I have a life simulator.

In other words.

She was afraid of the possibility that Kitagawa Ryo didn't exist there, or even in this world.

She feared the possibility that the healthy heart in her chest would beat only for her for the rest of her life.

If the thing you fear actually happens, you will regret it for the rest of your life.

If the feared event does not occur, after feelings of relief and relief, there is usually a strong lingering fear and an even greater sense of unease than before.

In fact, Kitagawa Ryo himself did not realize that in the two simulations he had with Sakayanagi Arisu, for more than half the time, he was actually the vulnerable one who needed to be protected and even taken care of.

Whether it was the time spent as an ALS patient in the first story or the years after being tormented by the white room for a long time in the second story, it was always the same.

These experiences and emotions still exist in Sakayanagi Arisu's mind and memory, and ultimately, through this opportunity, they merged with her lingering fears, her unease, and her complex feelings of wanting to confirm, wanting to guard against, and wanting to avoid.

So, under Kitagawa Ryo's somewhat surprised gaze, on this morning of a formal date that had only just begun, Sakayanagi Arisu had already raised her head slightly, making a gesture as if she wanted to kiss him.

But her target wasn't Kitagawa Ryo's lips. Instead, she reached out and slightly pulled open his collar, her slender fingers tracing a path up his collarbone, finally stopping at the side of his neck, where she buried her head.

With a warm, soft touch enveloping her, a subtle, almost imperceptible pain, a rather conspicuous 'hickey' mark, like a territorial marker, was left on Kitagawa Ryo's neck.

After seeing this result, Sakayanagi Arisu finally raised her head again with satisfaction. Her right pinky finger unconsciously traced circles on that spot, and she licked the corner of her lips with the tip of her tongue, revealing a sweet smile full of possessiveness to Kitagawa Ryo.

Chapter 259: Blow, blow, my pride and indulgence

"Does it feel cold? Does it hurt?"

"...just a little bit, it's alright."

"That's it."

After listening to Kitagawa Ryo's thoughts, Sakayanagi Arisu nodded thoughtfully, then immediately raised her delicate chin, revealing her fair neck to him without any guard, as if indicating whether he wanted to leave a mark on her in the same spot as well, and spoke:

"That's...cool..."

Kitagawa Ryo felt that the other person's eyes, actions, and thoughts were rushing headlong in some dangerous direction. Even though they had said goodbye to all the simulations, Kitagawa Ryo still clearly felt that he was standing at a crossroads that would determine the outcome, as if everything he said and did next would have a significant impact on their future relationship.

As Kitagawa Ryo pondered this, under Sakayanagi Arisu's somewhat expectant yet bewildered gaze, he placed both hands on her shoulders and neck, gently brushing past her delicate collarbones from her shoulders, and then suddenly wrapped them around her armpits, lifting her high off his thighs to Sakayanagi Arisu's bewildered expression.

"Arisu is too thin."

Unlike the half-hearted role-playing with Karuizawa Megumi the day before yesterday, Kitagawa Ryo genuinely experienced a near-extreme possessiveness with Sakayanagi Arisu just now, a desire to completely control and dominate. At this moment, he also had to show his slightly assertive side.

Of all the girls he knew, only Sakayanagi Arisu was the type who would be completely devoured if he took a step back or was slightly weaker. If he couldn't demonstrate talent that surpassed hers in some way or defeat her more directly, their relationship would become strange.

In fact, whether in simulations or in reality, every encounter he had with Sakayanagi Arisu was based on the aforementioned reasons.

Indeed, in Sakayanagi Arisu's two simulations, he spent a full three-quarters of the time playing the role of an ALS patient who was gradually losing his ability to take care of himself and a child who was forced to be injected with banned drugs and became physically weak. But these were all past events, sealed in the memories of the two of them.

"Arisu is so light—"

Once, twice, three times, Kitagawa Ryo repeatedly and easily lifted Sakayanagi Arisu above his head and then put her down, until the other woman, somewhat sullen, realized who was the weaker one in the two of them.

Human desires can indeed expand infinitely.

Standing dejectedly in front of a huge floor mirror beside the stage, Sakayanagi Arisu puffed out her chest, which was still quite flat despite her indignation, with only a slight bulge, and helplessly had this thought.

When she was diagnosed with congenital heart disease, all she longed for was a heart that would never break no matter how fast it beat, that would never stop beating no matter how passionately she kissed someone, and that she could love someone without any worries about their future together.

But after Kitagawa Ryo cured her heart disease, she began to complain that her current physical condition was not keeping up with the first step of her grand plan.

