How can my simulation be a real love?

With a gentle, Yamato Nadeshiko-like deity, Ms. Maki raised an eyebrow slightly. Her purple eyes, similar to Ritsuki's, stared meaningfully at Kazami Mei's anxious expression. She merely smiled and then spoke slowly and deliberately—

"Although I don't know what happened, it looks like a typical couple's argument."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Kazami Mei paused slightly, but did not explain further to her.

"Xiao Lixi has always had this awkward yet very strong-willed personality. She's so stubborn that if she wants to do something, no one can stop her. I was originally worried about how she would ever get married..."

"However, I never expected that her personality would change so much after meeting Mingjun. Even I can see it... She trusts and relies on you very much."

"It wasn't easy for us to start dating, so I hope that as her 'boyfriend,' Mingjun can be more patient with her, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Kazami Mei seemed to recall Shiina Tatsuki's cool and elegant face, and could vaguely hear her tsundere words pretending not to care.

Even though she always maintained a serious and earnest attitude towards him, the black-haired and aloof girl would show meticulous care whenever he had a problem.

I really have to give in to her.

Kazami Mei smiled wryly, looking at the black-haired beauty before her, and said softly, "Maki-neechan, I understand."

"Hmph~ You're going to have to appease her, huh?"

With Shiina Maki's encouraging words still ringing in his ears, Kazami Mei simply waved his hand and opened the iron gate to chase after her outside.

It was getting late when I left the Shiina residence.

The golden sunset had sunk below the distant horizon along the dark purple sky, and the colors of dusk around it were gradually fading away. The intertwined afterglow only made the hard concrete ground tinge with a warm yellow.

"Luckily, I learned some tracking techniques in Hawaii..."

Kazami Mei slowly squatted down to observe the marks on the asphalt road, her fingertips gently stroking the cold, hard ground as if touching piano keys.

He was able to roughly find out where Miss Riki was by using the skill [Tracking and Counter-Tracking Lv.3] that he learned from Miss Su Shi, but he mainly relied on his 'intuition' to guess the general direction.

Unfortunately, Kazami Naruto is quite confident in his 'intuition'. If it were to become an inherent skill in FGO, his 'intuition' would probably be at least a B+, right?

……

Shiina Tatsuki was in a state of great confusion at that moment.

"What am I doing?!"

Frustrated and exhausted, Shiina Tatsuki shook her head vigorously. When she realized what she had accidentally said, her feet had already reacted uncontrollably to 'escape,' and before her brain could even think, her body had already subconsciously fled from the house.

I should have kept my feelings for him buried deep in my heart for the rest of my life.

"He said those things without permission, and now I don't know how to face him at all..."

Shiina Riki didn't dare to think about how Kazami Mei would react to her words, but she figured she wouldn't have a good attitude, since Kazami Mei had never treated her like a woman from the very beginning.

Hearing her say something like that would only cause confusion and bewilderment, right?

"Not only do you like both Suze and Touka at the same time, but you also want to date and marry them at the same time... How could such an absurd idea possibly come true! Didn't Kazami consider the consequences before doing this?"

"But if it really turns out like that... what will happen to Hailing's feelings?"

Feeling utterly confused, Shiina Ritsuki kept scratching her smooth, night-sky-colored hair. She seemed to have no time to think about these complicated emotional issues right now.

What should she do now?

Once you escape from home, you can't possibly escape back, right?

But it was almost dinnertime and she had nowhere else to go. Given Kazami's stubborn nature, he might wait for her at home, but Shiina Ritsuki didn't want to see him again.

"Lixi!"

The familiar voice and the unfamiliar name appeared simultaneously as if by miracle. Shiina Tatsuki's body tensed up instantly when she was called by her name. Only then did she realize that a familiar black-haired figure was standing not far in front of her.

The moment she saw the other person, she turned and ran away.

Kazami Mei naturally wouldn't let her escape at this moment, and immediately took another step to catch up.

As a stamina-rich drummer, Shiina Tatsuki should have been able to completely outmatch Kazami Naru in terms of stamina. However, she did not expect that even after running for so long, the other party was still following behind her. In fact, as her stamina gradually decreased, the distance between the two of them continued to shorten over time!

"That guy...when did he develop this kind of physical ability?!"

Feeling somewhat taken aback, Shiina Ritsuki gritted her teeth and turned to run directly towards the bustling commercial street.

