Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 445

Two minutes later, the corridor outside the clubroom was temporarily filled with figures carrying instrument bags. Jun Matsueda stood at the end, keeping an eye on the clubroom door while dealing with the girls who greeted him before leaving.

"Who was Matsueda-senpai chatting with just now?" someone heard him shout in the corridor.

"Ah, I'm flirting with other girls," the boy replied casually.

However, the girl in front of him didn't believe him. She just chuckled and left with the words, "That's not a good idea," before walking into the stairwell.

After waiting for a few minutes, the corridor became empty again, but Tomatsu Tomoka was nowhere to be seen. Matsueda Jun blinked and went back into the clubhouse.

The boy was chatting with a junior department head on the stage when he walked over to the girl and took the empty water bottle from her hand and the saxophone bag from her shoulder.

"what happened?"

Tomatsu Yuka turned her head and smiled at him, "...It's nothing."

“I was just looking for Matsueda-senpai too.” The junior girl standing opposite him also looked at him.

"We have a rehearsal for a performance before the national competition, and we would like to invite you and Yamami-senpai to come and watch it together."

"...Yamami-senpai?" Matsueda Jun frowned.

“That’s right!” the girl nodded.

"Since Yuka-senpai and Yami-senpai were both top players in the national championships, everyone thought it would be meaningful to invite them to watch the last performance before the national tournament."

"And Matsueda-senpai too!" She smiled shyly. "Back then, you and Imokawa-senpai from Class 3-5 filmed and documented that competition together, right?"

"Every member of that club took a photo with you! If the three of you could come to see the performance together, it would be a blessing for us~"

"But Yamami-senpai has already graduated, so we don't know much about her current situation and we don't have her contact information. So we wanted to ask Yuka-senpai to inquire about her."

Looking at the girl's expectant eyes, Jun Matsue felt that the current situation was even more troublesome than when he had just faced Mochizuki's back.

"Yamami-senpai isn't quite—" the boy began, but was interrupted by the girl beside him.

"I understand." Tomatsu Yuka gave a subtle smile.

"Tsunku and I will probably go, as for Yamami-senpai..."

"We'll contact her first and then get back to you."

"Thank you for your help, senior!" The junior girl bowed slightly to the two of them, looking grateful.

"Then we'll be going now."

"Okay! Goodbye, senior! Goodbye, Matsueda-senpai!"

As Jun Matsue left the clubroom with Tomatsu Yuka, he walked down the stairs and glanced down at his arm that was being held.

"Why don't you just let me reject her directly?"

"..." The girl, who had been looking down, raised her head. "I don't feel well."

The boy raised an eyebrow, surprised by her sudden generosity.

"Tsun-kun, don't look at me like that..." Tomatsu Yuka smiled.

“The current wind band is indeed very pure and good, and I don’t think it’s necessary for me to disappoint them any more.”

"And for me now..." she hugged her lover's arm tighter, "it seems like this kind of thing is no longer important."

The girl herself was somewhat surprised that when she heard that her junior planned to invite Yamami Maki, she was not as resistant as she had thought.

Perhaps once people become happy, those things that were once hard to care about will gradually fade away.

Jun Matsuoka stepped out of the staircase, and the gradually dimming sunlight fell on his face.

"...So you're planning to invite her?"

"No." Tomatsu Yuka's upturned lips held a hint of slyness.

"Let Jun-kun decide."

Chapter 704 Writing a Song Again

The following evening, in apartment 507, the two sat on the sofa in the living room after dinner, but the television was not turned on.

The sofa that the landlady left behind was L-shaped, with the longer side facing the TV on the living room wall, where Yosuke Kurusu used to lie.

She wore large white headphones and held an electronic pen, writing and drawing on the tablet in front of her. The girl closed her eyes, sometimes shaking her head and sometimes frowning, her bare feet gently patting the sofa in time with the melody playing in her headphones.

Jun Matsue sat facing the wall with the television mounted on it, at the shorter end of the "L" shape. The night breeze blew in from the wide-open balcony, landing on his arms and cheeks.

As we entered mid-September, the cicada chirping that filled Tokyo's summer gradually faded away with the high temperatures. Outside the balcony, the deep blue night was filled only with the flapping of birds' wings and the barking of dogs passing by on the street, making the living room, where the television was not turned on, quiet and harmonious.

However, the boy holding the phone probably didn't think so; he was staring blankly at the pale yellow parrot on the screen.

Matsueda Jun felt a headache coming on when he recalled the sly smile on the girl's face when he parted ways with Tomatsu yesterday.

How did the task of inviting the senior students, which the brass band was planning to do, end up falling to me?

He looked at the girl who was occupying one side of the sofa next to him. Kurusu Yosei was lying there without moving, her head facing him, her pink hair spread out on the sofa—like a big pink octopus, softly sprawled next to his hand.

"Want to turn on the TV?" The boy picked up the remote, trying to distract himself.

"No!" The girl, who hadn't moved, pressed down on his hand and tilted her face up.

“I’m listening to the demo the production department sent me.” She pointed to the headphones on her head.

Jun Matsue had no choice but to move away her soft little hand that was pressing on him and look back at the parrot avatar on his phone.

"..." The boy recalled the gentle yet firm smile of Yamami Maki in the coffee shop earlier.

To be honest, he didn't really want to invite the female senior.

Although Tomatsu said that Yamami-senpai's matter was no longer important, that was only because she now had a sweet romance.

If Tomatsu Tomohana and Yamami Maki actually met, and she discovered that Yamami-senpai was trying to win back her boyfriend, would she still think it was unimportant?

But perhaps Tomatsu really didn't care that much anymore? Jun Matsueda's thoughts changed again.

