How can my simulation be a real love?

However, this was also a rare opportunity for Toyokawa Shoko. She wanted to take advantage of this time to stay by Kazami Mei's side as much as possible, and perhaps by staying by his side, she could slowly find out what was 'abnormal'.

Most importantly, even in a dream, Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to lose to anyone!

"Ming--"

What is everyone doing here?

Just as Toyokawa Shoko opened her mouth, a light shout came from behind her.

Shoko Toyokawa turned her head instinctively and saw a head of long, fiery red hair.

A girl with waist-length red hair, wearing a straw hat with a bright red ribbon, walked up to her. Even with sunglasses on, she could not hide her gentle, smiling voice. The ends of her bright red, slightly curled hair fell naturally down to her chest.

Even though she wore large sunglasses that obscured her face, her elegant yet trendy aura still drew attention.

"So Xiangzi-chan is here too. Are you here to see Ming?"

The red-haired girl wearing a ribbon-studded straw hat waved her little hand at her with a smile. Even though she was wearing a relatively loose-fitting skirt, it couldn't hide her slender waist.

The other person immediately called out her name, which quickly brought the stunned Toyokawa Shoko back to her senses.

For some reason, Toyokawa Shoko felt that the other person looked somewhat familiar, because that bright red hair was extremely rare among the people she knew.

She seemed to already have the answer in her heart, but she still frowned warily and said—

"Excuse me... may I ask who you are?"

"Yudai-chan, don't you have work to do later?"

Before Kita Ikuyo could respond, Goto Ichiri, who was standing next to Kazami Naru, spoke first.

The moment she heard the affectionate nickname "Yudai" in her ear, a look of understanding flashed across Toyokawa Shoko's face.

Even though her fiery red side ponytail had grown into waist-length hair, and even her temperament and personality had changed quite significantly, Toyokawa Shoko was still able to roughly determine the other party's identity based on her previous experience. This red-haired girl was one of the two girls she had met at the ramen shop.

Kita Ikuyo!

"..."

Toyokawa Shoko took a deep breath and quickly suppressed her shock.

Having just experienced the dramatic personality changes of two acquaintances, 'Shiina Tatsuki' and 'Goto Ichiri', Toyokawa Shoko is gradually getting used to these drastic personality shifts. After all, she'll have to get used to this opposite dream world sooner or later.

Kita Ikuyo doesn't seem to have changed much right now, and even if she had, she wouldn't be too surprised.

Ultraman warriors don't fall in the same place twice!

I've cancelled my work for today!

Wearing sunglasses, Kita Ikuyo's tone carried a hint of melancholy before she stepped forward with light strides in her round-toed leather boots.

To Toyokawa Shoko's utterly shocked expression, the slender Kita Ikuyo suddenly accelerated and embraced Kazami Mei. Her once elegant and delicate face gradually flushed, accompanied by soft panting and waves of hot air.

"Actually, I wanted to invite Ming to have dinner with me today, which is why I specifically canceled my work!"

"The big idol turned down work to go on a date with a girl his own age. If his manager found out, he'd be furious, right?"

"What does it matter?"

Kita Ikuyo, who was trying to hide in Kazami Naruto's arms, stuck out her little tongue and quietly took off the thick sunglasses that covered most of her face. The way she puffed out her cheeks made Toyokawa Shoko a little dizzy.

It was only then that Toyokawa Shoko suddenly realized—

The dream world is not just about a reversal of personality; it may also lead to a certain deviation in the trajectory of one's life.

How did Kita Ikuyo, the protagonist of this world, become a big star?

"Anyway, I invited Naruto first today! Ikuyo-chan, you can't cut in line!"

"...Damn it, Ichiri-chan!"

Even though she was unwilling, Kita Ikuyo could only abide by the first-come, first-served rule. She sighed with some regret and obediently took a few steps back. Seeing this, Goto Ichiri smiled with satisfaction and put his hands on his hips triumphantly.

She was as majestic as a victorious general on the battlefield, and her adorable yet spirited expression drew everyone's attention.

Seeing that Goto Ichiri had 'won' and was about to pull Kazami Mei away, Toyokawa Shoko, anxious and almost instinctively wanting to speak up to stop her, was surprised to hear words coming from the steps below the entrance of the LiveHouse even faster than her.

"Wait a minute, shouldn't we at least ask for his opinion first?"