"Isn't Li Xi a bit too fast?"

Kazami Mei continued to follow behind her with a subtle expression. If it weren't for his greatly enhanced stamina, he probably would have lost her.

Although he knew that if he kept chasing, he would eventually catch up with Miss Lixi, given her physical abilities, he also had to consider whether the stubborn and headstrong Lixi would run for her life. He had to find a way to speed up and catch up with her.

"Huh? Was that Naruto just now...?"

Wearing the Haneoka school uniform, Takamatsu Akari was squatting on the right side of the bridge, staring blankly ahead. She seemed to have just seen Kazami Naru running past from this side in a hurry, looking very anxious.

It was rare to see Kazami Mei so anxious, which made Takamatsu Akari vaguely realize that he might have encountered some emergency, but she didn't know how to help him.

Takamatsu Akari, clenching her small fists, frowned with disappointment. She stood on the right side of the human bridge, looking in the direction where Kazami Naru had left, but she could no longer see him.

Da da da……

I heard the dull thud of shoes hitting the concrete.

Instinctively, Takamatsu Akari turned her head to look at the left side of the 'human bridge'. There she saw a girl with long, shiny black hair hurriedly coming onto the bridge from the other side. Her long hair, which fell straight down to her waist, swayed with her movements.

"Richie-chan?"

"Huh?! A light...a light?!"

The two were clearly surprised to meet on the bridge. Upon seeing Shiina Tatsuki, Takamatsu Akari's brows furrowed with a hint of worry, and she couldn't help but ask about her current situation.

All she knew was that Shiina Tatsuki, who had left after Mygo's last failed performance, hadn't sent any messages, and she had been very worried about her situation during that time.

As Shiina Riki hurriedly fled, she looked at Takamatsu Akari not far away with a complicated expression. She seemed to be feeling a little guilty and subtly shifted her gaze, but when she thought of Kazami Mei still behind her, she could only grit her teeth.

Shiina Tatsuki shouted anxiously, "I have some urgent business to attend to, Akari, let me through first!"

"Eh?"

Like a timid little animal, Takamatsu Akari pursed her lips. Startled by the other person's anxious tone, she subconsciously tried to step aside, but because of the large movement, she lost her balance.

Seeing that Takamatsu Akari was about to fall on the bridge, Shiina Tatsuki, without even thinking, immediately went up and pulled her up, which miraculously allowed the little penguin to regain her balance.

"Deng, are you alright?!"

“…Um, thank you, Riki-chan.”

Takamatsu Akari, who was helped up by the hand, also felt a little nervous, but she had no mind to think about her own problems at the moment. Instead, she looked at Shiina Tatsuki with a worried expression.

"...Lixi-chan, you haven't replied to any messages lately...Ming and I have been very worried about you."

"This is me!"

Before he could finish speaking, a series of sounds came from behind. Kazami Mei, who had caught up at some point, also noticed the situation and, not wanting to miss the opportunity, immediately stepped forward and grabbed Riki's wrist.

He finally caught him.

Seeing that he had no time to escape, Shiina Riki could only shake his head in despair and let Kazami Mei hold his wrist to prevent him from escaping.

"Ming? What's going on between you and Lixi...?"

The little penguin was clearly confused, and at that moment, Kazami also noticed the other's figure.

If it weren't for the fact that I happened to run into Xiaodeng here and caught up with her from both sides, it would have taken me a lot of effort to catch up with Miss Lixi. It's good that Xiaodeng is here so that we can get things straight.

"I was chasing Lixi the whole time, and she ran away as soon as she saw me."

Kazami Mei complained to the black-haired girl beside her with a hint of helplessness in her voice.

"I've finally caught you red-handed this time... It's just that you, Shiina, secretly had a crush on me and accidentally blurted it out, right? Why are you running around like that for such a small thing?"

"Huh?! Who...who has a crush on a scumbag like you?!"

Shiina Tatsuki, instantly enraged, forced herself to remain calm and retorted, but now that Kazami Mei had grabbed her wrist, her previously sharp and assertive aura seemed to have weakened considerably.

The venomous words that should have been met with angry rebukes no longer carried the same force as before.

"You said it yourself, you're not just playing with my feelings, are you?"

"How dare you say such a thing!"

Enraged by Kazami Mei's words, Shiina Tatsuki clenched her fists, clearly ready to fight before they were even agreed upon, which immediately made Takamatsu Akari panic.

