Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 587

“…” Gazing at the photograph, Jun Matsue quickly noticed the large characters written on the paper below, and he blinked.

"Songzhi's three years have begun →"

Below is a small signature – “Imokawa Natsumi”.

Both lines were handwritten by the girl herself; the crooked strokes were rounded and exuded a cute charm.

The boy looked up again, and Natsumi Imokawa stopped lying on the table and instead looked at him while resting her cheeks on her hands.

"Keep going, keep going~" the girl urged with a smile.

Looking down and turning the pages, Jun Matsue expected scenes of his life after joining the newspaper club, but the second page contained three photos—

The campus avenue was bustling with people and lush with greenery during the first year of club recruitment.

He was sitting upright at the conference table in the news department, writing.

And a group photo of all the members of that year's news department.

The boy looked up again, "Was Imokawa secretly taking pictures of me back then?"

The second photo shows the scene of his initial interview with the news department. At that time, he was writing a draft on the spot based on the materials in the department office and did not pay attention to whether there was a camera next to him.

“…That’s not called taking pictures secretly!” Natsumi Imokawa replied, holding a hot chocolate and craning her neck.

"Back then, Tsushima-senpai was testing me too. He told me to start taking photos now, no matter the occasion or theme, I could take whatever I wanted—"

"I took a picture of the pine branch that was being used for the written test!"

"..." Jun Matsueda couldn't help but smile, then looked down at the photo again.

The group photo of the press department was taken at the conference table, where he and Imokawa were sitting face to face.

Facing the camera, the boy turned around with a natural posture and a sunny smile, while the girl half-covered herself, looking reserved and expressionless. They seemed like completely different people.

He thought he had officially met the girl after that awkward witnessing incident, but he didn't expect that Imokawa had been paying attention to him all along.

With great interest, Jun Matsueda continued flipping through the pages and soon came across familiar scenes of brass band training and the summer festival by the Tama River...

However, he is the main subject in all these photos; the other photos seem to be footnotes to that period of time.

The sunlight slanting down the window and the musical instruments on the table, the river illuminated by fireworks and the shimmering shadows of cicadas on the tree trunks.

After flipping through a few more pages, Jun Matsue suddenly realized something—he looked at the album's unchanging thickness and looked up with a particularly surprised expression.

"Is this entire book covered in stickers by Imokawa?"

“Of course.” Natsumi Imokawa licked the chocolate from the corner of her lips and nodded casually.

"Actually, there are many more that I haven't posted yet. They are all photos and videos that I picked out from my inventory. They are a selection."

The boy flipped through a few pages and saw himself lying on the lawn by Lake Hakone, basking in the sun, and him laughing freely as he passed through the corridor during the cultural festival.

"There are videos too?"

"Yes, as for the videos, I picked out a few frames from each one and printed them out!"

"..." Jun Matsue stopped turning the page.

Although he knew this was a habitual hobby of the girl, a deep and overwhelming emotion welled up in his heart.

The boy had no choice but to pick up the cup, lower his head, and take a sip to hide his emotion.

—Sitting across from me is Natsumi Imokawa, perhaps the person in the world who has recorded the most about his life.

Jun Matsue closed the photo album beside him, and his smile as he looked at the girl was exceptionally gentle and sincere.

"...I don't think I can finish reading it in a short time."

"It's okay." Natsumi Imokawa waved her hand.

"This is a gift for Songzhi. You can take your time to look at it when you get home."

“I didn’t expect…Imokawa’s gift to be so valuable.”

The boy's voice was not as clear and steady as usual, but rather hoarse and emotionally volatile.

He was referring not only to the enormous amount of work involved, but more importantly, to the girl's heartfelt sentiment.

Jun Matsue thought he would receive a photo album full of handsome pictures, but what Imokawa gave him was a real three years of time.

"Is it very valuable?" Natsumi Imokawa blinked blankly, then finally revealed a clear and innocent smile of joy.

"As long as the pine branch is happy~"

This is her, wholeheartedly devoted.

Chapter 818 Natsumi Imokawa's Side Quest

Setting aside the thick photo album for the time being, Jun Matsue composed himself and tilted his head back to drink the last sip of hot chocolate.

Natsumi Imokawa watched him put down his cup—the boy was completely unaware that his eyes were like a lake with ripples, and it would take some time for them to calm down.

The girl suddenly laughed, quietly raising the corners of her lips to reveal a childlike, innocent smile.

"...Why are you suddenly laughing like that?" Jun Matsueda blinked.

“It’s nothing—” Natsumi Imokawa shook her head cheerfully, her black hair cascading down her shoulders.

The girl felt extremely satisfied, just like when she passed the entrance exam for Tokyo University of the Arts, having achieved a major goal—

Even the usually composed pine branches can no longer hide their emotions because of her!

Seeing the joyful look on Imokawa's face, Matsueda Jun didn't say anything, but just stroked the cover of the photo album in his hand and pursed his lips with a smile.

When Natsumi Imokawa quickly came to her senses, she met the boy's silent gaze and blinked in confusion.

"What does this pine branch mean? Do you want another gift?" The girl recalled their previous conversation.

"I only prepared a photo album..." She reached into the canvas bag beside her.

"I also have a bag of milk drinks that I bought on the way. Can I give it to them as a gift?"

“…No need.” Jun Matsue chuckled softly.

"I suddenly felt that my gift was not presentable, and I was a little embarrassed." He reached into the pocket of his coat.

