I have a life simulator.

Kitagawa Ryo snapped his fingers, propped his head up, looked out the window at the dark street, and said:

"Do you want me to take you back?"

Let's get this straight first.

Horikita Suzune sighed and looked directly at Kitagawa Ryo, saying:

"Purpose, method, result".

"To break off the engagement, pretend to date for a period of time, and then jointly propose that you feel you are not suitable for each other, and the engagement is dissolved."

"Tell the truth."

"...I want to stay in Tokyo for a while longer, or rather, I have to stay here."

Hearing Kitagawa Ryo's words, Horikita Suzune felt a strange surge of irritation welling up inside her, making it impossible for her to suppress the sundae she was eating.

"Then I'm the one being used."

"Isn't Horikita's ultimate goal also to dissolve the engagement? It's just a mutually beneficial arrangement."

"But I don't think there's a rush."

A flicker of delight, as if she'd found a weakness, flashed in Horikita Suzune's crimson eyes.

"Kitagawa, this is the only reason you have left to stay, isn't it?"

"Maybe there are others."

Kitagawa Ryo was vague.

“Then you can use something else. Anyway, it’s still a long way from getting married, and I think I can wait.”

Horikita Suzune leaned forward slightly and said through gritted teeth:

"And at worst, I'll just end up marrying you."

Your face is all red.

Kitagawa Ryo found it somewhat novel to see Horikita Suzune trying so hard to save face, her face flushed red as she did so.

"What you're thinking right now is that you have control over the plan, so you can make any demands you want, but the reverse is also true."

Kitagawa Ryo generously reached out and pinched Horikita Suzune's cheek as she leaned in:

"Even if I can't break off the engagement, the only outcome is that I'll still marry you."

"right?"

"Ringtone?"

Horikita Suzune hadn't expected Kitagawa Ryo's bold move and address. She instinctively tried to move her face away, but Kitagawa Ryo pinched her quite hard. Not only did she fail to escape his grasp, but her cheeks were also stretched out a bit in a comical way, making her look somewhat cute.

Kitagawa Ryo even went so far as to rudely pull out his phone with his other hand and quickly snap a picture. Horikita Suzune only reacted after the flash went off, slapping Kitagawa Ryo's hand away and glaring at him, her face flushed. However, since they were still in a public place, she couldn't speak loudly, so she could only lower her voice and say:

"Beichuan! Delete the photos right now."

"A photo of the two of them together is very precious, let alone Rin's expression."

Kitagawa Ryo was scrolling through his phone with great satisfaction. In the photo, Horikita Suzune had completely lost her usual calm and arrogance, staring at the camera with a look of astonishment. However, the blush on her face, along with the half of her cheek being pinched by Kitagawa Ryo, might make outsiders think they were a couple in love.

"No one else is allowed to see this photo."

Horikita Suzune took a few deep breaths to suppress the anger and slight unease in her chest. Her cheek still stung slightly from the warmth of the other person's fingers. She gritted her teeth and said:

"That's a real shame, otherwise I would have liked to send it to the students."

Kitagawa Ryo, beaming, put away his phone and extended his hand to her:

"It's a pleasure working with you, Lingyin."

Horikita Suzune no longer has any leverage to threaten Kitagawa Ryo. She has actually fallen into a logical trap set by Kitagawa Ryo. Kitagawa Ryo's current dilemma is to stay in Tokyo for a while, but he has cleverly led the conversation to whether or not to get married, and in the process, he has managed to entangle Horikita Suzune in it.

"Pleasant to work with."

Horikita Suzune knew that from this moment on, their relationship had become a fake one, with the aim of breaking up and annulling their engagement. She could only follow Kitagawa Ryo's lead and begin calling him by more intimate names. This slightly embarrassing act was a bit difficult for Horikita Suzune, and after stammering for a long time, she finally managed to speak:

"……cold."

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Meeting of the Four

Karuizawa Kei kept the lights on. She lay on the bed, desperately trying to convince herself that this was the room Kitagawa Ryo had slept in, that the blanket covering her was the same blanket Kitagawa had used, and that Kitagawa Ryo himself was currently in the room next door, separated from her by only one wall.

