It Was All Fate

Just as the two were sighing and lamenting why a girl of this caliber wasn't interested in badminton and instead inquired about drama, about three or four girls walked over.

"Excuse me, are you Kunimura Akira or Kunimura-kun from the badminton club?"

Not long after, a voice approached. It was also a second-year girl, and judging from the badge on her right sleeve, she was probably a member of the Student Council.

"Yes, what's up?"

Kunimura, a member of the badminton club, seemed to have anticipated the other party's arrival and showed no surprise whatsoever.

"I'm a member of the Student Council's inspection committee. I'm here to check the recruitment process of each club according to regulations. The badminton club, as a club registered with the Student Council, is also within our inspection scope."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

The Student Council's inspections are routine, mainly to monitor clubs that use any means necessary to recruit new members and to prevent them from coercing or bribing new students to join.

Just as the female Student Council members were flipping through the promotional slogans and recruitment posters on the table to make sure there was nothing unusual, the two male students also turned their attention to the Student Council members who had already dispersed to the recruitment offices of various clubs.

"Hey, I didn't expect Vice President Ichinose to be here too."

Upon catching a glimpse of a beautiful figure in gold and pink, Kunimura excitedly whispered to his friend.

The two of them looked at the Student Council vice president, who was quite popular throughout the school. Although they were some distance apart, the Affinity in his smile was not diminished at all. Even just looking at him from afar gave them a sense of satisfaction, like being bathed in a spring breeze.

"I heard that Ichinose might be promoted to Student Council President next semester."

"That's normal. After all, she has excellent grades, handles things well, and is very kind. Many people joined the Student Council because of her."

"While it's Ichinose President Ichinose is very kind, she always seems too businesslike. There's a saying that gentle girls are the scariest, because you think she's gentle to you, but she's actually like that to everyone."

The two of them discussed back and forth until the Student Council's inspection was over, at which point they returned to the recruitment office and began enthusiastically promoting their services.

"Every club, regardless of its size, must set up a recruitment office to enroll new students, prepare relevant promotional materials and reception arrangements, and must not violate school rules. They must also be subject to inspection by the Student Council."

"Is that the rule?"

Ichinose Honami smiled at the boy in front of her, a sly glint in her azure eyes.

"So, Liang, where is your Drama Club's recruitment office?"

"We've received a lot of feedback from new students saying they can't find a spot in the Drama Club at all."

Kitagawa Ryo lay comfortably in the armchair, removed the book that had been covering his face, and muttered to himself while rubbing his sleepy eyes:

"Oh, it's Honami. For the sake of my two sisters, please let me go."

"Aren't you the vice president of the Student Council?"

"Letting Liang go isn't out of the question. I remember you sent Ying abroad a few days ago for surgery and recuperation. What about this year's Fireworks Festival..."

Ichinose Honami casually picked up the book from Kitagawa Ryo's hand; it was Agatha's *And Then There Were None *.

"Ahem, I've got everything arranged."

Upon hearing the words "Fireworks Festival," Kitagawa Ryo choked on his breath and quickly jumped up.

"Could you take me there to have a look? I need to finish my statistical work."

"Alright."

After saying that, Kitagawa Ryo generously led Ichinose Honami and another Student Council member to a corner at the very edge of the square.

It was a very cramped space compared to other clubs, simply two tables put together, with a tripod on it that was provided by the school and had the words "Recruitment Office" written on it.

However, apart from this tripod, the entire table is empty, with no banners or posters. If a freshman were to pass by, he would probably just suspect that the Student Council had simply dumped their unwanted items here.

This is why the incoming freshmen couldn't find a place to recruit new members for the Drama Club during this period.

"It seems there were no promotional materials or reception staff; points deducted."

The Student Council members nearby were diligently writing and drawing in their notebooks, Ichinose Honami looked around again and again, but after a while, she couldn't even find the name of the club.

Horikita Suzune, who was lingering around, saw the Student Council members approaching and heard the words "Drama Club," so she followed them without making a sound.

