What Winter Takes Away, Spring Will Give Back (6k) (Part 2)

After finishing the first topic of their class, Karuizawa Kei shifted the focus back to their opponents.

"Considering the number of students in Class A, there's a high probability that some students will participate in more than one event. Therefore, I think they'll be more inclined to rely on the individual abilities of a few students to achieve breakthroughs in specific areas, and Class A happens to have several students who can do that."

"But considering the perspective of an ordinary student, they would definitely prefer to be a member of the winners' bracket, since if they lose the exam as a member of the losers' bracket, they could become a potential candidate for expulsion."

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo also recalled the opportunity and direct trigger that led to his class transfer—the special Class Vote Special Exam at the end of last year—and added:

"There are definitely some students in Class A who think that way, but given Maeda's experience, there probably won't be any who dare to openly make secret arrangements this time, but this mentality will still be reflected."

Frankly speaking, it seems impressive at first glance that all four First Year classes had their actual class Leader act as Commander, but from the perspective of ordinary students, it actually puts a lot of pressure on them, and it's not an exaggeration to say that they might feel like they've been kidnapped.

After all, no matter how much they trust their class Leader, two out of the four classes will inevitably lose this Special Exam. Compared to the class Leader being expelled, it seems more likely that the students in the loser group will become the victims. Therefore, naturally, they would want to become members of the winner group.

"But the problem is that if you don't have any special skills but still want to win, it seems like the only way left is to be carried to victory in team events."

"This is one of the things that must be decided or persuaded. Special Exam that requires everyone's participation and, ideally, everyone can play a role and make a contribution, is like this. As I said before, if we can win, all the problems are not problems. But if we lose, all the hidden dangers will suddenly explode."

After speaking, Kitagawa Ryo paused again before continuing:

"That's why I said this is a Special Exam that no class can really accept losing."

"The final chapter of the First Year determines the initial appearance of each class in the second year. Just like if you have a happy end to the year, you will feel that the whole year was not bad. Everyone wants a good ending, even if it is only temporary, but it is enough to boost people's confidence to face the next school year."

After saying these words, Kitagawa Ryo himself was somewhat dazed.

Before he knew it, as spring drew ever closer, his first year at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was finally coming to an end.

"I didn't expect the meal to last so long... We started by talking about exams, but then we all loosened up and started going to karaoke and making plans to hang out again tomorrow. It was really great."

"That's right, that's the atmosphere in our Class B. We have to maintain a good mindset before the exams."

It was almost nine o'clock in the evening when Kitagawa Ryo Karuizawa Kei finally said goodbye to the other students from Class B who were still in the karaoke room, and walked step by step back to the dormitory building.

"Honami went back even earlier than us."

"It seems like it's because he made plans to hang out with girls from Class A tonight."

"Such a quick move? Is this some kind of intelligence gathering?"

"No, we had already made plans. But it's not impossible for Megumi to hope that Honami might bring back some new information. There are quite a few leaks among the girls in Class A, although it's also possible that Arisu is deliberately throwing out a smokescreen."

"Too."

After Karuizawa Kei agreed, she fell silent. In March, she no longer needed to wear a bulky down jacket; she was now wearing a lighter spring outfit. She was like a gentle spring breeze in March, carrying a touch of bright floral fragrance. Suddenly, she brushed against his cheek and nestled into his arms.

"Liang, have you ever heard this saying?"

She blew air into his ear.

What winter takes away from you, spring will give back to you.

In just over two hours, she will be another year older.

As a theatrical Actor with a considerable fan base, Karuizawa Kei can now find various birthday wishes from fans on her design platform account and related tags on her phone, but right now she still only wants to hear from Kitagawa Ryo.

After all, most people in this world just want to like her in a normal way, like wanting to touch the leaves and petals when they see a beautiful rose. So she can't just uproot and expose all those ugly stems and thorns, and even the deep, tangled roots that were once buried underground, to the light of day.

However, she is not the same as Kitagawa Ryo.

Because the two of them had already seen each other's deepest parts.

That is why, even when her life as a rose comes to an end and her petals fall, each fallen petal will pave a beautiful bed for her love.

Just like now.

Touching the day at the beginning of the month

It's customary to touch the ground for a day at the beginning of the month.

I feel hopeful that I can finish First Year this year.

By the way, since the original work didn't even cover the third year, this book's outline also doesn't include the third year. It should end at the end of the second year, and afterwards there should be all sorts of side stories. I can only say that I have a lot of side stories I want to write, I'm sure of it.

Thank you for your continued reading and support.

