Am I being simulated by their love affair?

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"The flavor isn't bland either; the refreshing asparagus helps cut through the richness." He glanced at his smiling idol beside him.

"Is this also one of the Kurusu family's secret recipes?"

"Hmm... I don't think so." Kurusu Yosei rested his chin on his hand, looking at the television on the other side of the living room.

She leaned on the boy's arm—Mochizuki Haruka wasn't there today, so the two sat together at dinner, closer than usual.

"I suddenly had an idea, so I bought the ingredients on my way home from get off work—should I call this the Matsue Family's Secret Recipe?"

Jun Matsue smiled as he swallowed the spring roll in his mouth and fed the remaining half to the girl.

"That feels like we could compile a whole book of Songzhi's secret recipes in the future."

"Then do you also have Yuka-chan's and the others' recipes?" Idol Girl pouted. "Then I think I'll just switch back to the Qi family."

The two chatted as they ate, and soon the news on TV started reporting on this year's common exams. Yosuke Kurusu slowed down his chewing and listened carefully to the host's voice.

"Less than 500,000 people applied this year?" She turned her head. "Is that a lot or a little?"

"Second to last." The boy ate Chikuzen-ni with relish, shoveling a big mouthful of rice into his mouth.

"However, there are still 5,000 more people than last year."

"Are there so few people taking the exam these past two years?" the girl blinked in surprise.

"That's a good thing for Songzhi, right? With fewer people, the competition won't be as fierce, will it?"

“That’s how it is in theory.” Jun Matsueda put a piece of chicken into her bowl.

"But I want to apply to the University of Tokyo, where there are always tons of people vying to get in."

“That’s true.” Yosei Kurusu looked at the television again.

"Approximately 3300 police officers nationwide will be mobilized to protect test takers from sexual harassment..."

"What time does Songzhi's exam start tomorrow?"

"9:30 in the morning." The boy scooped some of the soup cooked in Chikuzen and poured it over the rice—it has to be said, Kurusu's cooking skills are indeed quite good.

"Because I have to take two exams, geography and world history, I have to start an hour earlier than those who only take one exam."

"I see..." Miss Idol stared at the tram car in the news report.

"Then I'll take the pine branch to the exam venue tomorrow!"

"Hmm..." Jun Matsue paused, his chopsticks still holding the food. "Are you free to do this?"

"What's inconvenient about it?" The girl patted her chest. "It's just starting work a little later. I usually have a lot of free time."

"The pine branch exam will take two days, right?"

"Hmm, it ends at 6:20 tomorrow, and starts again at 10:30 the day after tomorrow, ending at 6:00 in the evening."

"Then I'll take Songzhi to and from her exams these next two days!" she announced, sitting up straight.

"And lunch—is Songzhi going home for lunch?"

"Forget it." The boy shook his head. "It's too much trouble to go back and forth."

"Okay!" Miss Idol clenched one fist and opened the other, then tapped it hard.

"Then I'll take care of breakfast and dinner—there's some noodles in the fridge, I'll recreate Pine Branch Noodles tomorrow morning!"

"Well, although I'm quite happy..." Jun Matsueda looked at the excited girl, "but isn't this too much trouble for Kurusu?"

"No trouble at all!" Kurusu Yosei puffed out his chest. "It's only two days."

"You see on TV that the police have to be called in to prevent students from harassing the test takers. I need to make sure Songzhi is in good condition for the exam these next few days!"

"Songzhi always helped me before, now it's finally my turn to take care of her~"

“That’s fine.” Jun Matsue swallowed his rice, bowed to her, and looked like a Japanese Nadeshiko.

"Then please take good care of me, Miss Laixi."

Together they finished off the spring rolls and Chikuzen simmered vegetables. After the meal, Yosuke Kurusu picked up his bowl and plate, humming a little tune as he headed towards the kitchen.

"I'll wash the dishes too," the girl said, turning around.

"Songzhi, do you want to take a shower first? Or should I help you shower later?"

"...There's no need for Risu's help with this." Jun Matsueda waved his hand.

If he were to take a bath with Kurusu, his plan to abstain from sex for the past few days would definitely fall apart.

"I'll go back to my room and pack what I need for tomorrow." The boy walked towards the bedroom.

"Shall we go for a walk after Laixi finishes washing the dishes?"

"Good~"

Half an hour later, the two returned from their walk and pushed open the apartment door. Yosuke Kurusu was holding an ice cream he bought from a convenience store in one hand and taking off his sneakers with the other.

"I'm starting to sweat!" The girl took the last bite of her ice cream. "Then I'll take a shower first?"

"Okay, let's go wash up first, Kurusu." Jun Matsue helped her take off her coat.

"I plan to shower again before bed tonight; I heard it can improve sleep quality."

"Okay~" Miss Idol changed into slippers and took two steps, then quickly turned back.

"How about we sleep together tonight?"

The boy nodded; he had already mentioned during his walk that he wouldn't be "exercising" for the next couple of days.

“Sleeping together is fine—now I’m not so comfortable sleeping alone.”

"That's good~" Kurusu Yosei turned around with satisfaction, slipped on his slippers and headed towards the bathroom.

"Pine Branch, could you please get my clothes for me later?"

He went into the girl's room, brought her a change of clothes, and then returned to his own bedroom, closing the door behind him.

He walked to the window, where in the center of the desk were his newly organized belongings—a transparent bag containing his test ticket, student ID, stationery, and other supplies.

