Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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"I don't care how things are arranged after Songzhi moves out, I just need my own place—"

"It belongs only to me, Songzhi, and my aunt."

After a moment's thought, Jun Matsue agreed.

"No problem, I'll go with you then."

He could understand Mochizuki's pride and reserve—at worst, he could just work harder and run back and forth.

“There’s more,” Mochizuki Haruka continued, pressing down on his thigh.

"When you look at the house, whether it's the bedroom or the room next door, I want to have everything they have, and I won't be missing anything."

The boy smiled and wiped the remaining sunset glow from his face.

"Isn't that a given?"

The agency's van and the Mochizuki family's sedan were going in opposite directions. Kurusu Yosei sat in the back seat humming a song, leaning against the girl holding a camera beside him.

"How was the filming, Natsumi-chan?"

"It should look good." Natsumi Imokawa hugged the camera to her chest. "But the film needs to be developed, so we can't see the finished product right away."

The girl smiled and gave a thumbs up, "It's okay, I believe in Natsumi-chan!"

"Why didn't Yang Shi wait until Songzhi left before taking off his mask?" the manager, who was driving, asked helplessly.

"We'll probably see rumors of you being intimate with men tomorrow."

Miss Idol met her gaze in the rearview mirror, her face showing an expectant smile.

"Anyway, the rumors can't be confirmed, so let them spread."

“Um…” Natsumi Imokawa, who was sitting next to him, couldn’t help but speak up.

"Hmm?" Yosei Kurusu turned his head.

"I'm a little curious, what does Yang Shisang think about the pine branch?"

The girl smiled again.

She clenched her fist. "What else can I think? I'm going to take him down right now!"

"...Take him down immediately?"

"Yes, we must get the pine branches before the New Year!"

Natsumi Imokawa blinked and looked ahead at the red glow burning in the distance on the horizon.

Isn't that only one month?

Chapter 790 Rumored Boyfriend and Taking the Initiative

Jun Matsueda visited the set of the bonus music video again two days later, after school.

The film crew is shooting at Inokashira Park this afternoon, which is only a few minutes away by train for the boy. Since he had checked out the film crew's location beforehand, the young lady of the Mochizuki family is too lazy to follow him this time.

After leaving the station, I walked along the tree-lined riverside path for a while. It was late autumn, and the deserted path stretched along the shallow river, with the wind licking the treetops, making me instinctively shrink my neck.

Until the idol who came to greet him stepped onto the small bridge and raised her right hand to wave joyfully and exaggeratedly—the gray of autumn in Matsuoka Jun's eyes seemed to brighten up a bit.

"The pine branches came so fast!" Behind Kurusu Yosei was the widening water surface, reflecting the half-open sky.

Why didn't you come when I called you yesterday?

The girl wore a loose, thick, pure white sweatshirt as an outer layer, paired with black corduroy casual pants and a pair of brown sneakers—it seems that today's couple actors were dressed in a relaxed, everyday style.

“Because I don’t have time…” Jun Matsue walked up to her with his schoolbag. “I also have to study after school, so how could I come to visit every day?”

Yosei Kurusu snorted and put his arm around his shoulder.

"So you call it studying? Isn't it just that your date has changed from Mochizuki to Yuuka-chan?"

"I'm studying seriously, okay?" The boy shrugged, stopping the idol from putting her arm around him, and followed her across the small bridge to continue forward.

"..." He quickly realized something, "Why aren't you wearing a mask?"

"There aren't many people in the park," the girl said matter-of-factly, giving him a wink.

"Besides, there's nothing shameful about me shooting music videos. If I get caught, I'll just sign an autograph."

Jun Matsueda glanced at her. "But aren't you walking with me now?"

“Then steal their phones—” Kurusu Yosei struck a fierce pose, his sneakers making a light, clattering sound on the road.

"We can't be photographed together as evidence~"

"...When did we get together?"

"Haven't there been rumors and photos circulating?" the girl replied with a grin. "It's a pity I can't tell it's Matsue."

The boy looked ahead and saw people holding up light boards on the lawn by the pool—they were probably members of the film crew.

"You're not worried at all."

"What are you worried about?" Miss Idol nudged his shoulder.

"I'm a singer now, so nobody can tell me what to do when I'm dating!"

"That's the theory..." Jun Matsueda didn't continue, as the entire film crew appeared before his eyes.

Compared to the last time we filmed on the Ginkgo Avenue, there were more people at Inokashira Park this time—in addition to a few staff members in charge of lighting, there were also the familiar couple actors, equipment assistants, and Ms. Kurusu's manager.

Stepping onto the lawn, the soft rustling sound accompanies their footsteps. The young boy and girl first greeted their manager, who was standing a little further away.

“Matsueda-kun, you’ve come at the perfect time.” Ms. Tachibana put down her phone and pointed to the bench by the river.

"We're filming a kissing scene right now."

"Huh?" Kurusu Yosei looked on with great interest. She grabbed the shoulder of the boy next to her, stood on tiptoe, and craned her neck to look over.

"I want to see!"

She wasn't disappointed; the couple on the bench embraced and kissed in front of the shimmering water.

Although they were a little far away and could only see their close-up profiles and the way they were embracing, Miss Idol still nodded in satisfaction.

"Is this the scene you were filming—?"

