Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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The young men and women behind the counter can leisurely enjoy coffee, read books, study, and chat.

"It seems like I don't have much to take with me." Tomatsu Yuka glanced at the table while holding her coffee.

Jun Matsue, who was doing practice problems, stretched and yawned. "After all, we're sitting at the library reception desk, not in the staff office."

"If you have too many personal belongings, the counter will be full after a day's shift, and there will be no space left to work."

"Tsun-kun's words are so cruel!" The girl glared at him reproachfully.

"Haven't I left any memorable mark after working here for almost two years?"

"Yes, yes." The boy calmly picked up the reader's suggestion book placed on the outside of the counter.

He casually flipped to a page, "There are many positive reviews about your work here."

Tomatsu Yuka raised her chin demurely, "That's just because I'm good-looking."

"really."

Jun Matsue nodded honestly—just as there were many others in the suggestion book praising him.

“Besides this.” He leaned back and reached out to touch the back of the girl’s chair.

“There’s even a special seat for Tomatsu Tomohana.”

“Oh right.” Tomatsu Yuka turned around, leaned against the back of the chair, and looked down.

"We'll have to peel this sticker off later too."

"I never expected it to last this long," the boy complained, glancing at the water glass on the table, which also had a sticker on it.

"By the way, shouldn't we take these two water glasses with us?"

"Take it?" The girl turned around.

She reached out and gently stroked the sticker that read "Drink more water!!!"—its once beautiful brown color had turned into patches of varying shades of mottled, and the edges were broken and peeling, making it look particularly weathered.

"Where should I use it?" Tomatsu Yuka pondered. "The school already has water bottles, and Tsun-kun's apartment and my home don't really need them, so it feels a bit redundant."

"Let's save it for when we move," Jun Matsue said without hesitation, "so we don't have to buy it then."

"...Oh right!"

The girl put aside her momentary whim and picked up the matching water cups, pressing them together.

Tomatsu Yuka's eyes softened, "I'll put new stickers on them later~"

At eight o'clock in the evening, when the two people behind the counter took off their uniforms and aprons, the sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows in the lobby was already a deep black.

After tidying up her few personal belongings on the table, the supervisor happened to walk into the literature museum. She was carrying two boxes in her arms, and had a gentle smile on her face with wrinkles.

"Thank you both for your hard work. Please remember to let us know the good news when you get into a better school."

The boy and girl bowed together, saying, "Thank you so much!"

"These are farewell gifts left for you by others. Since everyone has different work schedules, I've compiled them and am handing them over to you all at once."

The supervisor didn't say much, but chatted with the two about their plans for further education, expressed her admiration for the University of Tokyo, and then left. Jun Matsueda looked at the two boxes on the table with names written on them, and opened his own.

Tomatsu Yuka also opened the cardboard box, and a faint noise came from the counter.

"What did Chun-jun receive?"

"They were all small things—tea bags, cookies, snacks, and messages from other colleagues."

"Is there a message from Miss Chiyoko?" she asked curiously.

The boy flipped through the cards. "No, what's wrong?"

"Hmm..." The girl lowered her head and looked at the contents of the box in front of her.

Ms. Chiyoko gave her a small bag of pink konpeito (Japanese candy), with a sticky note attached to the transparent packaging.

"Let's stay together forever~"

Tomatsu Yuka smiled.

"Miss Chiyoko is quite an interesting person."

Chapter 770 Running away is shameful, but useful

The next day, Friday, it rained as expected in the still gloomy and cold Tokyo.

The door to the empty classroom opened, and Jun Matsue stepped out, turning back to give a slight bow to the female teacher inside.

"Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Kominato."

“Matsue is already the one who makes my life the easiest.” Sitting in the classroom, Kominato Shoko waved her hand and picked up the next document on the table.

"Don't let your guard down, keep going!" The petite teacher waved her fist to encourage him.

"The parent-teacher meeting should be over by now. Pine, please call Yuka over for me later."

"it is good."

The boy closed the door behind him. The second-floor corridor was empty, with only the sound of teachers lecturing in the classrooms audible.

Walking through the windows in the corridor, where the sound of rain filled the air, was like walking past a series of somber, gray oil paintings. Only upon entering the stairwell did the noise begin to dispel the air's lonely and melancholic atmosphere.

The third-year students have a parent-teacher meeting and a three-way meeting in the afternoon, so they don't need to attend classes. The parent-teacher meeting in the auditorium had just ended, and the heavy footsteps echoing in the stairwell were accompanied by the sound of water.

Back on the fourth floor, the corridor was indeed full of parents. In this kind of weather, it was not very convenient for students to take their parents around the campus, so they had to put away their umbrellas and go into the teaching building early.

Jun Matsue walked through the crowd to the door of Class 3-6. Yuka Tomatsu was standing in the corridor, with her parents in suits beside her.

"Chun-kun~" the girl waved to him, "Are you going to make the three-way talks first?"

"Yes, let's save Kominato-sensei some time."

The approaching boy bowed slightly to the two adults who were watching him.

"Hello, uncle and aunt."

"Hello, Mr. Matsuoka." The man greeted him first, and the woman nodded in response.

“Um…” Mr. Tomatsu looked behind the boy, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

“I’m an orphan.” Jun Matsue laughed heartily. “Uncle, don’t mind, I’m used to it.”

He ignored the woman's slightly gentler gaze beside him, turned his head to look at the classroom, and then looked at the girl in front of him.

"If Yuka is ready, she can go and have a face-to-face meeting with Kominato-sensei."

"Okay~" Tomatsu Yuka nodded with a smile and looked at her parents beside her.

"Shall we go then?"

After watching the three figures disappear into the crowd, Jun Matsueda walked into the classroom.

