Pure White as Snow and Bright Red as Blood

Xue simply shook her head to deny her sister's statement, and then continued to track down the suspicious new students in the vicinity, no longer speaking to her.

"... That's terrible."

Two steps behind her again, Tsubaki Sakurako silently repeated those words in her mind once more, but not to her older sister in front of her, but to the boy named Kitagawa Ryo.

She originally didn't want to have much contact with the other person, but now it seems she has no choice but to test the waters to find out their true thoughts.

If a person is completely unaware of the mental and psychological abnormalities his sister still exhibits, then he is simply not suited to be with her, and the end result will inevitably be tragic.

But Tsubaki Sakurako felt that the possibility was extremely slim.

Judging from the fact that his appearance alone was enough to cheer up my sister, he must know a lot about her past, so it's impossible that he didn't know the root of her problems.

Even so, the other party did not take any further action.

Instead, they tacitly approved of and even indulged in it throughout the year, especially during last year's Cultural Festival when they spent a long time in a dormitory with only the two of them. Anyone with a brain knows what they were doing there.

Therefore, she suspected that the other party was knowingly committing the crime.

To put it even more maliciously, he might still be enjoying his sister's current situation, mistaking this emotion that has deviated from the bounds of common sense for a special love that is uniquely his only one, and perhaps even feeling smug about being pursued by such an outstanding and beautiful girl.

Just thinking about it made Tsubaki Sakurako feel a little angry, and she kept repeating "Terrible, terrible, really terrible" to herself.

In short, if that's really the case, then she must expose the other person's true colors to her sister.

As for the truth of the matter, if it's not what she imagined...

Then I can become a VIP spectator and enjoy the show.

No, it should be the "sister-in-law" section in the relatives' section.

After all, she had long wanted to know about her older sister's past; this question had intrigued her for seven or eight years, even ten.

Okay, that's decided.

I'll head straight to the second grade area after school starts tomorrow!

"Well, that's roughly the situation. The other side didn't even choose me to join their camp, so... I guess I'm powerless to change that?"

Although quite some time has passed, Nanase Tsubasa still occasionally thinks about what happened after she participated in the ANHS Cultural Festival last year.

Just as the reason for going there was that she was asked by her friend Matsuo Eiichiro and his father to do something she didn't understand at all, Nanase Tsubasa still couldn't figure out what the final result was trying to express after returning home.

Of course, she would never know that Ayanokoji Kiyotaka didn't choose her simply because he felt that girls were too insecure in front of Kitagawa Ryo —a reason rife with flaws.

However, the good news for Nanase Tsubasa herself is that although the beginning, process, and ending were all confusing, it seems that she has fulfilled her friend's request, and the other party has indeed accepted her explanation, so the matter is now closed.

Perhaps feeling that he had been morally manipulated and used in this matter, the other person left without saying goodbye a month later and transferred to another school. After all, after such an incident, the two of them really couldn't be friends like before.

Who could blame her when the other person started off with that terrifying line, "Please save my father, I'll do anything"? Even though Nanase Tsubasa didn't reply with something like, "You can shoulder other people's lives, but you only think about yourself," they really couldn't continue being friends. After all, she was only sixteen, in the prime of her youth. Things involving life and death were just too frightening, not something a girl her age should be thinking about.

I never expected to receive an acceptance letter from Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

Lying on the hotel bed, Nanase Tsubasa rolled over with some difficulty and picked up her phone. The large obstruction caused all sorts of annoyances that Arisu could never experience; there was really no way around it.

The electronic version of the admission notice clearly stated that she had been assigned to Class 1-A.

Class A...

Although she doesn't have as much understanding of ANHS as Xue, who has been competing with the ANHS Faction in simulations for over a decade, Nanase Tsubasa White Room Faction experience ANHS campus life firsthand through last year's Cultural Festival and even entered the ANHS campus once. She vaguely understands that the four classes A, B, C, and D there are not simply letter codes, but rather evaluations of overall qualities.

But it seems quite normal that she was assigned to the top-ranked Class A?

After all, in the past sixteen years of her life, Nanase Tsubasa has always been a model student who excels in academics, sports, and moral character, and has never caused any serious incidents. It seems that unless she deliberately gives up in the Written Exam and interview, she will not fall into another class.

