Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 276

Since they've come to Qiyang to sleep here tonight, if the two of them want to connect emotionally, there's nothing I can do to stop them.

"Same as always, Songzhi, remember to wake me up tomorrow."

Yosuke Kurusu turned his head and watched the girls close the door to 507. Two footsteps disappeared into the corridor next door.

She turned to look at Jun Matsueda on the sofa, a triumphant smile on her face.

"I won!"

The boy nodded. "You did eat more tonight."

"What are you talking about! It's because I didn't eat properly because I was rushing to get back to Tokyo from Kumamoto!"

The girl shifted her position and angrily slapped the sofa next to her, "There are fewer people now, Songzhi, come sit over here!"

Jun Matsue stared at her for a few seconds, then finally obediently sat down on the large sofa.

Yosei Kurusu immediately lay down on the other side, pressing her soft soles against the boy's thigh and rubbing them vigorously.

"A familiar feeling~" she groaned happily, switching the TV screen to her favorite show, "Monday Late Show".

"So this is what you miss?" Jun Matsue slapped away the girl's bare feet that were placed beside him.

“Yes,” Yosei Kurusu said with a grin. “When I’m running around outside, working myself to the bone, what I miss most is the time when the two of us sit on the sofa together watching TV.”

The boy nodded slightly, looking at the plump female host on the TV screen, "It sounds like it's not easy for her."

"That's incredibly difficult!" The girl jumped up from the sofa. "She performed over twenty shows in less than four months! And she also had to shoot commercials and attend promotional events along the way!"

"Many times, I was even eating while the stylist was doing my hair from behind!"

"You've worked hard~" Jun Matsue placed the strawberries from the coffee table in front of her.

"But it's really satisfying!" Yosei Kurusu turned down the TV volume and excitedly moved closer to the boy.

"When I performed for the first time in Nagoya, the venue wasn't very big, with only one or two thousand people, and the tickets weren't sold out. But when I added more shows in Kumamoto, the venue had a capacity of 2,500 people, and I performed four shows in total, and all the tickets were sold out!"

"Many people even watched four shows in a row!!"

The girl spoke with her chest puffed out proudly, her cheeks flushed. She knelt on the sofa, exuding an air of confidence that made her seem like she was standing at an awards ceremony.

Jun Matsueda smiled. "It's not surprising at all—Kurusu has always been amazing."

“Right!” Yosuke Kurusu’s face was practically glued to the ceiling. “Of course I’m amazing, but it’s also thanks to the company team! Everyone’s been running around with me, and many of them didn’t even go home for the New Year…”

From what she saw on the plane and in the car before departure, to the remoteness of the performance venue, to the strange and unusual foods she tasted during her rest... the girl talked about whatever came to mind, her incessant chatter like a wild rabbit running across a spring lawn, hopping around in the space where there were only two of them.

Jun Matsue wasn't annoyed at all; he listened intently until the girl finally got tired, got up, and poured herself a glass of water from her own special cup.

She picked up the kettle in the kitchen. "How did Songzhi manage these past few months while I was gone?"

The boy in the living room was silent for a moment, then said, "I didn't do anything meaningful."

"And because of my emotions, I started another relationship."

"...What did you say?" Kurusu Yosei's hand holding the kettle trembled violently with surprise.

The overflowing water spilled from the cup and flowed erratically across the table.

Chapter 486 Holding Hands, Kissing, Embracing

When Yosei Kurusu returned to the living room, he slammed his water glass onto the coffee table with a "clang".

"What do you mean you're dating again?"

"Because of Yamami Maki."

Jun Matsue lowered his head, and the girl's incredulous expression disappeared before his eyes, leaving only an empty plate on the table—the strawberries had all been eaten.

Laiqi Youse didn't sit down, but remained standing next to the boy. "Isn't that your ex-girlfriend?"

“Actually, she’s not even an ex-girlfriend,” Jun Matsueda chuckled. “Most people don’t know about my relationship with her.”

"That's not the point!" Her previous ease and cheerfulness were gone; under the light, she even looked somewhat gloomy. "Why are you in love again?!"

