Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 495

“…I see.” Jun Matsueda zipped up the uniform and pressed the part of the uniform that contained the photo.

"Looks like I should thank Imokawa." He smiled.

"What are you thanking me for?" Natsumi Imokawa tilted her head.

"I can't say for sure... Anyway, Imokawa helped me a lot."

"Is that so?" The girl blinked, looking confused.

"Can I date Songzhi now?"

The boy's smile turned helpless again.

“Okay.” Natsumi Imokawa nodded, showing no sign of discouragement.

"Then I'll ask again next time!"

Chapter 744 Times Have Changed

Two days later, during his lunch break, Jun Matsue was standing alone on the balcony of the corridor, enjoying the breeze, when he quietly heard the footsteps of a girl behind him.

The boy leaning against the railing didn't move until the intruder stood next to him, then he turned his head to the side.

"So it's Imogawa."

"Good afternoon, Matsue." Imokawa Natsumi puffed out her slightly chubby cheeks.

Don't you want to see me?

“I just thought…” Jun Matsueda turned to look down the corridor.

He thought it was like the day before yesterday at noon, that Mochizuki had secretly come over again.

The girl blocked his view, put her hands behind her back, and cautiously closed the terrace door.

"Is Songzhi trying to run away as soon as he sees me?"

"No..." The boy waved his hand and turned his head back. "Did Imokawa need something from me?"

Although he knew the girl liked him, after rejecting her "I like you" a few times, Matsueda Jun found himself seemingly getting used to this affection.

Aside from when Imokawa makes a direct attack, his way of interacting with the girl hasn't changed much.

"It's nothing." Natsumi Imokawa blinked.

"I just saw the silhouette on the terrace from the corridor and it looked like a pine branch, so I came over to take a look."

"Is Songzhi out for some fresh air because he's feeling down?" she asked considerately, standing next to the boy. "It's getting cold, be careful not to catch a cold!"

"It's just that the classroom is a bit stuffy because the windows aren't open, so I came out to get some fresh air."

Jun Matsue glanced at the girl; it was he who had reminded her to be careful not to catch a cold back then.

He noticed the camera being pushed up by the girl's chest. "Imokawa's taking pictures again?"

"Mm!" Imokawa Natsumi nodded vigorously, and the camera on her chest swayed along with it.

"Now that we have some free time, of course we should pick up the camera again!"

The boy thought for a moment, "I've noticed that Yu Chuan has been quite busy lately. There are often people standing outside Class 5 looking for you."

It has been exactly one week since Imokawa confessed his feelings, and the girl has not actually contacted him many times, which is one of the reasons why Matsueda Jun felt at ease.

“Stop talking.” Natsumi Imokawa’s eyebrows drooped. “It’s all because of ‘White Line Flow’ that they came to me…”

She moved her arm, which was leaning against the railing, toward the boy.

"So many people have never spoken to me, and they're not interested in movies. They only come to me because my films have become famous. It's so annoying..."

Jun Matsueda chuckled twice. "After all, 'White Line Flow' really became a hit."

"White Line Flow" officially surpassed one million views late last night, and there are several topics of considerable discussion on social media platforms. Some self-media accounts say that it is "a painful blow to the souls of Japanese people under the age of thirty".

"Outside of school, quite a few people must have come looking for you, right?"

"Yes, my account has received a lot of messages." The girl looked at the sky outside the terrace, her neat bangs blowing in the wind.

"Greetings, compliments, inquiries about potential collaborations, and even requests to buy the copyrights..."

The boy looked at her and asked, "So how did Imokawa solve these problems, both online and offline?"

“I asked Yumi-chan, and she said that most of the people at school were just curious because a big director suddenly appeared around them, and that they didn’t need to pay much attention to it; it would pass in time.”

The girl twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. Although she didn't need to pay attention to it, the gazes falling on her still made her a little uncomfortable.

"However, some people wanted to ask me if I could take some photos for them, especially girls—they wanted to have their portraits taken or something..."

“Then Imokawa shouldn’t act too agreeable,” Matsueda Jun reminded him.

"Just like when we went on a school trip to Hokkaido, a bunch of people asked me to take their pictures, just to take advantage of you as their free photographer and camera."

“I know~” Natsumi Imokawa nodded softly, “I just left their contact information and said I would contact them when I am interested.”

"That's alright." The boy stretched.

"Come to think of it, Imokawa once said that he would use his own films to attract everyone to his side—and now that has come true."

"Really..." the girl blinked, "It doesn't feel as happy as I imagined."

Because most of the people surrounding Natsumi Imokawa were "ordinary people" who were of no interest to her.

Those who are interested in the girl will only leave her with a cool silhouette on the terrace.

"How do we handle online messaging?"

Natsumi Imokawa quietly moved a little closer to the boy, but Jun Matsueda took two steps back and leaned against the door behind her.

"..." The girl puffed out her cheeks.

"I replied to all those who praised me and shared their thoughts after watching the film."

“There were also inquiries about cooperation, but I left them all to my dad to handle. He said I didn’t need to worry about it, and the same goes for the copyright; there’s no rush to sell it.”

"However, he asked me to leave a contact email address in my account profile, and added a line like 'For cooperation inquiries, please contact us'..."

