Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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At that time, he didn't want to see his senior suffer because of her choice, but he wasn't willing to change for her either.

It's just that the young boys and girls are moved by their own self-sacrifice—as if giving something will definitely make the other person happy.

According to the old man, neither of them truly conquered the other.

"There's nothing to regret." The boy looked at the lowered surface of the coffee in the glass—the beautiful latte art had long since turned into a mess.

"There's no point in dwelling on the past."

The sweetness of the hot drink fades in the mouth as the temperature rises, followed by the rich bitterness of the coffee on the tip of the tongue.

"I have indeed changed a lot," Jun Matsue thought to himself.

He should have been the one most concerned about the past.

"..." The girl nodded silently.

She could let go of the things she was once obsessed with, but the regretful feelings from the past could never be easily brought back—something she already knew in her dreams.

But Yamami Maki didn't want to give up.

Now that she has decided to leave the family, she will naturally continue to pursue happiness to the very end. Even if reconciliation is impossible, she wants to be able to watch Tsun-kun's life from a closer distance so that she can feel at ease.

It seemed that what she possessed was no longer the ordinary feeling she once had... The girl discovered that besides the unspeakable bitterness in her heart, there was also a hint of joy.

Now, she has finally become special.

Matsueda Jun noticed the girl's gaze was fixed on some point in the void in front of her. "Are you looking at the system panel?"

"Ah, yes." Yami Maki nodded somewhat flusteredly.

"What kind of system do you have?" the boy suddenly remembered.

We need to ask them about the system that has reappeared.

"Uh, is this something I can say?" the girl asked uncertainly. "Actually, there's nothing much, it just says 'Temporary User Three'..."

"And something that feels like a mission."

Sensing the boy's surprised gaze, she tentatively read aloud the red words in front of her—

"Prove to the users that you are right."

Yamami Maki hunched her neck slightly and looked around. There was no punishment as she had imagined, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Jun Matsue frowned and repeated what he had said, “Why does it sound like it’s talking to itself?”

“I feel the same way.” The girl nodded in agreement.

However, judging from the current situation, what she planned to do was somewhat different from what the system instructed. Fortunately, her rebellion did not result in any punishment...

"Apart from these, there is nothing else in the system."

It was just a simulated dream, and it felt quite similar to Mochizuki's system... Matsueda Jun recalled in his mind.

In this light, Tomatsu's system, which allowed him to see favorability ratings, was actually the most useful system back then.

However, it's also possible that the dreams of the senior student and Mochizuki have a significant impact...

The boy temporarily put aside his thoughts and looked at the girl who was sipping her coffee. "Anyway, if there are any changes to the system later, please let me know as soon as possible."

“No problem.” Yami Maki swallowed her coffee and answered hastily.

The topic of the unpredictable future came to a temporary end, and to the girl's delight, Jun Matsueda did not immediately get up and leave this time.

The boy gazed at the increasingly dense rain outside the window. "How will you get home, senior?"

No matter what, his senior was doing all this to help him, and she always acted like she was "use it and then throw it away," which made him feel somewhat guilty.

Maki Yami's tone was much lighter than before. "I mostly take the train when I go out now."

"Train?" Jun Matsueda took out his phone and looked at the map. "Then traveling to and from Ochanomizu every day must take a lot of time."

"It's not so bad, actually." The girl smiled. "It's just ten minutes longer than taking a car."

Faced with her smile, the boy remained silent for a moment before finishing his coffee.

"Let's head back while the rain isn't too heavy yet."

Whether it was because he was deliberately looking for a topic to talk about, or because he found that natural and gentle temperament in her smile, Jun Matsuoka felt a little awkward.

"Hmm!" Yamami Maki didn't seem to mind; she picked up her umbrella and stood up.

"Matsue-san and I are on the same train station, right?"

As Jun Matsueda walked into the labyrinthine Shibuya Station with the girl, he looked ahead at the wall formed by the backs of the crowd, and the Obon festival banners above the passageway swayed in the swirling air.

He and Yamami Maki were not going the same way, so they would have to part ways after walking through this passage.

