Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 527

"Have Songzhi and Yamami made up?"

The boy paused for a moment, then turned his head and nodded.

"What's past is past, there's no point in dwelling on it."

"A very mature mindset," the senior said with a smile.

"I heard that Yami-kun hasn't appeared at any of the Yami family's social events for a while now."

"Isn't it fine?" Jun Matsue said calmly. "My senior isn't the type to like those kinds of occasions."

"Haha..." Tsushima Kou chuckled lightly, quite amused. "I actually quite like it, because I can learn a lot of information~"

Jun Matsueda glanced at him. "Tsushima-senpai, you studied journalism at Waseda University, right? How was it?"

"It's the Department of Cultural Concepts." The boy didn't seem to care about the changed topic. "It's quite free..."

He didn't continue speaking because the girl on the stage had already bowed deeply, eliciting rounds of applause.

"Let's talk about it later." Tsushima Kou winked his right eye at the person next to him. "I don't want to steal Yamami-kun's time."

"..." Jun Matsue watched him walk onto the stage from the side and disappear behind the curtain.

Yamami Maki quickly walked down from the spot where the boy had disappeared. She first subtly glanced around before smiling at her beloved with a sense of relief.

Tomatsu and the others are not here.

"I didn't expect Matsueda-kun to arrive so quickly~"

"I didn't expect my senior to go on stage so soon."

The girl blinked shyly, "I thought the teacher would talk for a long time, but it ended in just a few words."

Jun Matsue glanced at the gazes coming from the nearby seats. "Shall we go outside to talk?"

"Good~"

The boy pushed open the door first, then stepped aside to make room for the female student, who walked past him with her shoulders slightly hunched.

"It's a bit chilly in the hallway too..."

Yamami Maki quickly put on the matcha-colored coat she was holding.

"Is the senior not dressed warmly enough?"

Jun Matsue watched as the girl peeked out from under her high-necked undershirt through the collar of her coat—her beige undershirt was made of thin wool, and the soft, layered high neck looked approachable and elegant, but it didn't seem very warm.

"Are you alright?" Yamami Maki straightened her coat and then hooked her collar with her index finger.

“My coat is very thick. It was warm indoors just now, so it didn’t matter that my undershirt was a little thin.”

The girl's voice was slightly hoarse as she took out a box of throat lozenges from inside her coat.

Matsueda Jun blinked. "Is your throat sore, senior?"

"Hmm..." Yamami Maki opened the small box and ate a candy. "My throat felt a little sore when I woke up this morning."

She looked up. "Would you like one, Songzhi? It tastes pretty good."

"No, thank you." Jun Matsue lowered his head and looked down.

The senior's trench coat was very long, covering her skirt and only revealing a section of her smooth and delicate calves—her cotton socks were short, only reaching a little above her ankles.

"It might be the beginning of a cold, so be sure to keep warm." The boy looked up, his tone unusually serious.

"The temperature has dropped rapidly these past two days, so you should dress warmly underneath and try to minimize skin contact with cold air."

“Oh…” The girl paused for a moment, then nodded obediently.

"Also, when you get home, if you don't turn on the heating, don't wear clothes that are too thin. Especially your upper body, since you usually don't tuck your entire upper body into the kotatsu."

“Okay~” Yamami Maki smiled sweetly.

"Remember to wear socks at home. If your feet get cold, you're more likely to feel uncomfortable."

"Also, remember to ventilate. Although it's cold outside, germs can grow and it's easy to get sick if there's no ventilation, so open the windows when you're not home..."

As they were talking, Jun Matsue stopped—his senior was looking at him with a smile, as if she had discovered something very interesting.

"what happened?"

"It's nothing~" Yami Maki smiled and shook her head, "It's just that Matsueda-kun is so considerate, like a mother~"

"..." The boy was speechless for a moment, and he turned his face away.

"It's because you lack life experience."

"I know, thank you for your concern, Tsunkun~"

“I’m just sharing some life experience,” Jun Matsue glanced at her.

"If you have a sore throat, drink more hot water and take some vitamin C—you're probably getting a cold."

The girl nodded vigorously, "I'll do whatever Matsueda-kun says~"

The faint sound of a speech came again from behind the door beside them, but the boy and girl remained silent for a while.

The silence in the deep corridors of the auditorium, where no wind could be heard, made the quiet seem particularly jarring.

After suppressing his concern, Jun Matsue realized that he had nothing more to say to his senior.

Although it's true that the past should be left in the past, it's still somewhat awkward for a former couple to be alone together.

Maki Yami's expression was no longer as joyful as before; perhaps she regretted puncturing the boy's subconscious concern.

Her pink lips opened and closed again—what topics could Tsunkun be willing to discuss? The girl wondered anxiously in her heart.

Yamami Maki suddenly remembered the semi-transparent panel that she would occasionally open and curiously observe.

"Um, the red text of that task on my system panel seems to have faded a lot recently."

"Does Matsue-san have any clues?"

