Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 313

"Yesterday it was snowing heavily, a rare occurrence in March, but today the sun is shining so brightly—it's as if the weather in Tokyo is giving way to our graduation ceremony."

"But looking into Xiaoxing's eyes, I began to miss the heavy snow that fell before today—"

"If it continues to snow in Tokyo, will her departure be delayed?"

"Her soft hand trembled in my palm, and we both knew the answer."

The scene suddenly shifts to a classroom, where a boy, holding his graduation certificate, follows a girl to the podium and signs his name on the blackboard.

Hikaru Kashiwahara.

The camera pans to the left, as if following the boy's gaze—the girl's slender fingers hold a piece of chalk, leaving delicate handwriting on the blackboard.

Gonano apricot.

"The first day that snow stopped falling this year was the day my classmate Konno and I graduated from high school."

"It was also the day my neighbor of six years, Konno An, moved away from Tokyo."

"So I'm going to confess my feelings to Xiaoxing later."

"Then wait to be rejected by her."

"..."

"How is it?" Jun Matsuoka turned his head.

“Hmm…” Wearing headphones, Natsumi Imokawa stared at the paused scene on the screen. “Matsue, let’s listen to it again together.”

She pressed play, and the commotion at the school gate filled their headphones. Then the camera zoomed in again, and this time, the silent boy had a monologue.

"There seems to be a bit too much detail in the sound." The girl moved the mouse and adjusted a few parameters. "It sounds a bit like a lullaby."

“…Indeed.” Jun Matsue listened to his own voice, so delicate it was almost nauseating.

"It's okay, we can just adjust the recording settings." Natsumi Imokawa looked at the boy next to her. "But the emotion in Matsueda's later lines wasn't quite there, was it?"

"Hmm... because what I'm saying are all internal thoughts, right?" Jun Matsueda took off his headphones.

“I don’t have any particularly great acting skills. On set, I can increase my immersion in the character by interacting with other people. But now that I’m just recording, it might be a bit difficult to go further into the character’s mind.”

“I understand!” Natsumi Imokawa nodded. “If you can’t grasp the character, you need someone to interact with you, right?”

She reached out and turned the boy's chair so that he was facing her.

“It just so happens that Matsueda has a good memory, so he doesn’t need a script.” The girl cleared her throat, then straightened her back and looked at Matsueda Jun.

"From now on, just pretend I'm Konno An and record me!"

Chapter 550 Food and Sex

"Treat me like Konno An, and record me!"

Jun Matsue looked at the girl sitting in front of him, while Natsumi Imokawa placed her hand on her chest, looking as if she was about to dedicate herself to art.

"...Will talking to you make it work?" He blinked.

"That's at least better than staring at a computer, right?" Natsumi Imokawa blinked. "At least I'm a girl."

"If you don't think I look like Konno An, I'll talk to Tomatsu next time and ask her to record with you?"

“Then let’s not go.” Jun Matsueda shook his head. “Her coming might further delay the progress.”

"Then try it on me first!" She picked up the microphone on the table and held it between the two of them.

So Jun Matsueda read the narration from the first scene again, this time facing Natsumi Imokawa—their chairs were very close together, and the girl tilted her body slightly to hold the microphone in front of his mouth, causing the deformed big-eared dog on her T-shirt to pounce on him as well.

"...Her soft hand trembled in my palm, and we both knew the answer."

The boy's tone changed slightly, and Imokawa Natsumi tilted her head in confusion.

Their knees touched—she was too close, Jun Matsue thought to himself. He leaned back slightly to try and create some distance, but the girl leaned forward a little as well.

Natsumi Imokawa wrinkled her nose, her pink lips opening and closing silently.

"Don't move," was what she mouthed.

So Jun Matsueda had no choice but to continue recording in that position. He soon discovered that the girl in the background was more eye-catching than the microphone in front of him.

Her long eyelashes fluttered as she stared intently at the boy's face, presumably watching his lip movements. The neckline of her T-shirt revealed a large expanse of skin due to her posture, which, under the light, resembled piled-up powdery snow, the deep cleavage rising and falling with her breath.

Feeling the girl's gaze fixed on his face, the boy sighed helplessly.

