Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 188

However, Yamami Maki was equally unwilling, so she chose to stand in front of Tomatsu Yuka and borrow Matsueda.

It was just to tell his juniors something.

Liars always pay the price.

Chapter 329 Compensation and Agreement

The train was crowded after school. Tomatsu Yuka sat in her seat, chatting with her senior classmate next to her with her head down.

"I didn't expect my senior to draw this kind of question."

“I was surprised too.” Yami Maki’s smile was a little troubled. “After thinking about it, it seems that only Matsueda-kun could be it.”

“Jun-ge really has a big appetite!” Miyamura Aya, sitting across from him, said with a smile. “After all, he’s so tall, he definitely needs to get more nutrition.”

"Is it possible that you girls aren't eating enough?" Jun Matsueda's gaze shifted from the scenery outside the window back into the carriage, looking at the girls sitting opposite him.

The relay race was the last event of the sports meet. After it ended, it was time for the awards ceremony. Everyone carried their trophies back to the classroom, just as the school bell rang to signal the end of the day.

However, instead of riding his bicycle home, Jun Matsue was sitting on the tram heading to Meidai-mae Station because the band's debut performance was tomorrow night, and they needed to make the most of their time to practice.

"I'm a little tired..." Xiaoxing, who was sitting in the next carriage, groaned and hugged her violin case. She had signed up for the women's sprint and long jump, and she had quite a few appearances today.

"Let's practice a little less." Izumi Mizuki yawned, which was unusual for her. "There's still time tomorrow."

The tram swayed slightly as it turned the corner. Jun Matsue looked at the messages on his phone. Haruka Mochizuki had arrived home. The girl didn't plan to join in the fun today; she was just reminding him that his aunt would be there for tomorrow's performance.

The boy put down his phone and looked at the two girls chatting across from him. Their atmosphere seemed no different from usual, except that the smiles on their faces were a little fainter.

The announcement for Hamadayama Station came on, and Tomatsu Tomoka stood up from her seat.

"I'm going home now, everyone, don't practice too hard, okay?"

"Yuka, why don't you go sit in the practice room for a bit?" Yamami Maki asked her junior. "We can have dinner together after my tutoring session."

"No need," the girl shook her head. "I've watched the sports meet all day, and I'm feeling a bit tired. I want to go home and rest early."

"See you tomorrow." Tomatsu Yuka smiled and waved to her senior and the two people sitting on the other side of the train before getting off.

As Yamami Maki watched her junior emerge from the platform through the train window, the dazzling sunlight made her eyelashes flutter.

As expected, they were suspected.

The girl knew very well that even if she lied during the race, she couldn't dispel Yuka's suspicions—taking away a junior's crush in front of everyone was not something she would do in the first place.

However, Yamami Maki found that she did not feel regret—lying always comes at a price, and Yuka would not be able to take her wingman for granted anymore. The unease caused by suspicion was the price she had to pay.

As for herself, the guilt of betraying her juniors was already incredibly vivid in the young girl's heart, mixed with the lingering tide, forming a mixture of cathartic pleasure and the pain of guilt that tightly enveloped her heart.

"Are you alright, senior?" Jun Matsueda leaned forward, looking at the girl with concern. "You don't look well."

Yamami Maki's smile was somewhat weak. "It's just that the sunlight is a bit too bright."

Arriving at the practice room at 4:10, the band practiced intensively for three hours, staying in the enclosed room from the bright afternoon sun until dusk. The girls then walked out of the studio carrying their violin bags.

“It’s already evening…” Miyamura Aya blinked. The practice room had no windows, which made her less aware of time.

"Want to have dinner together?" she asked the girls behind her, who both shook their heads.

"I'm so tired, all I want to do right now is go home."

"You've had a hard time." Jun Matsueda handed the drinks to the girls. "Be careful on the way, don't miss your stop."

"Chun-ge should really rest," Aya-chan said, looking at the boy with empty hands. "Don't practice too late!"

Back in the practice room, Jun Matsue sat in front of the drum set, lost in thought. He wasn't there to practice, of course, but because of a message on his phone.

"Please wait for me in the practice room for a while, Matsueda-kun. I'll come over after class."

Maki Yami didn't show up during the band practice; she just sent him this message.

It seems the race using borrowed items isn't over yet, Matsueda Jun thought to himself. He had assumed that the "person who can eat a lot" was his senior's revenge on Tomatsu.

