How can my simulation be a real love?

"Chihaya-kun, it might be a bit rude of me to ask this so suddenly."

"But I'd like to know, what do you intend to discuss with Ming?"

Chihaya Aine simply stared at her expressionless face, then slowly said in a calm tone, "You should know very well what I want to do with Mei, right? Of course, it's to confess to him. Otherwise, what else do you think I would need to talk to him about alone?"

"Confession?!"

Hearing these unbelievable words, Toyokawa Shoko was momentarily stunned.

"Chihaya-kun, you...you really do like Naruto?"

"That's only natural, I love him deeply."

Chihaya Aine simply uttered those words without any expression, it was hard to imagine that she could say such a thing with such a completely unmoved expression.

The sheer volume of information was like a wooden hammer striking a bell without a nose, bringing unimaginable shock to Toyokawa Shoko at that moment.

Seeing her absent-minded state, Chihaya Aine narrowed her eyes and said in a strange tone, "Is that all you wanted to tell me? If that's all, then I'll be leaving now."

"No... wait, Chihaya-san... why did this suddenly happen?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Chihaya Aine looked at the cuff of her sleeve that had been grabbed and slowly frowned, her tone becoming even colder: "If you want to be my rival in love, that's fine too, because even if you date Naruto... I'll still snatch him away. My feelings for him are different from yours."

"Please explain clearly what you mean by 'different from me'?"

When Chihaya Aine suddenly questioned her inner feelings, Toyokawa Shoko's initial shock dissipated considerably.

Her feelings for Kazami Mei were like those of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, destined to meet by fate. No matter how much hardship they endured, they were sure to meet each other. But how could her sincere feelings be questioned by the other party?

Even though Toyokawa Shoko was very wary of the current situation, she couldn't help but become annoyed for a moment.

However, her anger and dissatisfaction did not change Chihaya Aine's mind in the slightest. She simply withdrew her sleeve, which had been grabbed by the other party, without any expression.

"Toyokawa Shoko, you don't care about other people's feelings at all, do you?"

The silent, cold words were like a sharp thorn piercing the girl's heart.

"You formed CRYCHIC without my permission, and then you left the band that you brought together without my permission. You even thought that they could continue to form a band even if you weren't there. In the end... you didn't consider the feelings of Deng and Su Shi at all, and you hurt those who had given their feelings for you because of your own reasons."

"I don't think someone like you can truly cherish Ming's feelings."

Toyokawa Shoko's delicate and beautiful face had completely lost all color. Her swaying body seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Chihaya Aine, who seemed to have a 'bad' attitude, said a fact that she had no way to refute, which made the tears in her eyes begin to well up.

She really wanted to speak and tell Chihaya Aine, who was standing in front of her, that she loved him.

But I couldn't bring myself to say it.

"..."

When Chihaya Aine saw her in such a shameful state, her originally indifferent expression turned somewhat strange.

Instead of pressing her advantage and continuing to attack Toyokawa Shoko, the 'loser,' she simply said, "Anyway, I don't care what you plan to do, but I will absolutely not give up Ming to you."

After saying those words, she turned and slowly left, leaving Toyokawa Shoko standing there in a daze.

"I……"

The blue-haired girl quickly wiped her eyes, forced herself to cheer up, and hurriedly followed him out.

Less than a few minutes had passed since the two left, but Kazami Mei, sitting on the sofa by the glass window, had already finished the cappuccino that Toyokawa Shoko had personally brewed. Seeing them return, a smile immediately appeared on his usually calm face, and then he deliberately spoke in a teasing tone—

"Come back so soon?"

"I'm so sorry... I left Ming here all alone."

Despite her still turbulent emotions, Toyokawa Shoko managed a faint smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chihaya Aine leave the coffee shop on her own initiative. The aloof, cherry-colored girl simply leaned against the shop sign at the entrance, quietly waiting for the two to finish their conversation.

Recalling the other party's sharp words, Toyokawa Shoko felt a stabbing pain in her heart.

"Xiangzi?"

"I'm fine!"

Toyokawa Shoko took a deep breath, trying to remain as calm as possible.

A flicker of realization crossed Feng Jianming's eyes as he sat opposite him. His tone immediately softened as he said softly, "Speaking of which, Xiangzi, is there something you wanted to tell me today? You don't have to rush to speak. Just have a sip of water and tell me everything slowly."

“…That’s true.”

