I have a life simulator.

"But according to you, you just treat Karuizawa Kei as someone who depends on you, and you are just using her to realize your own desire to be depended on."

He even changed his address from "young master" to "you," and now Mr. Izaki really seems like a strict parent.

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be fine if it wasn't Karuizawa Megumi?"

"Grandpa means that if it hadn't been Hui who approached me, but some other child, I definitely wouldn't have had such a deep obsession with Hui, right?"

"It wouldn't have mattered to anyone given your situation at that time."

Kitagawa Ryo himself was somewhat indignant about what Mr. Izaki had said:

"But in the end, it's Hui. No matter what we assume or what we think, in the end it's Hui. That's the result."

"Yes, and what next?"

Mr. Izaki was not angered at all by Kitagawa Ryo's resentment:

"How are you going to face Karuizawa Megumi afterwards? Are you going to play this childish game with her for the rest of your life?"

"Even if the young master breaks off his engagement with Horikita Suzune, Karuizawa Megumi will not have a chance."

"……Of course I know."

Kitagawa Ryo was well aware that while he enjoyed the convenience and power of his family, he would naturally lose some of his freedom and right to choose.

"I originally thought that the young master could handle this matter well, which is why I let the young master do as he pleased these past few days."

Mr. Izaki seemed to sense Kitagawa Ryo's dejected mood, sighed, and began to comfort him:

"Young Master says he never lies to Karuizawa Kei, but in fact, his actions these past few days have been a desperate attempt to cover up a lie."

After a pause, Mr. Izaki continued:

"Kitagawa Ryo will be with Karuizawa Megumi."

"This is the biggest lie that the young master told Miss Karuizawa."

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The boy in the gray yukata bid farewell to Horikita Suzune and walked steadily toward the place he had agreed to meet Karuizawa Megumi. But after only a few steps, he also passed through the crowd and, with an amazing tacit understanding, caught sight of Karuizawa Megumi at the other end of the street. Kitagawa Ryo naturally raised the corners of his mouth and gave her a slight smile.

Unlike the smile he gave to Horikita Suzune, this was a smile unique to Karuizawa Megumi. He slightly raised his head, indicating that he would come over immediately.

"It's gotten cooler."

It was exactly 8:05. Karuizawa Kei was struck by the smile that pierced through the crowd, and quickly lowered her head to speak to Shiina Hiyori on the other end of the wireless earpiece.

"Since Karuizawa-san has already decided not to make things difficult for Kitagawa-kun anymore, I suggest she put on a stronger front."

"I, I will try my best."

Karuizawa Kei took several deep breaths. She had already faced her own heart, and tonight was the time to completely confront Ryo.

However, Hiyori Shiina remained vaguely uneasy about how things were developing. She suddenly remembered a small incident that Ryo Kitagawa had inadvertently mentioned a few days earlier when he was confiding in her about the truth about Megumi Karuizawa:

That was when we were in elementary school. After watching "The Little Prince," the two of us directed and acted in a very short play. It was a scene where the Little Prince leaves the rose.

"But what about the animals? (If the animals come?)"

Ryo Kitagawa, playing the Little Prince, delivers his lines to the rose, played by Megumi Karuizawa.

Her next sentence should be:

"I have my thorns. (I have thorns to protect myself.)"

But Karuizawa Megumi suddenly forgot this simple line, and she just stammered and pitifully said to Kitagawa Ryo:

"Don't hurt me."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: White Rose (Fourth Simulation Completed)

Recommended background music for this chapter: "Red Rose" by Eason Chan and "Zhong Wuyan" by Kay Tse.

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Walking the road again after a year felt both familiar and strange. The brilliant lights and noisy crowds seemed to gradually become distorted in my vision. At this moment, it seemed that I could only hear the footsteps and breathing of the boy walking side by side with me. The daily routine without holidays always grows wildly and chaotically, without any change every day and night, like a huge plant that reproduces leaf after leaf on its own.

