Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 466

The boy put down his bowl, took out his phone, and checked the notifications. It seemed the typhoon hadn't affected most of Tokyo's wards much; only residents along a few rivers had received warnings about water levels.

He scrolled to the chat box and glanced at the messages. His senior had sent another picture a few minutes ago. Her lunch was curry udon, so it seemed that things were probably fine in Higashi-Nakano.

As he continued scrolling through the news feed, Jun Matsueda blinked when he saw the news in the entertainment section.

"Kurusu is trending again."

"What?" Miss Idol swallowed the fried tofu that had soaked up all the soup in her mouth.

She snapped out of her reverie at the hot pot of soy milk in front of her. "Oh... is it the trending topic 'Chirp, Diversity'?"

"Chirp, Diversity" is the ending theme song for episode 7 of "Chainsaw Man"—a cute and catchy song sung by Yosuke Kurusu, which also has a strange name.

“That’s right.” The boy swiped his finger across the screen. “You have three topics trending.”

"#'Chirp, Diversity' tops the weekly singles chart, #Chainsaw Man's ending theme, #Hiyo Kurusu's music video..."

"It's so-so." The girl put down her chopsticks and waved her hand. "Chainsaw Man is already very popular, and the song was already prepared by the company a long time ago. I just benefited from it."

“But I see your own music video is also very popular—” Jun Matsueda held up his phone and clicked on the video in the trending searches.

"Ah, you're not allowed to look at the pine branches!" Kurusu Yosei suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up, taking a few steps around to his side.

"...Why?" The boy looked at her as she held up her hand to shield her phone screen. "Don't you look pretty good in this outfit?"

On the screen, Yosuke Kurusu has her hair in a bun and is dressed in a black and red Chinese-style outfit with long stockings, making her look incredibly cute.

"Because the style of this music video is weird." The girl pressed the pause button on the screen, "I have to make faces at the camera, the dance moves are as simple as gymnastics, and there's even a close-up of me pretending to vomit at the end..."

"I feel like their performances aren't even as good as when they were underground idols!"

“But it’s really popular.” Jun Matsueda moved her arm away and scrolled through the comments under the video.

"Your comment count is almost on par with top-tier celebrities, right?"

"Everyone likes these weird and wonderful things."

Yosei Kurusu sat down next to him and made a face at the boy.

"Besides, I'm very good-looking~"

Jun Matsue nodded in agreement. "Very convincing."

"But don't be fooled by all these comments, there are quite a few negative ones too." The idol got up, took her bowl, and sat down next to him to continue drinking soup and eating vegetables.

"They said I've clearly transitioned into a singer, but I'm still singing these unskilled, mindless pop songs, and that I'm just trying to attract attention..."

The boy flipped through the list and found that among the many praises about the MV's style and Kurusu's look, there were indeed some negative comments that the girl had mentioned.

"We don't need to pay attention to these comments," he said, looking at the person next to him.

“From the agency’s perspective, singing this kind of song can easily attract popularity, ride the wave of a popular IP, and increase your exposure.”

"It's definitely a great choice for your first song after the transformation."

"I know," Kurusu Yosei licked the white sesame seeds off his lips. "Even though I know, I still feel a little annoyed."

"So I'm waiting for Songzhi to give me a super amazing, super moving, super to my liking, super good song!"

She brandished her chopsticks, a hint of murderous intent about to be unleashed.

"That way, I can punch Sakurai Masahiko in the face back then and show those guys who look down on me—"

"Even if Kurusu Yosei transforms into a songstress, she can still make a name for herself with her talent!"

Jun Matsue smiled and waved the trending topics on his phone at her.

"You've already made a name for yourself."

"Then let's sing it again!" The girl tilted her head back and cleared her throat dramatically.

"I've been practicing my vocalization and singing techniques a lot lately, and I definitely sing better than before!"

"Then please improve a little slower," the boy said with a smile, scooping up a spoonful of mushrooms and tofu. "Otherwise, my singing will be dragged down by you."

“That won’t do!” The idol, who had changed her profession to a songstress, raised her eyebrows.

"It can't possibly be worse than your old song 'Instant'!"

"..." Matsueda Jun pretended to think, "It should be fine."

"I'm quite satisfied with the current lyrics and demo, and I'm even hoping to use them to win you over."

"Win me over?" Kurusu Yosei watched him take a sip of thick soup. "Win me over what?"

"I'll make you willingly let me dump you." The boy swallowed the tofu in his mouth, "and become my third ship."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Your little moon-gazing boat is still drifting outside. Pine branch, are you still not giving up?"

"..." Jun Matsue smiled helplessly.

"She will come back."

After sharing the remaining vegetables with the girl, Jun Matsue picked up the still-warm casserole and went into the kitchen.

"Speaking of which, does Matsueda not know how to pursue girls?" Kurusu Yosei followed behind him. "Who would want to be a jerk and say 'I'm going to win you over'!"

The boy turned on the tap with his back to her, watching the clear water wash away the milky white broth remaining in the pot.

“That’s what I want to do,” he said in a flat tone.

"I don't want to deceive or take advantage of anyone."

The light footsteps behind him paused.

"Because my purpose in writing songs for you is not pure—I don't just want to make you happy, but I want to use this method to move you, soften you, conquer you, and make you my lover."

Jun Matsue took the dish soap from the side and squeezed some into the sink.

“I think that in order to maintain these abnormal relationships around me, this kind of ‘impure’ will probably become more and more common in the future.”

