Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 550

“That’s what I think too.” Jun Matsueda led her by the hand and walked her through the edge of the crowd, just like the couple in the music video.

"Should we bring back some souvenirs for Auntie?"

"No need." Mochizuki Haruka shook her head.

“I was just casually asking my aunt if she wanted to come, Songzhi, don’t worry about her.”

The boy laughed again, "Don't let her hear you say that."

The girl pouted, "Even if she had time, she wouldn't be willing to come see you."

The two quickly returned to the middle of the avenue, where the familiar prop cart reappeared. However, besides the equipment assistant, there was another familiar figure beside Natsumi Imokawa.

"Is that the actress who just played your love interest?" Mochizuki Haruka narrowed her eyes slightly. "Isn't the male actor here?"

“It’s not her.” Jun Matsue led her closer by the hand. “Although they are dressed the same, their height and build are clearly not the same person.”

The girl sized up the figure in front of her—tall and slender, with a graceful and upright posture.

However, this guy seemed to be talking to someone, waving his phone and swaying his hips slightly, his lively movements ruining his dignified demeanor.

"..." Mochizuki Haruka pursed her lips; she already knew who this was.

When the two approached from behind, the idol girl, who was chatting with Natsumi Imokawa, turned around and immediately revealed a delighted expression.

"The pine branches are here—"

"Isn't it because you kept sending messages urging me?" Jun Matsueda waved her hand, and also greeted Natsumi Imokawa behind her.

"Filming in Imogawa is finished?"

"Finished filming!" The girl, sipping her coffee milk, looked relaxed and licked the white stains from the corner of her lips.

"The other actors are already preparing to go to the next location."

"Then why did Kurusu come all this way?" Mochizuki Haruka, holding her boyfriend's hand, glared at the girl in front of her.

"..." Kurusu Yosei wore a mask, revealing only a pair of bright eyes full of smiles.

She deliberately moved a little closer to the boy, "Of course, it's to meet Songzhi."

Mochizuki Haruka immediately grabbed the arm of the person next to her, "Matsue is mine now!"

"I don't know what you're in such a hurry for." She pretended to be nonchalant, but to others she looked more like a cat guarding its food.

"It's not like we won't see each other again once we're home!"

"I heard the ginkgo trees here are beautiful, so I'd like to go see them with Songzhi~" the idol girl replied with a smile, seemingly not intending to back down in front of the girl asserting her dominance.

"..." Mochizuki Haruka glanced up with her dark, beautiful eyes, looking disdainful as she spoke, and simply shook the arm of the boy in her arms.

Jun Matsue smiled at the girl in front of him. "Kurusu didn't just come here to take a look, did she? Otherwise, there would be no need for her to dress like the actors from before."

Yosei Kurusu stretched out his little hand and snapped his fingers in front of him.

"Pine branch is so clever!"

“We need to take a few photos of Yang Shi-san at each location.” After adjusting the camera settings, Imokawa Natsumi walked over to the three of them.

"It's the photo-related merchandise from the bonus album that I mentioned before—so Yang Shi-san is here to be a model. After the shoot, we can move on to the next location."

"I see." Jun Matsueda looked at the assistant lady who was packing up the equipment behind him.

"So now we just need to pack our things and wait for the right opportunity? I'll help out too."

Mochizuki Haruka released the boy's arm and watched him step forward and pick up the tripod with the stabilizer in one hand—the equipment assistant next to her opened his mouth in surprise.

"So you're not coming back tonight?" Her gaze flickered toward the girl beside her.

"Come back a little later." Yosei Kurusu looked up at the sky, which was gradually turning the leaves red.

"But I'll be back for dinner, remember to save mine, okay?"

The young lady, arms crossed, scoffed, "Who wants to save any for you!"

So the idol turned her head without hesitation and looked at the boy under the tree who was helping to pack up the equipment.

"Songzhi, I'll be back late tonight. Remember to save some dinner for me, okay?"

Without looking up, Jun Matsue replied, "I understand."

Yosuke Kurusu turned around and looked at the girl, raising his eyebrows smugly.

Mochizuki Haruka turned her face away disdainfully and walked to a spot closer to the boy.

A few minutes later, Jun Matsue watched as his assistant pushed the equipment cart away, leaving only him, Imokawa, and Kurusu under the ginkgo tree. A strange gray van pulled up in a roadside parking space, and the manager, wearing sunglasses, rolled down the window and waved.

Are you getting ready to take a picture?

“Hmm.” Natsumi Imokawa glanced at the orange-red hues filling the sky, picked up her camera, and took two steps back.

"Let me double-check the lighting and angle. Does Yang Shisang need to get in the car to touch up her makeup?"

"Then I'll get on the bus and take a look~" Kurusu Yosei said, but did not move immediately. Instead, she nudged the boy next to her on the shoulder.

"Mochizuki is leaving already?"

“She went back to the car to wait for me.” Jun Matsue raised his hand to shield his face from the fiery red afterglow of the setting sun.

"After all, Mochizuki doesn't really like crowded places."

"Oh?" Miss Idol's tone became more varied. "Is she so trusting of you now?"

"Or do you really not consider me and Natsumi-chan as rivals?"

Natsumi Imokawa, who was staring at the camera screen, looked over, blinked, and then turned her head back.

"...She's just become more open-minded," the boy said gently.

"Really?" Yosuke Kurusu smiled mischievously, his eyes crinkling, and walked towards the van.

"I didn't see that coming!"

Watching her nimbly slip into the car, Jun Matsueda turned around and met the gaze of the girl holding the camera.

