Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 365

Not wanting to disturb the girl's lunch any longer, Jun Matsue clicked on the penguin avatar in the list again—a bunch of pictures popped up in the chat box.

He's warming up in front of the track, he's ready at the start, he's crossing the finish line... In short, these are all photos of the boy himself.

"What do you think of Songzhi? I'm very satisfied with the photos I took!"

Even in just words, Natsumi Imokawa's excited tone is still very obvious.

"Not bad, but why do you always make me look so masculine in your photos?"

The photos highlight things like glistening sweat in the sunlight and taut muscles during a sprint.

“This is how you shoot in summer!” The girl’s reply was unequivocal.

Jun Matsueda shook his head, and just as he was about to put his phone aside, the screen, which had been off, lit up again on its own.

"Did Chun-kun go to the infirmary for a nap?"

"Yes." The boy yawned. "I'll be back before the sports meet starts this afternoon."

"Okay~" The girl sent a picture, and there was a pink heart on the sticky note he left behind.

There were no new messages this time, but Jun Matsueda didn't put down his phone.

He stared at the screen for a while, then opened Yosei Kurusu's official social media account.

This account hasn't had any new updates for several days, but finally there's one more message today.

"The long-awaited good news that we've been waiting for is finally here! ☆"

"I'll be participating in 'The Other Side of the Stage' tonight!"

This episode's theme is 'Idol VS Singer VS Actor VS Voice Actor,' and we look forward to your support!

Jun Matsue breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this update didn't include any selfies from Yosei Kurusu, it's good news that she's finally back to normal activities after a week.

The boy scrolled through the comments under the post again. It seemed that Kurusu hadn't brought her juniors on the show. Perhaps Eri-chan wasn't famous enough.

After all, this show seemed pretty impressive. Jun Matsue clicked on the link in the feed and took a look—tonight's guests, besides Yosei Kurusu, included several familiar names, including the singer of the Gundam anime theme song that had just been played in the school building. The host was the famous actor he had seen in Weekly Bunshun before.

"At least Laixi's career is still going well," the boy told himself, putting his phone back.

Although the process may be painful, the outcome is good for both of them.

That was what Jun Matsue originally thought.

The next morning, he saw that most familiar name at the top of the trending searches.

"Broadcasting incident on 'The Other Side of the Stage'! Yosuke Kurusu assaults host, shocking on-site!"

Chapter 622 The Phone Call to Kurusu Yosei

The morning after the sports meet ended, Jun Matsueda and Haruka Mochizuki walked into the classroom together.

As usual, Mochizuki Haruka walked to the window seat and sat down. Matsueda Jun looked at the girl who was already sitting in the back row and planned to greet her as usual.

However, Tomatsu Yuka did not smile as usual. She looked up at the boy's nonchalant expression and slightly furrowed her beautiful eyebrows.

"Hasn't Jun-kun seen the message?"

Jun Matsue was taken aback. "What news?"

The girl glanced at the mostly empty seats in the classroom, cupped her right hand to her lips, and whispered.

"It's from the show Yang Shisang was on yesterday. Chunjun, take a look on your phone. It's already the number one trending topic."

The boy sat down in his seat, put his backpack down first, and then took out his phone.

He went to bed early last night, after all, winning four gold medals was quite tiring. Before going to bed, the program about Qiyang World hadn't aired yet. After getting up, he was busy washing up and making breakfast, and didn't have time to look at his phone much.

Unlocking the screen and tapping the Bluebird icon, Jun Matsue saw Yosuke Kurusu's name in the first column of search trends.

"Broadcasting incident on 'The Other Side of the Stage'! Yosuke Kurusu assaults host, shocking on-site!"

Looking at the glaring flame icon next to the trending topic, the boy found it hard to describe his surprise.

Although Kurusu Yosei's personality is whimsical and unconventional, he has never seen a girl hit someone.

What does this mean? Is it a marketing ploy by the show's production team?

When Jun Matsue clicked on the topic, the first thing that appeared was a video, which seemed to be a recording of last night's "The Other Side of the Stage".

Six strikingly good-looking men and women sat on the stage, spaced far apart from each other, facing the audience. The host stood in the center.

Masahiko Sakurai is an artist under a well-known talent agency and a veteran actor who has been famous for more than ten years. He is the cheating man that Jun Matsueda saw in Weekly Bunshun.

This is also the target of Yosuke Kurusu's impending heavy blow.

"Yoshi-chan's a cappella performance was truly amazing," Sakurai Masahiko said with a smile, looking at the guest girl sitting on the far side. "I feel like even Yonezu-san couldn't say he was guaranteed to win~"

"After all, I'm the idol of the singers I'm going to VS," Kurusu Yosei said with a smile. "How could I stand here if I wasn't confident?"

Jun Matsue paused the video for a moment, looking at the smiling girl—unlike Kurusu when she appeared on shows before, there was no sincerity or enthusiasm in her smile.

"If that's the case, I'm actually looking forward to Eri-chan, who was originally going to VS the actress." The man held the microphone and looked at the audience below the stage.

"As you all probably know, we originally invited Eri-chan and Yosei-chan to promote today's episode, but Eri-chan is unable to attend due to illness."

"I apologize to Eri-chan's fans here—"

The man lowered his head and gave a somewhat comical bow, which made the audience laugh.

At this moment, Yosei Kurusu's face darkened. Without hesitation, she walked out of her seat and headed straight for the host in the center of the stage, amidst the surprised gazes of the other guests.

Before the girl's fist could hit the unsuspecting man's face, the video went black, ending with an abrupt preview of the program.

