But if I had to say, the only person I felt sorry for during that time was Hui."

They operate through official Twitter accounts, hold tours in various locations, attract casual viewers outside the fandom, cultivate loyal fans, and then release related merchandise.

Many people who had never been exposed to theater before entered the circle through Kitagawa Ryo. Perhaps there were also fans who genuinely fell in love with the art because of him, but many more, or rather a considerable number of fans, simply became die-hard fans of Kitagawa Ryo.

This is also a major reason why Karuizawa Kei suffered unprecedented cyberbullying. Moreover, it got to that point that Kitagawa Ryo himself was unable to control these extreme fans. In fact, those people didn't care about Kitagawa Ryo's opinion at all, even though he had repeatedly expressed his trust in Karuizawa Kei and his decision not to replace the female lead.

What they like is not the drama or Kitagawa Ryo's acting skills, but a sense of superiority that allows them to trample on others at will. The better Kitagawa Ryo performs and the more recognition she receives from professionals in the industry, the more justification they have for using this as a pretext to carry out cyberbullying against Karuizawa Kei.

But after all that has been said, it was Kitagawa Ryo who ultimately opened Pandora's box.

Thinking of this, Kitagawa Ryo also lost some interest.

Kei Karuizawa did indeed withstand the pressure and complete the transformation, but that doesn't mean his approach was without flaws.

"But Hui never blamed Liang for this."

At this moment, Sakura Airi suddenly spoke up, and seeing that everyone's attention was focused on her, she added:

“This is what Hui told me herself when we met today during the topic of singing.”

“If Ryo thinks she’s just putting on a brave face… then by now she’s actually become strong.”

After listening to Sakura Airi's words, Kitagawa Ryo lowered his head slightly in thought for a moment before raising his head and smiling:

"That's true, none of you are such fragile girls."

"It was my fault that I didn't trust you first."

Perhaps just like his attitude towards his fervent fans, Kitagawa Ryo himself had quite a complex feeling when it came to the feelings of girls.

Mingming's initial expectation was to witness their growth, hoping that each of them could grow into the person they longed to be deep down and live for themselves.

But during his days on the deserted island, after confronting the feelings of Shiina Hiyori and Karuizawa Megumi, Kitagawa Ryo had to admit that he actually felt a hidden joy when he saw that they were willing to make changes for him or even submit to him.

Just like how he used to hate those fanatical fans, but still felt happy when he was also fervently adored.

This happiness comes from being loved.

No one dislikes seeing someone they like change for them.

But in the past, Kitagawa Ryo always tried to stubbornly correct this point. He wished he could pinch their ears and tell them not to change for others.

Because he was afraid that the relationship between the two of them would become too hierarchical, both Karuizawa Megumi and Horikita Suzune had left Kitagawa Ryo with deep and even unbearable memories in those failed simulations.

That's why he almost obsessively emphasizes his "demystified" view of love, hoping to strip away all the glamour from both parties.

But now, Karuizawa Megumi's words and her remarks about Camus that day have made Kitagawa Ryo change his mind a little.

Changing yourself for the sake of others doesn't necessarily mean distorting your original thoughts. If you can learn something good from the process and ultimately become a better person, it might not be a bad thing.

Kitagawa Ryo smiled as he looked at the girls around him who were looking at him with concern. He finally understood the question he had been holding onto during the last simulation.

Is it happier to be the one who loves or the one who is loved?

A healthy relationship is inherently a process of redemption and being redeemed.

Perhaps this was Hotaru's original intention in letting him meet them.

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

“I remember that directors from other theater companies wanted to poach me, saying that I was under too much public pressure and that many of the comments were baseless and malicious attacks.”

Karuizawa Kei was still chatting with Kanzaki Ryuji about their past experiences.

"At that time, the troupe also had Liang communicate with me once, but I ended that conversation with just one sentence."

Karuizawa Kei rested her chin on her hand, speaking leisurely:

"I told Liang at that time:"

“I don’t want Liang to say—that she hopes I can leave, or that she wishes me peace and safety afterward.”

"Liang should wish me success."

"Kitagawa Ryo should wish Karuizawa Megumi success."

"Because I sincerely hope that Kitagawa Ryo succeeds, Karuizawa Megumi must succeed in order to achieve his success."

"We will definitely succeed."

Chapter 176: The Madman

Having been practically forced by Katsuragi Kohei to apologize to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, it's easy to imagine that Totsuka Yahiko's mood wasn't very good during tonight's seemingly harmonious Class 1-A reunion.

However, Totsuka Yahiko's mood obviously did not affect the others. After all, apart from Katsuragi Kohei, the other students in Class A did not pay much attention to him. Soon, they were chatting noisily again. Since everyone was gathered in the E5 area today, the topic naturally turned to the "singing" topic that everyone had just witnessed in the afternoon and Sakura Airi's amazing performance.

After all, the idol-like charm that Sakura Airi displayed at that time was like a sparkling light to these teenagers of the same age. Words full of longing and yearning kept coming out of their mouths, and almost everyone was marveling at and reminiscing about the scene they had seen that afternoon.

But unnoticed by everyone, as the discussion about Sakura Airi intensified, another person's mood also began to plummet. However, compared to Totsuka Yahiko's sour face, Kushida Kikyo still tried her best to maintain a smile.

Almost all the students in Class A overlooked the fact that she had also signed up for the "Singing" project, and no one even cared that she had won second place in the project.

Frankly speaking, due to various factors, the primary test of the "singing" subject at that time was not the students' singing ability itself, but their singing ability in front of dozens of students from their own class and other classes.

As a social terrorist, Kikyo Kushida is naturally no stranger to karaoke and singing. With her social skills already maxed out, Kikyo Kushida's singing ability is equally outstanding, and she is not at all stage-frightened. If it weren't for the unofficial level of combat power like Airi Sakura, it would have been almost expected that she would have won first place in this subject.

But Sakura Airi stole all the limelight from her. Kushida Kikyo's level could be classified as excellent among ordinary people, but she happened to meet Sakura Airi, who came from a professional singing and dancing idol background. The gap between amateur and professional was even more obvious.

In fact, this wasn't the first time Kikyo Kushida had experienced this feeling. From the time she was old enough to understand, she realized that her appearance was among the best of her peers. Because she had a better memory than most people, she also excelled in her studies. In addition to being good at sports, she was also adept at handling interpersonal relationships and was recognized by others.

But just like singing, even if she is only moderately good in every aspect, there are still girls around her who are cuter, have better grades, and are better at sports. When Kikyo Kushida loses to other geniuses who are even more outstanding than her in these areas where she is better than ordinary people, she will inevitably feel resentful.

In fact, in this world, apart from the two most outstanding and the two worst, everyone is neither the best nor the worst, but Kikyo Kushida cannot accept this fact.

Despite having above-average abilities in all aspects, this only exacerbated Kikyo Kushida's feelings of inferiority.

He's not an ordinary person, but he's not a genius either.

Childhood was relatively easy, and adults were often tolerant of children. They only needed a little bit of excellence, such as solving a simple problem or trying to help their parents with some trivial chores. With just such a little effort, people around them would flock to praise them and label them as geniuses or prodigies.