What Is Delayed Gratification? / The Conceptual God Strikes

Then, he clearly heard the girl's response.

"Then come and love me."

Chapter 491: What is Delayed Satisfaction?

The morning at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was still sunny and breezy. The school staff had worked overnight to finish setting up the Gymnasium and temporary facilities, restoring it to its familiar, default state for teachers and students. It was almost as if the Valentine's Day celebration that took place there yesterday was real.

However, one thing is certain: this celebration will remain in the memories of most students for a long time, and will be a topic of conversation for a considerable period afterward, especially on the second day when most of the enthusiasm has not yet dissipated.

After all, it's not a long holiday like winter break, spring break, or summer break. No matter how much fun you had yesterday, today you have to obediently put your wild side back in your heart and obediently take your schoolbag to class.

Of course, before the class teacher enters the classroom and before the morning reading time begins, the students in each class cannot immediately switch to a different state of mind. They quickly start exchanging glances and discussing the many fresh gossips that happened yesterday and today.

Kitagawa Ryo, who dominated yesterday's trending topics, was naturally brought up again. So much so that when their Hoshinomiya Chie, lazily announced that Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose Honami were taking a day off due to illness, the students of Class B all tacitly revealed various ambiguous smiles, and the whole class was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

However, what the students in Class B didn't know at that moment was that they weren't the only two students who had asked their homeroom teacher for leave and didn't come to class Chosen One.

Of course, among these students who asked for leave, only one was genuinely feeling unwell.

Frankly speaking, Ichinose Honami's decision to start the war too early is not bad news for Kitagawa Ryo, because it means he will have more time, or rather, more room to make mistakes, to do more things.

First of all, it should be noted that although Ichinose Honami has always given people the impression of a perfect angel, and is indeed impeccable in terms of academics and interpersonal skills, her physical abilities are only at the average level of an ordinary person.

In Kitagawa Ryo's memory, Ichinose Honami, who had never interacted with him, received a C rating for her physical abilities in the second simulation test Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School Karuizawa Kei.

Thanks to the flapping of his butterfly wings, Ichinose Honami's physical fitness rating had already risen to C+ when she first enrolled. In addition, after entering ANHS, she consistently trained in the gym, and now, a year later, her OAA rating has further improved to B+.

At first glance, he is definitely one of the best among his peers, but in a one-on-one situation, he still needs to consider the opponent's situation more often, and Kitagawa Ryo happens to be that BOSS-like existence.

After all, even Karuizawa Kei, who had been consciously training her body since childhood and had long-term stage performance experience, and was able to survive alone on Uninhabited Island, was thoroughly beaten by Kitagawa Ryo on the cruise ship, leaving her in a state of exhaustion, weakness, and exhaustion.

It can only be said that not everyone is like Amasawa Ichika, who comes from a top-tier White Room in the country. Facing someone of his level directly for the first time under such a debuff is indeed a bit difficult. Therefore Ichinose Honami also unsurprisingly lost completely before midnight, and fell asleep exhausted on Kitagawa Ryo's shoulder like a cat.

Even if we don't compare it to the time when Kitagawa Ryo had to wash all the bedding, sheets, and pillowcases again, this was probably the gentlest and most peaceful thing he had ever done. He didn't even tear or shred the clothes that Ichinose Honami had already treated as disposable items. Both of them chose the least harmful method, and it wasn't until the deepest feelings buried in their hearts were gradually released through physical actions that the passion slowly intensified.

After gently embracing Ichinose Honami, who seemed to be having a sweet dream and whose lips would occasionally curl into a smile, for a while, Kitagawa Ryo finally took his phone from the bedside table.

The current time is 11:58 PM on Valentine's Day, February 14th.

Although I had meticulously planned to send Horikita Suzune a birthday text message in advance, if I couldn't reply immediately, this kind of timely greeting, which would be easily recognized, would be seen as perfunctory, especially given what happened today.

Just as he had expected, Horikita Suzune, who was in his room at that moment, was already sitting up straight on the bed, wrapped in a blanket, looking at her phone. Next to her was her cat, who occupied the VIP viewing seat, or rather, the seat for the players' families.

It has to be said that since moving into this dormitory at ANHS with her brother, Ying has become quite experienced and knowledgeable.

Aside from her favorite and most common situation of sleeping from night to morning with Kitagawa Ryo, during this year of life at ANHS, Hotaru has experienced both situations where Kitagawa Ryo was away competing and she was forced to stay alone in an empty room, and situations where a red-haired twin-tailed girl suddenly appeared in the middle of the night to temporarily join their family. This morning, Hotaru has already experienced the phenomenon of choosing to wake Kitagawa Ryo in the morning instead of an alarm clock.

