Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 187

"Want to hang out this afternoon?" Tomatsu Yuka extended an invitation. She felt that instead of spending so much effort searching for Matsueda, it would be better to go with her senior, so at least one of them would be within her sight.

"Hmm..." Yami Maki's expression showed some interest.

"We'll see when the time comes. It's the last year, and everyone wants to leave as many traces as possible. Someone will probably ask me to take pictures together or something."

Actually, a naughty junior had come to see her that morning... The girl lowered her eyes, and the boy's hand holding chopsticks swept around the edge of her vision.

“That’s true, I’ll also take photos with my senior when the time comes~” Tomatsu Yuka said with a smile.

That's fine, the girl thought. If her senior were with her, she might start overthinking things when she went to see Matsueda.

"It's all this girl's fault," Tomatsu Yuka glared at the girl sitting on her other side. If the girl hadn't said some strange things to her, she wouldn't be so suspicious.

Mochizuki Haruka didn't care about the stares of those around her. She put down her phone and focused on eating lunch. There were five girls at the table, and apart from Miyamura Aya, the others were all taller than her. The girl thought it might be due to insufficient nutrition.

Perhaps she should take more calcium supplements. She looked at Imokawa Natsumi, who was sitting next to Matsueda Jun, eating silently. The girl's full breasts were pressed against the edge of the table, and the deformed curves were very tempting.

I can't be without both breasts and height, can I...?

Once the lunch break was over, the playground became crowded again. The first game was horseback riding, with students sitting in the camp watching their classmates' players walk onto the green field.

The horseback riding battle has four participants from each class, all of whom are girls. The team from Class 2-6 is the "Girls' Team," led by Rion, who was previously in the same class as Mochizuki Haruka.

Eighteen teams stood on the playground. After the referee blew his whistle, the melee between the three grades officially began. The cheers and shouts from the sidelines were more intense than any individual match that morning, startling a flock of pigeons perched on the roof of the teaching building.

"As expected, the atmosphere really depends on team battles," Jun Matsue remarked.

"Maybe everyone just enjoys watching girls fight," Tomatsu Yuka said with a laugh, sitting to the side. "The boys are shouting really loudly."

Mochizuki Haruka licked her ice cream with small sips, her pink tongue peeking out from behind her. "If someone were to take the stage, they should be able to survive for quite a while. After all, they're the kind of character who hides in a corner, barely clinging to life, plotting and scheming."

Tomatsu Yuka's smile froze for a moment, then she said without changing her expression, "If Mochizuki were to become the general, the situation might be worrying. With your personality, everyone might unite to drive you away first."

Sitting next to the two, Yamami Maki could only smile helplessly, pretending not to hear—the girl's class was relatively empty right now, so she chose to come and chat with her junior.

“It seems like our class got eliminated.” Matsueda Jun, sitting behind the girls, craned his neck. “Your senior’s class is still in the competition.”

The two people continued to mock each other, but secretly pricked up their ears, waiting for Yamami Maki's answer.

"Is that so?" the girl said simply, ending the conversation.

That's it? Tomatsu Tomohana and Mochizuki Haruka were both somewhat dissatisfied. Even if they were pretending to be unrelated, wasn't this a bit too deliberate?

Matsueda Junya was a little surprised. He glanced at the senior's profile, but the girl avoided his gaze.

The reason is simple: Yamami Maki was still savoring the hug from that morning—as a young lady raised in a conservative manner, the girl was still a bit too innocent.

Immersed in sweet memories, the girl watched the various competitions unfolding on the green field, from long rope skipping and three-legged races to obstacle courses and finally, a four-person relay.

"Then I'll head back to my class first." Yamami Maki waved her hand. The borrowing race for the three grades was being held in batches, and she would be participating later.

"Go for it, senior!" Tomatsu Yuka took off her tracksuit jacket and turned to look at Matsueda Jun.

"Matsueda-kun, get ready to go on stage!"

The 400-meter track is divided into four legs. Jun Matsue is in the second position, with Haruka Mochizuki behind him. Yuka Tomatsu is standing at the starting line of the last straight and waving to him.

The arrangement for Class 2-6 was to have Ken Sakamuro as the first runner and Jun Matsueda as the second runner to try to gain a speed advantage, while Haruka Mochizuki as the third runner also had good physical fitness and was not slow among the girls.

Actually, it would have been better to give the fourth leg to Mochizuki Haruka, but in Haneoka High School's relay race, the fourth leg has a "running with an object" segment, so speed is not the decisive factor. Therefore, after considering all factors, everyone decided to let Tomatsu Yuka run the fourth leg.

