I have a life simulator.

You felt relieved that Karuizawa Kei hadn't sent you a single message or made a phone call during this long period of time, but you were also a little regretful, though you didn't know what you were regretting.

At 2:30 pm, just as you were feeling a little sleepy because you had woken up early and hadn't taken a nap, a video call invitation appeared on your screen.

The first profile picture you see is of yourself making a heart shape with your hands, and the next second you realize that it's Hiyori Shiina's new profile picture.

You remembered that Shiina Hiyori said this morning, "Let's video chat again when we have time," and you didn't expect it to happen so soon.

If we convert the time, it should be around 7 or 8 a.m. in London.

You're hesitating about whether to accept this video call invitation.

[We have reached a story branching point; the outcome will be determined based on previous story events.]

[Branch 1: Choose to answer Shiina Hiyori's video call. This branch leads to the ending - White Rose, and unlocks the story CG "Zhong Wuyan"]

[Branch 2: Refuse to answer Shiina Hiyori's video call. This branch leads to the ending - Red Rose, which unlocks the story CG "Blood Red"]

[Prerequisite conditions for the previous storyline have been met: Karuizawa Megumi meets Horikita Suzune alone, Kitagawa Ryo meets Eura Megumi alone]

[Player has been determined to enter Branch 1]

[Scene CG triggered: Zhong Wuyan]

[Zhong Wuyan: We know each other so well, no wonder we're destined to be like siblings.]

[Would you like to watch this cutscene? (This may be helpful for your subsequent gameplay)]

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Kitagawa Ryo accepted Shiina Hiyori's video call invitation. Perhaps it was because he wanted to escape the fact that he was facing Karuizawa Megumi, or perhaps he simply wanted to see Hiyori again after a long time. After a brief hesitation, Kitagawa Ryo pressed his finger on the green "agree" button.

The next instant, their faces appeared simultaneously on their screens. Shiina Hiyori seemed to be sitting at her desk in her room, gently smiling and greeting Kitagawa Ryo on the other side of the screen.

"It's been a long time, Kitagawa-kun."

It had been almost two weeks since they last met. Considering their usual frequency of getting together to read twice a week, this was indeed a relatively long time.

"Hiyori, it's been a long time."

Kitagawa Ryo responded with a smile. Regardless of his mood just now, he always had to maintain a calm and focused mindset in front of Shiina Hiyori. This was one of the lessons Kitagawa Ryo had learned in the past six months.

Shiina Hiyori is a girl who seems naive but is surprisingly clever in many ways.

"Did you just wake up?"

Thinking that it should still be morning in London, Kitagawa Ryo asked the question subconsciously.

"Yes, but it's been a while. I've already washed up and had breakfast."

Hiyori Shiina spoke with a smile. She was also using in-ear headphones, the black headphone wires standing out against her silver-white hair.

Kitagawa Ryo loved seeing Hiyori smile. Even though the two were now meeting on screen, halfway around the world, he could almost feel that reassuring atmosphere. It was a relaxed atmosphere that was different from Horikita Suzune's arrogance and Karuizawa Megumi's timidity.

"Hiyori texted me last time saying she'd finished watching 'Eight Million Ways to Die'?"

That was a text message Kitagawa Ryo received on his first day in Tokyo. Although it was a little awkward to bring it up again two days later, Shiina Hiyori didn't mind, since she would get very excited when talking about books.

This detective novel is one of the masterpieces of Lawrence Block, a master of American detective fiction and a representative of contemporary hard-boiled detective novels. It tells the story of the protagonist Matthew investigating a series of murders of sex workers in New York City.

"Yes."

Shiina Hiyori smiled and narrowed her eyes. She reached out and pulled the book from the bookshelf in no time. Because she had a habit of organizing books, she was always surprisingly fast when she found the book she wanted.

I finished watching it a couple of days ago.

Shiina Hiyori opened the book to the title page, where a sentence was written in pale gold lettering:

The death of a beautiful woman is, without a doubt, one of the most poetic themes in the world. — Edgar Allan Poe

What is Hiyori's opinion on this statement?

