Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 260

"By the way, is Mr. Imokawa still filming 'Now'?" Jun Matsueda suddenly remembered this question.

The girl shook her head. "Filming was finished last week, and my dad even took me to their wrap party."

"Oh ho." Jun Matsue stared at the girl's index finger, which was resting on the camera and pressing buttons incessantly.

I wonder if Kurusu is still watching this drama...

"Does Matsueda want to know the ending in advance?" Natsumi Imokawa noticed the boy's gaze and assumed it was out of curiosity about the plot.

"Forget it." Junya Matsueda shook his head.

Although he has already broken up with his senior, that kind of reluctance to admit his illness has long since disappeared. However, if Kurusu goes back to the apartment, he might drag him to continue watching this drama, and Matsueda Jun is the type who doesn't like spoilers.

To maintain some anticipation, it's better not to know the ending.

The two spent twenty minutes walking and taking pictures, circling the school and getting themselves bathed in the citrus sunlight, before returning to the teaching building.

"Should we go straight back to the classroom?" Jun Matsue looked at the classroom on the first floor, where a large number of students were asleep.

"Let's go to the department office first! I want to export the photos and take a look."

So the boy and girl turned at the end of the corridor and walked towards the activity building. They were greeted by a girl wearing a dark green bow tie that belonged to a third-year student.

"Hello, senior." Natsumi Imokawa greeted her first.

Yamami Maki's gaze first fell on the person standing behind the girl, and then she forced a smile, "Good afternoon, Natsumi."

"..." Natsumi Imokawa watched her senior pass by her. She turned around and watched the two of them brush past each other without exchanging a word.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise as she watched her senior's figure disappear around the corner.

“Pine branches…” she asked, full of questions.

"I forgot to tell you before, my senior and I have broken up." The smile on the boy's face faded somewhat in the clear sunlight.

"what?"

The girl's mouth gaped slightly, her surprise turning into shock—Natsumi Imokawa was not in the "Conquer Haneoka" group, and no one else in the know had told her about it.

"It's a long story," Jun Matsueda sighed. "If you're interested, I'll tell you when we get to the clubroom."

"I want to hear it!" Her shock instantly turned into curiosity.

The girl sat down at the computer in the clubroom, outside the window the treetops, a mix of red and yellow, swaying in the wind. Amidst the hum of the computer case, she listened to Jun Matsueda's story after returning to Tokyo from Mount Fuji.

"So, Ms. Kurusu is Matsue's roommate!" That was Natsumi Imokawa's first reaction.

It must be said that the girl's information was somewhat outdated; she had always thought that Yosuke Kurusu was just a friend that Jun Matsueda had met outside of school. As for why Matsueda knew the idol girl, she had neither thought about it nor asked.

“…I don’t think I ever mentioned it to you.” Jun Matsue himself was surprised. “Anyway, it was just a coincidence that I was roommates with her.”

He mainly talked about his relationship with his senior, and only briefly mentioned the other girls to maintain the integrity of the story, omitting their complicated relationships.

Even so, it was still a huge amount of information for the girl in front of her. Natsumi Imokawa's hand, which was on the mouse, stopped. She opened the window, letting the wind blow on her hot cheeks, trying to cool down her overloaded brain.

How interesting… the girl couldn’t help but think.

Those people who were merely acquaintances to her but not close friends revealed a different side to her in the eyes of the boys. Their relationships were intricately intertwined, more exciting and captivating than any fictional TV drama.

But is it really okay for me to feel this way...? The girl standing by the window turned her head and looked at the boy with a melancholy expression next to the computer desk.

Songzhi told her these things because he was troubled!

Natsumi Imokawa raised her hands and patted her cheeks. She composed herself and sat back down at her computer desk.

The girl opened her mouth, wanting to comfort the boy, but she didn't know how to organize her words.

"...What is Songzhi thinking now?" That was all she could ask.

"I haven't thought about it much." Jun Matsue rested his head on his right hand on the table. "What's done is done, so there's no other choice but to accept it."

He would not wallow in self-pity, because "pitying oneself is the work of a despicable coward."

"But Songzhi told me so much, it couldn't be because he wanted to tell a story, right?"

The girl, though saying this, was already listening to a story.

