Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 222

"I want to carry on the spirit of Senior Yamami and create a more friendly and inclusive student council. Please feel free to ask us any questions you may have!"

The classroom became noisier as the girl moved between seats. Many people asked her questions or simply chatted and joked, indicating that she was quite popular.

"Matsueda-kun, you're the class representative of Class 6, right?" The girl walked to the back row and greeted Matsueda Jun with a smile. "We met at the Cultural Festival Executive Committee meeting, do you remember us?"

The boy nodded politely. "Mitani is very capable. Everyone is very supportive of the publicity work you are in charge of."

"Thank you~" The girl smiled sweetly, then looked at Tomatsu Yuka, who was looking down at her book.

"Tomatsu-kun and Yamami-senpai were both in the brass band club, right? I've seen you play, it was truly moving~"

Tomatsu Yuka didn't speak, she just nodded, but the girl seemed to think that the two of them had a connection through Yamami Maki, and didn't stop talking.

"You and Yamami-senpai are close, aren't you? I've seen your photos several times." She looked at Yamami Maki's back on the other side of the classroom.

"That's great! I also want to work hard with my senior for the music competition, but unfortunately I'm not very good at it and don't have any musical talent..."

The girl sitting in her seat put down her pen and finally looked up. Tomatsu Yuka smiled, gentle yet distant.

"Mitani-kun may have misunderstood something. Yamami Maki-senpai and I are just ordinary classmates."

Soon enough, all the girls at Yuukoka High School knew about it.

Tomatsu Tomohana and Yamami Maki have broken up.

Chapter 394 That's all

September 7th, Sunday, at the Setagaya Literature Museum.

"These are the books you requested to borrow last time. They have been transferred from another library. Please return them within the specified period. Happy reading!"

Tomatsu Tomoka stood behind the counter, watching the visitor leave with her standard smile. Only after the glass door closed did the girl sit back down and pick up the book "Studies in Japanese History" in front of her to continue reading.

Sitting to the side, Jun Matsue observed her out of the corner of his eye. The girl had a serene expression and seemed to be focused on her work. It appeared that Friday's incident had not affected her in the slightest.

But yesterday before school ended, when Jun Matsuoka walked through the corridor, even girls he had never met before came up to ask him questions.

"Matsueda-kun, do you know what happened between Tomatsu and Yamami-senpai?"

If Haneoka High School really had a food chain, then Yamami Maki and Tomatsu Tomoka would definitely be at the top.

If we compare them carefully, Yamami Maki is probably half a level above Tomatsu Yuka. She is an upperclassman, and because of her work in the student council, she appears in front of everyone more often. Moreover, she is an absolutely pure and beautiful girl, unlike her junior who already has someone she likes.

As for their relationship, everyone knew that Yamami Maki admired Tomatsu from the moment she entered the brass band. Later, the two naturally became close friends.

So why have they now become "ordinary classmates"?

The girl, who was reading with her eyes lowered, trembled slightly. She raised her head and revealed a pure and sweet smile.

"Is Matsue looking at me?"

Jun Matsue nodded. "These past two days, quite a few people have come to ask me about you."

"Thank you for your hard work, Matsu-san." Tomatsu Yuka's expression was a little apologetic. "Everyone's curiosity is just too strong."

"Does Matsue want to blame me?" she blinked.

“That’s your prerogative.” The boy looked at the registration form in front of him. “I was just wondering how you answered those people.”

There were definitely more people asking about the girl herself than coming to him; he knew that his senior had also dealt with quite a few "enthusiastic" gossipers.

“Of course I’ll be honest,” Tomatsu Yuka blinked again, “because I hate my senior.”

The girl had no interest in answering any further questions about why.

"Now that you mention it, I'm actually a little curious." The girl crossed her legs and shifted her position. "What did you say, senior?"

"...She did not answer."

Matsueda Jun recalled the expression on Yami Maki's face as she left the classroom after her campaign speech that day; the senior's obvious disappointment was compounded by this.

"Actually, this is a good thing for Matsueda, isn't it?" Tomatsu asked with a smile.

