Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 190

The girl's smile was somewhat shy as the two headed towards the izakaya. The traffic flowed quietly to their right—the clamor had been automatically blocked out.

Yamami Maki looked at the boy beside her, and the distance between them closed silently. The girl's eyelashes trembled.

"It seems like there wasn't a part where Matsueda sang in today's 'Re:Re'?"

Her tone was somewhat curious, yet it also sounded like she knew the answer already.

“Because I wanted to make that day’s song a memory exclusively for my senior.” Jun Matsueda answered without hesitation.

"Don't you like it, senior?"

Yamami Maki looked down at her toes, trying to hide the blush rising on her cheeks.

"like."

Why do I always crumble so easily when Matsueda attacks? The girl asked herself, embarrassed and annoyed.

Perhaps she had already failed as a senior student back during that training camp in Hakone...

Chapter 333 Wine and tea should not be drunk together.

The izakaya was less than a kilometer from the studio, and the two soon spotted the white sign with bird patterns; that was where the celebration would be held that night.

"Same as always." Yami Maki turned around and instructed Matsueda Jun, "I'll go in first, Matsueda-kun, please wait a bit before coming in, okay?"

The boy nodded, and the girl waved goodbye somewhat reluctantly before walking into the shop entrance, which was lit by a bright yellow light to the left.

As Jun Matsuoka watched his senior walk through the door, his cell phone in his pocket vibrated at an inopportune moment; it was a call from his aunt.

"Matsue, haven't you arrived yet?" Mochizuki Hana, who had changed her outfit today, seemed to have even adopted a more girlish tone.

"Wouldn't it be that he and Xiao Moji stayed in the studio and kissed?"

"I'm already on my way, but I haven't seen any sign of my senior yet." Jun Matsue walked into a side alley, pretending to still be walking. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Hurry up! Or we'll start eating!"

The sound of a door opening came from the phone, followed by the girls' chatter. Auntie hung up the phone.

Jun Matsueda squatted in the corner of the alley, stared at a stray cat for two minutes, and walked into the izakaya amidst the clanging sound of a tram passing by.

Pushing open the door to the private room, six pairs of eyes simultaneously shot towards Matsueda Jun, making him feel an urge to close the door and go home.

"Jun-nii is so slow!" Miyamura Aya patted the empty seat next to her. "We've been waiting for you to start eating!"

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The boy sat down and stretched. Imokawa Natsumi avoided his arm to prevent herself from attracting the attention of some girls.

Japanese izakayas typically have long tables, even in private rooms. At the long table for eight people, Jun Matsueda sat in the center, with the barely noticeable Natsumi Imokawa and her younger sister beside him. Aya sat next to Yosuke Kurusu, the pink-haired girl, who was resting her chin on her hand as she watched the waiter serve potato salad, a grilled chicken platter, and various snacks.

Across from the boy were Tomatsu Yuka and Mochizuki Haruka. His aunt and Yamami Maki sat on either side. Mochizuki Haruka was watching her aunt pour wine, while Tomatsu Yuka whispered something in her senpai's ear.

"Anyone want a drink?" Wang Yuehua raised her draft beer. The woman seemed quite happy, probably because she rarely encountered such occasions.

"Ah! I want it! I want it!" Kurusu Yosei stood up and raised her glass. "Thank you, sister!"

"Sister?" Jun Matsue looked at the pink-haired girl, who blinked in confusion. "Isn't she my sister?"

The aunt frantically tried to signal to him with her eyes, but still couldn't stop the boy from speaking, "This is Wangyue's aunt, you know?"

The girl's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the woman who was bending down to pour her wine—her figure and face were in no way inferior to her, a beautiful idol.

"Auntie looks so young!"

Wang Yuehua put down her draft beer, proudly puffed out her chest, and said, "I'm not even thirty years old yet, of course I'm young!"

"It's all Matsueda's fault! It's rare for someone to call me 'older sister'!" She glared at Matsueda Jun, and the boy could only look down at the dining table and stare at the crystal-clear glass.

Kurusu Yosei blinked. She looked like an old woman in her late twenties; only women over twenty-five would comfort themselves by saying they were under thirty…

"Wouldn't you like some pine branches and colorful sauce?" The woman swirled her glass. "Lemon sourdough, it's really good!"

"I can try a little!" The girl raised her glass. "I'll pass on Chun-ge, he can't hold his liquor."

Jun Matsueda protected his cup, picked up the cola that was on the other side of Natsumi Imagawa, and the girl who was engrossed in eating potato salad hurriedly made way for him.

So he can't hold his liquor... Mochizuki Haruka and Tomatsu Yuka, sitting opposite each other, kept this information firmly in mind, thinking it might come in handy later.

It seems I should tell Matsueda to drink less in the future; Yamami Maki's thoughts have always been very simple.