"In order to prevent them from accumulating and becoming something that harms our feelings, I think it's better to state these purposes clearly so that you can be mentally prepared."

He shook off the white foam spreading on his hands, then turned to look at the girl staring at him intently.

"In other words, even though I'm going to be a scumbag, I still want to be as honest as possible."

"Even if you're going to be a jerk, you should at least be a decent jerk." The boy's tone was somewhat self-deprecating.

"Only then can I feel at ease."

Only then can we continue down this wrong path without hesitation.

Yosei Kurusu stared at him for two seconds before the boy turned around.

"Hmph..." Miss Idol stared at his back, like a detective who had discovered the real culprit.

"Only someone as eccentric as Songzhi could say something like that."

Jun Matsue paused in his washing of the dishes. "Is Kurusu some kind of normal person?"

The girl laughed happily, pressed herself against the boy's back, and rested her chin on his shoulder.

"Then let me wait until I receive the song written for me, and then I'll assess your sincerity first~"

Yosuke Kurusu poked the cheek that was so close to his with his fingertip, the gesture full of teasing.

"Please rest assured, Mr. Suzuki, I will do my best," Jun Matsueda said in the tone of an office staff member.

"I'll continue writing songs after I finish washing the dishes..."

"So could you please move your well-developed breasts aside and not disturb me while I'm washing the dishes?"

Miss Idol laughed again and lightly jumped back a step.

"No need to rush, it's a rare typhoon holiday, let's watch some drama together this afternoon~"

"Chainsaw Man is pretty good, I think it's quite interesting!"

"Hurry up and wash the dishes!" The girl walked out of the kitchen. "I'll wait for you in the living room~"

Jun Matsue placed the cleaned clay pot on the counter and glanced back at Yosei Kurusu's retreating figure.

Sincerity...

Although it wasn't a definite answer, the fact that Kurusu didn't reject it outright like before was a big step forward.

So he realized he had done the right thing. The boy lowered his head and watched as the water rinsed the foam off the back of his hand.

One must not allow the means of conquest to taint one's pure feelings for young girls.

The same applies to the matter of gazing at the moon.

He recalled his senior's suggestion yesterday to "fight fire with fire."

Jun Matsueda didn't particularly like the approach of continuing the Cold War.

Although it will definitely be effective quickly, this simple and crude approach is a bit too ruthless to Mochizuki.

But you're already hurting her, the boy told himself.

"That's not the same either," he retorted.

If you like someone, you should try your best to minimize the harm they suffer. Isn't that the most basic principle?

Jun Matsueda quickly convinced himself.

Let's go see Mochizuki after the typhoon ends.

Chapter 722 Meeting, Straightforward

September 26th, Friday. Typhoon No. 19 brushed past Mount Tsukuba, crossed Ibaraki Prefecture, and once again entered the embrace of the Pacific Ocean.

Although the storm in Tokyo has not yet subsided, schools and companies will not show any sympathy for lazy people—the Haneoka High School building, which had been empty for a day, was once again filled with the voices of boys and girls.

At 12:30 pm, Mochizuki Haruka and several girls stood in front of the vending machine on the third floor.

The girl looked down at her phone, while the two girls standing in front of her took off their cardigans and tied them around their waists, a classic sexy style.

"What flavor would you like, Moon-gazing?"

Mochizuki Haruka looked up and saw Hana Rion tilting her head to look at her. The girl's neat and thick eyelashes fluttered, clearly indicating that she had secretly used mascara and an eyelash curler.

Seemingly sensing Mochizuki's slightly low mood, Rion added a couple more sentences.

"The ice cream machine recently got some new flavors, don't you want to try them?"

The girl put away her phone and shook her head. "Hazelnut chocolate is fine."

"Let me see..." Spicy Girl stood on tiptoe, her gaze passing over the girl in front of the machine.

"They're still available, lucky you!"

The two quickly bought their respective flavors, and followed the others to the other side of the corridor, where they ate their ice cream by the window.

"It's still raining outside." The girl, who was eating strawberry-flavored food, looked out the window, her voice sounding weak and listless.

"Every time it rains, I feel like the air pressure is so low..."

"Me too! I just suddenly feel listless!"

Someone chimed in, and Hana Rion looked at the girl beside her—Mochizuki Haruka—who was licking a chocolate ice cream in tiny bites, her movements as cute as a kitten.

...Was Mochizuki's mood so low today because of the rain? She wondered.

"The road in front of my house is flooded again. There was still water when I went out today. The ward office said it won't be fixed until tomorrow." The girls were still chatting.

"Even though the typhoon is over, the rainy weather hasn't gone away yet..." someone took a vicious bite of their ice cream. "The typhoon was so awful!"

"Indeed, the wind was rattling my windows yesterday, it was quite frightening!"

"My family had the same problem. The water was cut off for a while. I had just finished using the toilet, and my younger brother was waiting outside. It was so embarrassing!"

"We're eating ice cream right now! Reiko, can you please stop talking about this kind of thing!"

The row of hot girls by the window started giggling, startling a bespectacled boy who was passing by, who quickly walked away.

"Speaking of which, speaking of which~" one of the girls suddenly waved to both sides, and everyone tacitly gathered around.

"I bet Mochizuki-chan wouldn't have this kind of trouble, would she?"

Standing at the very edge, Mochizuki Haruka looked up and saw that she had already eaten half of her ice cream.

"Oh—" the girls exclaimed in sudden realization.

"I saw Mochizuki's post. Even though I can only see one window, it looks really luxurious!"