But you know what, this situation— Kitagawa Ryo not being there, but another girl sleeping in his bed—was truly the first time Hotaru had ever encountered it.

Although it seems that this was also something she caused herself.

Horikita Suzune didn't notice the white, sugar-free bread roll behind her, which was now grinning from ear to ear again. After all, as time passed, all her attention was now focused on the screen on her phone.

Then, at the exact moment of midnight when the hour, minute, and second hands all aligned, her phone finally rang several times as she had hoped.

It wasn't a secret that her birthday was February 15th, and Amasawa Ichika sent her a birthday present early today. In addition to Amasawa Ichika, birthday wishes from others, including Sakura Airi, Tachibana Akane, and Horikita Manabu, were also sent at this time.

However, Horikita Suzune clicked on Kitagawa Ryo's post first.

The content is very short, just four simple words:

"Happy birthday."

So, almost without hesitation, Horikita Suzune immediately sent a reply to the other party:

It's already midnight.

It's already a new day.

After sending those two sentences, Horikita Suzune pursed her lips and put her phone down again. Then, as if she were playing a game of wits with thin air, she carefully picked it up again, hesitated for a moment, put it down, and then picked it up again after a brief pause.

The screen lights up, dims, lights up, dims.

Although it sounds like a loop that repeats itself several times, it actually only lasts for a short minute.

In that short minute, Horikita Suzune had pressed the raised button on the phone countless times, the screen flashing on and off, reflecting a cold, eerie light.

Before today, she would never have done such a thing. After all, this time was past her bedtime. According to her plan, she would have silenced her phone while sleeping, and then efficiently and politely replied to all the messages sent at midnight when she got up for her morning exercise the next morning. Then she would go to school, go home, handle the follow-up work of the Valentine's Day celebration at the Student Council, and finally have a small celebration for her birthday with Kitagawa Ryo at dinner.

To be honest, if we go back a few years and let the original version of Horikita Suzune be re-released, we could probably skip even the last step.

However, the situation is undoubtedly different now.

For Horikita Suzune, there has probably never been a moment when she so desperately craved communication, interaction, time together, and physical contact with Kitagawa Ryo.

But the more Horikita Suzune thought about these things, the more uneasy and anxious she became. After all, along with that unprecedentedly strong feeling, there was also a certain worry and even fear about the current situation.

Ultimately, everyone knows that Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose Honami weren't going to play Ludo tonight.

The mere thought that at midnight, on my birthday, the other person might still be entangled with someone else, and that the promise and time given to me, the birthday blessing and the declaration of the future, was nothing more than a pre-set, timed text message...

It can only be said that completing The Sims perfectly does not improve Suzune's stress tolerance, and she is indeed not as resilient as the three legendary stress-resistance champions: Karuizawa Kei, Ichinose Honami, and Sakayanagi Arisu.

Looking at Horikita Suzune, who was already there, hesitant and uncertain, Hotaru wagged her tail and made this judgment in her mind.

But it's okay, nobody likes to suffer for no reason. Don't be fooled by the fact that the three female protagonists seem to be nostalgic for their time in the simulation and wish they could go back to that time. In essence, it's because the past is the past. Now everyone lives on a more peaceful and happier timeline. That's why these female protagonists unconsciously forget the pain of the process and are particularly concerned about the happiness of a certain moment.

Furthermore, Hotaru also believes that her brother can handle these matters perfectly.

As expected, Kitagawa Ryo's reply didn't keep the person and cat waiting long; he appeared before Horikita Suzune in no time.

"Although it is indeed a new day, we are now in the East Ninth Time Zone, so Suzune should get a good night's sleep first, so that she can have more fun when it gets light."

"Isn't Liang still awake?"

After confirming that Kitagawa Ryo hadn't sent her a timed text message, Horikita Suzune's tense nerves immediately relaxed. She naturally changed from sitting up wrapped in the blanket to lying face down, her two legs sticking out of the blanket unconsciously clamping the pillow between them, her calves bending up and down, moving up and down with the pillow.

"I didn't sleep because I had to send my birthday wishes to Suzune right on time."

"That's why I stayed up so I could receive Liang's birthday wishes right on time."

Words that would have seemed childish or embarrassing in the past were sent out quite easily. Horikita Suzune herself couldn't quite understand her current feelings, but she didn't dislike them.

"Also, the birthday wishes were too short."

"The sentence I just typed is longer than Liang's birthday wishes."

"Is it possible that you want to wait until you meet during the day to tell Suzune in person? Hmm, that's a kind of delayed gratification. You can temporarily give up one candy in front of you and get three candies a few hours later."

