Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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The girl's voice was playful and lively. Yamami Maki heard the laughter beside her and looked at her junior standing on the stage.

She's much better than she was last year, and she's very satisfied with her judgment.

"We hope this year's cultural festival will be the most unforgettable one of the past three years for everyone—"

Mitani raised his right hand, and a countdown timer appeared on the screen.

"Three, two, one!" People counted down in unison, the huge beat echoing in the auditorium, and the girl on the stage jumped into the air.

The 90th Yugaoka Festival is now open!

As the music began and the lights shone brightly, girls dressed in cheerleading outfits surged onto the stage, and the first performance began.

There were so many activities that it was dazzling. Some people stayed, and some people left. Before stepping out of the auditorium, Yamami Maki turned around and took one last look.

Beautiful bodies swaying and dancing, sweet and innocent singing voices, dazzling lights and a bustling crowd.

It was a scene of vibrant celebration, with flowers in full bloom and oil sizzling on the stove. Yet, her heart felt cold; the uncontrollable flutter she had felt last year was nowhere to be found.

This year, Class 4 of Grade 3 is running an arcade, which includes activities such as goldfish scooping, balloon shooting, and darts. Although the format is a bit old-fashioned, it is at least more convenient. Since they are already third-year students, they would rather enjoy everything else than plan a spectacular event.

As the class monitor, Yamami Maki naturally supported everyone's ideas. She sat in her class for a whole morning to make sure that everything, including shift work, fees, and prop replenishment, was in order before leaving the classroom.

Staying in her own classroom always made her lose interest, so she took the candied apple and walked down the stairs.

Where should we go first...? The girl had no idea.

"Senior Yamami~"

Hello, senior!

Students on the street greeted her, and the girl nodded in response to each one. A girl from the same grade came over and gently hugged her arm with a smile.

"The candied apples in Moji's hand look so tempting, where did you buy them?"

Yamami Maki waved the round, red, crystal-clear candy in her hand. "These are the ones our class sells. Limited quantities available each day, first come, first served!"

The girls jostled and ran upstairs, while the young woman continued forward, from Class 2-4 to Class 2-1, passing a haunted house, a male servant café, an art exhibition...

Walking down the stairs at the end, from Class 6 of Grade 1 to Class 1 of Grade 1, you pass a palm reading shop, a smoothie shop, a quiz competition...

Yamami Maki felt as if she had stumbled into a dazzling tunnel, where people's gleaming eyes, the flush on their faces from shouting, and colorful cardstock and paints mingled and appeared on the tunnel walls.

But what she wanted to see was not the wall, but the light source at the end of the tunnel.

At first, the girl thought she didn't know where the end was, but after walking around the school building again, she finally realized that she was running away—

Even though Class 6 of Grade 2 was on the same floor as her class, and the sound of jazz music could be faintly heard in the stairwell, the girl didn't even glance at it or listen to a bit. Instead, she blindly rushed into the stairwell and quickly escaped.

The crowd in the corridor was still noisy. As Yamami Maki walked up the stairs, various sounds echoed in the stairwell, yet they kept their distance from the girl.

She returned to the third floor with the unfinished apple candy. The melodious and soothing jazz music naturally reached her ears. The girl followed the sound to the door of Class 6, Grade 2. Unlike the other classrooms, the door here was locked and the light was scarce.

But this darkness, harmonized by the sounds of the saxophone and drums, is actually reassuring.

Somewhat uneasily, Yamami Maki knocked on the door, which opened silently, and the girl stepped inside.

The dimly lit room was filled with guests, all of whom were quiet, as if they did not want to disturb the dim, candle-like light on the table. Their faces were turned toward the podium, where it was bright and warm, and the music was louder.

So the girl standing by the door naturally looked up.

The warm yellow light from the floor lamp illuminated the upper body and face of the girl in the center, while the alto saxophone in Tomatsu's hands shimmered with dreamlike sparkles as she swayed.

The sound of the saxophone is like sweet liqueur gliding through the air, while the drum kit and keyboard form the base of this elegant cocktail.

Jun Matsue sat behind the drum kit, his two drumsticks lightly tapping the cymbals, the drumbeats gently striking the backs of the audience, making them relax involuntarily. The boy had a gentle and carefree smile on his face, using the rhythm to invite the piano girl sitting on the other side to dance together.

Mochizuki Haruka exudes an elegant air from her very posture. The girl lowers her head slightly, her loose black hair shimmering with light. Her hands rest on the electronic keyboard, her ten fingers moving back and forth as gracefully as if plucking waves, and the melodious music dances on the keys.

In the slowly flowing darkness, their music intertwined without any reservations, the eyes of the young men and women exchanged toasts, and their playing movements echoed each other, making everyone in the darkness feel harmonious, content, and warm.

