Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 470

"..." The boy still remembered the time he almost got drunk on sake.

"Get ready to go out." He took off his apron and wisely changed the subject. "Remember to change your clothes; it's quite chilly now that the sun has set."

"Okay~" Yosei Kurusu skipped out of the kitchen and into his bedroom.

The two walked out of the apartment at 7:15 p.m. The daytime sunlight had long since faded, the clouds were clear, and the sky was a serene deep purple, gently washing over the faces of passersby.

The boy and girl went out, turned left, and disappeared into the alley with their backs to the empty intersection. Soon, only the two of them remained on the narrow road.

"Kurasu." Jun Matsue called out to the cheerful girl who was bending over to observe a small patch of farmland by the roadside.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Kurusu Yosei turned around, his bright eyes sparkling in the dim light of the path.

"I should be able to give you the song in a couple of days."

"So fast?!" The idol girl's eyes widened, and she jumped back to his side. "Didn't you just finish your exams?"

"You're not thinking of cutting corners and just making do with whatever you can, are you?"

"How could that be?" The boy released her hand. "I was thinking about the new song during the exams too."

"And once you have an inspiration, the progress will definitely be faster than before. I can only write vocal melodies and lyrics, and I can only provide some reference for the instrumentation. It still needs to be handed over to your production department to improve it."

"Whoa~" The girl swung her arms beside him and strode forward with her long legs. "So, you're really almost done writing it?"

"uh-huh."

"I'm suddenly feeling a little nervous..." Yosuke Kurusu said, pressing his hand to his chest under his baseball jacket and winking at the boy.

"I feel a mix of excitement and anticipation—is this what it feels like to wait for your child to be born?"

“…What are you saying?” Jun Matsue rolled his eyes at her.

"A song tailor-made for me..." The girl smiled and moved her small hand to her belly, "Isn't this my child?"

"I'm so excited! Pine, please don't let me down!"

The two passed under a street lamp, and Jun Matsueda looked at her flawless profile illuminated by the lamplight.

"Anyway, I'm quite satisfied with what I've written so far—at least I've managed to express my own feelings, as requested before I came here."

"Really?" The girl tilted her head up and leaned closer. "So, Songzhi can understand my feelings and my thoughts about love?"

"I've always understood you." The boy stopped and looked at her. "But about your relationship..."

He pinched his fingertips together. "You should know a little bit about it, right?"

“I know this!” Kurusu Yosei made the same gesture. “Fingertip Universe, right? Looks like you’re pretty confident~”

She smiled, revealing neat and white teeth, like a carefree child, radiant in the night breeze.

The two walked to the end of the path, passed a small stone shrine, and Jun Matsueda watched the girl beside him walk quickly forward and turn left perpendicularly at the next intersection.

"Why did you turn left?" the boy called out to her. "Are you planning to go back already?"

"Mmm!" Miss Idol smiled and turned around, nodding vigorously at him.

"I need to go back and practice my voice!"

"The song about pine branches will be finished soon, and I need to do more preparation!"

“…Then let’s go back.” Jun Matsueda smiled and said.

"Looks like I need to hurry up and start writing songs too."

Their after-dinner walk ended hastily. After returning home, Lai Qiyang went into the bathroom to take a shower, while the boy went back to his room and opened his notebook.

The binding of the white paper book was a little loose, perhaps because he had been flipping through it too many times recently.

Before putting on his headphones, picking up his pen, and immersing himself in the world of melody, Jun Matsueda's phone vibrated.

A parrot avatar lit up on the screen. He opened the message and saw that Yamami Maki had sent him a picture.

It was a photo of her and Kuroha Shin sitting in the living room of their rented apartment—the low square table was now covered with a thin blanket, officially transformed into a kotatsu (heated table).

The senior smiled at the camera taking a selfie, while Kuroba Shin, holding a Nintendo Switch, sat opposite her with a slightly impatient expression on her childlike face.

"Kokoro came to visit tonight, and we used the kotatsu together~"

The boy replied, "Isn't it a bit too early to use a kotatsu in this weather?"

The girl sent a chick nodding emoji.

"The kotatsu isn't turned on yet, but it's very comfortable like this. We don't really want to move now~"

Kotatsu... Jun Matsueda put down his phone and started thinking.

Or should I buy one for myself?

He quickly shook his head.

Just getting Tomatsu and Mochizuki to sit down would cause them to fight fiercely under the table.

Jun Matsueda picked up his phone again. "The brass band's performance is tomorrow. Is your schedule okay, senpai?"

This time, the girl didn't reply as quickly; she sent a voice message.

"Yes! I will definitely come!"

"..." The boy put his phone in his pocket, trying to calm the inexplicable tension that had arisen in his heart.

He adjusted his headphones to a comfortable position and started playing the melody he had recorded earlier—his creative process was quickly interrupted again.

I wonder if Yosuke Kurusu, who had just finished showering, pushed open the bedroom door, his cheeks still damp with steam.

“Songzhi, I forgot to ask you earlier—” she said enthusiastically.

"You said the song is almost finished, so you must have a name by now, right?"

What's the name of this song?

After pondering for a while over the small blank space at the top of the lyrics, Jun Matsueda turned to look at the girl by the door.

"Happy End".

Chapter 725 Yuhua, Long Time No See

The next day, Saturday, Haneoka High School dismissed students at 12:30 pm.

As the students carrying their schoolbags walked out of the school gate, they were surprised to find a school bus parked on the side of the road.

The tall bus was spotless, its roof reflecting the midday sun. The boys and girls hurrying home unconsciously slowed their pace, gazing at the ornate lettering of "Haneoka High School" and the brightly colored school emblem on the side of the bus.

