I have a life simulator.

"Anyway, I'll get those 10,000 points back next month."

Kitagawa Ryoya uttered his harsh words cleanly and decisively, then turned and left with Class C. As the other onlookers dispersed, Sakura Airi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to leave quietly, Karuizawa Megumi grabbed her wrist.

"ah……"

Sakura Airi is also not good at dealing with extroverted female leaders. To be honest, she had seen many marginalized girls in junior high school who were bullied for three whole years simply because they accidentally offended the female leader in their class.

"Although we've been in the same class for over a month, I haven't even spoken more than a few words to Sakura-san yet. I'm Karuizawa Megumi, just call me Megumi."

Unlike her tone when speaking to Kitagawa Ryo, Sakura Airi spoke in a gentle, benevolent tone:

"Let me go with you to the mall to get your camera fixed. It must be malfunctioning, right?"

"Um……"

Sakura Airi could no longer run away or remain silent, so she could only give a soft "hmm". Karuizawa Megumi seemed to find the girl's reaction quite interesting and couldn't help but chuckle. She called her best friend, and the group of five or six people headed towards the digital camera store in the mall.

This group of girls was clearly led by Karuizawa Kei. After Karuizawa Kei decided to accept Sakura Airi, Matsushita Chiaki and others also tactfully brought up some topics about girls. After spending time together, Sakura Airi was able to barely integrate into this small circle.

There's a well-known discount store on campus, and the school seems to have a partnership with them. Since their clientele is primarily students, the store itself isn't very large. However, it sells a wide variety of everyday necessities and electronic products that students might use.

"Hmm, I remember the repair service was at the counter across the street."

Karuizawa Kei seemed to have been here many times before. She walked deeper into the store while trying to recall the location.

"I wonder if it can be fixed right away?"

Airi Sakura gripped the digital camera tightly, looking quite uneasy.

"Aire seems to really like cameras."

"Speaking of which, I've really wanted to take a set of everyday photos."

"A swimsuit photoshoot?"

"Qianqiu, you're going to die! Saying such strange things."

The other girls giggled and tried to interrupt, and Sakura Airi seemed a little afraid that her words might have offended them, but judging from their tone, they didn't seem to mean it. She awkwardly began to speak:

"If it's fixed, I can take pictures for everyone."

"Of course I want to wear that new dress."

"You bought that last month, right? And you haven't been able to wear it yet because you don't have enough points."

"Don't say such discouraging things."

"Ah, I really want points to buy new clothes too."

Listening to the girls' friendly conversation, Sakura Airi gradually calmed down.

The store is filled with many products, so the view isn't great, but the repair service area is located at the very back of the store.

Karuizawa Megumi and Sakura Airi handed over the camera together. The shop assistant seemed to be in a very high mood, and while taking the camera, his eyes kept glancing at Sakura Airi and Karuizawa Megumi's chests and faces.

The man's gaze was utterly disgusting, like a sticky tongue licking over the two of them. Sakura Airi shrank back, avoiding his eyes, but Karuizawa Megumi wasn't so forgiving. She glared at him fiercely and said with utter disgust:

"If you dare to look up again, I'll immediately report you to the school for dereliction of duty, huh? Looking at your idol during work hours, is that it?"

Upon hearing Karuizawa's words, the man hurriedly closed a webpage he was browsing on his computer, lowered his head, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes, and obediently turned on the camera to conduct an inspection.

Five minutes later, he spoke again, saying that the impact of the fall had damaged some parts, which was why the power could not be turned on. Fortunately, his personal items, such as the digital camera, were purchased after he enrolled in school, and the warranty certificate was kept, so he could get free repairs.

It seemed like it would take a full two weeks. The clerk asked Sakura Airi to leave her contact information on the form so they could contact her easily.

“I remember Airi has never been able to remember her own phone number, so I’ll fill it in.”

Just as Sakura Airi was about to start writing, Karuizawa Megumi suddenly picked up a pen first and quickly wrote down "Sakura Airi's" name and a string of contact information.

Although Sakura Airi looked confused, as if she had no idea what was going on and the phone number on the screen wasn't hers, she didn't stop Karuizawa Megumi's actions. The shop assistant, not daring to look up, stared at the contact information with a fascination, as if looking at some rare treasure.

After resolving this matter, the group walked side by side back to their dormitory. Matsushita Chiaki, while playing on her phone, exclaimed in surprise:

"Class 1-B is posting a reward for information about the fight that happened in the special teaching building yesterday. If you provide useful information, you will receive points as a reward."

"Ah, I really want one. Class B must be full of rich people."

"A new dress..."

"I still have to pay off my debts next month, and I also need to buy a new dress."

