Prelude to the Final Chapter

"I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry..."

Some people were also constantly apologizing.

Their expressions were full of sorrow, but their tone still carried a hint of relief after everything had settled down.

The student who dropped out of Class A clearly didn't appreciate this spirit of sacrificing oneself for the class; he just kept crying and laughing, but eventually he reluctantly accepted reality and tried to explain the weight of his 'righteous act' again.

But before he could even speak, Class 3-A received the news that Class 3-B had failed the exam Unanimous Vote and had 300 Class Points deducted.

The originally tragic and poignant atmosphere suddenly turned into an awkward, even somewhat comical, silence.

Everyone lowered their eyes timidly, fully aware of the significance behind this news.

To put it bluntly, even if none of them drop out, Class 3-B will still have no way to catch up with them.

Even Izumiya didn't know what to say at this moment, and could only purse his lips and keep patting the other person's shoulder.

Realizing that his decision to drop out was almost pointless, the boy from Class A who was chosen to drop out also collapsed limply, as if he had suddenly lost all his strength, drawing gasps and concern from those around him.

Meanwhile, Class 3-B was enveloped in a strange, oppressive atmosphere of mourning. If it weren't for their homeroom teacher, they would have looked like they were about to fight at any moment.

Chabashira Sae and Tomoda seemed to have been robbed of their souls by the bell signaling the end of the exam; they just sat blankly in their seats, their eyes closed, seemingly lost in thought.

Kitagawa Ryo and Sakayanagi Arisu were watching the two farces from a short distance away. He spoke thoughtfully:

"Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School... isn't that a strange place?"

"Isn't the White Room where the breeze is also like that?"

"Children generally don't remember things from before the age of three. This phenomenon is known in academia as early childhood amnesia. Most children's memories begin around the age of three, and before that, they only have some vague, fragmented impressions."

Facing the camera lens, the assistant, dressed in a suit and tie, is speaking eloquently against a white background.

"But Liang is different. He can clearly recall everything before he was three years old, which is one of the reasons for his outstanding learning and memory abilities."

"At the same time, our White Room also provided targeted early childhood education at a very early stage. Not only Liang, but also other children of the same age showed extraordinary precocity, which is one of the important achievements of our White Room."

Following the previous episode's visit to Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, the filming location for the new episode of "The Daily Life of Geniuses" has finally arrived at the White Room. Of course, it's White Room that's been packaged, spotless, and filled with the smell of bleach.

"It seems the interview will take quite a while, so you two can do whatever you want for now."

The program's on-site director looked somewhat helplessly at the White Room who were eager to perform in front of the camera. He could only signal Kitagawa Ryo and Sakayanagi Arisu were waiting nearby, to move around freely while another cameraman went to shoot some everyday footage.

This Sakayanagi Arisu's second time in the White Room, so upon hearing the instruction that she could move around freely, she immediately asked Kitagawa Ryo:

"Where does Liang live? Can you take me to see her?"

"Oh, no problem."

Kitagawa Ryo was too lazy to listen to the blatant lies of the people in the White Room, so he readily agreed and left the room with Sakayanagi Arisu.

Compared to the White Room before, the current White Room looks no different from the training institutions commonly seen outside. Everything in the past seemed like the earth covered with snow, with only a 'clean' white as far as the eye could see.

After walking for a while, the two arrived at Kitagawa Ryo's room. The lock on the door was added later; a lock is a complex tool that signifies both protection and imprisonment.

Sakayanagi Arisu very curious about Kitagawa Ryo's room, so she went in as soon as the door was opened. Unlike the other children's rooms she had seen on the way, this room had two bunk beds.

Before she could even ask a question, she saw another girl, who looked about her age, sitting on the lower bunk.

The other person was sitting there wearing a spotless white blouse, with a similarly snow-white undershirt covering her lower body. The lights in the room were on, casting a bright and warm glow. The girl, who seemed to have just woken up, looked like a soft newborn baby as she sat there rubbing her eyes.

Sakayanagi Arisu, on stage at the first duel between her and Kitagawa Ryo.

So she looked at her, and she looked at her, as if they were looking at each other's reflections in a mirror.

Their gazes were equally clear and sharp.

Every detail is clearly visible.

Chapter 112: The Prelude to the Finale

"Oh... Xue just woke up? Did I wake you up?"

Kitagawa Ryo entered the room shortly after, breaking the slightly awkward silence with his words. Yuki quickly snapped out of her daze, lifting the covers and getting out of bed while shaking her head and saying:

"It's okay, I've had enough sleep anyway. Sleeping any longer might have given me a headache."