"Hold me tight right now~ Tell me that as long as I'm here, you don't need anything else~"

"Then kiss my lips~"

The girl hummed a couple of lines softly, her light and melancholic voice drifting past Jun Matsuoka's ears.

"Natsumi-chan's photos are very accurate—although they're different from what I imagined, I feel like her photos would be even better~"

The boy looked at the girl holding a camera on the lawn from behind.

"That's why she was able to become a director."

“Cut!” Natsumi Imokawa stood up.

The girl's voice was soft and slightly husky; although it lacked authority, it still drew everyone's attention.

"This one was pretty good. Let's take a break and do it again from a different angle later."

The couple on the bench breathed a sigh of relief and started talking to the lighting technician. The quiet poolside became a little noisier. Imokawa Natsumi turned around and met the gaze of the boy who was observing her.

"The pine branch is here!"

The girl placed the camera on a stand and handed it to the assistant for safekeeping, then walked quickly toward them.

Jun Matsue smiled. "I came over today because I'm closer to you all."

Mats were laid out on the lawn nearby, where staff members' water cups, props, and other miscellaneous items were placed. The boys and girls sat in a triangle, watching their manager, who was making a phone call not far away.

“Speaking of which—” Kurusu Yosei looked at the photographer girl holding the water glass.

"Since Matsue wants to study, is it alright for Natsumi-chan to take time off every few days to film?"

"Hmm." Natsumi Imokawa, who was drinking hot water, made an unintelligible sound with her mouth puffed out.

“Imokawa was selected through the Tokyo University of the Arts entrance exam, right?” Jun Matsueda explained for her. “She didn’t have much pressure; she only needed to pass the common exam.”

"Besides, we're almost done filming here." The girl put down her water glass.

"It should be basically finished before December, and there's still a month until the common exam."

"So filming will be finished this week?" The boy blinked. "So soon?"

"Mmm." Natsumi Imokawa naturally handed him the water glass. "Would you like some, Matsue?"

The boy waved his hand to indicate that he didn't need it, and only then did she continue speaking.

"Because the music video is only a few minutes long, we'll be done shooting a few scenes this week."

"I only need to provide the footage and the corresponding editing ideas. The post-production compositing and editing are all handled by the team, so it's relatively easy."

"I see..." Jun Matsue looked at the staff walking back and forth in the distance, who were looking for a new lighting location.

"It feels like Imokawa is about to become like your father, a director who sits behind the monitor on set, giving orders through a megaphone—it's a bit hard to imagine..."

The girl chuckled, "I can't imagine it either. I'm still a long way from being like my dad!"

"Um, cough umm—"

A deliberately affected cough suddenly rang out on the picnic mat.

Jun Matsueda turned his head—the idol was pouting and staring at him, clearly feeling dissatisfied because she was being "ignored".

Has Kurusu been becoming more proactive lately?

Thinking this, the boy moved on to the next topic.

"I wanted to ask this last time: why do we have to dress like the actors when taking photos in Kurusu? Is there some kind of design behind it?"

“This is what Yoshi-san and I discussed…” Imokawa Natsumi looked to her side and handed the conversation over to Yoshi-san.

Yosei Kurusu proudly made a "V" sign, saying, "Look, the music videos are all about the lyrics."

"Hmm, so what?"

"If I wear the same clothes as the actress, wouldn't it be as if these scenes were all imagined by 'me'?"

"In the music video, 'I' am singing, and behind me are sweet or sad moments between 'me' and the person I love. Wouldn't that make it more relatable for the audience?"

Jun Matsue nodded in agreement, "That is indeed a very good idea."

Natsumi Imokawa continued, hugging her legs, "Director Shirakawa even asked me if I wanted to imitate the third act of 'White Line Flow' and blur the faces of the couples in the background in post-production."

“This would allow the audience to immerse themselves in the story more effectively, but Yang Shisang disagreed. I think she makes a better point.”

"What does Kurusu say?" The boy turned his head to the side again.

"What if the audience thinks I'm the one kissing?"

The idol answered with a smile, and Jun Matsueda immediately expressed his support.

"Kurasu is right, there is indeed no need to blur faces."

Right? That's how the girl answered with her eyes.

"Moreover, if the audience observes carefully, they will find that the people in these scenes are not 'me'—because these are not real events, but just fantasies of 'me' when I leave my beloved."

"Doesn't this better fit the meaning of the lyrics?"

"This design is so cruel..." Natsumi Imokawa muttered under her breath.

"Whether it's sadness or happiness, so many unforgettable moments are just fantasies at the moment of departure. It's so heartbreaking..."

"Anyway, this is the 'me' in the song, it has nothing to do with the real me~" Yosei Kurusu said in a carefree manner.

“Blame the pine branch!” she winked playfully at the boy.

"Who told him to write such a heartbreaking song!"

The girls all turned to look at him, while Jun Matsue turned to look at the bench by the pond, with an expression of an innocent passerby.

After all, he originally wrote this song with the intention of softening the hearts of Kurusu and the other girls as much as possible...

The boy's gaze flickered—even out of the camera's view, the couple on the bench were still leaning against each other, talking intimately with their heads down.

"Are the actors you cast also a couple in real life?" he asked, turning around.

“Of course,” Natsumi Imokawa answered without hesitation.