For a long time, Karuizawa Kei was terrified by this prolonged desolation, which grew firmly on her like some kind of moss, never rotting, never dying, until it buried her completely in this dark and sunless corner.

"I miss it so much."

It wasn't until Kitagawa Ryo, who was walking beside Karuizawa Kei, spoke softly that Karuizawa Kei refocused her wandering gaze.

"After all, Liang went to London, which is definitely different from Tokyo."

"Let's go somewhere further away, there are too many people here."

Karuizawa Kei grabbed Kitagawa Ryo's hand and led him toward the street exit, heading away from the noise of people.

"What are you doing there? Is something wrong?"

Although Kitagawa Ryo didn't know what Karuizawa Megumi was thinking, he simply let Karuizawa Megumi pull him toward a corner.

"If there's nothing else, Ryo wouldn't want to just stay with me alone?"

Karuizawa Kei quickly retorted.

That's not what I meant.

Kitagawa Ryo was initially a little worried that Karuizawa Megumi might be in a bad mood these past few days, but seeing that she was still as willful as ever, he felt much more at ease.

"I just want to be with Ryo."

She makes no attempt to hide her thoughts, but unlike her previous almost morbid expressions, Karuizawa Kei now seems more and more like a girl her age. She even seems to have a light layer of makeup on her face, and her every smile and frown exudes youth and vitality.

"I knew Liang wouldn't refuse, because she's Liang."

Hui's smile is adorable. Perhaps because she's away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the various snack aromas that used to linger around Kitagawa Ryo's nose have turned into a strange, refreshing fragrance, mixed with the scent of grass and trees from the roadside plants.

"It's so pretty."

Having reached a secluded lawn, Karuizawa Kei looked up at the fireworks that were constantly blooming and quickly disappearing in the night sky, and she sighed sincerely.

Kitagawa Ryo gazed at Karuizawa Megumi's face, illuminated by the fireworks. She was simply smiling and admiring beautiful things, just like an ordinary girl.

"The stars shine so that one day everyone can find their own star."

Only during the intervals between fireworks displays can the stars be seen shining brightly.

"It's a line from The Little Prince."

Karuizawa Megumi nodded, reaching out her hand towards a star in the night sky as if to grasp it in her hand:

"If someone loves a unique flower that blooms in the vast sea of ​​stars, then when he looks up at the stars, he will be content. He will tell himself, 'My beloved flower is there, on that distant star.' But if a sheep eats the flower, then for him, all the starlight will dim in an instant."

"This is a lesson the Little Prince only understood after he left the rose. Only after leaving the rose did he truly begin to grow, to meet other people, and to set foot on other planets."

Karuizawa Kei seemed to be hinting at something; she simply put her hands behind her back, pursed her lips, and continued speaking:

"To grow, you need a love that you love most; to grow, you need a separation that you regret most."

"Is it right?"

Karuizawa Kei is slowly lifting her mask, and her emotions are flowing out under the witness of this starry sky.

Kitagawa Ryo realized this fact, and he finally smiled as well:

"Is Hui hoping I'll leave?"

"how come……"

Karuizawa Megumi instinctively retorted, her azure eyes avoiding Kitagawa Ryo's gaze. She clutched the hem of her yukata and murmured:

"I don't want to lose Liang."

She seemed to have fallen into her usual dilemma and weakness again, and Kitagawa Ryo remained silent, waiting for Karuizawa Megumi to speak next.

It wasn't until Hiyori Shiina spoke up in the earpiece as planned that Karuizawa Megumi made up her mind to continue:

"I hope Ryo can leave Tokyo... That's all I wanted to say today."

"...?"

The unexpected words easily shattered Kitagawa Ryo's composure.

"I hope that Liang won't have to look at me alone in the future, and that she doesn't have to stay by my side."

Completely different from what she had said before, Karuizawa Kei declared without hesitation, becoming more and more fluent and calm as she spoke.

