Was It on Purpose or an Accident? (4.5k) / I Remember, But You Don't

Whether it's Yuki, Sakayanagi Arisu, or even someone like her who doesn't actually exist and is at best a wishful thinking, a fictitious option she added to herself, the other party has no intention of choosing her.

Wanting to possess what you like is a principle even children understand.

Moreover, this is especially true for Yuki and Arisu, who are both particularly obsessive and even distorted in this regard due to their childhood experiences and personalities.

But none of them dared to show it first, because they felt that it would only push Liang to the other side.

The poison of jealousy and greed is inherent in everyone's blood, but everyone tacitly maintains an understanding that they only want their lovers to see their most perfect side.

It was precisely because of this that the two Marriage Contract, whether verbal or written, whether agreed to or not, awkwardly failed to play their due role for a long time.

However, Amasawa Ichika never had such a thought.

In matters of the heart, dragging things out only makes them erupt more violently. And as the simulated Kitagawa Ryo celebrates his twentieth birthday, everyone can feel the impending storm.

Sakayanagi Arisu has even decorated her own wedding room.

Snow was also prepared for everything. She had spent many years trying to distinguish between genuine and artificially bestowed affection, but she could assure herself that they would be equally intense.

But in fact, if Kitagawa Ryo hadn't chosen to end this final simulation before the final moment arrived, thus drawing a conclusion about his Indecisive, he probably wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest by Amasawa Ichika's subsequent actions.

Because he, who chased two rabbits but caught neither, was the one who was caught by the mad rabbits of March.

Adjusting my state, I need to take a day off.

I haven't been in a good state these past few days, and I feel like I haven't captured the feeling I wanted in my writing, so I've decided to revise the outline for the Cultural Festival again.

Let me share my thoughts on the "battlefield" dynamic. I believe a large part of the bloodshed stems from the absence of a significant information gap between the parties involved. Otherwise, it becomes like the situations between Honami and Megumi, or Megumi Hiyori —a subtle feeling where only they know the truth, unable to use their power, and unable to fully express their hatred. Therefore, the core conflict of this Cultural Festival is actually between two groups that share memories: Megumi and Hiyori, Arisu, Yuki, and Ichika. Perhaps I did write a bit too slowly, as it's not easy to abandon the Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. Writing up to two million words has been very mentally taxing; I had to go back and review many of the settings myself. I read everyone's feedback and hope you can understand. Your reading and support are my motivation for writing. Thank you.

By the way, I saw a really nice picture of Hui on the official Blu-ray cover, so I temporarily switched sides and the new cover is the one below.


Chapter 342: Intentional or Accidental? (4k5)

The conversation in the Chairman's Office lasted for quite some time. When Ishigami Kyo politely withdrew from the office again, Miyabi Nagumo was still standing respectfully not far away like a servant waiting to be summoned. However, Ishigami himself did not seem to have any particular interest in him, and only glanced at him casually before leaving.

About half an hour later, just as Miyabi Nagumo had finished recounting Toyotomi Hideyoshi and began to use the deeds of Tokugawa Ieyasu to encourage and comfort herself, a series of light footsteps finally reappeared in the quiet corridor.

A middle-aged man walked towards them, but he looked younger than Mr. Kamogawa, whom they had just met. Aside from the fact that he might actually be a few years younger, the subconscious impression was also due to his rather fashionable style and attire, even his brightly dyed hair, which was in stark contrast to Kamogawa, who was sitting in the Chairman's Office in a suit and tie with a stern face.

Seemingly curious as to why a student from Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was standing there, the flamboyant-looking man gave Miyabi Nagumo a couple of interesting glances before entering the Chairman's Office. However, before he could even offer any words of flattery, the other woman had already pushed open the door and walked straight into the office.

However, having already experienced a setback, Miyabi Nagumo didn't pay too much attention to this snub this time. Instead, she immediately noticed the detail that the other person had entered without knocking. To be able to put on airs like this in front of the supposedly influential Mr. Kamogawa, this man must be one of the so-called important figures among the guests at this Cultural Festival.

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

"It really has been a long time, President Amasawa. Although I sent you an invitation beforehand, it's wonderful to see you here in person. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to accept the invitation."

Unlike his coldness towards Miyabi Nagumo earlier, Ayanokoji Atsuomi was much warmer towards President Amasawa. After inviting him to sit down, he had someone behind him serve him a cup of hot tea.

