Practice Makes Perfect-or Leaves You Dead

"Although I don't like the Queen of Hearts, red does look better than white."

"I'll mix a Blood Red for Alice in a bit, then you'll see which one looks better."

"Whispering sound."

The two children, completely haphazardly scribbling, quickly attracted the attention of hospital staff. However, the two, already engrossed in their activity, showed no sign of stopping. Given the children's status, the hospital couldn't easily send someone to forcibly stop them; after all, graffiti on the wall was a minor matter compared to the potential for serious injury during a scuffle...

After contacting the parents on both sides, they received almost the same answer: We can afford it! Let them play as much as they want! As long as the children are happy, that's all that matters!

Without the hospital's control, Sakayanagi Arisu and Kitagawa Ryo were even more unrestrained, graffitiing all the way from one end of the corridor to the other, covering the entire wall in bright rose red.

At the very last moment before this farce ended, Kitagawa Ryo carefully drew a vibrant Red Rose on the wall opposite the ward with his left hand.

You can see it as soon as you come out.

The man carried a large thermos filled with tea leaves, resembling a lush, verdant forest. He smiled politely at Kitagawa Ryo.

Hello, little Beichuan.

"I am Arisu's father. This should be the first time we've spoken."

"Um."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded. Even sitting on the sofa, he was still much shorter than the man. Realizing this Chairman Sakayanagi removed the stool from under him and squatted down so that his eyes were level with Kitagawa Ryo's.

His habit of speaking to his child at eye level comes from his father, who dedicated his life to education.

Would you like to come and celebrate the New Year with us this year?

He smiled gently. Even though he had been the chairman of the Chairman of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School for more than half a year, he still preferred to interact with younger children, especially intelligent and sensible children like Kitagawa Ryo, rather than those energetic high school students.

Kitagawa Ryo understood what he meant, because just a few days before winter arrived, he learned that he had gained a younger brother. Even through the screen of a mobile phone, he could sense the suppressed joy and excitement within the family.

In fact, they had the same passionate feelings when they found each other more than half a year ago.

But ultimately it was because of...

Chairman Sakayanagi patted Kitagawa Ryo's head. He knew very well that since the birth of that child, Kitagawa Ryo had lost almost all of his family status. However, his surname still allowed him to enjoy the best medical care, which was a kind of compensation that could not be called compensation.

"Is Liang coming?"

Wearing a padded jacket, Sakayanagi Arisu peeked out from behind her father. Her face, wrapped in a scarf, looked even smaller, and it was a little rosy, perhaps because of the cold.

"Sure."

"If all goes well."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded in agreement; this was the first time he had made a promise during this simulation.

This is also the first time I've broken a promise.

In the first winter that the two met amidst the biting Kitagawa Ryo ultimately failed to leave the hospital.

He lost the last bit of sensation in his right hand, and the symptoms began to spread to his arm.

During the New Year's morning assembly ritual, Sakayanagi Arisu requested an amulet for Kitagawa Ryo, who was bedridden.

She placed it in Kitagawa Ryo's palm.

The little finger did not move.

Chapter 72: Long Illness Makes a Good Doctor, or the Dead...

[Self of Karuizawa Kei: Before each simulation begins, randomly upgrade one talent to the highest gold level]

The talent [Well-Read (Blue)] has been upgraded to [Erudite and Retentive (Gold)].

[Erudite and Retentive (Gold): You love reading and have your own unique reading methods. Your speed of reading and understanding books and knowledge has greatly increased. (Humans can never finish reading all the books in the world, nor can they master knowledge of all disciplines. Remember, don't bite off more than you can chew.)]

Upon seeing this facility Yamanaka, Sakayanagi Arisu felt a distinct sense of unease.

The building's exterior, corridors, and identical rooms were all painted pure white.

This easily reminded her of the scene in the hospital and wards, where the staff coming and going were all dressed in white, just like hospital employees, and everyone looked quite serious, as if they were carrying out some sacred mission.

Walking inside the building, which was thickly painted pure white, the monotonous color and unpleasant memories almost made Sakayanagi Arisu feel a little dizzy. Having just been discharged from the hospital a month ago, Sakayanagi Arisu pursed her lips and walked step by step. Her father, who had come with her, noticed her discomfort and took the initiative to support his daughter's shoulder.

"Sakayanagi, no, now I should call her Chairman Sakayanagi, right?"