Bonus Chapter: My Favorite Chapter

Important Note Before Reading: This chapter is Karuizawa Kei's first simulation, namely the third epilogue to the "Autumn Remembrance of Karuizawa Kei" volume. It tells a story on the same timeline as the first epilogue, "Taming and Being Tamed," and the second epilogue, "The World's Smallest Collar." However, this chapter will be told from the perspectives of Karuizawa Kei and Kitagawa Ryo. It also serves to supplement the story that takes place on the extended timeline of that simulation, making it easier for readers to understand the characters' inner journeys and actions in the past, present, and future.

She and he built castles on the sand, only to destroy them just as easily;

She ran alongside him on the path, the wind whipping around them, their laughter unable to keep up;

At that time, she didn't believe or even think that the two of them would separate. She was still planning to climb the mountain with him to chase a butterfly from her dreams.

She wouldn't have known that at the time.

Years later, she will dream of this version of herself countless times.

They wouldn't know either.

Much later, she would never dream of that scene again.

Unrequited love is also a form of love; the object of affection is first a memory.

After all memories have been used up, it's time to use imagination.

Memories are like that; if they had a scent, Karuizawa Kei would think they smell like camphor.

When things are clear, they feel sweet and secure, and happiness is remembered distinctly.

When things are blurry, there is a bittersweet feeling, and sorrow lingers.

For a long time, Karuizawa Kei would still reread the fairy tale called "The Little Prince," but her reading would always stop at a certain part of the story.

The rose said this to the Little Prince as he left:

Of course I love you, it's my fault for not letting you feel it.

In fact, even Karuizawa Kei herself couldn't clearly explain her feelings when she received Kitagawa Ryo's wedding invitation. The names of the bride and groom were quite familiar, but when put together, they felt strangely unfamiliar, as if some kind of otherworldly script was radiating a vortex-like magic that made her dizzy after just a short while.

Karuizawa Kei certainly didn't think that Kitagawa Ryo was making some kind of pointless boast to her, his so-called ex. After all, the other party was never that kind of person, and even after so long, she wouldn't believe or admit that Kitagawa Ryo and the name written in the bride's column had any real feelings for each other.

Even if the other person has spent more time with him than she has.

If the reality were some kind of youth fantasy literature or light novel, at this point a friend would probably jump out to encourage her, saying things like, "If the person you like is getting married, just confess to them. Even if you have to blow out the axles and tires of their wedding car for it, it's no big deal."

The bad news is that reality is reality; she has neither a close friend who can say such things, nor the courage or resources to do so.

Moreover, based on the scale of their wedding, if the tires of the wedding car were to be blown out, she probably couldn't afford to pay for it even if she sold herself.

However, even with this self-deprecating attitude, Karuizawa Kei ultimately chose to silently open the invitation.

To be honest, she herself was a little curious about what kind of identity or relationship Kitagawa Ryo had with her childhood friend, whom she hadn't had any communication or contact with for more than ten years.

The final answer was something Karuizawa Kei hadn't expected at all.

Her identity suddenly changed to that of the groom's 'sister'.

That's true. After all, their relationship wasn't exactly that of friends or lovers. It was more like a distant relative with a blood connection, who had played together a few times as children, and whose next meeting was for a major life event like their wedding.

In that respect, she really has the right to say things like, "You used to be like this and that, but look at you now," at the wedding. In fact, there's probably no one else in the room more qualified to say those things than her, not even the bride herself.

Visa, airfare, travel expenses—all were handled with the help of the people sent by the other party. However, when Karuizawa Kei actually boarded the flight from Tokyo to London and looked out the window, she still vaguely recalled the day many years ago when Kitagawa Ryo returned to Tokyo from London and they reunited.

Did they see similar scenery along this flight route?

Upon arriving in London, Karuizawa Kei was placed in a luxurious hotel the night before the wedding.

However, she didn't stay there for long. Despite not being able to adjust to the time difference, Karuizawa Kei wasn't sleepy at all. When night fell, she left the hotel alone and quietly strolled around the Thames River.

Perhaps because she was tired from walking, Karuizawa Kei found a bench by the roadside and sat down, then subconsciously reached into her pocket.

She herself had forgotten when she started smoking. Growing up often only takes one night, and it's true for everything. But now she's been an adult for a long time, so it doesn't really matter to her.

The bluish-white smoke gradually blurred the outline of Karuizawa Kei's face, making the scene of the foggy city before her seem hazy. The lighter in her hand flickered aimlessly in her palm, sometimes to light a new cigarette, but more often just to repeat the action without any purpose, letting the small flame flicker there.

The cigarette butt was getting shorter and shorter. Karuizawa Kei took it off and was about to habitually put on a new one when she suddenly realized that her current behavior was somewhat like that of a little girl in a fairy tale.

Unfortunately, amidst the swirling smoke, Karuizawa Kei couldn't even glimpse those beautiful, virtual illusions. Her repeated lighting of the candles wasn't to fulfill any wishes, but merely to pass the time out of boredom.

