Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 463

Jun Matsue adjusted his posture by holding onto the table, but he soon bumped into the girl's small feet under the table, so he had to awkwardly cross his legs.

"..." He patted the cushion beneath him. "Wouldn't it be uncomfortable to sit on this for a long time?"

Yamami Maki nodded in agreement. "I bought two tatami sofa chairs, they'll arrive in a couple of days."

She didn't say why there were two.

Just like how she didn't go to her room to change even though she knew her thin loungewear posed a risk of revealing too much...

The boy glanced at the rain outside the window and said, "There's no problem then. Just keep an eye on the water and trash around the stove."

With his approval, the girl relaxed and rested her cheek on the low wooden table.

I'm so looking forward to winter!

Seeing the boy's hand resting on the edge of the table, she placed her right hand on the table as well, and tapped her index finger lightly.

“My sister brought my luggage over last weekend,” Yami Maki said softly. “Autumn and winter clothes, as well as a laptop, textbooks, and a tablet…”

"Following Songzhi's suggestion, I moved that small table under the air conditioner—along with the homemade vase."

"The day before yesterday, when I was sitting in front of the computer checking the new semester's class schedule, the setting sun outside the balcony shone on the wall in front of me. It was a golden yellow color that made me feel very warm."

"The small vase I had placed in the corner of my desk was also illuminated. Although the flowers in the vase had dried up quite a bit, it still looked pretty at that moment."

As the girl spoke, her face remained resting on the table in a cute and languid posture. Her gaze was slightly upward, directed at the boy listening to her.

"For the next half hour, I did nothing but close my laptop and quietly watch my illuminated little flowers until the sun disappeared."

Her calm and understated tone was filled with happiness, bringing peace and tranquility to the listener's heart.

“Matsueda-kun.”

Jun Matsue lowered his head and met the gaze of the serene-looking girl.

"I'm growing to love this little house more and more."

"...It seems that my senior is even more powerful than I thought," the boy said calmly.

"Is that so?" Yamami Maki, who was lying on the table, narrowed her eyes and smiled brightly.

"Hearing Matsueda say that made me even happier than I thought!"

Seemingly feeling that the air around the kotatsu was a bit stuffy, Jun Matsue suddenly stood up.

"Let's check your disaster preparedness first."

The girl sat up straight with a smile, looking full of energy.

"no problem!"

"First, there's the bathroom and the stove."

"I've installed all the sealing strips as Songzhi instructed, and I've also filled the tub with water. I'm going to take a shower early tonight and fill the bathtub with water too."

"Then comes food and drinking water."

"I bought curry, carrots and potatoes, as well as instant noodles, eggs, bread and ham. I also bought a big bottle of mineral water. I can stay home for two days without any problem."

The boy closed the refrigerator door. "Have you tried cooking?"

“Yes!” Yami Maki nodded beside him. “I’ve tried making sandwiches and curry rice, and they went quite well.”

"I felt a little nauseous when I was cutting the chicken..."

Matsue Jun pursed his lips. As expected of the young lady, her habits in this regard were the same as Mochizuki's.

"Let's take one last look at the balcony." He glanced at the girl's closed bedroom door. "The noise from the plane was so loud just now, didn't you put a weatherstripping on the balcony door?"

"Ah!" Yamami Maki hurried towards the bedroom. "I was just putting tape on the balcony door, and I think I forgot to close it!"

The boy followed her into the bedroom—the sound of the heavy rain was particularly loud, and sure enough, the balcony door was half open, with a roll of waterproof tape lying on the floor next to the door.

“I had almost finished sticking it on.” Yami Maki bent down and picked up the tape from the floor. “I just heard Matsueda knocking on the door, and I forgot about it…”

Jun Matsue glanced at the small table leaning against the corner of the wall, on which sat a laptop, textbooks, and the homemade vase that her senior had mentioned that made her feel happy.

The small yellow and white flowers in the transparent plastic cup have turned into pale pink cosmos flowers. Judging from the water droplets on the petals, she probably just changed them today.