"If I ask Ryo for this one piece of candy now, will Ryo not give me any more candy during the day?"

Horikita Suzune quickly retaliated, displaying a strong "I Want It All" attitude.

After all, their relationship wasn't that of a test subject and a scientist. Love is inherently a greedy thing; once you've tasted its sweetness, there's no such thing as delayed gratification, only endless desire.

Moreover, just as she said, Kitagawa Ryo is the kind of person who will give a piece of candy in the moment, and will do his best to give more candy later, as evidenced by the ring he received yesterday.

In the past, she simply never asked for candy.

"Could these messages have been typed by a cat? I hope I don't see the 'This person is trying to unlock your phone' message on Suzune's phone tomorrow."

"... Is it really that exaggerated?"

"I can only say that I now suspect that Suzune has entered some SP or alternate version. It seems I'll have to change her nickname in my contacts to Suzune Lily or Suzune Alter."

"How about we just go all the way and change it to girlfriend?"

"I woke up to find that girls all over the world had become love-struck..."

It's unclear when exactly, but their conversation had veered into completely nonsensical and absurd territory. However, both Kitagawa Ryo and Horikita Suzune adapted quite quickly, and they chatted on their phones for quite a while before reluctantly saying goodnight to each other at one o'clock.

Just after Kitagawa Ryo put down his phone and drifted off to sleep peacefully for a while, a subtle sensation from somewhere on his body woke him up groggily around three or four in the morning.

Ichinose Honami had just woken up, was lying on his chest.

The instant their eyes met, Kitagawa Ryo understood something.

Broken.

This is someone who has never known what delayed gratification is; after finishing one candy, they carelessly and openly reach out to ask for three more.

Chapter 492: The Concept God Strikes

Although they had resolutely declared yesterday that they would skip class together, on the morning of the second day, Horikita Suzune and Kitagawa Ryo both submitted sick leave applications to their respective homeroom teachers.

Unfortunately, under the school rules of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, students' unexcused absences never affect their individual evaluations, but rather result in a direct deduction of points from their Class Points. Class 1-D had its points deducted to zero at the beginning of last year's school year because of these frequent violations.

However, thanks to the good behavior of Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami, and Horikita Suzune, Mashima Tomoya and Hoshinomiya Chie readily granted them leave slips.

Instead of waking Ichinose Honami had a second encounter with him in the middle of the night, Kitagawa Ryo quietly got out of bed after communicating with Hoshinomiya Chie. After a quick wash, he made breakfast for two using the ingredients he had in the kitchen. After finishing his own portion, he put the other portion in the thermos he usually used for lunchboxes. Then, he left a note for Ichinose Honami, informing her that he had arranged for her to take the day off and indicating where the breakfast would be. Only then did he leave Ichinose Honami's room, yawning.

Although he worked non-stop for 24 hours yesterday, compared to the intensity of the cruise ship experience, the current situation is nothing for Kitagawa Ryo. After all, he had just completed a 14-day survival test on Uninhabited Island. This is nothing compared to what he went through.

Speaking of which, Sakayanagi Arisu seem to have quieted down since yesterday. They didn't come to ask him to do morning exercises this morning either. However, this is also related to the fact that he slept in Ichinose Honami's room last night. After all, the other party has his room key, but not Honami's.

Maybe they're waiting in my room right now?

With this in mind, Kitagawa Ryo took the elevator down to the fourth floor and opened the door to room 408 with his key. Sure enough, there was a pair of shoes in the entryway. Then, he subconsciously looked towards the bed and could clearly see the outline of the blanket in the back half of the bed, which clearly resembled a human figure.

But upon closer inspection, the person curled up on his bed, sleeping with an unseemly posture, holding a cell phone in his outstretched right palm, was none other than Horikita Suzune, the birthday girl.

Quickly swallowing back the words "Arisu" that were almost out of his throat, Kitagawa Ryo picked up Hotaru's small body, who was lying next to the pillow and was obviously pretending to be asleep. Then he slowly moved his head closer to observe Suzune's sleeping face with great interest.

Thinking about it carefully, this should be the first time in a long time that he has seen Horikita Suzune sleeping so unguarded. After all, her biological clock is the same as his, raised since childhood, and it is always the same, rain or shine. Even during the Uninhabited Island Special Exam last year, she was always the one in their group who got up the earliest and insisted on doing morning exercises every day.

Actually, looking at the results from the opposite perspective, this can be considered a case of the early bird catching the worm. After all, the reason he is now so strongly supporting Horikita Suzune in the Student Council election is because the two of them, who were the first to get up, were chatting one morning when Suzune inadvertently tricked him into making this promise.