So Jun Matsuoka told her about the graduation ceremony.

"...So you're just pretending to be a couple now?"

The girl's complexion improved slightly, and she sat down on the sofa, getting closer to the boy than before.

“Yes.” Jun Matsueda nodded. “We are partners who hurt our senior together.”

Even as he said this, the words that Matsumura Tomoka had spoken to herself by the cherry blossom grove that day kept flashing through his mind—

"Because my only thought is to make you happy..."

"So you guys are doing CP (couple) marketing now?" Yosei Kurusu suddenly said.

"What?" He was stunned.

“It’s just a couple’s promotional campaign!” She stared straight into the boy’s eyes. “Many people in the entertainment industry do this too, pretending to be a couple to generate buzz for their vacation.”

“…Formally speaking, it seems to be the same thing.” Jun Matsue breathed a sigh of relief; the girl seemed to accept this more easily than he had imagined.

"So what did you all do?"

“Nothing much.” He recalled, “Aside from the kiss at the cultural festival, it seems like we just held hands and linked arms after that.”

"Oh." The girl nodded, then stretched out her right hand and placed it on the boy's left hand, which was placed next to her.

"Kurasu, you—"

Just as Matsueda Jun realized the movement on the back of his hand, Kurusu Yosei placed his left hand on his shoulder and turned him around—

They looked at each other face to face, their bodies closer than ever before. Jun Matsue could even feel the girl's chest pressed against his clothes, their breaths almost touching.

"We still need to kiss, right?" The girl's breath hit the boy's face as she spoke, carrying the sweet scent of the fruit she had just swallowed.

"What—" Before Jun Matsue could speak, the berry red color on her lips magnified before his eyes.

A cool, elastic touch landed on the boy's cheek—he turned his head away in time.

"Why did the pine branch turn its head?"

As Kurusu Yosei complained, she reached out and cupped the man's cheek, preparing to kiss him a second time. The boy immediately raised his arm and pulled them apart.

What's wrong with you?

Matsueda Jun wiped the dampness off his face with the back of his hand, surprised by the girl's swift action.

"Aren't you two already working as a couple?" Kurusu Yosei said in a matter-of-fact tone, licking her rosy lips with lingering satisfaction.

"If couples can do these things, it means they're not important, right? Then I'll do it too!"

The girl moved closer to him again, and Jun Matsue stretched out his arm to block her shoulder. "Is there something wrong with your understanding?"

"Isn't that how it is?" Kurusu Yosei didn't give up, trying to break free from his control. "Then why can you kiss her but not me?"

"..." Jun Matsue couldn't explain why, but he just wasn't going to let go.

"Why—" the girl asked as she struggled, and she quickly came up with a crooked idea—sticking out her tongue at the hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey." Jun Matsue let his hands slide down and grab those willful arms. The girl twisted again, and her loose long-sleeved sweatshirt slipped down in the tugging, revealing her fair and rounded shoulders.

This couldn't go on, and the boy was at a loss. He couldn't possibly force himself on her.

"Kurasu, listen to me." Jun Matsueda decided to try a different approach to calm the girl down. "Even if being a couple doesn't count as being a couple, you can't be a couple with two people at the same time, right?"

"That seems to be the case." Kurusu Yosei paused his actions. "So when are you going to finish?"

"...I'm not sure, but it won't be very long."

"Then when will I be able to wait!" the girl struggled again.

"Anyway, I won't kiss you right now." Jun Matsueda released her arm and retreated back onto the small sofa. "This has nothing to do with my relationship with you. Has your idol career come to an end?"

"Are you ready to be in a relationship?"

Lai Qiyang stopped moving. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, looking at the wary boy with resentful eyes.

"I just finished my tour and haven't even had a full day of rest yet, why are you asking me about such troublesome things?"

“It’s all your own fault…” Jun Matsue touched his cheek again, feeling a persistent dampness on it.

"I don't care!" Kurusu Yosei stood up from the sofa, glaring at him fiercely. "You have to make it up to me!"

