I have a life simulator.

Feeling that finding teammates one by one was too slow, Kitagawa Ryo simply raised the slip of paper in his hand and began to actively gather his teammates. The first to come over were two boys from his class, Watanabe Norihito and Hamaguchi Tetsuya, who had just been playing cards and chatting together. They seemed quite satisfied to be in the same group as him, and immediately put their arms around his shoulders with a grin.

Soon, the boys from other classes who drew group number three also came over following the sound. They were Yukimura Teruhiko, Tomura Hideo, Miyake Akito and Yamada Albert from Class 1-A, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Hashimoto Masayoshi and Hirata Yosuke from Class 1-C, and Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo from Class 1-D, making a total of twelve people in the group.

To be honest, Kitagawa Ryo was quite satisfied with the members of his group at first glance. After all, in terms of ability alone, his group's strength on paper was already quite good. In terms of interpersonal relationships, they were all students he knew well and had close relationships with. Even the first-year C class that he had been somewhat concerned about beforehand, he ended up getting Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

Kitagawa Ryo actually always felt that his relationship with Ayanokouji Kiyotaka wasn't bad, especially after the two special events of the summer special exams and the cultural festival.

Before they knew it, they had even visited each other's dormitories and chatted over tea. From this point of view alone, they should be considered to have reached the definition of a friend.

Since they were all from the same grade and had seen each other frequently for the past six months, competing in several special exams together, the group skipped the introductions. However, soon after, Hashimoto Masayoshi from Class 1-C casually raised his hand and lazily offered his suggestion:

"Hey, I'm saying, with so many people in a group, how about we temporarily choose a team leader to take charge for the next few days? After all, I also want to earn more personal and class points through this special exam."

"Captain? Then let Kitagawa be the captain."

No sooner had Hashimoto Masayoshi uttered those words than Ishizaki Daichi quickly and without hesitation took over the conversation, so fast that Hashimoto himself glanced at him with some concern.

His suggestion was essentially a way of stirring things up, wanting to see how the boys in both classes would react and their attitudes towards Kitagawa Ryo after he left Class A and transferred to Class B. Unexpectedly, the first person to jump out and campaign for him was Ishizaki Daichi from Class D.

Unfortunately, he had already completed a one-on-one self-destruction with Ryuen Sho under Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's arrangement during the special exam on the deserted island. He didn't actually see Ishizaki Daichi and some of the D-class students being personally commanded by Kitagawa Ryo. He had only occasionally heard that Kitagawa Ryo had a good relationship with the D-class students, but he didn't expect it to be at this level of support. Ishizaki Daichi should have been Ryuen Sho's loyal follower.

"Yes, I remember the rulebook said that in addition to completing our studies, we also have to do chores such as cleaning the school buildings and cooking every day. Having a leader who can reasonably allocate tasks can really make things twice as efficient."

This time, it was definitely Yukimura Teruhiko from Class A who stood up, but unlike Ishizaki Daichi's carefree attitude, his views were undoubtedly more rational.

"I believe everyone agrees on Kitagawa's culinary skills and leadership abilities; the special exam on the deserted island last year is the best example."

As soon as Yukimura Teruhiko said this, the students of Class B and Class C nodded in agreement. Then, everyone's eyes turned to Kitagawa Ryo, waiting for his opinion.

"If everyone thinks this is better, then I will be the captain of this temporary group. However, I'm making it clear from the beginning that since I've been chosen to lead, everyone must promise to follow my instructions."

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo glanced once more at Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, who remained calm but had taken a half-step back and was hiding behind a classmate, looking like he was trying to bluff his way through the situation, and continued:

"As Hashimoto just said, everyone wants to get as many points as possible for themselves and the class, but I hope everyone remembers that from now until the end of this special exam, our only identity is that of a member of Group 3, and our goal is to get as many points as possible and pass this exam smoothly."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

As for whether any of them had any other hidden intentions, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't tell at the moment. However, since it was only the first day of the training camp, he didn't care. He quickly signaled the boys in the third group to go with him to the dormitories assigned by the school to put down their luggage.

Similar to the school building we just passed through, the dormitory was also a wooden structure with twelve neatly arranged bunk beds. While it wasn't particularly crowded, it certainly wasn't spacious either. After putting down their luggage, all that remained was a narrow passageway.