That's why Kitagawa Ryo's memory of Horikita Suzune's sleeping posture is basically still in the simulation stage. When he was baking in the kitchen of the dessert shop, Horikita Suzune liked to doze off in a corner where it wouldn't get in the way. Her quiet and gentle appearance still left a deep impression on Kitagawa Ryo.

Compared to that time, Horikita Suzune has undoubtedly grown up a lot in terms of figure and appearance. After all, the simulated timeline is when Horikita Manabu has just entered Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, Horikita Suzune is only in the second year of junior high school. Nearly three years have passed, and the girl's petite body has changed from immature to mature. After all, girls' puberty always comes earlier than boys'.

Besides her figure and face, what has grown with time is Suzune's hair. It might not be very noticeable when she is standing or sitting, but when she lies down curled up like this, her unparalleled presence and beauty become so vivid. If you raise your perspective to look down from the ceiling, it even seems as if those pressed-down, spread-out strands of hair have given the girl a pair of black wings.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo said in his Valentine's Day letter to Horikita Suzune, he was indeed particularly fond of Suzune's long hair. This was not only because he had a natural affinity for the long, straight black hair style, but also because the changes in their relationship in the simulation, or rather, the changes in Horikita Suzune's own views, revolved around her hairstyle, which in itself carried more special significance.

Thinking this, Kitagawa Ryo unconsciously took out his phone from his pocket, intending to save this scene as a memento.

However, after capturing Suzune's precious sleeping face, Kitagawa Ryo suddenly had a new idea. He mischievously included himself in the shot, adjusted the angle and direction, and made a victory sign the moment the flash went off. It was a small tribute to a classic set of memes featuring one person lying in bed with their eyes closed and another sitting on the edge of the bed making a peace sign, except that in that set of pictures, the person lying in bed is mostly the man.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was enthusiastically preparing to recreate some more classic memes, Horikita Suzune, who had been lying in bed with her eyes closed, finally woke up slowly under the powerful influence of her biological clock. After blinking and staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, she noticed Kitagawa Ryo sitting next to her and subconsciously reached out to tug at his clothes.

"What time is it...? How did I fall asleep again?"

Perhaps because she had stayed up too late last night, Horikita Suzune had fallen asleep again half an hour ago after struggling to send a text message to her homeroom teacher, Mashima Tomoya, to ask for leave. That's why Kitagawa Ryo saw the scene when he entered the room.

"Hmm? Suzune's awake? It's only 7:30. Do you want to sleep a little longer? You seem pretty sleepy."

"It's okay... I'm not that sleepy, probably because the bed is too comfortable."

"Are there any differences between the sample beds in the student dormitory?"

"Cold-blooded, low emotional intelligence..."

"It's just a tribute to the old Suzune."

"Should I say something like, 'The weak version of me from the past is dead'?"

"Looks like you're not really sleepy, get up."

Perhaps it was because he was used to waking Sakayanagi Arisu, but after saying that, Kitagawa Ryo skillfully pulled back the covers, lifted Horikita Suzune's arms to make her sit up against the headboard, unfolded the clothes on the bedside table and handed them to her, then casually slipped the sweater into her outstretched hands, helped straighten the hem, and helped her stand up to put on her pants...

Well, that's how it was supposed to be, since Sakayanagi Arisu is best at pretending to be grumpy in the morning and won't actually get up until he's tidied up from head to toe before she's willing to escape the seal of the bed.

But Horikita Suzune's situation is clearly different.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that things went wrong right from the very first step.

"So why are you wearing my clothes?"

"Because this is a cool room, do you think I'd find my clothes in your closet?"

"So the responsibility was originally mine... Actually, finding out the truth makes things even more problematic, right?"

Looking at Horikita Suzune, who in a sense had become Suzune Lily or Suzune Alter, a master of lame jokes and doubly adorable, Kitagawa Ryo began to wonder if Hotaru had truly cast some kind of personality-level magic on that ring.

"Ugh, my hair is all messed up, I need to take a shower first."

It's fair to say that long hair is inconvenient, and that's the inconvenience. Although it looks decent when she's asleep in bed, once she gets up, her tufts of hair stick out and stick up everywhere. Although Kitagawa Ryo thinks it has a unique charm, Horikita Suzune seems to find it a bit unbearable. She simply got out of bed, still wearing Kitagawa Ryo's shirt, and went to the bathroom in slippers.

"Then I'll leave your clothes by the door."

"Do you have that many clean clothes to change into?"

"It must have been the Suzune you brought over yesterday and put on the bedside table, Rin..."

"But the uniform I brought is from ANHS School. We skipped class today, so there's no need to wear it. Besides, it's too conspicuous."