Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 142 Clear Glass, Glorious Orange

"Aren't you going back to the party, Senior?"

Jun Matsueda and Matsukio Yamami were walking on the small path. The tranquility of Komazawa was gone, and the words "Dayazawa 5-chome" were written on the doorplate of the roadside shop.

The girl shook her head vigorously, and the ends of her scarf flew in the air. "Aunties' gatherings are so boring!"

"They have to wear proper kimonos even for lunch, and my mother always ties my kimono super tight." She added, "My cold hasn't healed yet, and the belt has to be tied so tightly. It's causing chest tightness and dizziness, which I didn't have before."

The girl rolled her eyes. This was the first time that Jun Matsueda saw her do this, or rather, outside the campus, Yamamiya Maki was more lively and girlish.

"When they arrived at the restaurant, they didn't sit down first. Instead, they took a look at the store's displays and collections together, with waiters explaining everything to them."

"When you walk into the dining room, you should first admire the courtyard outside. After you sit down in order, you cannot eat whatever is on the table. For example, if there are seven people sitting at a table, there will be only seven pieces of meat on the plate, one for each person, and they are all divided."

"After the meal, we have to exchange gifts and appreciate each other's food. The meal only takes half an hour, but the various etiquette before and after the meal takes two hours!"

Yamami Maki kept complaining, and after a while she realized that Matsueda Jun beside her had not said anything. The blush that had disappeared from the girl's face reappeared.

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Matsueda-san."

"I think it's quite interesting to hear what senior says." Matsueda Jun smiled.

"I'm glad you don't mind." She smoothed her wind-blown hair. "Has Matsueda-san packed everything for the school trip?"

Several young men wearing hats and headphones around their necks rode bicycles side by side, and Jun Matsueda could only pull over to the side of the road.

The distance between the girl and him inevitably shortened. Her movements paused for a moment, and then became natural.

"Nothing much to prepare, right? Just daily toiletries and clothes."

"Matsueda-kun, you clearly don't travel far much." The girl's tone wasn't condescending, but full of concern and consideration. "You'll need a coin purse, right? Like today, you'll definitely need cash even more in Hokkaido. And a power bank—a dead phone battery is the most fatal problem in modern society, so you absolutely must bring that. It's also best to bring travel-sized toiletries and slippers; you can't completely trust the hygiene of the accommodations arranged by the school."

Jun Matsueda looked up at the clear blue sky in the afternoon. Yamami Maki was indeed a woman who was suitable for a family.

"Mr. Matsueda, do you think what I said is wrong?" The girl came closer to him with some annoyance.

"That's right." He could only nod.

"Then come with me to buy it. Matsueda-san has no experience, right? I'll help you pick out things that are affordable and useful." Yamami Moki suggested enthusiastically.

"Junior high school students do have school trips, too." Even so, Jun Matsueda followed her back toward the mall.

As he walked out of the mall, he was carrying a small handbag containing a coin purse, a travel toiletries set, and a power bank, which were the necessities that the girl insisted on.

"Why has senior already started buying Christmas gifts?" Jun Matsueda looked at the several beautifully packaged large bags in the girl's hands, which contained scarves, belts and a tea set.

"It's almost December, and I don't want to wait until Christmas to rush into choosing gifts," Yamami Maki said seriously. "These are for the elders, so choosing is easier. Giving gifts to friends requires more thought."

The girl put her loot into a car on the roadside, and the driver would deliver the goods to the destination. Matsueda Jun didn't know whether this was a VIP service of the mall or the job of the Yamami family's driver.

"Matsueda-san, do you want to send your stuff away with me?" Yamami Maki turned around and asked him. Matsueda Jun shook his head, "No, I don't. I didn't buy much anyway."

After saying goodbye to the car loaded with Christmas presents, Yamami Maki's journey wasn't over yet. "Shimokitazawa is right here, Matsueda-san, do you want to go shopping with us?"

"My interview this afternoon is in Shimokitazawa."

The two of them walked along the busy pedestrian street, surrounded by young faces, and couldn't even find a suit that was common among Tokyo residents.

Matsueda Jun looked at the girl who was looking around. "Is this your first time here, Yamami-senpai?"

Yamami Maki nodded excitedly, "Dad always told me that the security in Kitazawa is bad."

"That's true. Shimokitazawa accounts for half of the crime rate in Setagaya."

