I have a life simulator.

Thinking about this, Kitagawa Ryo himself felt a bit complicated. After all, just as he had told Nanase Tsubasa before, he definitely didn't dislike Ayanokouji Kiyotaka, and their relationship wasn't that of enemies, but rather closer to that of friends.

However, precisely because of this, he had no reason to criticize or even stop Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's actions and plans in any way.

This isn't a question of whether to wish him peace or success. Kitagawa Ryo knew very well that what the other person wanted most at this moment was the same thing that Ayanokouji Kiyotaka had done for him for a long time: just observe quietly.

Or rather, to witness it.

When the other person realizes that the pure white of the white room is essentially colorless nothingness and wants to leave their own color on that sketchbook, all Kitagawa Ryo needs to do is witness the other person's existence, regardless of the outcome.

Although the two have only known each other for a little over a year, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji has already written a long section on his "Complete Guide to Love" and added his pages to his own book.

But it wasn't treated as part of my own story.

I only used it as a bookmark.

Kiyotaka Ayanokoji used it to mark his favorite page in life.

Therefore, all that's needed is to witness it.

Like words of self-comfort, Kitagawa Ryo kept repeating these thoughts in his mind.

But perhaps he is also hoping that the other party can truly turn a new page.

【Tokyo】

Kitagawa Ryo checked the option to confirm and officially submitted.

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

Just as Class 2-A had begun tackling the fourth task of this special exam, the other three classes were still stuck on the third task related to protection points, including Class 2-C, where Kiyotaka Ayanokoji was.

Class 2-C has never been a very united class. Whether you say it lacks a class spirit or that everyone is too proactive, although the class has interpersonal skills like Hirata Yosuke and Kushida Kikyo, the atmosphere of the whole class is just subtly uncoordinated. It can only be said that the spy incident that caused such a stir last year had a far-reaching impact, directly destroying the foundation of trust between them from the most basic level.

However, compared to Class C, which was fighting its own battles a few months ago, Class C now at least has a nominal class leader, Kiyotaka Ayanokouji. However, the good momentum he brought in the mixed training camp special exam was quickly dealt a blow in the end-of-year special exam.

Fortunately, thanks to his outstanding academic performance in the special exam for first and second grade partners in April, he returned to Class C, which boosted the morale of the class. As long as Kiyotaka Ayanokouji can continue to play a leading role as he did at the beginning of the year, the class still has a future.

It can only be said that until the start of this special exam, many students in Class C, including Kohei Katsuragi, held this view.

But that's not the case.

Just like his sudden disappearance on the day of the special end-of-year exam three months ago, class leader Kiyotaka Ayanokouji's behavior today was still like that of a machine, giving people a sense of returning to the days more than a year ago when he and Yahiko Totsuka were still Katsuragi Kohei's sidekicks.

Kohei Katsuragi, of course, had no idea that Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was no longer thinking about the East Education and any special exams. Therefore, after the third topic came out, he and Ryuji Kanzaki began to encourage the class to choose option two and give the protection points to Kiyotaka Ayanokouji.

But Kiyotaka Ayanokouji no longer needs these things. After all, dropping out of school is not a dead end for him now. On the contrary, it is precisely because he is staying in Touyu that there are some things that are inconvenient for him to do.

And so, right after Katsuragi Kohei spoke, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka calmly stated that he did not need the protection points.

Undoubtedly, in the eyes of the other students in Class C, this was the most superficial, obvious, and boring act, easily giving the impression that the other party was being hypocritical and taking advantage of the situation.

So Class C was stuck in this limbo, until later when Kiyotaka Ayanokouji took the initiative to show the students next to him the scene where he had chosen option three. Only then did the other students in Class C belatedly realize that the other party seemed to really not intend to take the protection points.

But that's the strange thing about human nature. After Ayanokouji Kiyotaka clearly showed his indifference, the students in Class C suddenly changed their tune and said that it wouldn't do. They insisted that the protection points had to be given to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

After all, compared to Katsuragi Kohei, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka's abilities are obvious to everyone, and Class C will have to rely on you in the future.

Although it's not quite cold enough to need an extra yellow layer yet, this protection level definitely belongs to you.

