Ryo, You Have to Promise Me / Hah, Women

"Because my sister was either avoiding the issue or saying strange things that I couldn't understand at all. Besides, I always felt that having a third party, other than the person involved, tell the story would be more objective and comprehensive."

Although it was clear that the "third party" in Tsubaki Sakurako's words had no other metaphorical or referential meaning, Sakayanagi Arisu's forehead nerves still twitched slightly.

Taking a deep breath, just as Sakayanagi Arisu casually refuse or give a perfunctory reply, a sudden inspiration struck her, and she came up with another indirect solution. The words she uttered naturally changed:

"If we're going to talk about your sister's past, we can't avoid mentioning Liang."

"I know that, after all, my sister was cured by him half a year ago."

"Alright, then I'll get straight to the point."

As she spoke, Sakayanagi Arisu held up one finger to Tsubaki Sakurako again:

"First of all, are you aware of the Harlow's Monkey Experiment that were once conducted?"

On the third floor of the Special Teaching Building, in the cat café lounge of Class 1-A, a tense negotiation was in full swing.

"... I refused to work until I heard Kitagawa's voice and instructions, since he was the one on my contract anyway."

Chabashira Sae had been working tirelessly since noon to boost Class 1-A revenue, finally got a long-awaited break. However, her first words after sitting down were a declaration that she refused to continue working.

The person in charge of coordinating everything here was naturally Ichinose Honami, the overall commander of Class 1-A for this year's Cultural Festival. However, this gentle girl, who was well-regarded in her class and grade, was unusually firm at this moment. She handed her water cup to Chabashira Sae and shook her head decisively.

"But Ryo had already said beforehand that once Chabashira was here, he should follow my instructions."

"Have I not changed into this maid outfit and stood there as you instructed for the past few hours?"

Chabashira Sae tapped her finger on the table in frustration. For the naturally aloof Chabashira, this almost socially suffocating action made her feel like she was sitting on pins and needles. To make matters worse, the person she most wanted to see hadn't shown up yet, and Ichinose Honami, who was supposed to be working with her, always seemed to be targeting her for some reason. This made Chabashira Sae finally break down after the break.

Simply put, it's not that she can't accept being manipulated by Class 1-A like this, after all, it was she who suggested that Kitagawa Ryo buy her in advance at this Cultural Festival. But for Chabashira Sae herself, this transaction or contract is essentially only between her and Kitagawa Ryo.

Yes, she was indeed willing to take action for Kitagawa Ryo, even going so far as to reveal information about her class to him without any qualms. But all of this was for the sake of winning over Kitagawa Ryo himself, for the class's ultimate victory. Even before actually putting on the maid outfit, Chabashira Sae had for a fleeting moment imagined how he would praise her for the outfit, and she wouldn't mind if he added, "This will definitely get us the highest sales in this year 'Cultural Festival."

The result is that the Cultural Festival has been going on for so long, and we haven't even seen a single trace of Kitagawa Ryo.

This can't be described as flirting with a blind person, since the blind person wasn't even there.

Thinking of this, Chabashira Sae looked at Ichinose Honami in front of her with a sense of irritation.

"Ichinose claims to be Kitagawa's girlfriend, right? Didn't she say before the Sports Festival that she wanted to transfer to our class with him and borrow Private Points from me under that pretext? Don't you even know where he is? Can't you even make a phone call to ask?"

It's unclear which specific word touched a nerve or sore spot, Ichinose Honami simply stared intently at Chabashira Sae for a moment before seemingly resignedly pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"Okay, I'll call Liang now."

Chapter 353: Liang Must Promise Me

Under Chabashira Sae's watchful gaze, Ichinose Honami dialed Kitagawa Ryo's number directly, but the first thing she heard was not a melodious ringtone, but a hollow "The number you dialed is currently unavailable," followed by a series of beeping electronic dial tones, each one heavy and pounding on their hearts.

Of Ichinose Honami knew that Kitagawa Ryo was probably still on a date with the girl who had managed to sneak into the school under the pretense of the Cultural Festival, but when she called the girl a while ago to tell her that Kitagawa Ryo had disappeared from the cat cafe, the call was answered without any problems.

While it's possible that the phone's battery ran out after a few hours and it automatically shut down, the school had already prepared portable power banks for guests and students throughout the campus. This possibility is not only extremely slim, but it's also akin to deceiving oneself.

"That's why I told you, Teacher Chabashira, that Ryo had something more important to do today, which is why I was assigned to direct and supervise your work. Look, he even turned off his phone now, which means Ryo doesn't want anyone to bother him right now, doesn't it?"