Even though she's got it all to herself, after being simulated and tormented by Kitagawa Ryo like that, Sakayanagi Arisu just can't seem to say any of those classic lines that are typical of this type of character, like "I don't need anything else," "I can satisfy you all by myself," or "Being by my side is the greatest happiness."

Her outfit today was indeed cute, but the arms peeking out from the sleeves with delicate lace trim and the legs wrapped in white stockings under her skirt were so slender that it was somewhat worrying, giving her a strong impression of someone pretending to be a high school student.

"It's okay. Just like I said on the deserted island, I'll just need to eat more and exercise more after I get to the island."

Kitagawa Ryo, who instantly read Arisu Sakayanagi's thoughts from her expression and actions, habitually stepped forward and patted her head, offering words of encouragement and comfort:

"Let's set a small goal first. The sports festival starts in October, right? Before that, let's train Arisu to the point where he can play in matches without any problems."

Having already experienced the sports festival exam in a simulation, Kitagawa Ryo knew that this was a mechanism in which the whole class had to participate. Considering that their Class B already had fewer students than other classes, it was almost a certainty that Sakayanagi Arisu would sign up to participate in two events.

"Yes, Liang is right."

Once again realizing that the future is still within reach and the past cannot be retrieved, Sakayanagi Arisu also took a deep breath and nodded with bright eyes.

"Okay, then I'll take Alice to the shopping street later to buy some little gadgets that we'll need later."

"what?"

Whether it was because Kitagawa Ryo's words were a bit vague, or because she was already thinking about some inappropriate scenario for children, Sakayanagi Arisu subconsciously asked this question, her tone carrying a hint of unease.

"A sports watch, the kind the school gave us for this special exam on the deserted island. It monitors data such as exercise, blood oxygen, and heart rate in real time, which is also safer."

Kitagawa Ryo was unaware of what Sakayanagi Arisu was thinking, and simply replied casually that he was still quite worried that Sakayanagi Arisu might overdo her training despite her physical limitations. After all, the girl's competitive spirit was excessively strong, and once she decided to do something, her stubbornness was irresistible. That's why he thought of getting her a sports watch as a precaution.

After deciding on the next stop in a few words, Kitagawa Ryo and Sakayanagi Arisu started strolling around the concert hall. Because he only had the purple talent of 'Pianist', Kitagawa Ryo was only vaguely familiar with most other instruments. However, the two of them were just playing around out of curiosity, so they had a pretty good time.

After personally experiencing large wind instruments such as the saxophone and tuba, Sakayanagi Arisu, her cheeks flushed, was breathing heavily and realized the truth about her insufficient lung capacity.

"Actually, lung capacity is not the most crucial factor; breath control is the most important... However, Arisu's lung capacity is indeed too small. Let me think, Arisu could try playing small wind instruments like flutes and xiao first."

After thinking for a moment, Kitagawa Ryo took a long flute from the shelf next to him and handed it to Sakayanagi Arisu, explaining with a smile:

"The xiao itself is a thin tube, which makes it easier to produce sound."

"let me try."

Sakayanagi Arisu took the long flute handed to her by Kitagawa Ryo with great interest, then carefully put it in her mouth and began to play a few out-of-tune notes intermittently, following the breath control techniques taught by Kitagawa Ryo.

"Cough cough, still feeling stuffy... Whew."

After holding out for a while, Sakayanagi Arisu raised her hands in surrender again.

"Is there anything simpler?"

"Then we'll have to use a harmonica."

In response to Sakayanagi Arisu's question, Kitagawa Ryo, who was prepared, picked up a small harmonica and gave her a brief introduction:

"This is simple, and you don't have to keep blowing. It's divided into blow holes and suction holes. When you blow, you have to hold six or seven holes on this side at the same time, and then use your tongue to block the four holes on the left side. By the way, the depth you hold it in must be appropriate."

"Next, use the right side of your mouth to blow or inhale through the two or three holes on this side, and use the tip of your tongue to rhythmically open and close them, inhale and blow."

After saying that, Kitagawa Ryo chuckled jokingly:

"If you think this is difficult too, then I can only teach you how to whistle."

"I'll try again."

Perhaps it was Kitagawa Ryo's words that suddenly ignited some competitive spirit within her, because Sakayanagi Arisu earnestly put the harmonica to her lips.

"Remember, when blowing and inhaling, your tongue tip must be flexible. The first time you may feel that there is a lot of saliva, but don't worry too much about it. Also, be careful not to touch your teeth. If you blow for a long time, your mouth may feel sore or you may feel short of oxygen. Just practice more and you will get used to it."