Chapter 771 A Closer Target

"You said the text on the system task has faded?"

Hearing the girl's words, Jun Matsue frowned.

The speech in the auditorium continued, but the corridor just a wall away was quiet. Yamami Maki focused her gaze on a certain spot in front of her and nodded with some confusion.

"Yes."

"The phrase 'Prove to the users that you are right' has faded in color..."

The boy frowned and looked down, gazing at what was in front of him in thought for a while. The girl reached out and placed her hand on his chest, which he was staring at, her expression somewhat shy.

"It seems that this task, or rather this sentence, was not just said to my senior."

"So, this system wanted to prove to Songzhi that you needed it? But now it realizes it was wrong?"

As Yamami Maki spoke, she looked at the panel that appeared before her. The red text on it did not change in response—it seemed that it did not have any human-like intelligence.

"It's hard to say." The boy looked up. "Perhaps it really realized it was wrong, or perhaps it still achieved its goal."

"Purpose?" The girl blinked.

Why didn't she think of this problem before?

What is its purpose?

"..." Jun Matsue stared at the ceiling of the corridor.

Looking back on the conversations I had with the system in my mind back then, it feels like a distant past life.

"According to its original statement, the purpose of the system is to enable the [host], that is, the [user], to obtain a happy and joyful life."

"Isn't this great?" Yami Maki asked innocently.

The boy sighed.

"But its method isn't that good—it matches the [host] with a partner through dating simulation, and then uses [tasks] and [items] to bring them closer."

"And all of this is arranged by the system; you have no choice."

"...This method sounds a bit like my family's," the girl said softly.

"Why can't we have a choice? If we can't have a choice, can we still be considered happy?"

"Otherwise, why would I say he's a fraud?" Jun Matsueda's expression was somewhat complicated.

"Because another purpose of it is to save those beautiful girls whose lives were originally miserable."

"...Huh?" The senior's expression was somewhat blank.

"Does she have to be a beautiful girl?"

“It has to be a beautiful girl.” The boy nodded. “I suspect it might have originally been some kind of fraudulent dating app.”

The girl couldn't help but smile, her voice soft and cheerful.

"Is that so? I'm actually quite grateful for this system."

"Without it, by the time I realized it, it might have been too late..."

"Don't think like that," Jun Matsue corrected her seriously.

"The system just wants you to see the future, but what you are doing now is not necessarily what it originally wanted you to do."

“That makes sense…” Yami Maki nodded.

"So don't let your guard down." The boy heard applause coming from behind the door beside him. "Just like this time, let me know immediately if there are any changes in the system."

The system originally intended for the senior student to play a role where she would return to the vortex of vying for him with a desperate belief, making the situation even more chaotic.

However, what it didn't expect was that the girl's choice was contrary to human nature—

While everyone else desires selfish love, Yamami Maki reaches out to that selfless love.

From this perspective, the senior student can even be considered "great" in matters of the heart, which is one of the reasons why Matsueda Jun was willing to change his opinion of her.

"So...it seems the system's goal is indeed being achieved."

Yamami Maki looked thoughtful. "Whether it's me, Tomatsu, or Mochizuki, we were all saved by Tsunku, weren't we?"

"We are indeed moving towards a happier future, aren't we?"

“Saving people is too much of an exaggeration,” Jun Matsueda nodded gently. “We’re all influencing and changing each other.”

"Anyway, I really like the me I am now, the one changed by Tsunku," the girl said with a smile.

The boy smiled and said, "Anyway, unless one day, that happy future is right in front of me, within my reach."

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have let my guard down around the system."

When he was with Tomatsu, he would ask her to check the system panel every now and then to see if there were any changes. Mochizuki did the same—after returning to the apartment, the boy immediately checked the system status with her.

Unexpectedly, the system's changes ultimately affected the senior student... Matsueda Jun blinked.

"Would it then target other people?" The boy pondered, leaning against the wall behind him.

Based on my current social circle, the only possible candidates are Kurusu and Imokawa—neither of them seem like they'll have a tragic future.

Jun Matsue sighed silently.

Now, it seems that he and the system have arrived at the same destination by different paths.

However, he would never think of calling back the system—even if it was already invincible, the boy still wanted to prove that his approach was correct.

Submitting to the system will only result in a future that is beyond your control and runs wild – that will never change.

"...Matsueda-kun?"

Matsueda Jun snapped out of his daze and looked at the girl observing him.

"Sorry, I was a little distracted."

"It's okay~" Yamami Maki smiled considerately, taking a step back to a distance that made the boy feel relaxed.

"However, I'm a little curious. Since the system task has changed, does it mean that Matsueda-kun has also made progress?"

Another round of applause erupted from the side door behind him. Jun Matsue first pushed the door open a crack and glanced back—it was Tsushima-senpai about to go on stage.

"Hmm." He stopped what he was doing and his gaze fell on his senior's cheek.

“I made up with Mochizuki, and she reluctantly agreed to have a minimal relationship with Tomatsu.”