Just as Kiyotaka Ayanokouji was looking at the various characters in the class with some helplessness, the homeroom teacher, Sae Chabashira, who was originally supervising from the podium, had already said goodbye to another staff member appointed by the school and was sitting at the end of the class, and left temporarily.

Her destination was Class 2-A.

Kiyotaka Ayanokouji glanced at the homeroom teacher walking past the window, then looked away.

There are indeed no standard answers in life.

But there will always be a moment in time.

Trying to find a so-called standard answer that you won't regret.

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

Chapter 59: Let's Go to Tokyo

[Tokyo: 23 votes, uninhabited island: 6 votes, school campus: 12 votes]

This is the first round of selection results for Class 2A on the fourth topic.

The proportion of students who wanted to take the exam on campus was slightly higher than Kitagawa Ryo had anticipated. However, considering that many students in Class A were indeed more inclined to pass the exam steadily and without falling behind than to take a tense and exciting special exam, it was not entirely incomprehensible.

"Tokyo... I'd also like to go to Kyoto or Okinawa."

"Indeed, going to a place like that would feel more like a school trip? I really can't think of a way to conduct a special exam in Tokyo."

"In the end, it won't just be a disguised version of a deserted island, with the school just renting any venue in Tokyo for us to take the exam, will it...?"

Although Tokyo seemed to score the highest in the first round of voting, it was clear from the discussion among the Class A students during the break that Tokyo was more like the tallest of the short, not something they actually wanted to go there. It was just that it seemed more plausible than the deserted island they had already experienced so thoroughly.

"But if it's the same as last year, at least after enduring the hardships of a deserted island for fourteen days, you can still enjoy a week-long luxury cruise."

"Luxury cruises are indeed nice, but I feel like I already went once last year, so there's no need to go again this year just to experience wilderness survival again..."

"Moreover, when I returned from the luxury cruise last summer and checked my bill, I found that my spending that week had exceeded the limit. One week's expenses were equivalent to two months' worth of expenses on campus."

"Perhaps the school changed the exam content for the deserted island this year? After all, there were a series of accidents last year."

"Then I'd say if uninhabited islands are changed, maybe luxury cruise ships will disappear along with them. No matter how you change an uninhabited island, it can never become a golden beach for vacation."

"Does Tokyo really make sense?"

"Stop, stop, stop... This is still a special exam during the summer vacation, not a real vacation or school trip for you."

Seeing that the topic was getting more and more off track, Hoshinomiya Chie, the homeroom teacher who was standing behind the podium and supervising the normal conduct of the exam, also spoke up to intervene. The school only stipulated that homeroom teachers could not guide students to choose or not choose a certain option, and this level of persuasion was allowed, so the school staff who were supervising the homeroom teachers at the back of the classroom did not say anything.

"Yeah, so there's no point in considering Tokyo or the deserted island. We might as well just choose the campus. I don't believe the school can come up with anything particularly torturous here."

As soon as Hoshinomiya Chie said this, the students who hoped to hold this special summer exam 'on campus' also began to express their thoughts:

"Of course, Dongyu's campus is the one we are most familiar with out of the three options. It's better than going to Tokyo, where we don't know anyone, or to a deserted island."

"But it would be so boring not to go out and see the world during such a big special exam. We go to school here, and we stay here during summer vacation. Don't we get tired of it?"

"Wanting to go out and see the world doesn't mean wanting to go out and suffer, right?"

“Special exams don’t necessarily mean suffering, and even if they are suffering, I’d rather have them somewhere off-campus, at least it’ll be something new.”

Seeing that the students in the class were arguing back and forth, Karuizawa Kei, as the class monitor, had no choice but to step in and mediate the situation, outlining the three options for the topic:

"Actually, the topic itself is quite clear. The format of this special summer exam will be location-dependent. Therefore, rather than focusing on the location, everyone should use the location to determine the specific content and format of this special exam, and then make a choice that is acceptable to everyone based on their own and the class's style."

"Firstly, it's within the school. Considering that the summer special exam falls under the category of large-scale special exams, which usually last for two weeks or fourteen days, if it's conducted on campus, it would be impossible to guess what kind of special exam the school wants to conduct."

