Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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"She doesn't know as much as I do!" Yosei Kurusu waved his hand. "Sunglasses are too conspicuous; they don't provide any concealment at all."

“That seems to make sense.” Jun Matsue nodded.

“Songzhi too!” The girl pointed her right hand at his face. “Take off your mask, otherwise fans who attended the autograph session this morning will easily recognize you!”

The boy obediently took off his mask. Kurusu Yosei stared at him for two seconds, then looked at the two figures reflected in the shop window next to him and nodded in satisfaction.

"That's what makes it feel like a date! What's the point of covering yourself up like that!"

So that's why? Jun Matsue paused, and the girl who was walking forward turned around.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and catch up!"

Looking at Yosei Kurusu's bright and cheerful smile, Jun Matsueda felt as if he were hearing a different sentence altogether.

No matter how far I go, I will always belong to you.

Chapter 521 The First Bloom of Light

Inside the nine-story “TOWER RECORDS” building in Shibuya, Yosuke Kurusu was hiding behind a shelf on the first floor, peering at the display stand where his album was displayed not far away.

Are you planning to just keep peeking like this?

Jun Matsue stood behind her, staring at the two swaying braids.

"There are too many people now." The girl waved to him without turning her head. The boy bent down and looked in the direction she was looking.

Through the gaps between the shelves, various figures could be seen overlapping, all of them fans gathered around the booth to buy albums. The figures included both men and women, and their numbers were fairly even.

Jun Matsueda blinked. "Speaking of which, there were way more girls at the autograph session this morning than I expected."

"There are a lot of girls who like female idols, but very few boys like male idols." Kurusu Yosei blinked. "That's the advantage of being a female idol, huh?"

The girl spoke very close to him, and Jun Matsue felt he could even smell the sweet aroma of vanilla ice cream. He straightened up and increased the distance between them.

"Are we going to keep hiding like this forever?"

"Just a little longer~" Yosei Kurusu pulled down the brim of his hat. "They'll be at the counter to pay soon."

"There should be fewer people afterward, because the time to queue for the autograph session is almost up."

The fans were all ready to line up to get in, but their idol was still wandering around outside... Jun Matsueda found it a bit strange.

So the two of them wandered around the shelves outside the booth, the girl's fingers gliding over the neatly arranged records.

"Songzhi, would you like to buy some other records?"

The boy surveyed the shelves in front of him; they were all new albums by well-known Western rappers, each with a recommendation from the store clerk.

"Genius closest to God! The genius who is closest to God!"

Jun Matsueda shook his head. "Are all these shop assistants this chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur)?"

Yosuke Kurusu was still spying on his booth. "The Japanese love this kind of thing, don't they? Things like 'a once-in-a-millennium beauty' or 'the destroyer of the empire,' don't they all like to say that?"

"Besides, not everyone has the right to use such childish language! My album didn't have any promotional text last year, but it does this year—"

The girl stood up and pulled the boy out of the shelves. "They went to pay, there's no one in front of the booth now, let's go!"

A few seconds later, Jun Matsueda stood next to Yosei Kurusu's life-size standee, looking at the bold black lettering on the display stand.

"A rising supernova idol who shakes the dark night sky! Yosei Kurusu's latest album is now on sale!"

"Shaking the darkness..." The boy couldn't help but smirk. "So you're Batman? The superhero who comes out every night to fight crime in Tokyo?"

"What's so funny!" The girl next to him punched his arm with her fist. "You're obviously very handsome!"

"You really are handsome." Jun Matsueda's smile faded, and he nodded seriously. "That means everyone thinks highly of you."

He picked up the album in front of him.

Compared to the eye-catching cover of her debut album "Visible Light", this cover is rather conventional - a clear blue sky like the sea, with many cotton candy-like white clouds floating on it, and the rooftops of towering buildings can be seen in the corner of the sky.

The album title is "SO FAR". "SO" floats in the blue sky, and "FAR" is nestled in soft clouds.

The boy's fingers traced the gold letters. "Why did you choose this album title?"

