Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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We'll definitely meet again with smiles on our faces!

"With such unwavering conviction, I now step forward—"

Mochizuki Haruka let out a soft breath, shifting her gaze from the stage. The densely packed audience seats were illuminated in white, with people waving their light sticks like undulating tides.

"So her support color is white..." the girl murmured to herself.

The purest color of light.

After the performance, the three sat in a black car parked by the roadside and chatted.

Aya Miyamura sat in the passenger seat, holding two light sticks. Haruka Mochizuki gave her hers too. The girl looked excited, still immersed in the previous performance.

"Yang Shijie standing on the stage is so super super super super cool!"

Jun Matsueda nodded. "Kurusu really does have a somewhat inhuman feel when he's on stage."

"Is that a compliment?" Mochizuki Haruka pouted.

"Is this Mochizuki's first time seeing a live performance from Kurusu? How did you feel?" Jun Matsueda turned his head, curious about the girl's feelings.

"...The first song was pretty good, but the later ones were so-so," Mochizuki Haruka said softly. "Overall, it was alright."

"Anyway, it's much better than those idols who can only be mascots."

As soon as Mochizuki Haruka finished speaking, the girl wearing a baseball cap and a mask opened the car door and sat on the other side of the back seat.

"How was it? Were you blown away by my performance?"

Cai Jiang, who was sitting in the front row, turned around and clapped enthusiastically, "I feel like Yang Shi-jie is already a big star!"

Jun Matsue didn't say anything, but simply clapped along with the girl.

"That's hard to say~" Yosei Kurusu chuckled, "After all, I've never even been to a martial arts dojo."

"Looks like someone has some self-awareness." Mochizuki Haruka leaned back in her chair and snorted. It was only then that Kurusu Yosei noticed that there was someone else next to Matsueda Jun.

"Huh? What's Mochizuki doing here?" the girl asked in surprise. "No wonder this car looks so familiar."

Mochizuki Haruka crossed her arms and remained silent, leaving Matsueda Jun, who was sitting in the middle, to speak.

"We ran into Wangyue this afternoon. She knew you had a performance tonight, so she came with us to check it out."

"Oh?" Kurusu Yosei's expression turned mischievous. "So you're interested in me?"

She peeked at the girl huddled next to Matsueda Jun, but was pushed back by Mochizuki Haruka.

"Were you moved by my singing? If you say 'Kurusu-san is amazing,' I can let you join my fan club for free, okay?"

"Who cares about that?" Mochizuki Haruka's face showed a look of disdain. "Only men who like looks would like you."

"I have quite a few female fans, you know!"

The black sedan drove towards Mitaka amidst the two girls' argument, stopping in front of a donut shop along the way. Exhausted from arguing, the girls unanimously decided to recharge.

"As expected, you still have to get your hands on Myrtle Donuts!"

The girls looked at the colorful donuts on the table, and even Mochizuki Haruka, who had a stern face, showed a hint of excitement—girls just love these cute and adorable sweets.

However, the two continued arguing until they finished eating the donuts. The black sedan then took Aya Miyamura home and stopped in front of Jun Matsueda's apartment building, finally ending the argument.

"Be careful on the way back." Jun Matsueda closed the car door and looked at Haruka Mochizuki, who was still sitting inside.

"By the way, why did you argue with Kurusu last night?"

Didn't you just praise her before she got in the car?

Upon hearing the boy's words, Mochizuki Haruka looked behind him and saw Kurusu Yosei humming a song as he walked into the apartment building's staircase.

Even though this guy was so close to the pine branch, he didn't keep an eye on it and let that Yamami Maki pick the peaches. Mochizuki Haruka gets angry just thinking about it.

The car window slowly rolled up, revealing the girl's petulant words.

"I just don't like her."

Chapter 358 Thirst for Knowledge

"Matsueda-kun, aren't you planning to go out and have some fun during summer vacation?"

The sunlight outside the window was bright and dazzling. In the library in the afternoon, Jun Matsueda looked at the girl next to him who was asking a question.