As fans of detective novels, the two were naturally familiar with Edgar Allan Poe's great name, but Kitagawa Ryo inexplicably thought of Karuizawa Kei, or more precisely, her scar.

"Actually, I think death is just a metaphor, roughly representing a state of oppression, but death is just the most prominent manifestation of it."

"The tragic yet beautiful death of a pitiful young girl is a favorite subject of literature all over the world. Just like Shakespeare's depiction of Ophelia's death in Hamlet, where he deliberately set her ending in a sea of ​​flowers, it is the same principle."

As usual, Hiyori Shiina quickly got into the rhythm of the discussion.

"But death can sometimes seem too bloody. Most writers don't just have their heroines die for the sake of dying. They skillfully control it to a just-right level. They place the heroines in such a position, making them feel violated, bullied, isolated, or abandoned."

"……Yeah?"

Kitagawa Ryo nodded slowly, and feeling like he was about to fall asleep, he quickly echoed Shiina Hiyori:

"So the victims in this novel also left behind suicide notes like these:"

"No one is willing to spend a fortune on me, no one is willing to marry me, no one is willing to save my life. I am tired of smiling, I am exhausted from running around, and the good times are over."

"Yes, that's exactly how it's described."

Hiyori Shiina nodded slightly, her hair swaying gently with the movement.

“I remember when I finished reading this book, I said to Hiyori, ‘If there are eight million ways to die in New York, then there are only six and a half million ways to die in Tokyo.’”

"Because Kitagawa said that half of the people will die in the same way, all by suicide."

"...Yes, they were all suicides."

Kitagawa Ryo also sighed:

“There are all sorts of reasons for suicide, and from children to the elderly, it seems like everyone has a reason to commit suicide, and it seems like everyone could actually commit suicide tomorrow.”

"But in reality, there are no detectives or unnatural death research institutes. People don't care whether the child committed suicide because of domestic violence or bullying at school. Once a child is dead, that's it. There's no revenge or message that can be conveyed."

"Kitagawa-kun seems to be in a bad mood today... Did something happen?"

Kitagawa Ryo quickly saw Shiina Hiyori's worried inquiry on the other end of the line. She was tightly gripping the headphone cord in front of her chest, as if she were holding his hand through the screen.

"Maybe, but it has nothing to do with Hiyori."

"Is it related to Karuizawa Kei?"

For the first time in a long time, Shiina Hiyori mentioned this name. She has always been a very intelligent girl, and generally, she would never mention her before Kitagawa Ryo took the initiative to speak. But today was an exception.

"Yes...and no."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded and then shook his head.

Can you tell me?

Hiyori Shiina spoke without hesitation, her purple eyes shimmering with worry.

"but--!"

"but……"

The first sentence was a brief denial from Kitagawa Ryo, while the second sentence was a gentle interruption from Shiina Hiyori.

"But maybe it's because of this kind of relationship that we're able to talk to each other."

"It's like chatting with an online friend. Anyway, I'm in the UK right now and I don't know Karuizawa Kei. I won't interfere in your relationship with her, so even if I find out some things, it won't have any impact."

"To me, I was just listening to a story that had nothing to do with me."

"You can also think of it as talking to it."

Shiina Hiyori pulled out a white plush cat doll from somewhere, held up the cat's two front paws in front of her, and waved it at Kitagawa Ryo:

"Meow."

She spoke in a cutesy manner.

"..."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't know what to say either, and he really needed someone to confide in.

He's not some omnipotent, bottomless confessional, capable of swallowing all negative emotions without feeling anything.

Kitagawa Ryo didn't know where to begin. If he simply discussed the facts of what was happening now, it would be relatively easy. However, this matter was the result of seeds sown over the past few years, which had finally grown into a bitter fruit after a long period of dormancy. If he continued down this path, he didn't know how long he would end up talking about it.

So Kitagawa Ryo first asked a question:

"Is there anything else important happening today?"

"This is the most important thing to me before Kitagawa-kun finishes speaking."

Hiyori Shiina peeked her face out from beside the ragdoll cat plushie.

"Okay, let's start with how Hui and I met..."

Kitagawa Ryo's emotions overflowed, and then the rest of his words poured out like a flood.

