Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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"no problem."

"...I want to eat egg pancakes for breakfast tomorrow." The girl's anger had subsided considerably.

"I'll make you the deluxe version."

"Don't forget to eat those two chicken drumsticks in the fridge tomorrow during the day, they won't taste good if they're left out for too long."

Jun Matsue laughed, and the girl angrily punched him, "What are you laughing at?"

"The thought of being able to eat chicken drumsticks made by a big star like Lai Qiyang tomorrow makes me feel so happy."

"That's more like it."

As the two crossed the last intersection, Jun Matsueda looked at the figure appearing in the distance and asked, "Wouldn't you like to put your mask back on?"

Kurusu Yosei glanced at him sideways, "Now you know fear?"

"I'm scared, I'm scared."

The girl snorted again, then put on a mask, leaving only her eyes visible.

A pair of eyes that are always bright, radiant and captivating.

Chapter 363 Natsumi Imagawa is equally perceptive

The next morning, Jun Matsueda made a deluxe version of an omelet for Yosei Kurusu, while his own breakfast was a chicken cutlet sandwich.

After finishing breakfast, he looked at the girl standing in front of the entrance, all dressed and ready to go.

"Didn't you say you were done with your work recently? What are you going out for today?"

"Let's socialize!" Yosei Kurusu turned his head and made a cute face.

"I've arranged to get my hair styled and manicured with my senior colleagues at the same agency today~"

She brushed her long hair back, and the pink top of her head turned into caramel pudding again. "My hair is getting a bit long, so it's a little inconvenient to wear a wig."

Female entertainers usually wear wigs during performances for easier styling changes. The young woman hasn't appeared on camera with pink hair for quite some time, which is why she doesn't need to wear a hat when going out these days.

The girl pushed open the door. "Matsueda's attitude was very good today, keep it up!"

Watching the security door close gently, Jun Matsueda returned to the dining table and drank the remaining milk in his glass.

"Well then, I should head out too."

Although I was criticized by my roommate just yesterday, "accompanying my senior" is still my top priority for summer vacation, and I must resolutely carry it out.

The boys and girls still met at the library. Jun Matsueda had already finished his summer homework, and now he could only accompany Maki Yami to do practice questions for the common exam.

The daily routine in the library is not boring. When they get tired of studying, the two of them will hold hands and lean on the table to whisper to each other. The morning time flies by in this way, studying, chatting and sticking to each other.

After lunch, Yamami Maki went to her tea ceremony class, and Matsueda Jun watched as the girl entered the platform alone and boarded the tram.

He could certainly go in with his senior, but the subway station is crowded with people, and many of Haneoka's students live in Suginami and Setagaya, so there might be a risk of their relationship being exposed.

"...Will we have to live like this for more than a semester?"

Jun Matsueda leaned against the outer wall of the subway station, looking at the intersection under the sunlight. The reflections on the roofs of passing vehicles reminded him of the shimmering surface of Lake Ashi last year.

How should he spend the afternoon? As he pondered this question, a new message popped up on his phone.

It was sent by Natsumi Imokawa. The girl's profile picture has changed from a realistic penguin image to a penguin doll with a camera hanging around its neck, which seems to be from a classic stop-motion animation.

"Um, does Songzhi have our school principal's contact information?"

Jun Matsueda sent her a question mark: "Why do you need the principal's contact information?"

"It's a bit complicated to explain..."

"Should we make a phone call?"

"want!"

He put the phone to his ear, and soon he heard Natsumi Imokawa's somewhat weak voice, along with some noisy voices.

"Pine branches?"

"I'm here." Jun Matsueda took a few steps to the corner, his presence at the subway entrance drawing attention. "What's the situation on your end?"

"I'm on set right now." The girl's voice was a little louder.

"We were supposed to film the scenes at the male lead's school this afternoon, but no matter how the father filmed, he was not satisfied. He felt that the location was not good enough."

"So Mr. Imokawa wants to bid for the Haneoka auction?" Jun Matsue quickly understood what the girl meant.

"Yes, I showed him photos of our school." The voice on the other end of the line trembled slightly, indicating the girl was nodding. "The problem now is that we need to get permission from the school first."

“I don’t have the principal’s contact information.” His mischievous side started to kick in.

"Ah..." The girl's voice clearly lowered.

“But I know someone who can definitely get in touch with the principal,” Jun Matsue said with a smile.

"Really? Can I ask you for a pine branch?"

The girl's voice rose again, her emotions changing so rapidly, like some kind of simple canine creature.

"Let me ask."

He placed his phone in front of him and tapped on the black cat avatar in the list.

So at 1 p.m., Jun Matsueda stood at the entrance of Haneoka High School and met the film crew carrying various equipment and Natsumi Imokawa holding a camera.

"Thank you so much, Matsueda-san." The girl's expression was a mixture of joy and gratitude. "My dad and the others are busy scouting locations again, and the rest of the filming should be done here."

“It’s no trouble for me.” Jun Matsue took the banana milk she offered. “I just made a phone call to Mochizuki.”

The process was, of course, not as simple as he made it out to be. Mochizuki Haruka questioned him thoroughly for half an hour before finally hanging up the phone at the call of her aunt in the distance.

"Then I'll send Mochizuki a message to say thank you..."

Natsumi Imokawa's previously lively tone softened again. She took her phone out of her pocket, but the boy stopped her.

Matsueda Jun recalled what Mochizuki Haruka had said to him on the phone, "Matsueda, do you only think of me when you need help?"

"Is he going to ask me to help a woman again?"

"Imokawa's father's film crew? You're not even sparing Imokawa Natsumi?"