Having always closely followed in her brother Horikita Manabu's footsteps, she had learned the name "Kitagawa Ryo" from him a year ago. The subtle admiration in Horikita Manabu's tone at that time was something Horikita Suzune had never received in the past few years.

Through her subsequent inquiries, she gradually learned that this "Kitagawa Ryo" was a theatrical Actor, and that her brother's acquaintance with him was also due to a play, namely Ancient Greece's famous tragedy, Sophocles Oedipus Rex.

During that exchange, my brother also expressed his wish to see a performance of "Oedipus Rex" by the other party. However, at that time, I was completely dissatisfied with my brother's excessive praise of "Kitagawa Ryo". Although I verbally agreed, I never took any action.

It's as if going to see it means admitting defeat.

This obsessive thinking had troubled Horikita Suzune for two years until Horikita Manabu entered the completely closed Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School this year, at which point she finally chose to transfer to the school where Kitagawa Ryo was.

"Please wait a moment. The promotional materials and reception arrangements here have all been arranged in advance."

Kitagawa Ryo walked behind a desk with a smile. Horikita Suzune's first impression of him wasn't bad. Even with a slight preconceived dissatisfaction, she had to admit that his appearance, both in looks and voice, exuded a captivating charm.

The boy took a white creature out of the drawer.

Seemingly noticing their gaze, the object—actually a cat—elegantly raised its paw, its pupils a beautiful fluorescent color.

"This is the receptionist for the Drama Club... cough cough, receptionist cat."

"As for promotional materials."

Kitagawa Ryo took out another headband from under the table and, under the white cat's slightly disgusted gaze, tied it on the other's head:

Welcome to the Drama Club!

The headband had these words printed on it.

"Meow."

Firefly let out a lazy chirp.

"This is promotional material."

Kitagawa Ryo, holding up Hotaru, snapped his fingers under the watchful eyes of Horikita Suzune and Ichinose Honami:

"Putting it all together means --"

"Welcome to the Drama Club, meow."

Horikita Suzune couldn't help but twitch the corners of her mouth.

She felt all her assumptions from the past two years, along with the unease and fear lurking beneath them, shatter in that instant.

The other person seems... not very bright.

Please take one day off.

I was watching an LPL match with a friend. He's Top Esports fan and a die-hard fan of Tian, and he's completely gone crazy. He's planning to drag me out for a late-night snack and get drunk.

The last time I saw my friend so distraught was during last year's World Championship, the day FPX was eliminated. He called me late at night, crying his eyes out. I guess watching the games with a relaxed attitude is good for your mental and physical health.

I'm very sorry, and I hope everyone can understand.

Chapter Nine: Everything is Fate

"Um, Ichinose, I think our school has a rule against bringing pets in, right?"

The Student Council member who was with Ichinose Honami was the first to react. He twirled his pen, looked at the cat lying on the table, and asked hesitantly.

"You mean this? I already submitted an application to the school before, your Student Council should still be able to find the documents from that time."

Kitagawa Ryo explained, stroking the cat's soft fur.

"Yes, that's true. I think your Drama Club said they wanted to use it in some play, I think it was called 'The Cat'."

Ichinose Honami tried hard to recall.

"<Cats>? Isn't that a musical?"

Horikita Suzune, standing nearby, couldn't help but speak up. Although she wasn't particularly familiar with this area despite her extensive reading, she knew that Cats, as the most popular musical of the late 20th century, swept the globe. Its box office record wasn't surpassed until 2006 by another famous musical, which also etched its name in history.

The Phantom of the Opera.

"Yes, that's why it's an adaptation. Isn't the musical version of 'Cats' also adapted from T. S. Eliot's long poem?"

Kitagawa Ryo glanced at Horikita Suzune, somewhat surprised that she would appear in front of him at this moment.

He had no connection with Horikita Suzune, except that he had met Horikita Manabu two years ago during his second performance and had a brief exchange with her after the performance.

However, at this point, Horikita Suzune already showed signs of paranoia, and her tone of voice and choice of words made people feel somewhat uncomfortable.

