Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 244

Yamami Maki breathed a sigh of relief, and then heard the boy say something.

"Because I told her that I have someone I like."

Chapter 432 Deep Blue Sunset

“I told her that I have someone I like.”

"Huh?" Yami Maki exclaimed in surprise, gripping her phone tightly.

Given Matsueda Jun's usual style of doing things, he should be able to come up with a long list of excuses to reject a suitor's invitation. Why would he use this reason?

"This reason... isn't easy to refuse, is it?" The girl forced a smile.

Doesn't this increase the possibility that her relationship with Matsueda will be exposed?

"Indeed." The sound of footsteps crunching on fallen leaves came from the boy's direction; he was strolling through the woods.

"I ran into those girls at noon today, and they came over to ask me what happened."

The worries that had been temporarily forgotten surged back into her mind, and the girl asked anxiously, "Did Matsueda tell them?"

There was a deliberate silence on the other end of the phone, the girl's heart was in turmoil, and the boy continued.

"I told them that I do have someone I like, but I'll keep it a secret for now as to who it is."

Yamami Maki felt a little relieved, and the boy continued talking.

“I know you don’t want to make our relationship public at school yet—but things have already turned out this way, is there any need to keep it a secret?”

Tomatsu Tomohana and Mochizuki Haruka already know, and the Yamami family knows too, so what's the point of hiding it?

"..." The girl fell silent.

At school today, she didn't allow herself a moment's respite, because even the slightest pause would allow the girls' questions to relentlessly creep into her mind—

"Is my senior so happy that she doesn't even want to hear about my pain?"

"You're so outstanding, you have everything, why do you still want to compete with me for this little bit of happiness?"

"He's done so much for you, what have you done in return?"

Even if Songzhi accepts everything and stays with you, is that a good outcome for him?

If we could turn back time to before Tomatsu Yuka and Mochizuki Haruka came knocking on her door, Yamami Maki might have agreed to Matsueda Jun's request after a brief hesitation. But now, she seems to have lost the courage to move forward.

Moreover, recently, a rather strange thought has been lingering in the most secret corner of the girl's heart.

Whether it's Yuka or Mochizuki Haruka, they both have unique and profound stories with Matsueda-kun, willing to give everything and use any means necessary to win his affections—they are special, and even the existence of the so-called system seems to confirm this.

But she had nothing: no awareness, no deep emotions, and no surreal assistance.

The "sense of ordinariness" that she once felt when facing Kuroba Shin resurfaced once again in Yamami Maki's heart.

She is not special.

Am I really good enough for Matsueda-kun? Even with the boy's voice right next to her ear, the girl couldn't help but think this.

"Is your senior still unwilling?" The boy on the other end of the phone sighed.

"I'm sorry..." Yami Maki's voice was exceptionally weak.

"So you haven't been acting quite right lately, have you?" Jun Matsueda decided to be more direct. "Has something happened?"

"...Nothing's wrong. I've just been looking into my family situation lately, and I'm wondering if I'm putting too much pressure on Matsueda."

Jun Matsue raised his head, looking at the setting sun swaying precariously above the trees, and took a deep breath.

"Senior, I suddenly feel a lot of time pressure today."

"You're hesitating, and so am I. If this continues, our relationship will only stagnate and be worn down."

“I don’t want it to be like this. Like your grandfather said, there are only two paths, and we have to choose one to take, right?”

"Someone has to take the first step to change things. I don't want to force you, so I'll lead the way for you, senior."

"I will leave the band after I return to Tokyo."

The girl on the other end of the phone instinctively stood up from the sofa, wanting to stop the boy's decision.

But she couldn't bring herself to say it; she didn't have the courage to choose between her family and her lover.

"Senior, please don't mention me to Uncle Yamami anymore and make him angry. There are less than three months until the common exam, so focus on your preparation. We can go and see the school together then, okay?"

“But—” The girl’s words were interrupted by Jun Matsue.

"Does the senior have a better method?"

Yamami Maki fell silent again.

