Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 625

"Passionate love! Love, love, love!"

"Let the undying light of love shine as we move forward!"

...Was the signature slip that my senior just received also filled with such enthusiastic words?

With this thought in mind, the boy continued reading—

"Love Fortune:"

"I'm getting luckier and luckier. Hold on tight to this love, and never let the light of love go out, no matter the rain or the storm. Keep loving."

"Competitors will appear along the way, but don't hesitate; having faith is very important."

"The twenty-second auspicious day—"

"Waiting for someone: They may be late, but they will arrive."

"Study: Just focus on your studies."

"Love: Give love and you will surely receive something in return."

"Marriage: Impatience may ruin what could have been a successful event."

"..."

“Hmm…” Natsumi Imokawa looked at the fortune slip in her hand.

"It seems the gods want me to continue waiting..."

"When you've completed your studies?" she asked tentatively, glancing at the boy beside her.

"Should we wait until the common exam is over?"

"...Why are you asking me?" Jun Matsue straightened up, staring at the fortune slip. "I'm not an interpreter."

The girl stared at him and winked playfully.

"But Lord Pine Branch is more effective than Lord God!"

The boy was speechless, after all, the person she was praying to find love with was right in front of her.

So he thought about it seriously and looked at the girl in front of him.

“I think we really can’t rush things—I could actually answer you right now, but my answer would definitely not be the one Imokawa wants.”

Natsumi Imokawa nodded earnestly, her clear black and white eyes unblinking.

"How about we wait until the Tokyo University entrance exam is over?" Jun Matsueda clenched the unopened love fortune slip in his hand.

The general exams are in mid-January, and the University of Tokyo's entrance exams are in early February. The results of the senior's matter will definitely be out in the next few days—once the entrance exams are over, he will be free of all worries.

...And if I let my feelings for Imokawa accumulate for another month, I should be more likely to get the answer she wants.

"Sure~" the girl answered without hesitation, "But back then, could you look through the photo album I gave you?"

"I've already looked at half of it," the boy said, recalling the photo album in his bag. "I still have a month left, I'm sure I can finish it, right?"

"Then there's no problem~" Natsumi Imokawa squinted her eyes in satisfaction, folded the slip of paper in her hand, and put it into her pocket.

"I'll ask you for the 'answers' after Songzhi finishes his exam!"

"Okay." Jun Matsuoka let out a soft breath. This matter was much more difficult than the entrance exam for the University of Tokyo.

Also, Imokawa has asked about the photo album twice already—could she have hidden something at the bottom?

The boy was a little curious, but not in a hurry—since Imokawa was still patient, it wouldn't be too late for him to gradually turn the pages to the end.

"It's about time we went." The boy turned his head to look at the torii gate not far away—Aya-chan was smiling at him from outside the shrine.

"Wait a minute!" Natsumi Imokawa grabbed his sleeve.

"Songzhi, don't you want to look at the love fortune slip in your hand?"

Jun Matsue paused as he turned around. "I almost forgot."

He opened the pale pink slip of paper in his hand—it contained the exact same words that the two of them had just read.

"Pine branches are auspicious too!" the girl exclaimed happily.

"..." The boy's pursed lips curved slightly as he looked at the last fortune slip.

"My wish: I've been waiting for this for so long, may it come true."

"It's not bad."

Passing through the torii gate at the entrance of the shrine, outside the orderly long line of people, there were a few passersby who stopped to watch—the Imokawa couple and Miyamura Aya stood on the sidewalk, basking in the warm sunlight and chatting while drinking coffee from paper cups.

"Jun-ge and Imokawa-neechan are out!" The sharp-eyed girl greeted them with a smile. "Have you finished your prayers?"

"It's a successful conclusion." Jun Matsueda handed the paper bag containing the amulet back to the person next to him.

"Imokawa bought a lot of spoils, so he shouldn't have to worry about his luck for the next year."

The woman wearing sunglasses covered her mouth and chuckled, "Xia Shi didn't buy all love charms, did she?"

"How could that be!" Natsumi Imokawa walked to her parents' side with slightly flushed cheeks.

"The shrine doesn't just sell love charms; I bought every single one!"

“No wonder this bag looks so bulging~” Imokawa Akira took the bag from his daughter, weighed it in his hand, and then smiled at the boy and girl beside him.

"Where are you going next? Maybe we can give you a ride."

"No need to trouble you, Mr. Imokawa." Jun Matsue smiled gently. "We'll go home after our first shrine visit."

"Shall we be leaving now?" The man looked at the mother and daughter whispering beside him. "Does Xia Shi have anything else to say?"

"Ah." Natsumi Imokawa, having escaped her mother's barrage of questions, bowed slightly to the two of them with a bright smile and waved.

"Thank you so much for your help this year, Matsue and Aya-chan!"

See you at school later~

Watching the family of three walk towards the distant parking lot, Jun Matsue stretched lazily in the sunlight.

"Are you tired, Chun-ge?" Miyamura Aya asked with a smile.

"Otherwise what?" The boy's gaze towards her lost some of its vitality.

"I took the bus to accompany you guys to your first shrine visit early this morning, but then I had to drop off my senior and run into Imogawa. Now I just want to go back and get some sleep."

