Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 452

The figures on the playground immediately scattered, and Jun Matsue stood up and patted his trouser legs.

“Jun-kun—” Tomatsu Tomoka, standing at the edge of the playground, waved to him.

"Time to go to the cafeteria!"

The boy waved his hand, indicating that he would be there soon.

He turned to look at the girl sitting on the grass, "Shall I go first?"

"Bye-bye..." Natsumi Imokawa picked up Pocari Sweat again.

The receding figure blurred and distorted through the curved surface of the plastic bottle. The girl, drinking water, blinked, placed the Pocari Sweat on her lap, and watched the boy walk towards his lover who was waiting not far away.

"We only exchanged a few words..." she muttered softly.

Is Songzhi getting busier and busier? She wondered, watching the boy's retreating figure.

Is it because of being in a relationship?

You promised that you wouldn't forget your friends even if you were in a relationship?

A slight sense of frustration welled up inside her. Natsumi Imokawa puffed out her cheeks and looked up at the gray sky.

Forget about shopping and taking photos. Once I finish my entrance exams, I'm going to have a serious talk with him first!

At 12:30 pm, Jun Matsue and Yuka Tomatsu walked out of the cafeteria, hand in hand, onto the main road, and walked under the shade of the trees at the very edge.

The girl cheerfully shook the boy's left hand, "I heard from other people that the ice cream vending machine seems to have added new flavors."

"That's perfect, I can buy two to try." Jun Matsue took his phone out of his pocket—it had been vibrating several times since he left the cafeteria.

The senior student's life report has been going on for two days now; I wonder if she plans to continue indefinitely.

The boy had no intention of stopping her. Yamami Ikuka needed to know about her sister's situation, so it was appropriate for her to pass on the information.

However, there's no need to tell Miss Yuxiang about topics like how to wash underwear...

Listening to the girl next to him talking about the fun of eating ice cream in winter, Jun Matsueda secretly glanced at his phone.

It wasn't a message from my senior, but from Miss Yuxiang.

"How is Moji doing?"

After hesitating for a moment, the boy openly held his phone up to his chest and started typing.

"Didn't I just send you a message this morning, Miss Yuxiang?"

The woman replied very quickly.

"Moji has already told me everything you mentioned. What's the use of just reading the news?"

"What I want is for you to go to her rented apartment and see for yourself! Tell me how she's doing, how she's feeling, whether she's just putting on a brave face, and if she's homesick!"

Didn't I ask you to look after her a little more?

"..." Jun Matsue sighed.

"What's wrong?" Tomatsu Yuka, who was standing next to him, shook his arm and leaned her head closer.

"It's nothing, it's about Senior Yamami." The boy casually held his phone up to her face.

The girl didn't take the phone and swipe the screen; she just glanced at it obediently before looking at the crowd in the middle of the avenue.

"She really ran away from home..." She pointed to her lips with her index finger, lost in thought.

"It's quite impressive that she has such determination."

Tomatsu Yuka turned her head to look at the boy who was typing with his head down, "Is Tsunku going to see her?"

Jun Matsuoka paused for a moment while typing.

“Go ahead.” He looked up. “She’s only been out for a few days, so we really need to keep an eye on her.”

"After all, she's a young lady~" the girl said with a smile, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm.

“Then Jun-kun can take this opportunity to talk to her about the invitation to the brass band.”

"I will." The boy nodded, watching the dappled sunlight fall on her smooth profile through the trees.

"..." Tomatsu Yuka blinked and met his gaze.

Why are you looking at me like that, Chun-jun?

"Just admiring my girlfriend's pretty face."

The girl laughed out loud, and the two continued forward hand in hand. Several girls from the wind band passed by them, winking and exchanging glances as they walked away.

“I thought that if we talked about Yamami-senpai, Yuka would have more to say to me.”

"Didn't Chunjun say that you don't have any feelings for her right now?" The girl smiled. "Then what else is there to say?"

"Anyway, a wicked girl like me would only want her to suffer more." She revealed a sly expression.

"Whether it's in daily life or in relationships~"

With a helpless smile in his eyes, Jun Matsuoka led her into the teaching building.

"Let's go buy some new ice cream."

At 4 p.m., Jun Matsueda walked into a small apartment building near Higashi-Nakano Station.

Unlike the night he first arrived, the fourth-floor corridor was bathed in soft sunlight, illuminating the red bricks outside the railing. The boy looked around the old-fashioned yet tidy corridor, finding it more welcoming than he had imagined.

Before we even reached the end, the door to a room not far away opened first—

Yamami Maki cautiously peeked out halfway, and after confirming that the person she was waiting for in the corridor was indeed him, she smiled and waved to him.

"Welcome~" she said in a light tone.

Jun Matsue walked to the door, and the girl in her home dress followed her to the entrance, where she bent down and took out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet.

"Matsueda-san, wear this!"

The boy looked down and saw a pair of sky-blue linen slippers in front of his shoes, with a white rabbit painted on them—the girl herself was wearing the same style of light yellow slippers, painted with a brown bear, which looked adorable.

"It looks pretty, doesn't it?" Yami Maki met his gaze. "I bought this yesterday when Kokoro and I were shopping for clothes, and it was on sale~"

This is a lie. The girl didn't just do it on a whim—the first thing she thought of when she went shopping yesterday was to buy a pair of slippers so that her classmate Matsueda would have shoes to wear when she came to visit.

"It's not appropriate for you to open the door like that, senior." Jun Matsue, seemingly changing out of context, slipped on his slippers. "What if you mistook my footsteps for mine?"