After all, he's currently in a relationship with her, trying to win back Mochizuki, and even thinking of dragging Kurusu into it, and she doesn't seem to have any objections on the surface...

But given Tomatsu's personality, it's also possible he wanted to see how his ex-girlfriend was behaving now...

Besides, the senior student just said "like me one more time," so if I go and invite her out, wouldn't that be like actively giving her a chance?

Matsueda Jun's head ached more and more as he thought about it. He put down his phone, leaned back, and rested his head on the back of the sofa.

As the wind on the balcony blew the curtains, and the cool breeze of approaching autumn brushed against his ears, the boy's agitation began to dissipate little by little.

Suddenly, the girl lying next to him sat up and pounded the sofa.

"Ugh, this is so annoying—" Kurusu Yosei complained in his ear.

"...What's bothering you?" Jun Matsue opened his eyes and watched her take off her headphones.

It's rare to see Kurusu so openly troubled.

"I'm annoyed by the new song!" The girl put her hands on her chest and changed to a duck-sitting position.

Her short black hot pants were covered by her loose white T-shirt, and her supple thighs swayed in the boy's eyes, breaking his hard-won calm.

Jun Matsueda blinked. "You've already announced your comeback, hasn't the company decided on a new song yet?"

"No, that's not it." Yosei Kurusu waved his hand.

"Isn't there a really popular anime that just started airing recently—Chainsaw Man? You know Matsueda, right?"

The boy, who had been leaning back in his chair, sat up straight and nodded. "I've heard Sakamuro and the others talk about it."

"This animation is amazing!" The girl gestured with her hands. "The ending theme is different for each episode, it's super luxurious, and they've got big names in it—Queen Bee, Aimer, and a band I don't recognize but is very famous..."

“So…” Jun Matsue turned to look at her, “you’re one of those big names in this lineup?”

“That’s right!” Kurusu Yosei nodded vigorously, his long pink hair swaying with it.

"This is a project that the agency's parent company took on before—the song was already prepared, and now it's just that I'm taking over the singing."

"Wow, this is what a big company is like!" the boy exclaimed.

"So you're worried you won't be able to handle these resources?"

"No, not really." The girl shook her head vigorously again, her long, flowing hair hitting the boy's shoulder.

She handed me the earphones. "You'll see once you listen!"

Jun Matsue took it and put it on his head. A faint scent of shampoo wafted to his nose. The girl leaned closer, and music soon started playing.

"..." Two minutes later, the boy took off his headphones.

"I understand."

Kurusu played him a very cute and adorable song, the version sung by Idol Girl herself—the catchy melody and various girlish pronunciations alone were enough to convince Matsueda Jun that this song would definitely not be unknown.

"I feel like this song is going to be a hit," he said to the person next to him.

“I feel the same way!” Yosei Kurusu blinked.

"But even if I didn't sing it, it would definitely be a hit."

This kind of catchy, addictive song doesn't really showcase the singer's talent or qualities—which is probably why YM Entertainment is confident enough to have a newly returned girl sing the ending theme of a popular anime.

"...So you don't want to sing?"

"How could that be!" Lai Qiyang put the headphones back around her neck, her sunny temperament now tinged with a touch of artistic coolness.

"It's work, after all, and the company chose this song to help me build popularity."

"Generally speaking, for idols like me who transition to singers, the first step is either to appear on shows to promote their songs, to cover well-known singles, or to sing theme songs for TV dramas or animations."

"So the resources the company has given me are already quite good."

Jun Matsue watched as the girl got up, walked to the refrigerator in the corner, took a box of lemon ice cream, and returned to her seat.

"So what exactly is bothering you?"

"I'm already thinking about the next song." Yosei Kurusu opened the ice cream, scooped up a big mouthful, and put it in his mouth.

"My own song."

The girl leaned on the boy's arm, holding an ice cream in one hand and slapping the tablet onto his thigh with the other.

"I'm not very satisfied with the demos and finished products that the production department sent me!"

"..." Jun Matsueda looked at the rows of documents on the screen. "Can I play it out loud?"

"Go ahead and release it."

The boy listened to a few songs while the idol girl buried her head in eating ice cream, licking the milk stains from the corner of her lips.

"It's alright, isn't it?" He stopped the music. "While none of them are particularly outstanding, the quality is above average."

"Mid-to-high level won't do!" The girl's face suddenly came closer, and Matsueda Jun could even smell the vanilla lemon scent on her lips.

"This is my first song as a singer, my very first song! It has to be a smash hit, it has to leave everyone speechless!"

Jun Matsue glanced at the tablet screen; apart from the default numbers, all the filenames were related to romance.

"...Then don't restrict the subject matter so much."

"No way!" Yosei Kurusu shook his head vigorously, spoon in his mouth.

This time, the flying hair hit the boy's face—it didn't hurt, just felt a little hot and itchy.

"I've already said it, my first song has to be about love."

"..." Matsueda Jun glanced at her helplessly.

I didn't realize how difficult this guy was to please when we were together normally, but when it comes to work, he turns out to be so demanding.

"Then you can just wait." The boy handed the tablet back. "We'll wait for the production department to find you a better song."

Yosei Kurusu frowned in distress, "Waiting is just too unbearable..."

"What can we do? You can't write songs."

Seeing Matsueda Jun lower his head and take out his phone, the girl seemed to suddenly remember something, and opened her bright eyes wide.

"Pine branch!" She put down the ice cream and reached out to shake the boy's shoulder.

"You can write songs!"

"Wasn't your song 'Instant Moment' super catchy and incredibly popular online?!"

"..." Jun Matsue turned to look at her. "I wrote the lyrics and only participated in part of the arrangement."