A knock sounded in the quiet room. Jun Matsueda got up and opened the door. Maki Yami was standing in the hallway, looking at him with a smile.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you?" The girl peeked into the room.

Jun Matsueda shook his head, making room for her. "The others have already left."

Yamami Maki watched as the boy moved a chair from the corner and placed it next to his seat. The girl, now back in her school uniform, straightened her skirt, sat down obediently, and moved the chair slightly so that their shoulders touched gently.

Neither of them spoke immediately. Yamami Maki enjoyed the quiet atmosphere and spoke after a few seconds.

"Yuka lied today..."

Jun Matsue looked up, and the girl showed him a note from her pocket, which read "The person I like."

“Every slip of paper is different. I was the one who drew it, how could Yuka lie…”

The senior's tone was innocent yet aggrieved, which made the boy's heart tremble involuntarily. He gently hugged the girl and let her always gentle, smiling face rest on his shoulder.

Yamami Maki felt even more aggrieved. She opened her arms and hugged the boy's back. The body felt broad and strong, completely different from her own.

"Watching her hold the microphone and tell everyone that Matsueda-san is the person she likes, I felt so sad..."

"She could have said it anytime, and everyone knows she likes Matsueda."

"Yuka had so many opportunities, why did she have to take mine away?"

Moreover, even if she had drawn it first, she definitely wouldn't have said anything. Thinking of this, Yamami Maki felt even more sad.

"You can't take it away," Matsueda Jun comforted her softly. "I'm right here in your arms, so what good would it do even if Tomatsu actually drew the note?"

Yamami Maki hugged him even tighter, their chests pressed tightly together; only in this way could she vent her inner dissatisfaction.

"Songzhi, I want to make it up to you." The girl looked up at his face and said in a coquettish tone.

Although it wasn't Jun Matsueda who did something wrong, nor was it Jun Matsueda who wanted to hide the relationship, he still nodded without hesitation and with a smile.

Because you don't need a reason to comfort your loved one.

"So, what kind of compensation does the senior student want?"

"When summer vacation starts, I want to go to the orphanage with you." The girl looked earnestly into his eyes.

Spurred on by Tomatsu Tomoka, Yamami Maki decides to delve deeper into Matsueda Jun's life.

"Yuka, don't blame me," she said in her heart to the girl who was not present.

Chapter 330 The Afterglow of the Sports Meet

After the sports meet ended, the cicadas chirped even louder at Haneoka High School, as if announcing that summer in Tokyo had only just begun.

The girls in Class 6 of Grade 2 sat in the shade by the pool, watching the girls who had just changed into their swimsuits walk out of the changing room.

Those were girls from Class 5; they sometimes had PE class together.

“So big…” Mochizuki Haruka looked at Imokawa Natsumi passing by the skylight of the swimming pool. The sunlight cast shadows, making the outline of the girl’s chest appear even more three-dimensional.

She looked down at her chest, which was covered by her dark blue swimsuit. Although it seemed to be a little bigger than last year, no one would care about the slight bump in the small mound in front of the towering mountain.

Mochizuki Haruka turned her head and glanced at Tomatsu Yuka sitting not far from her. The girl was silently hugging her bent right leg, staring blankly at the shimmering water in the sunlight, completely lost in thought.

"This guy's figure is better than hers..." Mochizuki Haruka said with dissatisfaction.

"What? You finally discovered your senior betrayed you, and now you're all alone?"

Tomatsu Yuka, snapping out of her daze, glanced at her, stretched out her legs, and looked at her fingernails, which shimmered in the sunlight—a healthy, fleshy pink.

"It's just borrowing something to run a race with Matsueda-kun, it can't be considered a betrayal."

A person who can eat a lot... The girl recalled what her senior had said on the playground. Was this really what her senior had drawn?

After returning home yesterday, Tomatsu Yuka kept thinking about this question. She hadn't even looked at the slip of paper she drew—from the moment she became the fourth runner in the relay, she had already figured out what to do.

No matter what she draws, she always says "the person I like".

Regardless of what the senior student drew, she never said "the person she likes" in the end.

That's enough, the girl told herself as she lay in bed last night.

But she knew very well that the doubts in her heart were like bread crumbs crushed into powder, and were difficult to disappear.

From then on, whenever Matsueda and her senior were present, it would emerge from its hidden corner and churn deep within her heart, constantly emphasizing its presence.