"You two shouldn't fight..."

With the little penguin beside him, Shiina Ritsuki couldn't show too much of a fierce demeanor. He could only purse his lips and lower his head with a complicated expression, which made Kazami Mei breathe a sigh of relief.

The little penguin, who had been listening from the sidelines, looked somewhat puzzled. Having just overheard Kazami Ming say that Ritsuki had a 'crush' on him, she sensed something and cautiously spoke up—

"Tachiki-chan, you do like Naruto too?"

"I...I didn't!"

Upon hearing this, Shiina Riki felt extremely flustered. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment, as if water would make her head smoke.

"But you're dating Kazami right now, aren't you? Do you know he's also dating Souse? He's said he likes two people at the same time, do you understand?!"

Shiina Riki thought that Takamatsu Akari might show a disappointed or hurt expression after hearing this, but the cute little penguin only paused for two seconds before shaking his head vigorously.

She adopted a serious expression on her most adorable, delicate face, and responded earnestly—

"...Ming is also dating Xiao Mu."

Is that the main point?

Feeling somewhat exasperated by the adorable but clueless penguin, Shiina Tatsuki let out a long sigh. But then, as if noticing something, she suddenly raised her head, her expression one of utter astonishment, and said—

"Wait a minute, you actually have a third girlfriend?!"

Kazami Mei, who had already laid his cards on the table with her, was no longer afraid. He spoke earnestly and calmly without any attempt to hide his feelings: "...After all, I am a scumbag. Of course, there are many people I like, but no matter who it is, I treat this relationship seriously."

"No matter what, I will never let anyone down, and I will absolutely take responsibility for making everyone happy."

Seeing Shiina Ritsuki speechless, Takamatsu Akari gently tugged at her sleeve, as if afraid Ritsuki would blame Kazami Mei, and spoke softly—

"This... this can't be blamed on Naruto! I actually share the same thoughts as Naruto... I know that Aine-chan and Suze-chan both like Naruto, we all have the same feelings..."

"Lixi-chan, too."

Shiina Tatsuki blushed slightly after Takamatsu Akari's words exposed her true thoughts. Now, her innermost thoughts were completely revealed to everyone, and she was at a loss for words, only able to offer a forced, defiant rebuttal.

"But that's absolutely impossible! Dating and marrying everyone—"

Takamatsu Akari simply shook her head, then stretched out her two small hands and firmly grasped Shiina Tatsuki's hands. Her amber eyes shone with a warm yellow light, overflowing with genuine emotion.

“If Mei can only date me… you’ll be hurt whether it’s Aine-chan, Suze-chan, or Riki-chan. I know how painful it is to like someone but not be able to be with them, so I don’t want everyone to experience the same feeling…”

"If everyone could date Ming, they could stay together for a lifetime."

"I also want to be with Riki-chan forever!"

Shiina Riki, whose hand was held by Takamatsu Akari, opened her mouth blankly, unsure of what to say, and even her eyes darted away in a flustered manner.

But seeing the serious and earnest expression on the face of the petite gray-haired girl in front of her, even though she knew it was so 'absurd,' she inexplicably felt a sense of trust.

But, Kazami Mei doesn't like me at all, right?

Seemingly sensing Shiina Tatsuki's concerns, Mr. Kazami, who had been slightly frowning, couldn't help but reveal a faint smile. He took a deep breath and spoke with a serious demeanor completely different from his usual self—

"I never said before that I didn't like Lixi, did I?"

If Li Xi liked you, would you give the same answer?

At this moment, Kazami Mei gradually recalled her conversation with Hachiman Kairin. Back then, she probably couldn't give a direct and decisive answer, but things were different from this moment on.

The answer is of course——

I've fallen for Miss Lixi.

"you……"

Shiina Tatsuki's mind went blank after being bombarded by such a 'confession'.

Feeling lost and confused, she glared fiercely in Feng Jianming's direction, her exquisitely beautiful face flushed with a blush of embarrassment. Her already alluring beauty mark was now even more captivating.

With her thoughts and emotions in such a state of confusion, she couldn't make a decision on her own.

"I... I can't accept it yet. Let me think about it for a while longer."

At least, not yet.

……

Once you fall completely in love with someone, your thoughts and feelings will uncontrollably revolve around that person.