"I did go out." He took a sip of water, trying to calm the slight irritation caused by the cicadas' chirping.

"I'm not talking about going out shopping," Tomatsu Yuka said, shifting her position so she was facing the boy.

"It's like going on a long trip, you see, the vacation is quite long, isn't it?"

“Going on a long trip…” Jun Matsue glanced at the girl again.

"It doesn't feel like something Tomatsu would ask me."

He couldn't possibly take a girl on a trip. If it were Tomatsu Yuka, she would probably want him to stay in Mitaka and come to work every day so that the two of them could meet more often at the library.

"Because I'm preparing for a training camp." The girl lowered her head slightly, clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands.

"If we have a training camp, I won't be able to work at the library, and I won't be able to see Matsueda-kun anymore..."

The girl's tone was somewhat melancholic. Matsueda Jun turned to face her. "You resigned?"

"Oh, no, not at all." Tomatsu Yuka blinked. "I just took a long leave from my supervisor."

"..." Jun Matsue turned around and continued recording his work log.

"We'll be able to meet when school starts, and I'll also be watching your games."

Tomatsu Yuka is a capable and considerate colleague who never causes him any trouble. It would be a real shame if the young woman quit her job.

"That's true~" The girl's expression brightened again, as if her earlier disappointment was just an act to evoke the boy's emotions.

"So, Matsueda-san, aren't you planning to go out and play?"

"Since we won't be seeing each other again anyway, I actually hope that Matsueda-kun can take me with her somewhere to have fun~"

The boy put down his workbook and thought for a while. "I'm not interested in going out alone, and it's too hot in the summer."

"If Aya-chan wants to go anywhere, I might go with her."

"Is this the treatment my little sister gets? I'm so envious."

Tomatsu Yuka smiled, but felt a little uneasy. She always felt more at ease knowing that Matsueda was going out.

Why...? The girl stood up, staring at the boy's empty water glass.

"I'll go get some water for Songzhi~"

She placed her hands on the table, her upper body swept past Matsueda Jun, and then walked out from behind the counter with two water glasses.

A few minutes later, Tomatsu Yuka returned to her seat and bent down to put the boy's water cup back in its place.

Using the same method and the same posture, the girl once again smelled that faint fragrance on the boy.

Tomatsu Yuka tried her best to deepen the memory of this fleeting moment in her mind—

It has no oily smell and doesn't have the aroma of food.

It doesn't smell like fabric freshener; Songzhi never uses that kind of stuff.

As for laundry detergent, the one he used before didn't have much of a scent, but the one he used later smelled more like lavender. The girl had smelled it at school before, so it was probably the one his roommate, Yosuke Kurusu, used...

Jun Matsueda's voice interrupted the girl's thoughts, "Are you daydreaming? It's not time to rest yet?"

"Ah, sorry." Tomatsu Yuka came back to her senses. "I was just thinking about the training camp."

"Have you already decided where to go for the training camp?" Jun Matsue thought the girl was still a little down and decided to chat with her a bit more.

“Yes.” Tomatsu Yuka nodded. “I plan to go to Ome. It’s accessible by train, and the scenery is nice as it’s close to the mountains. Okutama is also a great place to escape the summer heat.”

“Okutama…” The name he hadn’t heard in a long time evoked memories for the boy. “Be careful when doing outdoor activities.”

"I'll remember!" the girl smiled. "We plan to stay in the suburbs of Ome City. There's an auditorium nearby where we can practice, and we might go check out the Yuyue Valley..."

After get off work, Tomatsu Tomohana got on her bicycle before Matsueda Jun, but the girl didn't start riding. Instead, she waited for the boy to come to her side.

"The summer festival has been postponed this year. Will Matsueda spend it with other girls?" She should already be a childhood friend by then.

"I don't know." Jun Matsue got on his bicycle. "Maybe I've gone on a long trip with Aya-chan too."

"That would be best," Tomatsu Yuka said with a smile. "Otherwise, I'd be green with envy for the girl who watched the fireworks with you."