The boy looked away. "It's okay, let's continue now."

Sitting at the foot of the girl's bed, watching her pull up the sliding door to the balcony and apply the final border of the cross-shaped tape to the glass along the door frame—Matsueda Jun didn't look at the large expanse of skin exposed when Yami Maki bent over and squatted down, but instead looked at the simple vase she had placed in the corner.

They are meticulous and considerate, have a strong desire to share, and are willing to listen to you and bravely try and take action...

It's really hard to dislike a senior like that.

Chapter 719 Preparations

After taping the edges of both balcony doors shut, Yamami Maki let out a soft breath and sat down on the bed behind her.

"Is this all?"

"That's fine. This typhoon isn't strong. I'm just worried that your old house might have some problems."

The voice behind her rose in pitch. She turned around and saw that the boy sitting at the foot of the bed had stood up.

"..."

A hint of resentment flickered in the girl's eyes—every time she entered her home, Matsueda seemed to be on guard and would almost never sit in the same place as her.

The kotatsu in the living room was definitely the right purchase… Yamami Maki squeezed the bedding beside her, venting her little frustration.

Another plane flew over the neighborhood not far away, and the two people on the balcony saw its silhouette—like a wet, clumsy bird, disappearing into the gray rain clouds outside the balcony.

"It seems that the door seal is quite useful after closing the door."

Jun Matsue gently knocked on the glass door in front of him; this time, the airplane noise was much quieter.

"Don't open the balcony door tomorrow. Wait until the typhoon is over before tearing off the tape." He turned to look at the girl sitting by the window.

"If there are no problems with the house this time, we should be able to save on the work of reinforcing the doors and windows in the future."

“Okay…” Yami Maki nodded gently, sensing something ominous in the boy’s tone.

Sure enough, the boy turned and walked towards the bedroom door, saying, "Then I'll head back now."

"Wait a minute!" the girl called out to him hurriedly, pointing out onto the balcony.

"The wind and rain are really strong right now. If Matsueda goes out, she'll definitely get soaked even with an umbrella!"

Jun Matsuoka turned around.

Raindrops had already splashed onto the sealed balcony door, and even though the open balcony had railings and eaves, the shimmering light from the water droplets on the ground could still be seen.

"The rain got heavier so quickly?" The boy blinked.

Just now, the senior student was squatting by the glass door applying tape. To avoid seeing any glimpses of her private parts, he barely paid attention to what was happening outside the balcony.

“It’s typhoon season.” Yami Maki subconsciously mimicked his tone. “It’s normal for the weather to change quickly.”

The girl took out her phone and looked at it. "The weather forecast says the rain will lessen in half an hour. Matsue-kun, why don't you sit for a while before you leave?"

"Half an hour?" The boy looked at the computer on the table next to him.

It's 4:42 PM, and there's still plenty of time to get home.

"Let's wait a bit then." He chose to follow his senior's advice. "If the rain hasn't let up in half an hour, we'll have to leave anyway."

Jun Matsue didn't want to repeat his previous experience at Imogawa, where the rain kept getting heavier and he was almost forced to spend the night there.

"Then let's go sit in the living room!" Yamami Maki got up from the bedside.

"I'll pour tea for Songzhi-kun~"

Two minutes later, Jun Matsue sat down in his usual spot at the low table, and the girl walked past him out of the corner of his eye.

Opening the refrigerator in the corner, Yamami Maki suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the boy sitting cross-legged.

"Matsue-kun, would you like some hot cocoa? In this damp and chilly weather, a warm cup of hot cocoa would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Hot cocoa makes me feel too full, so barley tea is better."

So the girl returned to her seat, bent down and placed two cups of cold barley tea on the table.

The teacup was made of ordinary glass, with no apparent difference. The boy casually picked up a cup, and the cool touch spread across his palm.

“If you’re using a kotatsu, you have to be careful when carrying water or soup.” He recalled the way his senior had bent over earlier, “especially hot soup and coffee in winter, there was a risk of spilling it.”