"It's definitely been hit," Jun Matsue frowned.

Judging from Qi's movements, that punch must have been quite powerful...

Assaulting the host during a live broadcast would be a major broadcasting incident in the history of Japanese variety shows.

When the school bell rang, the boy realized that the classroom was already noisy. The students took out their textbooks and chatted amongst themselves. In addition to yesterday's sports meet, Matsueda Jun also heard Kurusu Yosei's name mentioned several times.

The boy didn't put down his phone. He scrolled through the comments section below the video and quickly found a video from the perspective of the audience at the scene.

After being punched by Yosuke Kurusu, the man holding the microphone fell to the ground. However, the girl did not give up and kicked him hard again.

Before the girl could launch her next attack, the female guests on either side came over and pulled her back. Then, the staff and agents from various parties came on stage, amidst the noisy gasps of the audience. The video footage quickly became shaky and ended before the security personnel in the distance could approach.

"This is troublesome..." Jun Matsueda sighed as he looked at the frozen image on his phone.

"What's the trouble?"

Ms. Kominato's voice rang out from behind. The boy turned around, and the female teacher's expression was stern yet somewhat cute.

"Didn't you hear the bell ring for class, Matsueda?" Kominato Shoko tapped him on the head.

"This is the first time I've seen you using your phone in class."

Jun Matsue didn't try to argue; he obediently put his phone back in the drawer, and his classmates' eyes quietly drifted over.

"Don't let your guard down, pine branches." The female teacher's voice softened.

"You're aiming for the University of Tokyo, and even if you're confident now, there are still several months until the common entrance exam."

The boy nodded seriously. "Thank you, Kominato-sensei. I understand."

Although he said that, his mind was now filled with thoughts of coming to the world of Qiyang.

After Kominato Shoko walked onto the podium, Tomatsu Yuka leaned towards him with an apologetic face.

"Mr. Kominato came in through the back door. I tried to give you a signal with my eyes, but Tsunku didn't seem to notice."

"It's nothing." Jun Matsueda shook his head, then took out his phone and glanced at it from under the drawer.

"Did you see the message, Chun-kun?" the girl asked softly. "What's going on with Yang Shi-sang?"

"...I don't know." The boy lowered his head, looking at the shiny profile picture in his contact list.

The girl left the apartment almost ten days ago, and since then, their chat window has remained a blank, never to expand further.

Looking up at the homeroom teacher speaking on the podium, Jun Matsue silently took a breath and tapped the input box on the screen.

Are you alright now?

After listening to the sounds from the classroom for two minutes, the boy looked at the unresponsive chat box and chuckled to himself.

It feels like he's a boyfriend who regrets breaking up with his girlfriend...

Although it didn't even show as read, Jun Matsue still sent a few more messages intermittently.

"I saw your trending topic. Anyway, you're a scumbag. You did a good job beating him up."

"Is it because of your junior? I noticed you didn't look too good when he mentioned Eri."

"Does the company have any methods to deal with the backlash? The comments seem to have gotten out of control."

The term "炎上" (yan shang) means to incite public outrage, and if handled carelessly, it can have a significant impact on an artist's career.

However, the chat window remained unread until the bell rang for the second period, at which point Jun Matsueda felt his phone vibrate in the drawer.

"Just woke up," came Yosuke Kurusu's reply, which was curt.

Jun Matsue stared at his phone for a while, then put it in his pocket and got up from his seat.

"Teacher, I feel a little dizzy."

The middle-aged teacher standing on the podium was taken aback. "Matsue isn't feeling well? Should we take her to the infirmary?"

The boy nodded.

Mochizuki Haruka, who was lying on the table, propped her head up and watched him walk out of the classroom together with Tomatsu Yuka on the other side.

Stepping into the stuffy corridor filled with the faint sounds of teachers lecturing, Jun Matsueda did not go downstairs to the infirmary, but instead went upstairs to the restroom.

The fifth floor is all activity rooms, and there aren't many people around at this time, so you don't have to worry about being discovered when you make a phone call.

Entering the quiet men's restroom, Jun Matsue opened the window, took a breath of fresh air mixed with the sound of cicadas, and then took out his phone.

"Is it convenient to call?"

This time it was just read, but Kurusu Yosei did not reply.

But the boy still pressed the call button.

Unexpectedly, the call was answered very quickly.

"……what?"

The long-lost girl's voice rang in my ears, sounding a little muffled, as if she had just woken up.

"I saw your trending topic." Jun Matsueda looked out the window at the scorching sun, his voice filled with undisguised worry.

Are you alright now?

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of curtains being drawn back.

"Didn't you say you were going to abandon me?" The girl's voice seemed less passionate than usual.

"Why are you asking me now?"

Chapter 623 Can't Let Go, Can't Throw Away

"Didn't you say you were going to abandon me? Why are you asking me now?"

Looking out the window at the noisy green lawn filled with the chirping of cicadas, Jun Matsue felt a mix of emotions.

Although he had already read the girl's brief reply, Kurusu Yosei's unyielding attitude was now clearly revealed on the phone.

"...That's not the same thing."

The boy's tone was very gentle; he didn't want to make Kurusu even more unhappy because of him at this moment.

Before he could finish speaking, Lai Qiyangshi pressed on with another question.

What do you mean by "not the same thing"?

"'Then I'll just have to give up being the number one fan'—isn't that what Matsueda said back then?"

"When you find out you have someone you want to be with more, you want to distance yourself from me and prove your feelings to them—isn't that how it is?"

She spoke one sentence after another, giving Matsueda Jun no chance to interrupt. He could only listen silently as the girl's resentment struck his heart again and again.