...It feels like the more I talk, the more inappropriate it gets.

Shaking his head to dismiss the romantic memories of last night with Amazusa Ichika, Kitagawa Ryo continued to instruct Sakayanagi Arisu on her speech, spitting, and harmonica techniques until the entire hour they had booked the concert hall was over.

Chapter 260: The Art of Selling in One Sentence

"...There are indeed more people here than yesterday."

After leaving the concert hall with Sakayanagi Arisu, Kitagawa Ryo also kept walking towards the shopping street lined with shops, and unsurprisingly, he once again ran into the students' shopping spree.

Everywhere you look, there are groups of students chatting and laughing, carrying several shopping bags. From a financial perspective, the treasure hunt game held by the school yesterday afternoon did indeed greatly stimulate the students' desire to spend.

Even if you don't win any big prizes yourself, you'll always have friends or classmates who are incredibly lucky. They'll use this as an excuse to invite you out shopping, and then throw in a few words like "I'll treat you to dinner" or "Everyone come." Most of the lazy people who originally wanted to stay comfortably in their rooms until the end of their vacation will be forced to go out.

Once they step out, it means they have become potential consumers. Given that everyone has spare cash (prepaid cards), it is quite a challenge to shop around without spending a penny in this atmosphere.

"There are fewer people over there, let's go buy the harmonica first."

With his right palm resting horizontally between his eyebrows, Kitagawa Ryo glanced around at his surroundings before making this suggestion.

He and Arisu Sakayanagi are actually here to buy two things: a harmonica for beginners to practice after barely achieving the beginner level, and a sports watch for real-time monitoring of the wearer's blood oxygen, heart rate, and other body data.

Compared to the electronics store that sells the latter, the specialty store that sells musical instruments of all sizes is obviously much quieter.

It seems that there aren't many students at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School who like this kind of thing. Judging from the club's performance, the ones who win awards every year seem to be sports-related, like soccer and basketball. Even Kitagawa Ryo had never heard of anyone he knew who was a member of the light music club or the brass band.

Even with the piano, a relatively common and popular musical instrument, Kitagawa Ryo could only recall Horikita Suzune, who was taught by him and could be considered quite skilled at it. This was evident from the fact that during a special exam on a deserted island, only he and Ishizaki Daichi, who had completely gotten lucky, participated in a piano-related subject.

After buying a harmonica recommended for beginners from a shop assistant in a music store that was deserted and bored, and listening to the assistant's complaints that "the best-selling instrument on the entire cruise ship is the conch shell from the souvenir shop next door," Kitagawa Ryo and Sakayanagi Arisu couldn't help but chuckle as they left the music store and headed towards the electronics store across the street.

"Speaking of which, I ran into Morishita from Class D this morning while I was waiting for Arisu."

On the way there, Kitagawa Ryo took the initiative to bring up what happened that morning. Since Matsushita Chiaki would report to Sakayanagi Arisu anyway, he might as well let him explain it clearly in advance.

"Morishita-san from Class D? That Morishita Ai?"

I don't know if she had memorized the names and faces of all the students in the grade a long time ago, but even though she had hardly ever interacted with this girl, Sakayanagi Arisu quickly found her in her memory and asked with a slight frown and a hint of doubt:

"What does she want with Liang?"

"She asked me about Ayanokouji Kiyotaka and Ayanokouji Atsuomi. She didn't know they were father and son, but she could call out Ayanokouji Atsuomi's name, which made her seem like she knew something about it? After all, Ayanokouji Atsuomi has been retired for quite some time, and kids this age wouldn't usually pay much attention to political figures like that. Does Arisu have any impression of him?"

Faced with Kitagawa Ryo's earnest question, Sakayanagi Arisu pondered intently for a moment with her head down, but ultimately shook her head:

“I don’t have much of an impression of this surname and first name, but Liang doesn’t need to worry too much. After all, according to what you said, the other party is at most a semi-knowledgeable person.”

As she spoke, Sakayanagi Arisu thoughtfully named a few more people:

"Actually, given Ryo's current status, the only first-year student who can barely compare to you is Kogenji, whom you expelled at the beginning of the semester. Kanzaki Heavy Industries, which is behind Kanzaki in Class A, is not quite qualified... However, his talent is not outstanding, and he doesn't seem to have any intention of going against Ryo at all."

