Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 568

Tomatsu responded with a friendly smile.

"Doesn't Mochizuki-san care?"

The girl turned her head away dismissively and took a sip of coffee.

"Whether there are one more or a few more, it makes no difference to me."

She swallowed the words she hadn't spoken, along with the warm rice ball—

As long as Songzhi's love for me remains unchanged, that's enough.

Pushing open the door to the newsroom, Jun Matsueda and the girl sitting at the computer desk looked at each other.

Natsumi Imokawa held a mouse in one hand and a hamburger she bought from the convenience store in the other. On the table was a 500ml bottle of pure milk, which echoed the milk stains on her lips.

"So Imokawa's already here." The boy walked over to her and casually pulled up a chair. "I was wondering why I didn't see you in Class 5."

However, it seemed that Imokawa did not welcome his arrival.

The girl pressed her upper body against the boy's, blocking his view, and frantically moved the mouse to hide the original interface on the computer desktop, as if she were covering up some crime scene.

The room was heated, and she leaned closer in her tightly knitted vest, forcing Jun Matsueda to move away.

"...What are you doing?"

He recalled the time he caught Imokawa watching "adult films" at the news department.

Natsumi Imokawa turned her head to look at the window, and only after confirming that the window had been minimized did she relax and straighten up.

She swallowed the food in her mouth—seemingly feeling a bit dry—the girl picked up her milk, tilted her head back, and took a big gulp.

"..." The boy looked at her heaving chest, and Imokawa's movements were bold. He could even hear faint gulping sounds of her swallowing.

"It's good that I didn't see the pine branch—" The girl put down the cardboard box with a sigh of relief and licked the milk stains from the corner of her lips.

I'm preparing a Christmas present for you.

"Is it the photo we talked about before?" Jun Matsue quickly remembered.

He looked at the screen; all he saw was a desktop background with blue sky and white clouds.

"Hmm!" Even though it was just a tabletop, Natsumi Imokawa still guiltily used her hamburger to block his view.

"Because I took a lot of photos, I can't print them all out. Some of them need to be edited... I was just doing the selection process."

The boy frowned. "So that's why you didn't go to the cafeteria at noon today?"

The previous Imokawa, like him and Sakamuro, would go to the cafeteria to eat even on windy days.

"Didn't I say before that I didn't want you to spend too much—"

"No!" Natsumi Imokawa suddenly brought her face close to his.

Her face turned slightly red, as if she was about to interrupt the boy.

"I didn't skip the cafeteria because I was preparing a gift for Songzhi; I just cooked something in my spare time!"

Seeing that Songzhi's expression seemed unconvinced, the girl put down the hamburger in her hand.

"It's really windy outside today, I don't want my hair to be messed up..."

As she spoke, she smoothed her side hair, which was adorned with a sunflower hair clip.

"So I didn't go to the cafeteria..."

Jun Matsue blinked; that was a pretty good reason.

When he encounters Imokawa in the hallway now, the girl often looks down to straighten her bangs, or adjusts her coat and skirt.

"You seem to be paying more attention to your appearance lately?"

"Because I wanted Songzhi to think it looked good!"

"Imokawa Natsumi said in a matter-of-fact tone."

"My mom has been teaching me how to take care of my hair lately. I even styled it with a flat iron today. It would be such a waste if the wind just messed it up and the pine branches didn't see it!"

"..." Matsueda Jun then took a closer look at the girl in front of him—

Imokawa's hair does look more fluffy and smooth. Her hair used to be a bit rough and messy, but it matched her girlish, edgy vibe better.

And she did indeed style her hair; her shoulder-length black hair was light and neat, with visible layers, making her look refreshing and sweet—it seems she learned a lot from her mother who faces the TV camera every day.

"So, what do you think, Songzhi? Does it look good?"

Natsumi Imokawa turned her head, the golden sunflower on her hair clip swaying with her black hair, looking energetic and cute.

“…It’s not bad.” Jun Matsue pushed her back to her original position.

"However, I think Iokawa's original natural hairstyle was also quite good."

"Then I'll show you the polished version first today~" the girl replied with a smile, "I'll show you the all-natural hairstyle later when I get lazy~"

“Why don’t you eat your lunch first…” Jun Matsueda pushed her chair back to the table. “The hamburger will get cold soon.”

Natsumi Imokawa then remembered the hamburger she hadn't finished eating. The room fell silent again, with only the whirring of the air conditioner and the computer running.

"So you didn't stay up all night preparing this Christmas present, did you?" the boy asked abruptly.

"No!" The girl puffed out her cheeks, hurriedly swallowed the hamburger, and then took a big gulp of milk.

"I have been going to bed a bit later lately, but I'm preparing for exams!"

"...That's fine then." Matsueda Jun was finally relieved.

"So how's it going in Imogawa's class lately? Are people still making sarcastic remarks about you?"

"I don't know." Natsumi Imokawa shook her head.

"I'm still doing it the way Matsueda told me, and I haven't been paying attention to Chie and the others..."

"But it seems there aren't any left?" she thought, chewing on her hamburger.

"Everyone is preparing for the final exams lately, so there's not much activity in the classroom even after class."

The boy relaxed his body and slumped back in the chair, looking up at the ceiling.

"Then we can declare the crisis completely over."