"what happened?"

"I'm wondering if I should take a picture of the pine branch first." Natsumi Imokawa waved the camera in her hand.

"Like this?" The boy raised his hand and made a "V" sign.

“…So silly!” The girl laughed and pointed to the front of her.

"I mean, I'll take a picture of the spot where Yang Shisang will be standing later to see how it looks."

Jun Matsue walked up to her, then stepped back at Imagawa's gesture, the lingering sunlight immediately bathing his shoulders.

"so?"

“Yes.” Natsumi Imokawa picked up her camera. “Matsue, look at the camera. No need to pose. Just be natural.”

The eyes of passersby quickly turned to the boy who had emerged from the shade of the tree, but Jun Matsue ignored him and looked at the girl with the camera in front of him.

Half of Natsumi Imokawa's face was covered by the film camera. To make it easier to observe the picture, she squinted her left eye, which was not covered, making her look playful and cute.

“…” Looking at the girl pressed close to the camera, Jun Matsueda unconsciously began to think.

When Mochizuki and Kurusu were around him earlier, Imokawa seemed indifferent and didn't have any obvious reaction.

Does this count as liking yourself?

However, she already knew her greedy nature when she confessed her feelings.

So, is Imokawa's affection as selfless as his senior's? Or is it as arrogant as Mochizuki's now?

He was curious about what kind of affection the girl in front of him truly possessed.

...I shouldn't think about it anymore, Jun Matsue shook his head.

Feeling curious is itself a dangerous thing.

"Why are the pine branches shaking their heads?" Natsumi Imokawa frowned regretfully. "The last few pictures are blurry."

"I was just spacing out," the boy said with an apologetic smile.

"Never mind, it's fine." The girl glanced at the camera.

Anyway, she took several pictures.

"Is it my turn?" Kurusu Yosei opened the car door and walked to her side.

"The photos really do look great!"

Natsumi Imokawa nodded. "Yoshi-san, just walk to where Matsu-e is now—remember to take off your mask last."

"Okay~" Lai Qiyang stepped into the sunlight.

"..." Jun Matsue blinked.

The girl, wearing a fluffy ginger scarf and a long, soft off-white skirt beneath her brown coat, revealing a glimpse of her smooth, delicate legs and white socks with canvas shoes, skipped and hopped toward him in the sunlight—

In her bright eyes, the boy's figure grew larger and larger until the two were face to face, almost touching.

Yosei Kurusu stood next to him, then took off his mask to reveal a radiant smile—it was truly dazzling.

"Does the pine branch not want to leave?"

"...Why did you take off your mask so easily?" Jun Matsue looked away, took the mask from her hand, and put it on.

Before he could take a step, he was bumped in the hip by the idol next to him. The boy turned around and glanced at her—someone on the sidewalk was already asking who this familiar-looking girl was.

As Jun Matsue quickly stepped out of the frame and returned to Natsumi Imokawa's side, the young photographer had already pressed the shutter countless times.

"Finished taking the photos?"

"Okay!" Imokawa Natsumi nodded vigorously, gave the waiting girl an "OK" sign, then waved to the boy next to her and ran to the van next to her.

"I'm leaving first!"

"..." Matsueda Jun watched her retreating figure without a backward glance, then turned to look at the girl who had stolen the attention of everyone around her.

Yosei Kurusu still stood beneath the rosy sunset, the setting sun bathing the surrounding ginkgo trees and the girl's figure in a golden-red hue. Her long pink hair spread out in the wind, shimmering with the last rays of light before nightfall.

"Is that Yosei-chan?!" someone in the crowd shouted.

Miss Idol smiled generously and raised her arm in response.

"Is this for promoting a new song?" A female fan raised her phone and tried to get closer.

"Yes—" the girl answered in a bright and cheerful voice as she turned and ran toward her van.

Her pink hair swayed in the afterglow that ran along the avenue, like brilliant waves in the twilight.

As she passed by Jun Matsuoka, she turned around and waved again with a sly smile.

"We'll see each other again soon—"

As the girl quickly slipped into the car and her figure was hidden by the closing door, the surrounding crowd felt an emptiness in their hearts, like the bare branches of a fallen ginkgo tree.

Only when light shines before our eyes do we realize how dark our surroundings are. As we watch the fleeting clouds drift away with the cars along the road, we begin to recall the traces of their existence.

Was there a boy next to Yang Shi-chan just now?

As they searched their surroundings, the boy's tall figure had already disappeared into the shadows of the trees and the crowd.

Jun Matsue got into the Mochizuki family's car, and the girl who had been dozing with her eyes closed in the back seat opened them—the car started, and the light and shadow outside the window flowed across his profile.

"Finished filming?" Mochizuki Haruka rubbed her eyes and picked up her phone from the seat.

"It's pretty fast."

"It's just taking a few photos after all," the boy smiled. "Time to go back and cook."

The girl shifted against the back of the chair a few times, pressing herself against his body.

"My aunt and I are going to look at renovations at the end of the month. Does Songzhi want to go?"

Jun Matsuoka looked at the avenue shaded by ginkgo trees in front of him—once the sun sets, the sky darkens very quickly.

"……furnish?"

"The house I showed you before, the one near Meguro Station." Mochizuki Haruka's voice was a little grumpy from just waking up.

"The common exams will be over in January. If we don't renovate now, it will be too late to move in."

The boy blinked. "You still have that apartment?"

"Otherwise what?" The girl rolled her eyes at him. "We've already bought it, how can we possibly resell it?"