Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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"Then you should work hard, senior," she said to the tense-looking girl.

"I won't cause you any trouble. I know how difficult it is to win Tsun-kun back."

"As for the past..." Tomatsu Yuka turned her head to the side, looking at the reflection of her flowing black hair in the passing tram.

"I am very happy now, happy enough to temporarily forget the pain I experienced before."

"I will never forgive you."

The wind whipped up by the train was a bit chilly, and the girls pulled their clothes tighter around themselves.

"But if we can stay happy forever, then forgetting forever doesn't seem so bad."

Yamami Maki finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The tram stopped, and pedestrians on the platform gradually boarded the carriage. Tomatsu Yuka took one last look at her senior.

"You get in the car, I'll pass."

She turned around and walked against the flow of people off the platform, pressing down the strands of hair that were blowing up by her ears.

It's better for Yamami Maki to come back than for Mochizuki Haruka to come back; at least Senpai is easier to handle...

The girl's thoughts were that simple.

Besides, the senior student is right. I'm not a "judge," so no matter how much I try to stop her, it won't make a difference.

"..."

As she turned into the passageway leading to the opposite platform, Tomatsu Yuka's mind was filled with the image of those eyes that had just met her gaze.

If I had to pinpoint the most significant change in my senior, it would probably be her eyes…

As Yamami Maki entered the carriage, the resolute light in her eyes shone even brighter than before.

Yet she remains gentle.

Chapter 728 Tokyo Fifteenth Night

At 7 p.m. on Monday, Jun Matsue sat by the window in his bedroom, wearing headphones. The moonlight cast long, narrow shadows that moved rustlingly across the table.

Laiqi seems to be quite busy today. The guy ate dinner alone, which is convenient for him to finish up his songwriting work.

As he finished editing the melody on the girl's tablet and put down his pen, the sound of the bedroom door opening came from outside, even though it wasn't closed.

"I'm back~"

The girl's sweet voice filled the silence of the living room. Jun Matsueda walked out of the bedroom, and the idol girl took off her hat and waved to him.

"I got home late today, did Songzhi miss me?"

The boy walked to the entrance without comment, and the girl who was changing her shoes took the bag from his hand and placed it on the dining table behind him.

"Did you work overtime today? Have you had dinner yet?"

He muttered to himself, "Why do I feel like some kind of housewife?"

"I guess so." Yosuke Kurusu lightly took off his black ankle boots. "Mondays are always busy, and I also did a cover shoot for a fashion magazine."

She followed the boy into the living room and hung her dark red baseball jacket on the back of a chair at the dining table.

"Mmm—"

The girl stretched out a long yawn, her white tight-fitting short-sleeved top outlining her undulating figure.

Jun Matsue, standing to the side, remained unmoved. "So, have you had dinner yet?"

He had gotten used to Kurusu stretching like a cat, occasionally showing off her physical beauty.

I just grabbed a quick bite at the company.

"Have you eaten enough?" The man's role has changed from wife to mother.

"Don't worry." Miss Idol picked up the exquisitely packaged bag on the table and shook it.

"And this too~"

"What is this?" Jun Matsue had noticed the packaging bag filled with gold and white long ago.

"A moon-viewing dumpling gift box, given to me by Tachibana-nee~"

“Tsukimi dango…” The boy looked on with a nostalgic expression. “No wonder the school cafeteria was selling Tsukimi burgers today.”

"So it was the fifteenth night."

The fifteenth night of the lunar calendar, equivalent to the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, falls on the same day. It's not a particularly important holiday for Japanese people—as evidenced by the fact that it's not a public holiday.

"This is my first time eating moon-viewing dumplings~" Kurusu Yosei said, carrying a gift box in one hand and a chair in the other as she walked toward the balcony.

Jun Matsue blinked, then picked up a chair and followed behind her.

"I've never tried it either. It seems like people don't really value it, but various moon-viewing dishes are quite popular."

So-called Tsukimi cuisine is generally food with an added round egg shape, such as Tsukimi chicken meatballs with a raw egg yolk, and Tsukimi burgers with a fried egg.

The two carried chairs to the balcony and sat down. Miss Idol placed the gift box on her lap and looked up at the sky above.

The night sky was clear tonight, and the full moon was clearly visible. The clouds floating above the distant city were like thin gauze. The girl nodded in satisfaction.

"Perfect!"

"Sister Tachibana said that moon-viewing dumplings should be eaten with someone you care about while enjoying the moon!"

"..." Jun Matsue moved his chair closer and watched her open the gift box.

"Wow~" Yosei Kurusu made a cute, surprised sound.

The box contained fifteen sweets, including the traditional three-colored dumplings, round white dumplings with rabbit designs, and mini dorayaki. Inside the lid was a clump of pampas grass, a traditional offering for the fifteenth night of the twelfth lunar month.

"Which one of the pine branches would you like to eat first?" the girl asked, turning her head to the side.

The boy thought for a moment, "Shall we eat the rabbit first?"

“I think so too!” Miss Idol nodded in agreement, picking up the two soft, cuddly rabbits from the box.

"The rabbit is so cute, let's eat it first!"

Taking the rabbit dumpling from the girl's hand, Jun Matsue held it in his hands, first observing the dumpling's two light brown ears and two small red eyes, then closing his eyes and biting off half of its body.

