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We study quasar proximity zones in a simulation that includes aself-consistent quasar formation model and realistic IGM environments. Thequasar host halo is $10^{13}\ M_{\mathrm{\odot}}$ at $z=6$, more massive thantypical halos studied in previous work. Between $6<z<7.5$, the quasarluminosity varies rapidly, with a mean magnitude of $M_{UV,mean}=-24.8$ and thefluctuation reaching up to two orders of magnitude. Using this light curve topost-process the dense environment around the quasar, we find that theproximity zone size ($R_{p}$) ranges between $0.5-5$ pMpc. We show that thelight curve variability causes a similar degree of scatter in $R_{p}$ as doesthe density fluctuation, both of which result in a standard deviation of $\sim0.3$ pMpc). The $R_{p}$ traces the light curve fluctuations closely but with atime delay of $\sim 10^4\ \mathrm{yr}$, breaking the correspondence between the$R_{p}$ and the contemporaneous $M_{UV}$. This also indicates that we can onlyinfer quasar activity within the past $\sim 10^4$ years instead of theintegrated lifetime from $R_{p}$ in the later part of cosmic reionization.Compared with the variable light curve, a constant light curve underestimatesthe $R_{p}$ by 13% at the dim end ($M_{UV}\sim -23.5$), and overestimates the$R_{p}$ by 30% at the bright end ($M_{UV}\sim -26$). By calculating the $R_{p}$generated by a number of quasars, we show that variable light curves predict awider $R_{p}$ distribution than lightbulb models, and readily explain theextremely small $R_{p}$ values that have been observed.

Modeling Quasar Proximity Zones in a Realistic Cosmological Environment with a Self-consistent Light Curve