Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 246

After sitting down next to Maki Yami, Jun Matsueda immediately noticed the band-aid on her left hand.

"Senior, did you hurt your finger?" He immediately took the girl's left hand in his arms.

"Yes, I accidentally cut myself a little while chopping vegetables. The cut isn't deep."

Looking at the boy in front of her, who was bowing his head and looking focused, Yamami Maki felt as happy as a parrot in the house welcoming spring.

To be honest, the girl was quite nervous before meeting Jun Matsueda today. She was afraid of seeing his cold face, which is why she was so absent-minded when preparing lunch last night that she hurt her finger.

"Was it disinfected? Did it get wet afterwards? Will it leave a scar?" Jun Matsueda was still a little worried.

"It's not that serious," she said with a smile, waving her hand. "It's just a cut."

The boy then opened the bento box with a sense of relief. The first thing he saw was a golden-yellow omelet. Although the shape wasn't very appealing, it was still beyond his expectations.

Jun Matsue himself doesn't know how to make tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet).

"I've already tried a little bit, and it tastes pretty good!" The girl's tone was a little smug.

"A senior is a senior, she's good at everything she does," he said with a smile.

As before, after lunch, the boy and girl did not leave the rooftop. They leaned against the outer wall of the stairwell, their shoulders and arms pressed together, looking at the exceptionally clear and refreshing autumn sky.

"This is a Mount Fuji amulet for my senior."

Jun Matsue reached into his pocket with his right hand and first felt two small bags of unopened cookies, and then the packaging bag for the amulet.

"What a beautiful amulet!" The girl held it up to the sky. The translucent light blue mountain seemed to blend into the sky, with a thin piece of gold foil in the middle shimmering with dazzling light.

Matsueda Jun looked at Yamami Maki's fair profile. The light reflected from the amulet shone on her face, flashing and dazzlingly beautiful.

"Senior, I've already told Aya and the others that we have another scheduled performance. After that performance, I'll leave the band."

The moment these deliberately avoided topics were brought up, the sweet and passionate atmosphere that had been lingering between the two vanished instantly.

Yamami Maki's right hand, holding the amulet, froze in mid-air. Even her eyelashes seemed to freeze, trembling slightly in the wind blowing across the rooftop.

After a long few seconds, she blinked, lowered her head, and looked at the ground in front of her.

"When will your farewell performance be?"

"This Sunday, at the Shibuya livehouse, there are 300 people, the biggest one ever." The boy's tone was as if he were talking about an ordinary performance.

The girl lowered her head even further. "We're going on our school trip this Saturday..."

She couldn't watch his last performance.

"It's okay, you can watch the recording of the performance." Jun Matsue took the girl's hand and gently rubbed the band-aid on her fingertip.

"Then the school trip is definitely more important. It's the last one in three years of high school, so don't leave any regrets."

“…I’m sorry.” Yami Maki’s shoulders trembled. She lowered her head and pressed her face against the boy’s chest.

"It's all because of me, I'm sorry..."

The girl's voice trembled, reminding Matsueda Jun of the fallen leaves he had stepped on in the Forest of Literature, which crumbled at the slightest touch.

"Alright, alright, it's not your fault, senior." He comforted Yamami Maki. "If anything, it's just that your elders are unreasonable. It has nothing to do with you, senior."

He stroked the girl's back; her back was thin and narrow, unable to support much weight.

They ended up spending the entire lunch break on the rooftop before Yamami Maki finally calmed down. After wiping away her tears, the girl nestled in the boy's arms for a long, long time until the bell rang to signal the end of the lunch break. Only then did she reluctantly wave goodbye to him and leave the rooftop first.

As for Jun Matsuoka, he sat on the rooftop for a few more minutes, watching the distant clouds slowly approach, stealing the sunlight and casting gray shadows on the rooftop.

Actually, the senior student is really nice, he thought to himself.

The only good thing about my senior is that she treats you well in every way while adhering to the rules she follows.

If it were a boy whose emotions were as pure as a blank sheet of paper, he would probably have already fallen for the girl's gentleness, even finding sweetness in her vulnerability.

But Jun Matsueda had already seen many emotions that went beyond that, so without even realizing it, he too became greedy.

If possible, he hoped she would go beyond those rules.

Just like he did.

