You Stabbed Me That Year; I'll Stab You This Year

"Yes, I'm going shopping with someone the day after tomorrow, but since I'm not quite sure about the procedures, I plan to go over first and plan the route."

"Um, won't your female companion mind if she comes with us?"

"I already texted her on the way here, and she doesn't even mind going out together on Valentine's Day the day after tomorrow. It seems like girls do have similar activities, called double dates, I think?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka hesitated for a moment before uttering the word, which he had never heard of before, in an uncertain tone.

"That's strange, but I'm fine with it. Let's go together tomorrow, but not the day after."

After waving his hand in refusal, Kitagawa Ryo asked curiously:

"By the way, if it's convenient, could you tell me the other person's name?"

Perhaps thinking that they would meet tomorrow, or perhaps he had never cared about this matter in the first place, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka answered naturally:

"It's my classmate Motodoi."

"I see."

Information about this name from the OAA quickly flashed through Kitagawa Ryo's mind. Her first impression of Kitagawa Ryo was that she was an ordinary girl. Apart from the B+ academic ability that was basically a standard in Class A, there was nothing special about her. The deepest impression Kitagawa Ryo had of her was from the Uninhabited Island Special Exam Kitagawa Ryo year. She remembered that the girl's name had appeared in the little secrets of interpersonal relationships in the class that Kushida Kikyo had revealed.

After chatting for a while, the waiter brought out the various dishes they had ordered. After a whirlwind meal, the Student Council members parted ways at the restaurant entrance.

It was at this moment that Kitagawa Ryo received a phone call from Ichinose Honami.

"Hey Liang, are you done with your Student Council stuff? I just stopped by and saw the Student Council; the doors and lights were all off."

"Yeah, I finished work about an hour ago. I just had a meal with some people at the Keyaki Mall, and we've called it a day now. Have you had dinner yet?"

"I've already eaten. I ate with Mako and Chihiro-chan. I just got back to the dorm."

During the time that Karuizawa Kei and Shiina Hiyori were keeping secret, Ichinose Honami also maintained her relationships with the girls in Class B, almost taking over their roles.

"Oh, right, I need to tell you something, Honami. Aren't we going to check out the booths at the event area near the Gymnasium tomorrow? Ayanokoji will be coming too."

"Ha?"

Kitagawa Ryo could almost hear Honami leaping out of bed on the other end of the phone. The next second, the receiver was brought to the other person's lips, and their tone changed from lazy and casual to quite serious.

I didn't hear you clearly.

"I said, Ayanokoji will be bringing a female companion with us tomorrow—"

After hearing Kitagawa Ryo's additional statement, Ichinose Honami finally breathed a sigh of relief. It could be said that the last thing reminded her of the mysterious expression Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had given her during the Mixed Training Camp Special Exam half a month ago.

Regardless, this is just too horrifying.

Ichinose Honami almost thought that the crucial shot she was about to take would be saved by a defender who turned out to be Kiyotaka Ayanokoji, a far cry from the initial expectations of Shiina Hiyori, Karuizawa Megumi, Horikita Suzune, and so on.

Really.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka would be better off finding a partner soon.

Chapter 461: You stabbed me back then, I'll stab you this year.

Unlike Ichinose Honami, who was already trying to find a partner, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, the person in question, didn't actually have any excessive emotional fluctuations regarding his plans for the next two days.

After all, he wasn't really that familiar with Motodoi Chikako herself. Although they had been classmates for almost a year, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had a weak presence in Class A and his reputation was easily influenced by Totsuka Yahiko always hung out with him, so the two of them basically didn't have any interaction.

Therefore, if Ayanokoji Kiyotaka had to find a reason to agree, it would probably be because the other person was the first.

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka has read countless books and countless writers' Unforgettable descriptions of first love: first love, first crush, first Confessions, first being Confessions... it seems that everything can be encompassed under the concept of first love.

And Motodoi Chikako was indeed the first girl to clearly express her feelings for him.

In this sense, his agreement might also be due to some expectation, hoping that this novel experience would bring about some new changes in himself.

What you learn from books is never enough; you must put it into practice to truly understand.

After observing Kitagawa Ryo for nearly a year, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka decided to try it out himself.

It is precisely because of this that others artificially endow this event and this person with meaning that did not originally exist. This may also be an innate talent of human beings, just like Mingming's birthday is just an ordinary day in the 365 days of a year.

When the meaning a day is given exceeds a certain limit, it transforms into a holiday, like Valentine's Day the day after tomorrow.