"what?"

The familiar voice startled Toyokawa Shoko for a few seconds. She instinctively looked toward the iron gate at the bottom of the STARRY steps.

A tall, slender girl with long, straight, azure hair walked down from below at a leisurely pace.

A bright red and white ribbon tied her hair into an elegant braid. She wore a white-collared, dark blue bow-tie shirt over a dark blue coat that matched her hair color. She wore a knee-length dark blue skirt with black tights that revealed a hint of flesh.

Her dignified and beautiful face was incredibly deceptive; even Xiangzi was stunned at first glance.

"Miss Liang...?"

It was then that Toyokawa Shoko realized that Yamada Ryo was not the only one walking up the stairs. Behind her was a blonde girl with a side ponytail that swayed over her shoulders, casually tying the sleeves of Shimokitazawa's school uniform around her waist, wearing a pure white shirt with a low-cut skirt and brown leather shoes.

The blonde girl with a Doritos-like ahoge (a type of hair sticking up like a Doritos cone) had a lollipop dangling from her mouth, and wore a metal earring on her fair earlobe, which contrasted with her one-shoulder ponytail.

"..."

Toyokawa Shoko was completely speechless at this point.

Yamada Ryo, who always liked to wear androgynous clothes and spoke without restraint, was now dressed like a dignified young lady; while Iji Chikuni Natsu, who was next to her, did not have her usual gentle angelic temperament. Instead, she stood silently beside her with one hand on her hip and an indifferent expression.

Isn't this world just too strange?!

"Ryo-senpai, Naruto has agreed to go to the amusement park with me!"

"Shouldn't his thoughts be the more important thing?"

Yamada Ryo simply walked towards Kazami Naru and then took a ring-shaped object out of his pocket.

"For example, he might want to take a walk with me right now."

Yamada Ryo, with a slight smile playing on his lips, gave him a graceful, slight bow.

"What is that...?"

Standing not far away, Toyokawa Shoko frowned slightly, seemingly trying to see clearly what Yamada Ryo suddenly took out of his pocket. However, when she saw it, her face froze completely.

Because she suddenly realized that the thing was actually—

A collar?!

"Chirp, please tie it around my neck."

"Isn't it more fun to go for a walk with me than to go to the amusement park with Ichiri?"

The blue-haired girl, her left hand gently resting on her chest, spoke in a dignified and elegant aristocratic tone about topics that were difficult for ordinary people to understand. At least at this moment, Toyokawa Shoko couldn't understand what she was talking about at all, and only realized that she wasn't joking when she discovered that the girl had even prepared ropes.

This personality change is just too outrageous!

Shoko Toyokawa, who thought she could no longer be shocked, was completely speechless. The overwhelming amount of information was like a surging tide, violently destroying the dam of her reason.

The scene unfolding before her eyes was beyond her wildest imagination, yet it was presented so vividly.

Just as Toyokawa Shoko was completely stunned, Iji Chi Nijika, who couldn't stand it any longer, finally spoke up calmly—

"Alright, alright, you guys don't need to make things difficult for him."

“Ming has been very busy lately. He’s already exhausted just from helping us contact the live venues and record companies. It’s best if we don’t bother him during this rare break.”

"Instead of wasting time on this, we should make the practice even more perfect. That would be the best way for us to repay him."

The leader's imposing presence immediately made the mischievous girls exchange bewildered glances. However, Kita Ikuyo, wearing sunglasses, blinked and then smiled and teased, "Ah~ So that's what Ijichi-senpai thinks?"

"Are you planning to invite Ming to dinner under the guise of resting after we've all left?"

"That, that's impossible!"

A hint of panic flashed across Ichiji Nijika's cool and handsome face, and her slightly flushed delicate face made the girls exchange bewildered glances.

She had barely shown a slight flaw when the people around her started laughing.

"Nijika-chan, your face is turning red again."

The girl didn't answer, but said to Kazami Mei, "You don't need to mess around with them. Take care of your own rest first."

As he spoke, he took out the same type of candy he was eating from his pocket and handed it to her.

After the band ended, the girls deliberately shouted, "They take time out of their busy schedules to give Ming candy every day. I bet Nijika-chan is hiding something in her heart, right?"