Matsueda Jun thought for a moment, "Did Yamami-senpai participate in any activities for this year's Obon festival?"

"...No activities." The girl next to me turned her head and smiled.

"No?" The boy was somewhat surprised. "Family ancestral worship or something—"

“I told my father I won’t be participating this time.” A hint of a smile appeared in Yamami Maki’s eyes.

"Although he wasn't very happy, he agreed, since I wasn't a necessity to begin with."

"..." Jun Matsue's closed lips parted slightly, then closed again.

"It's all good. Be careful on your way home, senior."

The boy and girl walked out of the passage and parted ways at the fork in the road. Yamami Maki watched the boy's back gradually disappear into the crowd—this time she wasn't as sad as before.

Chunjun didn't ask, perhaps because he didn't want to get closer to them, or perhaps because he had long since lost his concern and curiosity for himself.

But it doesn't matter, the girl thought. Even if they can't get back together, she is determined to break away from her family.

Yamami Maki turned and walked through the crowd towards the other platform.

Because I'm already a rebellious child.

The future she desires lies outside the birdcage.

Chapter 681 Utterly Bland

The next morning, the 20-square-meter room, with the curtains drawn, was somewhat dimly lit.

Jun Matsue lay in bed, still half asleep, with only half the blanket covering him. One of his legs was dangling off the bed, his left hand was pressed against his chest, his brows were furrowed, and his sleeping posture was somewhat crooked.

The breathing in the room gradually became rapid and heavy. The boy on the bed twitched, then suddenly opened his eyes.

Before me was a somewhat familiar white ceiling, and in my ears were the monotonous sound of the air conditioner vents and the noisy chirping of cicadas outside the window.

Jun Matsue blinked and remained lying in bed without getting up.

"...I had a nightmare."

Five minutes later, the boy stood under the showerhead and turned it on, the cool water wetting his black hair.

The cold water quickly woke him up. With his head down, Jun Matsue turned his head slightly to look at the toilet and the bathtub behind it not far away.

The bathtub was small; he couldn't stretch his legs out in it, so he could only sit with his legs bent and knees drawn up to his chest. He imagined Cai Jiang soaking in it—it felt like a pose that would easily make him feel emo.

Such a small space and they still want to put a bathtub in it... The boy closed his eyes, tilted his head back to face the water.

"A Japanese person who loves taking baths all his life."

After drying himself off and getting dressed, Jun Matsue opened the sliding door to the balcony and breathed in the fresh outdoor air.

The sky had cleared up and the temperature was starting to rise again. He took out his phone and checked the weather forecast; the high was 33 degrees Celsius.

He put the milk on the balcony railing and opened the bag of toast in his hand. He bought it when he came back last night. He didn't have to go to work today, so he just ate whatever he wanted for breakfast.

Chewing on the soft bread in his mouth and taking a sip of milk, the boy stared at the glittering buildings and green park in the distance. The expansive view dispelled the discomfort lingering in his chest.

Last night's nightmare wasn't actually that scary—

He successfully entered the University of Tokyo, where his freshman year was fulfilling, busy, and full of novelty. Sometimes he attended classes with Tomatsu Yuka, and sometimes he sat alone in the back row, glancing at the professor lecturing on the PowerPoint presentation while flipping through a copy of "Naomi" borrowed from the library.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated in the dream, Jun Matsue knew that he and Tomatsu were still in a romantic relationship.

One day after class, he appeared in front of Tomatsu with his senior. Although the girl showed a resentful and complicated expression, she eventually accepted Yamami Maki's existence.

The boy had already realized it was a dream, but what happened next still startled him.

When Jun Matsueda walked out of the University of Tokyo gate with the two girls, what appeared before him was not the path leading to Komaba Todai-mae Station, but a meticulously maintained lawn and a magnificent manor not far away.

In a daze, the clear sky turned into a dark cloud, and Mochizuki Haruka, who appeared out of nowhere, stood on the lawn, looking at him with a quiet gaze.

The girl was holding a tombstone in front of her with the name of Jun Matsue engraved on it.

"..."