Therefore, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka tried to see this day, which he had never paid attention to before, as a day that was very meaningful to him.

To genuinely like someone.

I genuinely believe that others are important.

Simply spending the same time with her is enough to make me happy.

She was elevated from an ordinary person to an irreplaceable figure in my heart.

Can I experience those emotions and those events?

While pondering these questions, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka unconsciously recalled the speech he had witnessed and heard from Kitagawa Ryo during the recent Mixed Training Camp Special Exam.

He felt that might be the real opportunity.

Thinking of this, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's hands involuntarily paused.

He seemed to have come to understand the cause-and-effect relationship he had previously misunderstood.

Sometimes, it's not that we're consciously trying to assign a special meaning to something, but rather that when we unconsciously recall a certain moment countless times in our minds, that person, that event, that scene is naturally given a unique meaning.

"It's actually Motodoi -kun?"

After listening to Kitagawa Ryo's detailed explanation, Ichinose Honami was also somewhat surprised. She wasn't like Kitagawa Ryo, who relied solely on data analysis to identify people based on OAA. As someone who stood at the top of the entire grade's social circle, she naturally had a lot of contact with the students in Class C.

"But I guess I can understand it? Although she liked Hashimoto for a while in the past, he kept dragging his Hashimoto and wouldn't give her an answer. Now that Hashimoto has gotten into this mess, it's good for her to start over with someone else."

"Those two aren't even close to being together yet, and judging from your description, Honami, it seems like they should be on the set of that show next door, 'Too Many Loser Female Leads.'"

"They even had a Valentine's Day date, so how can it be considered that nothing's going to happen? But Motodoi could definitely be considered a loser in a broad sense, although I don't think Ayanokoji is the kind of male lead in a romantic comedy light novel."

Ichinose Honami chatted casually with Ichinose Honami about the light novels they had recently read together, and Kitagawa Ryo explained them to her again:

"From an outsider's perspective, it would certainly seem that since they went on a Valentine's Day date, they must be in a relationship. But when it comes to Ayanokoji, it's hard to say."

"Simply put, Honami should treat it as a social experiment in which the other party is participating, and it will definitely end with Ayanokoji rejecting the other party's Confessions."

Compared to Kitagawa Ryo, who confidently and accurately predicted the course of events, Ichinose Honami unusually contradicted him, muttering to herself with a hint of gossip:

"That's not necessarily true. Maybe they're surprisingly compatible. Don't movies often have this kind of plot? It's the story of an ace carefully trained by an assassin organization being attracted to an ordinary girl and eventually falling in love. It's so relatable!"

"Anything said now is just speculation. We'll know for sure when we meet tomorrow. But I'm definitely pessimistic about this. I feel like we'll see the title of a light novel called 'The First Defeat' in the next couple of days."

"Okay, see you tomorrow then."

After ending his call with Ichinose Honami, Kitagawa Ryo stretched lazily and strolled back to his dorm.

If possible, he would certainly like to see Ayanokoji Kiyotaka start a normal relationship like any other high school student.

But right now, that's clearly not possible.

Having interacted with the other party countless times in both simulations and reality, and even witnessed the other party's growth process in the White Room, Kitagawa Ryo was well aware of Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's current thoughts.

It's just the first one.

Unfortunately, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's grades in any subject were initially not very good.

But then again, probably everyone who hasn't been in a relationship yet has all sorts of unrealistic fantasies about their first love, since they've already been exposed to descriptions of it long before the relationship even begins.

And they are currently in adolescence, a period closely associated with the concept of first love.

In this sense, those later reminiscences and celebrations of first love may also be a way of remembering that period of youth.

This is indeed a time when you can squander time as you please, when getting old is still a long way off and you don't even think about it, and when you can fully mobilize your sensitive emotions over every trivial matter.

During the days of preparing for the Valentine's Day celebration, Kitagawa Ryo felt this particularly keenly.

But speaking of which, who was his first love?

He was the first person he truly cared about, the one he genuinely felt was the most important, and that simply spending time with her brought him happiness. She became an irreplaceable presence in his heart...

Thinking this through, Kitagawa Ryo walked thoughtfully to his dormitory room, unlocked the door with his key, and went inside.

"I'm back."

That's what he said.

Then, the cat, which was lying near the entrance, jumped over and blinked its bright, talking neon eyes in response to him.

The next morning, after completing Sakayanagi Arisu's morning exercise and breakfast, which had become part of his daily routine, Kitagawa Ryo changed his clothes and went to meet Ichinose Honami at the agreed-upon location.