It's unclear whether Horikita Suzune's excessive pursuit of a solitary lifestyle led to her inherent shortcomings in interpersonal communication, or whether these shortcomings in interpersonal communication caused Horikita Suzune to so drastically abandon all social interaction.

Horikita Suzune noticed the slight unease in Kitagawa Ryo's gaze when he looked at her earlier, and she frowned as she retorted:

"The forms of drama and musicals are too different, and besides, the musical version of 'Cats' is a masterpiece, so making this kind of pointless adaptation is a meaningless act."

Even Ichinose Honami was standing to the side, was a little dissatisfied. As the vice president of the Student Council, she naturally knew that Horikita Suzune was a transfer student, but she did not expect that this girl who suddenly appeared would show hostility towards Kitagawa Ryo on the first day of school, even though the two of them should have met for the first time.

"Horikita, I think these words are really too much, no matter how you look at it."

"If we really had to pick someone from this school who was capable of making changes, it would only be Liang."

Ichinose Honami stood in front of Kitagawa Ryo, subtly expressing her thoughts.

"I don't think I said anything wrong. If the 'coolness' you're talking about is really that serious, then why did you choose to leave the theater industry?"

"Wouldn't it be better to let the whole city see his masterpiece?"

Fourteen-year-old Horikita Suzune was far from being 'mature'; in fact, due to the inexplicable dissatisfaction she had been harboring, her tone of voice was much harsher.

Horikita Suzune's thought process was very simple. She didn't deny Kitagawa Ryo's talent, because it had been personally certified by Horikita Manabu. Her only annoyance was the news she heard today about Kitagawa Ryo retiring from the theater industry and no longer acting in plays.

It's like suddenly seeing someone else discard a treasure you've always pursued and longed for as if it were worthless.

Extreme self-confidence and inferiority complex coexisted within one person, ultimately shaping the Horikita Suzune we know today.

Having roughly figured out Horikita Suzune's inexplicable hostility towards him, Kitagawa Ryo smiled helplessly.

It seems that leaving a deep impression on Horikita Manabu is more likely to make Horikita Suzune remember him. If he could simulate it now, he would really like to use simulation to see what Horikita Suzune experienced in her childhood that led to her obsessive and almost twisted personality.

Thinking of this, Kitagawa Ryo lost even the interest in arguing with Horikita Suzune.

"Yes, you're right."

He nodded decisively, then turned to talk to the Student Council members:

"How's it going? Have you finished the investigation?"

"If you think it can't pass, you can report it to the school and have me removed from my position as minister."

Kitagawa Ryo yawned lazily:

"Anyway, the school was the one that initially assigned me this position; I've actually only been to the Drama Club a handful of times."

"So to be honest, I never intended to do any adaptations of 'The Cat'; I just wanted to be able to keep cats at school openly."

After finishing speaking, Kitagawa Ryo picked up Hotaru, who was lying on the table, with both hands and prepared to leave, waving the cat's right front paw as a farewell.

"Etc!"

Horikita Suzune relentlessly caught up again, blocking Kitagawa Ryo's way and giving him another once more sizing-up look.

He even placed his right hand flat to compare their heights.

Hey, girls develop earlier than boys, okay?

Kitagawa Ryo was somewhat amused by Horikita Suzune's childish action and stood still, intending to listen to what she had to say.

"I'd like to see a performance of Oedipus Rex starring you."

Horikita Suzune said this with a straight face.

"You should be able to find videos of Liang's performance online."

Ichinose Honami finally realized that, in the end, she was still a fan of Kitagawa Ryo, and the reason she suddenly transferred schools was because...

Suddenly imagining a whole drama unfold, and considering Horikita Suzune's previous remarks, Ichinose Honami forward and spoke.

"I want to sit in the audience and watch a game in person."

Horikita Suzune shook her head, and as if to prove her sincerity, she added:

"I can pay for the ticket too."

"But seeing one of my plays and being invited to perform are completely different things."

Kitagawa Ryo replied with a smile, then uttered a number that was completely unimaginable to Horikita Suzune at the moment, before holding Hotaru and watching Horikita Suzune's expression change.