I have a life simulator.

Sure enough, less than half a minute after Kitagawa Ryo sent the message, Shiina Hiyori replied:

"I've read it. I read the Japanese version when I was eight, and the English version when I was twelve. I haven't read the French version yet."

Hiyori Shiina doesn't have the habit of using emojis or emoticons; the messages she sends are basically in this simple and clear format.

What are Hiyori's thoughts on the character of the rose in "The Little Prince"?

The rose was the only rose on the Little Prince's planet. Before she bloomed, the planet only had some nameless wildflowers. The Little Prince had never seen such a beautiful flower before, and he fell in love with it, carefully tending to it. During his time with the rose, the Little Prince believed she was the only flower, unique to his planet and nowhere else. However, the rose, loved by the Little Prince, proudly tested him time and again, which was one of the reasons the Little Prince left his planet to begin his interstellar journey.

"Rose? She's a character that evokes a lot of sympathy."

Once Shiina Hiyori started talking about books, she became very excited, and her messages quickly rained down on Kitagawa Ryo.

There are generally four common ways to write about tragedies involving love:

First, a relationship that ended before it even began.

Second, a permanent missed opportunity that could have been avoided with just a little more effort.

Third, significant sacrifices that seem insignificant in the eyes of the other party.

"as well as."

Hiyori Shiina paused for a moment before slowly sending the last message:

"It was only much later that I realized what I had truly lost."

"From this perspective, the rose actually fits all four lines."

"She and the Little Prince had feelings for each other, but she didn't truly say 'I love you' until the Little Prince decided to leave; the Little Prince watered her and made her a glass dome, and she would dress herself up carefully every day for the Little Prince, but neither of them felt that the other had done anything for them; finally, it wasn't until the Little Prince came to Earth and met the fox that he realized that he had already reached a taming relationship with this rose, and that they were each other's only one, each other's whole world."

"But the Little Prince could no longer return to his planet to see the rose."

Shiina Hiyori seemed to haven't had enough, and almost subconsciously typed out her thoughts and sent them to Kitagawa Ryo:

"Is it convenient for Kitagawa-kun to make a phone call?"

"It is convenient, indeed."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't mind. He got up, took out his headphone cable from his bag, connected it to his laptop, and started a voice call with Shiina Hiyori.

"Did Kitagawa-kun get up early today, or did he not sleep at all last night?"

Soon, Shiina Hiyori's voice came from the other end. Perhaps because it was already past 10 p.m. on her end, her voice was slightly lowered and she was very close. Kitagawa Ryo was wearing in-ear headphones, so he could clearly hear her breathing and the rustling of the blankets.

"It's probably because of the time difference."

Kitagawa Ryo pulled the earphones out a little, which lessened the whispering breaths between them. Leaning against the hotel bed, he asked softly:

"Hiyori should be going to sleep by now."

A faint rustling sound and soft noise came from over there:

"Under the covers."

Hiyori Shiina honestly reported her situation. She was probably also a little curious about the scene of talking on the phone in a dark room, hiding under the covers. Ryo Kitagawa could even feel that her voice seemed to be getting closer.

"Ah... don't worry, I took a proper nap today, so it's okay to stay up a little later tonight."

Only then did Shiina Hiyori realize what Kitagawa Ryo meant, and she replied belatedly.

"Ah."

Kitagawa Ryoya replied softly. He was still looking at the four tragic love stories that Shiina Hiyori had sent him, and suddenly he remembered the scene last night when Karuizawa Kei leaned on him and begged him not to leave.

Lost in thought, Kitagawa Ryo didn't hear Shiina Hiyori call out "Hello" twice more. Hiyori, still under the covers, angrily shouted into the microphone of her earphones:

"cold."

Kitagawa Ryo, as if waking from a dream, quickly pulled himself out of his thoughts and apologized to Shiina Hiyori:

"Sorry, I was distracted just now."

"Is Hiyori going to continue talking about roses?"

"At first I was, but now I'm a little angry."

Kitagawa Ryo could even picture Shiina Hiyori's slightly puffed-up cheeks through the screen. Something similar had happened before; when the two were discussing the plot of a mystery novel, Kitagawa Ryo's unintentional lapse in concentration resulted in him reluctantly agreeing to a strange agreement:

You are not allowed to think about anything else while discussing books with Rihe, and you are not allowed to get distracted!

It seems like this agreement was made less than a month ago, and Kitagawa Ryo has already broken it.

"...Okay, I promise I won't do it again."

Kitagawa Ryo could understand the frustration of talking non-stop only to have the other person look down and not listen at all, so he quickly thought of a solution.

"I have to keep a close eye on Kitagawa-kun."

Hiyori Shiina proposed her conditions faster than Ryo Kitagawa:

“A voice call alone is not enough, Kitagawa-kun needs to turn on the video.”

Is it just me?

"Because I'm under the covers."

Hiyori Shiina shook the blanket, indicating her current situation.

"Alright alright."

Kitagawa Ryo had no choice but to turn on the camera, since he had breached the contract first.

"Can you see it?"

Because he was the only one who turned on the video, Kitagawa Ryo could only wave at the black screen on the other side.

"Closer."

A reply came from Shiina Hiyori through the receiver, and Kitagawa Ryo placed the notebook on his lap, then bent his legs, a move that seemed to have pleased the girl.

"Well, it's alright."

"I have this inexplicable feeling of nervousness. Am I having a job interview?"

Because he couldn't see the other person, but the other person could see him, this slightly awkward situation made Kitagawa Ryo's facial expression look a little stiff.