"Oh, not at all. Actually, I also have something I'd like to ask Ayanokoji's father."

"President Amasawa, please feel free to ask. I will do my best to help with anything within my power."

Ayanokoji Atsuomi nodded. He had known President Amasawa for almost twenty years. As an important early sponsor of the White Room Project, he had secretly helped the president deal with many troublesome illegitimate children over the years.

"I wonder if Ayanokoji's father still remembers the child I entrusted to you about eleven or twelve years ago, the one my girlfriend and I got pregnant with while on vacation in Hawaii."

Compared to his biological father, whose exact time was somewhat unclear even to himself, Ayanokoji Atsuomi quickly gave the man's name and the specific time he was taken into the White Room.

"Yes, that's the one. You should remember, Ayanokoji's father. I sent that child to you because my wife was suspecting me of having an affair. And now, I've heard some rumors about it, which is really troublesome."

Although he had mentally complained about his partner's playful nature over a decade ago, wondering why they hadn't married in the first place, Ayanokoji Atsuomi maintained a kind smile and considerately answered for President Amasawa:

"Don't worry, if President Amasawa is willing, this child can simply be pretended never to have existed in this world."

Not every child sent to the White Room can keep up with the course, and not every child eliminated from the White Room can be taken back by their family and cared for like Xue. In fact, most of the control is in the hands of Ayanokoji Atsuomi, which is why he agreed so readily.

After receiving a reply from Ayanokoji Atsuomi, President Amasawa seemed much more relaxed, picking up his teacup and taking a small sip of hot tea.

But for Ayanokoji Atsuomi, the reason he invited him here today wasn't just for that.

"President Amasawa, I wonder if you remember, before this child from Hawaii, you sent a daughter to the White Room."

"Really? Hmm... I think that's true?"

President Amasawa was momentarily stunned. After all, to him, the White Room was a convenient nursery and orphanage, the kind of place where once someone was sent there, they were never cared for again.

But perhaps feeling that such a reaction was a bit too embarrassing, President Amasawa tried his best to salvage the situation:

"I'm just following the rules of your White Room, aren't I? They say you can't have face-to-face contact with children without a special reason, and that you can only do so after the children have grown up and left the White Room."

"Indeed, we have been rather inhumane in this regard."

Ayanokoji Atsuomi said this, but he was also somewhat disdainful in his heart. After all, this president had never once asked him about the current situation of his children in the past twenty years, and had completely let them fend for themselves.

Compared to parents who entrust their children to me, parents like this who have never visited their children are undoubtedly much rarer, although most of the parents who do come to visit are just there to confirm the training results of the White Room educational institution.

"But it really doesn't matter, Ayanokoji's father, you can arrange it however you like. It was just a test-tube baby after all, I don't even feel like it's my own flesh and blood."

Perhaps it was Ayanokoji Atsuomi's words that piqued the man's curiosity, for he sat there casually and asked:

"By the way, what's that child's name again? How old is he?"

"Ichika should have turned sixteen by now."

Ayanokoji Atsuomi rested his chin on his hand, his expression turning serious again.

"She was the second-ranked Fifth Generation the White Room, and that's why she was sent here by me and another person this April."

"Oh--I didn't expect him to be a smart guy. It's not bad that he can help Ayanokoji's father."

President Amasawa lazily shaved his nails with the multi-functional blade on his keychain, nodding casually in agreement.

"But she betrayed the White Room."

"Phew—really? That's quite rare."

After blowing on his fingernails, President Amasawa squinted at them with satisfaction and then echoed in a slightly inflected tone.

However, Ayanokoji Atsuomi was already used to the other party's unreliable manner, and calmly explained his thoughts:

"This incident is actually a rather heavy blow to the plan itself, and it even affects the future operation of the White Room. Therefore, we need to take this child back."

Just as Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had envisioned, Ayanokoji Atsuomi was unable to expel him from school. Therefore, his goal in entering Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School through the Cultural Festival was actually, from the very beginning, that of Amasawa Ichika, the traitor of the White Room.

Firstly, it is indeed infuriating that the assistants sent out suddenly changed sides and switched sides. On a deeper level, it is a slap in the face to Ayanokoji Atsuomi, the decision-maker. After all, Yagami Takuya and Amasawa Ichika were both elites of the White Room that he sent out, but after only one semester, one dropped out and the other betrayed him. It is really embarrassing.