Jun Matsueda looked at the shopping street in front of him. The road was winding and there were many three-way intersections. He couldn't see too far, but even so, he could still see a variety of shops.

Vintage clothing stores, a popular bar, Y! Mobile, a dental clinic, and various snack bars.

"It's a castle town, after all, where common people live."

Seeing the forest girl's face turn a little pale, Matsueda Jun continued, "But most of them are cases like bicycle theft."

"It's a castle town after all. Commoners wouldn't dare commit any serious crimes."

It's quite fun to play a prank on senior students occasionally.

"Matsueda-san, you can't apply Edo-period concepts to the present!" Because she was teased by Matsueda Jun, Yamami Maki also took his joke seriously.

"Yes, yes—" he drawled out.

They passed by a tattoo shop and a sweet-looking girl with twin ponytails walked out of the door. Yamami Maki curiously glanced at the large cross wrapped in black thorns on her arm.

"Last year, I gave gifts to my friends, but everyone said they were too expensive and refused to accept them, so I'm going to choose carefully this time."

"What did senior sister give you last year?"

"Similar to what I just picked out for the elders, scarves, tea sets and so on."

No wonder they wouldn't accept the items. Jun Matsueda recalled that in the shopping area that Maki Yami had just visited, it seemed that none of the items were priced below 50,000 yen.

"Let's start with the secondhand shops! It seems like a lot of girls in our class like vintage clothes and antiques."

Jun Matsueda watched Yamami Matsukio turning around in front of the dressing mirror. She seemed to be addicted to trying on clothes.

"Senior, don't forget your purpose." Matsueda Jun reminded her, and the girl then turned her eyes away from the multi-layered lace off-shoulder long dress she was wearing.

After walking out of the vintage store carrying a few bags of clothes, Yamami Moki put down her phone and said, "I tentatively asked them what they thought. Everyone seemed to like it. I think we can give the gifts away now."

"But what should I give to a boy?" She looked at the boy next to her.

"Why don't you just ask the senior? Just give them something they like." He had just dealt with a group of girls who came to chat with him.

"That's true." Yamami Maki nodded. She looked at Matsueda Jun and asked casually.

"So what does Matsueda-san like?"

"Is my senior going to give me a Christmas present?"

"Why not?" The girl tilted her head and looked at him.

"I thought senior wouldn't want to appear too close to me." Matsueda Jun thought for a moment and chose to speak directly.

Silence enveloped the two of them. The girl stopped at the door of a sports brand store, and the noisy sounds from all directions amplified in her ears.

"Because... I don't want Yuuka to overthink it." Yami Maki's smile was somewhat forced.

"Then you still want to give me a gift?" Matsueda Jun didn't stop, so she had no choice but to follow him.

“Because you’re my friend!” she said without thinking. “But even when you were sick and absent, you only told me through Tomatsu-san. That doesn’t seem like the behavior of friends.” Matsueda Jun turned around and said to her, and the girl, who was walking with her head down, almost bumped into him.

Yamamiya Moki held her breath. The loss in these words was very faint, but she still caught it.

It seemed that the girl had a clear memory of the first time Jun Matsueda called her without the word "senior".

Yamamiya Moki felt very panicked, and her intuition told her that this was the moment when the two of them were closest to each other.

She remembered the scene when she was chatting with Jun Matsueda in the gymnasium and Natsumi Imokawa called him away with just one sentence.

If she didn't answer Matsueda Jun's question properly, he would definitely leave without hesitation in the future just like he did that time, but she didn't want to be just a friend who could be abandoned at any time.

"I'm sorry." The girl's voice was trembling. Matsueda Jun didn't expect her tone to suddenly become so weak.

"Don't worry too much, senior sister. If this is just your habit, I will get used to it." He smiled and waved his hand, turned around and continued walking forward, trying to make the atmosphere more relaxed.

"That's not how it is!" Hearing Matsueda Jun's attempt to gloss over the matter, the girl stepped forward excitedly and grabbed his hand. "I just... I just..."

The girl's right hand tightly gripped his left wrist, and the customers coming in and out of the store were all looking at the two people parked on the side of the road.

"Senior, do you want to take a break?" Jun Matsueda pointed to the cafe upstairs.

Holding the hot mocha in her hand, the girl sitting on the balcony looked at the boy in front of her and felt a little relaxed.

"When I was in first grade, I had a good friend in my class."

A standard love triangle story where you like him and he likes me.