"Academic ability, sports, clubs, or other comprehensive types? How can the school conduct a large-scale special exam that lasts for fourteen days in a place that we are all so familiar with? Moreover, considering that this is likely to be a cross-grade competition and cooperation among three grades, it is easy to be confused."

After discussing the on-campus option, Karuizawa Megumi moved on to the deserted island option.

"In contrast to the school campus, there are naturally uninhabited islands. After all, everyone went there once last year. Although Dongyu has two uninhabited islands, one large and one small, used for special exams, the scale of our exam this time is larger than last time. So if we are to conduct special exams on uninhabited islands, we should use the large uninhabited island that we visited last year. In fact, it can indeed support students from three grades to take special exams together."

"If the venue is limited to an uninhabited island, the content and format of the exam will undoubtedly become much clearer. In fact, the special exam rules from last year, with some minor modifications and redesign of many topics, can be directly reused this year."

"But in any case, since the special test is being conducted on a deserted island, the theme of wilderness survival seems unavoidable. So if you want to choose this option, you must be mentally prepared for it."

Finally, Karuizawa Kei mentioned 'Tokyo,' which was also the city she had chosen herself in the first round of voting.

"Tokyo feels more like a middle ground between a deserted island and a school campus. It's like it can fit into both types of special exams that are conducted on campus and those that are conducted on a deserted island. It's a compromise. It's better to think of it as a fresher version of a school campus or a more comfortable version of a deserted island."

"If I were to point out what might be different about this exam location compared to the other two, I think it might be interpersonal skills, or social interaction with the outside world."

"Because both the campus and the uninhabited island are essentially completely enclosed environments for us, and since the school chose Tokyo, it must have its own considerations. I don't really believe that it will turn Tokyo into another form of uninhabited island."

"Moreover, everyone should be able to clearly feel that Dongyu is paying more and more attention to communication with the outside world. The special club exam half a month ago was a good example, so I think the Tokyo option in this summer's special exam is also like that."

Without showing any obvious bias, Karuizawa Kei explained all her thoughts and ideas on the three options in one go before sitting back down. She gestured to Ichinose Honami and Kitagawa Ryo next to her, as if asking if they wanted to add anything.

"Hui's thinking is actually similar to mine."

Kitagawa Ryo took over the conversation, but he quickly revealed his stance and bias:

"Because I chose Tokyo, I have more thoughts on this option. Just like Hui said, Tokyo should test our students' adaptability to the outside world and their social skills, which is exactly where our class is good. As for why I think this way... let me give you an example."

"To use the special exam on a deserted island that everyone has experienced as an analogy, first of all, we can be sure that, unlike the exams conducted on campus, the deserted island and Tokyo are essentially special exams conducted off-campus, and they last for fourteen days. This means that we will definitely face the most basic survival issues."

"That's right. Tokyo isn't another uninhabited island in the same sense, but there are still commonalities in this regard. That is, there are special exams held off-campus. The personal points system, which is only used within Tokyo University, is very likely to be abolished. At most, it can be used to establish a certain level of advantage before the exam begins."

"So how did we solve all our problems of food, clothing, shelter and transportation on the deserted island last year? We obtained food and tents provided by the school by completing our research projects. If we put this behavior into the context of Tokyo, the answer is already quite obvious."

"...Isn't this just working?"

Honami Ichinose was the first to understand Kitagawa Ryo's explanation and follow his lead. After all, she had extensive experience in this area during her junior high school years. The other students in Class A also quickly realized what was going on. After all, it was quite common for high school students to work part-time in places like Japan. They had encountered similar situations when they were in junior high school, but they hadn't experienced it firsthand since entering Tokyo Advanced Educational High School, a place completely different from the outside world.

“Working is one thing, but don’t forget that this special exam is taken by students from all three years. For the graduating third-year students, it’s very likely that this special exam in Tokyo will also include a social internship component.”

After Kitagawa Ryo finished speaking, the students of Class 2-A fell into a thoughtful state. After all, compared to their previous argument, which was almost entirely based on emotions, Kitagawa Ryo and Karuizawa Megumi's analysis had indeed unveiled the mystery surrounding this summer special exam for everyone.