"Oh, so our school has a school bus..."

One of the girls said that she was a first-year student who had only been at Yuqiu High School for a little over a semester.

Her companion took her arm. "Ah, Junko, you're in the home club, it's normal that you didn't know—"

"Whenever school clubs participate in large competitions or performances, there will be school buses to pick them up and drop them off!"

"But at the beginning of October..." The well-informed girl frowned and looked at the sky in thought.

The noisy footsteps behind her gave her the answer. She turned around and looked at the girls carrying large and small bags, hurrying out of the school gate.

"Oh, it's the brass band club~"

When Jun Matsue walked out of the teaching building, the main group of the brass band had already disappeared at the school gate. He watched a somewhat familiar girl walk past him, carrying a pure black backpack that looked like a trash can, panting as she walked towards the school gate.

"Is that your trumpet player?" he asked, looking at the person next to him.

“Yes, that’s right.” Tomatsu Tomohana nodded, glancing at the light and delicate sack bag in her hand.

“They practice large instruments, which is where things get complicated.”

"Should we go help?" the boy asked habitually.

"No." The girl decisively grabbed his arm.

"We are the seniors, how can we do manual labor for the juniors?"

"Besides, Tsun-kun belongs to me. If you go and help them, who knows how many more girls you'll attract."

“…Then let’s hurry over there.” Jun Matsue agreed with her.

Tomatsu Yuka didn't let go of his hand, and walked towards the school gate with him. When another girl with a backpack that was longer than her head passed by her, the girl suddenly remembered something.

"What you just said seems a bit off." She turned to look at the boy and stuck out her tongue.

"I should belong to Tsunkun~"

Jun Matsue smiled.

"At least for now, I belong to you."

He boarded the school bus with Tomatsu Yuka and patiently waited for her to chat with the club president sitting in the front row, while also enduring the curious stares of the girls on the bus. A few minutes later, the boy finally sat down in the back row by the window.

"Yuhua, would you like to switch seats with me? The view from the window is better."

"No." Tomatsu Yuka shook her head and sat down, leaning against his arm.

"I'm going to block the other girls' view, I won't let them look at you!"

Since there was no one else she cared about here, Chunjun didn't mind indulging in a little capriciousness and releasing her possessiveness.

Jun Matsue glanced at her and took the saxophone bag from the girl's hand.

"Why are you bringing your saxophone if you don't need to perform?"

"To make myself feel more involved~" Tomatsu Yuka smiled, "Otherwise, I'll feel like an outsider."

"And what about me?" the boy asked, pointing to himself.

"Tsun-kun, just think of it as a free show!" The girl smiled even more broadly. "It'll be a while before everyone arrives, so let's wait in the car~"

The head of the brass band, who was sitting in the front row, came over again. Jun Matsueda turned his head to look at the line of students leaving school outside the car window, and heard the gentle conversation of the girls in his ears.

Perhaps because school ended early on Saturday, the students passing by the school bus all looked radiant. After exchanging greetings with a few acquaintances through the bus window, the boy's wandering gaze finally settled on the school gate.

Wearing a white shirt, Mochizuki Haruka walked out of the school gate alone, carrying a bag in one hand and a neatly folded coat in the other.

She squinted slightly in the sunlight and pursed her lips with a hint of displeasure, as if she didn't quite like the midday sun.

Like a cat… Jun Matsueda couldn’t help but raise the corners of his lips.

If Mochizuki happens to pass by, should we try to attract her attention?

The boy quickly realized that his thinking was pointless, because the Mochizuki family's car had already stopped in front of the girl.

A low-key yet sophisticated black sedan drove past the school bus. Jun Matsue watched the car window glide past him—the dark glass was like a calm lake, and he could only see his own reflection.

“Every time Tsun-kun leaves school, she follows him out of the school gate early.”

A girl's whisper came from behind him. Jun Matsue turned around. The brass band president who had been standing next to their seats had already walked away. Tomatsu Yuka was leaning close to him, looking at him with a sly smile in her eyes.

The boy glanced out the window again; the Wangyue family's car had already driven far away.

"There was no self-study period after school today, so it's normal for her to leave early."

"But on the days when Jun-kun goes to work after school, Mochizuki Haruka also skips self-study and leaves right away."

"Really?" Jun Matsue blinked.

"Hmm~" the girl made a confident nasal sound.

The low hum of an engine starting filled the carriage. The boy stretched and ended the conversation.

"Are we leaving?"

"Everyone's here." Tomatsu Yuka nodded and looked at the instructor standing next to the driver, who was starting to take attendance.

"The destination is Suginami Public Hall, the venue where the NHK Symphony Orchestra regularly performs."

As the school bus passed the entrance of Haneoka High School, Jun Matsueda spotted a familiar figure not far away—Natsumi Imokawa had just walked out of the school gate, the girl carrying a uniform bag and walking out with her head down, holding books.

The boy took out his phone: "Don't read books once you leave the school gates. Be careful on the road."

After sending the message, he leaned close to the car window. The girl who was concentrating on memorizing her lessons had already been left behind—her back, with her head raised and looking left and right, revealed a hint of surprise and confusion.

Jun Matsuoka smiled, put away his phone, and turned his gaze to the inside of the carriage.

He and Natsumi Imokawa haven't been in much contact these past few days, partly because of the mock exams, and partly because the girl is going to participate in the Tokyo University of the Arts entrance exams next week, and is now basically in the final sprint stage of "not paying attention to anything else".

However, this actually made the boy feel a little more at ease.

What he feared most was that after chatting on the terrace that day, the girl suddenly showed unusual initiative and enthusiasm. Now that he found her still acting normally, the boy's uneasy feelings finally relaxed.