Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 259

A lazy meow came from the corner. He went over and saw a golden cat huddled in a cardboard box.

"Has Jinzhi lost weight?" Jun Matsue lifted the cat by the neck and hugged it to his arms.

The domestic animal, curled up in a ball, cried out again, sounding a bit more cheerful. It seemed that a human's embrace was more comfortable than a cardboard box.

"This guy doesn't like to eat in the summer, so he deserves to be thin."

Wang Yueyao took a canvas bag from the drawer of the coffee table and hung it on her shoulder. Jinzhi naturally jumped inside.

"It's been in the cardboard box all day, it's time to move it."

The two walked out of the apartment. Jun Matsue watched the girl lock the door with her key. "At least it didn't run around and smash your sofa and record player, did it?"

"It dares?" Mochizuki Haruka sneered. The little female cat in the canvas bag shrank its head inside, perhaps because of the cold wind outside.

As a wealthy young lady, the girl took a taxi directly to Kichijoji. When the two of them and the cat got out of the car, it was sunset. The sky had turned a deep blue-purple, and at the end of the long street, a few clouds with a red glow could be seen.

"Is this the shop you picked?" The boy looked at the glowing LED filaments on the glass wall, the green fluorescent light forming the shop's sign.

“neco sekai”—the world of cats.

“Jinzhi was bought by my aunt from the owner of this shop.” Mochizuki Haruka pushed open the glass door, and music from inside the shop surrounded the two of them, including the cute meows of various cats.

"So this is your family home." Jun Matsue followed behind the girl, meeting the cat's round eyes.

Mochizuki Haruka took out her phone, and Matsueda Jun looked at the photo on the screen—a corner of the Mochizuki family mansion, with a cat bed, a cat tree, a litter box, and a small, white hand holding a cat toy.

"The cat's house is..." The girl's eyes searched among the shelves, intending to look at them one by one.

"Haven't you been here before?"

"No, my aunt bought the cat for me, and the shop owner sent people to deliver everything."

"Hmm, typical rich girl life." Matsueda Jun nodded, and the girl grabbed the mini sofa in front of her, turned around and threw it into the boy's arms.

Shopping is a woman's natural skill, so it's not difficult at all. Mochizuki Haruka spent more than ten minutes finding everything and successfully paid at the cashier.

"So much stuff, it's not easy to move." Jun Matsuoka only has two arms.

"They'll deliver it." The girl walked out of the store, still carrying only a canvas bag containing the cat.

"Then what's the point of me coming with you on this trip?"

Despite having only two arms, Jun Matsue believed he should still be a laborer.

"Of course you'll eat with me." Mochizuki Haruka looked at him with a puzzled expression. "Why would I need you to buy things for the cat?"

Bringing Kinji into the restaurant wasn't convenient, so Mochizuki Haruka simply stuffed the cat into the delivery van. Watching the van drive away, Matsueda Jun yawned.

"So what are you having for dinner tonight? You should have made plans by now, right?"

The girl shook her head. "I want to decide together with Songzhi."

So the two of them walked onto the main street of Kichijoji, chatting as they searched for dinner and the night deepened.

"You were so decisive when you were buying things before, but now you're so hesitant. Don't tell me you have some tricks up your sleeve?" Jun Matsue asked the girl next to him, his hands in his pockets.

“Shopping is just my aunt’s job.” Mochizuki Haruka walked past a wall covered in graffiti. “My goal is to keep you shopping for a while longer.”

"When you're in a bad mood, go out for a walk instead of always staying at home in a dark room. Isn't that what you taught me?"

"...So you were worried about me?" The boy looked at her black hair, which was being blown by the wind and spread out in the night, like waves with a magical quality.

"I just broke up with someone, it's not that serious."

"Really?" Mochizuki Haruka blinked. "You clearly saw her when you left the school gate after school, didn't you?"

Jun Matsue fell silent.

"You see it but pretend you don't. You still care about her, don't you?" The girl stretched out her finger and lightly traced the graffiti on the wall.

"I don't know how to make you forget her, but I'll help you make her angry."

Jun Matsuoka smiled and looked at the illuminated signs on the street, the flowing lights reflecting in his eyes.

"If I saw her in front of me, all sorts of random thoughts would naturally pop into my head, but now she's not even there..."