"The deeper the disappointment my senior received from me, the more comfort she received from you, didn't she?"

The boy shook his head again, "Love can't replace friendship, and your senior is stronger than you think."

"Really? Anyway, I've never experienced either friendship or love."

The girl's smile carried a hint of self-deprecation, "Matsueda-kun already knows my senior better than I do..."

Silence reigned in the library. The lush green beech trees swayed silently through the glass walls, and the girl's bangs cast shadows, obscuring her eyes.

Tomatsu Yuka suddenly leaned closer, her face almost touching Matsueda Jun's shoulder, and gently sniffed.

"You haven't met your senior yet today?"

Jun Matsue frowned slightly, and the girl shrank back, smoothing her hair.

“Matsueda-kun, do you know? Every time you meet with Yami-senpai, I can smell her perfume on you.”

"The scents of citrus and orange blossom, along with some sweet and herbal notes, don't quite match my senior's low-key and composed personality."

"It's probably a particularly girly side that only appears in front of Matsueda-san, right?" the girl guessed with her eyes closed.

"But this smell only makes me feel upset." She opened her eyes.

Even if you don't see each other or speak, after severing ties, you can still smell traces of her on you.

"It's really annoying."

Tomatsu Yuka said this, but her tone was still bright. She looked at the boy beside her. The girl's gaze was always so focused on him, as if there were only the two of them in the world, as if time had never flowed, as if they were still the first-year students who had secretly liked each other when they first met.

"So I wore perfume today too."

She raised her right hand and gently brushed it across Matsueda Jun's face, releasing a faint yet distinct fragrance.

It has a sweet and sour berry scent, accompanied by the fragrance of roses, ambiguous and sexy, like a young girl's obvious desires.

"That way you'll have my scent on you."

Tomatsu Yuka smiled, picked up the registration form placed in front of Matsueda Jun, and took over his work.

"Don't worry, Songzhi-kun, things between me and my senior won't escalate. Let's leave it at that."

"There will be no bullying or rumors; we'll just go back to being ordinary classmates."

"I just wanted to tell my senior that I don't want to forgive her, that's all."

She didn't want to leave any room for maneuver.

"So please don't mention her to me again, Matsueda-kun." The girl put down her pen and handed the form back to the boy, "especially when we're working."

"This is one of the few moments we have left together, is that alright?"

After a moment, Jun Matsue nodded.

"That's good~" Tomatsu Yuka's smile became even more charming. "I haven't told Matsueda about summer vacation yet, have I?"

"Although Ome City is just a small town, it is very interesting. Walking into the town is like going back to the Showa era."

"The old lady at the hotel told us that Qingmei has always been like this, quiet and unchanging, and hasn't changed in decades..."

And so everything turned the page. The girl softly described the fragile, dilapidated town to him, and Jun Matsue listened silently as the scent of perfume gradually drifted away.

The alluring top notes have faded, like a rose that has withered after blooming, leaving only a woody scent, transparent and dry, gently brushing against the pages of a book.

That evening, as usual, Jun Matsueda called Maki Yami, and the two chatted about their daily lives.

"Matsueda-kun, you must have been working all day, right? You must be exhausted~"

"It's alright, the work at the library is relatively easy."

"...So you saw Yuka?" the girl asked cautiously.

The boy looked out the window and saw several crows landing on the rooftops opposite, silencing the cicadas chirping all around.

Tomatsu said she didn't want to hear anything about you.

The breathing on the other end of the phone suddenly stopped.

Jun Matsue sighed silently, "I reckon her attitude won't change before you graduate."

"So accept reality, senior."

"Let's not talk about Tomatsu anymore."

Chapter 395 Wish Coins

After the third week of the new semester began, Yamami Maki finally stopped asking Matsueda Jun about Tomatsu Tomoka.

No one knows what Tomatsu Yuka did, but the controversy surrounding her and Yamami Maki subsided quickly. No one stopped Matsueda Jun on the street to ask him for information, and no girls gathered around Tomatsu Yuka's seat, gossiping under the guise of "concern."

