Classroom of the Elite, I Have a Life Simulator

Under this pressure, the opposing goalkeeper clearly lost his composure and made a rash decision to charge out of the goal, only to be easily dribbled past by the technically gifted Hirata Yosuke, who then slotted the ball into the empty net.

The entire stadium erupted, with cheers rising in wave after wave.

Hirata Yosuke, ecstatic after scoring, spread his arms wide and sprinted all the way to Kitagawa Ryo, leaping into the arms of his teammate who was already prepared to catch him, only to be shoved away in disgust two seconds later:

"That's enough, the match has only just started. Save some energy."

Five minutes after play resumed, Hirata Yosuke feinted a cross on the right flank before playing a cutback pass. Kitagawa Ryo, firing on all cylinders, appeared like a phantom at the edge of the penalty area, with absolutely no opposing players within two or three meters of him.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Kitagawa Ryo planted his right foot and swung his left leg back to strike the rapidly rolling ball.

With a muffled "thud," the ball changed trajectory, rocketing forward like a shell fired from a cannon. The opposing defender's desperate attempt to turn and block proved futile, and the black-and-white ball flew rapidly toward the top-left corner of the goal.

Such a close-range long shot left the goalkeeper with almost no time to react; before his body could even initiate a save, the ball had already buried itself deep into the snow-white net.

"Goal!"

The commentator in the booth shouted with passionate intensity:

"Ten minutes into the match, Kitagawa Ryo receives a pass from Hirata Yosuke and fires a high-quality long shot from the edge of the penalty area. Just ten minutes in, Kitagawa Ryo has already helped the home team take a two-nil lead with a goal and an assist!"

Accompanied by the passionate commentary, Kitagawa Ryo smiled, spread his arms, and jogged slowly toward the home team's stands, pointing at the school emblem on his jersey as he said:

"Welcome to our school!"

The freshmen, who had only been enrolled for a single semester, were instantly electrified. These boys and girls, only around thirteen years old, felt that the middle school they had chosen was simply too exciting. They gave their most enthusiastic response to Kitagawa Ryo, a senior who had already graduated, and perhaps on this very day, many of the freshmen made up their minds to join the soccer club.

If one were to score in front of so many classmates, would the person they had a crush on start to like them because of it?

Kitagawa Ryo naturally had no idea what these young boys were thinking; he casually high-fived his teammates and returned to the pitch.

For the remainder of the first half, the opposition realized the threat posed by Kitagawa Ryo. Given that their strength was not to be underestimated and Kitagawa Ryo was intentionally holding back, the first half ended with the score at two-to-one, heading into halftime.

"Senior, have some water."

Taking the water bottle handed over by Hirata Yosuke, Kitagawa Ryo took small sips to soothe his parched throat before turning to ask Hirata Yosuke:

"I remember our school didn't have a cheerleading squad before."

"It was indeed added just this year."

Sitting beside him, Hirata Yosuke looked at the home team's cheerleaders in bright blue uniforms performing on the field and winked at Kitagawa Ryo:

"What do you think?"

With skirts shorter than the standard school uniform fluttering, every little jump revealed a glimpse of fair waistline. Kitagawa Ryo leaned back in his seat, watching the performance, when he inexplicably thought of Ichinose Honami, and her image in this cheerleading uniform suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Cough, cough..."

Clearing his throat in slight embarrassment, Kitagawa Ryo feigned interest in his phone, which he had placed to the side. He happened to see a text from Ichinose Honami saying, "I'm off work, coming over now." As he sent a quick reply, his attention was drawn away by a sudden burst of noise from the field.

Looking up, he saw the opposing school's cheerleaders taking the stage. Their bright yellow uniforms, contrasting with the home team's bright blue, were particularly eye-catching. With cropped vests and white knee-high socks, even the home students couldn't help but shift their gaze toward them.

"Hmm?"

Noticing a detail, Kitagawa Ryo felt a bit puzzled and frowned as he asked Hirata Yosuke:

"Do you think there's something off about that girl on the far right in the second row?"

"Where?"

Hearing Kitagawa Ryo's words, Hirata Yosuke widened his eyes, but because of the distance, he couldn't see much beyond a sea of white legs.

"Never mind, maybe I'm overthinking it."

Kitagawa Ryo stared deeply at the slightly anomalous figure for a moment before patting Hirata Yosuke on the shoulder:

"Get ready, the second half is about to start."

When Ichinose Honami walked across the campus alone to reach the field, it was nearing dusk. The sweltering heat had faded somewhat, and after identifying the direction, she headed toward the open east gate of the stadium.

She and Kitagawa Ryo did not attend the same middle school, but both were very familiar with each other's campuses. From the location of the classrooms and playgrounds to the daily menu at the cafeteria, they had walked and explored these places together. Because of the soccer match today, the gates weren't locked, and Ichinose Honami soon arrived at the field.