Even though she's always been a girl who cries when she's bullied, and she's already cried in her own arms several times in the past few days, and she looks like she's about to cry right now, Karuizawa Megumi is still forcing a smile and pretending to be strong.

"Liang's life will continue in the future, and there is no need to be trapped in the past or dwell on it."

Karuizawa Megumi's bravado was on the verge of collapse, but she was still forcing herself to speak. Kitagawa Ryo could only watch her, listening attentively to Karuizawa Megumi's words. He respected Karuizawa Megumi's thoughts, so he wouldn't interrupt her.

Because they wanted to be relied upon and because they were afraid of being bullied, Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Kei huddled together like this on the sandy land long ago.

They mix and project feelings of kinship, friendship, or even unconfirmed romantic relationships onto each other.

A spasm of discomfort shot through Kitagawa Ryo's stomach, conveying a feeling of pain to him.

"I think the whole mistake was that all I wanted was a little boy who could stand in front of me and protect me from being bullied, but Ryo gave me an amazing Kitagawa Ryo instead."

Liang suddenly became amazing. She read more books than me, traveled to more places than me. Liang is no longer the Liang who used to build sandcastles on the sand. In the future, Liang will meet more people, go to bigger places, and become an even more remarkable person.

Karuizawa Kei's tears finally fell drop by drop, like pearls from a broken string, one by one, down her cheeks and wetting her long hair.

Crying is always given various meanings, and tears were once a weapon wielded by Karuizawa Kei.

But right now she's just crying, silently, quietly shedding tears.

“I used to hope that you were just a boy who didn’t need to be so amazing. Anyway, I don’t ask for much and I’m easy to please.”

Karuizawa Kei was never the kind of girl who pursued "I love you" vows; all she hoped for was "Don't hurt me." She passively accepted Kitagawa Ryo's kindness, but in her eyes, that kindness seemed to have teeth, biting and hurting her.

"I like it cool."

but.

"But I hope Ryo doesn't like me."

Karuizawa Megumi is pursuing a kind of emotion that is completely opposite to romance:

"Whether you consider me a friend, a younger sister, or a girl you knew in childhood but later became a stranger, let me walk this path alone."

"Can Hui really be alone?"

Kitagawa Ryo understands Karuizawa Kei just as Karuizawa Kei understands Kitagawa Ryo. He is well aware of Karuizawa Kei's almost deformed, "parasitic" way of life.

"of course."

Karuizawa Kei also raised the corners of her mouth, the bright firelight casting a long, thin shadow.

"I've already met the best, gentlest and kindest 'host' I've ever met, so I don't want anyone else."

Amidst the magnificent night scene of fireworks, the girl's smile is painted upon it.

This is the best ending for both of us.

To be honest, I only have one strength.

Whether it's academics, sports, or even interpersonal relationships, I'm just average in everything.

But the only thing he's really good at is deceiving himself.

After all, I learned a long time ago that if you want to fool others, you must first fool yourself.

I painstakingly pieced together my shattered self-esteem and roughly taped it back together. I forgot about the thumbtacks in my indoor shoes, the animal carcasses on my desk, and the cold water poured over my head. It was precisely because I wanted to escape these things that I even went so far as to cut a hideous scar on my head.

But today I am determined to personally tear down the protective wall I have painstakingly built. I want to stand before it and prove to it that I can survive on my own.

She could have continued to exploit him, continued to lie, and continued to keep him around.

The other person clearly said they needed someone to rely on.

He knew he had always acted in order to protect himself.

But in the end, I decided to push him away because he also has his own life, his own troubles, his own ideals and things he wants to do. He is walking on a different path that is parallel to mine.

I don't know why, but I actually felt a little bit of pride when I made this decision.

This is the first time I've played a character who tries to be tough and cool, but I think it's pretty good.

Because it was the first time I truly confirmed my feelings, I finally understood my true self.

Karuizawa Kei simply likes Kitagawa Ryo.