Private Points, Class Points, Special Exam...

Perhaps because she was about to start school the next day, Nanase Tsubasa's mind was once again filled with the glimpse she had gleaned about this well-known high school in the country at the ANHS Cultural Festival last year.

The factional battle between Ayanokoji Kiyotaka and Kitagawa Ryo; successfully expelling the opposing leader grants 20 million Private Points; it's a special mission awarded by the school to only a select few students...

If you were to ask about the first impression of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, you would definitely think of its 100% college entrance rate and employment rate. However, according to the school's specific explanation, this is actually a privilege that only students graduating from Class A can enjoy. The Twenty Million Personal Points awarded for this special mission are a ticket to Class A that you hold in your own hands.

Nanase Tsubasa gradually pieced together the information she had at hand to outline what she should do after starting school the next day.

The first priority should indeed be to protect one's own identity while trying to find students from the opposing camp, even if they are assigned to the same class as oneself, one must still be wary of them.

Then, try to establish contact with Kitagawa-senpai in a reasonable way.

Come to think of it, the other person seems to have founded some kind of club on campus.

Is this Baking Club?

All I remember is how incredibly delicious their desserts were; even after half a year, I still can't forget them.

Unconsciously, she smacked her lips twice more. Before being completely overwhelmed by the fantasy of sweets, the last bit of rationality helped Nanase Tsubasa recall the real answer to the question.

It should be the drama club, right? After all, Kitagawa-senpai himself is a well-known theater Actor.

Then we can just go and ask when the club is recruiting new members.

I hope they offer afternoon tea there.

This is much more attractive than Twenty Million Personal Points.

The enticing aroma of black tea and desserts, the gentle care from senior members of the club towards their juniors, and working together to bring glory to the club's hall of honor—this is what high school life should be like, right?

Like Chihaya, who had just fled London overnight to pursue her dream of becoming a guitarist and vocalist, Nanase Tsubasa made a similar wish on her last day before enrolling in Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School.

Chapter Two: Pure White Like Snow and Crimson Like Blood

April 1st, Class 2-A.

After a short spring break of only one week, Class B, who had moved up to the second grade, was promoted to Class A due to the End-of-Year Special Exam last month, and moved to a new teaching floor and classroom.

Today is the first day of school, but there are no classes. The opening ceremony will be held in the Gymnasium when the time comes.

The next part of the process involves listening to the class teacher explain the year's itinerary and necessary matters for about two hours, and then the class is dismissed in the morning, which may even give people a leisurely feeling that the holiday is not over yet.

A new school year and a new semester naturally bring new atmosphere. Although most students are unaware that during the spring break, the Chairman of ANHS was changed back from Sakayanagi Narimori to Tsukishiro, the visible changes are still palpable.

The original blackboards have been completely digitized and replaced with whiteboards for easier teaching. Paper textbooks have also been replaced with tablets. Each student is provided with a personal tablet free of charge, which includes a complete set of textbooks and learning materials. However, this is only provided by the school for students to use in class and is only allowed to be used in the classroom. It is forbidden to take it back to the dormitory.

Meanwhile, online remote teaching has been incorporated into the daily learning schedule this year. Seemingly in order to keep up with the trend of internationalization, many foreign teachers have been added to the list of teachers this year to teach foreign languages such as English, and the teaching method is online.

Unlike Tsukishiro, who was simply pushed into the limelight, Sakayanagi Narimori was quite serious and responsible when it came to his family's business and the education career he had dedicated his life to.

Besides these major changes, and I don't know whose suggestion it was, this year they also introduced a system that allows you to use Private Points to determine your preferred seat. As a result, Kitagawa Ryo, who was sitting in the back by the window, was suddenly surrounded by Karuizawa Kei and Ichinose Honami, and felt twice as much pressure as when he was sitting next to Suzune.

As for this spring break, which wasn't particularly long or short, Kitagawa Ryo didn't do anything special. He just demonstrated his time management skills much like he did on the cruise ship, spending time having fun with everyone.

You know what, the timing was exactly one week. He's definitely experienced and a veteran in this area.

"Suzune messaged me yesterday saying that the rules the Student Council received from the school this year seem to be different from previous years."