He stopped, the girl turned around, and the boy was looking at the supermarket by the roadside, seemingly lost in thought.

"You came here with Yamami Maki?"

"No." The boy shook his head. "I suddenly remembered that I met Kurusu around here. We ate oden together at the back door of this supermarket."

"Disgusting." Mochizuki Haruka looked at him coldly. "Recalling other women in front of me."

"There's nothing I can do," Jun Matsue said with a helpless smile.

"I don't want to lie anymore for now."

Chapter 458 This world is changing too fast

Jun Matsueda left Kichijoji at a moderate time. After returning to his apartment, he helped Haruka Mochizuki move the pet supplies piled up at the door into the room.

He took a knife from next door and opened the box. The girl placed the fluffy cat bed and the bare food bowl in the corner of the living room, and Jinzhi, who was lying on the sofa, climbed in on her own.

The boy took the cat's place, sat on the sofa and watched the girl finish setting everything up, and finally squatted down and poured the cat food into the bowl.

"All done?" He stood up. "Then I'll head back?"

Mochizuki Haruka patted the cat's head, then turned to look at the boy. "So early? I haven't shown you my record player, game console, and CD player yet."

"It's getting late." Jun Matsueda glanced at his phone. "I still need to discuss the cultural festival arrangements with Tomatsu."

"Then forget it." The girl said nonchalantly as she saw the boy to the doorway.

"My aunt plans to come and stay at my place every now and then, so I won't give you the key yet."

If she were alone, Mochizuki Haruka would certainly not mind Matsueda Jun visiting at any time, whether she was taking a bath or sleeping, but if her aunt also came, the situation would be different.

“I didn’t say I needed your key…” Jun Matsue changed his shoes. “It’s a bit cold in the hallway, so you shouldn’t come out.”

The girl nodded obediently, watching him push open the metal door. "The alarm clock might not wake me up. Remember to wake me up tomorrow."

"Yes Yes."

Mochizuki Haruka has a better grasp of distance than before—she didn't hand the room key to the boy, nor did she ask about the key to 507. It's unclear whether she received secret guidance from her aunt or if the girl's seduction skills have changed significantly.

Jun Matsue closed the security door and listened to the mechanical sound of the lock being put on before stepping back into room 507.

The pitch-black interior wasn't much warmer than the corridor, making him feel somewhat unfamiliar—the living room should usually be lit at this time, since Kurusu would have already been home.

After closing all the doors and windows tightly, Jun Matsue took a hot shower, changed his clothes, and returned to his bedroom. Tomatsu Yuka replied to his message.

"Since I want to show you the blueprints, it would be inconvenient to use voice messages. Could you video chat with Songzhi instead?"

The boy hesitated for two seconds at his desk before sending a video call invitation to the girl.

Tomatsu Yuka's face appeared on his phone screen. The girl seemed to have just taken a shower as well. She was wearing pajamas, her hair was slightly damp, and her face was flushed from the heat.

It's very ordinary, yet very tempting.

Jun Matsueda's gaze shifted to the background of the image. The girl appeared to be in her bedroom, which was quite spacious—he didn't see a bed in the picture.

"What are you looking at, Matsueda-kun?" Tomatsu Yuka waved her hand. "It's discussion time now, so please concentrate!"

Her tone was more like saying, "Please focus on me," and the boy picked up the notebook on the table.

"Tomatsu already has a layout plan, right?"

"Yes." The girl nodded and showed the camera a piece of paper next to her, which was an overhead view of the classroom.

"If we were to imitate a jazz bar, the setup could be quite simple. We could put the tables by the window together to create a bar counter, where we could mix and sell drinks. The area over the stage would be the performance area, where the saxophone and trumpet players could stand directly on the stage, and the keyboard and drum kit would be placed on either side..."

"The large central area is for guest seating, which can be divided into single-person seats, double-person seats, and more. It can be made by putting together school desks. I still have some wood grain stickers from last year that I bought, which I use to create a sense of luxury."

"The most crucial element is the lighting!"

The girl's expression was focused and serious as she moved closer to the camera. On Jun Matsueda's phone screen, the drooping neckline of her pajamas and the alluring curve of her flesh-colored skin appeared.

"The lighting must be dim and hazy enough. All the classroom lights must be turned off, and desk lamps should be used for the bar and booths..."