Yamami Maki nodded, holding the barley tea. "That makes sense. I'll go buy a pair of baking gloves in a couple of days."

The slightly bitter aroma of barley tea lingered in his mouth, and Jun Matsue once again looked around the room in front of him.

Besides the completely different furniture arrangement, there were also many more things on the stove – knives and various bottles and jars of seasonings, a small frying pan on the gas stove, and a light pink electric kettle next to it.

The once empty countertop is now filled with the atmosphere of daily life. Jun Matsue imagines his senior in pajamas lazily lying on the low table, waiting for steam to rise from the kettle.

"Matsueda-kun, would you like some snacks?"

Yamami Maki got up and pulled over the portable storage rack that was standing next to the stove, assuming that the boy had just been looking at the snacks inside.

"No need." The boy shook his head. "Is the senior already familiar with the surroundings?"

“Yes!” The girl nodded enthusiastically. “I walked all the streets around here last week, and I even went to the Maruetsu supermarket that Matsueda mentioned.”

"These snacks were bought there."

"You could also try online shopping." The rain streaming down the windowpane showed no signs of letting up, and Jun Matsue took another sip of barley tea. "It's much more convenient than shopping in person."

"Online shopping..." Yami Maki blinked. "Kokoro-chan did mention it to me, but I don't really like this method."

"It's more reassuring to see the product in person."

“Speaking of this!” She placed her fair arm on the table and moved closer to the boy.

"I went to the affordable clothing store that my friend Songzhi mentioned a couple of days ago, and it was really great! I bought a short cardigan and a houndstooth skirt, and it only cost me 3,000 yen in total!"

"Didn't you buy clothes before?" Jun Matsue put down his teacup. "And the clothes that Miss Yuka brought you, why did you buy new ones again?"

"..." The girl's expression became flustered. "The sales assistant said I looked great in it and that it was one of the last few pieces."

"I couldn't resist because the price was so cheap..."

The boy initially thought these were just sales pitches from the shop assistant, but after looking at the senior student who wore a simple short-sleeved pajama top with a慵懒 and seductive air, he thought that what the shop assistant said might not necessarily be a lie.

"The clothes in discount stores are cheap, but they're generally not very good in terms of quality and workmanship." He moved his teacup, using it to shield himself from Yamami Maki.

"Now that my senior is living alone, she has to control her spending desires."

Yamami Maki sat up straight and shyly tidied the strands of hair behind her ear.

"I'm not buying any clothes for the next month..."

“I applied to a professor with whom I have a good relationship for a job collecting literature and summarizing data, and she would increase my salary accordingly.”

Jun Matsue looked at the window by the stove. The cloudy glass blurred the view outside, and he could only see clearly by walking to the window.

Looking back at the table, the half-full cup of barley tea seemed to be reminding him that he had been too hasty.

The boy thought for a moment, "Is it almost time for the senior to start school?"

“Yes.” Yamami Maki picked up the tablet on the table and opened her school’s official website.

She swiped her slender fingers across the screen a few times, showing the tablet to the boy.

"We will officially start classes on the 29th."

Jun Matsue didn't move closer; he simply shifted his gaze over there.

"You'll probably be quite busy when school starts, right? If you're planning to look for part-time jobs outside of school, let's talk about it after school starts and you're done with that."

"Actually, it's fine." The girl smiled nonchalantly.

"It's just classes, it's easier than high school."

"Don't you have anything else to do?" The boy blinked in surprise. "Like the student council? Or other departments organized by the school?"

Yamami Maki placed the tablet between the two of them and shook her head with a gentle smile.

"...What about clubs?" Jun Matsueda frowned slightly. "Most people join clubs, right?"

"I'm not interested," the senior student said, looking down at the barley tea in front of her.

"I feel that learning and participating in projects are more meaningful."

"..." Looking at her downcast eyes, the boy recalled the few and silent landscape photos that appeared when he clicked on the small parrot avatar in the chat box before.