"No."

"What's wrong?" Natsumi Imokawa asked seriously, still holding the microphone without moving.

Jun Matsue took the microphone from her hand, turned his chair around and placed it on the table. "Well, it's supposed to be an inner monologue, so it feels even stranger to say it to someone else."

I won't go into the more specific reasons.

"Then what should we do?" the girl pouted. "Would it be better if you recorded with your eyes closed?"

"I'll handle it myself," the boy said, looking at the computer screen. "I'll just record it like the first time."

When the third recording ended, Natsumi Imokawa opened her eyes wide in surprise. She dragged the progress bar and listened carefully to the second half.

"This time it was perfect, and the emotions in the following part were also very rich. The bitter feeling of Kashiwabara Hikaru announcing that he was going to confess was very well done."

"How did Songzhi do it? How did he improve so quickly?" she asked curiously.

"Just put yourself in her shoes." Jun Matsueda pursed his lips. "Just put yourself in my shoes and my senior's shoes."

Hikaru Kashiwabara and Anzu Konno's story contains traces of his senior, but he wasn't very willing to actively evoke those memories and emotions before.

"Ah..." Natsumi Imokawa's joyful expression froze.

"Um, I didn't mean for you to recall the matter of your senior..."

What happens around us is always more memorable than what we hear or see on screen, and it's inevitable that a young girl would be influenced by Jun Matsueda's stories during the creative process.

"It's okay." The boy looked at his own smiling confession on the screen. "Anyway, it's all in the past. It's not a bad thing if it helps with the recording."

"Is there any water? I'm getting thirsty after talking so much."

"I'll get you some water!" The girl stood up abruptly. She glanced at the time on the computer. "It's about time for lunch. Why don't we rest first?"

"That's fine too."

The two walked out of the room. Natsumi Imokawa, wearing slippers, quickly walked to the living room and pulled back the curtains. The sun-drenched apartment instantly transformed from a hiding place for a murderer into a cozy little home full of artistic flair.

"Pine Branch, please sit down!" She acted like a primary school student leading a friend home for the first time, pulling the boy to sit on the sofa and then bringing him a glass of water.

"What do you want for lunch, Pine Branch? I'll make it for you!"

The girl sat beside him, excitedly shaking her hands on her lap, casting eager glances at him.

"...What can you burn?"

Jun Matsuo asked cautiously, fearing he might hear an answer like braised beef or pork bone soup.

"Pasta and fried rice!" Natsumi Imokawa said with a proud tone.

“I went to the supermarket yesterday and bought meat sauce and ketchup. As for fried rice, I have chopped ingredients in the refrigerator.”

The boy chose fried rice, so the girl opened the refrigerator and took out a bowl containing diced carrots, chopped onions, eggs, and bacon. She couldn't hold all the food in her hands, so Jun Matsue helped her take some as well.

"Does Imokawa often make fried rice?" Jun followed her into the kitchen. Both of them were carrying large bowls, and the ingredients inside were not enough for one meal.

"Hmm!" Natsumi Imokawa tied an apron around her neck and then cracked open an egg.

"Shall I crack the eggs for you?" Jun Matsue extended his hand.

"No, no need." The girl took the bowl away from her. "I'm very experienced; just wait and enjoy the pine branches~"

"Because my parents told me to eat less convenience store fast food. If I'm going to cook it myself, fried rice is more convenient—I can chop the ingredients in advance and cook the rice, and it'll be ready to eat in just a few minutes!"

As she spoke, she lit the stove, and after the oil was hot, she poured in the egg mixture. With a pleasant sizzling sound, the gradually solidifying golden eggs emitted the aroma of oil, which the girl then broke up with a spatula.

The chopped bacon and vegetables were then added and stir-fried. Finally, Natsumi Imokawa added rice, picked up a jar from the side, and sprinkled in salt, pepper, and MSG.

Matsueda Jun watched the girl's skillful movements; her bangs swayed slightly, and there was a little sweat on her forehead.

Compared to her usual image of always carrying a camera, she exuded a more mature aura in an apron. The tight belt around her waist and the fabric bulging at her chest further accentuated her already formidable figure—perhaps this is the image of a wife that best fits a man's sexual fantasies.