"Even though it's hot now, you still need to warm up before getting in the water, okay? Otherwise, you might get cramps," the PE teacher, wearing sun protection clothing, gently reminded everyone.

Natsumi Imokawa stood by the pool and turned around, shyly tugging at the hem of her swimsuit—since the warm-up exercises began, she had felt several eyes on her back.

"Imokawa, hurry up and get in the water!" the female teacher next to her reminded her.

"Ah, okay." The girl sat down by the pool and slowly slid into the water. The cool touch made her body tremble cutely.

She kicked her legs against the pool wall and swam towards the other side in a backstroke. Her movements were surprisingly graceful, drawing gasps of amazement from the shore.

"How spectacular..." the girls said in an envious tone. The girl swimming on her back seemed to be startled by the crowd's voices and splashed around in the water.

Ken Sakamuro turned around and looked at the pool on the other side. The layers of blue swimsuits were not very clear, and only a faint sound came through the air above the pool.

"What are the girls saying?"

"Anyway, it has nothing to do with us." Jun Matsue stood up, touching the pool wall, and wiped the water off his face. Soaking in the pool in the summer is indeed a very refreshing thing.

"So, is the race with borrowed items yesterday just over like that?" Ken Sakamuro climbed ashore and winked at him.

"What else do you want?" Jun Matsueda splashed water on the boy's face. "Instead of worrying about my love life, you should worry more about yourself."

"How's that girl who confessed to you doing now?"

“We’ve lost contact.” Ken Sakamuro shook his head decisively. “She always tries to call me out during my training time. What’s more important to basketball than a woman?”

Jun Matsue pursed his lips and looked at the pool on the other side, offering no comment.

"Why are you making that face?" Ken Sakamuro asked, displeased. "Didn't you support me back then?"

"Back then..." the boy said vaguely, "Now I think it might be good for you to get to know her better."

After all, the Matsueda Jun of the past was focused on working to earn money, not the Matsueda Jun who is now having a secret relationship with his senior.

"Matsue...you're becoming as fickle as a girl now."

Sakamuro Ken let out a disappointed sigh, his voice gradually fading away on the turbulent water.

After the fourth period of physical education class, it was lunch break. Tomatsu Yuka rested on her desk. When the chair to her left was gently moved and the boy's footsteps disappeared outside the door, the girl, who was trying to fall asleep, raised her head and opened her eyes.

She knew that Songzhi had gone to a meeting, and the girl's lingering sleepiness vanished completely, her heart stirred with emotions unlike anything she had ever felt before.

Is Matsueda having another meeting with her senior?

Will they sit together and chat? Will they talk about topics related to the meeting?

Sometimes when Songzhi comes home late, is it because he went to other places after the meeting?

I really want to go and see for myself...

Tomatsu Yuka glanced at Mochizuki Haruka, who was fast asleep on the other side, picked up her water cup, and quietly left the classroom.

The girl walked at a moderate pace, passing through the stairwell, when that all-too-familiar figure appeared at the end of the long corridor after the corner.

She hesitated at the crossroads of the corridor, the swirling hot air blowing across her neat plaid skirt, seemingly urging the girl's restless heart to catch up.

Tomatsu Yuka sighed, took a step, and walked towards the water dispenser on the other side.

"Don't do things that Matsueda hates..." the girl told herself.

Having finally won back Songzhi's affections, she couldn't be willful anymore. She gripped the water glass tightly, putting a rein on her overflowing desires.

"Is Yuka here to get water too?"

A familiar voice rang out in front of her. Tomatsu Yuka looked up and saw Yamami Maki, who was also holding a water cup. The senior's expression was one of surprise and delight.

Thankfully, she hadn't lost track of Songzhi... She breathed a sigh of relief; seeing her senior here meant she could finally relax.

"Yes." The girl nodded. "Summer is here, and I'm drinking water more often."

“Is that so?” Yamami Maki smiled, and the two stopped in the corridor to chat about the band’s debut performance that night.

"Remember to arrive early, senior! We want to grab front-row seats together."

"Okay!" The senior student wiped the fine sweat from her neck with a tissue. "Then I'll go back to the classroom now."

Tomatsu Yuka waved her hand, turned around and walked towards the water dispenser. She pressed the water dispensing button on the machine and stared blankly at the lawn outside the window.

"It's so hot..." The corridor without air conditioning felt like a sauna, and the girl couldn't help but sigh.