The weather in mid-February was still quite chilly, and the morning wind carried a slight chill that kept creeping into the gaps around the neck, so Kitagawa Ryo turned his collar up a little higher.

He deliberately didn't wear the scarf that Horikita Suzune gave him today.

Kitagawa Ryo quickly spotted Ichinose Honami. She was wearing a long down jacket, and to avoid the wind, she had already pulled up the hood. The thick white fur trim around her head completely covered her face, making her appear even more delicate. As Kitagawa Ryo approached, Ichinose Honami abruptly removed her hood, letting her long, golden-pink hair cascade out. Even though the sun hadn't risen yet, it seemed as if dappled sunlight was already filtering through the strands, giving off a soft, crystalline glow.

"About how long did you wait?"

Five minutes, please.

"But I already arrived fifteen minutes early. If Honami do this, it would have been better if we had agreed to arrive earlier from the beginning. Otherwise, I'll definitely have to race with you again next time and arrive half an hour early."

"Then I'll arrive forty minutes early."

"Why bother with something like this?"

"Hey-hey."

As she spoke, Ichinose Honami's lips curled up slightly, a smile that was different from her usual one towards others, and unusually playful.

"Meeting earlier makes it less interesting; it feels like this time has been added out of nowhere."

If the most fitting description for Sakayanagi Arisu in winter clothes is "endearing," then this description is clearly not suitable for Ichinose Honami.

Despite wearing heavy clothing, her slender figure remained outstanding. Every movement exuded youthful vitality and elegant temperament, like a ray of warm sunshine in winter. Just standing there quietly was enough to make people forget all the chill of the morning.

"Let's go check out the Gymnasium first."

Because the Gymnasium has been closed to students by the school, the area has been visibly less crowded. Only a few students can be seen occasionally peeking inside, seemingly also looking forward to the Valentine's Day celebration that will begin tomorrow.

Using his Student Council affiliation, Kitagawa Ryo quickly led Ichinose Honami across the blockade and inside. The spacious Gymnasium had been divided into several different areas, and the stalls of various shops had been set up. Many goods had already been transported over, but they were temporarily covered with cloth so they were not clearly visible.

After the two looked around briefly, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka led Motodoi Chikako in and greeted Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose Honami.

Just like the information I saw on OAA, Motodoi Chikako isn't exactly a very pretty girl; she's probably just average, an ordinary girl in every way.

Seemingly already familiar with Motodoi Chikako, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ichinose Honami immediately turned to her with a smile and posed a question:

"By the way, when did you two start dating?"

Startled by Ichinose Honami's sudden question, Yoshiko quickly waved her hands in denial:

"We're not dating! Right, Ayanokoji?"

Ayanokoji Kiyotaka nodded in agreement. Although he was supposedly on a date with the girl next to him, he seemed a little distracted.

"Really? That's strange. You two were planning a date on Valentine's Day, it seems like you're already together, doesn't it?"

"That's... well... I just invited Ayanokoji out to play."

"It just happens to be Valentine's Day, and it's also a weekend."

Seemingly worried that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka might misunderstand, Yoshiko quickly asked him again:

"If Ayanokoji finds it too strange, she can refuse now and cancel."

"If it seemed strange, I would have refused in the first place."

Yoshiko herself seemed a little shy in response to this answer, which was very much in Ayanokoji's style.

All I can say is that after successfully getting rid of Hashimoto Masayoshi, she found Ayanokoji Kiyotaka more and more pleasing to the eye. How come she hadn't noticed that there was such a boy in her class before? He was no less attractive than Hirata Yosuke was the most popular boy among the girls.

"I see. Since you don't dislike either of them, why don't you just get together now and become a real couple? Like Ryo and me, and solve this problem once and for all."

Ichinose Honami, determined to play matchmaker, launched attack after attack, leaving Kitagawa Ryo somewhat exasperated. He reached out and pulled her aside.

"Let's go inside and check out the stalls first. Even though Ayanokoji and I are Student Council members, if we stay here too long, people will still gossip."

Ichinose Honami's behavior was so obvious, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka naturally noticed it as well. Rather than saying that Honami was particularly interested in their relationship, it was more like she was hinting to him to stay away from Kitagawa Ryo.

Even after being told such things, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka couldn't tell that Yoshiko genuinely disliked or was bothered by it.

If I had to say something, she seemed quite pleased with the Ichinose Honami made.

If it were me a year ago when I first entered university, I would probably find it unbelievable or even confusing, and would just think that girls' thoughts are too hard to understand.

But the situation is different now.