Nearby, you could see all sorts of couples, walking together huddled together as the weather gradually turned colder. Some were holding hands, some were putting their hands in each other's pockets, and some were playfully sticking their icy palms around their boyfriends' scarves and directly onto their necks, causing their boyfriends to scream. Karuizawa Kei couldn't help but chuckle.

She thought that if Kitagawa Ryo were with her, it would probably be like that too, but she only thought about it for a moment and didn't think any further. A few years ago, she would have dared to think about it, after all, a few years ago she even dared to do it.

So time really is a magical thing; no one can escape it.

Karuizawa Kei stood up and leaned on the railing, looking out at the river.

Perhaps our true self is like this river under the moonlight: vast and quiet, seemingly stagnant yet forever changing with time, never able to set foot in the area we've once trod.

Finally, if you want to prove something to others.

All I could see was a blurry mass of darkness.

If Kitagawa Ryo were to describe the evolution of his relationship with Karuizawa Kei from childhood to the present, perhaps just one sentence would suffice:

My artificial flower died because I stopped pretending to water it.

Perhaps the fundamental reason why the two of them couldn't be together was that he never realized from the beginning that Karuizawa Kei wasn't a real Red Rose, but merely a thin Paper Rose. And then, for that touch of red, he hurt himself along with her, bleeding together to irrigate it.

Whether you say he protected her too much, or that her feelings changed because of his departure, at this point in time, talking about these things would only feel tiring and even boring, especially for him, the groom-to-be who will be walking down the aisle with someone else tomorrow.

He was certainly aware that Karuizawa Kei had been intentionally avoiding communication and meetings with him for the past ten years or so, and that was precisely why Kitagawa Ryo chose to send her this wedding invitation. After all, based on his understanding of her, she would definitely not miss this occasion, in every respect.

Kitagawa Ryo had certainly considered taking advantage of this unavoidable opportunity to meet Karuizawa Kei alone, but it wasn't until the moment the plan was finalized that he belatedly realized he had no idea what topics to discuss with her.

They used to have so much to talk about.

But after so much time has passed.

They seem to only have things to say about the past.

I can't even understand my own feelings.

On the eve of the wedding, Kitagawa Ryo also left his temporary lodging and began to wander aimlessly through the streets of London.

He has many memories of this city, but ironically, most of them are not related to the leading lady of tomorrow, but to another woman who was also invited and who was actually the woman he had his first sexual relationship with.

What neither his first love nor his wife could achieve, another person beat him to it. Fate can be so dramatic sometimes.

And just as Kitagawa Ryo was pondering this, the very next second, the Fate he had just considered so dramatic once again revealed this to him.

Karuizawa Kei appeared before his eyes.

To be more precise, it was Kitagawa Ryo who unilaterally discovered Karuizawa Kei, who was facing away from her and had her hand on the railing.

To meet in such a metropolis in such a coincidental way, if we only consider the odds, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it Fate reunion.

Kitagawa Ryo subconsciously took a step toward Karuizawa Kei, his tongue and teeth naturally touching and vibrating, almost uttering the name he had called out countless times in the past.

But in the end, it didn't happen.

They can neither rekindle their romance like lovers, nor simply reminisce like friends. Both of these actions would be a betrayal in some sense for them. Passing by like strangers is the best outcome.

If we take another step forward, even those once-shining memories will be tainted with a different kind of filth, and all the beauty of childhood will be covered by uglier emotions.

You can pretend you don't see the cracks in a broken jar, but if you break it again, it will inevitably leave behind a mess of shattered pieces that you can't pick up no matter how hard you try.

And so, Kitagawa Ryo watched Karuizawa Kei from a distance, just as Karuizawa Kei was gazing at the Thames River.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he saw her turn around and start walking, seemingly preparing to go back.

Kitagawa Ryo silently followed behind Karuizawa Kei.

He suddenly remembered something from the past clearly.

When she was in elementary school, he would always accompany or escort Karuizawa Kei home, especially when she was being bullied.

Only when he saw Karuizawa Kei unlock the door with her key and wave to him through the crack, saying goodbye until tomorrow, did he feel a great weight lifted off his shoulders and jog home.

After running around a lot, Kitagawa Ryo would naturally start to think about it.

If their families lived closer together, wouldn't he have to travel less? For example, if they lived in the same neighborhood, the same building, or were neighbors?

As he grew older, after realizing that he genuinely loved Karuizawa Kei, Kitagawa Ryo also considered a future where he wouldn't have to take any more steps.

Because the two of them will open the same door and enter the same home.

But time did not shorten this distance little by little until it became zero. Instead, it stretched it out in long, long strides, turning a journey that could be covered by a child's run into a long flight spanning half the globe between Tokyo and London.