Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 517

"Give it to me." Mochizuki Haruka opened her right hand.

"..." Jun Matsue reluctantly took the wallet out and placed it in Mochizuki's palm.

The girl clasped her hands together and put them behind her back.

She looked up at the sky; the sun had already set, and the dark sky obscured any trace of the moon.

Mochizuki Haruka coughed lightly twice, her brows furrowing slightly as she adopted a serious expression.

“I have granted your wish this time, Pine Branch—but you’re not very well-behaved, so I have to confiscate this wish coin.”

Matsueda Jun looked troubled. He pulled the girl into his arms and inhaled the fragrance of her hair.

"What should I do?"

"..." Mochizuki Haruka blinked.

She originally intended to say that since it had been confiscated, it would never be returned.

But being held in the boy's arms, feeling his body temperature, which was even warmer than her own, and his all-too-familiar breath against her neck...

The girl discovered that her heart seemed unable to harden any longer.

"...I'll return it to you on Songzhi's next birthday."

They embraced for a long time downstairs at the apartment building, followed by a sweet yet restrained kiss.

By the time Mochizuki Haruka stood in front of room 507, the temperature in the sky had dropped completely, turning into a chilly black.

The girl took the boy's key out of her pocket and opened the door—it was the pine branch she had left with her when she angrily left the apartment.

Inserting the key into the lock and pushing open the door with a bit of force, Wang Yueyao was greeted by a brightly lit living room and the sound of a television.

“Matsugi’s back~” Yosei Kurusu leisurely got up from the sofa and walked towards the entrance.

"How about dinner—"

She didn't finish her sentence because the person standing in the entryway was someone the girl hadn't expected.

"why you?"

"What's wrong with me?"

Mochizuki Haruka's smile was sly. She held a silver-gray coin in her hand, with only her index finger raised, dangling the key chained to it.

"I am back."

Chapter 763 The Night of Return

A dry, cold wind flowed into the room through the open door. Kurusu Yosei stood in the entryway, watching the girl place the key in her hand on top of the shoe cabinet by the door.

She peeked out and looked behind the "visitor," but didn't find the familiar boy.

"Where's Songzhi?" Miss Idol asked warily. "Why did you come back alone?"

Mochizuki Haruka closed the door and casually swung the two uniform bags hanging on her arm.

“Songzhi went to the supermarket to buy groceries and asked me to bring the bag back first.”

"Buy ingredients?" Yosei Kurusu blinked.

"There are vegetables in the fridge, didn't I tell him that?"

Mochizuki Haruka walked past her with a smile and placed her handbag on the sofa.

"Because we're having sukiyaki tonight."

Although it was just announcing what would be for dinner, the girl's tone carried an inexplicable sense of superiority, which made the idol feel a little annoyed.

This sense of superiority wasn't the beautiful disdain I'd often seen on Mochizuki's face before, but rather a feeling of "looking down."

Just as an adult who has entered society would not argue with a primary school student who is still playing with toys—even though he is tall, Yosuke Kurusu felt shorter when facing Haruka Mochizuki's gaze.

Miss Idol turned around and watched as the girl casually sat down and shrunk into the most comfortable corner of the sofa.

"Why did you suddenly come back!" Yosei Kurusu walked behind the sofa and questioned him.

"What do you mean by suddenly?" Mochizuki Haruka turned and glanced at her. "Didn't I already warn you about this yesterday at the cultural festival?"

The girl recalled the words, "I'll move back to the apartment tomorrow"—she had thought that Mochizuki had said that to target her.

"..." Miss Idol rested her hands on the back of the sofa, looking down at the girl leaning against it.

"What are you doing?" Mochizuki Haruka looked up at her and brushed aside the strands of pink hair hanging over her body.

"Why did you just go back to the apartment like that?" Kurusu Yosei gritted his teeth slightly, his tone tinged with disappointment.

"What kind of talk is this? You've been gone for two months and come back like this, you haven't accomplished anything!"

The young lady, now back in the city, gracefully brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, as if she hadn't heard a thing.

Miss Idol continued speaking—

"At least defeat Yuka-chan before you come back. You're the young lady of the Mochizuki family, are you really willing to share pine branches with her like this?"

"..." Mochizuki Haruka moved to the side and ignored the unreasonable behavior behind her.

"I came back because Songzhi missed me, it's that simple."

"Just because he wants to, you'll agree!" Yosuke Kurusu puffed out his cheeks and glared at her.

"Songzhi is going to try and win me over! You might as well agree if he drags us into sleeping together!"

"You still need a strategy guide?" The girl turned around. "It's not just any pine branch—"

She was interrupted halfway through her sentence by the sound of the door opening.

Footsteps and the rustling of a plastic bag came from the entrance hall, followed by Jun Matsueda peeking out.

What are you talking about?

"It's nothing—" the girls said in unison, watching him change his shoes and walk into the living room.

"Matsugi is back so quickly?" Mochizuki Haruka got up and knelt on the sofa, holding onto the back of the sofa with both hands.

"Because we already had groceries at home." The boy placed the plastic bag on the dining table. "I just went to buy some beef, sauce, and tofu."

"Matsushige!" Yosei Kurusu ran over in his slippers and grabbed his arm.

"Is Mochizuki Haruka really moving back?"

"..." Matsueda Jun turned his head and glanced at the girl leaning against the back of the sofa, "Didn't Mochizuki tell you?"