After a brief moment of surprise, the group realized that this matter was basically none of their business. However, Sakura Airi stiffened slightly, as if she had made a very important decision, and finally mustered the courage to quietly echo:

"Actually, I did see it..."

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

"Yamada."

The mixed-race, muscular Black man looked up from his plate and gazed at Kitagawa Ryo with some confusion.

There was a very subtle... almost forced smile on my boss's face.

"If someone sends you some weird pictures at night, just video chat with them. It's best to appear shirtless on camera."

Kitagawa Ryo patted his muscular shoulder and glanced down through the collar, catching a glimpse of the other man's incredibly thick chest hair:

"Hmm... Pfft hahaha."

Yamada scratched his head; he still couldn't understand what his boss was plotting.

Chapter Seventeen: Karuizawa Megumi's Dangerous Thoughts

"An interesting target has been found."

Around the beginning of May, Ryuuen Sho excitedly reported his recent progress to Kitagawa Ryo. After paying some class points as a price, Ryuuen Sho had roughly figured out the school's surveillance system. What he was most enthusiastic about now was to secretly install the surveillance cameras he bought with his points in unmonitored areas. Of course, this would not be for long; it was just an experiment.

Long Yuanxiang hadn't really expected these casually placed chess pieces to be of much use, but during the retrieval work over the past few days, he did discover something quite interesting.

"The girl in the photo is Sakura Airi from Class D, Grade 1."

There were more than a dozen photos scattered on the living room table in Kitagawa Ryo's room. They seemed to be from different time periods and were taken in the special teaching building. The people in the photos were glamorous, and even though the photos were not very clear, it was still clear that the girl's appearance and figure were among the best of her peers.

"Are there still people like this in Class D? I don't remember them from last time I went there."

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't very interested in the photos. After glancing at them lazily, he started teasing Hotaru with a cat toy. However, the little guy seemed a bit tired lately and just gave a perfunctory pat with his paw.

"Indeed, but after searching all the girls in the other three first-year classes and narrowing down the candidates using the digital camera in her hand, it should be Sakura Airi."

Long Yuanxiang showed the screen of his phone:

"During the subsequent investigation, I noticed that although Sakura Airi hides her appearance in class, she also has a dual identity as a print idol named 'Shizuku' online."

"This is her personal social space and some materials."

Kitagawa Ryo took Ryuen Sho's phone. Before coming to see him, Ryuen Sho seemed to have already prepared Sakura Airi's information:

A junior high school student making her debut in the entertainment industry, she updated her personal space almost 365 days a year for the next year, sharing everything that happened that day, her feelings, and all sorts of trivial matters without reservation. She also seemed to reply to almost all of her fans' comments thoroughly, which is quite dedicated for an idol.

Tokyo Advanced Educational Junior High School has a rule that students cannot contact the outside world for three years after enrollment. Therefore, Sakura Airi has not replied to fans' messages since enrolling in the school more than a month ago.

Although Sakura Airi is only a gravure idol and doesn't often appear in public, she seems to be quite popular, with over 5,000 followers on Twitter. During the period after she stopped updating, she accumulated a lot of comments such as "I hope Shizuku-chan can come back soon," "Is she preparing to go on TV?" and "It's been so long since she updated."

Perhaps due to the overwhelming demand from fans, a week ago, Airi Sakura chose to update her social media again. She went alone to a special teaching building without surveillance cameras, presumably to take a selfie.

"It feels very strange..."

Unlike Ryuen Sho, who subconsciously thought "this person has value to be exploited," Kitagawa Ryo frowned and his first thought was actually a loophole in the school rules:

"When we first enrolled, it was specifically emphasized that we should not contact the outside world for the three years of high school, but based on the information we have so far, there are two loopholes that can be exploited."

"Ishizaki talked to me about some of the rules of the basketball club a couple of days ago. Club members are allowed to go out during important games. Although there will be a check before leaving school, this is basically done by the student council members. If you let them have some leeway, it is easy to take items out in containers such as lunch boxes or water bottles. I once thought that if we could discuss it with people outside the school in advance, we might be able to bring in or take out some interesting things during this process."

Kitagawa Ryo leaned back on the sofa, meticulously analyzing the rules:

"However, problems arose regarding how to discuss things in advance, so I put that aspect of my thinking aside at the time."

“But, Ryuen, look, even though Sakura Airi is at school, she can still update her photos on social media. Although she can’t communicate with fans who leave comments, sometimes, photos are enough to convey a lot of information.”

"Alright, alright. Although this vulnerability sounds impressive, it's not something we'll have the opportunity to use in the near future, either in terms of practicality or feasibility."

Long Yuanxiang crossed his legs and pouted, saying:

"Class D is practically finished now, what are your plans for dealing with Class B?"

