After her father left, Nakajima Reina, with the help of a nurse, lay down.
Though it wasn't yet the designated sleep time and she wasn't sleepy, she still had the nurse turn off the overhead light.
A bright light went out, and a few dim night lights turned on; darkness would never fully occupy this room.
In this twilight, she recalled the life snippets her father had just shared about the boy named Minami Yuuki.
These snippets were like pieces of a puzzle.
Over the past month, she had collected countless such pieces.
Every night, in this dim light, she would pick up these shining puzzle pieces, play with them in her mind, and piece together an image of the boy.
As she held each piece in her hand, her mind conjured images of the boy yawning, strolling, daydreaming in class, and talking to girls.
With each new piece, his image became more vivid and brought her more joy.
Her favorite piece was the scene where the boy tried to skip class by feigning illness, only to be caught by her father.
The boy she cared most about and the father she cared most about in real life combined to create a lively, youthful comedy that always made her smile.
She had replayed this scene in her mind countless times, having the boy perform in different styles. Besides this, she also favored scenes of him on his way to school, talking to girls, and yawning.
In the "On the Way to School" scene, she often used wide shots, frequently changing the background of the boy's stroll to include landscapes from her own memory.
In the "Talking to Girls" scene, she used close-ups, ignoring the girls' appearances and focusing the camera on the boy's upper body, observing his actions and expressions.
In the "Yawning" scene, she used extreme close-ups, either closely examining the boy's slowly opening mouth or admiring the sparkle in his curved eyes and the corners of his eyes.
She had given Minami Yuuki another name—the boy of the spring days.
The first puzzle piece came in April, which was springtime, when the cherry blossoms bloomed, and the weather was neither too cold nor too hot, just perfect.
Closing her eyes, she cherished the boy pieced together in her heart and fell asleep.
She dreamt that the boy, who existed only in her heart, suddenly one day split open her heart like Athena emerging from Zeus's head, jumping out of her chest as a real, living person.
Waking up from the dream, she found it amusing.
The boy of the spring days was already a real, living person!
At this moment, this real, living boy was entertaining a girl who had come to his home.
Minami Yuuki looked at Ibuki Yuko in front of him. The girl was petite, her face expressionless, just as before.
But before, she would never have come to his house!
"Here," Ibuki Yuko said, handing him a paper bag. Inside the bag were numerous paper cranes. Minami Yuuki took it.
[You have received a heartfelt gift from Ibuki Yuko.]
[Simulation attempts +3]
Three attempts added. Minami Yuuki's heart skipped a beat, sensing something amiss.
His guess last night was right!
The number of simulation attempts depended on the recipient's feelings.
Asano Nao's first batch of paper cranes also added three attempts, meaning Yuko's feelings were as strong as the somewhat obsessive Asano Nao's!
Under normal circumstances, Yuko shouldn't have such a high level of affection!
This meant the current situation was definitely abnormal. That mysterious reward indeed sent a dream movie to both him and the girl!
Could he retrieve the reward? Could it be returned?
Though he hadn't done anything in reality, Yuuki felt guilty as if he were being a playboy.
Thankfully, he quickly got used to it. What had happened had happened; there was no point in fretting. He would take it one step at a time.
Putting away the paper cranes, Minami Yuuki looked at the girl in front of him. "Thank you, Senpai. I'm currently collecting paper cranes."
"Do you need more?" Yuko asked.
"Not for now," Yuuki replied.
"Okay." Yuko nodded and stood up.
Minami Yuuki thought she was about to leave and got up to see her off, but instead of heading to the entrance, Ibuki Yuko walked toward his bed. She grabbed the messy blanket and folded it into a neat square.
"The bed is too messy," she explained.
She then picked up a broom from the corner of the room. "The floor has some dust."
Opening the closet by the bed, she said, "Your clothes are a bit disorganized."
She leaned over the edge of the bed, saying, "If you leave your comics here, they'll get dusty."
Finally, holding a handheld game console and a cartridge, she said, "This game can be played by two people."
Yuuki found himself retreating in the face of her fierce onslaught.
Despite Asano Nao receiving the dream movie, she had remained almost unchanged.
Why had Ibuki Yuko become so formidable?
After playing a couple of games with her, Yuuki realized this couldn't go on. The sky was getting darker, and who knew what excuse Yuko would come up with next, or what she would do?
Faced with such a proactive girl, he was finding it hard to maintain his composure.
"Sorry, Senpai, but I have an appointment with someone," Yuuki said, putting down the game controller.
"Can you cancel it?" Yuko asked, bending her legs beneath her skirt, revealing her slender, pale thighs.
This overly suggestive pose, combined with her expressionless face, created a pure yet tempting allure.
How are you so practiced at this? How many times did you rehearse in the dream movie?
Yuuki, with great effort, averted his gaze. "It's hard to cancel."
"Can I come with you then?" She leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse of his lowered face.
"I'm afraid that wouldn't be convenient," Yuuki said firmly.
"Then, can we at least have dinner together?" she persisted.
"I'm eating with friends."
After refusing all of Yuko's requests, Yuuki finally left the apartment.
Yuko stood by the hallway, peering over the low wall, watching him exit the building. As expected, he headed towards Asano's house.
Although Asano Nao wasn't a threat, her presence was troublesome. If Yuuki kept having dinner at her place, Yuko would never get to dine with him.
She listed Asano Nao as enemy number one and reflected on the recent rejection.
Though she had successfully tempted Yuuki, he still turned her down. Was she moving too fast? Did Yuuki actually prefer more conservative girls?
Yuko recalled being very cold to Yuuki at first in the dream, which probably fit the bill for being conservative.
Maybe it was better to follow the dream's plot and approach Yuuki after summer vacation. Her small head was filled with big worries.
Contrary to her distress, Yuuki felt relief when he reached Asano's house. Lying on the living room sofa and sipping the orange juice Nao handed him, his racing heart finally calmed down.
Yuko's aggressive tactics were overwhelming; it was more comfortable to stay in the company of the unassuming Nao.
With some time left before dinner, it was perfect for a simulation!
He wouldn't claim the final mysterious reward this time, ensuring the simulation subjects wouldn't receive the dream movie.
Through his conversation with Nakajima Yohei last night, Yuuki had confirmed that Nakajima Reina was indeed his daughter!
That cunning teacher had lied, saying Reina was an elderly woman. That was impossible; an old woman couldn't be a simulation target.
Such a deceitful lie revealed Yohei's guilt, confirming Yuuki's suspicion.
Now that he had confirmed Reina's identity, finding out which hospital she was in would be simple.
The rest he would leave to his simulated self.
Simulation, start!