But it was all in vain. The huge room felt as empty as a wilderness to a person, as if some unknown wild beast might crawl out from under the bed or from the cracks in the drawers at any moment. Karuizawa Kei's knuckles turned white from gripping the blanket so tightly. The rain outside had stopped. She looked up at the moon hanging in the sky outside the window, which was only showing a sliver of light through the dark clouds. Her heart was as gloomy as the night sky.

Karuizawa Kei once again recalled how, when she was a child, her teacher asked each of them what their ideals were when they grew up and what kind of person they wanted to become. But even now, Karuizawa Kei is still the same as she was back then, unable to give herself an answer. She was just an ordinary girl without any talent, and the word "dream" was too unattainable for her, like the moon in the sky.

If she really had to choose a profession, Karuizawa Megumi would choose "bride".

She ran her hand over her lips. After applying the medicine, it was difficult to feel the slight pain unless touched. However, Karuizawa Kei seemed to be doing it on purpose, even licking the wound to stimulate it. The pain traveled through her nerves to her brain. Karuizawa Kei propped her head up, thinking that when she kissed it, she was completely unaware of the real pain.

Regardless, she and Kitagawa Ryo exchanged their first kisses, even if it was through a despicable means.

"There's nothing I can do, I've always liked Liang..."

Just by standing by his side, Karuizawa Megumi found meaning in her life, and she could return to a normal life. She was neither the bullied nor the bully; she was meant to be Kitagawa Ryo's new self from beginning to end...

Karuizawa Megumi's phone suddenly rang. She instinctively thought it was a message from Kitagawa Ryo and hurriedly opened it. After Kitagawa Ryo returned, she had deleted everyone from her friend list, leaving only Kitagawa Ryo's name there as the only one.

However, this was a friend request message.

Karuizawa Kei squinted at the other person's profile picture—

cold.

And it was even done with a heart-shaped hand gesture.

Karuizawa Kei thought for a moment and decided to accept the friend request. The next second after accepting, the user named "Shiina Hiyori" entered her friend list, right below Kitagawa Ryo.

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

Shiina Hiyori discovered Karuizawa's social media account when Kitagawa Ryo told her about Karuizawa. At the time, Kitagawa Ryo was in a very unstable emotional state and naturally did not expect Shiina Hiyori to pay attention to such a strange corner. After filtering for a while, Shiina Hiyori finally locked onto Karuizawa's specific account and then sent a friend request.

While it was midnight in Tokyo, it was 12:30 pm in London. Shiina Hiyori hadn't expected the other person to accept her friend request so quickly. After a brief moment of surprise, she tried sending her first message:

"Do you really like Kitagawa... Ryou?"

Between Kitagawa's name, Shiina Hiyori was given an inexplicable ellipsis.

There was no small talk or self-introduction; her words were quite direct, even carrying a subtle hint of anger that she herself didn't notice.

But the message went unanswered, despite being marked as "read." Even as the London sun set, their conversation remained just that one empty sentence.

Do you really like Kitagawa... Ryou?

What Karuizawa Kei noticed at first glance was the little trick of the girl named "Shiina Hiyori" across from her. She may have initially only wanted to call Kitagawa Ryo "Kitagawa", but then she added an ellipsis. In other words, the name she really wanted to use for Kitagawa Ryo was "Ryo" after that symbol.

She was about to reply, but her eyes were glued to that simple sentence, as if it possessed some special magic, freezing Karuizawa Megumi in place, like a guillotine raised high, waiting for her to walk past.

"Tsk."

The image of the girl named "Horikita Suzune" relentlessly criticizing me this morning inexplicably resurfaced in my mind:

You are a girl whose value is basically unremarkable.

Aside from the memories accumulated over time, you have nothing else that Kitagawa would be willing to give up.

These words seemed to come alive in Karuizawa Kei's ears at that moment, buzzing like annoying flies burrowing into her ears.

Of course she likes Kitagawa Ryo; they've known each other for so many years, longer than those two unknown girls combined.

However, there are still voices that continue to sway Karuizawa Megumi.

"Isn't it because of the survival instinct that makes it impossible to live without him by my side?"

