I have a life simulator.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was stunned and didn't immediately agree, Karuizawa Megumi was even quicker to deny her own words:

"...Liang, don't worry about it. I just have these thoughts occasionally, but after all, Liang's parents are abroad, so there's no need to worry about it."

Karuizawa Megumi stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said with apparent confidence:

"I'll be fine on my own, Hotaru is with me."

What the heck...?

Kitagawa Ryo rubbed his forehead.

【Won't this look exactly like a rose?】

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

"I woke up later than usual today."

Shiina Hiyori, who had just woken up from bed and still had her head full of tufts of hair sticking up, walked out of her room and heard her mother's voice. She responded softly.

"My hair is so messy."

Shiina Hiyori, wearing pink slippers and a simple light blue nightgown, walked to the sink. Due to inexplicable insomnia these past two days, she had developed some dark circles under her eyes. She leaned close to the mirror and used a hot towel to vigorously iron her oily cheeks, pouting in dissatisfaction.

"Was Hiyori chatting with friends last night?"

"Mom heard the noise."

"Ah... yes."

Hiyori Shiina answered her mother's questions while fixing her hair.

"Mom, where did you put your usual face mask?"

Shiina Hiyori looked at the faint dark circles under her eyes in the mirror and felt a little depressed.

"Is this the first time Hiyori has used something like this?"

The mother, also quite surprised, walked up behind her:

"However, girls really should learn some makeup and skincare tips."

Shiina Hiyori nodded.

Of course, this is a truth that even roses understand.

I need to take a day off to revise my history competition paper.

Tonight at 9 PM, as usual, when I started writing, my supervisor suddenly returned my history competition paper, saying some paragraphs were too redundant and I needed to revise them. By the time I finished revising, it was almost this late, and now my mind is full of random things like "public sphere," "alienation," and "social gossip." I just can't switch back to the state I'm in when I'm updating, so I'm taking a day off to rework the outline. Sorry.

I've attached a bonus image as an apology.

Chapter Seventeen: Taming and Being Tamed

It was almost six o'clock when Kitagawa Ryo finished his phone call with Shiina Hiyori. He didn't intend to go back to sleep. He stretched and got out of bed, opening the kitchen refrigerator with a hint of anticipation. The ingredients here were replenished randomly every day, which was considered a unique service of this hotel.

However, today's ingredients are all fairly common. Kitagawa Ryo thought for a moment and took out four potatoes that looked decent. He peeled and sliced ​​them, threw them into a pot, added water, and boiled them. While the potatoes were boiling, he brushed his teeth and washed his face in one go. Then he mashed the cooked potato slices into a puree, cracked three eggs into it, added some lotus root starch from the cupboard, and then added pepper and other seasonings. Kitagawa Ryo quickly mixed the mashed potatoes evenly and then used a rolling pin to press them into small round cakes. He then heated oil in a pan and started frying the potato cakes.

If this were back in England, 'Hotaru' would probably be sitting obediently on the table next to him. It's always very attached to Kitagawa Ryo, but it's strictly forbidden to enter the kitchen while he's cooking, so it can only smell the food and its bright, jewel-like eyes dart around.

Thinking of this, Kitagawa Ryo casually sent a greeting message to Karuizawa Megumi, and then began to prepare some dipping sauce. He washed and peeled the scallions, ginger and garlic and chopped them with a knife. He poured cilantro, green onions, minced garlic and chili seeds into a bowl, and then added some salt, soy sauce and barbecue sauce from the kitchen and stirred.

His tastes are rather strong, so he wouldn't find it strange to eat these things so early in the morning. Anyway, he's eating alone, so no one else can interfere. Izaki-san has been busy with something since he came to Tokyo. Apart from Kitagawa Ryo taking the initiative to look for him, I haven't seen him much.

Kitagawa Ryo, with a potato pancake in his mouth, leisurely began watching the morning news after turning on the TV and switching to the news channel.

"In response to the recent surge in school violence incidents, experts have pointed out that junior high school is a sensitive period for adolescents' physical and psychological development. Educators and parents should work together to address the psychological issues of teenagers."

"Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School has been accused of occupying too many public resources, and the school held a press conference yesterday to respond."

