Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 236

She stood in the hallway for a few minutes before heading to the restroom.

After washing up, Yamami Maki sat in the living room staring blankly at the clock. It was already past eleven o'clock, and she needed to think about lunch.

Following her recent habit, she would choose to cook for herself to practice her culinary skills, but she wasn't in the mood right now, so she opened her phone and ordered takeout.

While waiting for the takeout to arrive, Yami Maki drifted off into a daze again until she heard chirping sounds coming from the birdcage that had been moved to the living room, at which point she heard the doorbell ringing downstairs.

The girl hurried downstairs, pushed open the door, and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Actually, it didn't take long." Mochizuki Haruka, who had been standing outside the door, walked in.

"Your mother said you weren't feeling well today." She observed the girl's surprised expression.

"Doesn't he look quite energetic?"

Chapter 419 Questioning

"How will you be here?"

As the girl walked past her, Yamami Maki was so surprised that she even forgot the honorifics she always used.

"I originally planned to meet you at the banquet." Mochizuki Haruka sat down on the sofa in the living room.

"But they said you weren't feeling well, so I could only come and visit you."

"Visiting?" Yamami Maki blinked. They had always been just nodding acquaintances, when did they become so close?

The girl had a bad feeling. Just as she was about to ask, the doorbell rang again.

Looking through the peephole, she saw that it was indeed a genuine delivery. Yamami Maki opened the door and took the egg sandwich and coffee she had bought.

"Haven't you had lunch yet?" Mochizuki Haruka, sitting on the sofa, looked around at the space. "Then let's talk after you finish eating."

The girl carrying the takeout went up the stairs, followed by the girl with empty hands. The two parted ways tacitly on the second floor. Yamami Maki placed the takeout on the dining table in the open kitchen, while Mochizuki Haruka followed the chirping birds into the living room.

Unpacking the sandwich, the filling was golden brown, and the coffee was still steaming. Yamami Maki took a bite, the aroma of egg sauce filling her mouth. For a young girl, the advantage of Western fast food is that even when she's in a bad mood, it doesn't stop her from mechanically devouring the food.

With a dry throat, Yamami Maki picked up her coffee and took a sip. The bitter aroma reminded her of the girl's words from last night.

"Since then, I've stopped liking bitter things. Every time I order coffee with you, senior, I always order the sweetest caramel macchiato."

After finishing her sandwich, she returned to the living room with her coffee. The cockatiel's chirping had stopped, and the bright yellow little creature was huddled in the corner of its cage, staring at the girl sitting on the sofa.

"She doesn't seem to like you very much." Yami Maki held a coffee in her hand and looked at the girl on the sofa.

Mochizuki Haruka thought about it seriously for a while, "Maybe it's because her master doesn't like me?"

Yamami Maki shook her head. "I don't dislike you that much. Besides, my birds are hand-raised and are usually very friendly."

"Is that so?" Sunlight streamed through the French windows onto the girl's face. Mochizuki Haruka frowned and squinted, her expression revealing a hint of carefree wildness.

"That's probably because I have a cat."

"So, what brings you here, Mochizuki-san?" Yami Maki sat down on the sofa, maintaining a polite distance from the girl.

"I'll take the initiative to contact you, of course, because of the pine branch." Mochizuki Haruka's tone was not pleasant.

"..." Yamami Maki's fingers pressed into wrinkles on the sofa. "You want me to give up Matsueda-kun to you too?"

"Tomatsu contacted you?" The girl wasn't too surprised; she just hadn't expected him to act so quickly.

"Don't misunderstand, I won't take anything from you." Mochizuki Haruka's tone became even more serious.

“Songzhi’s love for me has nothing to do with you. I will go to him and ask for it myself.”

"After all, you two are simply not a good match."

Yamami Maki put down her coffee, the plastic cup landing on the table with a dull thud.

"Aren't you convinced?" Mochizuki Haruka smiled. "If you two were a good match, why would I bother coming to you?"

"Shouldn't you have some self-awareness by now? Don't make things difficult for Songzhi anymore."

“…If Matsueda-kun has any difficulties, he will tell me himself, instead of you overstepping your bounds.” Yami Maki straightened her posture.

Although the girl's tone as a senior was still not forceful enough, the person in front of her was not Tomatsu Tomoka, and she did not want to show her weak side.