"Class B? Of course I have a plan."

Kitagawa Ryo scratched Hotaru's chin, and the kitten's purring sound was quite cute.

"Originally, I only planned to design the behavior logic of Class B simply, but since you found such an interesting girl, Ryuen, I have to go all out."

"Also, how's it going with the student council?"

Long Yuanxiang squinted and asked:

"You can fool the other students in Class C, but you can't fool me."

"Oh, the student council?"

Kitagawa Ryo feigned surprise and spoke, but quickly shook his head:

"It's not necessary for Class C to get involved right now. Let's wait until we become Class A."

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

"Well then, let me introduce myself again. I am Honami Ichinose, the class representative of Class 1-B."

"This is Ryuji Kanzaki."

As dusk approached, the entire coffee shop was bathed in a warm yellow hue. Ichinose Honami, who had been hitting roadblocks all day, rushed over immediately after receiving a call from Karuizawa Megumi. Even someone as composed as her couldn't remain calm in the current situation. With midterms approaching, the students in Class B all had their own study tasks. Although no one had suggested ending the search for clues yet, Ichinose Honami couldn't be complacent. Only by resolving this matter as quickly as possible could Class B get back on track.

Now it seems that the key to the whole thing lies with Karuizawa Megumi, who sits across from him with a calm expression.

"Karuizawa-san said he has an important clue about yesterday's fight..."

"Please! We really need this right now."

Without hesitation, Honami Ichinose stood up, bowed deeply, and said sincerely:

"If the evidence in Karuizawa-kun's hands can change the situation, Class B is willing to pay any price."

Ryuji Kanzaki, standing nearby, frowned slightly upon hearing Honami Ichinose's words. Although his own Class B was indeed at a disadvantage, showing weakness at the outset of negotiations would undoubtedly give the other side an excuse to make exorbitant demands. However, as Honami Ichinose's assistant, he had no choice but to suppress his urge to speak and lower his head along with Ichinose.

“A member of our class witnessed the incident yesterday and even took crucial photos.”

Karuizawa Kei didn't bother with pleasantries and went straight to the point, revealing her hand. From the photo she showed on her phone screen, Ryuen Sho from Class C was raising his fist to punch himself in the face, while Shibata Hayate on the other side looked stunned and bewildered.

"This is it!"

Upon seeing the crucial evidence that could absolutely turn the tide, even the usually composed Ryuji Kanzaki couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, while Honami Ichinose on the other side spoke up even more directly:

"If the witness from Class D is willing to defend Class B and present this photo as evidence tomorrow, Class B is willing to pay Class D 500,000 personal points. In addition, the witness will receive an additional 200,000 personal points as compensation."

If it were the previous Karuizawa Kei, she might have been overwhelmed by the enormous number. For a D-class student with zero points, 500,000 and 200,000 were quite a huge number. Kanzaki Ryuji was also quite confident in the reward he had proposed, staring intently at Karuizawa Kei, waiting for her to say "agree".

"Huh? Is that so? It seems Class B's sincerity is a bit lacking."

However, Karuizawa Megumi did not agree as easily as Kanzaki Ryuji had expected. Instead, she clicked her tongue dismissively and said, propping her right hand up:

"Although it's unclear what kind of punishment Class B will receive for this, they'll definitely lose some points."

"If the students in Class D are willing to testify for Class B, the reliability would be quite high, right?"

"The individual points paid in one lump sum... don't seem to compare to the class points we managed to save for Class B."

It wasn't until this point that Honami Ichinose and Ryuji Kanzaki realized that the girl from Class D who was negotiating with them was not as simple-minded as she seemed. From the very beginning, she had come here with the intention of taking a big bite out of Class B.

"What does Karuizawa-san mean?"

But since things had come to this point, Honami Ichinose had no choice but to relinquish control to the other party and await the conditions proposed by Class D as if she were on trial.

"One million personal points, paid in full at once."

Karuizawa Kei's first condition made the two of them tense, but for Class B, which currently had 650 class points, it wasn't an insurmountable number if they worked together. Just as Ichinose Honami was about to nod in agreement, Karuizawa Kei's next words completely shattered their hopes of resolving the incident with minimal cost.

"Class B of Year 1 pays me 800,000 personal points every month."

"impossible!"

Ryuji Kanzaki slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly. Even though they had chosen a rather secluded spot, several students were still glancing their way. To avoid attracting attention, Kanzaki had no choice but to sit back down, feeling frustrated, and angrily retorted:

“Class B will absolutely not agree to such conditions. Individual points will definitely play an important role in class competition later on. If they pay 800,000 a month, Class B will not only lose the opportunity to challenge Class A, but may even be overtaken by Class C.”

"Oh……"