The boy sighed, "As long as it's not a sexual favor, anything else is fine."

The girl's eyes darted around. "Then you'll drink with me!"

“…We’re out of alcohol at home; we finished it last time.” Jun Matsue wanted to try and smooth things over again.

"Then let's go buy it!" The girl moved closer to him.

"Then I'll go buy it," Matsueda Jun decided to leave. "It probably wouldn't be convenient for you, would it?"

“No problem, I’ll go with you!” Kurusu Yosei smoothed his black hair. “My current look is quite different from when I perform. I can just change into a hoodie!”

So the two of them started packing their things. The girl went back to her room to change her clothes, and Jun Matsue wiped the water stains off the table with a tissue.

It felt like he'd done something strange... the boy thought to himself.

A few minutes later, the two opened the door to 507. The cold wind from the corridor rushed into their collars, and the boy and girl instinctively shrank their necks.

"Close the door gently and slowly," Yosei Kurusu whispered to the person next to her, "Don't let the neighbors find out!"

Jun Matsue nodded, closed his front door like a thief, and silently walked down the corridor with the girl.

The motion-activated lights in the stairwell lit up one by one, and the two followed the falling light out of the apartment building. Kurusu Yosei stopped and put on the hoodie.

Before them lay the familiar alleyway of the residential compound, the dim streetlights carrying the inherent coldness and restraint of neon lights. A few steps further ahead lay the crossroads with flashing traffic lights and the Musashino Mori Cafe where the two of them often ate.

The sky was a clear, silvery-gray, and the bushes along the road cast small, irregular shadows. Yosei Kurusu took a deep breath; the night breeze carried the scent of nearby cherry blossoms, which was refreshing and invigorating.

As if nothing had changed, the girl turned to look at the boy behind her.

"Give me a hug, Pine Branch?"

"You're here again?" Jun Matsue raised his eyebrows.

"Today is the day I return to Tokyo!" Kurusu Yosei said with a smile. "You haven't even given me a proper welcome!"

"Just a hug, nothing else."

The boy's figure froze for a moment, then he slowly opened his arms.

The girl immediately rushed in, and the same thought flashed through their minds.

That hug was so warm.

Chapter 487 Last year's flowers fell, this year's flowers bloom

Walking past the blue sign with a milk jug on it, a "ding-dong~" sounded from behind the open glass door as Jun Matsueda and a girl wearing a hoodie and a mask walked into the convenience store.

"By the way, it seems like you can't buy bars with pine branches yet?" Kurusu Yosei whispered to the boy.

“Indeed.” Jun Matsue nodded. “He’s just turned eighteen.”

"Then why did you say you came to buy wine!" The girl's voice carried a hint of smugness, as if she had caught him red-handed.

“I’m not wearing a school uniform.” Jun Matsueda patted his jacket. “The shop assistants won’t bother me for no reason.”

Yosuke Kurusu turned around. Not far away, the shop assistant behind the counter was looking down at her phone, seemingly unaware of the two of them. She quickly grabbed the boy's sleeve and pulled him to the liquor counter.

"Take a look at what you'd like to drink, and I'll pay at the counter later to avoid any trouble."

Jun Matsue looked at the beverage cabinet in front of him, which was filled with colorful metal bottles and cans, including beer, shochu and fruit wine.

"You choose," the boy shook his head. "Don't buy too much, I can't drink it all."

"Let's start with a few bottles of lemon flavor~" Kurusu Yosei licked his lips, opened the cabinet door, and put two bottles of "Ice" into the basket he was carrying with one hand.

"Two bottles of Asahi draft beer, please!"

"This 'male plum' is said to have a mature, uncle-like flavor. I bought it for you, Songzhi, to try!"

"Bring the liquor too..."

In the blink of an eye, the girl's basket was filled with five, six, seven, or eight bottles of wine of varying heights. Matsueda Jun quickly reached out to stop her.

"That's enough, that's enough, I really can't drink anymore."

Kurusu Yosei glanced down at the basket and put the last two bottles of wine in it. "Let's leave it at that for now."