Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 366

"I didn't expect Songzhi to send me a message."

"I thought that after you kicked me out of the house without looking back, you would clean up all the traces left by strangers in the apartment and happily start your new life~"

This was the first time Matsueda Jun had ever heard Kurusu speak to him in such a sarcastic tone.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. He listened to the noisy cicadas chirping out of sync on both sides and took a deep breath.

“I know this may not be the best option, but it is the wisest decision for your dreams.”

"Then what is the best option?" the girl suddenly asked.

"..." The boy paused in his breathing.

He knew the answer perfectly well—if it was just between the two of them, the best choice was to give up Mochizuki and Tomatsu and be with the hottest idol.

But Jun Matsuoka would never make that choice.

"I will not let go of Tomatsu and Mochizuki. Even if Kurusu continues to invest his feelings in me, he will not get the answer you want."

"But whether we are together or not, I hope that Kurusu can successfully pursue his dreams and realize them."

"This is the only thing that has never changed in my heart."

The girl stubbornly refused to answer, and Jun Matsue sighed inwardly.

"Let's put all that aside for now; the current situation is the most important—I saw the trending topics this morning, how are you doing?"

Kurusu still didn't answer. The boy heard the sound of a phone being placed on the table, followed by the sound of slippers walking away. She opened the wardrobe.

"Since Songzhi wants to distance himself from me anyway, why should I bother talking to you about this?" the girl said nonchalantly.

"...I said before that I still want to be your friend and number one fan."

"Isn't there a condition that you have to keep your distance from me?" The girl's voice came closer again.

"Is there anything else you want to say? If not, I'm hanging up."

"Wait!" Jun Matsue hurriedly said.

"How can I possibly feel comfortable keeping my distance from you after something like this has happened to you?"

"I haven't let go of you yet, and I still care about you, okay?"

"At least tell me what's going on before hanging up, right?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. The boy glanced at his phone to make sure he hadn't hung up.

"Why didn't you just say that earlier? Why go through all that beating around the bush?"

Kuryu Yosei answered impatiently, but his tone was like a river in early spring, with surging water beneath a thin layer of ice.

Matsueda Jun breathed a sigh of relief. "So what exactly happened?"

"Didn't you guess it?" the girl replied, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It's about Eri. She was originally going to participate in 'The Other Side of the Stage'."

"The company has already negotiated with the production team and arranged a script where Eri defeats professional actors in terms of acting skills, intending to let her take this opportunity to quickly boost her popularity."

"But the production team did a rehearsal the night before last. After it was over, I had to attend a promotional event for my photobook, so I left first. Eri went to the appreciation party hosted by Sakurai by herself."

"I don't know what happened, but when I got Eri's call and rushed over with my colleagues, there were hardly any people there, and she was already quite drunk."

Seduction? Jun Matsuoka pursed his lips.

It seems that Masahiko Sakurai is even more disgusting than the gossip newspapers describe him.

"That's why Eri didn't appear on the show yesterday; she went to the hospital for a checkup."

“But even if she’s physically fine, she won’t go on the show—Eri was clearly terrified; even if it was just an attempted crime, it was still scary.”

Yosei Kurusu's tone was cold and hard, completely different from when he was talking to the boy just now.

"So when that shameless Sakurai dared to apologize to the fans on behalf of Eri on the show, I rushed up to him."

"It's a pity I didn't smash his face," the girl said viciously.

"Have her test results come out yet?" Jun Matsue asked calmly.

GHB was detected.

GHB, also known as a date rape drug.

"Then once your company releases the results, public opinion will reverse, right?"

Matsueda Jun felt relieved. Although the girl's junior did deserve sympathy, he had limited energy and was only concerned about whether Kurusu would suffer in this incident.

However, Lai Qiyang hesitated for a while.

“Drug testing alone is not enough; there must also be evidence to prove that he did it.”

"...It seems there's no evidence for the time being?"

The girl accepted the boy's guess.

"That's troublesome." Jun Matsueda sighed. "Why did you rush up during the live stream..."

"Is it not allowed? Who told him to be so shameless!"

"I didn't say you played badly." The boy glanced at the rapidly increasing negative comments on the trending topics.

"I just think that if it were you, you would have handled it better and more cleverly."

"...Because I was in a bad mood, I wasn't planning on going on the show if the company hadn't persuaded me."

“That guy was acting so obnoxious on stage, I wouldn’t feel right unless I beat him up.”

Hearing the girl's calm tone on the phone, Jun Matsueda's mood became heavy again.

I've been in a bad mood these past few days, and the reason is obvious.

"Anyway, don't overthink it." Kurusu Yosei's tone returned to its stiffness. "The company's PR team will handle it for me."

"Don't pay attention to my news, and don't come looking for me. Didn't you say that distancing ourselves from you is good for both of us?"

"Enjoy your relationship in peace."

Before the boy could speak, the girl hung up the voice call. He sent several more messages, all of which showed as unread.

Jun Matsuoka put down his phone. The sunlight outside the window was dazzling, making his heart pound with unease.

Is Kurusu also in a terrible predicament?

The boy closed his eyes and finally let out a deep sigh.

How can I feel at ease if you're like this...?

Chapter 624 Persuasion

By the time Jun Matsuoka walked out of the fifth-floor restroom, the bell for the end of the second period had already rung.

He walked down the stairs. Although it was after class, the corridor was still deserted. Nobody wanted to leave their air-conditioned room on such a sunny day with a temperature of 34 degrees Celsius.

However, on his way back to the classroom, Jun Matsueda ran into Ken Sakamuro. The boy walking towards him saw him and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Songzhi isn't dizzy anymore? I was thinking of going to the infirmary to find you."