After the waiter brought all the first batch of grilled ingredients to the table, the various faint fragrances that had been floating in the room were finally completely replaced by the aroma of food. Wang Yuehua took the lead in raising her wine glass, which was suspended in the air above the table.

"Cheers to the successful conclusion of Matsueda and Aya's debut performance!"

"Cheers!" The girls raised their glasses in unison.

Bubbly, clear liquor, brown cola, green tea, and fruit juice collide together, each with distinct boundaries.

The brother and sister who performed on stage and the camerawoman hadn't eaten dinner. The three of them ate very attentively, completely unaware of the gazes drifting around the room.

"Matsueda-kun, you can try this." Tomatsu Yuka took the empty plate aside and exchanged it for a crab roe fried meat patty. "The fried food at this shop is pretty good, and they control the oil, so it's not too greasy."

Mochizuki Haruka stretched out her arm and pushed the girl's crab cake aside, saying, "The flavor is too bland. Matsueda must be tired of eating so much meat."

"Why don't you try Mapo Tofu?" She placed the bright red tofu in the center of the table. "Songzhi likes Chinese food, right? This tofu has a rich aroma, but it's not too spicy, which is just the right level for you."

"Stop bringing it, stop bringing it." Jun Matsueda, who was focused on the food, looked up helplessly. "This food isn't just for me. If you keep switching it around, what about the others?"

"Oh." Mochizuki Haruka obediently withdrew her hand, rolled her eyes at the woman who was smiling at her, and Tomatsu Yuka did not give up. Instead, she picked up a large cup of cola and refilled the boy's almost empty cup.

Yamami Maki took a sip of her green tea, sat up straight, and looked at the girl beside her who was wholeheartedly serving Matsueda Jun.

Yuka's attitude of always putting Matsueda first would probably make me smitten too...

The girl took another sip of tea. If it were her former self, she probably would have already spoken well of Yuka, but now she just wanted to secretly drink tea in the corner of the room and do nothing.

She belatedly realized that she had become much worse, and absentmindedly slumped over the table.

"Is Xiao Moji feeling unwell?" Sitting on the other side, Wang Yuehua leaned back and looked at the girl with concern.

Yamami Maki looked up. "I just wanted to rest after eating. Thank you for your concern, Ms. Mochizuki."

"That's good." The aunt took a sip of the juice in her niece's glass. "If you catch a cold or get a fever, your family will definitely come to my house to make trouble."

The girl smiled politely, "My father would never do something so rude."

But what Grandpa said might actually be true.

"Speaking of which," Auntie put down her cup, glanced at Jun Matsue who was engrossed in eating, and continued chatting with the girl on the other side.

The seats next to the boy were empty. Yosei Kurusu had taken Aya Miyamura downstairs to buy ice cream, while Natsumi Imokawa had gone to the restroom.

"Your sister got married the year before last, right? I was overseas at the time and missed the wedding."

Is she still living with her family? How is she doing? Have she considered having children?

After a brief silence, Jun Matsue put down his chopsticks, stared at his senior's reflection in the glass, and prepared to change the subject.

Judging from the girl's reaction, this question seems a bit difficult to answer.

Chapter 334 Reasoning and Testing

Yamami Maki spoke first, before Matsueda Jun could even look up.

“My sister doesn’t live with our family now, but she visits our grandparents regularly, just like us.”

Jun Matsue looked down at the rice in the bowl, which was smeared with a little barbecue sauce. "Honkaku," it sounded like a feudal clan...

"Currently, my sister is assisting in the management of the family's entertainment-related businesses."

Perhaps because they were talking about family matters, the girl sat up straight, holding a glass in her hand as if she were holding a teacup.

"As for their married life, it's not something I, as their younger sister, should comment on. However, my older sister called me today, and they're planning to go to Furano to escape the summer heat in a while and see the lavender fields together."

So you're saying you're not planning on having children yet?

The girl blushed slightly. "My sister hasn't mentioned it to the family, so she probably doesn't have this idea for the time being."

"Hmm..." Wang Yuehua nodded, naturally picked up her glass, and took another sip of wine while Wang Yueyao wasn't paying attention.

She glanced at Yami Maki's posture; the way she held the cup and the distance between the cup and her body were all very clear details of the tea ceremony.

"Okay, okay~ It's not like it's your house. I was just asking casually. Don't take it so seriously."

Once the girl relaxed, the woman said with a smile, "No wonder your grandfather likes you so much. You're almost an expert in the Omotesen family's tea ceremony, aren't you?"

"It's still a long way off." Yamami Maki smiled gently and modestly.

Jun Matsueda slowed his eating, analyzing the conversation between the two in his mind frame by frame—

"Omotesenke" is a branch of Senke, the largest school of Japanese tea ceremony. It is a school that has been taught in courses on Japanese history. Compared to Urasenke, it is closer to the aristocracy.