Kitagawa Ryo stepped forward, bent down, and retrieved the slippers that had been kicked under the bed. He casually handed them to Yuki's feet, then stood up and tilted his head slightly in Sakayanagi Arisu's direction.

"Sakayanagi Arisu, you must have seen snow before."

After speaking with Yuki, Kitagawa Ryo turned to Sakayanagi Arisu and introduced her as follows:

"Xue, a fourth-generation student in the White Room, is also my roommate."

"Of course, this is because the circumstances are special."

Upon hearing Sakayanagi Arisu averted her gaze, but her eyes lingered on her toes as she spoke:

"Wasn't it already introduced to the public during the Liang Cultural Festival?"

"After all, he's a genius who's even more talented than you in Liangzui's eyes."

At this moment, Yuki, who had already put on her shoes, walked to Sakayanagi Arisu's side and quickly shook her head in denial:

"That's not true. I've seen Sakayanagi's performance. Her ability in Speed Mental Arithmetic alone is beyond my reach."

After saying that, she extended her hand to Sakayanagi Arisu, a perfect smile on her face:

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakayanagi."

Xue herself felt that the title was a bit awkward and difficult to pronounce, but everyone she saw that day used this slightly respectful title for this girl who was the same age as her, so she just followed suit.

In the past few months White Room has gradually opened up its access to outside information, so Yuki has also learned about Sakayanagi Arisu's identity through various channels. For a child like her who grew up in the White Room, the White Room's instructors and Ayanokoji Atsuomi are already the pinnacle of her understanding of the world. Therefore, the Sakayanagi Family and Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, which can rival the White Room, are naturally also quite formidable figures.

"There's no need for such complicated titles. Whether it's Sakayanagi or Arisu, this is fine."

Sakayanagi Arisu herself felt it was a little strange to be called that by children her own age.

"Then I'll call you Arisu."

"In the White Room, we all addressed each other by our first names because none of us had surnames."

Xue's eyes crinkled into crescents, and her smile seemed to possess a special kind of Affinity, even surprising Sakayanagi Arisu.

Whether it was her first visit or her second visit today, Sakayanagi Arisu did not see any smiles in the White Room. Especially on her first visit, all the children were tearing at each other like wild animals, as if they had lost the innate ability to smile.

Why can Xue laugh?

Subconsciously, she Sakayanagi Arisu out the question, trying to find something special about the other person that had attracted Kitagawa Ryo.

This question, which may sound strange at first glance, has actually been asked by the people in the White Room many times. She was chosen to be the [Cloth Mother] among the Fourth Generation because she was the only child in that generation who could smile.

The last person to ask her a similar question was Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, a classmate from a few days earlier.

Since the Fourth Generation were divided into two groups as a control group, the elimination rate in Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's group was quite fast, and almost in the blink of an eye, only Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was left.

Since the Fourth Generation all ate lunch in the same cafeteria, Yuki could see Ayanokoji Kiyotaka every day at noon.

However, the other party had never taken the initiative to talk to her before. Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was always alone, eating mechanically and then leaving.

"May I ask a question?"

That's why Yuki was so impressed when Ayanokoji Kiyotaka came up to her and asked her questions.

"Why can you laugh? In fact, the frequency has doubled compared to before."

His tone remained calm, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge.

Xue's answer at the time was:

"I don't understand it either, but it seems like I can easily smile whenever I'm around Ryo."

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka knew the name Ryo, but he still couldn't understand it.

Is it impossible to feel laughter when you're not with a specific person?

The question arose in his mind, and he recalled how the instructors often showed anger towards the poor performance of their peers.

So, is a smile the same? Is it something shown to a specific person, something specifically created for a particular person...?

Yuki, of course, had no idea what Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was thinking. She had simply thought of this matter suddenly in response to Sakayanagi Arisu's question, and then gave her unchanging answer:

"I can easily smile whenever I'm with Ryo."

However, unlike when she was facing Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Yuki suddenly felt a little uneasy looking into Sakayanagi Arisu's eyes. She felt that her answer was a narrow-minded show-off.

Like a child from a small village facing a child from a big city, they can only humbly exaggerate and cherish the few advantages they have.

They want to expand this tiny bit to the point where they can rival the entire world.

To fill the information gap...

Xue subconsciously took a step behind Kitagawa Ryo, as if this action made her feel a little more at ease.