The gunshot rang out, and the first batters from the six classes of the second year of high school began to run as fast as they could. Jun Matsue watched as Ken Sakamuro charged towards him with the momentum of a bull, which was quite frightening.

Taking the heavy baton, Jun Matsue unleashed his speed and sprinted forward. The 100-meter straightaway was short, and he was in front of the girl with the high ponytail in an instant.

To prevent dropping the baton, the boy slowed down and steadily handed it to Mochizuki Haruka, watching her black ponytail sway in the wind.

"We should be able to get first place..." Yamami Maki, sitting on the sidelines, breathed a sigh of relief. The ponytail girl, who was far ahead of the pack, reached the final straight, and Tomatsu Yuka, who was running the last leg, reached her hand into the box containing the slips of paper.

The girl's poised stance froze. Tomatsu Yuka paused for a second before turning around and waving to the other side of the track.

"Matsue-san—" Her delicate voice echoed across the playground.

Jun Matsue, who had been standing still, pointed to himself in confusion. Tomatsu Tomoka nodded firmly, and he had no choice but to run towards the girl.

"Wow—" The students sitting near Yamami Maki exclaimed excitedly, "Looks like we'll have to borrow someone!"

"Could the note be about a handsome guy?" someone speculated.

"Maybe it's someone you like~" one girl said with a laugh, "The most classic question!"

The contestants from other classes also arrived one after another to take the final leg, drawing their own questions, and the situation on the field became chaotic, like a pot of burnt porridge.

Yamami Maki watched as Matsueda Jun ran to his junior's side, and the boy and girl each grabbed one end of the baton and sprinted towards the finish line.

She began to feel uneasy—what if it really was someone she "liked"?

Although many people at school already knew that Yuka had been rejected when she confessed to Matsue, in this setting and under these circumstances, the two would definitely receive blessings from most people.

Matsueda-san doesn't seem to like Tomoka that much...

Yamami Maki found herself feeling a sour tide rising in her heart. This bitter feeling had occurred once before, when Matsueda was tutoring Mochizuki Haruka.

The emotion called jealousy, which was once a trickle, has now become a crashing wave when it reappears.

Despite some setbacks, Class 6 of Grade 2 still won first place in the relay race.

"So, Tomatsu-san, what was the question you received?" the host, standing at the finish line, asked the still-breathing girl.

Tomatsu Yuka looked at the boy next to her with a shy expression, and Matsueda Jun had a bad feeling.

"The person I like." The girl's voice carried across the entire playground through the microphone.

Amidst the jeers and cheers, a surge of bittersweet emotions welled up inside Yamami Maki, gradually soaking her feet.

Chapter 328 They're All Lying

Amidst the cacophony of chattering like magpies, the boys and girls at the finish line returned to their classrooms.

"As expected, it's someone she likes." The girls sitting in front of Yamami Maki exclaimed, "She's really brave. As expected of Tomatsu."

"After all, she confessed to Matsueda before," another girl said with a hint of gossip. "Everyone thought there was no hope for them back then, right? Now it seems like there's still a chance."

"With that kind of patience, it feels like only she could win over Matsueda-kun..."

"I really want to see what kind of expression Matsue-san has right now!" someone said excitedly.

"It's a bit of a shame, though, everyone already knows that Tomatsu likes Matsueda Jun. It would have been more interesting if someone else had drawn this question..."

Yamami Maki tilted her head back and scanned the entire playground. The second and third-year students had mostly stopped after a few cheers, but the first-year students still looked excited—after all, it was just an event that didn't even count as a confession, so the impact didn't seem to be that big.

So what? The girl hugged her legs, silently staring at the narrow patch of ground between her white sneakers. The uneven, bumpy surface of the rubber track mirrored her inner state at that moment.

If Yuka has that thought, she can openly express her love at any time. Whenever Matsueda is present, she can try to get the seat closest to him.

Unlike herself, who could only watch from afar... The girl's shoes slowly ground against the lonely pebbles beside the track, the black particles tumbling and disappearing from her sight.

The phone lying to the side vibrated. Yamami Maki tapped the screen and saw a message from Matsueda Jun.

"Sorry, senior."

"I didn't know Tomatsu drew this."

"It was really unexpected," the girl originally wanted to say, but her fingers hovered over the phone keyboard for a moment before she finally just tapped an emoji.

It is a miniature parrot with one wing outstretched, resembling a human waving hand.

"It's okay~", that's what the emoji said.

"Moji, are you ready to go on stage?" a girl standing up reminded her.

"Okay!" The girl put down her phone and walked onto the track.

At the camp of Class 6, Grade 2, everyone welcomed the four returning students with applause.

"Another champion!"

