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[You have entered the plot branch point and will be judged based on the pre-plot]

[Branch 1: Choose to answer Shiina Hiyori's video call. This branch leads to the ending - White Rose, which unlocks the plot CG "Zhong Wuyan"]

[Branch 2: Refusing to answer Shiina Hiyori's video call, this branch leads to the ending - red rose, which can unlock the plot CG "Blood Red"]

[Prerequisites for the plot have been met: Megumi Karuizawa meets Suzune Horikita alone, Ryo Kitagawa meets Emi Eura alone]

[Determine the player to enter branch one]

[The plot CG has been triggered: Zhong Wuyan]

[Zhong Wuyan: We know each other so well, no wonder they are destined to be like a brother and sister. ]

[Do you want to read this plot CG? (This may be helpful for your next game process)]

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Kitagawa Ryo chose to accept Shiina Hiyori's video call invitation, perhaps because he wanted to avoid facing the fact of Karuizawa Megumi, or perhaps he simply wanted to see Hiyori after a long absence. After a brief hesitation, Kitagawa Ryo pressed his finger on the green button of consent.

The next moment, each other's faces appeared on the screens of the two people simultaneously. Hiyori Shiina seemed to be sitting at the desk in her room, smiling softly and saying hello to Ryo Kitagawa on the other side of the screen:

"Long time no see, Beichuan-kun."

It had been nearly two weeks since they had seen each other. According to the frequency of the two of them getting together to study together twice a week, it was indeed a relatively long time.

"Long time no see Hiyori."

Kitagawa Ryo also responded with a smile. No matter what his mood was just now, he must maintain a peaceful and focused attitude in front of Ms. Shiina Hiyori. This is one of the lessons Kitagawa Ryo has learned in the past six months.

Shiina Hiyori is a smart girl who looks natural but is unexpectedly smart in many places.

"Did you just wake up?"

Thinking that it was still morning in London, Kitagawa Ryo subconsciously asked this question.

"Yeah, but it's been a while. I've already washed up and had breakfast."

Hiyori Shiina said with a smile. She also used in-ear headphones. The black headphone cable was a little conspicuous between her silver hair.

Kitagawa Ryo likes to see Hiyori smile. Even if the two of them meet on the screen half a world apart, he seems to be able to feel the peaceful atmosphere, which is the same as Horikita Suzune's arrogance and Karui's. There is a relaxed atmosphere that is different from Zehui's timidity.

"The last time Hiyori sent me a message, he said he had finished reading "Eight Million Ways to Die"?"

That was the text message Kitagawa Ryo received on the first day he came to Tokyo. Although it was a bit embarrassing to mention it again after two full days, Hiyori Shiina wouldn't care. After all, she would get excited when talking about books.

This detective novel is one of the masterpieces of Lawrence Block, the master of American detective novels and a representative of contemporary hard-boiled detective novels. It tells the story of the protagonist Matthew tracking down the murders of missing women that have occurred one after another in New York City.

"yes."

As expected, Hiyori Shiina narrowed her eyes with a smile. She stretched out her hand and pulled out this book from the bookshelf nearby. Because she had the habit of organizing books, she often moved when she found the book she wanted. Shockingly fast.

"I finished watching it two days ago."

Shiina Hiyori opened the title page of the book, where there was a sentence written in pale gold handwriting:

[The death of a beautiful woman is, without a doubt, the most poetic subject in the world. ——Edgar Allan Poe. ]

"What do Hiyori think of this sentence?"

As fans of detective novels, the two of them were naturally familiar with the famous name of Edgar Allan Poe, but Ryo Kitagawa inexplicably thought of Megumi Karuizawa. To be precise, it was her scar.

"Actually, I think death is just a metaphor. It's probably a state of being oppressed, but death is just the most prominent form of expression."

"The tragic and poignant death of a poor girl. Literary works all over the world like to create this fascinating tragedy, just like Shakespeare described the death of the heroine Ophelia in the play "Hamlet", specifically for She decided to die in a sea of ​​flowers, which is the same reason."

Shiina Hiyori quickly got into the rhythm of the discussion as usual.

"But death sometimes seems too bloody. Most writers don't die just to let the heroines die. They will cleverly control it within a just right range. They will be violated, bullied, isolated, and abandoned. In short, Put the heroines in this position first."

"...Yeah?"