"Really?" Mochizuki Haruka frowned. "You already know that he's planning to leave the band?"

Yamami Maki nodded.

"You also know that your family came to warn me to keep my distance from Songzhi?"

She was a little surprised. "I only know that my dad told Songzhi that he should let him know in advance if we were going back to the orphanage."

The girl's expression immediately darkened, and Yamami Maki hurriedly explained, "I know this approach is inappropriate; I've already had a fight with him."

"So?" Mochizuki Haruka asked, unimpressed. "Did the outcome change?"

The living room fell silent, save for the parrot in its cage fluttering its wings.

"So you haven't changed anything?" the girl pressed further. "And you've just accepted that Songzhi is leaving the band?"

Maki Yami didn't say anything. When talking about these things with Jun Matsueda, the boy always seemed to take it all very lightly.

Like lying on a spring lawn basking in the sunshine, or snuggling into a warm bed after a bath, those things that she originally found hard to accept were easily dissolved by him.

It wasn't until Mochizuki Haruka questioned the girl sternly that she realized something seemed off.

Didn't you want to be the first person to see his performance? Didn't you want to practice with him for hours without getting bored?

Why did I accept his decision to leave the band so naturally?

"So you only put up a show of resistance." The girl sitting opposite her laughed and mocked her. "Songzhi's gentleness has already softened you up. Are you just going to take his kindness for granted like this?"

Yamami Maki wanted to retort, but Mochizuki Haruka didn't give her the chance. "Your family is really boring. They've called my aunt twice in just over half a month."

"The first time was when he told us to keep our distance from him, and the second time was when he went to perform at the welfare home."

"You're already monitoring him before you're even engaged or in a public relationship? If he really marries into your family, won't he become a puppet of your father or grandfather?"

"Do you know how happy he was when he performed for the children at the orphanage?"

"Do you know how heartbroken I was when I looked at his silent expression when I asked him about leaving the band?"

"It's all your fault."

Mochizuki Haruka stood up and looked at the girl in front of her.

Yamami Maki reached out, seemingly trying to wipe away the shadow rising before her eyes, but her arm only moved slightly. The girl lowered her head, avoiding the angry gaze filled with hatred.

"Are you feeling guilty?" Mochizuki Haruka asked coldly, breaking through the girl's forced composure, she had no intention of letting it go.

"Do you see yourself as the one at the center of the vortex, waiting to be rescued?"

“Songzhi must have helped you, encouraged you, and supported you many times before, so many times that it could blind you.”

"Otherwise, how could you turn a blind eye to his predicament and distress?"

Mochizuki Haruka walked step by step to Yamami Maki, grabbed the girl by the collar, and forced her to look him in the eye.

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

Chapter 420 Torture

With her neck constricted by the collar, Yamami Maki looked up at the cold-faced girl.

She felt like crying.

If Jun Matsueda were here, he would definitely tell the two of them that love is not like that.

Love shouldn't be about calculating what you give, because not all lovers have equal wealth, status, and power. So instead of calculating what you give, it's better to confirm each other's feelings—knowing that someone loves you is enough to make you happy.

However, the boy wasn't there, so Yamami Maki had to face the girl's questioning alone. The anxiety, guilt, and panic that had been brewing in her mind and dreams all night were finally ignited by the aggressive Mochizuki Haruka.

"I didn't want to either!" Her voice seemed to have lost control. The bird across the living room fluttered in its cage, frightened by its owner.

“This is the kind of environment my family is in. I grew up here. I’ve adapted to these things that you find hard to accept for over ten years! Now you’re telling me to go against those adults and break away from the family? What am I supposed to do?!”

The girl collapsed onto the sofa, her tight collar loosening, her vision blurring, and tears falling onto the back of her hand.

"Then you shouldn't be with Songzhi."

Mochizuki Haruka's eyes were no longer so fierce, but her tone remained cold, "In the end, isn't it just that you weren't mentally prepared?"

"Liking someone isn't an easy thing, especially for someone like you who only enjoys the sweet parts..."

The girl's words were filled with resentment and indignation. She glanced out the French windows as if searching for a tombstone that did not exist there.

"Hey, has that guy mentioned the system to you?"

Yamami Maki wiped away her tears. "Did Yuka tell you that too?"