Upon entering the dormitory, Ishizaki Daichi and Komiya Yogo were eager to grab the better upper bunks, but since they had just agreed to follow Kitagawa Ryo's instructions, they suppressed their impulse and, at Kitagawa Ryo's suggestion, decided to play rock-paper-scissors to determine the order of bed selection.

Kitagawa Ryo's luck was neither good nor bad; he got a middle spot and ended up randomly choosing a lower bunk near the door.

This wasn't the first time he'd slept in a bunk bed. He and Xue had shared a long time in the white room, though she would often end up sleeping on the lower bunk of his bed.

But it must be said that it was indeed a time I miss very much.

"Sorry to bother you, Kitagawa. I'll sleep in the bunk above you."

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was reminiscing about those days in the white room, a voice suddenly came from above. Looking up, he saw Ayanokouji Kiyotaka nimbly climbing up the ladder next to his bed to his upper bunk.

"Well, please take care of me."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded, but then immediately and subconsciously tightened the corner of the blankets he was lying on.

Although this person is also an outstanding graduate of the White Room.

But in the end, I decided against it.

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

Unlike the relatively harmonious atmosphere of Kitagawa Ryo's group, which at least on the surface is still somewhat harmonious, the girls' group, which was taken to another gymnasium, presents a completely different picture.

In fact, when Hoshinomiya Chie announced on the train that this training camp would involve living with students from other classes for a week, the girls' reactions were much stronger than the boys'. After all, the dynamics of girls' dormitories are always complex in various ways. Kitagawa Ryo himself had heard Honami and Megumi talk about how girls would form temporary groups to criticize and attack each other.

Moreover, compared to the boys who are less concerned about large dormitories with twelve or thirteen students, many girls are inherently unable to accept such a large number of students in a dormitory. A considerable number of students have even started asking female teachers nearby if they can buy bed curtains to cover their beds, or they have started inquiring about the bathing environment of the large public bathhouse.

But no matter how much they resisted, both physically and mentally, the first-year girls could only obediently go up on stage to draw lots, secretly praying that they would draw a few reliable roommates. They didn't care how well they did on this special exam, as long as they didn't end up having a big fight with their temporary roommates.

Among all the first-year girls, Honami Ichinose and Kikyo Kushida were undoubtedly the two most popular and sought-after girls. They were the kind of girls that everyone wanted to be roommates with. So as soon as the two of them finished drawing lots, the other girls who had drawn lots nearby swarmed around them, wanting to see what number they had drawn.

Kikyo Kushida's is four, while Honami Ichinose's is two.

So, every girl who went on stage then began to silently count the numbers 'two' and 'four' in their minds.

Megumi Karuizawa is certain that she is definitely not one of them.

However, as she reached out and pulled, the bright number 'two' appeared in her field of vision, indicating that she and Ichinose Honami had been assigned to the second group and the second largest group on the girls' side.

Before a speechless Karuizawa Megumi could even turn around and complain to Ichinose Honami, Sakayanagi Arisu on the other side also drew a 1, while Amasawa Ichika behind her drew a 4. Not far away, Kushida Kikyo, who was still looking for her teammates, subconsciously shivered, obviously recalling some bad memories.

However, Sakayanagi Arisu didn't pay attention to Amasawa Ichika and Kushida Kikyo. After getting her lot, she rushed over to Horikita Suzune. When she saw that the other girl's lot number was 'three', she breathed a sigh of relief, and a fiercely competitive smile instantly appeared on her pretty face.

"Lingyin, shall we have a competition?"

Seemingly having grown accustomed to Arisu Sakayanagi's attacks during this period, Horikita Suzune remained remarkably calm.

"How to compare?"

"How about the simplest way, the same as the school's rules: individual score ranking, group score ranking, and overall group score ranking?"

"as you wish."

Seeing Sakayanagi Arisu and Horikita Suzune suddenly make a bet in front of the other students not far away, Karuizawa Megumi also turned around and looked at Ichinose Honami with eager anticipation.

"Stop looking, we're in the same group, both in group two."

