Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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"So what did Songzhi buy?" Mochizuki Haruka pulled back the curtains to block out the intense sunlight and turned to look at him.

Tomatsu Tomoka, who was on the other side, also looked over, and Matsueda Jun picked up the bag that was placed at his feet.

"First is the dried golden snapper, which is sweet and slightly spicy. It's good to eat it dry or in soup."

"I definitely need to buy some!" Tomatsu Yuka patted her thigh lightly. "There are fish drying everywhere in Atami, I completely forgot!"

"I bought four boxes; I'll share some with you when we arrive at the station."

"Then I'll get less!" Mochizuki Haruka asked, her eyes wide. She had already considered Matsueda Jun's things as joint property.

The boy glanced at her and said, "...You can buy it later if you like it."

"Next is orange marmalade." Jun Matsueda took out a bright yellow glass jar.

"Atami's oranges are quite famous. I bought them at a local specialty shop near the station."

"Speaking of which, the names of the products in the local produce stores are quite interesting; they all proudly include the grower's name."

"For example, 'Shiitake mushrooms grown on trees by Kazuaki Tokuda,' 'Tomatoes from Omi Takada,' and 'Radishes from Takayuki Shimoyama.'"

"It's all from the farmers' love~" Tomatsu Tomohana said with a smile.

The boy nodded. "It would be good to visit local product stores more often when traveling in the future."

"The shop assistant I met today was very enthusiastic in introducing the fish to me: 'This is fish that was just caught from Sagami Bay this morning, and this is kelp marinated with plums from the nearby mountain...' It was really interesting."

"Is she a female shop assistant?" Mochizuki Haruka, who was resting her chin on her hand, suddenly asked.

"Yes."

"She might just like you because you're good-looking."

Jun Matsue smiled helplessly, "I also bought some bonito flakes, and the shopkeeper just gave me a bundle..."

The already short return journey seemed to pass in the blink of an eye as the boy spoke, and the prominent shape of the Izu Peninsula was quickly left behind by the train, with the towering buildings of Tokyo right in front of us.

As the train began to slow down, Jun Matsueda heard a familiar sound outside the train window.

The sounds of summer.

He reached out and pulled back the curtains next to the girl, revealing blinding sunlight that made the boy squint involuntarily.

Then came the tireless, torrential chirping of cicadas under the dazzling sky.

The endless, noisy time has arrived.

Chapter 611 On the Edge of Error

Upon returning to Tokyo, the students of Haneoka High School were quickly surrounded by exams and the sweltering heat once again.

At 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the school bell rang on time in Class 6 of Grade 3, and the classroom was filled with the sounds of packing schoolbags and moving desks and chairs.

The students who were getting ready to go home were the fastest, picking up their backpacks and opening the classroom doors first. The hot air in the corridor made them frown and loosen their backpacks to avoid the sweat from wetting the backs of their shirts.

Next came the students, slowly carrying their textbooks. They still had two self-study periods of their own choosing, so their steps as they left the classroom seemed somewhat reluctant.

After most of the people had left, Jun Matsuoka stood up from his seat—his name was on the blackboard as the student on duty that day.

Before cleaning the classroom, he turned to look at the girl by the window.

"Will Mochizuki wait until I finish cleaning before leaving?"

"What else?" Mochizuki Haruka turned her gaze away from the clouds outside the window and glanced at him. "I want to walk home from school with you."

The boy smiled and said, "Then you can wait for me in your seat?"

"..." Mochizuki Haruka looked at the girl behind him who was also sitting in her seat. Tomatsu Yuka was also on duty today.

"Remember it quickly."

She chose to wear headphones, out of sight, out of mind.

So Jun Matsue walked to the locker in the corner of the classroom, picked up the bucket and left the classroom. Tomatsu Yuka blinked, stood up and followed the boy out the door.

The heat wave from the corridor hit her face. The girl waved her hand to fan herself and quickly walked to the boy's side.

"It's so hot today! Without air conditioning, I feel like I'd be sweating in just a few minutes!"

“After all, the highest temperature has already reached thirty-four degrees Celsius.” Junya Matsueda tugged at his shirt collar. “At times like this, the rainy season doesn’t seem so bad.”