"It's ready to be served!" Natsumi Imokawa scooped a small spoonful of fried rice from the pot and put it in her mouth to chew.

"Delicious!" She squinted her eyes in satisfaction, then scooped up a large spoonful of fried rice and brought it to the boy next to her.

"Try the pine branch too, and see how salty it is?" The girl opened her eyes wide and looked at him expectantly.

"..." Jun Matsue looked at her silently.

Natsumi Imokawa was still wearing an apron. She held a spoon in her right hand and supported it with her left. The girl looked up at him, blinking her innocent eyes, seemingly unaware that she was being fed by her girlfriend.

"Don't you want to eat the pine branch?" Her bright eyes dimmed slightly.

The boy sighed, opened his mouth and swallowed a whole spoonful of fried rice, the rich aroma and the warmth of freshly cooked rice filling his tongue.

He looked at the girl's eyes, which lit up again.

"It tastes even better than I expected."

Chapter 551 The Fried Rice Dispute

After putting the last bite of fried rice into his mouth, Jun Matsue, adhering to the spirit of not wasting anything, used a spoon to scrape up the remaining rice grains on the plate.

"Have you eaten enough, Pine Branch?" Natsumi Imokawa placed a glass of milk in front of him, and she was very pleased with the boy's attitude of not leaving a single grain of rice.

"If that's not enough, I have more here, I can share them with you."

Just as the girl was about to pick up her plate, Jun Matsueda quickly refused.

"That's enough, I'm full." He took a sip of milk. "It tastes great, take your time, no need to rush."

The plate in front of him was a size larger than Imokawa's; the girl had deliberately served him a lot more.

"That's good." Natsumi Imokawa nodded and continued eating. "I've known how to make fried rice since middle school, so it'll definitely taste good~"

Does this girl drink milk like water? Jun Matsueda wondered, watching her eat fried rice and drink milk at the same time.

Back in Hokkaido, Imokawa also really liked banana milk.

After watching the girl eat for a while, Jun Matsueda's phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a message from Haruka Mochizuki.

"Get up."

Another picture shows a pizza with rich sauce on a table. A girl is showing her small hand, picking up a slice of pizza. Not far away, on the ground, is Jinzhi, who has her head buried in a cat bowl.

It seems both cats have eaten lunch, the boy tapped his fingers on the screen.

"There's still milk in the fridge, remember to drink it."

"Oh." Mochizuki Haruka seemed to have gone to get the milk, and replied a while later, "What did Matsue have for lunch?"

Jun Matsue took a picture of the CD in front of her and sent it to her. He made a point of not including Natsumi Imokawa, who was sitting opposite him wearing an apron, in the picture.

The girl returned his question with a question mark, "Is your lunch a plate?"

"The fried rice is all gone."

"Did you make this for Imokawa Natsumi?" she asked warily.

The boy looked up at the girl opposite him again; Imokawa was almost finished eating.

"It's made by Yuchuan, and it tastes pretty good."

"Buy some ingredients for fried rice this afternoon, and I'll cook it for you too," Mochizuki Haruka replied immediately.

Jun Matsue smiled, and Natsumi Imokawa, who was drinking milk, blinked. "What's Jun Matsue laughing at?"

"It's nothing." He sent Wangyue a "received" emoji, then put down his phone. "Shall we continue recording after dinner?"

The girl, with a spoon in her mouth, pondered, "Hmm... I'll rest for a bit. I need to wash the dishes first."

"I'll do the dishes," Jun Matsue said, standing up. "Didn't Imagawa not get enough sleep last night? You should rest a bit more."

"Huh?" Natsumi Imokawa wanted to refuse, but the boy had already picked up the plate and walked into the kitchen.

Watching his back as he turned on the tap, the girl lowered her head, and the food in her mouth seemed to taste even better.

Natsumi Imokawa was right; fried rice is indeed very convenient. Jun Matsueda washed the dishes in less than ten minutes and also helped Imokawa wipe down the stove and range hood.

When he dried his hands and walked out of the kitchen, the worktable was gone, and the light in the living room was much dimmer. The boy walked towards the sofa.