Even though her thoughts were racing through her mind, Ichinose Honami Chabashira Sae, adopting an attitude of as if she had expected this.

Of course, in order to get Chabashira Sae to obediently work for Class 1-A, Ichinose Honami also made sure to give her a little something extra:

"Ryo told me before that he would come to see me after he finished dealing with his business. All the revenue he received this time will be used to cover the expenses of transferring the two of us to Class D. There is only a little over an hour left before the closing of the Cultural Festival. Please hang in there a little longer, Chabashira- sensei."

Seeing that even Kitagawa Ryo's girlfriend Ichinose Honami, was indeed unable to contact him at this time, Chabashira Sae, though still somewhat resentful, could only helplessly stand up from her seat again.

"Yes, yes, just consider it as me raising the 20 million for Kitagawa's transfer fee myself, okay?"

All the revenue from this Cultural Festival will be distributed as rewards to the respective classes. Considering that she has helped Class 1-A earn at least several million Private Points in these few hours, Chabashira Sae's statement doesn't seem to make any mistakes.

"It's wonderful that you think that way, Mr. Chabashira. Thank you for your continued hard work until the very end."

After the negotiations were completed, Ichinose Honami seamlessly switched to a polite manner and, a few minutes later, smiled and saw Chabashira Sae, who had just finished her short rest, back out of the rest room.

However, instead of standing inside the counter to take care of things up close as before, she took two more steps inside, leaned against the wall, and took out her phone from her pocket again. She opened her contacts once more, and her slender fingers slowly swiped to the name and number that she had specially grouped at the top and set as an emergency contact.

The number you dialed is currently switched off. Please try again later...

The number you dialed is currently switched off. Please...

The number you dialed is currently switched off...

Ichinose Honami simply stood there with her eyes downcast, dialing the number again and again. This process continued unconsciously for quite some time before finally stopping.

A black cat, suddenly facing a mid-life unemployment crisis due to the unexpected appearance of the maid Chabashira Sae, instinctively stopped in its tracks, not daring to approach this Pooper Scooper who had previously seemed to be absolutely gentle and considerate.

She was in a bad mood.

Even the cat noticed.

There should absolutely be no means or tools for communicating with the outside world in White Room.

So from the very beginning, Yuki decisively and forcibly turned off both her and Kitagawa Ryo's phones, temporarily turning the room into a deserted island isolated from the world, a segment plucked from the river of time, where no one could disturb it.

Of course, if Kitagawa Ryo himself were to define it, he would probably prefer to use the description of a cage.

Without a doubt, among the many girls with different personalities that Kitagawa Ryo encountered in the simulations, the one in the final simulation, Yuki, was undoubtedly the most possessive and had the most pathological personality. Yet, he chose to completely replicate her in reality.

In fact, this was a last resort. After all, it was the final simulation that Kitagawa Ryo had made up his mind to never do again. Yuki only existed in that one timeline. At that time, his thought was that no matter how bad Yuki's personality was or how tortuous her experiences were in that world, she was definitely better than himself in reality who had experienced the education he received in the White Room.

In this respect, he was almost blindly confident that he could cure Xue, a patient, because he really did have the relevant talent and had indeed experienced a part of a doctor's life in Suzune's simulation.

But in reality, this is not the case. The spatial and temporal differences between inside and outside the school form an insurmountable chasm. The six months of separation and reunion became the best fuel for this irrational infatuation, which finally exploded on the day of the Cultural Festival due to the interference of many other factors.

This easily reminded Horikita Suzune in Kitagawa Ryo Karuizawa Kei's second simulation (see the side story "Taming and Being Tamed"). However, unlike Suzune who showed a more submissive attitude towards him back then, Yuki now undoubtedly placed herself in a more dominant position.

Just like right now.

In this artificial, pristine white room, a vibrant splash of red stands out quite conspicuously.

The concepts of time and space seemed to become blurred at this moment. The thick, humid air enveloped them, and even everything around them seemed somewhat unreal and distorted. Kitagawa Ryo could only feel the girl's head burying itself on his shoulder at the last moment, and her fully moistened lips pressing against his earlobe.

Then, murmurs, seemingly transcending time and space, gradually seeped into his consciousness:

"Liang, you have to promise me that I will always be the one you love, the pure white moonlight as bright as snow, not a rice grain stuck to my skin... a cinnabar mole, not a mosquito bite."

Chapter 354: Ah, women

As the sun gradually sank westward, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon, marking the imminent end of this year's Cultural Festival at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

As stated in the rules distributed by the school beforehand, at 5 o'clock sharp, the payment application on the guests' phones was forcibly shut down, and the total revenue of each class at this Cultural Festival was thus determined.