However, Yamami Maki had other emotions in her heart. She looked at the outline of the drum set in front of the boy. It was not the drum set she had carefully selected and matched, and the drumsticks she was waving were not the black thorn pattern she was familiar with, but ordinary wood color.

Right before the girl's eyes, the boy who had once played the opening and closing music for her, drummed for her, and sang for her had already left her stage and was now playing music with someone else.

As the song ended and applause erupted, Yamami Maki hid in the darkest corner, leaning against the cold wall behind her.

The girl tilted her head slightly, and the lamp cast rings of light that fell on the dark ceiling, like ripples.

She was about to give up.

Chapter 462 Passerby

In the classroom of Class 6, Grade 2, the music fell silent for a moment as the guests sitting in the center discussed the performance that had just ended, their voices filled with excitement.

Tomatsu Yuka, standing on the podium, put down her alto saxophone—unlike the straight-tube soprano saxophone she usually used, the alto saxophone had a curved, trumpet-like tube, was larger, and of course more ornate, giving the girl holding it an elegant and composed air.

"Music that makes you want to dance!" Please check your order if you just placed it.

The girl sitting in the front row of the booth nodded vigorously, her face showing obvious satisfaction—thanks to her imaginative request, everyone was able to enjoy the performance by the boys and girls on stage, which resembled a dance.

"Does anyone else want to order?" Tomatsu Yuka asked the guests softly.

The boy sitting next to the girl raised his hand, "Could the student who played the trumpet earlier play 'Fly Me to the Moon'?"

Tomatsu Yuka looked at the trumpet player sitting in the corner of the front row. The girl nodded and gave her an "OK" sign.

So the girl stepped off the stage with her saxophone, and a straight, gleaming trumpet appeared on stage. The sound of a quiet piano began, and two seconds later, the trumpet played the first note that flew toward the moon.

The accompaniment no longer needed a drum set. Jun Matsue sat in his seat and listened for a while before walking to the bar by the window.

Sitting behind the long table, Ken Sakamuro, dressed in a bartender's uniform, gave him a smug smile. "What would you like to drink, sir?"

"Gin and Tonic."

Then Ken Sakamuro took out a bottle of Suntory non-alcoholic gin and tonic from under the table, held a glass with ice cubes on the table in one hand, raised the bottle high, and slowly tilted it. The transparent liquid flashed a silver light in the dim light and fell into the glass.

The man put two more lemon slices into the glass, pushed it towards Jun Matsueda, and bowed.

Please enjoy.

"What's this half-baked bartender pretending for?" The lamp was only enough to illuminate people's hands, and Jun Matsueda's disdainful gaze was not clear in the darkness.

Ken Sakamuro laughed, "Anyway, Tomatsu said it himself, all you have to do is pretend."

“Sakamuro-san, with her serious demeanor, really suits the bartender's uniform.” Tomatsu Tomoka said with a smile as she walked to the bar.

The girl naturally sat down next to the boy. Jun Matsue watched as her right hand rested on the table next to his wine glass, her fingers slightly bent, her knuckles somewhat pink, and her clean white nails glowing under the lamp.

"I know, the next sentence is 'It would be even better if Matsueda wore it,'" Ken Sakamuro said with self-awareness.

Tomatsu Yuka smiled, pursing her lips. "A glass of blackcurrant orange sparkling wine, please."

The boy repeated his trick, pouring a clear, pale pink liquid into the glass and finally adding a slice of orange peel.

"Thank you." Tomatsu Yuka took the glass, parted her lips slightly, and took a sip. The girl's upper lip was damp with wine, and the pinkish lips looked even more translucent under the light.

"This year's event was a great success." She turned around and looked at the nearly full seating area in the center of the room. "By the afternoon, we'll probably be lining up."

Tomatsu Yuka placed her crossed legs behind the boy's chair, and the dim light still left a dazzling white mark on her thighs. Seeing the girl's posture, Sakamuro Ken consciously went to the other side of the bar.

“It’s hard-earned money, too. You have to buy drinks and play instruments.” Jun Matsueda didn’t turn around with the girl. He leaned against the bar, sipping his non-alcoholic gin and tonic while looking at the customers sitting on the other side of the bar.

The girl in front of him blocked part of his view, but after his gaze swept over her black hair, he could still find her thin shadow leaning against the wall in the dark corner.

Senior, you still care, don't you...?

Matsueda Jun felt a little irritated. He suddenly realized that he couldn't understand Yami Maki. Why did she insist on making a decision that was clearly a lose-lose situation and didn't benefit either of them?

He sensed, in another sense, the "unwavering" part beneath the girl's seemingly soft exterior.

The boy stood up, and Tomatsu Yuka wanted to get up with him, but sat down again when she noticed the end of his path.

As the boy she had been watching walked towards her, the girl hidden in the darkness felt a little flustered.