The two bicycles were going in different directions. The shirt on the left was like a gust of wind, and the short skirt on the right was like a cloud. They disappeared one after the other into the sound of cicadas chirping.

That evening, in an apartment near the Zenpukuji River, Tomatsu Miyuki looked at her daughter who was getting up from the dining table.

"Youhua didn't eat much, did she? Is that alright?"

"I just don't have much of an appetite." The girl walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

"Are you sick? It's not heatstroke or a fever or anything, is it?" A woman's voice came from outside the door. "Mom's in the study. Remember to tell me if you're not feeling well."

"Okay—" the girl responded in a louder voice, then threw herself onto the bed and stared blankly at the light on the ceiling.

"What does it taste like?" Of course, she hadn't forgotten what she had discovered during the day.

"It seems that the smell only appears during the afternoon shifts..." Tomatsu Tomoka's excellent learning ability led her to start summarizing the patterns.

"Who did you contact this morning? Was it Kiyoshi? Or Aya-chan?" The girl turned over and opened her phone to send a message.

"Is Aya-chan in Fangnan Town today? I saw a girl at the intersection who looks just like you."

Aya Miyamura immediately replied to the message, "It's definitely not me! It was too hot today, so I stayed home all day!"

After excluding one... Tomatsu Yuka chatted casually with the girl for a couple of minutes, then opened another social media app. This was a platform where celebrities would run accounts, making it easy to find out about Kurusu Yosei's whereabouts.

"Today I participated in an interview with my seniors in 'mina' magazine. Remember to buy next week's issue of 'mina' to support us!"

This is a message posted by the official account of Yosei Kuraki, featuring a group photo of her and others, taken at 10:00 AM.

It can't be ruled out; the photos of the celebrities and such make it impossible to determine the exact time...

Tomatsu Yuka tossed her phone onto the pillow, then turned over. The ceiling light was a bit glaring, and the girl squinted.

Could it be that I'm coming to live in the world of the living?

Did they do it when they got up this morning?

The smell shouldn't be that faint, and given Matsueda's personality, she would definitely take a bath...

If it were Kurusu, this smell should appear more frequently; it wasn't there during the morning shifts before...

Isn't it the scent of a girl? What else could it be?

Tomatsu Yuka had a headache. She got out of bed and opened the window. The night breeze carried a coolness as thin as a cicada's wing, and the calls of water birds echoed on the shimmering river.

The girl took a breath of fresh air, then closed the window and drew the curtains.

She believed she would find out sooner or later.

Chapter 359 The First Bad News

On the afternoon of August 7th, the girls of the Light Music Club gathered in the practice room.

They had just finished their final performance on an open-air stage in a nearby shopping street, thus successfully completing all the plans that the No. 2 Machine Band had set in July.

As for their plans for August, the girls were packing up their instruments in their room, eating popsicles and discussing them.

"Are you still looking for performances?" Aya Miyamura threw the bare wooden stick into the trash can.

"Um, it's a bit difficult." Xiaoxing stuffed her bass into her bag. "I really wanted to go to Hakone with my boyfriend for a week. I finally managed to save up enough money from my part-time job..."

Speaking of Hakone, Jun Matsue, who was sitting in front of the drum set in a daze, blinked as he recalled the melody he had played over Lake Ashi last year.

"Then get some rest. We'll prepare for band activities when school starts." Izumi Mizuki opened the door with her guitar on her back. The girl was currently writing a new song and seemed a little distracted.

"I'm going back now. Remember to lock the door when you leave." The girl left with a crisp and decisive back view.

A few minutes later, the bassist also left the room. "Then I'm going on vacation too. Thanks for your hard work, Matsu and Aya!"

Only the two of them remained in the practice room. Miyamura Aya moved a chair under the air conditioner. "Jun-hyung, Jun-hyung, shall we go somewhere and have some fun?"

"How long have you been doing this new part-time job? Can you take time off?"

"That's true." The girl swayed back in her chair. "But taking three or four days off shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"That's up to you." Jun Matsue put his drumsticks into his bag. "Just let me know if you want to go, and I'll pay for it."