Mochizuki Haruka pursed her lips. "She herself refuses to accept it."

"How could this be!" Miss Idol exclaimed in dissatisfaction.

"I haven't had enough time to enjoy our time together yet!"

Twenty minutes later, Jun Matsue, standing by the dining table, picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of butter, and pressed it onto the hot bottom of the pan.

The solidified butter melted at the bottom of the pot. Kurusu Yosei rested her chin on her hand on the table, watching the boy's hand holding the chopsticks.

His slender fingers gripped the chopsticks firmly, pressing the butter as it slid across the pan—his hands moved back and forth with a soothing rhythm, radiating an alluring charm.

The aroma of butter quickly reached the girl's nose. She took a gentle sniff and watched as the handsome large hands picked up onions and scallions and placed them on the pan, making a soft sizzling sound.

Yosei Kurusu looked away, first glancing at the abundant ingredients laid out beside the induction cooker, then looking up at the boy's face, focused on cooking.

With two cravings aroused at the same time, Miss Idol temporarily put aside the fact that the detestable Mochizuki had returned and excitedly picked up her chopsticks.

"I'll fry the beef!"

The girl picked up two beautifully patterned slices of fatty beef, first seared them in the pan until fragrant, then poured on some sukiyaki sauce—the raw beef's red color quickly turned into an enticing hue, which she then placed in the two people's bowls.

"The beef that Songzhi bought this time is quite good."

Yosei Kurusu put the fatty beef, coated in raw egg liquid, into his mouth, chewing and nodding in satisfaction.

"Try the pine branch too!"

"What about mine?" Mochizuki Haruka, sitting opposite her, crossed her arms.

The girls' eyes fell on the fatty beef in the boy's bowl, and Jun Matsue smiled helplessly.

He put the raw beef into the pot, picked up the fatty beef from the bowl, and ate it in one bite.

"Wait for me to fry it for you."

After enjoying the pan-fried beef, the remaining raw beef and vegetables were added to a pot with water. Matsueda Jun then sat down in the middle of the table and waited with the girls for the hot pot to be ready.

"Pine branches," Mochizuki Haruka said, staring at the bubbling broth in the pot.

"Come with me to feed the cats next door after dinner."

The boy paused, fiddling with the ingredients with his chopsticks. "You brought Jinzhi back?"

The girl's expression remained unchanged. "It was delivered this morning."

Yosei Kurusu, sitting on the other side, hummed silently.

I wonder which cat I'll be feeding later!

As steam rose, the food on the table gradually warmed up. Once the vegetables had shrunk and softened, Jun Matsue picked out a slice of beef soaked in broth and placed it in Haruka Mochizuki's bowl.

"Wang Yueyao isn't a child, why does Songzhi keep putting food on her plate?" Kurisu Yosei said sourly.

"This is how lovers are treated," Mochizuki Haruka said arrogantly, puffing out her chest.

The boy didn't deny it, but winked his right eye at the idol, as if it were both a temptation and a provocation.

The girl glared at him angrily, picked up a large chopstick of vegetables and put them in her bowl, then picked up two slices of beef and vented her anger with the food.

Jun Matsue glanced at the petite girl chewing slowly and carefully, then at the idol girl with unrestrained movements—the long-lost familiar scene made even the bok choy in his mouth seem a little sweeter.

The living room of 507 finally settled into a harmonious state, with the bubbling of a hot pot mingling with the sound of the television and the chewing of the young boy and girl. The food on the table gradually dwindled, transforming into a tangible sense of comfort and happiness that settled into the stomachs of the three.

After finishing their sukiyaki, Mochizuki Haruka went back to the apartment next door first, while Matsueda Jun stayed behind to wash the dishes.

He put the gleaming soup pot, dripping with water, back on the shelf and walked out of the kitchen. Lai Xiyang was still at the dining table looking at his phone.

The boy walked up to her, while the girl was texting her manager.

"Speaking of which, what was it about going to Imokawa during the cultural festival?"

"Want to know?" Miss Idol looked up. "Then let's exchange information—"

"Is Songzhi's evil plan about to succeed?"

“What do you mean by an evil plan…” Jun Matsueda smirked.

"This is just the beginning; there's still a long way to go."

There was no hint of relief in his voice after the meal, and Kurusu Yosei blinked.

"I think so too—so when you feel overwhelmed, remember to come back to my embrace~"

She opened her arms generously, and the boy smiled in relief.

"So what exactly is Kurusu hiding from me?"

"What do you mean by 'keeping it from me'!" The girl lowered her arm and corrected his mistake. "I was just thinking of telling you later—"

"The release plan for 'Happy End' has been finalized!"

"I'll release a digital single in November and a single album in December—to increase the appeal of the physical album, I'd like to have Imokawa film a video as a bonus music video."

"So that's how it is..." Jun Matsue hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"But don't you know about Imokawa?"

"What? You mean she likes you?" Kurusu Yosei asked with an indifferent expression.

"What does this have to do with me thinking she's amazing and wanting to have her star in a music video?"

“...That makes sense.” The boy’s smile became more relaxed.

"Then you—"

A sudden noise interrupted him. Jun Matsue turned around and saw the girl next door banging on the wall.

"Hmph..." Kuryu Yosei glanced back at the wall, "Someone's getting impatient~"

"Let's talk later." The boy walked towards the entrance, abruptly ending the conversation.

Pushing open the door to 506, Jun Matsue walked into the living room.