Honami Ichinose simply shook her head. Perhaps the slip of paper used to draw lots for the group had stirred up some memories for her. She was still looking at both sides of it over and over, as if trying to find a confession that she should have received.

Even if you could do it all over again, some things, once missed, are missed forever. No matter how many timelines you cross, the grand fireworks display on the mountaintop, which was supposed to be prepared just for her, will forever remain only in your imagination.

However, it had been a long time since then, and considering that she had recently received another meaningful item from Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami put the 'two' on the slip of paper aside after playing with it for a while and began to gather her group members again.

Soon, all twelve members of the second group had assembled.

First-year Class A: Satsuki Shinohara, Maya Sato, and Miyu Wang.

Class 1B: Karuizawa Megumi, Ichinose Honami, Shiranami Chihiro.

First-year Class C: Masumi Kamuro, Aoi Morishita, and Miki Yamamura.

Class 1-D: Mio Ibuki, Takeko Nishino, Minori Kinoshita.

Theoretically, it should be Ichinose Honami's turn to coordinate and integrate the group like Kitagawa Ryo did. However, the issues among the girls are indeed more complicated than those among the boys. In Class A, Shinohara and Sato have successfully seized the ecological niche and small group status among the girls in the class after Ichinose Honami transferred away. Asking them to willingly fawn over Ichinose, who is no longer in the class, is a bit awkward. After all, the two of them still remember the scene of desperately trying to curry favor with Ichinose after Kitagawa Ryo transferred away, and they still have some lingering resentment.

Needless to say, Chihiro Shiranami is the kind of girl who is close to both Honami Ichinose and Megumi Karuizawa. She can't choose between the two. If she supports Megumi, she feels sorry for Honami. If she supports Honami, she feels she can't face Megumi. So she simply stays silent and is too embarrassed to say a word.

As for Class C, it can only be said that this is the trio that Ichinose Honami least wanted to see. She is indeed the best at handling interpersonal relationships in the grade, a queen of social life with friends everywhere. She also knows many girls in Class C. However, the three people in her second group are all "escaped fish". One, two, three are all ultimate loners. Especially the last one, Yamamura Miki, who has no presence at all, making Ichinose Honami not know how to start a conversation.

Class D... The three people who most wanted to support were probably Hiyori Shiina or Suzune Horikita (referring to Mio Ibuki), but neither of them were in this group, so neither of them had any intention of speaking up, and the situation suddenly became awkward.

"Well... anyway, we'll be roommates for a week from now on. I hope we have a pleasant stay together, and please take good care of me!"

Without mentioning the group at all, Ichinose Honami, who clearly understood their thoughts, started by talking about roommates, obviously knowing very well that the girls' scores in this special exam largely depended on the atmosphere in the dormitory.

As Karuizawa Kei watched Ichinose Honami try to break down barriers and unite the team, she couldn't help but feel a subtle sense that Kitagawa Ryo wasn't there, and the other person didn't know how to carry out the persona, so they simply reverted to their original way of doing things.

She had always been very clear that Ichinose Honami's personality would only change significantly when it came to issues related to Kitagawa Ryo. Although she always talked about changing other people's opinions of her, the other person's true nature was simply kindness and gentleness, which was fundamentally different from her own. At least she couldn't do what the other person was doing right now.

While Karuizawa Megumi stood by indifferently, and Ichinose Honami tried to break the ice and find a common topic that everyone could participate in, a topic that was being discussed by another group of girls passing by was casually mentioned and drifted over to them:

"Hey, let me tell you, I ran into Kitagawa on my way to the Keyaki Shopping Center a couple of days ago..."

In that instant, Karuizawa Megumi stopped pretending to twirl her hair, Kamuro Masumi unconsciously tilted her head, Morishita Ai seemed to have finally finished picking at some non-existent dust between her fingers, Ibuki Mio and Nishino Takeko both perked up their ears, and even the completely unnoticed Yamamura Miki subconsciously shifted her gaze, looking somewhat concerned.

All of this was observed by Ichinose Honami.

Good news: She seems to have found a common topic that can break the ice in team relationships.

The bad news: the common topic is her boyfriend.