The boy paused in his shoe-changing motion, realizing his words sounded familiar—he had given the same instructions to Mochizuki Haruka before.

“No one comes to my floor much.” Yamami Maki smiled gently. “Matsueda-kun said she would come over after school today, so I thought it would be you.”

"I won't do that again next time~"

Jun Matsue walked into the room carrying his schoolbag, and the scene before him had changed considerably.

The slightly shaky little dining table was placed in the corner of the U-shaped space, against the fixed half-sliding door and wall of the bedroom. Although there were two fewer seats at the table, it certainly wouldn't wobble anymore.

The girl laid a light green floral tablecloth over it, and placed two glasses and a pot of barley tea on it.

In the corner of the table against the wall, there was a transparent plastic coffee cup with a few small yellow, white, and light blue flowers in it. Although the style was simple, it looked quite fresh and pleasing to the eye after the girl who had learned flower arranging arranged it.

"What do you think, Matsueda-kun?" Yami Maki asked expectantly. "Since I don't usually need that much space at the dining table by myself, I think it's okay to squeeze it into a corner."

"Pretty good." The boy was a little surprised. He found the familiar sofa and sat down, watching the senior pour him a cup of barley tea.

They seem to have reached a tacit consensus on choosing cheap and affordable drinks.

"However, I'm still not entirely satisfied with the living room's layout." The girl handed him the barley tea and sat down at the dining table.

“This sofa and dining table are taking up a lot of space.” She rested her chin on her hand, looking somewhat troubled. “No matter how we put them, they’re in the way.”

"Do you have a table in your bedroom?" Jun Matsue asked, sipping his barley tea.

It tastes a little better than the ones he makes himself.

"No." Yamami Maki shook her head, holding the barley tea.

"Then let's move the table to the bedroom and use it as a desk. It'll be perfect for putting the computer and such."

"That makes sense~" The girl nodded again. Her computer and other things were still at home and she hadn't brought them over yet.

The small living room was quiet for a while. The boy put down his teacup and looked at the girl, whose lips were slightly parted as she searched for a topic of conversation.

"Does the senior still keep in touch with the Haneoka High School Brass Band?"

“…No.” Yami Maki blinked in surprise. “Is there something you need, Matsueda-san?”

"That's right," Jun Matsue said, carefully choosing his words, "This year, the brass band has also made it into the national competition."

"They have a practice performance coming up and would like to invite you to attend."

"...Tomatsu and I will also be there. They said that with such a lineup, we can receive the blessing of the national gold medal team from that year."

The girl's initial expression of surprise turned into panic—this was the first time in a long time that the boy had mentioned Tomatsu Tomok's existence in front of her.

Yamami Maki held the barley tea in her hand high, trying to cover her face.

"...Does Yuka know about this?"

The boy nodded. "I did tell her I'd invite you again."

The girl gripped the glass tightly, watching the translucent brown liquid sway and shake.

“I want to go…” she said softly, then took a deep breath and looked at Jun Matsueda.

"I will go!"

Chapter 710 Adaptable Girl

As September progressed, the sun began to set earlier and earlier. In the Higashi-Nakano apartment, a girl stood with her back to the window, her fine hairs at her temples tinged with the golden hue of the sunlight streaming in from outside.

Matsueda Jun looked at her face. After accepting the invitation, a hint of melancholy appeared in the senior's firm eyes.

Was he worried about feeling awkward when he met Tomatsu? He wondered.

"If you're having trouble deciding, it's okay to change your mind now," the boy said.

After all, she hasn't even settled down yet, so asking herself to muster the courage to face the younger generation might just make things worse.

“No.” Yamami Maki shook her head.

"I'll see Yuka sooner or later anyway."

If she wants to return to Tsunkun's side, she must sort out her relationship with Yuka.

Perhaps Yuka no longer cares about her existence, but she has to face the ugly version of herself from the past.

Jun Matsue looked at her; the girl's soft brows and eyes held a hint of resilience.

From the day she moved out of the Yamami family home, this resilience, like the tender green base color of a plant, has never faded in her eyes.

"..." Avoiding the tender vines sprouting in her eyes, the boy looked at the other furnishings in the room.

"It seems that the senior is adapting well to this room."

A hollowed-out fruit basket sat on the stove, a matcha-colored rug covered the entryway, and several bird and flower magnets appeared on the refrigerator. A photo of Yamami Maki and Kuroba Kokoro, probably taken when they went shopping yesterday, was also pasted on it.

In just three days, the once empty apartment has become much more lively, and it's clear that the girl is enjoying the fun of decorating her little home.

“Of course!” Yami Maki smiled at him, her lips curving upwards. “I’m serious about living independently.”

"Yesterday I carefully inspected the house according to the house condition confirmation form and the reminders left by Songzhi."

"Aside from some signs of aging, there's nothing seriously wrong."

“I marked those marks and filmed them.” The girl pointed to the fluorescent green sticker on the range hood behind her.

"There are burn marks on the edge of this range hood. I don't know how the previous tenants managed to do that."

"Maybe the fire in the pot is too strong," the boy said suddenly.

Yamami Maki chuckled softly, "That's probably someone like me who isn't very good at cooking."

Her faint smile stood out brightly in the growing sunlight by the window, and Jun Matsue blinked.

"So there are no other problems at all?"

"Hmm..." The girl tilted her head back to think.

"Besides the bathtub in the bathroom being a bit small... there does seem to be another problem."

She stood up and opened the sliding door to the bedroom. Sunlight, like piled-up sand, flowed into the room along the door frame.