There are advantages to sitting together. While their Hoshinomiya Chie, was still away leading them to the Gymnasium for the opening ceremony, Kitagawa Ryo casually chatted with Karuizawa Kei Ichinose Honami.

"Because first- First Year students don't know basic information about ANHS, such as Class Points and rankings, in previous years ANHS strictly prohibited older students who knew this information from intentionally or unintentionally spoiling it. This matter was usually handled by the Student Council, but this year seems to be different."

Kitagawa Ryo carefully chose his words and continued:

"The statement is rather vague, or rather, rather loose?"

"So, does that mean we're allowed to spoil the plot for the First Year students?"

"No, it should be said that many of this year's First Year students had already been spoiled, and this happened in all four classes."

After Kitagawa Ryo's explanation, Ichinose Honami nodded in agreement.

"It seems that many of this year's freshmen participated in last year's Cultural Festival, and then there's the matter between Ryo and Ayanokoji. Putting aside everything else, they definitely know the basics like Class Points and class promotion."

"That's right, so the school naturally doesn't need to restrict us upperclassmen from intentionally or unintentionally spoiling the plot. But on the other hand, this should make this year's First Year the most proactive group in history."

Because of Japan's almost deeply ingrained senior-junior concept, coupled with the ANHS School's ban on talking during the first month, ANHS freshmen generally don't start interacting with their seniors until the second month after the start of the semester, which coincides with the Midterm Exam. If they can get in touch with the upperclassmen in advance, they can easily obtain the strategies for passing the exams. ANHS School's strategy was clearly well-planned.

However, this approach is completely inapplicable this year.

"But if it really turns out like Liang said, how can we guarantee the class assignments for classes A, B, C, and D? After all, everyone's Class Points are currently at the initial 1,000 points, so it's very possible that after the first month, the original Class D might become Class C."

"Then the school can just announce that this is the first Special Exam they've prepared for the freshmen. Besides, Honami, have you forgotten what happened when we first enrolled? Some things can't be prevented just by knowing them. Didn't Class D up with a zero Class Points? At least in the first month of school, there's a significant difference in the quality of the students. One student with bad character can easily ruin the efforts of several others."

"... Too."

"Well, so I don't think the situation Honami mentioned is likely to happen. The division of classes into four groups (A, B, C, and D) might result in one person being unusual, but the overall quality is indeed ranked from highest to lowest, and this overall quality is the subject of the first month."

At this point, Kitagawa Ryo added another sentence:

"Of course, if some of the lower-ranked classes can have a situation like Ryuen, where everyone is forcibly controlled and disciplined to prevent violations, it's not entirely impossible to achieve a turnaround in the first month. At the very least, they can still retain more Class Points."

"The classes at the back... Oh right, which class did those girls Liang used to know get assigned to?"

Faced with the question from Ichinose Honami, who, although asked together, was actually only truly concerned about Yuki, Kitagawa Ryo simply shook his head:

"It's not clear yet, but we should be able to see it when we go to the Gymnasium for the opening ceremony later."

After saying that, Kitagawa Ryo turned to Karuizawa Kei, who was sitting next to him at the same table, and said:

"By the way, since the club's recruitment starts tomorrow, I'd appreciate it if Hui could go to the Student Council this noon to pick up the tables, chairs, and other things we need. We'll need to go to the Gymnasium this afternoon to set up the venue."

"I know, Suzune told me about it yesterday. It seems she assigned us one of the best spots, so I think we should be able to recruit some good prospects?"

As the vice-president of the Drama Club who diligently runs the club, Karuizawa Kei is quite looking forward to this recruitment drive:

"Will Ryo come tomorrow? Or can I and Honami take charge?"

"We'll see. I'll definitely go check it out if I have time."

Although Ichinose Honami had told him a long time ago that she wanted to be in charge of recruiting new members for the Drama Club, Kitagawa Ryo felt that if she really let her do it, the result would probably be zero new members. So in the end, he chose to have Karuizawa Kei join as well.

Unfortunately, if we're talking about who has the worst impression of ANHS right now, Sakayanagi Arisu would probably have to temporarily rank behind Ichinose Honami. After all, the former has a genuine friendship of over ten years, and while they are rivals in love, they are on the surface but still have a decent relationship. But Ichinose Honami is different. The day of the Cultural Festival really left her with a very bad memory, and as a result, Yuki, whom she had almost never met, also had a very bad first impression of her.