"So, senior sister, you are afraid that I will fall in love with you?" Matsueda Jun said with a smile.

"No!" Yamami Moki waved her hands hurriedly. She wasn't that narcissistic. "I'm just afraid that if we get to know each other too much, Tomoka will be unhappy."

Her last friendship broke down because the boy she liked was always looking for opportunities to get in touch with her, intentionally or unintentionally, and the girl didn't want to repeat the same mistake.

"Senior, are you worried that Tomatsu-san will get jealous?"

The girl shook her head again. Isn't this equivalent to speaking ill of Youhua? She would never admit it.

"So what do you want, Senior?"

Yamami Miki stared at the cloudy latte art on her coffee and fell into silence. The crows on the bungalow opposite were calling loudly, as if mocking her stupidity.

"Or, let's just be friends secretly! Just don't let Youhua find out!" The girl made up her mind.

She will never betray her lovely juniors!
"Then I hope that next time you are sick and absent, you can send me a message in person." Matsueda Jun chose to continue to follow the senior's suggestion.

"I'm sorry." Yamami Maki realized that she had indeed gone a bit too far before.

"Well, my interview is almost up." He turned his head and looked at the clock on the wall inside.

"Okay, come on, Matsueda-san!"

The girl was still sitting at the coffee table on the balcony. She watched Jun Matsueda go downstairs and walk into a vintage shop a street away.

Yamami Matsukio drank the last sip of coffee and watched the marshmallow-like clouds floating over Shimokitazawa on the sun-drenched terrace.

Perhaps meeting Matsueda-san today is more fortunate than she thought, the girl thought.

If I hadn't met him, I might never have had the chance to hear the hint of loss hidden in the noisy crowd, and the two of us would never have had the chance to talk it out.

For the people she admires, Yamami Moki is not willing to be just a friend who can be abandoned by them at any time, whether it is Matsueda Jun or Tomatsu Tomoka.

Only by becoming someone indispensable to them can a girl feel that she is not so ordinary.

Half an hour later, Jun Matsueda said goodbye to the excited store manager, walked out of the vintage store, and found a girl in a green dress sitting on a chair outside the door.

"I thought the senior had left."

Yamami Maki shook her head. She took off her scarf, revealing her fair neck. "I'm still waiting for the results of Matsueda-san's interview."

"Of course it passed."

"Congratulations!" The girl covered her thighs with a white scarf and raised her hands to applaud.

"Then can Matsueda-san still accompany me to the last place?"

"Senior sister is obviously a patient, but she still wants to visit so many places. Is that really okay?" Matsueda Jun felt a little helpless.

Yamami Moki stared at him with pitiful eyes.

"let's go."

The last stop of the day was Hikawa Shrine in Koenji. Yamami Matsukio took a taxi to bring the two of them here.

Jun Matsueda stood in front of the torii gate with a plaque that read "Weather Shrine." "Didn't you say you were here to buy a gift for a friend?"

"Yes." The girl nodded seriously. "This is the only shrine in Neon where you pray for good weather. I'm here to buy a sunny doll."

"Sunny Dolls?" He looked at the large number of colorful little things with smiling faces in the shrine.

"My friend is the 'Rain Girl'. I hope the Sunny Day Doll can help her get rid of the bad weather." Yamami Moki walked into the shrine and turned back to smile at Matsueda Jun.

"Besides, you can come here and pray for Matsueda-san's trip to be safe!"

The girl put her scarf back on and clasped her hands together, closing her eyes and praying earnestly, "I hope Hokkaido will clear up and give Matsueda-san good weather for sightseeing."

Standing in the center of the shrine, wearing a white scarf, she looked like a large sunny doll to Jun Matsueda.

"But I really want to see snow." He said suddenly.

"Ah?" The praying girl hurriedly opened her eyes. "Well, well, it wouldn't be good if the snow got too heavy."

Matsueda Jun nodded in agreement, and Yamami Maki frowned and thought for a while.

"Then let's pray that the snow in Hokkaido arrives as expected, neither too heavy nor too light, just as Matsueda-san hoped!"

The two of them looked up inside the square shrine, gazing at the clear sky to the north, which was the direction of Hokkaido.

Jun Matsueda didn't know whether the girl's prayers were effective, but today was indeed a rare good day in late autumn.

The glass is clear and the oranges are brilliant.

　This chapter contains 4000 words in two parts, plus a bonus chapter for previous monthly votes. There will be another chapter tonight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)