"Then listen to me?" the boy asked softly.

"……it is good."

Jun Matsue hung up the phone.

The sun had sunk even lower, as if it were about to fall into the woods. He lowered his head and stared at the fallen leaves bathed in the afterglow for two minutes before turning and leaving.

Tomatsu Tomohana stood guard at the entrance of the exhibition hall, watching the boy walk out of the woods. "Has Matsue finished making the call?"

Jun Matsue nodded. "What's the plan next?"

"It's time to get ready to gather." The girl pointed to the exit of the Forest of Literature, where a crowd was gathering. "Ms. Kominato said we'll go to the Automobile Museum first, and then it'll be tonight's campsite."

"OK."

The boy walked toward the exit path, with Tomatsu Yuka following obediently beside him. The two of them stepped on the fallen leaves, making a rustling sound.

"Where's Mochizuki?" Jun looked around but didn't see the girl, which was unusual.

“She came looking for you, and I told her to go make a phone call, so she got in the car first.”

Tomatsu Yuka took small steps, slightly behind Matsueda Jun. She looked up at the profile of the man she could never forget.

If she wasn't mistaken, Matsueda must have called Yami Maki.

Judging from the boy's reaction, regardless of whether things went smoothly or not, the feedback he received from the senior was not the result he wanted. Just as the girl had hoped, a rift had begun to form between them, and she nodded inwardly with satisfaction.

"Matsueda-kun, did you know? Kominato-sensei said that tonight's campsite is the closest to Mount Fuji, right on the hiking trail..."

Like a criminal returning to the scene of their crime to admire the consequences, Tomatsu Yuka introduced the activity schedule to the boys in a lighthearted tone. The girl's gentle voice faded into the woods with the setting sun, as if nothing had happened.

After circling the Automobile Museum one last time, the bus left Yamanakako Village.

As the sun completely set, the sky turned a melancholy and heavy blue. The ever-growing Mount Fuji and the ethereal clouds outside the train window seemed like a dream, and the people in the carriage all raised their phones to take pictures.

"Such a rare sight, aren't you going to take a picture of it, Songzhi?"

Sitting next to Jun Matsueda, Haruka Mochizuki looked at him; the boy's eyes reflected a deep blue that filled the world.

"No, thank you." Jun Matsue neither shook his head nor waved his hand. "I'm not in the mood."

He doesn't want to turn on his phone for the time being.

Chapter 433 Fool and Madman

On the second night, which was also the last night before returning to Tokyo, Jun Matsueda slept on Mount Fuji.

Although it's called Mount Fuji, we've actually entered the true foot of the mountain. Mount Fuji is divided into ten sections from the foot to the summit. The fifth section is halfway up the mountain, and the camp where Class 2-6 is currently located is the second section, at an altitude of 1,200 meters.

"I know you might want to go hiking, but the 5th station is closed. There may be fog in the forest at night, so please don't leave the campsite!"

"Tomorrow, professionals will lead the way, and you can try mountain climbing or skiing if you want!"

When we first arrived at the camp, the instructors gave us this advice, so everyone could only move around the tents and prepare to rest early.

At eight o'clock in the evening, Jun Matsue stepped out of his tent, shaking off Ken Sakamuro's entanglement. He then walked alone to the edge of the camp and looked at the vast forest in front of him.

This campsite was a man-made clearing near the road, but further out lay a vast, wild forest. The boy stopped, took a moon chair from his backpack, and sat down under a tall pine tree.

He was a good student of Ms. Kominato, so of course he didn't intend to go against her decision; he just wanted to find a quiet place to be alone.

Take out the gas stove, set up the folding table, place the portable camping lamp on the table, pour mineral water into the pot, and start the fire. The flickering warmth gradually spreads in the darkness along with the light.

Jun Matsue took a packet of instant matcha powder from his pocket and placed it next to the stove. While waiting for the water to boil, he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the sky beyond the treetops.