Chapter 436 Prelude to the Farewell Performance

After school on Friday, Jun Matsue left the classroom alone.

The third-floor corridor was busier than usual. Normally, the third-year students would have two elective classes after school, but today they were already running around in the corridor with their backpacks on, preparing to go home.

Tomorrow is the third-year students' school trip...

The boy passed by Class 3-4's classroom, where many seats were empty. He didn't see Yamami Maki either, and wondered if she had already left the school or had been called away by the teacher for class matters.

Walking up to the fourth floor, Jun Matsue walked through the corridor connecting the teaching building and the activity building. Outside the window, he could see the lawn next to the school's main road. Several girls had their coats tied around their waists and were taking pictures together with their arms around each other's shoulders. The sunlight dyed their black hair golden.

As the boy approached the "No. 2 machine" practice room of the brass section, he paused for a moment—he heard the sound of a drum kit coming from inside.

In the past, this would have been absolutely impossible, because the drummer hadn't even arrived yet.

Jun Matsue pushed open the front door and entered the room. The girl sitting behind the drum set heard the door open, put down her drumsticks, and had an immersive expression on her face, as if she hadn't had enough.

"Is this the band's new drummer?" The boy looked at Aya Miyamura, who was standing in the center of the room.

The girl nodded. "Kaze-chan's skills are pretty good~"

"I'm not as good as Matsueda-senpai!" The drummer girl looked up at Matsueda Jun with eyes full of enthusiasm. "I hope I'll have the opportunity to interact with you more often!"

"..." Matsueda Jun was somewhat surprised, and Izumi Mizuki, who was sitting next to him, stood up.

“Kazane was just like you before, a drummer who played for her own enjoyment. But she saw our performance before and really liked it. This time, she took the initiative to contact me.”

"So we already have fans..." The boy scratched his cheek, trying to hide his excitement.

"Thanks to the video that Natsumi-senpai uploaded before~" Xiaoxing nodded, "Although we're not exactly famous, there are definitely a group of people who like our performance!"

"Yes!" The drummer girl nodded vigorously. "So, is Matsueda-senpai really leaving the band? It feels like such a shame!"

On the account of the band No. 2, there is a video clip of Jun Matsueda playing drums and singing during their premiere, which has the highest number of views among all the videos.

The reason is simple: the drummer is too handsome, his eyes are too captivating, and his imperfect singing style fills the audience's innocent fantasies about young love. Even now, there are comments asking when the drummer will sing again.

Jun Matsueda shook his head slowly but firmly. "Thank you all for liking our music, but I'm afraid I won't have as much energy to focus on the band in the future."

"That's fine. It's normal for bands to come and go." Izumi Mizuki clapped her hands. "Kazene should practice more during this time and try to seamlessly connect with Matsue when the time comes."

"I will try my best!" The girl nodded earnestly. "I'll return the position to Matsueda-senpai first."

She stood aside, while Jun Matsue sat down in his familiar spot, but felt somewhat uncomfortable. A few seconds later, he figured out why and adjusted the chair back to its original height.

He picked up the practice drumsticks that were lying to the side. Aya Miyamura, who was standing in front of the microphone, walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and asked in a low voice:

"Didn't Yamami-neechan come today?"

"...Senior sister isn't always available."

Aya continued, "The third-year students are going on a school trip tomorrow, right? So she won't be able to see the final performance?"

The boy nodded.

"What a pity..." the girl couldn't help but sigh, "Brother Chun specially changed the lyrics for this performance."

Jun Matsue smiled and repeated the same thing.

"You can watch the video."

The two remained silent for a while until Izumi Mizuki stepped in and placed the sheet music in front of the drum set.

"I've revised part of the arrangement to match your lyrics, and this should be the most perfect version."

"Based on my previous experience in other bands—"

She adjusted the position of the music stand, looked up, and spoke earnestly to the boy.

"This song is sure to be a hit."

Jun Matsuoka still wore a calm smile as he glanced at the sheet music titled "Moment".

"That can be considered a brilliant finale."

That evening, Maki Yami packed her luggage alone in her room. She put her neatly folded clothes into her suitcase, then knelt on the floor, staring blankly at the open suitcase in front of her.

If it were the old her, she would probably be packing her luggage while talking to Songzhi, chatting about her expectations for the trip, or the gifts she was going to bring back for the boy.

