Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 189

Back in the classroom, she glanced at the empty seat next to her. Of course, Songzhi hadn't returned yet. She took out a tissue from her drawer but found that she wasn't sweating at all.

Although the corridor was hot, it wasn't hot enough to make you sweat while getting water.

Tomatsu Yuka recalled the girl wiping her sweat in the corridor a few minutes earlier.

How long did the senior student stay outside the classroom...?

Chapter 331 Their Gaze

As the orange hues of the sunset gradually faded, Natsumi Imokawa followed the band members out of "Denny's Studio".

The girl with the camera turned around, and the English letters in the lens were magnified.

"Denny's Studio, why did you choose this name?" the girl murmured to herself.

Jun Matsue stopped beside her, the boy holding a stack of drum kits.

"My senior said that Denny was the name of her sister's cat, which has now passed away."

"Oh, oh..." Natsumi Imokawa nodded, then noticed the drum set piled up next to her that was taller than her. The girl hurriedly put down her camera.

"Do you need help with the pine branch?"

“No need.” Jun Matsueda shook his head and looked at the staff member who came out of the door. “The others will help. You can just take your pictures.”

"It must have been tough for Imokawa to carry that camera for so long," the boy remarked as he walked toward the van parked by the roadside.

The girl, camera in hand, circled the van for several minutes, taking pictures of the busy people getting on and off. After the van started moving, she didn't get in, but instead stood by the roadside and filmed the van driving away for several dozen seconds before hurriedly running towards Matsueda Jun, who was leaning out of the window, camera still clutched in her hand.

As the sun completely set, Tomatsu Yuka stood in front of Shimokitazawa station, waiting for her senior classmate to finish her extracurricular class.

Maki Yamami walked through the bustling crowd in front of the station towards her junior who was waving at her from across the street.

"Good evening, Yuhana~" The girl stopped and was slightly out of breath. "I'm not late, am I?"

"It's still early." Tomatsu Yuka looked at her phone. "We have an hour and a half left. We can find a place to eat first."

The two remained silent for a while, neither mentioning the unique European curry nor the Italian pizza suitable for sharing, as if it were some kind of unspoken secret.

"There's a pretty good coffee shop nearby? How about we go there?"

"Good~"

An hour later, as the two girls entered the underground space, a black sedan stopped across the street, and the driver respectfully opened the back door.

Mochizuki Haruka got out of the car first, making room for her aunt. The woman, who had just finished a meeting at the company, stretched and looked at the neon lights that were just beginning to light up on the street.

"This place doesn't look like it's a performance venue."

“It’s underground, didn’t I tell you?” The girl turned around, her long hair blowing in the wind. “It’s only a space for one or two hundred people.”

"Alright, alright, that's not important. Let's go find Songzhi to play!" Wang Yuehua took her niece's arm.

"I specially changed into my performance outfit today!"

The woman usually wears long dresses, emphasizing a noble and elegant appearance, but today she has changed into a gray sleeveless T-shirt, paired with denim shorts and black ankle boots, adding a touch of sexiness.

Mochizuki Haruka was still wearing her school uniform skirt, and the two looked like sisters. The JK girl, who was watching the performance for the first time, called out to her JD sister, which attracted the attention of many passersby.

"Let's go." The younger sister gave the order, leading her older sister across the street, where they unexpectedly encountered a pink-haired girl wearing a mask at the entrance of the livehouse.

"Huh?" Kurusu Yosei used his index finger to slightly pull down the mask that covered most of his face, sizing up the girl in front of him with a serious expression.

"Is Mochizuki also coming to see Matsue's performance?"

"If someone as busy as you can come, how could I not come?" Mochizuki Haruka subconsciously switched to her hedgehog mode.

The girl wearing a mask smiled, not intending to accept such a childish provocation, and instead looked at the smiling woman beside her.

"Is this... your sister?"

Wang Yuehua covered her niece's mouth, "I'm Xiaoyao's older sister. You must be Yangshi-chan, right? Xiaoyao told me about you; you've taken good care of her."

Kurusu Yosei blinked in surprise. This guy would actually say nice things about him? He couldn't quite believe it.

Mochizuki Haruka removed the hand covering her mouth and walked into the performance space. The pink-haired girl chatted happily with her aunt, who was pretending to be young, and followed her into the venue.

"It's so dark..." Wang Yuehua exclaimed, taking two steps forward and grabbing her niece's hand.

Protecting Xiaoyao in a crowded and chaotic environment has almost become a woman's instinctive reaction.

"The lights will come on when the performance officially starts," Yosei Kurusu explained, walking towards the front row.

Holding her aunt's hand, Mochizuki followed behind the pink-haired girl and quickly made her way to the front through the gaps in the crowd. Tomatsu Tomoka and Yamami Maki were already standing there.

"Long time no see~" Kurusu Yosei greeted them, standing beside them as if they were old friends. "Is everyone here to see the pine branches today?"