Everything seemed to have returned to square one. Jun Matsue was constantly being attacked by the two girls at the next table during and after class, and he would also find opportunities to meet with his senior.

However, on their way to the teachers' office, Jun Matsue and Yuka Tomatsu would no longer stop briefly at the door of Class 3-4 to greet the girls who came out of the classroom with smiles.

The hint of worry between Yamami Maki's brows never faded; the girl hid it well, only revealing it when she was alone with Matsueda Jun.

Jun Matsueda had no solution to this, or rather, he believed in time.

The senior student wanted to forgive, but Tomatsu Tomoka clearly had no such intention. This wasn't a problem that could be resolved through mediation, and even if it were, it wouldn't be his place—if Matsueda Jun interfered excessively, it would only add fuel to the fire.

Some mistakes are unforgivable, and some knots in our hearts are unresolved; we can only let time silently wash them away.

"This is the answer."

Jun Matsue patted the workbook in front of him, and Haruka Mochizuki, who was playing with the cat in her arms, looked up.

"Hmm, that's what I thought too." The girl nodded.

"Then why are you asking me?" Jun Matsue glanced at her, and the girl turned her face away.

"This is what Aya asked me. I'm not very confident in math, so I came to ask you."

"What?" Miyamura Aya, who was standing in the corner humming a tune, took off her headphones. "Are you calling me?"

“Keep listening to the song,” Jun Matsueda waved his hand. “Make sure you memorize the lyrics so you don’t forget them during rehearsal later.”

It was after school, and the three of them were in the practice room of "Denny's Studio" waiting for the other two members of the band No. 2. Today was the day to rehearse their new song.

The girl put her headphones back on and began to hum softly, "Happiness isn't..."

"A night adorned with stars and a dazzling, sparkling morning~"

"That kind of everyday existence~"

Mochizuki Haruka looked at the girl swaying in the corner, then turned to the boy and asked, "I heard you wrote the lyrics to this song?"

"I guess so." The boy nodded. "I mainly wrote it, and Quan also made some revisions."

"Hmm..." The girl drew out the last syllable, walked behind Miyamura Aya to eavesdrop for a while, and then returned to the boy's side.

"Happiness is the ability to turn your expectations for the future into everyday life," she repeated a line from a song. "Is this what you want?"

The boy on the chair neither nodded nor shook his head; he simply picked up his drumsticks and tapped them lightly.

Mochizuki Haruka squinted her eyes, released her hands, and the cat in her arms landed lightly on the ground, jumping to Miyamura Aya in the corner.

"Was yesterday Songzhi's birthday?" the girl asked softly.

Jun Matsue looked up, somewhat surprised, not because the girl in front of him remembered, but because he himself had forgotten.

"Let me think." He took out his phone and glanced at it. Today is September 9th, and yesterday was indeed his birthday.

“Yes, but I don’t celebrate my birthday,” Jun Matsue said nonchalantly.

Not only him, but Miyamura Aya also doesn't celebrate her birthday, though the girl followed his example.

“I know.” Mochizuki Haruka had, of course, investigated. She tilted her head. “Why?”

"It doesn't have any sentimental value," the boy said, looking down at the smooth, taut drumhead. "That was just the day I appeared at the orphanage, nothing special."

Aside from Aya Miyamura, he didn't tell anyone about his birthday, not even his senior, because he genuinely didn't care.

"But you're eighteen today, okay?" The girl took two steps forward, bent down, and her black hair cascaded down, covering the white drumhead in front of the boy's eyes.

“There’s a guy named Jun Matsueda who’s come of age and can now skillfully use all sorts of lies to comfortably express his sincerity. Isn’t that something to celebrate?”

Jun Matsue laughed. "Why does it feel like you're mocking me again?"

“This isn’t my saying, it’s Oscar Wilde’s.” Mochizuki Haruka pulled up a chair and sat down next to the boy, carefully observing his expression.

"So I'm willing to celebrate for you, okay? You want the ability to turn your anticipated future into everyday life, right? Just make a wish to me."