"It's alright, Kitagawa-kun, don't worry about it."

Shiina Hiyori chuckled sweetly, then stretched out her finger and slowly traced Kitagawa Ryo's face on the screen, from his eyebrows to his nose to his mouth, as if she could actually touch him through it.

"Actually, I initially thought that roses were pretentious, prone to throwing tantrums and mood swings, never satisfied, and even lied to the Little Prince that they were the only rose in the world."

"But later I felt that the rose had no choice. Many people say that she and the little prince did not give equally to each other, but she was just a flower after all. All she could do for the little prince was to bloom, to bloom beautifully, and to stay by his side."

Hiyori Shiina read aloud the monologue about the blooming roses through her earphones:

She carefully selected the colors, slowly put on her clothes, and adjusted the petals one by one.

She didn't want to appear like a wrinkled poppy; she wanted to fully bloom with beautiful radiance. Yes, that's how much she loved to dress up.

She disguised herself mysteriously for many days, and then one morning, at sunrise, she suddenly revealed her true identity.

She had dressed so meticulously, yet now she yawned and said:

"Oh dear! I just got up... I'm so sorry... I haven't washed up yet."

"Don't you think this is very girly, Kitagawa-kun?"

Hiyori Shiina smiled gently and continued:

"You should show your lover your best side. Roses are no different from any other girl."

"..."

Kitagawa Ryo remained silent for a moment, then asked Shiina Hiyori further:

"But the little prince eventually left."

"Ah."

Hiyori Shiina rolled over, placed her phone against her heart, and replied with her eyes closed:

"Because the heart of a rose is the most sensitive and insecure, but she insists on pretending to be proud. She wants to be like the tigers around her—which may not even exist—and show her four sharp little thorns to prove that she can protect herself."

"She asked the Little Prince to water her plants and make her a glass dome to shield her from the wind; these were all tests she was giving the Little Prince."

Why test them?

Kitagawa Ryo answered instinctively:

"Many love tragedies end tragically because lovers test each other."

"Because they all want to know if they are unique in the other person's heart?"

Hiyori Shiina pursed her lips, trying to find a reasonable answer:

"Some people might think this is tragedy for the sake of tragedy, but people who are truly in love will go through this silly, torturous process. If they are sure, they can go on and on."

"It seems like Hiyori knows a lot about this."

"I've only read a lot of books that describe this kind of plot, so it's probably just theoretical."

"The rose only wanted the little prince to pamper her, because from the moment she was a seed, her world only contained the little prince, so she also hoped that the little prince's world only contained her, the rose."

Hiyori Shiina sighed softly:

"After leaving the rose, the little prince saw five thousand more roses that looked exactly like his, but he was not moved by them again."

"Does Kitagawa-kun know why?"

Kitagawa Ryo nodded towards the camera:

"Because she was watered by the Little Prince himself, and he protected her with his own hands. He killed off the caterpillars on her body one by one."

"He listened to all her troubles and self-pity, and he also listened to all her silences and unspoken words."

"That's my rose, my one and only rose."

Upon hearing Kitagawa Ryo's reply, Shiina Hiyori unconsciously tugged at the hem of her pajamas.

She looked directly into Kitagawa Ryo's dark pupils through the camera lens, as if the other person were speaking those words to her.

But Shiina Hiyori also knew that Kitagawa Ryo's eyes were just a black screen, and the rose in his words...

It wasn't myself either.

"It seems Kitagawa-kun also likes roses."

Hiyori Shiina felt a pang in her heart. She thought it might be because she didn't want to see Ryo Kitagawa reduce their reading and discussion activities because of his relationship.

After all, she really needed a book lover to communicate with, just a book lover.

"So, Kitagawa-kun, do you still have any questions about 'The Little Prince'?"

Shiina Hiyori smiled, even though it was past her usual bedtime, she still seemed to have so much to say. She gently placed her phone against her forehead, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she could see Kitagawa Ryo's face on the screen, so close to hers.

"No, Hiyori's analysis of 'The Little Prince' is very insightful. I must say, she's truly worthy of the name Hiyori."

Kitagawa Ryo looked out the window at the gradually rising sun and suddenly remembered Hotaru:

"Hiyori, I've given Hotaru to Megumi. I probably won't be able to share Hotaru's photos with me like before anymore."

"...?"

There was the longest silence yet on the other end of the phone. Kitagawa Ryo knew perfectly well that Shiina Hiyori liked Hotaru, but he didn't know how to explain or defend himself, so he could only look pitifully at the camera.

"I could also have Hui take some photos for me, and then I'll send them to you, how about that?"

Kitagawa Ryo stammered, and the last few words were barely audible.

"I think Kitagawa-kun should have shown some sincerity when he apologized, like making a heart shape with his hands or something?"

Shiina Hiyori's cold tone startled Kitagawa Ryo, who instinctively made a heart shape with both hands in front of the camera.

The next second, he saw that Shiina Hiyori's profile picture had been changed to his own photo.

Goodnight, let's video chat again next time we have time.

Hiyori Shiina's tone carried a hint of satisfaction and the joy of a successful prank.

Kitagawa Ryo watched helplessly as Shiina Hiyori hung up the phone, her profile picture quickly turning gray to indicate she was offline.

"what the hell."

He leaned against the headboard with amusement, and as soon as he closed his eyes, he remembered the scene of Karuizawa Kei begging him last night.

"So, so Liang, please don't leave, okay?"