The three chatted for a while, and it was almost time. As their homeroom Hoshinomiya Chie, strolled into the classroom, she announced that everyone could head to the Gymnasium for the opening ceremony. The students of Class A lined up and marched neatly toward the Gymnasium.

The four second-grade classes arrived almost simultaneously and entered in order of A, B, C, and D, led by their homeroom teachers. The third-grade students were the first to arrive and had already lined up inside the venue.

After waiting for a while, accompanied by a very clear commotion, the First Year students, whose formation was noticeably looser, walked in. The curious freshmen looked around at their surroundings with either excitement or nervousness, and they all looked full of energy.

Because the First Year and second grade teams are adjacent, and Class 2-A is on the far left of the four classes, the class on the far right of the First Year is Class 1-D.

Kitagawa Ryo glanced around briefly and easily spotted the long-unseen figure in the crowd.

Yuki looked particularly fresh in her Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School uniform. Perhaps it was due to the influence of years spent in White Room, or perhaps it was simply a personal preference, but she had always preferred pure white or a clean, pinkish-white color like cherry blossoms, and her everyday clothes naturally reflected this style.

However, ANHS's school uniform is designed with bright red as the main color, which, when worn by Xue, gives her an air of sternness and unapproachability.

Of course, Kitagawa Ryo's feeling was also largely due to the other party's current complexion and expression.

With her hands casually in her school trouser pockets, her hair loose, and her school uniform jacket zipped up, Xue blended in surprisingly well with the obviously uneven Class D. She exuded a certain aura that stood out in the crowd, attracting curious glances from many second-year students. A few even recognized her as the girl who had made quite a splash at school with Kitagawa Ryo during last year's Cultural Festival.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo was casting his gaze toward Kitagawa Ryo, Ichinose Honami, who was standing next to him, also immediately paid close attention.

You know what, the snow now really does fit the image she imagined.

But in the next instant, the situation changed again.

Seemingly sensing Kitagawa Ryo's gaze, or perhaps because she herself was also looking for him, their eyes met in mid-air after a brief few seconds.

To be honest, even without her sister's interruption last night, Yuki wasn't confident she could put on that "I'm angry, I'm unhappy, I'm going to throw a tantrum, so come and coax me" act in front of Kitagawa Ryo. After all, even when she was truly in a state of near despair, she didn't follow that approach when she saw Kitagawa Ryo again.

Although Kitagawa Ryo himself would jokingly say that this was probably the will of a certain Karuizawa who was so skilled in this area that she ended up getting herself into trouble, the essence was that there was simply no fertile ground or premise for this kind of thing to happen in their complicated relationship.

Unlike Amasawa Ichika, who used Kitagawa Ryo's experience Cloth Mother for a considerable period of time, Yuki genuinely lived as Kitagawa Ryo for a long time. Although it later strangely evolved into a more complex conjugate relationship, the influence of this aspect still exists.

Just as parents who are overworked will still smile naturally when they open the door to see their children who have come to pick them up, she simply couldn't maintain that unpleasant expression in the face of Kitagawa Ryo's genuine smile.

Rather, if the Matoba weren't so inappropriate, she would have wanted to shout at the top of her lungs, wave wildly, run and hug, kiss passionately, and so on.

But at this moment, all these surging emotions could only be transformed into a brief smile. Xue unconsciously stopped in her tracks, raised the corners of her mouth at Kitagawa Ryo, and stood there smiling at only him.

She was the only child in the White Room experiment who could smile.

Much later, Xue learned that that was the key reason she was chosen.

Is it a blessing or a curse to retain such rich emotions in such a place?

For a long time, Xue couldn't figure out this problem, nor could she give herself a satisfactory answer.

During that life simulation, her Ayanokoji Kiyotaka once asked her why she laughed. Her answer at the time was that she didn't know, she just laughed unconsciously. However, this involuntary feeling was particularly strong and natural when she was next to Ryo.

Looking back now, perhaps she had already answered Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's question back then?

But my question still remains unanswered.

If we really had to give a definition...

It could be considered both unfortunate and fortunate.