A man in his forties appeared at the end of the corridor. He extended his hand in a welcoming gesture, and his sharp eyes easily left a deep impression.

"Ayanokoji's father, it's been a long time."

The father bowed slightly in greeting, his tone quite humble.

"What a nostalgic name."

The middle-aged man, known as Ayanokoji, scrutinized the two for a moment before casually waving his hand.

"How?"

He spread his arms to show the room behind him. Through the one-way glass, he could see many children of similar age to Sakayanagi Arisu being gathered together for study. Although the description made it seem like Matoba from a school, Sakayanagi Arisu quickly noticed something was amiss.

She pressed her face against the glass window, gazing at the students inside. Each of them looked like they were fighting tooth and nail, like wild little beasts. Whether it was academics or sports, the competition here had surpassed the level of children.

"This must be your daughter. She seems to be a bright child."

Noticing Sakayanagi Arisu's actions, Ayanokoji smiled and said.

"Yes."

Sakayanagi accepted the compliment and then politely returned it.

"However, I've heard that the teacher's biological son is also extremely talented... even here, he's quite outstanding."

Ayanokoji's hawk-like gaze was fixed on Chairman Sakayanagi's face. He chuckled softly and said:

"I can tell, you were hoping that child wasn't talented, right?"

"That's not what I meant. It's just that if the teacher could show a little more concern..."

Chairman Sakayanagi sighed and said:

"I just felt sorry for that child, after all, he had spent his entire life in this facility since birth. For him, the first thing he saw was neither his father nor his mother, but the white ceiling of this facility."

Ayanokoji gave a cold laugh. He didn't seem to want to dwell on the matter any longer, and explained somewhat arrogantly:

"Because I believe the system operating within this facility will be successful and will benefit the country for decades to come."

As if giving a speech, the man's tone carried an undeniable and strong confidence.

As if to verify his statement, he turned his head to look at Sakayanagi Arisu, who was staring into the room. Following her gaze, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka winning a series of chess games.

"Want to play a game with him?"

For families at the top, the social circle is quite small. The man naturally knew a thing or two about Sakayanagi Arisu's personality. In his opinion, he only needed to provoke her a little, and this young lady who firmly believed that a person's talent was predetermined from birth would agree in order to prove her beliefs.

But Sakayanagi Arisu, with her back to him, seemed rather uninterested. She propped her small head up and asked without turning her head:

"Besides Chess, what else can he play?"

"Piano, calligraphy, martial arts..."

The man effortlessly rattled off a long list of items, as if trying to prove that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was an absolute polymath, to validate the existence of the White Room.

Can he cure amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?

But Sakayanagi Arisu gave a nonchalant reply.

The man didn't even catch the rather long technical term at first, and he frowned in confusion.

Sakayanagi Arisu sighed, then turned around and kindly explained:

"It's what people usually call ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)."

Can it be cured?

Listening to the girl's earnest question, the man suddenly had this thought:

This person is definitely here to cause trouble.

"That place is so boring. It's all white—beds, bookshelves, wardrobes. You can't see any other living things besides people, neither animals nor plants. Oh, and there aren't even any cats."

While peeling an orange for Kitagawa Ryo on the hospital bed Sakayanagi Arisu rambled on about what she had seen and heard in the past few days.

Almost a year has passed since she met Kitagawa Ryo, but their positions have subtly changed. Sakayanagi Arisu has been officially discharged from the hospital. Although she is still weak, she can live a normal life without any problems. On the contrary, Kitagawa Ryo, who was more energetic than her when she was first admitted to the hospital, can only stay here now.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will most likely remain here until his condition worsens and he needs to be transferred to the intensive care unit.

Of course, if something unexpected happens, he still has the chance to fast-forward to the end of his life right here.

However, neither of them sounds like a happy ending.

Kitagawa Ryo took the peeled orange from Sakayanagi Arisu with his left hand. He had unintentionally torn off the white pith from the orange segments in front of Sakayanagi Arisu before, but Sakayanagi Arisu remembered it and thought it was a habit of his. So from that day on, whenever Sakayanagi Arisu peeled oranges for Kitagawa Ryo, she would intentionally and carefully tear off the pith from the segments.

"Doesn't Arisu have to go to school? She seems to have a lot of free time every day."

Although Sakayanagi Arisu left the hospital, she still maintained a visiting frequency of once every two days, and sometimes she would stay for an entire afternoon.