He sighed. "In short, if you thank her, she will most likely get angry instead."

"Oh." Natsumi Imokawa blinked blankly and took a carton of banana milk out of the plastic bag she was carrying.

"Are you thirsty? Here, have some pine branches."

Jun Matsueda inserted the straw into the milk carton and walked towards the busy film crew with the girl beside him. The icy-cold banana milk was less sweet and had a smoother texture, making one want to drink it all in one go.

"By the way, when did Imokawa get Mochizuki's contact information?"

“She asked me for it when I was filming a band performance.”

"I see." Jun Matsueda nodded. "So what are we filming today?"

"It seems they're filming the male lead and the female student who likes him right now. They don't have many scenes together, and there are some empty shots of the school. Since the extras haven't arrived yet, they're probably filming the female student's scenes first..."

When this topic came up, Natsumi Imokawa's speech quickened, and Jun Matsueda listened to the girl's endless chatter while glancing at the club building the two passed by.

There was no melodious wind instrument music coming from inside the building; perhaps the wind band was performing at a charity event, or perhaps they were simply off today.

The two walked to the shade of a tree and watched as two actors in school uniforms were surrounded by crowds and equipment in the distance. Jun Matsueda's milk carton made an empty sound; he crumpled it and threw it into a roadside trash can.

"Is there no scene for the female lead today?" he asked the girl next to him.

"Which female lead?" Natsumi Imokawa thought for a moment. "The childhood friend or the upperclassman?"

"Childhood sweethearts".

"No, but there is a scene where the senior picks up the male lead after school, which connects to the scene where they go to the male lead's house to play together."

"This relationship is progressing way too fast..." Jun Matsueda couldn't help but remark.

"It's just that the scenes are all together, so these shots were filmed together. In reality, the order of the plot that the audience sees is different." The girl's explanation sounded very much like that of a professional.

"Does Matsueda know what happens next?"

"Never mind." The boy waved his hand, rejecting the girl's suggestion for reasons unknown.

The space under the shade of the trees quieted down, and the sound of cicadas echoed through the campus. Natsumi Imokawa stared intently at the moving camera, while Jun Matsueda took out his phone and started sending messages to his senior.

After a while, the boy put down his phone; he remembered something.

"Hey, Imokawa, do you like watching romance movies?"

"It's alright." The girl continued to look at the busy crowd. "I'll watch anything that's interesting."

"I once watched a campus romance movie where the male and female leads were really looking forward to their date at the summer festival, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the girl went to another city."

"I don't remember the rest of the plot. If Imogawa had directed it, how would the story have developed?"

After listening to Jun Matsueda's words, Natsumi Imokawa slowly turned her head and looked at the boy next to her who was gazing at the sky.

Could Songzhi be referring to himself?

Chapter 364 The meticulously planned ending wasn't just the conclusion, but also the farewell.

"cut!"

Sitting in front of the monitor, Akira Imokawa shouted, and the venue immediately fell silent. People did not relax, but instead looked at the director, who was wearing a hat and had a serious expression, with even greater tension.

Finally, Akira Imokawa smiled and nodded.

"This one is acceptable, approved."

The crowd relaxed, and cheers and cicada chirps mingled together, drifting and swaying to the ears of the boys and girls under the shade of the trees.

Natsumi Imokawa looked at the boy beside her, who was lost in thought. The trembling tree canopy cast a floating, light shadow on his face.

Pine branch...you're not talking about yourself, are you?

The girl had intended to ask that question, but after thinking about it, she decided not to speak.

Matsue always tells herself what she wants to say, Natsumi Imokawa thought, and cautiously asked, "Matsue, are you in a bad mood?"

Matsueda Jun snapped out of his daze and looked at her. "No, why do you ask that?"

"That's good." the girl said softly.

"I didn't hear your question carefully. Could you repeat it, Pine Branch?"

The boy repeated, "If Imokawa were the director, how would the story unfold?"

Natsumi Imokawa frowned slightly and looked at the ants on the ground, thinking for a while.

"It depends on the type."

"Tell me more," Jun Matsue said, his interest piqued.

"In Korean tragic love stories, the female lead should encounter an accident in another city—such as a car accident, an earthquake, or a fire—and then either lose her memory or become disabled. After that, the two of them will embark on an epic and heart-wrenching love story filled with life and death."

"...This is too melodramatic, let's change it."

"If it were a domestic film from the last few years, it might be that the female lead accidentally travels through time at a shrine in another city and decides to make up for the male lead's childhood regrets. After experiencing a series of events that are both funny and touching, she realizes that she cannot perfectly make up for the boy's regrets. The girl's views on love mature, and finally she returns to the present time and reunites with the male lead."

"This feels pretty good, doesn't it?" Jun Matsue looked at the girl sitting on the curb, hugging her legs.

"Really?" Natsumi Imokawa chuckled twice. "I watch more domestic movies."

"But this has surreal elements," the boy said, still not entirely satisfied. "I want a story that's told from the male protagonist's perspective and is more realistic."

The girl also began to think about it with great interest, having forgotten to worry about whether what Matsueda Jun was talking about was actually his own business.

"So, do you want a happy ending or a bad ending?"

"Of course it's a happy ending."

Why did the female lead go to another city?

"...Let me think." Matsueda Jun didn't forget his acting skills. "It must be because a relative back home is sick, or the ancestral home caught fire, right?"

“Then let’s just go find her,” Natsumi Imokawa said without hesitation. “Ask her friends for her address, and then take a plane or high-speed train to find her.”

"Don't tell her, give her a surprise. If there's no summer festival in the area, go buy the fireworks yourself."

"Then we waited until it got dark and knocked on her door."