"I didn't expect Imokawa to put in so much effort. I just picked out some things at the mall that I thought you would like."

Natsumi Imokawa's eyes lit up immediately—

"So, Songzhi also prepared a gift for me?!"

"What are you saying?" The boy glanced at her, picked up his gift, and leaned against the edge of the table.

"Isn't the point of Christmas gifts to be exchanged?"

"Mmm!" The girl nodded happily. "So what gift did the pine branch give me?"

"..." Jun Matsue rested his right hand on the table, raised it up—

As if by magic, he suddenly turned his hand, revealing a small gift box held in his palm by his thumb.

"Ta-da~"

Even though the album was much smaller than the one she had given him, Natsumi Imokawa didn't show any disappointment. Instead, she opened her eyes wide in surprise and leaned over to look at the boy.

"What's this!"

"Imokawa, open it yourself and see." Matsueda Jun tossed the small gift box aside, letting it slide towards her across the table.

"Although it's just a gift I bought with money, I think Imokawa will like it."

The girl had already picked up the gift box with great interest and started unwrapping the ribbon.

The outer striped Christmas wrapping paper quickly fell off, revealing a yellow box inside with the word "Kodak" written on it—Natsumi Imokawa looked up, her eyes sparkling with surprise.

"Oh, it's this! Kodak's new mini camera blind box!"

She said excitedly, "I wanted to buy it as soon as it was released a few days ago!"

"But when I asked the owner of the equipment store near my home, she didn't have any channels for it, and I didn't want to make a trip to a big shopping mall alone..."

The girl held the packaging box high in the light, her hands gripping it.

"I never expected that this would be the gift Songzhi gave me!"

The boy laughed and said, "I'm glad you like it."

"So it was only recently released. No wonder there were so many people gathered around its counter in the mall at the time."

"Hmm!" Natsumi Imokawa didn't immediately open the packaging, but instead browsed the text on it with great interest.

"Six standard designs plus one hidden version, supports video recording, offers seven filters and four frames, paying homage to the 1987 Kodak Fling 35..."

She looked up at the boy, her eyes sparkling, "It's even more interesting than I thought!"

"That's good." Jun Matsue nodded in satisfaction.

With Imokawa's excellent example before him, he was actually quite worried about whether the gift he chose would be able to arouse the girl's interest.

The boy watched as Imokawa Natsumi licked her lips and opened the box. "By the way, which style does Imokawa want? The hidden one?"

The girl stopped what she was doing, glanced at the packaging, tilted her head cutely, and looked at him thoughtfully.

"Is the hidden version supposed to have a transparent case? I feel like it would get dirty easily if I used it a lot."

“Indeed.” The boy nodded in agreement. “I’ve never seen Imokawa with a white camera.”

“Hmm…” Natsumi Imokawa pinched the mini camera in the box. She didn’t pull it out immediately, but instead glanced at the designs on the packaging.

"They all look great—the red and white one is very stylish, the black one with the rainbow pattern is beautiful, and the yellow one is the most classic Kodak design..."

"Should I buy a few more?" Jun Matsue glanced at his phone. "Except for the one-in-forty-eight chance of getting the hidden one, the others shouldn't be too hard to get."

"That would be such a waste!" The girl shook her head.

She kept her two fingers pinched inside the box, closed her eyes and thought for a while, then quickly came up with an answer.

“Yellow, I guess!” Natsumi Imokawa looked up, shook her head, and gestured to the boy to her sunflower bangs clipped to the side of her hair.

"Kodak yellow is the most classic color, and my mom says yellow suits me, so I also prefer yellow!"

The boy glanced at her pale yellow knitted sweater, which was bulging and trembling on the table.

"...Imokawa is indeed very suitable for yellow."

"Right!" The girl smiled sweetly, then pulled out a mini camera from the cardboard box—

She held it up to her eyes with delight, exclaiming, "It's the yellow one!"

The long, rectangular camera body has a bright yellow background with a long arrow pattern made of red and blue on the front. It is only two fingers wide and one index finger long in the hand, truly deserving of the name "mini".

"It's so small..." Natsumi Imokawa held her camera, using it to shield the boy's face.

"Wow, that's amazing! Can it really take pictures?"

Matsueda Jun laughed, "Why don't you give it a try and see?"

Just in case, he had opened and looked at the box before giving it to her—it was because he had confirmed the design of the blind box and knew Imokawa's preferences that he took the initiative to ask questions and guide her anticipation.

There was no other way; he hadn't put much thought into the gift, so he had to resort to this little trick...

"Now?" The girl turned to look at the store manager changing records in the distance. "I think taking photos isn't allowed in the store?"

"Staging photos and uploading them online are not allowed." The boy winked at her with his right eye. "Would Imokawa do that?"

Natsumi Imokawa shook her head, and then she blinked.

"Then I want to take a picture with the pine branch!"

"..." Following the girl's gaze, Jun Matsueda glanced at the empty seat next to him.

Logically speaking, the boy should not agree to such an obviously too intimate distance.

But having just received such a touching gift from Imokawa, he found it difficult to follow his own reason—

So he nodded without hesitation and moved his body further into the seat.

"Then let's take the picture. I'm also very curious about what the result will be."

“Okay—” Natsumi Imokawa immediately slammed her hand on the table and stood up.

The sound seemed a bit loud, because the silver-haired old woman standing in the distance looked over. She hurriedly nodded and apologized, then quickly walked over and sat down next to the boy.

"Wow..." the girl exclaimed, sounding even more genuine than when she first received the new camera.