"It's just leaving early; for example, this afternoon's class was PE."

In a casual answer to Kitagawa Ryo's question, Sakayanagi Arisu shared her views on the school:

"Actually, when I was still here, my father always said that once I recovered, I would go to school like other children. On my first day of school, my father prepared every detail perfectly, which made me a little nervous."

"However, after I got to school, I realized that I wasn't a normal student there either."

"For example, I can easily skip all of my PE classes."

"For example, I can attend a special class meeting before enrollment, where the class advisor carefully instructs everyone in the class to take good care of me... a vulnerable group? That's probably what they mean by that."

"Even though I know it's well-intentioned, it still feels strange, doesn't it?"

Sakayanagi Arisu placed her cane on her lap; it seemed she had indeed encountered many perplexing things during the month since her discharge from the hospital.

"When I was in this hospital, my father and the doctors tried their best to instill in me that I was a normal child, and that as long as I recovered, I would be no different from any other healthy child outside."

"But when I go outside, I can feel all sorts of special treatment."

"Certainly."

Sakayanagi Arisu reached out and gently tapped her chest, where her heart was located.

"The most troublesome thing is that I am actually the one who knows best that I am a flawed being."

Perhaps because she had spent so much time with Ryo, Sakayanagi Arisu even felt a little out of place. Although the largest place here was just a small courtyard that could be walked around in ten minutes, the courtyard of her elementary school was at least several times larger.

Flaws are normal when they are together, but they become particularly noticeable, even glaring, when placed in a crowd.

"You can't think like that."

Kitagawa Ryo looked up at Sakayanagi Arisu while eating an orange. He liked to eat several segments of the orange in one go, stuffing his mouth full and fully enjoying the sweetness of the splashing juice.

His gaze toward Sakayanagi Arisu carried a direct yet not sharp, transparent yet fearless power. Kitagawa Ryo smiled softly, and a bright, clean canine tooth pierced into Sakayanagi Arisu's pupils in an instant.

Kitagawa Ryo didn't understand why Sakayanagi Arisu had become Sakayanagi Arisu before, and even after spending a year together, he still couldn't be completely sure of her feelings.

Just as he had anticipated before the simulation, unlike Ichinose Honami and Karuizawa Kei, Sakayanagi Arisu did not have a clear endpoint, or rather, he had not yet discovered that endpoint.

For Karuizawa Kei, her personality underwent a complete transformation due to the knife wound that pierced her chest and abdomen and nearly took her life.

For Ichinose Honami, her personality underwent a complete transformation due to a theft that led to a harsh reprimand from her mother.

Needless to say, Horikita Suzune's name, Horikita Manabu, is her defining characteristic.

Of course, Kitagawa Ryo also understood that each person's personality flaws were not completely formed by that one special event. Those events were ultimately just turning points. Before that, each person had been on the verge of long-term repression and even the edge of a breaking point. It was just that at that time that they began to completely erupt.

Whether it was Horikita Suzune, Karuizawa Kei, or Ichinose Honami, Kitagawa Ryo had seen them break down and cry their hearts out, but he had never seen or imagined such a scene with Sakayanagi Arisu.

Sakayanagi Arisu is definitely not an emotionally impoverished person. In fact, judging from their daily interactions, Horikita Suzune before her transformation seemed more unapproachable and difficult to communicate with. However, even so, Horikita Suzune still displays a rich emotional side in front of Horikita Manabu.

Therefore, Kitagawa Ryo couldn't say anything more to comfort her. He could only look at Sakayanagi Arisu, whose cane was now placed at her feet, like a small animal rubbing against her trouser leg.

Sakayanagi Arisu has gotten used to carrying this cane when she goes out, and this is not a problem that Kitagawa Ryo can solve by jokingly saying that "walking on three legs is like an old lady".

"Um."

To Kitagawa Ryo's surprise, Sakayanagi Arisu actually nodded in agreement. She awkwardly avoided Kitagawa Ryo's gaze and subconsciously began peeling the oranges on the bedside table again.

A soft, orange cushion covered the bedside table. Kitagawa Ryo's hospital room was now almost unrecognizable from what it had been a few months ago. Sakayanagi Arisu had brought in a lot of decorations for the New Year, and she had changed the room's main color scheme from cool to warm in a domineering and unreasonable manner.