Kitagawa Ryo nodded slowly, feeling like he was about to fall asleep, he quickly echoed Hiyori Shiina:

"So the victims in this novel also left suicide notes like this:"

"No one is willing to spend a fortune on me, no one is willing to marry me, no one is willing to save my life. I am tired of smiling, I am tired of running, the good times are gone."

"Well, that's the description."

Hiyori Shiina also nodded slightly, and her hair swayed slightly with this movement.

"I remember that when I just finished reading this book, I once said to Hiyori, 'If there are eight million ways for the citizens of New York to die, then there should be eight million ways for the citizens of Tokyo to die. There are only six and a half million ways to die'."

"Because Kitagawa-kun said that half of people will die in the same way, committing suicide."

"...Yes, they are all suicides."

Kitagawa Ryo also sighed:

"There are various reasons for suicide, and from children to the elderly, it seems that everyone has a reason to commit suicide, and it seems that everyone is really likely to commit suicide tomorrow."

"But in reality, there are no detectives or unnatural death research institutes, and people don't care whether the child committed suicide because of domestic violence or was bullied at school. If he dies, he will die, and there will be no revenge. , conveys nothing."

"I feel like Beichuan-kun is not in a good mood today...Did something happen?"

Kitagawa Ryo soon saw a worried inquiry coming from Shiina Hiyori on the other end. She was holding the headphone cord tightly on her chest, as if she was holding his hand through the screen.

"Maybe, but it has nothing to do with Hiyori."

"Is it something related to Karuizawa Megumi?"

After a long absence, Shiina Hiyori mentioned this name. She has always been a very smart girl. Generally speaking, Kitagawa Ryo would never mention her first before she took the initiative to speak, but today she made an exception.

"Yes...and no."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded and shook his head.

"Can you tell me?"

Shiina Hiyori spoke without hesitation, worry gleaming in her purple pupils.

"but--!"

"but..."

The former sentence was a brief denial from Kitagawa Ryo, and the latter sentence was a gentle interruption from Shiina Hiyori.

"But maybe it's a relationship like this that makes it appropriate to say something."

"It's like chatting with netizens. Anyway, I'm in the UK now, and I don't know Megumi Karuizawa. I won't get involved in your relationship with her, so even if I know some things, I won't. What impact does it have?"

"For me, I just heard a story that had nothing to do with me."

"For you, you can also think of it as talking to it."

Shiina Hiyori pulled out a white ragdoll cat doll from somewhere. She held the two front paws of the white cat in front of her and waved it towards Kitagawa Ryo:

"Meow."

She said so cutely.

"..."

Kitagawa Ryo didn't know what to say, but he really needed someone to talk to.

He is not some omnipotent bottomless tree hole who can swallow up all negative emotions and leave no emotion behind.

It's just that Kitagawa Ryo didn't know where to start. It would be easier if he just simply discussed the facts that happened now, but this matter was also a seed planted in the past few years, and finally grew out after a long dormant period. The negative consequences, and if we continue to follow this, I don't know how long it will take.

So Kitagawa Ryo asked first:

"Hiyori, do you have anything else important to do today?"

"Before Kitagawa-kun finishes speaking, this is the most important thing to me."

Shiina Hiyori poked her face away from the ragdoll cat doll.

"Okay, let's start with how Hui and I got to know each other..."

Kitagawa Ryo's full of emotion overflowed, and then the rest of his words came out like a flood.

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When Shiina Hiyori noticed it, Kitagawa Ryo on the other end had already made a steady snort.

It was an expression of great peace, as if the possessed evil spirit had disappeared.

This is the only moment when the layers of masks are removed.

After finishing everything intermittently, Kitagawa Ryo fell asleep.

Considering the various shocks he had received in the past few days and the fact that he had not slept well last night, after he confided everything and let go of his guard in an instant, the fatigue that surged from his bones suddenly overwhelmed him.

No matter how Kitagawa Ryo behaves like an all-powerful childhood sweetheart, the person sleeping in front of Shiina Hiyori is just an underage boy.

Shiina Hiyori gently stretched out her hand, as if she wanted to touch Kitagawa Ryo's face through the screen.

It's really light, like a caress.

But it is very heavy, injecting all thoughts.

Come to think of it, this is the first time.

Shiina Hiyori sighed helplessly for the first time.

There is no doubt that Kitagawa Ryo is an outstanding man. Among his peers, he is the highest class both in appearance and inwardness. Even in this short period of time together, Shiina Hiyori can still make a difference. Such judgment.