But Yamami Maki doesn't want to do that now. The girls' words still echo in her ears—she shouldn't be with Matsueda Jun; she made Matsueda Jun bear all of this.

Only when a boy appears before her and she feels his tenderness can the passion of love be rekindled in the girl's heart. If Jun Matsueda is not by her side, all that remains is a deep sense of guilt and inferiority.

Enveloped in these emotions, Yami Maki managed to get some sleep. When she woke up early the next day, she saw a message from Matsueda Jun.

"Are you getting ready to leave, senior? Be careful on the road and have a pleasant journey."

Driven by her instincts, the girl replied, "I just woke up, and I'm getting ready to go out after washing up."

"How are you feeling? Did you sleep well last night?"

"Not good, not bad." She sent a bird flapping its wings emoji, "That's enough to get me to Nagano~"

"Then remember to take lots of photos so I can see the autumn leaves too."

"Good~"

After their conversation ended, Yamami Maki stared at her phone screen for a while before getting out of bed, getting dressed, washing up, having a simple breakfast, and then taking her own car to the station.

At 10 a.m., the girl was sitting on the Chuo Main Line train, watching the scenery rushing past the window, when her phone vibrated again.

A message suddenly appeared in the "Dominate Haneoka" group—this group had been inactive for a long time since Tomatsu Yuka broke up with her.

The message was posted by Aya Miyamura. The girl uploaded a selfie of herself in the practice room. In the background, you can see the girl holding a bass and guitar, and Jun Matsueda sitting behind the drum set.

"Tomorrow night will be Chun-ge's last performance, it will definitely be super unforgettable, everyone remember to come!"

Yamami Maki put down her phone and pressed her face against the car window, but she still couldn't see the direction the train had come from.

Even if you could see it, you definitely wouldn't be able to see Tokyo.

From the moment Jun Matsueda and Maki Yami meet again at school to the third-year students' school trip, there are only two short days.

These past two days have been so ordinary that neither teenagers nor young girls have been able to seize even the slightest opportunity to regret them.

Neither of them expected that this relationship would end in such a way.

Chapter 437 Unveiling

On Sunday, October 19th, when I walked into this livehouse in Shibuya, Yosuke Kuriki, my first reaction was this—

"Why are there so many people?" the girl asked, looking at the crowd queuing at the entrance. "Are Matsueda and the others that popular?"

“They’re just that popular~” Mochizuki Hana, standing next to her, said with a smile, “Probably half of the audience came for them.”

“The venue is still not big enough. Their band definitely has more than 150 fans.” Mochizuki Haruka looked around the underground space in front of her.

“Songzhi has not been active for a while, but the number of views on their performance videos is still rising. They and the venue underestimated their popularity.”

My aunt nodded in deep agreement. There was no way around it; a boy like Jun Matsue, truly looking at you, his face still flushed from overexertion, singing to you in a slightly shy, somewhat immature voice—

"It's absolutely unacceptable if I don't belong to you."

And who could refuse?

"If that's the case, I feel like if Matsue performs with me in the future, she might become a big star too~" the girl wearing a hat said in an optimistic tone.

The two beauties from the Mochizuki family glanced at her simultaneously, their expressions revealing a hint of sarcasm.

"Hey, what's with those expressions?!"

The two girls were bickering, and their smiling aunt followed behind them as they walked into the staff passage and disappeared into the darkness.

Upon entering the performance hall, the three unsurprisingly found Tomatsu Tomoka in the first row, along with Imokawa Natsumi, who was holding a camera and standing even further in front of the railing of the first row.

"Good evening, Natsumi-chan. Have Matsue and the others finished their auditions?" Before the lights were even on, Kurusu Yosei took off his mask and grabbed the railing in front of him.

Natsumi Imokawa glanced at the girls behind her, nodded as if in response to the idol girl's words, and then silently moved two steps to the side.

"You're late," Tomatsu Yuka said for her. "The audience is about to enter."

"It's all Aunt's fault..." Mochizuki Haruka looked at the woman beside her with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

"My meeting wasn't over yet, sorry~" Auntie made a pitiful face, not knowing if the girl saw it.

Yosuke Kurusu stuck out his tongue. "I came over as soon as I got off work."