This parent-teacher meeting and three-way discussion was the last one before the common exam, and it was important for both the students preparing for the exam and the parents who were concerned about their children's situation—so it was not surprising that the divorced Tomatsu couple attended together.

The boy returned to his seat and sat down, looking at the bustling, somewhat disorganized figures in the classroom.

Actually, the dean's grandmother had originally planned to participate as well.

However, the damp and cold weather was bone-chilling, and the elderly woman was not in good health, so Jun Matsue did not want to trouble her.

He patted his grandmother on the back of his recent report card, then had her call Ms. Kominato's private number, and that was it.

After waiting in the classroom for a few minutes without seeing the two beauties from the Mochizuki family, the boy blinked and took out his phone to send a message.

"Didn't you and your aunt come?"

The message was read two seconds later: "It's not my turn yet, I'm going to see the headmistress with my aunt first."

I see... Jun Matsue returned to the chat box and found the parrot avatar that was pressed down by the black cat.

"Is the senior student preparing for a speech?"

Yamami Maki's reply popped up without any interruption.

"We're already preparing backstage, but the teacher needs to speak first, so we'll have to wait a bit."

The girl sent a picture, taken from behind the stage—her small hand lifted a small gap at the edge of the curtain, revealing the stage lights and the second-year students who had just taken their seats.

"Aren't you nervous?"

"It feels alright~ After all, I used to have to attend meetings and give speeches quite often back in school."

"Good luck, senior. I'll come over and check on you later."

"...Is Matsueda-san coming over?!" Yami Maki's writing was somewhat flustered. "Third-year students have interviews this afternoon, right?"

"Well, but I'm done now, and it's getting a bit boring staying in the classroom, so I might as well go check out the auditorium."

"Okay! Let me know when you get here!"

After putting down his phone, Jun Matsue looked up at the huge crowd in the classroom.

He took an umbrella from the bag hanging on the side of the table, ready to head to the auditorium.

Going to the auditorium was actually a spur-of-the-moment idea for the boy—he suddenly realized that if he stayed in the classroom, the situation might become awkward and troublesome if Tomatsu, who was bringing his parents back later, ran into Mochizuki with his aunt.

The key issue isn't the meeting between the parents and the girls, but that he's still present when they meet—no matter which side he's closer to, the other side will feel resentful.

"A dead end..." Jun Matsueda sighed inwardly, picked up his umbrella, and walked out the back door of the classroom.

The best and most correct way is to just run away.

On the way, the boy sent messages to the girls to let them know his whereabouts. He walked out of the teaching building and opened his umbrella to shield himself from the drizzling rain.

Jun Matsue shrugged and looked down at the wet floor tiles.

The chill in Tokyo was already quite noticeable on a sunless day. Being alone in this kind of weather definitely made one's mood sink into a low mood.

He walked unhurriedly, avoiding the puddles on the road, towards the auditorium.

Stepping onto the steps in front of the auditorium, the boy placed his folded umbrella on the umbrella stand at the entrance, patted the carpet to wipe the rain off his feet, and sent a message to his senior.

"I've arrived at the auditorium."

The senior student didn't reply. He blinked, and the faint sound of a lecture drifted from behind the closed doors of the hall.

Pushing open the main entrance and walking in would be far too conspicuous—usually only kidnappers and bride-kidnappers would enter so openly…

Jun Matsuoka walked into the side corridor and quickly found the slightly ajar entrance door at the end. Without hesitation, he gently pushed it open.

Even if the principal were standing behind the door, he wouldn't care if a top student like him decided to sit in on the class on a whim.

Behind the door was a dark area below the side of the stage. Right at the front of the seating area, the second-year students, whose seats were near the door, turned their gazes and looked curiously at the handsome senior who had entered midway through the show.

After closing the door, Jun Matsue quickly realized that there was someone else standing by the door—Ko Tsushima, dressed in a smart wool sweater, staring at him in the darkness.

"What, it's Tsushima-senpai?" the boy greeted calmly. "Long time no see."

"I'm back to give a speech too." The senior he hadn't seen in a long time smiled at him. "Songzhi looks to be in good spirits."

Jun Matsue took off his coat and draped it over his arm, saying, "After all, the auditorium is much warmer than outside."

Although they hadn't seen each other for almost a year, the tacit understanding between the boys made their conversation still feel familiar.

"Why is the senior standing in the audience?"

"Because there are too many people behind the scenes—the grade leader, other graduate representatives, class teacher representatives..."

As the two were talking, a gentle female voice came from the stage, following the direction of the light, causing them to stop talking.

"Therefore, in addition to maintaining focus on studies in the final year, I think it's even more important to adjust one's mindset towards life—"

Standing behind the podium, Yamami Maki's expression was gentle, but her eyes subtly glanced at the boy in the corner.

"Everyone is probably thinking about seizing every moment to sprint – school, tutoring classes, doing practice problems before bed at home..."

"But being constantly tense will only make it impossible to manage the pressure. So, regarding learning methods, Kasae-senpai has already said a lot, and I think it's all very good."

"Let me share some relaxation techniques with you~"

A few laughs came from below the stage, and the girl smiled and squinted her eyes.

"The first point is to spend less time on your phone—I know everyone likes to look at their phones when they're tired of studying, but that doesn't allow our brains to truly relax."

"Closing your eyes and listening to music, or looking up at the scenery outside the window are both good choices."

"Of course, if you have someone you like, it would be even better to call and chat with them, or study together, or go for a walk together when you're tired!"

The laughter from the audience grew louder, and Jun Matsueda raised the corners of his lips. Kou Tsushima, standing to the side, looked away and quietly observed his profile.