But it was because of this that his relationship with Karuizawa Megumi became like this.

Kitagawa Ryo was still sleeping there quietly. The square window cut out a square sky above his head, as blue as crystal.

Hiyori Shiina closed her eyes quietly and gently adjusted her breathing to the same rhythm as the boy.

That's all she can do.

"Sweet dreams, Ryo."

ps: This simulation is coming to an end. The last CG is taken from Xie Anqi's song "Zhong Wuyan". It is a very nice song. If you have never heard it, you can listen to it.

ps2: I'm a little stuck today, plus I have homework (those who join the group should know what I've been busy with recently), so the update is a bit slow.

ps3: Thank you to all readers for reading and subscribing. The easter egg in this chapter is the change of title of Shiina Hiyori. Interested readers can look up the last phone call with Shiina Hiyori, which also has a change of title.

The Lies of Autumn by Megumi Karuizawa: Chapter 22: A Rainy Night for Two People

When Kitagawa Ryo woke up, it was already close to half past six. He vaguely realized that the video was still on. When he rubbed his eyes and looked at it again, Shiina Hiyori opposite him suddenly looked like a frightened little kid. Like a rabbit, he turned off the video, leaving only an empty call record showing that the call time was three hours and forty-nine minutes.

"Sorry, I fell asleep just now."

Kitagawa Ryo sent this message. Although it was not particularly comfortable to sleep on the table and there was a big mark on his face, he felt much better after getting enough sleep. He stood up. Stretched.

"It's okay, I was asleep just now too."

Shiina Hiyori also responded to the message. I don't know if it was because of some too private topics they talked about before. They both seemed to need some time to calm down and digest, so they had a tacit understanding and did not send any further messages, and jointly ended the conversation. A conversation.

A bloody sunset was slowly sinking among the high-rise buildings in Tokyo. Kitagawa Ryo walked out of the box and walked towards the street under the sunset. He didn't walk fast, but as time passed, his back was still moving slowly. The spot became smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared in the fire-like sunset glow.

After Kitagawa Ryo returned to the hotel, he was about to go upstairs to his room when he was suddenly stopped by the front desk. Because he had stayed in this hotel for several days, the front desk here recognized him. When he saw him with his head down, he went to Walking in the elevator, he said hurriedly:

"Mr. Kitagawa, here is your... one cat."

Perhaps it was the first time I received such a strange mail, and the tone at the front desk was a little weird, but I still honestly took out a cardboard box. It turned out to be "Hotaro" inside. As soon as I saw Kitagawa Ryo, I rushed towards him. However, he was quite nimble in his movements. He flew all the way through the decorations on the front desk without touching a single leaf. He managed to avoid knocking over a vase or a potted plant, and happily jumped into Kitagawa Ryo's arms.

Kitagawa Ryo couldn't help but look at the little guy's big watery eyes. He stretched out his right hand to touch its head and stepped forward to take the paper box:

"Trouble."

He turned his eyes around the box and asked hesitantly:

"Any words or notes left behind?"

"Oh, the lady said that her family was going out for a dinner tonight, and since it might get late, she was a little worried about leaving it alone at home. She said that if she could make it tomorrow morning or tonight, she would come and pick it up. "

"...Yeah?"

Kitagawa Ryo nodded, then took the elevator back to his room with Hotaru and the cardboard box in his arms.

As soon as she entered the room, Hotaru playfully jumped from Kitagawa Ryo's arms to the bedside table, and then jumped onto the soft quilt on the bed. She spread her four legs in a very ungraceful manner and rolled around.

Kitagawa Ryo was too lazy to care about what Yingying was doing. He walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, looked at the ingredients inside and started thinking about dinner.

If you are in a bad mood, have a good meal. This is something Kitagawa Ryo understood when he was very young.

Seeing a bag of prepared shrimps, Kitagawa Ryo reached out and took it out, deciding to make himself a meal of shrimp dumplings tonight.

The basic ingredients in the kitchen are basically all available. I dug out the flour and starch from the cupboard, added salt, mixed well, stirred with boiling water, threw it directly into the pot, covered it and simmered it for five minutes, during which time I found some side dishes. , serious shrimp dumplings usually use bamboo shoots, but unfortunately I didn't see any shredded dried bamboo shoots, so Beichuan Liangbi could only take the corn kernels and fry them in the pot before putting them on a plate.