Classroom of the Elite, I Have a Life Simulator

The girl's daily routine had long since become so disciplined that it bordered on the rigorous; Horikita Suzune was a girl who pursued perfection.

Or rather, she was a younger sister moving forward in pursuit of her older brother's silhouette. Since Horikita Manabu was, in her mind, synonymous with perfection, it was not inaccurate to say she was moving forward in pursuit of perfection itself.

Returning home after a thirty-minute morning workout, Horikita Suzune first changed her clothes and took a hot shower. Under the rush of the hot water, her skin, usually pale to the point of appearing sickly, flushed slightly. Her waist-length black hair fanned out behind her, damp with steam and carrying a jet-black hue like the wet feathers of a crow.

After washing away the sweat from her morning exercise, Horikita Suzune began to prepare her own meal with meticulous care. Cooking was a necessary skill for living alone, and after several years of practice, her culinary level was quite respectable—a standout even among her peers.

Setting the prepared breakfast on the table, Horikita Suzune turned on the television to watch the morning news. Being alone did not mean rejecting all information from the outside world; she received various news reports while precisely cutting the food on her plate and bringing it to her mouth.

After finishing breakfast, she washed the dishes. To avoid getting dish soap bubbles on her hair, Horikita Suzune habitually swept it all back and tied it into a high ponytail. This girl did not usually style her hair, so she typically wore it down in a beautiful, straight cascade. Precisely because of this, the occasional change in hairstyle gave people a vastly different impression. The high ponytail swayed lightly with her movements, adding a touch of vitality to the girl.

Horikita Suzune's daily life was always unchanging, until three minutes later, when she received an international call from Horikita Manabu:

"It would be best to meet with Ryo today, even if it's just to get to know him or become friends."

Her brother said this over the phone.

And so, Horikita Suzune's daily routine came to an end.

Chapter 12: The Decision That Changes the Course

A fitting room is an extremely cramped space. Many people enjoy this narrowness where one can see everything around them at a glance, believing it brings them a strange sense of security. However, Karuizawa Kei could not accept this view. For her, a narrow, enclosed space had nothing to do with "safety"; it was more often associated with negative terms like "danger" and "no escape."

At the mere thought of this, Karuizawa Kei's breathing became somewhat rapid, but she quickly realized that Kitagawa Ryo was standing right outside this door. This fact wrapped around her, and she was finally able to act normally in this space.

Taking off her clothes and changing into the carefully selected pure black dress, she heard the chime of the hour from a clock outside. Karuizawa Kei's breathing grew heavier, and the breath she exhaled formed vapor on the top of the half-length mirror in front of her, blurring that section of the glass.

It was already eleven o'clock in the morning. Karuizawa Kei seemed to be dragging out her movements on purpose, trying on the dress at a leisurely pace.

Kitagawa Ryo had told her in the morning that he had things to do at noon—or rather, he had to meet someone. This was his parents' intention.

Karuizawa Kei had keenly captured this information, so during their shopping trip this morning, the two had still come up empty-handed. Regardless of Kitagawa Ryo's assessment, Karuizawa Kei would always use the excuse that there might be something more suitable to restart the process. From last night until now, she had lost count of how many times she had repeated this cycle.

Karuizawa Kei reached out and wiped a clear streak on the half-length mirror, revealing her snow-white neck.

She raised her eyes, and what was reflected in the mirror was a body that was not yet fully developed but could be considered scarred.

Thin arms, which looked as if they would snap if bent too hard, were connected to petite hands; they looked as if they had never undergone any training.

Her chest was slightly swollen but still traced gentle curves overall, and the rest of her body was the same, from her small navel to her slender waist, extending down to her feet. Shifting her gaze downward, she could see her toes without any effort. Just as Kitagawa Ryo had once thought, Karuizawa Kei was shrouded in an atmosphere of weakness that would trigger a sadistic impulse in others.