Tomatsu Yuka laughed, "It looks like there will be thunderstorms next week, hopefully it will cool things down."

Jun Matsue looked out the window at the sky. "At least then we won't hear the cicadas."

The trees outside the teaching building shimmered in the sunlight, and the cicadas that surrounded the campus created a cacophony of heat, as if a cicada was hiding under every leaf, making one's mind feel uneasy.

The two went into the bathroom. The boy placed the bucket he was carrying under the low faucet next to the sink. The water flow, turned on to its maximum, created white waves at the bottom of the bucket, causing the yellow plastic bucket to tremble slightly.

The bucket quickly filled with water. Jun Matsue picked it up and turned to leave. The boy soon felt his hand, which was holding the bucket, touch something warm and soft. He looked down and saw the girl walking beside him also reaching out her hand. The sides of their little fingers were pressed tightly together, transmitting a heat that was even stickier than the air in the corridor.

“…I can carry it myself.” Jun Matsue looked at the gentle smile in the girl’s eyes.

“That won’t do.” Tomatsu Yuka shook her head. “In that case, I can just wait for Tsunku in the classroom, can’t I?”

...Didn't you come along because you didn't want to be in the same room as Mochizuki?

The boy didn't ask the question aloud; he simply lowered the bucket a little so that it would be more comfortable for the girl to lift it.

After the school trip ended, Tomatsu Tomoka and Mochizuki Haruka entered a state of cold war.

This wasn't a cold war between lovers, but a cold war between a lighthouse and a bear—the two sides barely gave each other a second glance, and their already scarce conversations completely disappeared. Matsueda Jun thus became the only point of contact between the two.

Perhaps it was the attitude the boys displayed at the fireworks festival that made Mochizuki Haruka feel threatened, which is why Tomatsu Tomoka had the confidence to stop being insincere with her.

Therefore, aside from his exams and part-time job, Jun Matsue spent all his time for two days worrying about how to deal with the girls' problems.

The more he thought about getting Mochizuki to accept Tomatsu, the more impossible it seemed... He looked out the window at the setting sun, the blinding light and the air around him, thickened by the cicadas' chirping, intensifying the heat in his heart.

Ultimately, what right did he have to tell Mochizuki that he really wanted to have his cake and eat it too?

How could they possibly accept such a thing?

The bucket in his hand seemed to have gotten heavier. Jun Matsue looked towards the end of the corridor, where dazzling lights flickered, obscuring the sparse figures.

"It's time for the student council to change elections again."

The girl's voice beside him brought him back to his senses. The boy turned his head and looked at the notice board on the corridor wall with her.

"Isn't Jun-kun the class's election committee member this year?" Tomatsu Yuka turned around and lifted the bucket between the two of them, seemingly worried that the boy would exert too much effort.

Jun Matsueda shook his head. "The election management committee cannot be repeated, so I'm not involved this year."

"That's great~" the girl said with a smile. "It seems like Sakamuro-kun is planning to get you to sign up for a few more events at the sports meet."

He said it was his last year, and he should give it his all.

"We'll see when the time comes," the boy replied absentmindedly.

Back in the classroom, Tomatsu Tomori considerately released the bucket of water early, and Matsueda Jun took out the mop. The girls swept the floor and the boys mopped it. After he finished wiping the blackboard with a rag, the cleaning duty was over.

"Are you done yet?" Mochizuki Haruka stood up from her seat.

She took off her headphones, gracefully tossed her long hair behind her back, picked up her schoolbag, and looked at the boy walking down from the podium.

"Can we go home now?"

Jun Matsue put the cleaning tools back in the cabinet. "I'm leaving now."

His hand was immediately grabbed, and Mochizuki Haruka pulled him toward the classroom door without glancing at the girl along the way.

Tomatsu Yuka waved to the boy, her face still bearing a gentle and considerate smile.

"Be careful on the road~"

As Jun rode his bike away from school with Mochizuki, watching the girl's slightly curly black hair being blown by the wind, Matsueda Jun's heart calmed down a little.

How about you give me a ride on your bike sometime, Songzhi?

Stopping at the traffic light at the intersection, Wang Yueyao asked without turning around.

Jun Matsue stopped behind the girl, gripped the handlebars, and pressed the brake repeatedly. "It would be troublesome if the police caught us."