"Because many of the songs on this album were created during our tour." Yosei Kurusu took the album from his hand, held it above his head, and looked at it as if he were gazing at the real sky.

"I took this cover myself; it's the most beautiful sky I've seen since I left Tokyo."

"As for the meaning of SO FAR, it means that as I was performing and singing, I suddenly realized that I had come a long way and was far away from Tokyo. That's the feeling."

The girl's tone wasn't one of disappointment, but rather one of deep emotion. Jun Matsuoka looked at her face.

It seems that the busyness and success of these four months have been of great significance to Kurusu.

“And the name has another meaning.” Yosei Kurusu turned to look at the boy. “Isn’t there an English phrase—'So far so good'?”

The boy nodded. "So far, everything has gone smoothly. That's roughly the gist of it."

"Hmm~" the girl made a cute nasal sound, "This is my summary of this stage."

"We still need to keep working hard!"

After buying three first-edition limited edition albums, Jun Matsueda and the girl left the tower store together and got into their manager's car.

"Did you run into any trouble?" The woman stopped at the traffic light and turned to ask the two people in the back seat.

"It's nothing much, just that I ran into a lot of fans." Yosei Kurusu took a sip of water to clear his throat.

"And some girls even tried to chat up Songzhi. I should have made him put on a mask!"

The girl said in a huff, not expecting that the boy next to her would attract more attention from fans than herself, who was wearing a hat and a mask.

"It's good that you're alright." The woman breathed a sigh of relief. "Time is a bit tight. If you need to rest, take a nap in the car. We'll be getting ready for the book signing when we get to the venue."

Jun Matsue saw the girl glance at him, and she grabbed the back of the seat in front of her and said with a grin.

"It's okay, I've already replenished my energy~"

Back inside the venue, after touching up her makeup and using mouthwash, Yosei Kuraki sat down at the long table once again, regaining the energetic and radiant appearance she had in the morning.

"Are you ready? If you are, then release them." The agent took out her phone.

“No problem at all!” The girl gave a V sign to the boy who had changed into security uniform.

The woman pressed the send button on her phone screen, and after a while, she frowned.

"It seems particularly hot at noon today. The fans waiting indoors aren't very happy. Should Yang Shi make an appearance?"

“Sure.” Yosei Kurusu stood up, and Jun Matsueda, at his manager’s prompting, followed her out the door.

"Where are we going now?" He asked, looking at the girl's back.

"The rooftop platform on the second floor." The girl walked briskly, adjusting her skirt as she went. "Everyone can see me from there, and there won't be any safety risks."

The two walked through a dimly lit passage, the girl's clattering footsteps and the boy's deep thud of leather shoes overlapping. Ahead lay the light source. As Jun Matsuoka stepped onto the stairs, he could already hear the faint commotion emanating from the large space outside.

Yosei Kurusu left the passage first, followed by a huge cheer that swept past the boy like a tsunami.

"Is it really that exaggerated..." Jun Matsue walked out of the passage and was in front of a space that resembled a gymnasium. The two of them were standing on a circular platform on the second floor.

Looking down, a huge crowd was crammed together among the winding railings. Those who had been looking down and waiting to enter were now looking up.

The beautifully dressed girl leaned her upper body over the railing and waved to them, a radiant smile on her face.

"Hey everyone, thank you for your hard work waiting in the wings!"

"Looking forward to seeing you all later!!"

Amidst the cheers that seemed to lift the roof off, Jun Matsueda looked at the girl's back bathed in light.

This guy is already an amazing idol.

Chapter 522 Mochizuki Haruka's Interrogation Time

After the book signing event concluded successfully, the agent's car drove back to the apartment.

Matsueda Jun looked out the car window; the rapidly passing buildings and trees occasionally blocked the setting sun on the horizon, cutting out fleeting and intersecting light and shadow.

Yosuke Kurusu did not go back to the apartment with him. For the girl, the release of the new album was just the beginning, and there were still a lot of activities waiting for her.

As they approached the Mitakadai housing complex, the agent slowed down and looked in the rearview mirror.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Matsueda-kun."