The outer layer is a thin, translucent pastry similar to daifuku, and the inside is a delicate red bean paste filling—a simple and pure sweetness with a hint of milkiness. He opened his eyes and looked at the rabbit "corpse" that was still half-eaten in front of him.

"So it's white bean paste..."

"It tastes pretty good~" Kurusu Yosei licked her lips, having already finished the dumpling in her hand.

Would you like another pine branch?

"You eat first..." the boy mumbled as he chewed.

The girl picked up a mini dorayaki from the side and popped it into her mouth with a yum of mouthfuls, facing the moon.

"This one is good too~"

Jun Matsue ate the remaining half of the rabbit and took out his phone to check it.

No girls sent holiday greetings, and there were no special updates, so it seems that not many young people actually celebrate the "Fifteenth Night".

Even the senior student didn't pass... He put down his phone and stared blankly at the full moon in the sky.

The brass band's performance ended smoothly the day before yesterday. As for the girls' private conversations, excluding him, it didn't seem to have any impact on him—he still spent his Sundays sweetly in the Tomatsu family's apartment, and his senior continued to report to him on the big and small things in his rented apartment.

"What's Songzhi thinking about again?" The girl waved her fair and slender hand in front of him, like a ray of moonlight.

"...The fifteenth night is a festival symbolizing reunion in China," the boy said casually.

"What do you mean?" Yosei Kurusu blinked alertly.

"You're not satisfied with eating dumplings with me alone? You want to invite all your girlfriends over, right?"

“I didn’t think that way,” Jun Matsueda glanced at her. “I just suddenly felt a bit sentimental—”

"I don't know if it's a coincidence or what, but it seems like very few people I know have happy families."

Needless to say, there's his relationship with Aya-chan. Tomatsu's parents divorced, Mochizuki and her aunt depended on each other for survival, and Kurusu had never seen his father since he was a child...

The only senior student with a harmonious family is now living alone in a rented apartment.

"So what?" Kurusu Yosei asked nonchalantly. "As long as you're living a good life, isn't that enough?"

The boy smiled and said, "Kurasu is right."

"But I don't think I've seen you contact your mother much. Is that alright?"

"What's the big deal?" The girl handed him the last rabbit. "Isn't it enough that I send her money every month?"

"Send money?" Jun Matsueda looked at her. "How much?"

"Not much, not much, don't worry~" Miss Idol gave him an "OK" sign.

"It's just a little more than the normal cost of living in Tokyo."

"No matter how eccentric my mom is, she's the one who raised me. Now that I can earn money, of course I have no reason not to support her."

"I can sing and dance now, and I have such a beautiful face and body, all thanks to her foundation!"

“But I only intend to provide for her living expenses.” Kurusu Yosei stuck out his tongue, his wet, pink tongue tip still tinged with red bean paste.

"Dating and chasing after idols is too expensive. Let Mom figure it out herself."

"..." Jun Matsue looked at the girl beside him. "You're more reliable than I thought."

"What are you saying!" Miss Idol puffed out her chest. "I'm here in the world of Qiyang!"

“When my career was just starting to take off, I told my mom that I would only be responsible for her basic living expenses, and the rest would not be my responsibility.”

She had also experienced times when she had to stretch her money carefully, so she was certainly aware of the cost of living in Tokyo.

"And you're not allowed to use my name to seduce other idols, you're not allowed to gamble, you're not allowed to borrow money at high interest rates, you're not allowed to borrow money in my name, and you're not allowed to sell the house."

"As long as these things can be done, and with me around, Mom's life won't be too bad for her in her later years."

As Yosuke Kurusu said this, he took out his phone and looked at it. "Look! She was having dinner with that pretty boy tonight!"

"So we don't need to care about her opinion when we're dating in the future?" the boy asked casually.

The girl stared at him for a while.

"Of course! She can talk about hers, and I'll talk about mine. We'll just keep to ourselves!"

"..." Matsueda Jun stood up and shook his head. As expected of the Kurusu family.

"Where did Songzhi go?" Miss Idol looked up at him, her face as smooth as moonlight.

"I'll go get you your gift for the Fifteenth Night." The boy walked into the living room without turning his head.

He quickly returned to the balcony with the tablet. The girl had already put away the moon-viewing dumpling gift box. She sat upright with her hands on her lap, looking like a child looking forward to a gift.

"Here." Jun Matsue placed the tablet in her arms.

"I've written a song for you, give it a listen."

"...Wow!!!" The girl belatedly exclaimed, standing up while holding the tablet.

"Really finished writing?!" She held the tablet high, blocking the moon in the sky.

"Hmm." The boy stood to the side, holding onto the railing. "The tablet mainly contains vocal melodies. I'll send you the lyrics later."

"Wow~~~" Yosei Kurusu exclaimed excitedly as she looked at the boy beside her.

"Then I'll have to click to listen?"

"Listen to it."

Miss Idol cautiously extended her index finger and tapped the file on the screen titled "Happy End".

The prelude, a blend of piano and violin, rose under the night sky, soothing and melodious, like a thread undulating in the snowy winter wind, captivating the heart.

As the prelude melody fell to the ground like the gentle tinkling of bells, the girl knew in her heart that it was time to speak.

But only music played, no lyrics. Although the melody, symbolizing human voices, was still playing, Yosuke Kurusu frowned and pressed pause.

"Where's the human voice?" she asked, pouting.

"I haven't had a chance to record it yet," Jun Matsue said, spreading his hands.

"Then sing along with the accompaniment once!" The girl shook his arm.