“You’re starting to feel like a professional now,” Jun Matsue laughed. “Imokawa is already a great director.”

Natsumi Imokawa gave him a reproachful look, then leaned against the door next to the boy, holding the camera hanging around her neck in one hand.

"Even directors whose names my dad knows messaged me privately, asking if my male lead has any intention of officially appearing in a movie or TV series."

"Are you asking me?" The boy turned his head.

“Yes.” Natsumi Imokawa captured the moment the autumn wind brushed against his cheek. “Isn’t Matsueda my leading man?”

This ambiguous yet romantic form of address caused Jun Matsueda's expression to pause for a moment.

"..." He shook his head. "I have no intention of entering the entertainment industry."

The girl breathed a sigh of relief—although her father had told her to tell Songzhi, she didn't want her exclusive model and actress to be taken by someone else.

She doesn't care too much about Songzhi dating other people, but the man in the camera should belong only to her!

"But didn't anyone ask Tomatsu and Mochizuki?"

The boy was a little curious; the girls he liked also looked great in photos.

“No.” Natsumi Imokawa shook her head. “It’s probably because they didn’t have many scenes or much screen time.”

However, her father said this to her privately: "There are many outstanding-looking girls in the entertainment industry, but there are very few truly good-looking boys."

"Perhaps." Jun Matsueda asked casually; even if someone did invite them, he would firmly refuse on behalf of the girls.

"Speaking of this year's cultural festival, it seems like they're going to screen 'White Line Flow'?"

"Yes!" The girl nodded more deeply. "The students on the executive committee spoke to me about it, and I agreed."

"The principal even had a special chat with me, saying she hoped I could give a short speech with her before the screening!"

"After all, Imokawa got into Tokyo University of the Arts~" the boy said with a smile, looking quite proud.

Among the curious crowd that had gathered outside Class 5, many were probably there because of the news that Natsumi Imokawa had been accepted into Tokyo University of the Arts early—in terms of acceptance rate, some departments at Tokyo University of the Arts have a lower acceptance rate than those at Tokyo University.

“These are the fruits of victory after the great war.” Jun Matsue straightened up and opened the sliding door behind him a little.

"Imokawa has already fought hard, now he should enjoy the rest of his time."

"Wait!" Natsumi Imokawa immediately grabbed his arm. "Matsueda, don't go!"

The boy turned around, and the girl swallowed hard before continuing.

"Um, there's a movie I want to see at the Tokyo International Film Festival this Sunday. Matsue, do you want to come with me?"

“I’m usually not free on Sundays right now,” Jun Matsue said, declining quite decisively.

"Oh." Natsumi Imokawa blinked, not discouraged.

"Is Songzhi going to work today? Can I go with him and see?"

"...If Imokawa wants to go, that's fine, but I usually work with Tomatsu."

The boy glanced at the girl holding the camera a few more times—although the chat had been quite pleasant, Imokawa had switched to an aggressive stance, and he had to be careful.

"Huh?" Natsumi Imokawa's mouth dropped slightly. "Never mind then..."

She felt that Tomatsu was a little scarier than Mochizuki.

"What about this Saturday? Is Songzhi free?" She hadn't given up yet.

"I bought some new DVDs, Songzhi, do you want to come over to my house to watch them? Or we can play some games together!"

The girl opened her eyes wide with hope, but when she thought about her attire at home and that mysterious sense of distance, Jun Matsue could only shake her head.

"It's not very convenient for me to go to the Imokawa family's house now."

"What's wrong?" Natsumi Imokawa leaned closer. "Is Mochizuki-san angry? Is she not letting you have contact with me?"

"No, that's not it." The boy pressed his face against the door behind him, "It's just that it's a little too ambiguous..."

"Where is the ambiguity?" The girl looked confused as she poked the camera on her chest at Jun Matsueda's body.

"We're not dating, we just watch movies and play games like before!"

Jun Matsue propped himself up on his arms to keep his distance from her.

"But you've already confessed your feelings, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go to your house again."

"Why isn't it good?" Natsumi Imokawa tilted her head and blinked. "It's the same thing we did before."

"Just because I confessed my feelings to you, does that change everything?"

"..." The boy nodded. "That's right."

"Why?" The girl pouted, looking aggrieved.

"I should have never confessed to Songzhi..."

Jun Matsue spoke with some difficulty, "Because that's common sense."

"Since you've confessed your feelings, and I'm not going to date you, I should keep my distance."

“What use is common sense?” Natsumi Imokawa stared into his eyes.

"Does common sense allow Songzhi to date several girls at the same time?"

The boy finally fell silent.

The girl continued, "If common sense is useless to pine branches, why do you care about them?"

“Then let’s put it another way,” Jun Matsueda changed his words. “I really don’t have much free time this weekend.”

“Okay.” Natsumi Imokawa nodded; she could accept this reason.

"What about next weekend, and the weekend after that?"

She was always available until the third-year students graduated.

"I don't know," the boy answered honestly.

Imokawa is an honest person, so when facing her, Matsueda Jun really didn't want to make up any insincere excuses.

"Okay, I'll ask Songzhi again next week."

The two left the fourth-floor terrace together—the boy's back looked somewhat disheveled, but the girl's steps remained firm and unwavering.

After school that day, during dinner time, the two students sitting at the table were somewhat absent-minded.