Of course, to ensure that students remain focused and dedicated until the very end, the final results of this year's Cultural Festival will be announced at 6:00 PM, an hour later. After all, even though it's over, it's only right to serve the guests attentively until the very end.

Since they had already been notified of their impending closure, the last remaining customers began to pour out of the various teaching buildings, heading back towards the main gate they had come from. As they left, many of them kindly conveyed their thoughts and appreciation to the students who had worked hard all day. In particular, the dessert shop where Horikita Suzune was in charge had already encountered several elderly ladies who claimed to be food industry sponsors for the school cafeteria and wanted to recruit her, one of the head chefs, on the spot. They asserted that after graduation, no matter which class she was in, she could simply come to the company to report for duty.

Outside the store, two girls who were actually the same age and had become somewhat like friends over the last hour or so were saying goodbye to each other.

"Then it's settled. See you next April."

"Well, as long as Senior Amasawa doesn't get expelled back then, that's fine."

"... Do I look like the kind of person who'd be expelled?"

"No, it's not that I don't believe in Senior Amasawa's abilities, it's just that I'm a little worried that you might be expelled for violating some school rules, like that one that's not appropriate for a high school student... I think it was that one."

After making that casual joke, Nanase Tsubasa waved goodbye to Amasawa Ichika, who was holding up her loosely draped sleeves and saying goodbye. As she walked towards the exit, she took out her phone and carefully replied to the only text message in her inbox, word by word, replying with Kitagawa Ryo's name.

To her shame, she had been in Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School for several hours today, yet she hadn't even caught a glimpse of the other option, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka. She was completely clueless about what he looked like.

Therefore, compared to the completely unfamiliar Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Nanase Tsubasa was more inclined to meet Kitagawa Ryo once. Although she hadn't spent much time with him, she always felt that he had a strange magic that made people pay attention to him. She was easily drawn to him without realizing it, not because he was a master at making sweets, but just a slight bonus.

Unlike Nanase Tsubasa, who was feeling relaxed with a full stomach, Tsubaki Sakurako, who had just finished listening to Sakayanagi Arisu's account, had a much more serious expression.

"So, do you really think your sister's feelings are normal? Or rather, is the relationship between the two of them normal?"

"I won't just listen to your side of the story."

Faced with Sakayanagi Arisu's highly suggestive questioning, Tsubaki Sakurako simply and cleanly bit off the last small piece of lollipop remaining in her mouth, crunching and swallowing it.

"However, it's very interesting; it certainly didn't disappoint my curiosity over the past few years."

As she spoke, Tsubaki Sakurako stood up again and glanced at the time on her phone:

"It's time to go."

"I'll be back at this school next April. Then I'll have plenty of time to verify and observe the two issues you raised, Classmate Sakayanagi. Hmm, just for that reason alone, I feel like high school life won't be boring at all."

With a casual wave goodbye to the two of them, Tsubaki Sakurako turned her back and left without a word, disappearing from Sakayanagi Arisu's sight in no time.

Sakayanagi Arisu merely frowned slightly, as things did not seem to be unfolding as she had anticipated.

She originally thought that Tsubaki Sakurako's feelings for her long-lost biological sister, Yuki, were a mixture of sympathy and protectiveness, and she wanted to try to introduce some changes to their relationship through Yuki's identity and perspective as a family member.

But after she finished recounting the events of the White Room, Sakayanagi Arisu was somewhat taken aback to discover that this child not only harbored a strong curiosity about Yuki, but also about Kitagawa Ryo himself. She even went so far as to ask a series of questions such as, "Would an experimental subject with that kind of personality really be produced in an environment like the White Room?" "Was Kitagawa's charisma artificially amplified in the environment of the White Room, or something like that?" "Was he aware that he was playing the role of the Cloth Mother' in the Harlow's Monkey Experiment?" These questions left Sakayanagi Arisu speechless several times.

... I have a feeling that I've subtly messed things up again.

Sakayanagi Arisu held her forehead, feeling utterly exhausted.

Even so, she still had to help Kitagawa Ryo, this true hand-off manager, fill out the list of preferred freshmen that would be submitted to the Acting Chairman, Tsukishiro.

The first one must be snow; this is a fact that the other party repeatedly emphasized.

The older sister has it, so the younger sister can't be left behind. Besides, the younger sister possesses talent and ability that are no less than her older sister's. There's no way we can let her join Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's camp.

Wait... why are there two girls on the list right away? What kind of weird list is this?

Sakayanagi Arisu a little frantic.