Mochizuki Haruka smiled. "Of course, it's because I have one too."

When she came down the mountain and saw Moji, she was so surprised that she stopped crying. She watched as the girl sat back down on the sofa that was bathed in sunlight.

"Don't you believe me? When Songzhi and I were tormenting each other because of the system, you and him were probably just ordinary friends."

"That's why I hate your naive and innocent feelings, those feelings that have never encountered any setbacks," Mochizuki Haruka said in a vicious tone.

"You know about my aunt's disappearance before, right? At that time, everyone was saying that she was seriously ill and unconscious, and that the Wangyue family was doomed."

Yamami Maki was well aware that when she overheard her parents talking about this at the dinner table, she had genuinely worried about Mochizuki Haruka's future.

“My aunt’s condition was indeed serious, and there was no cure. In the future that the system showed me, she was truly dead.”

"..." Yamami Maki had a deep impression of the elegant and beautiful head of the Mochizuki family, and she found it hard to imagine the woman's passing.

"So when my aunt first fell into a coma in real life, I was so desperate that I was on the verge of a breakdown."

"It was the pine branch that held me back, or rather, it was I who tried every means to tie the pine branch to my side."

“I’ve tried many methods. At first I tried to control him, then I tried to bribe him, but I could only keep him by my side unwillingly.”

The girl paused here, picked up the kettle on the table, poured herself a glass of water, and while drinking it, looked at the girl with a blank look in her eyes at the other end of the sofa.

"So I know better than you what kind of person Songzhi is at heart. When I said I would leave the entire Wangyue family to him, he wasn't even tempted."

"So do you think he cares about all those plans your family made for him, like connections, education, and resources? He's only putting up with your family's control because of you."

Yamami Maki's shoulders trembled slightly, like a frightened bird in a cage. Mochizuki Haruka nodded in satisfaction and continued.

"So before I truly realized my feelings for Songzhi, I had no choice but to take advantage of his kindness and recklessly rely on him."

The girl recounted how she moved into Jun Matsueda's apartment—a pleading inquiry, a hysterical act of destruction, and bloody wounds—before finally being able to sleep peacefully beside the boy for one night.

"So how could someone like you understand what it takes to stay by his side?" Mochizuki Haruka looked down at her with condescending pity.

"You're just shameless, aren't you?" Yami Maki couldn't help but retort. "You haven't changed anything, have you?"

“But I changed later,” the girl said proudly.

"With love for him, I endured it all, facing my aunt's illness alone, the repeated disappointments, and the struggle in pain... In the end, I became the human he wanted me to be."

Under the sunlight, Mochizuki Haruka's face even carried a hint of piety.

"If you really like someone, you'll be willing to change for them."

Of course, Haruka Mochizuki wouldn't tell anyone about the story of "The Little Prince," or about Jun Matsueda's patience, sincerity, and tolerance—it's a treasure that belongs only to a young girl, and she has no intention of sharing it with others.

“…I’m changing,” Yami Maki said weakly. She had never argued with her parents before.

"Do you want me to sever ties with my family now?"

"That's your own business." Mochizuki Haruka's tone remained unwavering. "Are you just going to watch Matsue sacrifice for you? How much longer are you going to make him wait?"

"Will we wait until Jun Matsue is no longer Jun Matsue?"

The girl fell silent.

"You have absolutely no awareness of loving someone." Mochizuki Haruka continued her merciless criticism. "What exactly is Matsue to you? Is it a driving force enough to keep you surviving under family discipline, or a splash of color to make your youthful school life more beautiful?"

"To me, Songzhi is everything except my aunt, even more important than her."

"Without the pine branch, my aunt would not have woken up. It was he who supported me to keep going when there was no hope, and my aunt and I were able to turn our lives around."

"He changed me; he shaped me into the person I am today, Mochizuki Haruka."

"What your family can give, the Mochizuki family can give too; what you can't give, we can give—there are no constraints or restrictions. As long as Matsue wants it, the entire Mochizuki family will be his sooner or later."

"So why should I watch him wallow in your disgusting quagmire, becoming unhappy for someone as utterly unworthy as you?!"

Yamami Maki held her breath. The girl's thoughts were a jumbled mess, and she no longer wanted to unravel them; she just wanted a moment of relaxation.