Chapter 397: Speculations about Kitagawa Ryo (5k5)

After settling my luggage and getting my bed in the dorm, it was lunchtime. This was also my chance to meet the girls again since getting off the bus in the morning. An hour wasn't a long time, but it wasn't short either. If I missed this opportunity, I would have to wait until dinner time in the evening.

Despite saying that, when Kitagawa Ryo and the other students from his group arrived at the restaurant, they were inevitably dumbfounded. Although the restaurant prepared for the students by the forest school was quite spacious and even divided into two floors, it was still quite crowded with nearly 500 students from all three grades. There was no staggered schedule here; all the students were called over at the same time, and there were people everywhere, making it really difficult to find anyone.

This was the first time that Kitagawa Ryo, or rather the first-year students of Tokyo Advanced Educational High School, had experienced such a noisy and even somewhat chaotic dining environment. After all, although students from all three grades shared the same cafeteria, there were always those who preferred convenience stores and those who brought their own lunches. The number of people going to the cafeteria to eat had never been so large before.

Another reason for the chaotic scene is the lack of communication devices. All students handed over their mobile phones to their respective class teachers before getting off the bus. Students who used to be able to contact their friends by text message or phone call can now only rely on their eyes and shouts. After all, unlike the usual pattern of grouping together by class and grade, this time everyone is acting in mixed groups from different classes, and they are in a scattered state from the beginning.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was looking around blankly with his tray, Hashimoto Masayoshi, who was standing behind him in line to get his food, suddenly reached out and patted him on the shoulder, smiling as he offered a suggestion:

"Hey, Captain, to improve the camaraderie within our group, let's find a table and have dinner together in a bit."

Hashimoto Masayoshi was well aware that during this week-long special exam, the only time available for different groups, grades, and boys and girls to exchange information was during breakfast preparation and lunch and dinner. Therefore, he had already planned to lock down Kitagawa Ryo's movements in advance.

However, no sooner had Hashimoto Masayoshi uttered these words than Hirata Yosuke, standing behind him, casually replied:

"But when I came over just now, I saw Katsuragi-kun. He specifically asked me, Hashimoto, and Ayanokouji to go find him together later."

Besides him, Ishizaki Daichi from Class D also scratched the back of his head somewhat embarrassedly:

"Me too. Brother Longyuan just sent someone over to tell me to go find him after Xiaogong and I get our food."

Because he had just promised Kitagawa Ryo that he would follow Kitagawa Ryo's instructions throughout the special exam, Ishizaki Daichi felt a little embarrassed and apologized to Kitagawa Ryo.

"I'm really sorry, but if you really want everyone to eat together, Kitagawa, can I try to invite Ryuen-ge over as well?"

"It's alright, you can arrange your lunch and dinner times as you like. After all, this is considered rest time during this special exam, so I won't give any instructions."

Kitagawa Ryo simply waved his hand at this. He himself already felt that an hour was not enough time, and besides, Hashimoto Masayoshi looked like he had no good intentions. It was better to shake him off as soon as possible.

And so, with just one sentence from him, the temporary team leader, the boys in the third group split up and disappeared into the vast crowd after getting their food, going to find their friends or gather information.

Watching the students from Class C and Class D in his group leave to find Katsuragi Kohei and Ryuen Sho, Kitagawa Ryo wasn't surprised. After all, if he were in their shoes, he would probably also want to give these students who had joined his group a good talking-to.

Kitagawa Ryo didn't dislike the school's random grouping this time, which had a lot of luck involved. After all, randomness has its advantages; at least it helped him avoid many pre-existing risks. If this special exam had involved students choosing their own teams and forming large groups with other classes and grades, the probability of him being outmaneuvered by second- and third-year students and other first-year students would undoubtedly have increased significantly. On the contrary, this random grouping situation could thwart many people's pre-planning and lead to a competition of improvisation skills, which was undoubtedly good news for Kitagawa Ryo.

After picking up his lunch from the school staff, Kitagawa Ryo casually found a seat on the second floor, mainly because the view was more open there, allowing him to overlook the entire first floor from above.