Secondly, Ayanokoji Atsuomi himself also had some related confusion. He founded and ran the White Room from scratch, so he knew better what kind of feelings the children who came from the White Room had for the facility and the instructors. No matter how strong their bodies were, their spirits were still like those of Little Albert in the Little Albert experiment, branded with an indelible mark of fear from infancy.

If Yuki could be excused by the fact that the other party had left the White Room several years ago, then it's unlikely that Amasawa Ichika, who had lived inside the White Room since childhood and only left this April to enroll in Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, would betray them so quickly. After all, this was practically a mental imprint of over a decade, a subject that Ayanokoji Atsuomi wanted to investigate thoroughly.

Of course, if Amasawa Ichika can be successfully taken out of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, it will objectively weaken Kitagawa Faction. With this shift in power, it will also give Ayanokoji Kiyotaka a certain advantage.

"Recycle? Didn't I already tell you that you can handle this child as you see fit Ayanokoji's father? There's no need to come and ask me about such a trivial matter."

"That's true, but this isn't White Room after all, so there are some procedures and rules we still need to follow."

Ayanokoji Atsuomi smiled slightly and pointed at President Amasawa:

"At this time, we need President Amasawa to step in, because no matter what, you are the other party's biological father by blood."

"Oh, so that's what it was about. Okay, I got it. So, what's next?"

President Amasawa had been given the title of father again after more than a decade, nodded somewhat in realization, then stood up from his seat, gesturing for the other party to continue.

"Right now, let's find that child first."

Ayanokoji Atsuomi crossed his arms and gestured with his chin toward the door as if he had suddenly remembered something:

Were there any other people at the door when you came in?

"There's a student from ANHS."

"Hmm--Then just go find him when you go out. He's the Student Council of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, so it should be easier for him. We'll talk about it after we find him."

"Good."

President Amasawa nodded in agreement, then swaggered out of the Chairman's Office, patting Miyabi Nagumo on the shoulder twice.

"Are you the Student Council of this school?"

"Yes, I'm Miyabi Nagumo from Class 2-A, and I'm also the Student Council this year. How can I help you?"

Miyabi Nagumo was still wondering how to strike up a conversation when the other party had already come to her door first. She quickly replied with some surprise and delight.

"I'm Amasawa. I've come to your ANHS Cultural Festival to see my daughter. Her name is Ichika. Do you remember her?"

"Amasawa, Ichika? Isn't that the girl from Class 1-A?"

Miyabi Nagumo still had a strong impression of this First Year girl who had also performed exceptionally well at the Sports Festival. Moreover, the school had recently launched the OAA (Online Assistance Program), which made it much easier to check other students' information.

Thinking of this, Miyabi Nagumo immediately planned to take out her phone to log into OAA and let the other party confirm by looking at the photo, but President Amasawa waved his hand and said:

"No need for the photo. It's impossible for two people in the whole school to have the same name. Just take me to her directly."

Miyabi Nagumo, of course, had no idea that the other person didn't even know what this 'daughter' looked like, and quickly put her phone back in her pocket.

"Yes, Mr. Amasawa."

But as soon as the two of them stepped out of the faculty building, Miyabi Nagumo, whose memory was still quite good, immediately remembered that the day before the Cultural Festival began, Amasawa Ichika had submitted an application to the Student Council stating that she was unwell and therefore unable to participate in the Cultural Festival.

If that's the case, then the other person should be resting in the dormitory area right now.

However, according to the rules of the school's Cultural Festival, the area where guests and students can move around during this Cultural Festival is limited to the campus. The commercial area and dormitory area are prohibited from entering. As the president of the Student Council, he should be the one to uphold and supervise this rule.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Miyabi Nagumo suddenly stop, President Amasawa frowned slightly in displeasure.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered that Amasawa took the day off today because he wasn't feeling well, he should be resting in the dorm now..."

"I... I'll take you there right away, Mr. Amasawa."

Without time to hesitate any longer, Miyabi Nagumo gritted her teeth and, still feeling that the opportunity was too rare, directly led President Amasawa towards the dormitory area.

As the Student Council of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, he was also very familiar with the many blind spots of the campus surveillance system. After a few twists and turns, he led the other party to the dormitory building in no time, and then immediately flipped through the roster to confirm Amasawa Ichika's room number.