"But it's so sunny riding a bike in the summer~" the girl said in a charmingly coquettish tone. "How about Pine Branch rides with me?"

"It's just a few steps, I don't want to take a car."

"whispering sound……"

Before the red light countdown ended, Jun Matsueda looked up.

"full moon."

"Hmm?" Mochizuki Haruka turned her head and stared at him without blinking.

The girl's sun-drenched black hair was more dazzling than the sun in the corridor. The boy gazed into the girl's clear eyes, then lowered his head.

"It's nothing, I'll just stop by the supermarket on my way home."

"Then I'll buy some more ice cream!"

As the green light turned on, the girl hummed a song and pedaled, wobbling as she rode across the zebra crossing.

Jun Matsue followed silently behind her.

Some words are wrong from the moment they are spoken, yet he knew he was not far from the edge of making a mistake.

Chapter 612 The Uninvited Guest Saves the Day

On Friday, June 20th, it wasn't until 5 PM that Jun Matsue and Haruka Mochizuki returned to their apartment together.

After pushing open the security door and changing shoes with the girl in the entryway, the first thing he did upon entering the living room was to pick up the air conditioner remote.

After the air conditioner beeped and blew out a gentle breeze, the boy finally let out a sigh of relief.

"saved."

"It's so hot..." Mochizuki Haruka tugged at the sailor uniform stuck to her back and headed towards the bathroom first.

"I need to take a shower first."

After watching the girl disappear around the corner, Jun Matsueda walked under the air conditioner and let the cold air blow his bangs.

After school today, he went back to the orphanage, mainly to bring some gifts for the director. Of course, Mochizuki Haruka followed along.

However, they did not return empty-handed—the vegetables at the orphanage were growing well, and Grandma led them to pick some cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants.

Unfortunately, the air conditioning on the return bus malfunctioned, and the stuffy bus was like a moving oven. The driver could only explain and apologize repeatedly as passengers boarded.

That's why the young boy and girl returned to their apartment covered in sweat and looking listless.

After the old, buzzing air conditioner cooled him down, Jun Matsuoka picked up the vegetables from the canvas bag at his feet and stuffed them into the refrigerator one by one.

The girl's footsteps sounded behind him. "Matsue, what are we having for dinner?"

"Hmm..." The boy glanced at the fully stocked refrigerator. "How about cold noodles?"

"I happen to have the freshest cucumbers and tomatoes, so I'll make a plate of cold steamed eggplant salad."

"I want to eat!" Mochizuki Haruka walked over and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Don't hug me, don't hug me." The boy turned around and let go of her embrace. "I'm all sweaty."

The girl, who had just finished showering, was wrapped in a long bath towel, revealing only her shoulders and collarbone, which were still wet with water droplets. She looked as pure and beautiful as a lily in the morning.

Compared to her previous appearance after bathing, Mochizuki Haruka has become much more restrained now—perhaps after doing it so many times, she has become too lazy to seduce boys all the time.

"I'm going to take a shower too, then I'll cook." Jun Matsue gently pushed her shoulder away and walked towards the bedroom.

The girl, wrapped in a bath towel, turned around and watched the boy walk into the bedroom. He quickly came out with his clothes, closed the bathroom door, and didn't give her another glance.

Wang Yueyao puffed out her cheeks, her damp skin flushed from the heat, glistening under the lamplight.

"Why does it seem like Songzhi hasn't had any astringent thoughts lately?"

After taking a refreshing cold shower, Jun Matsue took the ingredients into the kitchen. He put the eggplant in the oven to steam until soft, and placed the rest of the vegetables on the cutting board, slicing the ones that needed to be shredded or sliced.

As the noodles were cooking, the boy glanced back at the living room. Mochizuki Haruka, with her wet hair, was sitting on the sofa watching TV, leaving him with a quiet and gentle back view.

"Would you like the sauce for Wangyue's noodles a little more sour or a little sweet?" he asked as he walked to the door.

"A little sweeter," the girl said, picking up the remote and changing the channel without turning around.

Five minutes later, Jun Matsue brought out two bowls of cold noodles topped with shredded egg, cucumber, chicken, and tomato slices, as well as a plate of eggplant salad that smelled of sesame oil and garlic.