"..." The boy sighed.

“I know I still have resentment towards my senior, and Tomatsu wants me to vent it out and take this opportunity to see how important I really am to her.”

"But I'm not sure if I should do it."

“But you’re already thinking about it.” Natsumi Imokawa looked up, her gaze towards the boy clear as water.

"Since Songzhi keeps thinking about this, if we don't do it now, won't we still have this obsession later?"

The innocent naivety in the girl's words, which made her unable to distinguish between good and evil, became the last straw that made Jun Matsueda stop hesitating.

Chapter 460 Not Familiar

On Friday, November 7th, at noon, Jun Matsue walked alone into the conference room of the school's administration building.

There were quite a few people in the room. After several meetings, everyone had become much more familiar with each other. In the afternoon, it was the time for each class and club to set up. The executive committee members at the conference table were whispering among themselves, discussing their respective cultural festival projects.

"Matsueda-kun is here~" Mitani-kun, who was sitting at the end of the conference table, waved.

Jun Matsue smiled at her, then sat down in his usual spot—Maki Yami, sitting opposite him, hadn't changed seats either, but the girl didn't look at him, instead gazing calmly at the people discussing in the room.

"Is only Songzhi from Class 6 here today?" It wasn't time for the meeting yet, and Mitani wanted to chat with the boy for a few more minutes.

The boy nodded. "The homeroom teacher had something to discuss with Hu Song, so I'm the only one here this time."

"Oh, I see..." the girl blinked. "I feel like I've been seeing you two together quite often lately."

Sitting opposite her, Yamami Maki tossed her hair, her gaze already shifting from the center of the conference table to the doorway.

The girl and Jun Matsueda were seated closest to Chairman Mitani, forming a stable triangle, but she seemed to have no intention of participating in their conversation.

"There's nothing strange about it, is there?" The boy put his notebook on the table.

"I'm the class monitor, and she's the vice class monitor. We usually do things together when there's something to do in the class."

"I'm so envious~" The girl leaned on the table, her chin resting on the back of her hand, looking lazy and cute. "I'm also the vice class monitor, and my class monitor always pushes things onto me..."

"Then you should give him a good scolding!"

Jun Matsueda's smile had a hint of teasing, and Maki Yami reached out to support her cheek, trying to hide the corners of his lips from his upturned smile.

"If I can't see it, I won't be unhappy," she told herself.

But how do you block out the conversations that echo in the same room?

"Matsue-san and Yuka-san have been in the same class since they entered school, right?" the girl continued to ask.

"That's right, we were the class monitor and vice monitor back then, and she helped me a lot."

"Wow~ Three years of companionship..." Mitani seemed to be envious of something, "It must be fate."

"Well—" Her next sentence was interrupted by the senior sitting next to her.

"Mitani-kun, please be mindful of the time," Yami Maki's voice remained as gentle as ever. "The meeting is about to begin."

"Ah, sorry!" The girl immediately snapped out of her daze, coughed twice, and tidied up the documents in front of her.

"We'll officially begin the meeting in one minute!" Her lively voice drowned out the murmurs of the crowd. "This is the last executive committee meeting before the cultural festival. If anyone has any adjustments to their plans, please report them during the meeting!"

Twenty minutes later, Jun Matsueda put down his notebook. The meeting was over, and the crowd surged towards the door. He wasn't in a hurry to leave; he remained seated, watching Mitani consult with a senior student on the other side. Maki Yami's expression was gentle, but her eyes lacked a hint of amusement.

Is that all? The boy pressed the ballpoint pen in his hand.

How can you hide your sadness so well?

Jun Matsueda stood up from his seat, and Mitani stood up at the same time, while Maki Yami was a beat slower.

"Thank you, senior. Let's go out too!"

As the girl said this, she pushed all the chairs that everyone had pulled out under the table. Yamami Maki nodded and joined her.

"Let me help." Jun Matsue walked to the two of them, and the girl, who had her head down, trembled slightly.

"Thank you, Matsueda-kun." Mitani looked up, smiling sweetly. "There aren't many people as kind as you~"

“…There aren’t many people as thoughtful as Mitani-kun,” Junya Matsueda said with a smile.

Just as the girl's smile was about to bloom, a loud thud of a chair falling suddenly came from beside them.