Unlike Sakayanagi Arisu, who was struggling with the names of the girls on the list, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka readily began filling out his own list:

Ayanokoji Atsuomi specifically instructed Ishigami Kyo, who, although he might have ulterior motives, should have a legitimate stance, to lead the way.

This morning I met Hosen Kazuomi, a hoodlum boy with a long-standing feud with Ryuen Kakeru, plus...

Takahashi Osamu, a social terrorist he met at the planning event for Sakayanagi Arisu, is also mentioned. He is a potential contender for the role of the First Year male version of Kushida Kikyo.

Similar to Kanzaki Ryuji from Class B, Utsunomiya Riku is a Taciturn boy who seems to have good academic and physical abilities. He seems alright too.

After writing down these four names, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hesitated for a moment. Although there was another noteworthy name on the note he received from Ayanokoji Atsuomi that morning, Nanase Tsubasa, he didn't know if she had been avoiding him and he hadn't seen her even after the Cultural Festival ended.

After thinking for a while, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka finally decided against adding the name to his list.

Aside from genuinely knowing nothing about this girl, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was also considering Kitagawa Ryo's formidable reputation as a "love encyclopedia." After all, that title was practically synonymous with "girl killer." The longer Ayanokoji Kiyotaka spent with her, the more he felt that trying to recruit girls from his own camp would be easily won over by her, making it utterly unreliable in every sense of the word.

After sending the list to Acting Chairman Tsukishiro via email, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka returned to the classroom of Class 1-D. All the guests had already gone home, and the entire class had gathered in the classroom of the maid café.

"Everyone worked hard today. Although a lot happened, the Cultural Festival ended smoothly."

As the class Leader, Katsuragi Kohei gave his usual summary. Since this Cultural Festival was a reward-based event with no losses, although Class 1-A stole most of the customers halfway through, the students of Class D were still in relatively stable spirits and gave enthusiastic applause, making the atmosphere quite lively.

Meanwhile, the Class 1-A was also taking place. However, unlike the other classes where everyone was present, Kitagawa Ryo was absent again. Fortunately, the class coordinator for this Cultural Festival was Ichinose Honami, so there was no awkward situation where everyone stood there waiting for someone to speak.

"Yes, Ryo is still busy with some cleanup work. The fact that we were able to hire Chabashira-sensei of Class D, for this Cultural Festival was the result of his planning. As you can see, the final effect was immediate."

Without making a sound, she brought up two completely unrelated things together, having already prepared a reason and a way out for Kitagawa Ryo. Having composed herself Ichinose Honami smiled and addressed the entire Class 1-A:

"Although the final rankings haven't been released yet, everyone can see how popular our class's projects are. Securing a top-four finish in the entire grade and class shouldn't be a problem. I'm truly grateful to every student; this is the result of everyone's collective effort."

As soon as she said this, the other Class A students in the audience applauded and cheered. After all, just as Ichinose Honami said, this wasn't just Class 1-A celebrating with champagne at the end of the first half of the Cultural Festival. Class A had already swept the two most popular projects of the entire festival, and they felt that securing a top-four finish was too conservative. With Class 2-A such a charity price, it was practically a certainty that they would take first place in the total revenue of this Cultural Festival.

Amidst this joyous atmosphere, Ichinose Honami silently turned her gaze to the window, looking directly towards the entrance of the ANHS University.

Kitagawa Ryo was saying goodbye to the snow there.

This was probably one of the moments when she most appreciated the fully enclosed management model of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

As it turns out, Yuki's physical condition at this stage is not much better than that of her fellow patient Sakayanagi Arisu. Fortunately, Kitagawa Ryo subconsciously controlled the rhythm and intensity, otherwise he would have doubted whether he could have handed her over to Tsubaki Sakurako in person like this.

"Hey—it seems your date today went quite well."

Tsubaki Sakurako, who had arrived near the exit first, naturally supported her older sister, whose body looked like it was about to fall apart but whose spirit was surprisingly high. She deliberately dragged out her words, reclaiming her role as the tsukkomi (straight man) in front of her sister.

"That's what lovers should do, but Sakurako is still a child—so it's best not to ask too many questions."

"She's only a year older than me, and..."

Perhaps because she had witnessed Amasawa Ichika fighting two people by herself at the entrance of the Gymnasium not long ago, Tsubaki Sakurako unconsciously glanced at her sister's chest, her tone inexplicably teasing.

"And even if my sister tells me not to ask now, she'll definitely tell me about it when we get back, or at least brag about it?"

However, at the last moment, Tsubaki Sakurako wisely changed her mind.