The girl's question made the already tense atmosphere even more dangerous. Tomatsu Yuka narrowed her eyes slightly, while Yamami Maki stared blankly at the drum set on the stage, pretending not to hear.

“Yes, I’m really looking forward to Matsue’s performance!” Only Mochizuki responded to the girl’s words, with the “older sister” looking completely at ease.

Mochizuki Haruka gripped the railing in front of the stage. "How much longer until Matsue goes on stage?"

"Aya-chan and the others will be the first to appear, in less than ten minutes." Yamami Maki answered her question, but because she was in front of Yuka, she did not mention Matsueda Jun's name.

There were quite a few spectators behind the girls. They had no intention of arguing here, but were just silently vying for the seats facing the stage, their bodies jostling each other.

The petite Mochizuki and the physically gifted Kurusu Yosei emerged as the final winners. Tomatsu Tomoka lacked the strength, Yamami Maki couldn't bring herself to do it, while the aunt stood behind them with a smile, neither vying for anything.

When Natsumi Imokawa walked out of the stage curtain with her camera and stood in front of the railing blocking the crowd, the girls felt that the positions they had fought for had lost their meaning.

But that doesn't matter. Since the photographer has already walked down to the stage, it means the performance is about to begin. The audience, which had been filled with the sounds of people talking, quieted down and waited for the band to appear.

The girls standing in the front row heard slightly noisy footsteps. Several figures walked out from the side of the stage, the tallest of whom sat behind the drum set, stretching out his hands.

The lights came on, and people blinked in unison to adjust to the sudden stimulation. Standing at the very front of the stage, Aya Miyamura gently tapped the microphone and opened her lips.

"Hello everyone, we are the new band No. 2. Thank you all for coming to support us tonight."

They're not an opening act, not a regular practice, not a performance for personal enjoyment on campus, but a serious band that shares tickets with the venue and whose names will be printed on promotional posters.

The audience below didn't seem to appreciate the girl's naive and immature remarks. Then, the boy sitting behind the drum set lightly tapped the cymbals, delivering a short, dazzling, and technically impressive solo, which immediately ignited the audience's enthusiasm.

Miyamura Aya smiled shyly and gestured to the control panel on the other side. The bright lights dimmed, remaining hidden, and the audience knew that the performance was about to begin.

Jun Matsueda held the drumsticks in a relaxed posture, and before playing the first note, he looked at the people standing below the stage.

The two members of the Mochizuki family, the two members of the brass band, his roommate Kurusu, his own club president Imokawa, and his younger sister on stage basically make up his entire life right now.

Especially Yamami Maki, his senior, the girl standing below the stage with a sparkle in her eyes.

She always stared at him so intently, as if the boy in front of her was half of herself.

Being gazed upon in this way makes a person truly feel their own existence and its significant meaning to another existence in the world—some will rejoice because of your brilliance and feel saddened because of your dimness.

She chose to connect with you, and from then on, your lives became intertwined, making those long days gradually seem shorter.

Perhaps most humans spend their lives silently on this lonely planet in the vast universe just to experience moments like these.

However, he wasn't the only one looking at him like that.

Matsue Jun lowered his arm, and the drumbeats began.

Chapter 332 Senior's Disqualification

As the last note faded, the restless crowd surged like waves, showing no signs of abating. The lights gradually dimmed, and the shadows on the stage disappeared behind the curtain.

Jun Matsue stepped off the stage and carried the drum kit onto a trolley. His black short-sleeved shirt was already damp with sweat. The excited voices of the audience below had not yet subsided and could be heard through the curtain into the backstage area.

“This is what it feels like to perform a real show…” Aya Miyamura’s tone was like a dream, “Light as a feather, like flying into the sky.”

The band No. 2 performed a total of five songs, two of which were covers, and three were songs left by Izumi Mizuki's previous band. The performance lasted half an hour, and the girl sang to her heart's content.

Jun Matsue was obviously having a great time. Usually, after a performance, the boys would just wipe their drumsticks and put them back in their bags, but this time they were still holding the drumsticks, looking like they wanted to play something more.

Natsumi Imokawa walked backstage with her camera in hand. Jun Matsueda shook his head regretfully. Neither the camera nor the girl's head was something to be hit.

"How did you feel about your first performance?" The camerawoman's tone was equally excited.

The five band members stepped off the stage, making room for the next band to take the stage. The old lights in the aisle flickered, like their heartbeats.

Xiaoxing leans close to the girl's camera, still holding her bass, "I feel so tired. At first, I would think about how to play the next chord, but as I acted, I just relied on instinct."

"My mind is completely blank~" she said, gently strumming her bass guitar.

Aya Miyamura hugged the exhausted girl. "You've worked so hard, Yuki~ I've been trying my best to remember the lyrics, otherwise I would have been doomed if my brain had gone blank!"