What made Karuizawa Kei feel even more embarrassed were the bruises and small scars that had not yet faded. They stood out prominently on her chest, abdomen, shoulders, and back, as if reminding her over and over again of her past experiences.

Karuizawa Kei brushed the bangs from her forehead. On the right side of her scalp, a scabbed scar was clearly visible—a scratch about six or seven centimeters long. Karuizawa Kei had already forgotten the person who had caused this wound; at the time, she was just grateful that it was an ugliness that could be covered up.

But now, Karuizawa Kei was actively exposing it again. She looked at it fearfully through the mirror, then reached out to touch the scabbed scar. The long-healed wound would not physically cause Karuizawa Kei any pain; when she touched it, she even felt as if it had become independent from her body. The smell of blood had long since gone cold, as if it had never happened at all.

Karuizawa Kei began to change into the jet-black dress bit by bit. In the past, she usually wore casual clothes based in blue or white, or the school's uniform, so occasionally trying a different style gave her a completely different impression, like Cinderella under a magic spell.

It had to be said that, judging from the reactions of Kitagawa Ryo and even the surrounding shop assistants, this dress was incredibly suitable for Karuizawa Kei. Even she herself was stunned when she stepped out of the fitting room and stood in front of the large full-length mirror.

"Let's buy this one."

It was almost the first time Kitagawa Ryo had used such a decisive tone. He stood beside Karuizawa Kei and praised her without reservation:

"I didn't expect Kei to look so good in dark colors."

Even though Kitagawa Ryo was right, and Karuizawa Kei herself felt that the dress was particularly suitable, at this subtle moment, she felt that Kitagawa Ryo was just trying to finish this task quickly to go do his own thing—to meet someone else.

Karuizawa Kei felt a sudden panic. The surrounding air and the sound of voices moved through her hollow, blank head and body. The pure black tone seemed to pull her down like a bottomless abyss. She grabbed Kitagawa Ryo, who was preparing to pay, as if grabbing a rope thrown down from above.

"I feel... it's not quite right. Should we look at a few more shops?"

Karuizawa Kei tugged at the hem of her dress as if nothing were wrong:

"It doesn't seem to fit very well."

As soon as she finished speaking, she lowered her head and pursed her lips, fiddling with the lace on the hem of the dress, as if counting how many patterns were on it. The dress was indeed exquisitely made. Karuizawa Kei looked at the neat stitching and waited for Kitagawa Ryo's response.

"But I think it suits Kei quite well."

Kitagawa Ryo was still a bit stubborn, but Karuizawa Kei felt a sense of chaos in her heart whenever she saw him intentionally or unintentionally checking the time on the wall clock.

Karuizawa Kei simply returned to the fitting room and took it off even faster than she had put it on. She handed the dress back to the clerk, as if eager to pull it out of her field of vision.

But Kitagawa Ryo's voice quickly followed:

"But I really think Kei looks especially good in this one. Although there might indeed be more suitable ones, buying this one doesn't stop Kei from trying other shops later..."

Kitagawa Ryo had taken the dress from the clerk again at some point. He seemed to be waiting for Karuizawa Kei to nod and say something; if she did, the dress would be wrapped up and handed to her the next second.

"Anyway, Ryo is still here for six more days. There's plenty of time to pick."

Karuizawa Kei stepped forward, biting hard on the word "six days," as if reminding Kitagawa Ryo that this visit was only a short week, and one-seventh of it had already passed. In this light, the "plenty of time" in her words carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

She truly wanted to monopolize Kitagawa Ryo for this week. Karuizawa Kei wanted to remember every single second of this week, like animals storing food before winter. She knew very well that Kitagawa Ryo's departure in six days was an unchangeable fact, so she had to store up memories for herself in advance. She didn't want to be like a hibernating bear that could only lick its paws when hungry.

In fact, Karuizawa Kei feared Kitagawa Ryo's departure more than anyone else. She had long understood that her relationship with Kitagawa Ryo was like a child and a kite in their hand. Kitagawa Ryo was a kite tied to her hand, only he hadn't flown away yet. If he flew into the sky, the connection between them would be nothing more than a thin string, ready to snap at any moment. Karuizawa Kei even felt that Kitagawa Ryo would break it himself.