Ichinose Honami's athletic ability was among the best of her peers, but she hadn't had much contact with soccer. However, because of Kitagawa Ryo, she understood the basic rules. Although she could only stand in the aisle because she arrived late and had to stand on her tiptoes to barely see the situation on the field, Ichinose noticed the score and time displayed on the large screens around the stadium immediately.

The score was 4-4, and the time was 91 minutes and 03 seconds. In other words, this friendly soccer match had reached the final moments of stoppage time.

Ichinose stood on her tiptoes, casting her gaze toward the field, just in time to see the opposing school's striker attempt a shot. Amidst the sky-filling shouts, the home team's goalkeeper dove to the right and plucked the ball out of the air.

Noticing the opportunity, Kitagawa Ryo immediately pulled to the left to create space, raising his hand to signal the goalkeeper to throw the ball to him.

The home team's goalkeeper had played many matches with Kitagawa Ryo before he graduated, so he naturally understood the intent. He bypassed the opposing player blocking his path, took a running start, and with a powerful flick of his right hand, threw the ball to Kitagawa Ryo.

It should be noted that Kitagawa Ryo had already contributed two assists and two goals throughout the match. Seeing Kitagawa Ryo about to receive the ball, the three nearest opposing players almost instinctively rushed over, attempting to use their numerical advantage to intercept the ball.

Facing this situation, Kitagawa Ryo simply and lightly passed the ball directly to the unmarked Hirata Yosuke.

Realizing they had been tricked, the opposing players could only stop and turn sharply, while Kitagawa Ryo, having just passed the ball, suddenly accelerated and darted into the opponent's half.

Hirata Yosuke let the ball passed by Kitagawa Ryo roll to his side and slightly in front, adjusted his stance, and launched a long pass with his right foot.

Although his long-passing ability wasn't as good as Kitagawa Ryo's, it was definitely precise enough to avoid any major errors.

The ball soared into the air, heading straight toward a striker waiting in the middle. The opposing players, exhausted from chasing the ball, used their last ounce of strength to catch up only after the striker had pushed the ball thirty meters forward. Both teams, having played the entire match, were showing signs of fatigue. Seeing the striker with the ball slowly decelerate, the defender following him breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, he saw the opponent smile faintly and push the ball toward the center with the instep of his left foot.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!"

A deafening roar like a crashing wave erupted across the entire stadium.

The opposing captain only noticed Kitagawa Ryo, who had surged forward at high speed, as the ball moved; his heart sank instantly.

As the team captain, he suppressed the screams of his burning lungs and throat, desperate to intercept the ball, but his speed was at least two levels slower than Kitagawa Ryo's, and the gap between them only widened.

Only one defender and the goalkeeper remained in front of Kitagawa Ryo.

The defender, who still had plenty of stamina, reacted quickly, lunging horizontally in an attempt to commit a foul and halt the attack. However, Kitagawa Ryo, running at full tilt, used the outside of his left foot to tap the ball forward five meters, then sprinted like a lightning bolt to chase it down.

The opposing goalkeeper abandoned his post once again, knowing full well this was the decisive moment of the match. Kitagawa Ryo had chosen to kick the ball past the defender to bypass him, and if the keeper were fast enough, he could have intercepted it before the penalty area.

But he underestimated the time it takes for a goalkeeper to transition from a standstill to full acceleration. By the time he had taken only a few steps, Kitagawa Ryo had already reached the ball at high speed, leaving the keeper with no choice but to retreat.

Under extreme pressure, he committed a fatal error—hesitating halfway through his charge.

Kitagawa Ryo naturally wouldn't let such a mistake slide. Seeing the open goal on the right, he adjusted the ball slightly to his front-left, planted his right foot to steady his body, and struck the base of the ball with the instep of his left foot.

"A chip shot!"

The teacher, whose voice had gone hoarse from commentating the entire match, sounded nearly delirious.

The ball traced a perfect parabola, diving down into the unguarded net.

"Five to four! The match is over! With that final, spectacular pass and chip shot, the final score is locked at five to four!"

The stadium instantly turned into an ocean of screams and cheers. People always loved a last-second buzzer-beater. Amidst the frenzy, Kitagawa Ryo saw his team's striker—the same boy who had assisted his final goal—sprinting toward the stands.

It seemed he had arranged for someone to meet him there. The boy took a bouquet of roses from a classmate, vaulted onto the stands in one leap, knelt on one knee before a girl on the right, and shouted:

"Sakagami, I like you! Please go out with me!"

After a brief silence, the entire field shouted in unison:

"Say yes! Say yes!"

Under the gaze of thousands, the girl blushed, took the roses with a shy, fidgety motion, and lowered her head to kiss the boy on the cheek.

The next moment, the striker, having successfully confessed, ran around the field like a wild horse, shouting his thanks to all the spectators.