"Now there's no doubt that the class with the highest score in the second year of high school will be the top one!"

As they spoke, they glanced at Tomatsu Yuka and Matsueda Jun a few more times. The distance between the two was no different from when they came on stage, so no one brought up any inappropriate questions.

After all, the students in Class 2-6 already knew that Tomatsu Yuka liked Matsueda Jun—the two girls sitting next to Matsueda Jun were always around him.

Mochizuki Haruka sat down again and looked at the nonchalant girl beside her.

"You didn't plan this all along, did you?" Her tone was unfriendly.

"It's just a coincidence~" Tomatsu Yuka said with a smile, "I didn't expect it to be like this either."

Tomatsu Yuka was very satisfied with this situation. After Matsueda had appeared a few times at the sports meet, several first-year high school girls had casually passed by the camp of Class 2-6. What they were thinking was obvious to the girls at a glance.

Tomatsu Yuka thought to herself, "This is a good opportunity to warn them." She hoped there would be a similar opportunity during this year's school festival, otherwise, by graduation, a bunch of upperclassmen might be wanting Matsueda's buttons...

"A coincidence?" Mochizuki Haruka chuckled; she didn't believe it at all. "Let me see your note."

"I already threw it away." The girl blinked innocently. "The host said it was disposable, so why would I keep it?"

"Yamami-senpai is about to go on the field, let's watch the game." Matsueda Jun interrupted their conversation, looking at the light pink-clad girl standing in the last batter's position.

For him, whether it was true or false didn't really matter. Quite a few people at school already knew about his relationship with Tomatsu. After the brass band competition, the girls had been secretly watching him from outside the window.

The problem is that my senior is here too... Matsueda Jun has a bit of a headache. Judging from the replies on her phone, my senior is indeed still upset.

How should I comfort her? The boy pondered as the whistle blew.

The first three relays went by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the obstacle course race. Yamami Maki reached her hand into the box; she wasn't in the mood for the competition and just wanted it to end as soon as possible.

However, looking at the unfolded note in her hand, the girl rubbed her eyes, thinking she had misread it.

"The person I like."

But the notes inside the box were all different, and there was only one of each. This was something her junior classmate, who was the executive committee chair, had told her.

Yamami Maki paused for a second, then quickly realized something—

Yuka lied.

How could this be... The girl felt a mix of sadness and anger.

I clearly didn't win the lottery.

It's clearly not yours.

Why lie at all?

She turned around and left the track, running towards Class 6 of Grade 2.

"Everyone's looking for someone..." Jun Matsueda looked at the runners scattering on the final 100-meter track. "Why is it that so few people have won any items in this year's borrowed item race?"

"Maybe it's a new trick from the committee?" Tomatsu Yuka's smile faltered. "Is my senior heading this way?"

"It seems so." Jun Matsue looked at the pale pink shimmering in the sunlight. His eyesight was excellent enough to confirm that Yamami-senpai was looking in his direction.

Yamami Maki ran to the front of Class 2-6's campsite, and all eyes were on the slightly out-of-breath girl.

"Sorry to bother you." The girl caught her breath and smiled at the three of them.

"Yuka, could I borrow Matsue-san for a moment?"

"Huh?" Tomatsu Yuka exclaimed in surprise. She had thought that her senior had drawn "good friend" and that was why she had come to find her.

“Of course you can.” Mochizuki Haruka smiled brightly. “The pine branch isn’t hers, you can borrow it if you want.”

Yamami Maki looked back at the track and saw that some classes had already borrowed people and were sprinting towards the finish line.

"Hurry up!" The girl looked at Matsueda Jun, who had stood up, "Matsueda-kun, come with me!"

Stepping back onto the track, Jun Matsueda gripped one end of the baton and looked at the girl beside him, her hair fluttering in the wind. "Is this alright?"

Weren't we supposed to put on an act in front of Tomatsu?

Yamami Maki, panting, didn't say anything, but turned her head and smiled at him. Matsueda Jun had no choice but to follow the girl's steps and run towards the finish line.

Tomatsu Yuka stood on the sidelines, her expression no longer as relaxed as it had been a few minutes earlier. Instead, she stared intently as the host, microphone in hand, approached the Class 3-4 line.

"There are so many classes borrowing people to race today!" the female host said with a smile. "People we like, people we dislike, lovers, and even people wearing hats have all appeared."

"What question did Yamami-kun draw?"

Yamami Maki took a deep breath and looked in the direction of Class 2-6, seemingly sensing the gaze of a certain girl.

"A person who can eat a lot."

In the end, she also chose to lie.

Even if the girl wanted to confront him, she wouldn't do it in such a public place; she wouldn't make such a thing known to everyone.