Shoko Toyokawa sensed a hint of concern in the other person's words, but the bitter and distressing emotions in her heart made her completely powerless.

She opened her mouth several times, wanting to talk to the other person about 'time reversal', but the emotions in her heart seemed to turn into several steel locks binding her heart, and the barbed chains slowly scratched wounds on her heart.

All the words in my heart can be summed up in just one short sentence.

"I am fine."

"Actually, I have written Ave Mujica's training plan and wanted Ming to take a look and see if there are any areas for improvement."

With slightly trembling fingertips, Toyokawa Shoko took the plan from her bag, then forced back the tears that were about to spill and handed it to Kazami Mei. After she took it, she felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body, and she slumped into her seat, unable to straighten up.

What on earth is she doing?

"Okay, I'll take a good look at it for you when I get back."

Kazami Mei carefully took the bound volume from her hands, then raised his eyes to look at her again.

"Xiangzi, is there anything else?"

"...No, I'm so sorry to add to Ming's workload."

Kazami Mei simply nodded slightly, his deep and gentle eyes still fixed on Toyokawa Shoko's face. After a long silence, he slowly said, "Then I'll help you organize the training plan when I get back."

"If you need anything else, Xiangzi, just tell me whenever you need it."

"Of course, I'll charge overtime if you make too many requests."

After uttering these slightly teasing words, Kazami Naruto picked up the training plan and turned to leave the coffee shop with a smile. Toyokawa Shoko, sitting by the glass window, stared blankly at his figure standing side by side with Chihaya Aine, and couldn't help but reach out and press her trembling heart hard.

She's a complete idiot.

……

【Simulation starts】

[Remaining simulation attempts: 113]

As you submitted your new work to the London International Art Fair, your reputation took a dramatic leap forward with this exhibition. However, you remained neither proud nor concerned about these legendary achievements that others found astonishing, and simply continued your work day after day.

Your near-perfect physical fitness and recovery ability allow you to handle the affairs of three bands and your own work simultaneously. As you continue to interact with 'them,' you also clearly perceive that the emotions they exude become increasingly apparent.

You vaguely sense that everyone around you is restless and eager to make a move.

"The simulation is different?"

A hint of 'as expected' flashed in Kazami Mei's eyes, and his suspicions gradually solidified at this moment.

However, he was still not entirely certain of his guess, so he continued watching the simulation, thinking that 'there are probably no options yet'.

[Unexpectedly, you receive a phone call from Shoko Toyokawa.]

The ordinary words made Kazami Naruto raise his eyebrows. In the last simulation, there was no trace of Teacher Daisho at all, which almost made him doubt whether this simulation was actually a simulation of Shoko. But after the simulation was restarted, he immediately encountered an incident involving Shoko.

This feeling is almost like the world lines being reshaped?

This change startled Kazami Mei for a moment, but she then focused intently on continuing to watch the simulation.

[It's normal for Toyokawa Shoko, as the leader of Ave Mujica, to contact you. Usually, she would contact you via Line if there were any work-related matters. But this sudden phone call surprised you a bit, but being a meticulous person, you chose to answer without hesitation.]

The content of the phone call was very simple; Toyokawa Shoko simply wanted to meet with you.

This might be perfectly normal for others, but it has a completely different meaning for Toyokawa Shoko. You know that she wouldn't specifically call to ask to meet you unless there's something important to discuss. You have a vague feeling that she might have something important to say.

[Already worried about her, you didn't hesitate and chose to go to the coffee shop to meet her immediately.]

[After successfully meeting with Toyokawa Shoko, you subtly sensed her restraint. This subtle detail, which most people would miss, was immediately noticed by you. Therefore, you chose to relax her by joking around, wanting to wait until she had completely calmed down before listening to what she had to say.]

Your approach was very successful; she quickly smiled.

Just as you were about to ask her what she was going to say, Chihaya Aine suddenly opened the shop door and walked into the coffee shop.

“Aine?”

Upon seeing the large characters 'Chihaya Aine' displayed in the simulation, Kazami Mei's face showed a look of confusion and surprise.

"Regarding Xiangzi and my work at Rabbit House, I've only talked to Chuhua about it so far... Logically speaking, Aine shouldn't have been able to find her way here. Could it be that she just happened to walk into this coffee shop? She doesn't seem like the type to go to a coffee shop alone..."

In any case, the sudden 'change' gradually made his expression stiffen.