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

By the time Shiina Hiyori noticed, Kitagawa Ryo was already breathing steadily through his nose.

It was an extremely calm expression, like that of someone who had been possessed by an evil spirit and then disappeared.

It is the only moment when all the masks are removed.

Kitagawa Ryo, having finished recounting everything in fits and starts, fell asleep.

Considering the various shocks he had experienced in the past few days and the lack of sleep last night, after pouring out everything and letting down his guard, a deep-seated exhaustion overwhelmed him.

No matter how much Kitagawa Ryo acts like an all-powerful childhood friend, the one lying asleep in front of Shiina Hiyori is nothing more than an underage boy.

Hiyori Shiina gently reached out, as if trying to touch Ryo Kitagawa's face through the screen.

It's so light, like a gentle caress.

Yet it is also very heavy, imbued with all my thoughts.

Thinking about it carefully, this is the first time.

For the first time, Hiyori Shiina sighed helplessly.

Kitagawa Ryo is undoubtedly an outstanding man. Among his peers, he is at the top in both appearance and inner qualities. Even in their relatively short time together, Shiina Hiyori was able to make this judgment.

But it is precisely because of this that his relationship with Karuizawa Kei has become like this.

Kitagawa Ryo still slept there quietly, the square window cutting out a square piece of sky above his head, as blue as crystal.

Hiyori Shiina quietly closed her eyes and gently adjusted her breathing to the same rhythm as the boy.

That's all she could do.

"Sweet dreams, cool."

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Rainy Night for Two

When Kitagawa Ryo woke up, it was almost 6:30. He vaguely noticed that the video call was still on. When he rubbed his eyes and looked again, Shiina Hiyori on the other end suddenly turned off the video call like a startled little rabbit. The screen was left with only an empty call log showing a call duration of three hours and forty-nine minutes.

"Sorry, I fell asleep just now."

Kitagawa Ryo sent the message. Although sleeping on the table wasn't very comfortable and left a deep mark on his face, he felt much better after getting some sleep. He stood up and stretched.

"It's okay, I was asleep too."

Hiyori Shiina replied to the message, but perhaps because they had discussed some very private topics, they both seemed to need some time to calm down and process it, so they tacitly agreed not to send any further messages and ended the conversation together.

A massive, serene crimson sun slowly sank beneath the skyscrapers of Tokyo. Kitagawa Ryo walked out of the private room toward the street bathed in its glow. He didn't walk fast, but as time passed, his silhouette gradually shrank until it disappeared completely into the fiery sunset.

After returning to the hotel, Kitagawa Ryo was about to go upstairs to his room when he was suddenly stopped by the front desk. Having stayed at the hotel for several days, the front desk staff recognized him and, seeing him heading straight for the elevator, hurriedly spoke up:

“Mr. Kitagawa, here is your… cat.”

Perhaps because it was the first time receiving such a strange package, the receptionist's tone was a bit odd, but she still obediently brought out a cardboard box. Inside was indeed "Hotaru," who pounced on Kitagawa Ryo as soon as she saw him. However, she was quite agile, dashing through the decorations on the reception desk without touching a single leaf, managing not to knock over a vase or a potted plant, and happily jumped into Kitagawa Ryo's arms.

Looking into the little guy's big, watery eyes, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't keep his long face any longer. He reached out his right hand to stroke its head as he stepped forward and took the cardboard box.

"It's troublesome."

His gaze swept over the box, and he asked hesitantly:

"Was there anything else left behind, such as a message or a note?"

"Oh, that lady said her family is going out for dinner tonight, and it might be quite late, so she was a little worried about leaving it alone at home. She said she would come to pick it up tomorrow morning or tonight if she has time."

"……Yeah?"

Kitagawa Ryo nodded, then, carrying Hotaru and the cardboard box, took the elevator back to his room.

As soon as she entered the room, Hotaru mischievously jumped from Kitagawa Ryo's arms onto the bedside table, and then leaped onto the soft bedding on the bed, rolling around with her legs spread wide apart in a very unladylike manner.

Kitagawa Ryo didn't care what Hotaru was doing. He went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and started thinking about dinner while looking at the ingredients inside.