However, what the two were unaware of was that their every move was being observed by another pair of eyes hiding in a nearby tree. It was Hotaru, whom Kitagawa Ryo had left outside the Gymnasium, preparing to go back to her little nest for a nap.

Hotaru nimbly leaped down the wall and along the branches to the balcony of room 408. Sure enough, there she was, a twin-tailed red-haired girl lying on Kitagawa Ryo's bed, hugging a rolled-up blanket and seemingly having a sweet dream.

"Meow--"

Considering that the other person was also one of her Pooper Scooper, Ying decisively stretched out her paws and patted Amasawa Ichika's shoulder, meowing to indicate that the sleepy-eyed girl should go to the windowsill, where she saw the duo who had just entered the dormitory building and were about to take the elevator.

In reality, President Amasawa had never met Amasawa Ichika, but Ichika, who possessed simulated memories, clearly remembered her biological father, who had no relation to her except for blood ties. Therefore, she subconsciously frowned her beautiful eyebrows, but immediately remembered Kitagawa Ryo's instructions to her before this Cultural Festival and the purpose of asking her to take a temporary leave.

"They've come with ill intentions."

Amasawa Ichika yawned again. Her relationship with Kitagawa Ryo was no secret in ANHS. If he couldn't find her in her dormitory room, he would probably quickly connect it to Ryo.

"But I was getting a bit bored here anyway... so running out was out of necessity, and I guess you can't blame me for getting chilly."

Having quickly made up her mind, Amasawa Ichika muttered to herself, then changed her shoes and left Kitagawa Ryo's room. Avoiding Miyabi Nagumo and President Amasawa who were taking the elevator, she carried Hotaru straight down the stairs and dashed out of the dormitory building, sprinting towards the campus.

"... hiss."

After running quite a distance, confirming that she had shaken off the Nagumo duo who might be chasing her, and officially entered the campus area, Amasawa Ichika, who had hidden herself in the crowd, suddenly noticed something quite subtle.

Because I left home in such a hurry.

She was still wearing the shirt and jacket she had casually taken from Kitagawa Ryo's closet when she went to his room that morning.

Chapter 343: I Remember, You Don't Remember

As time went by, the landscape of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School's Cultural Festival gradually became clearer. If we only look at popularity, the Gymnasium offensive, which Class 2-A put together, undoubtedly attracted the most visitors with its high cost-performance ratio. However, if we consider the low price, which was almost free, the overall revenue was not actually that high.

If we consider both popularity and revenue, Class 1-A is clearly the biggest winner of this Cultural Festival so far. The cat café that used the secret weapon of Chabashira Sae and the confectionery shop that gained a reputation for being superior to other high school playhouses are both big money-makers. Compared to these two projects, Sakayanagi Arisu earned relatively little.

As the saying goes, if you make money, I lose money. With the number of guests and the Private Points on hand being fixed, the other classes naturally found it harder to make ends meet as Class 1-A's several projects were a great success.

Class 1-C wasn't originally in the same competitive track as Class A, but they're currently embroiled in negative public opinion regarding deceiving customers. Their stall business, which was previously doing quite well, has plummeted. On the other hand, Ryuen Kakeru didn't have high hopes for them before the Cultural Festival. He only sold them to Shiina Hiyori out of courtesy, allowing her to open a reading room. This attracted some customers with similar interests, but the sales figures were still not good, and they were practically locked into the bottom four.

The situation in Class 1-D was slightly better than that in Class C, but to be honest, it wasn't much better. After all, the maid café project, which they regarded as their trump card, saw its popularity plummet after the appearance of Chabashira Sae in Class 1-A. However, this result did relieve Kushida Kikyo herself. She was indeed almost unable to withstand the continuous workload. If it weren't for maintaining her image in the grade and class, she would never have agreed to this job that clearly required her to lead five people by herself.

As for Class 1-B... it's just another one of those classes.

However, it turned out that from the class president Karuizawa Kei to the other students in the class, it seemed that no one paid much attention to these things.

"Well, it was pretty much expected. I hope everyone had fun."

"Well, from a cost-effectiveness perspective, going to Class 2-A is definitely more worthwhile than staying here."

"Shibata, is the recording okay? We'll give everyone a copy after the Cultural Festival; I want to see how my performance went too—"

After another stage play performance, the students of Class 1-B all looked relaxed and carefree, maintaining the same harmonious atmosphere as before, completely unaffected by the not-so-high attendance rate.