Chapter 109: It’s All Yuko’s Fault!
Is it over? Minami Yuuki was astonished.
Although the simulation text had been hinting at something bad, he hadn't expected it to end so quickly.
I only chose one option!
Is this simulation life so harsh that one choice leads directly to a Bad End?
He looked at the summary screen.
[Summary of This Session]
[Score: 29]
[Stage: Pursuit Period]
[Comments: Your feelings remained at the level of friendship and vague affection. Your interactions were too bland, and you failed to experience love from each other.]
[Outcome: You gained a small amount of learning experience.]
Not enough emotion?
Minami Yuuki sighed, leaning his head against the armrest of the sofa and resting on his bent arm.
Outside the window, the sky was growing dark, and the smell of hamburger meat wafted from the kitchen.
He recalled the simulation life—his interactions with Nakajima Reina had indeed been very dull.
Nakajima Reina was always lying in the hospital bed; they had never even left the hospital building.
Their only movie setting was the hospital ward.
Their conversations never sparked any real emotion.
Such interactions naturally couldn't produce any heart-throbbing feelings, let alone play the music of love from those thrills.
How can I make a romantic relationship develop?
Minami Yuuki wondered.
He thought again about the options in the simulation.
<1. How can I get my father-in-law to agree our plans?>
<2. Let's act without my father-in-law's knowledge.>
<3. Nao, Yuko, and Kazumi are also nice.>
It's not yet clear whether these three options are all good choices, but it's certain that option one, involving Nakajima Yohei to approach Nakajima Reina, was a bad choice.
The difference between option two and option one is whether to contact Nakajima Yohei or not.
Nakajima Yohei seems like a negative element, but his relationship with his daughter looks quite good.
Maybe the issue isn't Nakajima Yohei himself but rather the influence he brings? What about Ibuki Yuko? If Minami Yuuki doesn't choose to contact his father-in-law, he wouldn't need to introduce Ibuki Honoka and Nakajima Yohei to each other. Ibuki Yuko has already been healed through dreams and doesn't need further consideration.
If Nakajima Yohei hadn't married Honoka, Ibuki Yuko wouldn't be Nakajima Reina's sister and wouldn't have any reason to be in the hospital. Thus, the doll-like girl wouldn't have intervened between him and Nakajima Reina.
In the simulation, Minami Yuuki is unsure what Ibuki Yuko said to Nakajima Reina, making Reina willingly become her supporting role.
Since Nakajima Reina has positioned herself as a supporting role, love becomes difficult to develop.
Minami Yuuki suspects that Ibuki Yuko is disrupting his relationship with Nakajima Reina.
Of course, it's not the doll-like girl's fault; rather, her proactive and highly motivated nature only makes Minami Yuuki more attracted to her.
Compared to Ibuki Yuko, Asano Nao seems much more passive, and in this simulation, her role is even less significant than Chitose Kazumi's.
Turning his head, Minami Yuuki looked at Asano Nao, who was serving the dishes.
Noticing his gaze, Nao instinctively shrank her white neck and timidly turned away.
If it were Ibuki Yuko, she would have followed his gaze and moved closer, pressing against him.
"Nao-nee, if you continue like this, I might end up leaning towards Yuko-senpai," Minami Yuuki mused inwardly.
A gust of wind suddenly blew outside, lifting the curtains and revealing the previously hidden view of the road.
When the wind stopped, the curtains quickly fell, and the road scene was concealed again.
In the swaying of the curtains, Minami Yuuki caught sight of a familiar figure.
It was Ibuki Yuko.
The doll-like girl, noticing the curtain flutter, hurriedly hid behind a streetlamp.
"..."
Forget what I said before—compared to the somewhat intimidatingly proactive Ibuki Yuko, the timidly shrinking Asano Nao, who only dares to peek outside from the safety of the house, is far more reassuring.
"Time for dinner, Yuuki-kun," Asano Nao said, bringing over the rice.
Minami Yuuki got up from the sofa, and Asano Nao helped pull out his chair for him to sit.
He ignored the figure of Ibuki Yuko outside.
The girl was like a ghost from legends; once invited in, she could come and go freely.
Minami Yuuki did not want his final refuge invaded.
"Yuuki-kun, are you feeling unwell?" Asano Nao asked.
"Why do you say that?" Minami Yuuki asked, picking up a piece of hamburger meat. It was neither burnt nor undercooked, perfectly done.
"Because you were lying on the sofa sighing."
Upon hearing Asano Nao's words, Minami Yuuki's chopsticks paused. After the simulation ended, he did sigh over the failure, but he only glanced toward the kitchen while sighing. Asano Nao had her back to him at the time and shouldn't have seen his face; he didn't make any noticeable noise.
Under his gaze, Asano Nao looked a bit flustered. She first lowered her head to avoid eye contact and then changed the subject.
"What would you like to eat tomorrow?" she asked.
Minami Yuuki didn't answer. He set down his chopsticks and looked around the living room—the TV cabinet, bookshelf, table, and walls.
He removed a small object, about the size of a Bluetooth earbud case, from the curtains directly facing the sofa. It was a sports camera, blending in perfectly with the curtain's color and nearly impossible to spot.
"What's this?" he asked, placing the camera in front of Asano Nao.
"I don't know," Asano Nao said, turning her face away nervously.
"You don't know what's in your own house!" Minami Yuuki pinched her cheek.
The touch under his fingers was soft and elastic. He applied a bit of force, and the owner of the cheek let out a whimper.
"I thought you'd become normal lately, but it turns out you've just upgraded your equipment! Next time, will you be using a pinhole camera?"
"You can't buy that online."
"You actually went looking for it!"
Minami Yuuki continued to pinch Asano Nao's cheeks, causing her body to sway back and forth with her head.
When she leaned forward, her high white T-shirt pressed against the edge of the table, forming a noticeable curve. When she leaned back, it snapped back into place.
Minami Yuuki was soon fascinated by this physical phenomenon.
When he came to his senses, Asano Nao's face was flushed with a pink hue, and her gaze was evasive. She had noticed Minami Yuuki's stare.
Releasing her cheeks, Minami Yuuki picked up his bowl and quickly shoveled rice mixed with hamburger meat into his mouth.
Neither of them spoke, and even Minami Yuuki felt a bit awkward at this moment.
Not far outside the window, Ibuki Yuko put down her binoculars.
The girl looked down at her feet, which were fully visible, with no obstructions in her line of sight.
She had lost decisively.
She tapped the nearby utility pole, raised her binoculars, and continued to observe the Asano household.
After finishing dinner in silence, Minami Yuuki and Asano Nao tidied up the table together.
Asano Nao, bending over, tried hard to conceal the two culprits who had made the atmosphere awkward. Her attempt at covering up only made Minami Yuuki more concerned.
Once everything was cleaned up, Minami Yuuki lay back down on the living room sofa.
Time to continue the simulation!