"To be honest, Tianze's background is not bad either, but considering her father's personality and her own background, plus the current relationship between the two of you, if it were to be exposed, it would probably be just like back then, where the other party could cleanly and neatly pack up his cheap daughter who he has never raised and send her to a cold bed."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in agreement.

"That's really possible."

However, the next second, he keenly noticed the qualifier "first year" in Sakayanagi Arisu's previous words, so he curiously asked another question:

"Arisu just mentioned first-year students. Does that mean there are students in the upper grades with similar backgrounds to Kogenji?"

Seemingly pleased with Kitagawa Ryo's quick reaction, Sakayanagi Arisu smiled, narrowing her eyes, and began to introduce Kitagawa Ryo:

"Hmm, Kiryuin Kaede from Class 2-B, I wonder if Ryo has heard of this name, or rather, her surname?"

"Kiryuin? I see, I understand now."

Upon hearing Sakayanagi Arisu mention the name, Kitagawa Ryo showed a look of realization. Although he hadn't been used to the identity of a conglomerate's young master, bestowed with the talent of being a 'lost heir of a wealthy family' for two years, he still knew a lot of basic common sense, including some matters related to the surname Kiryuin.

"Class 2-B, isn't that the class that Vice President Kiriyama had? The former Class A that was defeated by Nagumo... Could this be another Kogenji?"

After briefly assessing the situation in the second year and considering that Vice President Kiriyama, despite being a class leader, seemed somewhat mediocre in various aspects, Kitagawa Ryo quickly made this deduction.

"Well, Liang, you could say that. At least in terms of not cooperating with the class and doing things his own way, they are quite similar, but not exactly the same."

Sakayanagi Arisu simply shook her head upon hearing this:

"Although Kogenji behaves strangely, it is essentially his absolute arrogance about his background and talent. But Kiryuin is different. Rather, it is because she was willing to come to Tokyo Advanced Educational High School to escape the arrangements made by her family... No, no, why talk so much about Kiryuin with Ryo? Anyway, we are not in the same grade, and she is not in the student council. We should not have any interaction with her."

Halfway through the conversation, Sakayanagi Arisu belatedly realized that this was her date with Kitagawa Ryo, so she quickly stopped talking about other girls, grabbed his arm, and followed the student in front of her into the shop.

It has to be said that even when it comes to cosplaying a koala clinging to his body, Sakayanagi Arisu is unparalleled, even giving Kitagawa Ryo a subtle illusion that he could lift her up with a simple raise of his arm.

There were quite a few students gathered at this shop. It seemed that two of them had won a grand prize of 100,000 yuan in yesterday's treasure hunt game and were thinking of buying themselves a computer or a game console. They were chatting and laughing with several friends around the glass counter, making their selections with the help of the salesperson.

Moving his gaze to the right, in a corner of a counter, Kitagawa Ryo spotted a familiar figure. Her figure, strikingly different from the side, resembling a high school student, along with her pinkish-red hair, made her easily recognizable. He casually raised his hand in greeting.

Good morning, Airi.

I felt that the force gripping my arm noticeably increased the moment I called out my name.

But as it turns out, not everything is like water in a sponge... you can't squeeze it out no matter how hard you try.

"Hmm, good morning, Ryo, and also, Arisu."

Upon hearing her name called, Sakura Airi waved energetically in response, then turned and spoke a few words to the female staff member at the counter. After pushing the camera she was holding over, she walked towards the two of them.

Are you here to buy something?

"Yeah, I'm planning to buy Arisu a sports watch. Isn't the sports festival coming up next semester? We need to get some preparation and get some exercise."

Whether it was some lingering obsession from the concert hall earlier or not, while Kitagawa Ryo and Sakura Airi were chatting casually, Sakayanagi Arisu stared intently at each other's mountains, her mind involuntarily replaying the disastrous scene of her single-handedly defending against Sakura Airi during the 'name tag ripping' challenge in the special exam on the deserted island.

At that moment, she felt like she was fighting against mountains and walls, and in a sense, she was like Don Quixote charging at windmills.

"By the way, what brings Airi here?"

In response to Kitagawa Ryo's question, Sakura Airi pointed to the counter with the 'Electronic Equipment Repair' sign and explained somewhat helplessly:

"I dropped the camera this morning and it won't turn on, so I came here to get it repaired."

At this point, Sakura Airi sighed with regret:

"It's a pity that cameras aren't allowed on the deserted island during the special exam, otherwise I'd really like to take some pictures of the scenery there. I've been taking pictures of cruise ships and seascapes these past few days, and I've also taken many pictures of sunsets and starry skies. I hope my memory card doesn't have any problems—"