"It's too late now..." The girl glanced at the time on her phone.

"By the time we get back to the orphanage it will be nine o'clock. If I go back to sleep, I'll be considered a lazy pig."

She shoved the coffee she was holding into the boy's hand, saying, "Why don't you have some coffee, and then take a nap after lunch?"

Jun Matsue sighed helplessly and gently patted Aya's head.

"You didn't let Mr. Imokawa and the others treat you, did you?"

"No!" The girl tilted her chin up. "I only ordered a pudding!"

"But they bought this coffee for you~"

"That's alright," the boy mumbled, taking a sip of his hot latte.

"After all, I helped them take care of their daughter, so I deserve it."

As they boarded the train home together, the girl, now settled, quickly drifted off to sleep again. Jun Matsueda adjusted his posture to make sure his younger sister was comfortable, and as he watched the vibrant lights flashing past the window, his mood calmed down along with the soft breathing of the person beside him.

Having gotten used to the noise and commotion of the past few days, the sudden quiet is really taking its toll...

Thinking this, the phone in the boy's hand vibrated silently again—

"I slept so well after drinking last night~~" Yosuke Kurusu sent a photo of himself stretching in front of the mirror.

"Is Songzhi going back to the apartment tomorrow?"

Glancing at the sunlight streaming through the window, Jun Matsue opened his phone to reply.

"Hmm, plan unchanged. Is Kurusu coming back too?"

"Mmm!" The girl sent a chibi version of Kurusu nodding.

"After drinking with my mom, I can only sleep alone. It's definitely not as comfortable as taking a bath with pine branches by myself~"

The boy smiled and replied, "Okay."

Sure enough, once you get used to companionship, it's hard to get used to loneliness.

Chapter 848 The Sign of the First Snow

January 2nd marked the official reopening of major shopping malls in Tokyo.

Jun Matsue spent another morning at the orphanage—practicing calligraphy with the children and chatting with the director. After lunch, he packed his few, lighter pieces of luggage and walked out of the orphanage alone.

"Chun-ge, be careful on the road!"

Aya Miyamura waved to him from behind, joining the other children, saying, "I'll come find you to play again in a couple of days!"

"Remember to spend more time with Grandma." The boy smiled as he said goodbye, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked into the sunlight that filled the alley.

As he boarded the bus back to his apartment, Jun Matsueda sat down by the window and gently exhaled into the window.

The moisture containing heat quickly turned into a pale fog, blurring the scenery outside the car window.

Although the midday sun was bright, it felt like cellophane, offering little warmth—the weather forecast indicated that today's temperature was slightly lower than the previous two days, with a possibility of snowfall.

The boy wiped away the dissipating fog on the windowpane with his eyes and took a picture of the view outside the window.

When selecting contacts in the send list, he hesitated for a moment, but then gave up the idea of ​​sending a mass message to multiple contacts.

—If messages from all three girlfriends popped up at once, I might not be able to reply to them all…

With that in mind, the boy first sent the photo to Yosuke Kurusu.

"I'm on the bus now, about half an hour to the apartment."

Miss Idol replied quickly, "What a coincidence? I'm already on the train too~"

Jun Matsue smiled and said, "See you at home later."

"Have you had lunch yet, Kurusu? If not, I can buy some groceries on my way."

“I’ve already eaten. It was Mom who cooked—we were even talking about you.”

"My business?"

"I'll tell Matsue when we meet later~"

Okay then, the boy exited the "Kirakira" chat and sent messages to the other girls—

Mochizuki is still in Kamakura and won't be back to Tokyo until tomorrow; Tomatsu, on the other hand, has already returned from the hotel and is preparing for his final mock exam in a couple of days; Imokawa sent me a lily-of-the-valley lace amulet hanging next to his mini camera...

After looking around for a while, the sunlight outside the window finally settled on the parrot's head on the screen.

—After leaving Tokyo Daijingu Shrine yesterday, Yamami Maki only sent him a tired little bird emoji during dinner time, and there has been no news from her since today.

Could my senior be under house arrest?

Although Miss Yuka had already warned him, Jun Matsue still had this worry in his mind.

The boy sighed softly and opened the chat input box again.

"How's it going with your senior?"

"If I don't hear from you today, I'm afraid I'll have to come over to find you."

When the swaying bus stopped at the bus stop 200 meters away from the apartment building, Jun Matsueda stepped off the tilted bus, and his cell phone rang in his pocket.

He took out his phone and blinked relaxedly—

My senior finally replied.

"I'm so sorry, I was talking to my family when I got back yesterday and didn't realize I left my phone in the car. My sister brought it over at noon."

The girl sent a voice message; her usually soft voice was a little hoarse, sounding somewhat listless and tired.

"It's alright, I'm just glad you're okay, senior." The boy shrugged his bag as he walked towards the Mitakadai Apartments.

"Aren't you at home right now?"

"Yes, I'm from my family's side. I came here after having dinner at home yesterday."

“Because Grandpa is here—yesterday, my parents talked to me for most of the day, and after they realized they couldn’t convince me, they brought me to see Grandpa today.”