After all, the exams will be over in a couple of days and then there will be a holiday. After the holiday, there will be a common exam in a week. Even if they wanted to cause trouble for Imokawa, they wouldn't have time.

“Oh…” Natsumi Imokawa licked her lips, her expression not particularly happy.

Now that the crisis is over, Songzhi won't be asking her about the situation so often anymore...

Jun Matsue didn't notice the girl's unusual dejection; he took out his vibrating phone from his pocket.

It was a message from Yamami Maki—except for the two days she had a fever and a cold, her daily updates had been almost constant.

"Classes only last until noon today, and Kokoro said she'd treat me to lunch~"

The girl sent a photo, a selfie of her and Kuroba Shin walking down the street—the senior's smile was still bright and gentle, while the girl next to her, half a head shorter than her, turned her face away, her pouting lips looking rather unhappy.

Matsueda Jun did not reply immediately, but instead resumed his sitting posture and looked at the girl who had finished lunch.

"If Imokawa continues to work, shouldn't I avoid him for a while?"

"..." Natsumi Imokawa frowned. The boy's words had put her in a difficult situation.

"Then let's not do it for now!" The girl quickly made up her mind.

Anyway, the holiday is in a couple of days, and her pine branch photo collection won't be finished so quickly, so there's no rush to prepare!

"Shall we go get some ice cream?" the boy suggested.

Perhaps because he always felt hot when he was with Imokawa, he quite liked the feeling of having an ice cream on a winter afternoon.

"Okay!" Natsumi Imokawa tilted her head back and drank the last mouthful of milk.

"Pine Branch, wait for me to turn off the computer!"

So Jun Matsue took out his phone again and opened the chat window.

The senior student sent another message—she knew that boys wouldn't always reply.

"Time flies... In the blink of an eye, Christmas decorations are already being put up on the streets."

It's Christmas again, the boy thought, pursing his lips.

Regardless of whether the senior's words implied or were expectant, his Christmas celebration could no longer accommodate more people.

Jun Matsue tapped on the keyboard and sent a calm reply—the girl's topic quickly returned to today's lunch.

However... the boy looked up and saw Natsumi Imokawa operating the computer, with a file copying interface appearing on the screen.

He recalled what his aunt had said during afternoon tea at Wangyue's house—

"Is Xiao Moji still living outside?"

"It's almost the end of the year, and the Yamami family still hasn't called her back?"

Christmas is over, and the New Year is just around the corner.

Whether it was his aunt's doubts or the answer to Jun Matsuoka's own hidden worries—

After school in the afternoon, he received a message from Ikuka Yamami.

"Matsueda-kun, are you free lately?"

"I'd like to talk to you about Moji."

Chapter 804 Talk about the Senior

The next day, Friday, after school.

Seemingly trying to cram before the final exams, the third-year students left the classroom a little slower than usual, forcing Jun Matsueda to stand up and call out to them.

"We need to tidy up the exam room today. If you plan to continue studying, please move to the study room."

"Also, remember to clean up your seat before you leave, so that it will be easier for us students to clean up."

"it is good--"

The students echoed each other, carrying their uniform bags or books as they left the classroom. Mochizuki Haruka stretched, basking in the golden sunlight streaming through the window, and looked at the boy beside her.

The students in charge of the cleaning approached their class monitor and vice-monitor—after assigning tasks, they rode off on brooms and waved rags to disperse.

The girl then picked up her bag and walked gracefully toward Jun Matsuoka.

"I'm not waiting for you today?"

"Mm." The boy turned around and nodded to her.

"It will take a little more time to set up the exam room today, so Wangyue should go back first."

Mochizuki glanced at the girl behind him with a gentle smile, then stepped out the back door.

"Remember not to come back too late, I'll be waiting for you for dinner."

After watching her leave the classroom, Jun Matsue and Yuka Tomatsu in front of him stared at each other for a while.

The girl blinked cutely, then lifted the bucket of water that was placed between the two of them, making a clattering sound.

"Why are you looking at me, Jun-kun? It's time to clean up!"

Turn off the air conditioner temporarily, open the doors and windows for ventilation, sweep and mop the floor, wipe the blackboard, and arrange the desks...

Half an hour later, Jun Matsue, carrying his uniform bag, closed the door and walked out of the classroom with the girl beside him—the cleaning crew had just entered the stairwell, and the sound of their laughter still lingered in the corridor.

"Let's go, I'll take Youhua to the station."

"Thank you for your help, Jun-kun~" Tomatsu Yuka said sweetly, taking his arm.

After leaving their bicycles at school, the boys and girls walked towards the bus stop. The sunlight at four o'clock was particularly dim and warm, casting a golden glow on their school uniforms.

The two chatted about finals and holidays the whole way, until Jun Matsueda saw the girl off at the station—

Along the long advertising boards on both sides of the passageway, there was a couple sitting on a bench, dressed in a style that evoked a wintery atmosphere and was common on the streets of Tokyo.

"Tomorrow's me will date yesterday's you..." Tomatsu Yuka stood in front of the advertisement and read out the movie title above their heads.

She looked at the boy as "Happy End" played.

"The ads are all here now!"

"After all, the response has been very enthusiastic." Jun Matsueda stared at the long advertising board.