[Tokyo Higher Ikusei Junior High School, that's the school I'll be attending next year.]

Kitagawa Ryo poured himself a glass of hot milk while watching TV. He had heard that the school only admitted 160 students each year, and the school had never announced their selection criteria. Although there were written and oral exams before admission, there were rumors that the exam content was unrelated to the selection process.

[However, if it's him, getting admitted shouldn't be a problem, but based on my interaction with Horikita Suzune yesterday, she'll definitely go and get into this school too...]

He had heard some things about his sister, Horikita Suzune, from Horikita Manabu before, but when Kitagawa Ryo got to know her personally, he found that the problem was indeed more serious than he had imagined. However, given Horikita Manabu's personality, he would not deliberately instill any such twisted ideas in Horikita Suzune, so the root of the problem still lay with Horikita Suzune herself.

Kitagawa Ryo was pondering Horikita Suzune's problem when his phone rang with a message from Karuizawa Megumi:

"I fed Ying cat food."

Along with the message came a short video:

"Meow."

Ying was diligently munching on cat food. She was a very photogenic pet cat, or perhaps because she was full. As soon as she noticed someone filming her, she started to act cute, staring with her round eyes and waving her little paws together in front of her chest.

After what happened last night, Karuizawa Megumi became more restrained and didn't even ask Kitagawa Ryo to accompany her today. It seemed that she really was as she said, that even if she didn't need Kitagawa Ryo to be by her side all the time, she could handle everything on her own.

And so their conversation ended naturally. Karuizawa Kei had no reason to speak again, and Kitagawa Ryo also had an important matter to attend to that day.

"I am Horikita Suzune."

Soon, a somewhat cold voice came from outside the hotel room door.

Seemingly having anticipated all of this, Kitagawa Ryo showed no surprise whatsoever, simply sipping his milk calmly as he replied:

"The door is open."

As the doorknob creaked as it was turned, Horikita Suzune met Kitagawa Ryo once again.

She appeared to have just come from a morning run; she was wearing light sportswear and was slightly out of breath.

"Your slippers are in the shoe cabinet next to you."

The slippers used here are disposable and are replaced daily. Horikita Suzune casually grabbed a pair of unopened slippers, tore them open, and stepped into the room.

Horikita Suzune seemed to have little experience in interpersonal communication. After entering the room, she was even a little at a loss. She just stood there staring at Kitagawa Ryo, who was washing dishes, as if waiting for him to take the lead in the conversation.

"You're a little late, otherwise I could have let you try my cooking."

Kitagawa Ryo was unaware that Horikita Suzune was staring intently at his back. He picked up a towel to wipe the bowl and said with a hint of regret.

"Does Kitagawa also cook for himself?"

After their conversation yesterday, the two were now acquainted. However, Horikita Suzune omitted the "kun" from her initial address of "Kitagawa-kun" and started calling Kitagawa Ryo "Kitagawa" directly.

"Because I spend a lot of time at home alone, I've learned a bit."

There were only a few bowls to begin with, and Kitagawa Ryo washed them quickly. He finished washing them by now, and after wiping his hands with a towel, he turned around and saw Horikita Suzune standing there dumbfounded.

Is there something on my back?

Kitagawa Ryo turned his head and asked with some confusion.

"No."

Horikita Suzune flatly denied it.

"Ok."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head, walked out of the kitchen, and sat on the sofa in the main hall. Horikita Suzune followed closely behind him and sat on the sofa opposite him.

In the morning light, Horikita Suzune looked up and saw a group photo on the table. It was a collection of photos that Kitagawa Ryo had brought from his time in England. He had shown some to Karuizawa Megumi yesterday when he had some free time, and the rest had been left here. The one she saw happened to be a photo of Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Manabu at a bridgehead.

"let me see."

Her hands moved even faster than her words. By the time Kitagawa Ryo subconsciously hummed in agreement, the photo was already in Horikita Suzune's hands. She looked at it with a religious solemnity, then nodded and continued to examine the group photo.

When was the last time Horikita saw Manabu?

Kitagawa Ryo looked at Horikita Suzune thoughtfully and asked a question.

More than two years ago.

Horikita Suzune answered without hesitation:

"And as of yesterday, I didn't even have his contact information."

