Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 549

The boy looked back and saw the woman standing next to the prop truck smiling gently at them.

"I thought you were the director of all the music videos."

“…How could this be!” Natsumi Imokawa waved her hand in a panic, her face slightly red.

"I'm not at that level yet!"

Jun Matsue looked at the girl's cheeks—her blushing red was more vivid than the golden ginkgo leaves above her head, and warmer than the clear sunlight around her.

"But wasn't the concept for this bonus music video designed by Imokawa? I thought you were some kind of director or something."

"So, you could say that..." Imokawa Natsumi wiped her slightly hot cheeks with the back of her hand.

“I was responsible for shooting the environment and the visuals, but shooting Yang Shisang’s part was more complicated.”

"For example, how to lip-sync with the singer, and how to switch between different camera angles while filming simultaneously..."

The girl sitting on the small stool had her head down, her two index fingers touching each other, like a poor student who was ashamed because she had been kept after school by the teacher.

"I can't direct complex camera movements right now, and I don't understand green screen shooting or anything like that... These tasks definitely need to be handed over to the professional instructors on the production team."

"Imokawa is already very good." The boy stood up and stretched, yawning in the sunlight filtering through the leaves.

“You haven’t even graduated yet, but your video ‘White Line Flow’ has already become a huge hit on Twitter, and you’re already able to participate in music video shooting for celebrities.”

"I wouldn't be surprised if, four years into my university years, I went to the cinema and saw director Natsumi Imokawa's name on the screen."

"That's an exaggeration! I still have so much to learn..."

As Natsumi Imokawa said this, a charmingly satisfied smile appeared on her face as she stood up.

It was almost time; the golden pastels in the sunlight were even more intense, and the girl was ready to start filming again.

She took the camera back into her hand, then suddenly remembered something and took a step closer to the boy next to her.

"Songzhi, do you remember when we came here together?"

"Of course I remember." Jun Matsue leaned against the tree trunk, observing the road in front of him, his gaze shifting towards the girl.

"When you were a first-year student, I was your model. We went to Meiji Shrine first, then the ginkgo avenue here, and I even bought a burger from a nearby fast food restaurant that I heard was really delicious."

"Yes!" Natsumi Imokawa nodded in surprise. "I thought Matsueda had forgotten!"

She once wrote on the ema wall of Meiji Shrine that she wished for Matsue to be her model for life—now it seems that the girl's wish should be slightly modified.

"How could I forget?" The boy bent down and put away the two of their stools.

"Then why don't I react at all when Songzhi comes here?" the girl pouted.

When she saw the ginkgo leaves fluttering like rain on the avenue in the afternoon, she was immediately reminded of the time she had strolled with Songzhi before.

"..." Jun Matsue turned his head and looked at the female driver who was walking through the crowd.

He didn't want to talk about his past with other girls in front of Mochizuki—no matter how arrogant the young lady was now, she would definitely throw a tantrum if she heard about such things.

"Why did you stop taking pictures?" Mochizuki Haruka, who was following behind the driver, poked her head out.

"You all start slacking off as soon as I leave?"

“There’s no slacking off here.” Jun Matsueda walked towards her, shielding Natsumi Imokawa’s figure behind him.

"We're waiting for the lighting conditions to change; anyway, Mochizuki wouldn't understand."

"You think you know so much about pine branches?" The girl crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and gave a disapproving look.

"Of course I don't know either," Jun Matsue said, walking alongside her as she approached. "Anyway, the photos will look great."

"..." Natsumi Imokawa put the camera back on the stabilizer, pouted and glanced at the two people not far away.

What bothered her wasn't Songzhi's closeness to other girls, but rather the distance the boy deliberately created between them for safety reasons.

Anyway, we're going to have to start work again... the girl said to herself as she picked up her camera and pointed it at the other side of the road.

As Imokawa put on her headphones and instructed the actors, and as the autumn wind began to blow, she continued to stroll slowly, moving the camera to follow the couple opposite her—Matsueda Jun's gaze was fixed on the back of the young photographer.

Natsumi Imokawa stood beneath the dense ginkgo leaves, the sunlight streaming across the road outlining the silhouette of her back. The girl's steps were neither fast nor slow, her black hair fluttering in the wind, scattering golden glints through the strands.

People who are focused always have an invisible charm, and Imokawa is no exception... The boy blinked and looked away.

Jun Matsue turned his head, and Mochizuki beside him was also staring at the girl's back. He smiled.

"Don't you think Imokawa is quite handsome when he's serious?"

"...I just felt that she had good stamina." Mochizuki Haruka would never admit it, "She could carry the camera so steadily."

I knew she had good stamina when we filmed the brass band together.

The boy didn't voice his thoughts, after all, Mochizuki was right beside him.

"So, is Auntie coming over?" He changed the subject.

"I'm not coming." The girl's tone was somewhat regretful. "My aunt asked me to take more photos and send them to her."

"Shall we keep going?" Jun Matsue looked at the ginkgo trees in the distance. "There aren't many people now, but it'll probably get even more crowded after get off work."

"Let's take another look."

Mochizuki Haruka naturally hooked her finger around his and continued to observe the girl's silhouette pieced together by sunlight and tree shadows.

"So they just filmed it like that?" She looked at the actors in the distance and the prop cart behind them.

"It doesn't feel much more sophisticated than when I filmed 'White Line Flow'."

"The more technically demanding parts aren't here," the boy explained softly, so as not to disturb the girl who was focused on the scene in front of him.

"Imokawa said that the Kurusu part will be filmed using a green screen, and your company's team will be in charge. Then, the post-production will be done."