"Not at all." The boy smiled. "It's you who should be doing the hard work to fulfill such outrageous requests from me and Kurusu."

The car stopped at the traffic light, and the woman rolled down the window, breathing in the scent of the evening breeze.

"Actually, neither the president nor I were as unwilling as you think about Yang Shi's request this time."

Jun Matsue blinked in surprise.

"The main reason is that she was too special in the mortal world."

The agent placed her hand on the car window and sighed as she looked at the red light that was counting down.

“She is different from any of the idols I’ve managed before. I won’t go into details, but Matsueda-kun probably knows her better than I do.”

"The key is that I have never seen her weak."

"During the four-month tour, I accompanied her to so many places. Things can't always go smoothly, but Yang Shi always seemed full of energy, as if nothing could really hurt her."

"Perhaps some people are just born to be idols. She is now a pillar of the new generation that the president plans to focus on cultivating."

Jun Matsue recalled the girl he had parted ways with not long ago, her back bathed in light and cheers.

“But as Yang Shi herself said, she is not the real sun—everyone gets tired sometimes.” The woman stepped on the gas and turned at the intersection.

"However, she doesn't seem to need my support or comfort, so the task of relieving her fatigue can only be left to you, Matsueda-kun."

The car drove towards the setting sun, the dim yellow light shining on the front of the car. Jun Matsuoka squinted slightly, looking at the golden paint that filled the road and the sky.

The girl's lazy demeanor at home, her frustrated expression when she lost a game, and her satisfied look as she ate heartily at the dinner table—these were all moments that only he had witnessed.

“No wonder you allowed Kurusu to continue contacting me.” The boy looked at the apartment building that was gradually getting bigger in the distance. “So you were just using me as a power bank.”

The woman shook her head. "Yang Shi is an uncontrollable guy, otherwise the tour wouldn't have started at such an awkward time at the end of the year."

Jun Matsue laughed, feeling a deep sense of empathy.

The car stopped in front of the apartment building. The young man turned around to thank the agent, and after watching the car drive away, he went up the stairs.

As soon as I stepped into the corridor on the fifth floor, the apartment door not far away was opened.

Mochizuki Haruka peeked out first, then stood in front of the door, her cold gaze fixed on the person standing at the end of the corridor.

"Have you had dinner yet?" Jun Matsue greeted him casually.

"I ordered pizza, and I ate half of it," the girl answered the boy's question reluctantly, glancing behind him.

"Kurasu didn't come back with you?"

"She doesn't have the time."

Mochizuki Haruka's expression softened a bit. She grabbed the boy's sleeve and pulled him into room 506.

"The pizza is still hot, eat it quickly."

The girl knew that Jun Matsueda was going to Yosei Kurusu's autograph session, but knowing didn't mean she accepted it, and accepting it didn't mean she was happy.

"Didn't you say you'd be done at five? Why are you back so late?" Mochizuki Haruka looked at the clock on the living room wall; it was already past six.

"Five o'clock is just the end time of the book signing event."

The boy sat at the table, looking at the pizza that was still more than half full in the open box. Next to it were a pencil case, exercise book, and notebook, so it seemed that she had been studying here during the day.

"After the autograph session, I'll definitely have to pack up my things. Besides, I'm not an office worker who just clocks out on time. I have to follow the schedule of the event. If I'm delayed here or there, the time will naturally be late, right?"

The girl sat down next to him and sneered, "So you spent the whole day running around for her? Did she announce to her fans that you were her boyfriend?"

“What are you talking about? This is a legitimate job with payment.” Jun Matsueda showed his phone the transfer record from his manager.

"Sixteen thousand yen, lunch included, and not much work to do. It's too much money, isn't it?"

"What if I have a better-paying job here? Would you take it?" Mochizuki Haruka rolled her eyes at him. "Like tutoring or something."

"I'll take them, even if it's free."

"The Wangyue family is currently short of a manager. Are you interested?"

The boy picked up a slice of pizza and stuffed it into his mouth. He didn't know which pizza brand Mochizuki had ordered, but it tasted much better than the Musashino-Mori pizza he usually ate.