The night in the forest lacked the romantic and leisurely atmosphere of the lakeside; instead, it was filled with varying shades of black from the leaves. Faint voices drifted from distant tents, and beyond the layers of trees, the calls of nocturnal birds could be heard, their sounds vast and distant.

While he was daydreaming, the water in the portable pot had already started to boil. After turning off the heat, Jun Matsue waited a few minutes before starting to brew the matcha.

"...It tastes pretty good." The boy took a sip of the dark green liquid and gave his assessment.

Sipping his matcha, he took out his phone. His chat history with Yamami Maki was still stuck on this morning.

In fact, Jun Matsue really hoped that the girl would take the initiative to send him something, anything at all—although he had already made up his mind, the lack of a response always made him feel somewhat lost.

Just like how he's now running to the edge of the campsite to make tea, it's only because these things that weren't used before—the gas stove, camping light, matcha powder packets, etc.—were all personally selected by Yamami Maki.

He simply hoped that if the girl asked him about it when he got back, he could answer that the chair was very comfortable, the matcha was delicious, and the camping light was a bit too bright—it was that simple.

Jun Matsueda closed the chat window with Maki Yami and made a phone call to Aya Miyamura.

"Hey? Chun-ge should still be out having fun, right? Why are you calling me?"

The girl's voice was still lively, but there was jumbled noise in the receiver, probably due to signal interference.

"Are you home?" Jun Matsue heard the name of the male protagonist in "Now That Things Have Come to This," and she seemed to be watching TV in her apartment.

"Hmm~ Hurry up and say what you need to say, the plot is at its most exciting part right now!"

"Regarding the departure from the band that we talked about before, have you found a replacement drummer?"

The sound of the TV drama immediately stopped, and Aya seemed to stand up from the bed. "Didn't you say you wouldn't quit until the end of this semester?!"

“I meant at the latest by the end of this semester,” he corrected the girl. “I plan to leave the band after I come back.”

"Huh?" Aya Miyamura was extremely surprised. "How come so fast? Is it because of something that happened to your family, senior?"

"Yes, I want to give my senior more confidence."

The girl remained silent for a long while, and Matsueda Jun almost thought the signal had been lost.

"I know... The minister previously looked for a girl with pretty good skills, let me ask her again."

"Thank you all for your help." He felt a little apologetic.

"What trouble? You're my brother!" The girl's voice rose a little. "Let's talk about it when you get back. My good mood for watching the show is ruined..."

Jun Matsueda hung up the phone, then picked up the matcha on the low table and took a sip.

"Have you made up your mind?" Mochizuki Haruka's voice sounded behind him.

The boy turned around, and the girl stood under a pine tree not far away, quietly watching him.

"Didn't we already decide that?" He watched the girl walk towards him.

"I'll say it again: is it worth it?"

Whether it's worth it or not, we still have to do it.

Jun Matsue turned around and said in a deliberately lighthearted tone, "Just like climbing Mount Fuji is definitely one of the things Japanese people must do in their lifetime."

"Is this the same thing?" The girl stood behind him.

“You’ll regret it,” she said with certainty.

The boy didn't turn around. "I'm starting to suspect that things turned out this way because you guys said something to the senior."

Whether it was Tomatsu Tomoka, who discovered she had been betrayed, Mochizuki Haruka, who stayed at the orphanage, or even her aunt who had the right to enter and leave the Yamami family, all of them could have been involved.

"You mean I'm the reason she's like this?" The girl asked, as if she'd heard something amusing. "Which part? Her weakness, greed, cowardice, or hypocrisy?"

Neither she nor Tomatsu Yuka were actually afraid that the boy would find out what they said at the time, because they did have the right to be angry about it—Tomatsu Yuka's sadness and pain were real, and Mochizuki Haruka's feelings for him were also real.

So Jun Matsuoka could only sigh.

"I'm not happy if you talk about her like that."

"Whatever." Mochizuki Haruka snorted, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

Jun Matsue shook his cup; he had finished the matcha.

"Let's go back."

He stood up to pack his things, only to realize that the girl standing behind him was also carrying a bag.