Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 632

Kuroba Shin, sitting some distance away, winked at her with a somewhat amused expression.

"Isn't this to video chat with Jun-kun?"

Actually, the two of them had just been having lunch together, but it was a bit awkward to video chat with a guy in front of a friend, so Yamami Maki asked her to walk away.

"Where's Jun-kun?" The girl quickly changed the subject, looking at the gray exterior wall of the stadium behind him.

Are you outdoors?

"Over here at the tennis court." The boy turned his phone around, showing her the snowflakes falling on the court.

"It's quiet here."

"I see..." On the screen, Yamami Maki adorably stretched her neck, as if she wanted to take a 360-degree look at everything around her.

"Shouldn't you be with Yuuka Mochizuki and the others right now?"

"They're all in the classroom," Jun Matsue said, gesturing towards the school building.

"It's snowing, I'm too lazy to go out."

"I see..." The girl on the screen blinked as she picked up the barley tea she had gotten in the cafeteria.

"So, what's the matter that you wanted to talk to me about today, Jun-kun, which is quite unusual for you?"

"It's nothing," the boy replied frankly. "I just wanted to check on how my senior was doing."

Yamami Maki's eyes flickered, and she covered her slightly open mouth with one hand.

"Is Chun-jun showing concern for me?"

What an awkward green tea act, did Kuroba Shin teach you that...? Matsueda Jun nodded, suppressing a smile.

"Yeah, after all, she hasn't been estranged from her family for very long." The boy glanced at the snowflakes drifting into the eaves.

“I was worried you weren’t feeling well, so I made a video call to see how you were doing in person.”

The girl blinked again.

Yamami Maki is still the same sensitive and gentle Yamami Maki—her beloved's undisguised concern makes her feel touched and shy. Even though she covers half of her face with her hand, you can still see a blush on her exposed cheeks.

"...Thank you for your concern, Jun-kun." The girl touched her flushed cheeks and smiled at the boy on the other side of the screen.

“I’m no longer a fragile little girl, nor is it my first time away from home.”

"There are other things in life that require my attention more than family and household affairs—"

"For example, although this semester is relatively short, I chose a course in developmental psychology."

"For example, if a teacher thinks highly of me and plans to assign me more project tasks, I can learn more and my salary will also increase, so I may have to reduce my part-time hours."

“And…” she winked mischievously.

"Although I have severed ties with my family, I have actually been in contact with them more these past two days."

“Not only my sister and mother, but even my brother who lives overseas called to ask me a couple of questions—it’s true that only the squeaky wheel gets the grease.”

“It doesn’t seem surprising.” Jun Matsueda nodded. “And what about your father?”

The girl's smile was somewhat unfriendly. "He completely canceled the credit card his family had previously given me."

"..." Jun Matsue controlled the corners of his mouth, "This is not surprising."

"However, I must remind you, senior—human emotions are ultimately controlled by distance and time."

"Over time, if you go home less often, your relationship with your family will inevitably become distant, and of course, the same will happen to your family's place in your heart."

“I understand.” Yamami Maki’s smile softened again.

“Just like my relationship with my brother, I’m already trying to imagine myself as him—I actually live and study far away from home.”

"This situation seems no different from my current situation."

"It seems my senior doesn't need my guidance." The boy on the screen smiled similarly to hers.

"Lunch break is limited, so let's stop here for today. We can talk more about it this Sunday."

"...This Sunday?" The girl's eyes showed some surprise.

"Hmm." Jun Matsueda looked up and exhaled a puff of white breath at the snowflakes in the air.

"Didn't I say before that I would treat my senior to dinner?"

"I checked, and this Sunday is the opening day for filming, so I might as well cook rice cakes for my senior."

January 11th, "Kagami Day," the day to smash and eat the Kagami Mochi placed during the New Year—he hadn't seen his senior for a week, so it was time to meet her.

The look of surprise on Yamami Maki's face quickly turned into delight.

"Really?"

"What's the difference between real and fake? As long as you're free on Sunday, that's fine."

“I’m free!” The girl nodded vigorously. “Is Jun-kun coming at noon or in the afternoon?”

"Noon, I guess."

"Okay!" She glanced at Kuroba Shin, who was yawning in the distance.

I need to tell Kokoro later that she doesn't need to come to my apartment this Sunday...

Jun Matsueda glanced at the time on the screen. "Then I won't bother you, senpai?"

"Okay~" Yami Maki waved energetically through the screen.

See you the day after tomorrow!

See you the day after tomorrow.

Putting down his phone, Jun Matsuoka admired the gently falling snowflakes. There were already traces of snow on the tennis court. Instead of returning the way he came, he bypassed the gymnasium and walked along the path leading directly to the teaching building on the edge of the campus.

The path along the edge of the building was sparsely populated, but those who were there were all in pairs—only couples would like to be in places where they couldn't see anyone. The boy walked past these lovey-dovey figures and took out his phone from his pocket.

The question he had just asked when he left the cafeteria was still unanswered, so he sent a message to the penguin avatar in his contact list.

"Imokawa didn't eat at the cafeteria today?"

"How did Songzhi know?" the girl replied quickly. "I was taking pictures of the snow scene at school."

I looked around the cafeteria but didn't see you.

"Could you bring me lunch with this pine branch? I haven't bought any bread yet."

"..." The boy blinked.

The once obedient and reserved Natsumi Imokawa has now learned to push her luck.