Just as Kazami was about to continue the simulation and observe what would happen next, a fragment of memory suddenly flooded into his mind. He closed his eyes and waited for a full minute before gradually coming back to his senses, followed by a silence that lasted for nearly ten seconds.

He slowly raised his eyelids and stared meaningfully at the simulator's panel.

"—I see, is that really how it is?"

"Miss Xiangzi's simulation is completely different from the 'normal' simulation. I wonder if it's because the 'harem' in reality has completely affected the simulation process, causing a bug. Now, every time the simulation is restarted, it's probably a completely new world line... or should I say a parallel universe?"

Furthermore, if Kazami Mei's guess is correct—

"I had a feeling that Hatsuka in the memory fragments was too proactive, but I wasn't sure at the time... However, now that I've seen Aine in this simulation, I can be completely sure what happened in this simulation."

In this simulation, only he and Xiangzi retained their realistic personalities; everyone else around them underwent significant changes.

"However, it's more accurate to say that her personality underwent a complete reversal rather than a 'change'."

Just as the so-called 'dream' is the opposite of reality, the other people in this simulation also have personalities that are the opposite of their real-life counterparts.

The change in Hatsuka, who was insecure and timid, might not be particularly obvious, but the difference was quite significant in Hyouka's usually outgoing and somewhat silly girlfriend. If he hadn't been able to see Chihaya Aine's indifferent expression in the fragments of memory, Kazami Naru would probably never have imagined it.

After all, Aine's image as an adorable goofball was deeply ingrained in his mind.

"What if everyone else also experiences a personality reversal, but I can't directly control the simulation..."

Kazami Mei rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, trying to relieve her fatigue with a massage.

If things go exactly as he imagines, then it's impossible to get through to Toyokawa Shoko's route.

A strong sense of powerlessness caused his lips to twitch slightly. In previous simulations, even if he didn't want to go, he would still veer into Professor Daisho's route. So Kazami Naru thought that following the steps would easily lead to the perfect ending of this simulation. But who knew that he would not be able to make any choices.

"...The simulator can't possibly be bugged and completely immobilized, right? In any case, I can only try it little by little. I refuse to believe that I can't find a 'possibility' after simulating the world line more than a hundred times."

Perhaps, there will be a global phenomenon where samples become proactive?

Even though he felt helpless, Kazami Mei quickly composed himself and threw himself back into the simulation process. He kept staring at the text, trying to find the simulator's 'flaws' just like before, because he understood that operating the simulator was not just about 'choices'.

Similarly, there is also one's own 'real' state.

If your real-life way of thinking changes, then your simulated self will also be affected.

As the simulation progresses, his changing thoughts in reality indirectly affect the simulation's outcome.

When Toyokawa Shoko returned from her private chat with Chihaya Aine, you noticed a significant difference in her demeanor compared to before. While Chihaya Aine was waiting outside the shop, you subtly inquired whether she was facing any difficulties.

To your disappointment, Toyokawa Shoko did not respond to you at all.

[It seems that Toyokawa Shoko has some unspeakable secret and chooses to remain silent, merely entrusting you with the 'superficial' band work. Even after you ask her repeatedly, you can't get any answers. Disappointed, you understand that if she doesn't want to talk, you can't force her to reveal it.]

Out of concern for her, you tell her she can contact you anytime.

Toyokawa Shoko has still not responded.

"...This is bad."

Kazami Mei stared at the simulation interface, letting out a soft sigh that sent chills down her spine.

Thinking carefully about Ms. Daisho's stubborn and eccentric personality, even if she has some unspeakable secrets in her heart, she would never say them if she had any concerns. This is enough to show that Toyokawa Shoko has never mentioned her family to Kazami Mei.

If it were anyone else, they would probably have thought that they couldn't gain her trust.

If Toyokawa Shoko were more proactive and willing to rely more on his help, then this simulation might only require a few tries to find a solution. However, the problem is that the other party is not willing to speak up about their difficulties, which makes their personalities completely different.

"Unable to operate the simulation themselves, they had to pry open Xiangzi's mouth."

It's practically hellish difficulty.

"So this is where the trouble with the 'last one' lies. As expected... it's definitely not as easy as I thought."

Kazami Mei couldn't help but shake her head with a self-deprecating laugh, casually composing herself again.

Regardless of how this simulation goes, he will continue to conduct simulations.

He still has 113 simulation attempts left, and he has to find a way to find the 'correct' world!

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