As for the watch... the boy took something out of his pocket.

This was given to him by the maid who was waiting downstairs when he returned from his walk.

The watch features a leather strap and a black and white mechanical dial, with three steadily rotating hands and a beautiful curved notch that reveals the metal moon phase underneath.

The fact that the watch delivered wasn't one of those luxurious metal watches you see on TV put Jun Matsueda at ease.

It looks pretty high-end... After sending Mochizuki a photo of himself wearing the watch, the boy took it off again.

I'm going to video chat with my senior next, and it feels a bit strange to be wearing a watch from the Mochizuki family...

After chatting with Mochizuki for a bit, and then waiting for her to be called away by her aunt, Jun Matsue clicked on the parrot avatar in his chat list.

"Have you had dinner yet, senior? I'm free now."

"Can you wait a few minutes?" Yamami Maki replied quickly. "I'm giving Aoi a bath right now."

"no problem."

"Thank you~ I love Tsunkun the most~"

The boy smiled, put down his phone, placed the bag aside, and took out his world history textbook from his backpack.

Jun Matsueda casually flipped through the pages, making sure the knowledge points in his mind were clear and accurate.

He hasn't done much these past few days. Besides his daily routine of going to and from school, giving some advice in the "Sanying Rental Exchange Group," he's also been video chatting with his senior.

Including today, the boy and Yamami Maki have only been officially dating for five days—they should be in the honeymoon phase of their relationship, but due to the tight schedule before the exams, they only met once after the family meeting.

I miss my senior's warm smile a little... Matsueda Jun raised his head and looked at the night outside the window.

His phone vibrated at just the right moment, and he put on his headphones to answer the girl's video call request.

"Chun~"

A loving call rang in my ears, and Yamami Maki's soft features appeared on the screen.

"Good evening, senior." The boy's smile was particularly relaxed as he looked at the parrot hopping around behind the girl.

"Xiao Kui looks pretty good?"

"Hmm~" The girl nodded. "The checkup showed she's very healthy. The doctor said she's entered her reproductive period."

"I see." Jun Matsueda turned another page of the book beside him.

"Would you consider this keeping up with your master's pace?"

Yamami Maki blinked in confusion, but she quickly understood what the boy meant. She blushed slightly and rolled her eyes at him.

"He's saying that again!"

The boy laughed even harder—teasing the conservative senior was one of his recent greatest pleasures.

The girl's expression quickly returned to composure, and she adorably tilted her head back on the screen to look at the book beside her boyfriend.

"Is this a world history textbook?"

“That’s right.” Jun Matsuoka turned another page. “The three exams tomorrow are all humanities subjects, so it’s practically a sure thing.”

“After all, Jun has a very good memory~” Yami Maki smiled as she looked at his drooping eyelashes.

I was going to ask how you were doing, but it seems unnecessary now.

"That would be great, of course." The boy flexed his muscles. "I'm already thinking about how many perfect scores I should get."

The girl chuckled softly, and a pale yellow parrot with rosy cheeks landed on her arm, which was resting on the table, following the sound.

"But we can't let our guard down. It would be troublesome if we made a mistake we never expected, such as filling in the wrong answer sheet."

Such admonitions might sound boring to others, but Jun Matsue simply nodded obediently.

"I will be careful."

He enjoys the feeling of being carefully cared for by his senior.

"Where is Chun-kun taking the exam?"

"University of Tokyo".

"Wow~~" The girl's exclamation was also extremely gentle.

"What a coincidence? It's a good omen."

"Hmm, by the way, Tomatsu is taking exams at Mejiro University, which is very close to where you're staying, upperclassman."

"Huh?" Yami Maki's expression showed a hint of panic. "Will she come looking for me?"

"Probably not, but just in case, I was just telling my senior."

"Okay..." She rubbed the little bird on her arm, as if to reassure herself.

"What time does Chun-kun's exam start tomorrow? Have you prepared everything?"

"The exam starts at 9:30. Everything is here." The boy picked up the bag he had placed to the side.

"Kurasu will take me to the exam venue."

"I see." The girl smiled. "It's a pity that my home is a bit far from the University of Tokyo, otherwise you could come to my house for lunch."

"However, I've already taken the common exam, so I can share some of my experience with Tsunkun~"

Jun Matsueda adopted a serious listening posture, saying, "I really need it!"

"Then I'll go in and begin my presentation."

Yamami Maki gently pushed the parrot off her arm, then lay down on the table.

"Oh, if you're driving, you need to pay attention to traffic conditions. If it's busy, you can park your car a little further away in advance..."

"Generally, you can see the exam room layout map as soon as you enter the school. Cell phones and backpacks are allowed in the exam room, but the invigilators will check them, so please turn off your phone and put it on the table beforehand. You can put your backpack directly at your feet..."

"I was a little surprised that the exam rooms were arranged according to the Japanese syllabary (hiragana and katakana) of names, and that the seats for men and women were separated..."

"When you go to the toilet, a teacher will take you to a stall. I heard from others that after you finish using the toilet, other teachers will come to check if there are any abnormalities."

"It's probably to prevent cheating through communication, right? Anyway, it's very troublesome, so it's best to try not to go to the bathroom in the middle of the class..."

"You can take the exam paper out of the exam room. After the exam, remember to check if you've left anything at your seat, it will be a hassle to come back for it..."

"And—" The girl paused, puffed out her cheeks, and looked at the boy whose eyes were wandering.

"Is Jun-kun spacing out?"