"It sounds much better to stay by someone's side because you like them than to stay by someone's side because you want to parasitize them, right? It gives your gray self a little hope, doesn't it?"

"Childhood sweethearts don't necessarily fall in love with each other. Spending too much time together and getting too familiar with each other can actually dilute those feelings of love, right?"

The more you delve into the myriad of questions, the more questions arise, and answering any one of them would negate everything Karuizawa Kei has ever done in her life.

[I just want someone to protect me.]

[I'm so pathetic that I can't even protect myself; I'm a completely worthless girl.]

It's just dependence; it's not love at all.

With her eyes closed, Karuizawa Kei finally realized her deepest thoughts:

I'm just longing to be able to freely like others. Everything I do is for self-preservation. The only person who truly matters is myself. As long as I'm not hurt, I don't care about anyone else.

Does that include Kitagawa Ryo?

The first thought that popped into Karuizawa Megumi's mind was—to give up lying and to give up thinking.

After figuring out the problem, Karuizawa Kei finally smiled honestly for the first time. She turned off the light and whispered to the other room separated by a wall:

"Sweet dreams, cool."

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

Let's have a blast! Nobody's allowed to go to sleep first tonight!

"Shut your mouth."

While frantically maneuvering the controller to control the character on the screen and try to dodge the monster's attacks, Horikita Suzune couldn't help but scold her fiancé again for sitting next to her with his legs crossed, sipping soda from a wine glass.

"If I don't let you in tonight, are you going to have to sleep on the street again?"

Horikita Suzune regretted bringing Kitagawa Ryo to her home again, because just fifteen minutes later, a whole box containing a monitor and a Switch gaming device was delivered. She didn't know how Kitagawa Ryo managed to call for this service at 1 a.m. Horikita Suzune simply went back to brush her teeth and take a shower, and when she came out, she saw Kitagawa Ryo playing games with great enthusiasm.

"What if? The point of 'what if' is that it's just 'what if.' Rin, you'd better accept reality."

Kitagawa Ryo retorted without a care, showing no remorse whatsoever for criticizing Horikita Suzune's actions despite his own character already being eliminated.

"Dodge! Roll! Don't be greedy for hits!"

"...In the end, why should I stay here and play with you?"

As the game interface turned gray again, Horikita Suzune, who had already died more than ten times, also showed a gloomy expression. She almost gritted her teeth and said:

"This is my home, isn't it?"

"You're such a wimp."

Kitagawa Ryo gave an irrelevant answer, swirling the wine glass in his hand. If it weren't for the fact that it contained black cola, this gesture might have made him look more elegant.

"When I was learning to play this game recently, he figured out the BOSS's attack patterns and frequency in a short time and helped me complete the game."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head, sighed, and said with heartache:

"Even though they're both from Horikita, there are differences."

"shut up!"

Horikita Suzune's tone rose two decibels again. Her pajamas were different from Kitagawa Ryo's impression of her; they were actually pink. Coupled with the other party's perpetually stern expression, it was quite a contrast.

"You're back to life, aren't you? Hurry up and catch up with me. If you really can't keep up, use fewer bottles of medicine before you die, or just throw them to me."

"Alright, alright, coming."

Turning his gaze to the game that had restarted, Kitagawa Ryo pouted and manipulated the controller to control his character, following behind Horikita Suzune.

Another five minutes passed.

"Hehehe..."

Staring at the game interface that had once again turned gray, Kitagawa Ryo glanced at the girl sitting beside him, who was on the verge of turning evil and could only give him a strange smile. He subconsciously shrank back.

"Okay, I guess I was too early this time, but I think..."

"Kitagawa Ryo."

As far as I can remember, this was the first time Horikita Suzune had called me by my full name, and I even had the illusion that she was trying to kill me and write me into the Death Note.

"here I am."

"If you're still like this in your next life—"

Horikita Suzune seemed to have a particular fondness for the compass on the table, glancing at it twice:

"Which would you choose: to suffer and regret at the same time, or to be filled with despair and regret?"

"Did Rinne have violent tendencies before?"

"I think anyone who is your teammate would unconsciously feel the urge to abuse you, right?"