"You should have said so sooner." The boy typed while brushing away the tiny snowflakes falling on his phone.

"I left the cafeteria a long time ago."

The girl didn't type anything, but just sent a crying emoji that looked pitiful.

Jun Matsue put away his phone and glanced back at the tree-lined path with white trim behind him.

Forget it, we're already this far from the cafeteria.

Continuing onward, past a first-year couple squatting by the grass catching snow, the boy looked ahead and blinked in surprise—

There were other people on this path who were also all alone, just like him.

As he got closer, the figure in the distance became clearer, enough for him to see the heavy camera in the girl's hand and the curves of her chest that even her winter coat couldn't hide.

"So you were here too..."

"Huh?" Natsumi Imokawa, who was photographing the crows falling on the wall, turned her head.

Upon seeing the tall and handsome boy in front of her, she subconsciously opened her mouth.

"Why are the pine branches here?"

The camera slipped from the surprised girl's hand, caught by the strap around her neck, and bumped against her chest, which was covered by a Western-style coat, shaking violently.

"Well," Jun Matsue blinked, "it's a topic you don't like to hear."

"Matsueda is on a date too?" Natsumi Imokawa looked behind him. "Isn't it just you alone?"

The boy turned his gaze away and said, "I'm video chatting with someone else."

"A video?" The girl wrinkled her cute nose slightly.

"Did you secretly video chat with Tomatsu and Mochizuki behind their backs? Matsue is such a womanizer."

"..." Matsueda Jun did not explain her misunderstanding—ever since his relationship with his senior began to warm up, he had a vague sense of guilt in front of Imokawa.

Although there is no such thing as fairness in love, Jun Matsue saw no need to tell Imokawa about his feelings—the girl didn't want to hear it anyway.

But when it comes to Imokawa Natsumi, he feels like a referee who insists on fairness, letting his senior sneak off on the track of love, while telling Imokawa to follow the rules...

"Actually, it's not that I feel guilty, it's that I'm attracted to you," the boy told himself.

If he didn't have feelings for Natsumi Imokawa, then even if he was intimate with other girls in front of her, he wouldn't feel anything.

So the girl was right, his heart is indeed a bit too fickle right now...

"What's with that expression on Matsueda's face?" Natsumi Imokawa scrutinized the boy in front of her who had suddenly lowered his eyes and fallen silent.

"I don't really mean to criticize you much—your worst quality is that you haven't even tried to seduce me yet!"

"..." Matsueda Jun's reflections were choked up, and he looked up at Imokawa in front of him.

"Hmm?" The girl staring at him tilted her head and reached out to fan away the snowflakes that had fallen between them.

"I'll give Imokawa the answers as soon as the school exams are over."

Natsumi Imokawa blinked. "Does that mean I'll be able to date Matsueda then?"

"That's hard to say." The boy looked at the crows flying away from the wall. "I can only promise to give Imokawa a completely honest and heartfelt answer first."

Even if he can accept Imokawa by then, he still needs the consent of his other "official girlfriends"—he doesn't want the delicate balance he's maintaining to fall apart again.

"I knew it!" The girl glared at him and took a picture of the boy's indecisive look.

"Don't think that just because we made a pact, I'll behave myself before the school exams!"

“My mother said that at this point, I must continue to make a move and add more weight to the relationship—that way, I can eventually tip the scales in my favor.”

"...Why does Aunt Imokawa teach you these things every day?"

Jun Matsue walked past her and continued forward, saying, "Imokawa, you take the pictures first. I'm going back to the classroom."

The teaching building was already not far away; if he didn't go back soon, the rice balls he was carrying would get cold.

“Then I’ll go back too!” Natsumi Imokawa followed him without hesitation. “I came from your side, and I’ve already taken most of the photos.”

Of course, the boy wouldn't chase her away, so the two oddballs on the path smoothly blended into the group of couples.

"So, where is Songzhi looking in the photo album now?" the girl asked with great interest.

“I saw the school trip we took as second-year students back then,” Jun Matsueda replied calmly.

"It might sound a bit shameful to say, but the starry sky during the Hokkaido earthquake was absolutely stunning—I saw the photos in my album the other night and it immediately reminded me of that night when Iogawa and I were huddled around the camera."

"Right, right~" Natsumi Imokawa turned her head to the side, her round eyes squinting with satisfaction.

"That starry sky photo takes up an entire page of the album. I specially used artistic inkjet printing and matte photo paper; the printed result can last for a hundred years!"

“One hundred years…” The boy blinked.

That way, we can watch it together when we're old—that was the first thought that flashed through his mind.

Stop! Jun Matsue calmed his heart fluttering again and glanced at the light-footed girl beside him.

"Speaking of which, what exactly did Imokawa put at the end of the photo album?"

Natsumi Imokawa looked at him, her originally clear and bright eyes suddenly revealing a hint of girlish cunning.

"Does Songzhi really want to know?"

"Of course I want to..." The boy looked at the snow in front of him.

"But I don't particularly want to know now, I'm just a little curious, so I'll just ask as it happens."

"Then I won't tell Songzhi all the answers~" The girl suddenly leaned over and patted the snow off his shoulder.

"In short, it's definitely something to win over Songzhi and increase her affection level!"

The noise from the teaching building hit him, and Matsueda Jun absentmindedly looked towards the entrance of the corridor where figures were moving—