She had only ever seen everything inside the White Room since she was a child, except for that heavy snowfall outside.

So Yuki noticed the difference between Sakayanagi Arisu and her, or rather, the children who grew up in the White Room. She was always enveloped in an unbreakable sense of superiority and composure, no matter how soft, polite, or even gentle her voice was.

Everyone has something they lack most. Some people crave it, while others fear it, because everyone knows that in the end, what hurts them the most is the part they lack most.

Sakayanagi Arisu was also observing Yuki. Apart from Ryo, the outcast among the children in the White Room, their emotions were always almost barren and impoverished. Therefore, she could clearly perceive the other's emotions.

She was instinctively jealous.

Children also get jealous, but they often don't even realize it themselves. It's like being reluctant to let go of their favorite toy; it's a subtle feeling of jealousy where they can't stand seeing the person they care about even say a single extra word to someone else.

But Yuki's emotions seemed to be a bit deeper, though considering the closed-off nature of the White Room and the suspension bridge effect, Sakayanagi Arisu wasn't too surprised.

She was simply acting in self-defense.

Sakayanagi Arisu defined the behavior of snow in this way.

It's the ray of light you grasp when you've fallen to the deepest, most desperate point.

Perhaps she wasn't the only one who was jealous.

Slightly lowering her eyelids, Sakayanagi Arisu looked at the lower bunk bed. The blankets, still warm, exuded a dull, cottony warmth, like a still-warm nest.

Two pillows lay in the nest.

Sakayanagi Arisu didn't seem to be in a good state. The latest script she had designed had been stuck twice and failed to pass. Kitagawa Ryo stepped forward and held her hand, which was somewhat absent-minded. Sakayanagi Arisu's palms were sweaty, like a fish, with a slippery and cool feel.

Let's go eat first.

Kitagawa Ryo's words were directed at Sakayanagi Arisu, and also as a signal to the production team.

Seeing that Sakayanagi Arisu was not in good condition, the program's director and on-site editor did not insist any further and announced that the morning's segment would end there.

Sakayanagi Arisu herself realized that something was wrong with her. She suddenly remembered seeing Chabashira Sae a few days ago. At that time, she had been mocking Sae for being a complete love-struck fool, but now she realized that something was amiss.

Feelings related to liking someone, even the slightest bit, can instantly make one surrender and forget all past harshness, vigilance, and even bitterness.

Thoughts become like a sponge, with every word and action of the other person like a surging wave, until the thoughts themselves become bloated, soft, and fragile.

Sakayanagi Arisu shook her head, wringing out the water-soaked sponge in her brain, but showed no intention of breaking free from Kitagawa Ryo's hand.

Kitagawa Ryo's past seems to be just like this White Room, everything is like the earth covered by snow, without wounds, without past events, it seems that everything is still possible, everything can be started anew, rearranged, and re-etched with its own mark.

But the appearance of snow slightly obscured this pristine white backdrop, revealing glimpses of the aged atmosphere and the surging, deliberately avoided events.

Sakayanagi Arisu still remembers the first time she met Kitagawa Ryo; the countless needle marks on his arm still occasionally sting her pupils in her dreams to this day.

Perhaps there's no need to pursue the truth, but Sakayanagi Arisu can't convince herself otherwise.

She has decided to get to know and understand Kitagawa Ryo properly.

Kitagawa Ryo's allure to Sakayanagi Arisu was twofold.

Warmth and curiosity are both inherently equally deadly.

At lunchtime, Ayanokoji Atsuomi, who was in charge of the White Room, also came to the cafeteria.

He has been riding high these past few months. As Kitagawa Ryo and the White Room's reputation grows, more and more people in the political and financial circles are actively trying to get in touch with him. Even some members of the Naoe Faction, who were originally worried about being implicated, are openly or secretly trying to curry favor with him.

It's worth noting that Onigashima, as the fourth-ranking official in the party, expanded his network of connections thanks to the reputation he gained from Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, while maintaining a positive public image for many years.

In the eyes of many, the rise of the White Room seems to be replicating the path of Onigashima back then. In fact, Ayanokoji Atsuomi's status in the Naoe Faction has indeed improved, especially now that Naoe Jinnosuke is getting older.

Sakayanagi Arisu glanced at the middle-aged man talking animatedly in the center of the room, and slowly narrowed her eyes as she put food from her plate into her mouth.

If in the past she only wanted to fulfill her promise to her father and completely destroy the White Room...