Over the past six months, Karuizawa Kei had realized that whether it was memories or anything else, they were all incredibly fragile things. Once Kitagawa Ryo left and didn't return, Karuizawa Kei would have no way to stop him. She couldn't do anything about him; he could disappear whenever he wanted.

"But I still have to meet a friend's younger sister at noon today. This is something he asked me to do."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed not to have read into Karuizawa Kei's words. He looked at the time with some distress and said:

"I didn't expect Kei to take so long to pick out clothes. I already made an appointment to meet her around eleven or twelve o'clock. It's already a bit late now, but it should be handled quickly, and I can accompany Kei in the afternoon."

Karuizawa Kei couldn't hear the rest of Kitagawa Ryo's words at all. Upon hearing the word "her" in Kitagawa Ryo's speech, Karuizawa Kei's hair stood on end. The vague fear that had been lingering in her heart suddenly turned into a tangible insect, gnawing at her.

"Are you not lying to me, Ryo?"

Karuizawa Kei suddenly turned her head, staring into Kitagawa Ryo's eyes as she whispered:

"Who exactly are you going to meet?"

Her tone was practically accusatory. In the past, when she was being bullied, Kei would subconsciously use endurance and sycophancy as weapons out of fear. Yet, when facing Kitagawa Ryo, she always found herself inexplicably emboldened, though that strength was quickly suppressed by the weakness brought on by panic.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's fine too..."

Just like that, Kei shrank back down, tugging at the hem of Kitagawa Ryo's shirt as she asked.

"It's just a friend's younger sister. I'm only meeting her because of a request from that friend."

Kei watched Kitagawa Ryo repeat his explanation, and in the end, she nodded.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to hand the clothes in his hand to the clerk for wrapping, he suddenly realized that Kei hadn't understood his explanation as he had imagined. Instead, she offered him a smile that looked perfectly natural:

"If she's just a friend's younger sister, then why wouldn't you be willing to cancel today's lunch meeting for my sake?"

In truth, the moment those words left her lips, Kei instantly regretted them. Any lie, whether well-intentioned or malicious, always falls into a state of wordless awkwardness the moment it is pried open and shattered. Kei felt as though she were beyond saving; Kitagawa Ryo had done nothing to wrong her, yet she was still acting like a brutal executioner, striking a direct blow at this transparent lie.

Kitagawa Ryo pressed his brow, unable to respond. His lips parted as if he wanted to explain something, and this movement seemed to flip a switch; Kei clearly realized her eyes were beginning to swell. She knew she was about to cry.

It is impossible for people to never lie, because the meaning of truth exists only because of lies. If no one lied, honesty would not be praised as a virtuous trait. Often, the purpose of a lie is simply to plug a gap in events or to fill in the cause of an accident.

"It's already been arranged, and it's something I promised to do."

Kitagawa Ryo offered a strained explanation, scratching his head with a look of embarrassment:

"I'm sorry, there's really no other way."

He turned back to signal the clerk to wrap the black dress, and a moment later, he handed a paper bag to Kei.

Kei held the clothes in her arms with a certain stiffness. After the two walked out of the clothing store, Kitagawa Ryo spoke to her again:

"I have finished investigating the matter of your bullying at school, Kei. If you're willing, I can have everyone—along with their parents—come to apologize to you this afternoon. You can do whatever you want, as long as it doesn't go too far."

"..."

After a night of investigation, Kitagawa Ryo had discovered that the home environments of most of the bullies were more or less problematic. Some had divorced parents, others came from single-parent households where they had lost a father or mother. Often, it was precisely because of flaws in their upbringing and a lack of parental companionship that their personalities had become twisted. These bullies, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, were usually self-centered and willful, with many even harboring dissatisfaction or resentment toward their own parents.