Mochizuki Haruka nodded in satisfaction—as a half-shareholder of the firm, although she now disliked both Kurusu and Imokawa, she also disliked the poor quality of the products her firm produced.

"Let's go then." She took the hand of the boy beside her. "Let's wander around by ourselves."

Just as the two took their first steps, the shot in Natsumi Imokawa's hand was about to end—

Stepping on the curb, she put down the heavy machine in her hand. Perhaps because of the shift in her center of gravity, or perhaps because she stepped on a fallen leaf on the curb, the girl's figure in the afterglow of Jun Matsue suddenly swayed and slid to the side.

"what--"

The gasps and the faces that turned to look at the girl happened in the same instant, but the boy had already swiftly stepped forward and embraced her.

As soon as the sound subsided, Mochizuki Haruka and the equipment assistant approached, and Imokawa Natsumi was already in his arms.

"Is Miss Imokawa alright?" the middle-aged woman asked worriedly from behind the boy. "Are you injured?"

"...It seems like everything's alright?" The girl's voice drifted over.

"I slipped a little, but luckily I was caught by a pine branch."

"You need to watch your step when you step on the curb." Jun Matsueda looked at her face. Imokawa looked dazed, probably still not quite recovered.

"Luckily I was close by; it would have been dangerous if you had fallen on the equipment."

"Since everything's alright, shouldn't you let go?" Mochizuki Haruka said, clinging to her boyfriend's arm.

"..." The two who had been clinging together finally separated, and Matsueda Jun still put his arm around the girl's back to make sure she was safe.

"Is Imokawa really okay? You don't feel anything at first when you sprain your ankle."

Having regained her footing, Natsumi Imokawa lightly stamped her foot. "It should be alright, right?"

"After all, I didn't fall; I was caught by the pine branch."

Watching the boy walk back to her side, Mochizuki Haruka rolled her eyes.

"This guy is only really good when he's saving girls."

"I just reacted quickly," Jun Matsue explained, watching the girl, who had come to her senses, hurriedly raise the equipment in her hand.

I wonder if the camera was dropped—

"..." Natsumi Imokawa checked nervously for a while, then quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Luckily, I managed to hold onto the camera, and the footage wasn't affected."

“Without me, Imokawa would probably be smashed on the ground along with the camera by now.” The boy frowned as he looked at her.

"If it hits your face, it will most likely disfigure you."

His tone was somewhat stern, and the distance he had maintained earlier had vanished.

"I reminded you before, don't just focus on the camera, you have to pay attention to your surroundings and the ground beneath your feet."

"Mmm..." The girl put the camera down on the ground and obediently lowered her head to listen to the lecture.

"I remember what Songzhi said, but I don't think about that much when I'm filming..."

Jun Matsueda ignored the coquettish tone in her words, "Didn't you want to be a director? A director isn't just someone who stares at the camera..."

The equipment assistant went back, and Mochizuki Haruka watched alone as the boy beside her reasoned with Imokawa Natsumi.

"..." She felt like she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"Is that enough?" the girl replied impatiently after a few seconds.

"Why don't we just ask other staff members to keep an eye on things? We're going for a walk, aren't we?"

"..." Matsueda Jun then realized his rare "loss of composure"—he had become somewhat nervous due to Imokawa's unexpected turn of events.

"It's time to go." The boy glanced at Imokawa, who had a well-behaved expression.

"Imokawa, you must remember this well—" He turned back to look at the woman behind him.

"Please also ask the assistant to keep an eye on things."

Mochizuki walked away hand in hand with him. The girl turned back to look at the film crew. Imokawa Natsumi gently patted her chest, but the expression on her face was not one of grievance or panic, but rather a sweetness that she herself was completely unaware of.

She gripped the hand of the person next to her tightly. "I say, isn't the allure of pine branches a little too great?"

"I didn't do anything, I just gave you a reminder," Jun Matsue replied helplessly.

“…Never mind.” The girl pressed her arm against his.

She just needs to enjoy her time with the pine branches.

The footsteps of the young boys and girls were drowned out by the rustling of the wind through the treetops and the noise of the crowd, until Jun Matsueda's phone beeped with a message notification.

Who posted this?

"...Kurasu said she'll be coming to the event here later."

The eldest daughter of the Wangyue family, holding onto the boy's arm, clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction.

"It's all the pine branches' fault."

"...Is this my fault too?"

"It's all your fault!"

Chapter 789 The Changing Thoughts of the Girls at Sunset

Jun Matsue and the girl retraced their steps on the ginkgo avenue after receiving a message from Miss Idol.

At that time, in front of the two was a tunnel formed by towering ginkgo trees, and behind them was the green field in front of the Saint Toku Painting Memorial Hall. A clock standing alone outside the baseball field was just past 4:30, but the boy and girl were already dressed in the golden hue of the sunset mixed with blood.

Wang Yueyao held the boy's hand and covered her mouth with a silent yawn.

"...It's only 4:30, how come the sun has already set?"

"Winter is coming soon," Jun Matsue gently shook her little hand.

"If we were two bears, we should be comfortably nestled in our den and sleeping soundly through the winter."

"Just the two of us?" The girl turned her head and glanced at him against the backdrop of the setting sun.

"The cell phone in Songzhi's pocket just kept ringing."

The boy smiled, his expression not particularly guilty.

"Kurasu has arrived. She said that filming at Imogawa is finished and they need to prepare to go to the next location."

"So fast?" Mochizuki Haruka looked at the other end of the bustling Ginkgo Avenue.

She gave a soft hum, "Anyway, I've seen the scenery and taken the photos..."

The girl tucked the contents of her pocket into which were a few pretty ginkgo leaves that Songzhi had picked out for her.

"Then let's go take a look and then go home."