After his well-reasoned explanation, most of the students in Class A began to unconsciously lean towards Tokyo as their choice. After all, as the two of them said, if the special exam included interpersonal skills and social internships, then Class A really had no reason not to choose Tokyo.

At this moment, Honami Ichinose also seized the opportunity to add a comment:

"Most of the students in the class are from Tokyo, right? I feel like if we have fourteen days, we might have a chance to meet with our families?"

The drama club is an isolated case at Tokyo Advanced Educational High School. Most of the second-year students have not been able to contact their families even once since they entered the school. Therefore, when Ichinose Honami said these words, many students in Class A showed their interest.

As expected, in the second round of voting, Tokyo achieved unanimous approval, and Class 2-A advanced to the final question of this special exam.

Just as homeroom teacher Hoshinomiya Chie was about to enjoy yet another easy victory for her class, she caught a glimpse of a figure pacing outside the classroom window, seemingly lost in thought.

Subconsciously clicking her tongue in disgust, Hoshinomiya Chie immediately raised her hand to the staff in the back row of the classroom to signal that she needed to go outside. Then, she stomped out in her high heels, barely suppressing the urge to grab Chabashira Saeko by the collar in the hallway, and asked her fiercely in a low voice:

"What are you doing here?"

"Do you want to ruin another one of my victories, just like you did eleven years ago?"

Chabashira Sae didn't answer her immediately, but instead quietly looked at the tablet in the hand of a student near the window.

What was displayed on the screen was the very subject that she and Chie Hoshinomiya had faced back then, a subject that had rewritten the fate of the entire class:

[Topic 5: A student who dropped out of the class earns 100 class points]

For or against?

At that time, the gap between her and Hoshinomiya Chie's Class 3-B and Class 3-A was actually quite small, and the 100 class points from this assignment were likely the key to the final reversal.

Just like the prisoner's dilemma, they dared not gamble that Class A would all choose to oppose, and that no one would take the 100 class points, leaving the suspense until the final graduation exam. Therefore, the struggle from beginning to end was not actually about whether to agree or disagree, but rather about who in the class would have to drop out at this last moment before graduation if they agreed.

It was at this moment that Chabashira Sae, the class leader, made a choice to sacrifice herself. However, Chabashira Sae herself did not accept this result and stubbornly chose to oppose it. In the end, the five-hour exam time was used up and Class 3-B, which failed the special exam, was penalized with a deduction of 300 class points, thus completely burying their last hope of advancing to Class A.

"Stop looking, our class is completely different from Class B back then."

Hoshinomiya Chie sneered from the side:

"Whether it's the situation or the atmosphere of the class, even if they weren't in Class A but Class D with zero points, not a single student would choose to agree to this topic."

"...You should be just like me."

"what?"

"They all, like me, don't care about the class at all."

Chabashira Sae turned to look at Hoshinomiya Chie, her tone equally cold:

“We are all incompetent teachers. You see, you yourself feel that it is very difficult for this class to get to where it is today, because you and I both know that a class that holds such naive ideas will only be defeated by this weakness in one special test after another, and then fall to the bottom. Then someone will be dissatisfied and want to change it. In the end, it will either be reborn from the ashes or be completely destroyed.”

"But your class is now undoubtedly Class A."

"Actually, it's all because of one person."

"He gave your class an answer."

"Naturally, it can be given to me as well."

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

Chapter Sixty: Unnecessary (4k5)

[First vote results: For: 1 vote, Against: 40 votes]

Just as the students of Class 2-A were preparing to pass this special exam, which was almost too easy for them, with an incredibly relaxed attitude, they suddenly discovered that the first vote had not reached a unanimous consensus.

"Huh? Did someone accidentally tap the wrong option on the tablet?"

One student casually turned around and asked this question, since it was impossible for any of the students in Class 2-A to agree with this topic.

After all, apart from Yagami Takuya who was expelled in the first month of school last year, Class 2-A's strategy for more than a year has been to not give up on any student in the class, and they have successfully implemented this philosophy to this day. Since then, no student has dropped out of the class, and it has become the class with the largest number of students in the entire second year.