Yet, they only dared to bully their classmates at school. While they would brag about looking down on their parents, they never dared to truly resist them. Their nature was such that they hated their family environment while being forced to rely on their parents for survival, subsequently venting all their negative emotions onto classmates who were even weaker than themselves.

Therefore, one only needed to strike at their parents, making those parents who had been shielding them realize the gravity of the situation, destroying the people who supported them from behind, and causing them to lose the courage to bully again. Last night, Kitagawa Ryo had used a portion of the Kitagawa Family's connections to apply the necessary pressure. He squinted, recalling the panicked expressions of those fearless bullies when they saw their parents kneeling to apologize with such ease.

It is said that the process of growing up is the gradual realization that one is not omnipotent, and that one's parents are not omnipotent either. Once one realizes these two points, they can be considered an adult. In that sense, he was forcing the seedlings to grow, though if the seedlings actually died, Kitagawa Ryo wouldn't feel a shred of pity.

However, the only variable was Emi Eura. She was someone who held no affection for her parents. Even Kitagawa Ryo didn't know what kept her going; she seemed to be driven by pure jealousy, pure dissatisfaction, and a pure desire to trample Kei into the dirt so she could never rise again.

This kind of pure malice was something Kitagawa Ryo had never encountered before.

"The others don't matter. I just want to see Eura alone. I have something I want to ask her."

Kei still habitually referred to her as "Eura." She tilted her head to look at Kitagawa Ryo:

"Just this afternoon, just the two of us. Is that okay?"

"No, I'm not comfortable with that."

Kitagawa Ryo refused subconsciously. He always felt that Emi Eura was a dangerous person; he certainly wouldn't allow the two of them to meet alone.

"Then Ryo can come with me."

Kei was equally stubborn, refusing to show weakness. She didn't care about Emi Eura at all; she just wanted Kitagawa Ryo by her side. As long as she achieved that, she would use anything at her disposal without hesitation—using it as a bargaining chip, as capital, and throwing it all onto her side of the scale in one go.

Kitagawa Ryo sighed, finally conceding to Kei. However, he could not yet realize what kind of impact his next move would have on the future. He simply made a decision:

"Then, Kei, come with me to meet Horikita Suzune first, and then I will accompany you to see Emi Eura."

Chapter 13: Regarding the Girl Named Horikita Suzune

For the first time, Horikita Suzune found herself too restless to focus on the book in her hands. She sat in her usual spot at the familiar restaurant, with the familiar meal she was accustomed to eating in front of her. Generally, humans are more composed in the presence of familiar things, but every time Horikita Suzune thought about the content of her phone call with her brother this morning, a strange sense of discomfort welled up from within, to the point where the book in her hands had remained on the same page for twenty minutes.

She placed the long novel Crime and Punishment by the Russian author Dostoevsky, which she had only started reading today, into her bag. In this state of mind, it was better to give up on reading. Horikita Suzune tucked the book away properly and glanced at the clock on the wall.

The time was now exactly eleven o'clock in the morning. According to her brother, Horikita Manabu, the other party would meet with Horikita Suzune around eleven or twelve o'clock today. Because she didn't want others entering her room, she had chosen the location to be this family restaurant, which was the second most familiar place to her.

To be honest, with her current cooking skills, she could easily cook for herself at home. However, the reason Horikita Suzune insisted on coming here every day, aside from saving some time and energy, was mainly because she and Horikita Manabu used to dine here occasionally.

But that was a long time ago. Two years ago, Horikita Manabu had left Tokyo for the United Kingdom on the other side of the globe. Thinking about it now, she and Horikita Manabu hadn't seen each other in two years.

Horikita Suzune wanted to follow in Horikita Manabu's footsteps, but after following for a while, she was told by her brother ahead that she was not allowed to. By the time she came to her senses, he had already gone somewhere she didn't know, and lacking the courage to forge a new path, she could only continue to move forward step by step, following his footprints.