"It's probably just that he didn't sleep well last night." He waved his hand. "It's not worth sending you out."

"I thought you were exhausted from yesterday's sports meet," Ken Sakamuro patted his chest. "How am I going to explain this to Tomatsu?!"

The boy seemed to remember something and turned to look at the entrance of his classroom. "But it's a bit of a surprise that I found you before Tomatsu."

Given Tomatsu's personality, she should have been the first to leave the classroom to find Matsue, perhaps accompanied by the young lady of the Mochizuki family.

Jun Matsue smiled. "I've already messaged Yuka and told her not to worry."

This was just an excuse he used to fob off the boys. The two girls sitting in the back row should have known very well that the reason someone left the classroom was not because he was dizzy.

However, thinking about the possible chain reaction from the girls, he actually felt a bit of a headache.

Stepping into the cool classroom, Jun Matsuoka's mood did not improve in the slightest. As soon as he sat down, he took out his phone and checked it again.

There are already more than 10,000 posts with the hashtags "#KurusuYoyo", "#TheOtherShow", and "#SakuraiMasahiko", most of which are accusations against Kurusu Yoyoyo and some bystanders gloating over the scumbag host being beaten.

Many posts were from fans of Yosei Kurusu defending their idol, but in the face of obvious violence, their defenses sounded somewhat guilty and weak.

"You saw the trending topics?"

A girl's clear, sweet voice rang in his ears. Matsueda Jun turned his head and saw Mochizuki Haruka squatting beside him, looking at the phone on his lap.

"You saw her message?" the girl repeated.

The boy nodded. "It was a bit sudden; it caused quite a stir overnight."

"This is Tokyo, not some remote island far from the mainland in Imokawa's script."

Mochizuki Haruka pressed her left hand against her school uniform skirt and covered her mouth with her right hand as she yawned.

"Stop looking at these things, it's a waste of time." She covered her lips with her hand and put it on the boy's phone.

"This is just the beginning. The real trouble will come when bystanders, fans, haters, and the media start to spread the story from all angles."

"To be honest, I'm a little surprised that she's only now being criticized." Mochizuki Haruka stood up and stretched.

"She became famous so quickly, and she doesn't act cautiously in front of the camera. She also doesn't have any powerful background. There must be a lot of people who dislike her, whether they are colleagues or ordinary people."

After hearing her words, Jun Matsuoka temporarily put his phone deep in the drawer. "It seems like Mochizuki knows a lot about this."

The girl gave a haughty look and said, "I don't follow celebrities, but after hearing Rion and the others talk about so much, I know what I'm talking about even if I don't want to."

"I saw it last night, but I didn't say anything because I wanted you to get a good night's sleep."

Mochizuki Haruka looked at the culprit who had leaked the information earlier, and Tomatsu Yuka, who was sitting on the other side, smiled at her.

"Anyway, Songzhi shouldn't pay too much attention to her situation." She patted the boy's desk.

“In Japan, there are very few famous celebrities who have never experienced being criticized, just like cicadas that don’t sing in the summer.”

"Isn't she aiming for the pinnacle of Tokyo's entertainment industry? This is a necessary step for her."

Tomatsu Yuka put down her phone and leaned over as well.

"I think Mochizuki-san makes a good point!"

"Tsun-kun really should look at less related information—in psychological terms, excessive attention to these things can trigger anxiety, insomnia, and stress and trauma symptoms, which are harmful to physical and mental health!"

Her eyes were serious. "Besides, Tsunkun's attention is of no real use. Professional issues should be left to professionals to handle."

"No matter how much you worry, it's just a waste of your energy."

In a rare scene, the usually at odds girls stood on the same side. Looking at the commotion flying through the classroom, Jun Matsueda nodded.

"I know what I'm doing."

At 3:30 p.m., the bell rang to signal the end of get out of class at Haneoka High School, and Jun Matsueda and the girls walked out of the classroom together.

The boy stopped in his tracks when Natsumi Imokawa walked toward him in the corridor.

"Imokawa-kun, is there something you need to see Tsun-kun?" the girl walking beside him asked with a smile.

Natsumi Imokawa nodded. "Um, I saw that Ms. Kurusu is trending on social media..."

"Ask Tsunku, I'm going home now." Tomatsu Yuka turned to the boy and winked. "See you tomorrow~"

"See you tomorrow."

Walking on the other side, Mochizuki Haruka glanced at the tightly buttoned shirt at the girl's chest and headed towards the terrace at the end of the corridor, leaving space for the two of them.

"Has Matsueda seen the news?" Natsumi Imokawa asked anxiously. "It seems like Ms. Kurusu's situation is quite serious..."

The boy nodded. "After all, it's the number one trending topic, so the impact is obvious."

Compared to when he first heard the news that morning, Jun Matsueda was much calmer.

Until school ended, he only glanced at his chat with Kurusu a few times to make sure he hadn't missed any messages from her. After the school bell rang, he only looked at the announcements from the trending topics "The Other Side of the Stage" and the official account of Masahiko Sakurai, both of which were statements that disclaimed responsibility and shifted the blame to Yosuke Kurusu.

There have been no new updates from the official account of Yosei Kurusu, which suggests that the company is still trying to gather evidence.

"What should we do about Ms. Kurusu?" The girl's expression became even more tense. "I heard from people in my class that if this isn't handled properly, her idol career will be over."

Unlike Tomatsu Tomoka, who is two-faced, or Mochizuki Haruka, who is arrogant, Imokawa Natsumi has a good impression of the whimsical idol.

“Her company will definitely step in,” Jun Matsue reassured the anxious girl in a confident yet gentle tone.

"Imokawa, don't pay too much attention to these news reports. You can't tell the difference between the truth and the falsehood. Just wait for the final result."