Kitagawa Ryo chuckled, hands on his hips, and joked to Hirata Yosuke:

"To have this much energy after playing a full match, I feel like he could play another one and still not be tired."

Hirata Yosuke wiped the sweat from his forehead:

"Senior, I think I heard someone say they saw Ichinose earlier."

Thinking of how Ichinose Honami had just witnessed his winning goal from the stands, a childish urge to show off welled up in Kitagawa Ryo. He raised his right hand, made a heart shape, and sprinted toward the stands.

Kitagawa Ryo, intending only to show off to Ichinose Honami, hadn't expected the stands to suddenly fall silent.

Is Kitagawa... senior planning to confess to someone?

Having served as student council president and soccer club captain for three years, and rumored to have ties to the school board, Kitagawa Ryo had been a hot topic of discussion for years. With the striker's confession fresh in their minds, almost every student subconsciously assumed Kitagawa Ryo was planning to confess as well.

Thus, all eyes followed the man who had just been named the match MVP, watching him charge toward the right side of the stands. Is the person in Kitagawa senior's heart sitting there? ...Well, he's turning toward the left now.

Kitagawa Ryo was quite confident in his eyesight, and Ichinose Honami was the most eye-catching girl even in a crowd. Yet, after running across the entire field in a somewhat awkward display, he still couldn't catch a glimpse of that golden-pink hair within his field of vision.

Dismissing the few girls who stood up and shouted things like "The senior likes me!" or "He just didn't find me!", most students eventually accepted this as the senior's farewell greeting to his juniors after graduation.

"Hey, Honami."

Feeling a bit dejected after coming up empty, Kitagawa Ryo called Ichinose Honami while changing out of his soccer uniform.

"Hey, sorry Ryo, Maki just called me. It was too noisy, so I went outside to take it. But I did see your final shot! All the girls nearby were screaming."

The crisp, sweet voice carried Ichinose Honami's usual vitality, though it held a hint of apology:

"Maki said her cat hasn't been feeling well these past two days and wanted you to take it to the vet."

"I'm a bit tied up these next two days, so it's not convenient. I'll give you the number for a pet clinic; you can just take Maki and the cat there when you have time."

Kitagawa Ryo calmly filled in the trap Ichinose Honami had dug for him. A major reason he had moved out from across the street from the Ichinose family last year was that he realized the younger sister, Ichinose Maki, seemed to have feelings for him. Too lazy to deal with such things, Kitagawa Ryo had simply cut off any hope. As for whether Ichinose Honami had noticed?

Kitagawa Ryo never underestimated his childhood friend.

"Right, I'm heading out the east gate in a bit. Are you waiting outside, or?"

Kitagawa Ryo packed his things, nodding and smiling at the juniors nearby as he walked toward the exit.

"Oh, I'm waiting for you by the east gate. There are so many people, it's boiling."

"Got it, see you in a bit."

"See you."

Closing his phone and stuffing it into his pocket, Kitagawa Ryo patted Hirata Yosuke, who had been dodging him but now approached after the call ended:

"So? Have you decided which high school you're going to?"

Hirata Yosuke flashed his usual bright smile:

"We'll see when the time comes. After all, I don't have a family fortune waiting for me like you do, Senior, even if I don't go to school."

The two chatted idly about school and friends until they bumped into a group of people—or rather, the group was heading straight toward them.

"Hello, is there something you need?"

Hirata Yosuke took the initiative to step forward and negotiate with the group of girls who had surrounded them. He didn't feel any malice from them; after all, the people approaching them weren't burly men, but the cheerleaders from the opposing school they had seen during the halftime break.

"Hey, get out there."

Rustling noises came from the crowd, and the girls were nudging each other and winking, like a flock of chirping sparrows.

"Kitagawa Ryo... Kitagawa-senpai, right?"

The girl leading them was fairly attractive, though perhaps because her lipstick was a bit heavy, her thin lips made her look somewhat mean-spirited.

She grabbed a girl hiding behind her, almost dragging her forward as she shouted as if shooing someone away:

"My... friend."

Giggling sounds came from behind, and she glared fiercely at them.

"She was planning to confess to you."

With a shove from her right hand, the girl stumbled forward and nearly fell to the ground. Kitagawa Ryo didn't think twice, stepping forward to steady her arm.

"Hey, are you okay?"

But the girl seemed to ignore Kitagawa Ryo's words. Her honey-colored bangs hung low, and her head was buried so deep it was almost touching her knees, making it impossible to see her expression. One could only see her trembling, bloodless lips pressed together, as if she were trying to say something.

"I, I... like you, please go out with me."

Kitagawa Ryo frowned as he heard this broken, toneless confession, which matched the dull, lifeless look in the girl's blue, glass-like eyes.

"Sure."

The next second, Kitagawa Ryo responded. He reached out, held her shoulders, and smiled as he looked her straight in the eye:

"I accept."

Chapter 7: False Love (Part 2)