The buzzing of the air conditioner unit overhead, along with the sound of cicadas, pulled him back to reality. The boy swallowed the toast in his mouth and then drank two large gulps of milk.

After meeting with her senior yesterday, Jun Matsue deliberately avoided thinking about the girls, just to give herself a peaceful and reassuring night.

Unexpectedly, the thoughts I hid when I was awake surged up again in my dream.

The boy shook his head. The girl's melancholy face, which had been so clear and vivid when he woke up, was now much blurry—that's how fleeting the memory of dreams is.

Picking up the empty milk bottle and the half-eaten plain toast, Jun Matsueda returned to his room and drew back the curtains. The dimly lit room was immediately bathed in sunlight, casting a translucent white glow on everything inside.

He rarely dreams and has always had good sleep quality, so when he woke up from a nightmare today, he almost thought his system had returned.

However, the system's simulation wouldn't be so far-fetched, jumping from the University of Tokyo to the Mochizuki family's manor in an instant...

Jun Matsue gathered up the dried clothes, spread out the blankets on the bed, and sat down at his desk to open his workbook.

So this dream was probably because of his own worries, he thought to himself as he looked at the neatly arranged questions.

From the current perspective, compared to the chaotic future in the simulation, the two options given by the senior student are indeed better.

Running away is easy, but it means giving up many things—your dream university, long-standing relationships, the orphanage where you grew up…

And a future where he will never see the girls again.

"...It feels like I've traveled through time again." The boy turned a page in his notebook.

In comparison, conquest seems much more perfect—except for the visible difficulties and the inevitable heartbreak for the girls.

But even if it were possible, the outcome might not be as wonderful as imagined... Jun Matsue recalled his past life.

He tore off the scrap paper from which he had been unconsciously scribbling and drawing, and focused his attention on the question.

The boy got up quite late today, and after studying for more than an hour, it was lunchtime. The quiet room was filled with the sizzling sound of delicious food. Jun Matsue turned off the induction cooker and ladled the beef and scrambled eggs from the pot onto the freshly cooked rice.

The apartment's stove was small, and the mini range hood was barely functional, only enough to cook simple dishes like this. He carried his lunch back to his desk, and the sun, high in the sky outside the window, made him squint.

He put the book aside, and the beef and scrambled egg rice glistened in the sunlight. The aroma of onions gradually rose, and his hunger was becoming more pronounced. Matsueda Jun scooped up a large mouthful with a spoon and put it in his mouth.

The induction cooker did not affect the flavor of the food, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Before scooping up the second spoonful, the boy remembered something, took out his phone, took a picture, and sent it to Natsumi Imokawa.

"Beef and scrambled egg rice is simple and delicious. You don't need to add milk when beating the eggs."

I received a reply immediately after sending the message.

"I'm currently in seclusion editing. If Matsuko needs anything, you can call me."

Jun Matsue blinked. An automatic reply?

"Okay." He put away his phone and continued eating, not intending to disturb Imokawa.

The cicadas chirped louder outside the window as the sunlight intensified, and the boy silently chewed his beef.

At midday, the streets were mostly empty except for cars driving by on the highway and the occasional bird taking flight; there was hardly any human presence.

Looking down at the small park next to the intersection not far away, the dry, large patch of land seemed to be a baseball field for the nearby children, but now only crooked field lines could be seen.

"..." Matsueda Jun slowed down his chewing.

After the initial delight, for some reason, the food in the bowl, like the scenery before him, seemed to have lost some of its essence under the scorching sun, making him feel cloying.

The boy glanced at the scrambled eggs and beef in front of him again to make sure there was nothing wrong with it.

Was the meat not good enough? I went to the supermarket early yesterday, and I didn't buy any discounted items.

Is there something wrong with the seasonings? He got up and went to the stove to take a look. Several bottles and jars were seasonings that he and Laixi had recommended back then.

Unable to find the reason, Jun Matsue had no choice but to return to his desk. The scrambled eggs rice, which had cooled down a bit in the air-conditioned room, seemed to have lost some of its deliciousness.

After quickly finishing his lunch and washing the dishes, the boy was about to continue studying when his phone rang.