The camera then pans to Jun Matsueda, whose smile looks content—not because of the audience's enthusiastic shouts, but because of the gazes directed at him from the front row.

"Songzhi, say something?" the girl holding the camera whispered, reminding him as if their roles had been reversed.

“I feel that music is indeed a very meaningful thing.” Jun Matsueda looked down at the small cart, where the drumsticks on the drumhead trembled gently with the undulating ground.

Being cared for by the people he cares about is enough for him. If it were just about getting on stage, he could have accepted a talent scout's invitation back in junior high school.

He looked up and smiled at the camera again, tugging at his sweat-soaked t-shirt, "But right now all I want to do is take a shower..."

Natsumi Imokawa adjusted the camera, silently giving the boy's arm muscles a few close-ups, intending to keep them for her own enjoyment.

The girls finally looked at Izumi Mizuki, who was walking in the corner, and the battle-hardened president of the Light Music Club tilted her head in confusion.

"This isn't my first performance, why are you all looking at me?"

Amidst the laughter of the girls, Jun Matsueda pushed his drum set out through the back door and was the first to emerge, where he was surrounded by another group of girls.

"Congratulations on the successful premiere!" Small fireworks exploded on the street, colorful sequins raining down on the white drum surface.

Four girls stood in front of him, each holding a miniature firework tube. The one who wasn't a girl hid mischievously by the door, aiming the firework tube at the boy's head.

"Thanks for your support~" Jun Matsueda brushed the sequins off his hair, pushed the drum kit forward, and made room for the band members behind him.

"Matsueda-kun's performance today was perfect!" Tomatsu Yuka said beside him, with Mochizuki Haruka and Kurusu Yosei on the other side. The upperclassman and aunt stood further away, chatting with the girls who were coming out of the back door.

"...Matsueda-senpai looks a bit like a scumbag." Koyuki stared at Matsueda Jun, who was surrounded by girls. Before he could even make a move, the chattering girls had already moved the drum set into the trunk.

Aya Miyamura didn't refute, but instead wore a sly smile, like a mischievous little fox plotting a prank, "If Jun-nii really is a scumbag, maybe it'll be a little better~"

Mochizuki was still playing with the firework tube in her hand. She looked at the quiet girl beside her, while Yami Maki's gaze drifted back and forth in the distance, following the girls' voices.

What does Xiao Moji think?

"Huh?" Yami Maki turned around, somewhat surprised by the topic that had been thrown at her. "Matsueda-san isn't that kind of person, is she..."

“Indeed, there’s no point in discussing this kind of topic.” The woman glanced at her again and walked towards the van.

"Songzhi, tonight is a victory celebration!"

After putting away his instruments and equipment in the studio, Jun Matsue walked out of the restroom, having wiped away the sweat from his body and changed back into his school uniform.

He glanced at the address his aunt had sent him on his phone; it was a nearby izakaya. He pushed open the door to the practice room, where only Izumi Mizuki was playing the guitar.

"Everyone else has left?" Jun Matsue was a little surprised.

The girl put down her guitar and took a sip of water. "Xiaoxing went to find her boyfriend, and Caijiang was taken away by that pink-haired girl. It seems that the izakaya they found can't be booked, so everyone is scrambling for a table."

"Then why are you still here?"

“I’m not interested in the celebration party; I want to continue practicing,” Izumi Mizuki said, a statement very much in line with her personality.

"I bought some rice balls from the convenience store. I'll practice a little longer and then go home." The girl seemed to have anticipated the boy's words, and picked up the plastic bag on the table and shook it.

"Don't worry about me. Seeing so many girls around you, I always feel that being cared for by you is a dangerous thing."

"Uh." Jun Matsue wanted to make an excuse, but after thinking about it, he realized there was no need to.

"Then don't practice too late."

The boy closed the door to the practice room, but the girl didn't immediately pick up her guitar. Instead, she picked up a plastic bag and decided to eat her dinner first.

The girl stood by the window in the corridor, placed the rice balls and boxed milk on the windowsill, and opened the window to feel the cool night breeze outside.

Before unwrapping the rice ball, she glanced towards the door, where Jun Matsueda was just walking out. The boy took a few steps before pulling out his phone, presumably to answer a call. Two minutes later, Maki Yami appeared downstairs.

“As expected…” Izumi Mizuki mumbled to herself as she chewed on a tuna rice ball.

"I knew this guy was too dangerous..."

"Isn't my senior still here?" Jun Matsue turned around and saw Maki Yami walking towards him in the night breeze. He took two steps back and walked alongside the girl.

Jun Matsue is not the kind of person who will stay in the same place even if he has a goal.

“Because I just received a call from my sister.” Yamami Maki smiled. “She heard that the Mochizuki family went to the studio, so she called me to ask about it and also to explain some family matters.”

“I see.” Jun Matsue nodded. “Thank you, big sister, for giving me and my senior a chance to be alone.”