The Yami family is clearly a conservative family, and it seems to have a long history. Since they value the distinction between the main family and the branch family, the family business should also be based on the eldest son's succession.

Although it's unclear whether the senior's father is the eldest son, given this tradition, it's unlikely her family only has two daughters. While the senior is mature and composed, she lacks the maternal qualities typically associated with older sisters, so she most likely has an older brother, though his age is uncertain...

My older sister got married two years ago. Since it's rare for Chinese immigrants to stop at a bachelor's degree, her father must be over fifty. Her parents are interested in Shintoism, as my sister mentioned before. Their family's tea ceremony tradition is likely also a direct descendant. Her father probably inherited the typical Showa-era male chauvinism…

"What are you thinking about, Matsueda?" Mochizuki interrupted Matsueda Jun's thoughts and pushed the pork, plum, and perilla fried skewers in front of him. "There's still so much food we haven't eaten yet."

"..." The boy looked up and met the smiling woman's gaze. The aunt winked playfully, as if she was still immersed in her role as the older sister.

She was testing the waters again. Jun Matsue put down his chopsticks. "I was just wondering why Aya-chan and the others haven't come back yet. Should we go check on them?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a timid knocking sounded in the room. Natsumi Imokawa peeked out from behind the door first, and then the girl walked into her seat along the wall.

Actually, she had already returned from the bathroom, but the conversation coming from inside the room when she was about to knock on the door made her hesitant to disturb them.

"Has Imokawa seen Aya and the others?" Jun Matsue asked the girl beside him, avoiding the gaze of the wicked and cunning woman.

"They seem to be taking pictures with ice cream in the hallway." The girl is holding a cup of cola, and her head is bowed like a hamster.

"I want ice cream too!" Mochizuki Hana stood up from her seat. "Yoko, do you want to come with me?"

The girl shook her head, and the woman hummed a song as she left the room alone. Testing the waters should be done little by little; today's level was just right. It wouldn't be good if Songzhi truly developed a dislike for her.

After the celebration banquet, Jun Matsueda stood in front of the station with a bag of food in his hand, while girls entered the station behind him.

The aunt who was in charge of taking orders clearly overestimated everyone's appetite, so the remaining food had to be left to Jun Matsueda and Yosei Kurusu, who didn't want to waste any.

"Are you sure you don't need me to take you?" Wang Yuehua rolled down the car window and looked at the boy. She held her niece's hand and didn't let the girl get out of the car.

"It won't take long by subway, so don't bother me." Jun Matsueda waved goodbye to the two girls and turned to follow them into the station.

Mochizuki Haruka watched her beloved's figure disappear into the station, wondering, "Why didn't Auntie let me go with Matsue and the others?"

The black sedan's engine slowly started, the scenery outside the window receded into the distance, and the woman sighed.

"There are so many people over there in Songzhi. How much of an impression can you leave on him if you squeeze in there? You'd be better off listening to my lecture."

The girl obediently shut her mouth, waiting for her aunt's next words.

"It's highly likely that Songzhi and Xiaomoji are going to fall in love."

Startled by these words, Mochizuki Haruka looked up, and the slight drowsiness she felt after eating immediately disappeared.

"Really?! Isn't she betraying Tomatsu by doing this?!"

"Anyway, there's definitely something wrong with the relationship between these two." The woman moved a little closer to the car window, the night breeze ruffling her hair.

“As soon as I asked about Xiao Moji’s family situation, Songzhi immediately became distracted, and she told me that she had checked Songzhi’s side before, so there must be a problem.”

"What should we do then..." Mochizuki Haruka became worried.

Tomatsu and Kurusu were already troublesome enough, but with the addition of Yamami Maki, who was her senior, the girl's mind was in complete chaos.

The golden cat sitting in the passenger seat let out a lazy meow and jumped onto its owner's lap, trying to reassure her. The girl stroked the fluffy cat in her arms, still looking worried.

"It's alright." The woman waved her hand. "You don't need to worry about what happens between them. Just focus on improving your standing with Songzhi."

"How can you do that?!" The girl instinctively clenched the fur in her hand, and the poor cat let out a mournful howl.

"If we let it go unchecked, won't they actually start negotiating?"

"Hmph..." Auntie chuckled mischievously, "Let's talk then, it's not your place to be the bad guy."

"Dating is one thing, getting married is another, and dating in high school and dating in college are not the same thing."

The woman picked up the cat from the girl's lap and soothed the little female cat's wounded heart with her soft embrace.

“If I talk too much to Songzhi, he might become rebellious and develop a dislike for our family. It’s better to let him experience it for himself.”

"He'll understand then whether it's better to be a boring live-in son-in-law of the Yamagami family or a prince to our little princess of the Mochizuki family."

Mochizuki recalled what Yami Maki had said at the izakaya earlier—it was about her older sister's married life, but the girl, as her brother-in-law, hadn't mentioned it much at all.