Excellent in academics, excellent in sports, with a record of never being late or absent since elementary school—even when she was occasionally sick, she would force herself to go to school. For Horikita Suzune, nothing was more important than studying hard, getting into a good high school, and then entering a good university.

It had to be admitted that Horikita Suzune possessed an incredible capacity for self-control and self-discipline. She almost compulsively commanded herself to move in the direction of Horikita Manabu, like a rigorous machine that had been set, tireless and unceasing.

In Horikita Suzune's view, she could accomplish anything on her own, and therefore, she saw no need for so-called social interaction. In her daily life and studies, she had seen too many so-called "teams" that were inefficient due to members shirking responsibility and the incompetence of their leaders, showing no results from their cooperation.

At the same time, Horikita Suzune didn't feel that eating alone, going to school alone, or returning home alone was a lonely experience. Because in her impression, Horikita Manabu had the same personality. Thinking in this way, she naturally concluded that her current approach was the correct one.

This system, which was self-consistent and functional, came to an end this morning.

First, Horikita Suzune learned the fact that her brother had a friend named Kitagawa Ryo.

Second, this Kitagawa Ryo also held a marriage contract with her.

Two shocking facts erupted at once, nearly shattering the worldview the young girl had built over the past dozen years. She had felt she didn't need friends because her brother was the same, but suddenly, Horikita Manabu told her that he had a friend, and at the same time, this friend was her so-called "fiancé."

Horikita Suzune's right hand, holding her fork, paused for a moment before she mechanically brought the food to her mouth and chewed.

She was someone who had never understood what it meant to have friends, nor did she believe she was capable of making any; naturally, she would not tolerate a sudden fiancé. However, because of Horikita Manabu, Horikita Suzune also held a sliver of curiosity toward Kitagawa Ryo, who had yet to appear before her.

The food on her plate was finished, and the time had reached 11:45. If twelve o'clock was the final deadline, then the other party had about fifteen minutes left. Horikita Suzune wiped her fingers and the corners of her mouth with a napkin, then took Crime and Punishment out of her bag once more to continue reading.

This novel, born in the mid-nineteenth century, primarily tells the story of a protagonist who, driven by the need to make a living, kills a usurer and her innocent sister. After experiencing a period of painful inner repentance, he eventually turns himself in under the persuasion of a Christian. The framework of the entire book, just like its title, is divided into two parts: "Crime" and "Punishment." The first chapter narrates the process of the protagonist's crime, while the latter part extensively describes the protagonist's psychological activities and the torment he endures.

Because Horikita Suzune had only just begun reading, she had only reached the first few sections of the first chapter, which happened to be the scene where the protagonist kills the two people with an axe. Dostoevsky's description of this sequence was extremely meticulous, and the various details made Horikita Suzune, who had just finished her meal, feel a slight sense of discomfort.

Her emotions today seemed more sensitive than on any previous day. After realizing this fact, Horikita Suzune looked up at the clock on the wall once again:

11:55. Horikita Suzune frowned; if Kitagawa Ryo were to be late for their first meeting, his impression in her mind would drop by a whole tier.

In the final five minutes, Horikita Suzune simply kept her gaze fixed on the restaurant entrance, observing every customer who walked in.

11:56, an elderly person entered with a small child.

11:57, a young girl about her own age walked in; her honey-colored long hair was easy to leave a deep impression.

11:58, no one entered.

11:59, Horikita Suzune saw a young man push open the restaurant door, and he locked eyes with her direction immediately.

Before long, Kitagawa Ryo arrived in front of Horikita Suzune and sat down in the seat opposite her with an air of composure.

"Hello, I am Kitagawa Ryo. It is a pleasure to meet you."

The young man across from her nodded to Horikita Suzune to introduce himself. His features were very handsome, especially his eyes, which were as brilliant as black gemstones. Just a brief touch of his gaze was enough to make Horikita Suzune feel as though she were being drawn in.

"I am Horikita Suzune."

The girl introduced herself somewhat stiffly at first, then realized that might be impolite, so she added:

"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you too."