"Don't make things up. As the team leader, I'm just concerned about him..."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I saw with my own eyes the day before yesterday that Senior Hongxia secretly took a drink from the cabinet and sat with Ming while everyone was away, and even let him use his lap as a pillow!"

Ichi Nijika's face immediately turned red, and a thin layer of sweat covered her usually indifferent cheeks.

She argued, "How can this be called stealing... taking advantage of others?... I just saw how hard Ming works for everyone, how can this kind of care be called taking advantage of others?"

Then she uttered a bunch of incomprehensible words, such as "I clearly got them for you too," and "He was too tired at the time," which made the girls burst into laughter, and the air outside the STARRY store was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

When Ijichi Nijika's cheeks turned bright red, she could no longer suppress her dignity and had no choice but to take a few quick steps forward and stand in front of Kazami Mei.

Before he could speak, the girl asked forcefully, "What Liang just said... actually makes some sense. The most important thing is still Ming's own opinion! You should be the one to decide what to do."

"Ming, what do you think?"

Ichiji Nijika's serious words drew the attention of several girls around her, causing Kazami Mei, who was caught in the middle, to twitch her lips slightly.

Faced with this adversity of being surrounded by enemies and besieged on all sides, Mr. Kazami sighed helplessly and said, "Anyway, it was Ichiri who invited me first, and I was indeed planning to agree to go to the amusement park with her, so I can only apologize to everyone this time."

Kazami Mei naturally knew that 'Angel Ichiri' beside him had arrived first, and it was neither reasonable nor logical for him to abandon her and go to be alone with the others. Faced with this explanation, the girls all nodded in agreement.

After all, they all understand the principle of 'first come, first served'.

"Waaah~ It seems there's really no other way."

"I'm a little envious of Yili."

"..."

The girls who had finished the band performance all expressed their opinions to varying degrees, but only Toyokawa Shoko, who was not far away, had not yet recovered from her daze. She opened her mouth as if to say something but hesitated.

Seeing that everyone around him had chosen to compromise, he realized that doing anything now would only make him seem unreasonable.

After struggling internally for a few seconds, Toyokawa Shoko ultimately chose to remain silent.

Kazami Mei naturally noticed the fleeting disappointment on the girl's face, so he raised his eyebrows slightly and took the initiative to speak: "...Shoko, if you need any help, don't worry about me at all, just send me a message."

"..."

Shoko Toyokawa was stunned for a few seconds upon hearing these familiar words, then stared blankly at the departing figure of Naruto Kazami.

With her hands behind her back, Goto Ichiri leaned forward slightly, chatting and laughing with the black-haired boy beside her about something interesting. As time went by, their figures grew further and further apart. Suddenly, the girl felt a strong sense of loss in her heart, and she couldn't help but clutch her chest.

She wanted to take a step forward and say something to him.

But in the end, she was unable to say anything.

Toyokawa Shoko could only feel this intense sense of loss expanding like a black hole as she watched the black-haired figure gradually disappear at the end of the road, like the piano piece she had created, which had stopped playing due to her own mistake.

"Xiangzi, do you want to go out for dinner together?"

With her dignified and beautiful appearance, Yamada Ryo gently patted her shoulder, pulling Toyokawa Shoko, who was gradually losing herself in thought, out of her reverie.

Shoko Toyokawa slowly turned her head and found that the other three girls who had finished the band were looking at her with understanding eyes. As for Ikuyo Kita, who was wearing sunglasses, she seemed to be rubbing her eyes incessantly, looking completely different from before.

Before she could react, the cool and handsome Ichiji Nijika casually handed her a candy.

"Since Yili was indeed 'first to arrive,' it is reasonable for us to 'lose'."

"...Yeah, I'm a little envious of her."

Yamada Ryo and Iji Chi Niji Natsu's cryptic words stunned Toyokawa Shoko, who remained standing there, bewildered.

Perhaps it was because her 'embarrassing' appearance was really funny, Kita Ikuyo, who was rubbing her eyes, suddenly showed a slight smile.

"Xiangzi, stop daydreaming! We're all going to eat together."

"Hmm, this time we won't take a mile."

Toyokawa Shoko's pupils trembled slightly; at this moment, she seemed to finally understand what they were talking about.

The girl, realizing what was happening, gritted her teeth and then took a deep breath.

"I won't—"

……

"Assistant store manager, it's almost time to leave work, isn't it?"