Unlike the cafeteria at Tokyo Advanced Educational Junior High School, the food service windows at the Forest School only offer fixed set meals. All students receive the same three dishes and one soup, with simple but substantial ingredients, and unlimited refills of rice.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was slowly savoring this simple meal, which paled in comparison to Horikita Suzune's homemade bento, he suddenly felt a slight touch behind him. Someone had sat down at another table next to him with their back to him, followed by a voice that, though deliberately lowered, was still very familiar:

"Don't turn your head to look. Let's just talk like this so that no one else will notice..."

Before the silver-haired girl who loved mystery novels could finish speaking, she saw Kitagawa Ryo pick up his plate, get up, move to another seat, and sit down in front of her.

"Is it possible that most people here know about the relationship between the two of us? For example, if you saw me and Megumi eating back to back, wouldn't you think we must be secretly discussing something?"

In the past, Kitagawa Ryo wouldn't have cared about playing these kinds of erotic role-playing games with Shiina Hiyori a little longer, but now he only had an hour left, so he decided to be more direct.

“It seems so.”

Shiina Hiyori nodded somewhat belatedly, but then quickly looked away, a little concerned, and gently poked at the rice in her plate with her chopsticks.

"After getting used to eating cold food, I feel like my palate has become more picky."

"Just make do. Treat it like the last time on the deserted island. It's only a week anyway, just hang in there and it'll be over."

Then, Kitagawa Ryo asked another question out of curiosity:

"By the way, Hiyori, which group did you get drawn into?"

"I'm in a group with Arisu, but she's the only person I know in the whole group."

Seemingly dissatisfied with her luck in this group assignment, Hiyori Shiina sounded somewhat melancholy. After all, her two best friends from Class D, Mio Ibuki and Takeko Nishino, were not with her, but were instead drawn into the second group, which included Honami Ichinose.

"There's nothing to worry about. I can take care of Hiyori on my own."

The person who suddenly interrupted the two was Sakayanagi Arisu, who was also carrying a tray. It seemed that she had been looking for them after getting her food, as the food on her plate was still untouched. She found a seat next to Kitagawa Ryo before starting to eat.

"And Hiyori shouldn't underestimate herself. Although the specific topics for the training camp haven't been announced yet, judging from the descriptions of 'autonomy' and 'mental training,' there should be topics that are very suitable for you to perform well. Our group will need you to score more points."

Perhaps because of the bet she made with Horikita Suzune, Sakayanagi Arisu was clearly taking this special training camp exam very seriously. She had barely sat down and taken a couple of bites of her meal when she immediately spoke up to comfort her fellow group member, Shiina Hiyori.

"...That's true, but I don't think that big playground we saw when we came in was just for show."

Hiyori Shiina still looked worried. She was indeed bad at sports. During the last sports festival, she mainly participated in more recreational events such as horseback riding battles and obstacle course races. On the deserted island ahead, she was led by her groupmate Mio Ibuki for the first half, and then she was directly arranged by Ryo Kitagawa to mindlessly grind points with the A-class group for the second half.

Before summer vacation, she would have had her fellow sufferer, Arisu Sakayanagi, in the group to keep her company. However, after more than half a year of persistent and unremitting training, Arisu Sakayanagi's physical condition, while not the best among her peers, is at least above average.

"It's good to get some exercise."

With Arisaka Yanagi Arisu as a living example before him, Kitagawa Ryo took the opportunity to persuade Shiina Hiyori. Although he knew it was unrealistic to drag a literary girl into the sunlight to train in the sweltering heat of summer and the freezing cold of winter, physical strength was indeed the foundation of everything. Among the girls Kitagawa Ryo was close to, it seemed that only Shiina Hiyori had the worst physical strength. As for Yuki, she had the foundation left by the White Room, plus the perseverance of two lifetimes, so picking it up would be relatively easy.

"Ugh, I'll try my best."

Upon hearing Kitagawa Ryoya say that, Shiina Hiyori let out a small groan.

"Speaking of which, the Yamamura Miki from Class C that Ryo asked me to keep an eye on seems to have been assigned to Honami's Group 2. By the way, Megumi is also in that group."

After finishing discussing her own group, Sakayanagi Arisu immediately moved on to discussing the other girls' groups with Kitagawa Ryo:

"Rin is in the third group. Our class's Onodera and Matsushita are in the same group as her. The competition is actually not bad. It just depends on whether she can handle and coordinate her interpersonal relationships with other classes."