The chair in Yamami Maki's hands fell to the ground. It wobbled twice, and the back of the chair collided with the tabletop, making a dull groan of pain.

"Are you alright, senior?" Mitani hurriedly went to her side. "Are you hurt?"

"It's alright." The girl shook her head, her smile somewhat weak. "I just didn't hold the chair properly when I was getting it."

Jun Matsue walked over to the two of them and pushed his chair under the table. "Senior, you can rest for a bit. Mitani and I can take over."

“…Thank you for your help.” Yamami Maki took a step back, hiding her expression in the shadows of her lowered eyes.

Being attentive—those were the words Matsue used to praise her…

The two people carrying chairs quickened their pace, and Mitani continued chatting, "Actually, I learned these habits from Senior Yamami - I want to carry on her spirit and build a student council that cares more about everyone."

"That's amazing, both Mitani-kun and Yamami-senpai."

Thank you~

Unlike Mitani's cheerful tone, Yamami Maki felt no joy; she simply felt that the boy's tone was too distant.

It was as if we were standing on opposite banks of a river, gazing at each other from a great distance.

A few minutes later, the three of them left the meeting room together. The teaching building had become very lively, with the sounds of tables and chairs being moved and shouts rising and falling everywhere.

They stood at the intersection of the third-floor corridor, and in the distance came the soft call of a young girl.

"Matsueda-kun—"

Jun Matsue looked over and saw Tomatsu Yuka standing at the classroom door, standing slightly on tiptoe with her right hand raised in the air, trying to make herself stand out in the kaleidoscopic corridor.

"It must be something that happened in class." The boy turned around, smiled apologetically at the girls, and said, "I'm leaving now."

"I hope everyone has a good time at this year's cultural festival." He waved goodbye to the two of them.

Seeing the somewhat reluctant look in the eyes of the girl beside her, Yamami Maki couldn't help but speak.

"...Do you like Matsue-san?"

Mitani blushed slightly. "It's not to the point of liking, but of course I have quite a bit of affection for him."

"Matsueda-kun isn't as childish as other boys; he's handsome and incredibly capable..."

"I'd probably have some positive feelings towards him! Plus, guys who play music get extra points with me!"

"..."

Yamami Maki knew very well that as her senior, she should support her junior's girlish feelings at this time.

But she couldn't bring herself to speak.

"I initially thought Matsueda-kun wasn't interested in dating, but lately he's been getting quite close to Yuka-kun and Mochizuki-kun again..."

"Does the senior know what happened?"

A bitter taste spread through Yamami Maki's mouth as she recalled what her senior, who hadn't graduated yet, had said to her in a coffee shop when she was still a sophomore.

"...Actually, I'm not exactly familiar with Songzhi."

Chapter 461 Cultural Festival and the Lost Girl

The first day of the cultural festival, Saturday, was sunny and so pleasant that one couldn't help but take a few more breaths of fresh air.

As Yamami Maki walked out of the teaching building, she followed the flow of people toward the auditorium. The sunlight, like a perfectly baked slice of cheese, gently melted above the heads of the crowd.

The girl took a few steps to the side of the road, away from the crowd. She turned around and looked up at the banner hanging on the wall of the teaching building. The words "Yuqiu Festival" swayed in the wind, and the light flowed on the satin.

This year's cultural festival was exceptionally successful... Maki Yamami had a premonition that this was true.

Upon entering the auditorium, the room was bustling with people. The enclosed space was filled with the students' joyful and excited whispers, like oil in a frying pan gradually heating up and stirring, waiting for the sizzling sound of ingredients being added to the pan.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting!" A girl dressed in a sailor uniform and school uniform skirt jumped into view, and the appetizer was served.

Mitani was dressed exquisitely, her fair arms waving in the air as the stage screen behind her lit up, displaying scenes of the students' activities over the past year.

Scenes of the freshman entrance ceremony, the wind instrument competition, the kendo tournament, and Koshien Stadium flashed by one by one, and finally the camera returned to the "Haneoka Festival" banner floating in the air.

"This year marks the 90th anniversary of Haneoka High School. The principal has already told me that the best way to celebrate the cultural festival is to let everyone have a great time!"