Tomatsu Yuka talked a lot in one breath, occasionally pointing to her own drawings. Her black hair hanging over her shoulders and the softness under the fabric of her chest swayed with her movements, clearly indicating that she was not wearing a bra. Even though it did not appear to be revealing, it still made people imagine the beautiful scenery under her pajamas.

"So, does Matsueda-san have any objections?" The girl finally stopped, and the way she tilted her head back to drink water made her fullness in a certain area even more prominent.

"..." Jun Matsue believed that looking at the person he was chatting with was a basic form of respect, but since all he could see on the phone screen was the girl's heaving chest, he had no choice but to look down.

"I feel there's a problem with the lighting in the performance area—it's difficult to install and adjust lights from the ceiling."

"How about a few taller floor lamps? The kind with adjustable stands?" Tomatsu Yuka finally put down her water glass, allowing the boy to look up.

"This is good; we might need it sometime." Jun Matsue thought the living room next door would be just as good, providing soft lighting for Haruka Mochizuki's jewelry collection and record player.

"So it's settled then?" The girl blinked. "I'll go with Mimi and the others to buy the decoration materials tomorrow."

"No problem, just remember to show it to Ms. Kominato tomorrow."

Just as Jun Matsueda was about to hang up the video call, Yuka Tomatsu suddenly leaned in close, and all that was left on the boy's phone screen were the girl's long eyelashes, delicate nose, and radiant skin.

"What is this for?"

“I’m carefully observing Songzhi’s expression,” the girl said earnestly. “When the video call first connected, you looked a little lonely.”

Jun Matsue blinked.

Is it because the person he's video chatting with is no longer that girl? Or is it because the television and someone's energetic voice will no longer be heard outside his room?

"In short, that expression is gone now!" Tomatsu Yuka sat back in her chair and clapped her hands gently in front of the camera. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you." Jun Matsueda smiled.

See you tomorrow~

"See you tomorrow."

After hanging up the video call, the boy stood up and lifted the curtain. There wasn't a soul in sight on the street outside; it was as if everyone had died.

“Loneliness…” he muttered to himself, “It can’t be that exaggerated, can it?”

The girl who moved away, the girl who lived next door, the girl whose relationship with him broke down, the girl who led him astray... it's just that his life has changed a lot recently, and he needs time to adjust.

Is there nothing that remains unchanged?

Before falling asleep, this question popped into Jun Matsueda's mind.

The next day, when he saw the girl with the camera, he found the answer.

"Imokawa, thankfully you haven't changed much."

The boy let out a sigh of relief, while Natsumi Imokawa blinked in confusion.

"Although I don't know what Songzhi is talking about, as long as you're happy."

Chapter 459 Straw

On the eve of the cultural festival, the news department is preparing for the new issue of the school newspaper. In addition to writing news and collecting articles, they also have to take some photos of recent campus life.

"Why don't you just assign this kind of task to the other members?"

Jun Matsue looked at the girl beside him, while Natsumi Imokawa held her camera, looked up at the roadside, and captured the moment a leaf fell.

“But I want to take pictures myself too.” The girl put down her camera and turned to look at him.

"If I take the photos with my fellow members, we'll have more photos to choose from later, right?"

It was lunch break, and the two were walking outside the teaching building, searching for autumn at Haneoka High School.

Jun Matsue caught the falling leaf. "Is it possible that your skill is so exceptional that no one else's photo ever got a chance to be selected?"

"Ah." Natsumi Imokawa stopped and began to think seriously.

Although she was generally satisfied with the photos taken by her members, she would often find various problems in them.

"It seems possible..."

"It's not just a possibility, it's probably true." Jun Matsue placed the fallen leaf on the girl's camera. "Didn't you always have to give them a long list of questions during club meetings?"

Of course, the members of the news department weren't that bad, but for a girl who strives for perfection in the world of images, problems will always exist.

Thanks to Natsumi Imokawa being an adorable girl who is completely oblivious to her own feelings, the club members were able to accept these opinions without complaint.

"...Then I'll bring out fewer photos later." The girl decided to take better care of her club members.

The two walked across the lawn in front of the teaching building, stepped onto the avenue dotted with yellow fallen leaves, and headed towards the cafeteria—the girl's plan was to take a walk around the school during her lunch break.