"...Your sibling relationship is truly abnormal."

“My brother has always been my guiding light, and he has always encouraged me.”

Horikita Suzune's gaze remained fixed; the influence of the name Horikita Manabu on her was even greater than Kitagawa Ryo had imagined.

It seems that every time Horikita Suzune utters this name, she gains a bit more fighting spirit and strength out of thin air, just like a plant facing the sun and photosynthesizing, nourishing herself with this name and desperately growing upwards.

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head:

"Go take a shower first. You're all sweaty after your run. I'm going out to make a phone call."

"Is it with your brother?"

"Yes."

This answer seemed to be enough to motivate Horikita Rin to take action. Kitagawa Ryo changed his shoes, walked out of the room, and went to the end of the corridor to dial Horikita Manabu's phone. Although it was already 11 or 12 o'clock at night in London, Kitagawa Ryo was dealing with his troublesome sister for Horikita Manabu's sake. How could Horikita Manabu himself just sleep peacefully?

Thinking this, Kitagawa Ryo made the call with some resentment.

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

Horikita Suzune started growing her hair long the year Horikita Gaku left. She seemed to be born with long hair, and in less than three years, she had beautiful long hair that reached her waist. She went into the bathroom, untied the small braid on the left side, put the hairband aside, and her black hair flowed down like water, washing over her entire shoulder and wetting her face under the hot water.

In the past six months, some boys would give her love letters, but she never bothered to read them. Unlike other girls, she wouldn't call the person out to reject them. When she received a love letter in person, she would return it directly to the person. If it was in the shoe cabinet, she would throw it in the trash can. The discarded love letters piled up there in a colorful mess.

Horikita Suzune doesn't think about unnecessary things, nor does she want to engage in interpersonal interactions. So, after a month, a small clique formed in the class, and she was naturally isolated. Horikita Suzune dealt with this kind of passive-aggressive behavior with ease, and she felt confident that she could protect herself if things really came to blows. Over time, Horikita Suzune became an oddity in the class, but none of this affected her.

Until Kitagawa Ryo arrived.

Especially after learning that the other party was her brother's close friend, Horikita Suzune began to have a different attitude towards him. Even yesterday, when she heard Kitagawa Ryo's invitation for her to come over this morning, a small joy flashed through her heart, but it was like a sharp knife that mercilessly dissected Horikita Suzune.

Horikita Suzune observed her own emotions while taking a shower.

She imagined the conversation between Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Manabu outside the door. In her mind, Kitagawa Ryo was probably telling her brother about her growth to prove that even after all these years apart from him, she was still independently catching up with him.

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

"You have to pay more."

Kitagawa Ryo, quite ungracefully, leaned against the window of the corridor, talking as he looked down at the entire street from above.

"It's too much trouble. I'm more curious about why your sister looks like this."

"No matter how lush her upper body is, her lower body is attached to your existence. Having role models is not a bad thing, but being bound by role models is your own problem. In the end, it is also a problem of learning from yourself."

Kitagawa Ryo said without any politeness:

"Look, if you weren't so outstanding, your sister would easily surpass you, and she wouldn't consider you the final destination."

"..."

"Silence won't help. You're not planning to keep avoiding her, are you? Maybe you'll hide away at that high school next year?"

“I used to think that Rin would figure things out on her own after I left.”

Horikita Manabu sighed on the other end of the phone:

"But based on what you've reported to me, it seems to be useless."

"cold……"

"You have to pay more."

Before the other party could speak, Kitagawa Ryo stated his conditions directly:

"I will try my best to help you solve your sister's problem, but afterwards you will have to help cancel the engagement between me and her."

"If Liang can really solve this, I will speak up for you in the marriage agreement."

Horikita Manabu nodded. After all, he was currently abroad, and even if he realized Horikita Suzune's problem, he couldn't come back right now.

"But what are you planning to do, Ryo? As far as I know, you only have five more days left in Tokyo."

Five days? Not necessarily.

Kitagawa Ryo curled the corners of his mouth:

"I don't want to go back to London so soon."

Is it because of Karuizawa Megumi?

"Would you believe me if I said it was because I wanted to help you completely solve your sister's problem?"