The piano music in the melodious tune began to change, becoming humorous and whimsical. Yamami Maki looked towards the side of the podium, where Mochizuki Haruka, who was playing the electronic keyboard, cast a glance at her. The girl's lips curled into an undisguised sarcasm.

Yamami Maki wanted to leave, but Matsueda Jun had already bypassed the bright areas and stood in front of her. The boy changed his cold and hard expression that he usually used on the girl these days and looked at her with a peaceful gaze.

"Would you like a drink, senior?" He pointed to the bar behind him.

"...No." The girl answered after a long while, holding up the candy in her hand somewhat weakly. "I haven't finished my apple candy yet."

Sugar-coated apples and non-alcoholic sparkling water are obviously not a good match, as Jun Matsue had already anticipated.

He tried to reason with his senior, trying to appeal to her emotions and logic, but to no avail.

Let's wait until the girl's heart is shattered before trying to reason with her.

Just as Jun Matsueda was about to turn and leave, Sugisaki, who had just entered the room, called out to him.

"Hello, Yamami-senpai!" The boy greeted Yamami Maki, who was his senior, before looking at Matsueda Jun beside her.

"Songzhi, weren't you going to play the drums? Why are you standing in this corner?"

“It’s break time now,” Jun Matsue said, pointing to the trumpet and piano on the other side.

"When are you going on stage?" Sugisaki took his girlfriend's hand. "Keiko and I are here for you."

Sugisaki, who had a crush on Tomoka Tsutomatsuri back then, already had a girlfriend when he was forced to race against Jun Matsueda at the sports meet. Both of them had watched the performance video of the band No. 2, which is why they came together today.

"Let's wait until this song ends."

The seats were all taken, but luckily the young couple didn't mind standing. Keiko chatted with Yamami Maki next to her, while Sugisaki put his hand on Matsueda Jun's shoulder.

"Songzhi, tell me secretly, have you really fallen in love lately?"

While talking to the girl in front of her, Yamami Maki couldn't help but get distracted and started listening to the boys' conversation.

"No," Jun Matsueda shook his head without hesitation. "Can you please stop listening to those rumors?"

"It's because they all say you've been getting really close to Tomatsu and Mochizuki lately..." The boy scratched his cheek.

"I knew it! You definitely wouldn't date in high school!"

“…You can’t say that.” Jun Matsueda shook his head again. “I just let things happen naturally. When my heart is moved, I will fall in love.”

He heard Yamami Maki, who was standing behind him, slow her breathing.

"Really?" Sugisaki seemed skeptical. "You can be attracted to someone else? What kind of girl do you like?"

"I don't really have any requirements," Jun Matsue smiled.

"It's enough that you can stand firmly by my side."

"Aren't Todomatsu and Mochizuki firm enough? How long have they liked you?" The boy pursed his lips.

"So maybe I'll start dating in a few days~"

Although Matsueda Jun was smiling, his tone didn't sound like he was joking, and Sugisaki's eyes widened in surprise.

"With whom? Tomatsu or Mochizuki?"

"It may sound strange for me to say this, but Tomatsu is really great, so don't let her down..."

The boy in front of him started asking questions incessantly, and Jun Matsue responded with a smile, choosing the questions he was willing to answer.

He watched as the girl in his peripheral vision silently pushed open the classroom door—

Yamami Maki left without making a sound, carrying the unopened candied apple.

Chapter 463 Letter

At 3:10 p.m. on Sunday, the 90th Haneoka Festival came to an end amid cheers that nearly lifted the roof off.

Jun Matsue walked out of the auditorium with the flow of people. Everyone was still holding candied apples, ribbons and various gifts. He avoided the pushing and shoving, and like a nimble fish, he quickly swam back to the shore.

After watching Yami Maki leave the classroom of Class 2-6, Matsueda Jun has not seen her since the end of the cultural festival.

Only the candied apples from the girls' class kept appearing in the students' hands, like a blinding red blob on a traffic light, still lingering in his field of vision.

"Matsue! How come you're so fast!" Ken Sakamuro poked his head out from the crowd and waved to him. Taking advantage of the crowd, the boy walked up to him like Moses parting the sea.

"The class is planning to go to Shibuya together later, are you coming?"

Before Matsueda Jun could speak, he continued, "Our bar made so much money this time, we should celebrate, right?"

"You haven't gone out with us in ages. We never see you after school. Are you some kind of superhero? Do you rush off to save Tokyo as soon as school's over?"

The students who passed by the two laughed, and Jun Matsue pretended to be flustered and fidgeted with his cuffs.

"You discovered all of this? If it weren't for me, Tokyo would have been destroyed by Godzilla's laser, the Third Impact, and rampaging superhumans long ago."

"I thank you on behalf of the citizens of Tokyo," Ken Sakamuro waved dismissively. "Are you going or not?"