Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 247 The Notes of Expectation Rise Again

On April 20th, the Sunday of the third week of school, at 11:00 AM, Jun Matsue and Maki Yami walked out of the school together.

Today is the day of the preliminary round of the biology competition. They have been studying in the school library for three hours and are now preparing to go to the examination center in Ikebukuro to take the exam.

The sunlight on the road was not bright, and the girl's long skirt swayed as the two stopped at the intersection in front of Kugayama Station, waiting for the traffic light to change.

"So Aya-chan ended up joining the Light Music Club?" Yami Maki tilted her head curiously. She had just been discussing the results of the two clubs' recruitment with Matsueda Jun.

Jun Matsueda nodded. "The people in the light music club think she has a good voice and can be the lead singer."

Cai Jiang is quite satisfied with the result. The lead singer doesn't need to buy any instruments, making them arguably the most cost-effective member of the band.

"Tomatsu told me that these past few days, after the brass band practiced, she could still hear Aya singing when she passed by the light music club entrance."

"Isn't that great?" Yami Maki smiled. "It shows that Aya-chan is very enthusiastic."

The traffic light next to the girl turned green and made a bird-like sound. The two of them started walking at the same time and crossed the pedestrian crossing.

It seems that Matsu-san's way of addressing Tomoka has changed from Tomatsu-san to Tomatsu. Yamami Maki blinked. Are their relationships starting to improve again?
Before entering the station, she checked her bag to make sure she hadn't left anything behind.

The train carriage was quite crowded on Sunday noon, but luckily there were still two seats available. The seats were a bit cramped, and Yamami Maki felt the warmth of the boy next to her and hugged her backpack tighter.

"Are you nervous, Matsueda-kun?" the girl suddenly asked. The carriage was a bit noisy, so she moved her face closer to Matsueda Jun so that the people next to her could hear her.

"Generally speaking, whoever asks that is nervous."

Matsue Jun glanced at her, and the girl smiled, took out a handful of candies from her pocket, picked one out for herself, and then held out her hand to the boy. Her fair palm was covered with colorful candies, so beautiful they seemed to glow.

"Same as always, have a candy before the exam~"

He picked out a green one, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth. The rich matcha milk flavor gradually melted in his mouth.

"I'm a little surprised that Yamami-senpai is nervous. I feel like you're the kind of person with a big heart." The train arrived at the station, and Matsueda Jun stepped out of the train first, shielding the girl behind him from the crowd.

"When the wind band participated in the national competition, my senior sister never seemed nervous at all, and she cheered everyone on in various ways."

The girl followed Jun Matsueda out of the station, quickening her pace to reach him. "Because I have a lot of confidence in everyone in the brass band!"

“But I find it hard to have that much confidence in myself.” She looked at the building to the left of the station; Rikkyo University, the competition venue, was just behind the complex.

"I haven't thought about beating Kokoro in terms of grades since I graduated from junior high school."

Maki Yamami stood in front of Rikkyo University's old-fashioned red brick gate, looking at the two giant Christmas trees at the entrance, which were the school's iconic plants.

Jun Matsue walked up to the girl and said, "Now, senior, you should think carefully about how to celebrate after defeating her."

Today's event at Rikkyo University is the preliminary round of the Japanese Biology Olympiad, which is being held simultaneously at over 100 schools across Japan. The preliminary round consists of only written tests, and teams of around 80 students will be selected to travel to Kumamoto for the experimental finals.

As he walked into the classically decorated corridor, Jun Matsue waved to the girl standing at the top of the stairs, "My exam room is on the second floor. See you after the exam."

Yamami Maki watched the boy disappear around the corner of the corridor. She stood there for a moment, pressed her right hand to her chest, and took several deep breaths. Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from the depths of the corridor, and Matsueda Jun reappeared in the girl's sight, running towards her.

"I almost forgot to cheer for my senior." He took a couple of breaths, slowed his pace, and walked up to Yamami Maki, revealing a bright smile.

"There's nothing to worry about. You're Matsueda-sensei's best student. As long as you're serious, you can definitely take down someone like Kuroba Shin!"

Jun Matsueda clenched his right fist and waved it between the two of them. "Absolutely!"

The girl paused for a moment, then smiled, raised her little fist and bumped it with his. "Absolutely!"

Yamami Maki turned and walked upstairs. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the lush green trees outside and slipped through the stairwell window to the girl's feet, making her footsteps lighter.

From elementary school to junior high, as she lost to Kuroba Shin time and time again, the expectations of her elders gradually disappeared.

"It's okay if you can't do it; winning or losing doesn't mean everything."

"Don't make things too hard for yourself; we don't need this kind of honor."

"Didn't I tell you before? There's no need to compare your grades with hers."

Her parents quickly changed their plans for her upbringing. Since their daughter couldn't be number one academically, they would cultivate her into a refined lady who valued inner qualities and was multi-talented. As long as she behaved maturely enough, no matter how many times Kuroba Shin competed, it would only be a childish victory.

Adults always have their own way of winning, but Yamami Maki just wanted to beat her childhood friend.

Deep down, she was a very competitive and stubborn girl, so even though her parents no longer had high expectations for her studies, she continued to work hard.

Finally, someone said to her, "You can be stronger than Kuroba Shin, go and defeat her." Yamami Maki walked up to the third floor, feeling somewhat emotional.

I thought I was already used to it, but the notes in my heart still couldn't help but leap with joy.

She hadn't experienced this feeling of being anticipated in a long time.

As the girl walked into the classroom, the first thing she saw by the window was her childhood sweetheart, the willful genius in the eyes of the elders.

From childhood, the two girls had a clear division of labor: Kuroba Shin earned various honors through her grades and talent, while Yamami Maki won praise from elders for her maturity and rationality. However, what they wanted most was something that belonged to each other.

Yamami Maki found her seat and sat down, ignoring the faces Kuroba Shin made at her, and waited for the exam to begin.

The bell rang, the test papers were handed out, and the girl picked up her pen and quickly scanned the questions on the test paper.

Most of the test points were within expectations. She had already discussed them with Jun Matsueda many times. There were a few exceptions, such as the relationship between diatom population density and silicic acid. She didn't recall any related questions and would have to set aside time to think about them later.

The girl wrote her name, "Yamami Maki," and her exam number, 2011008, at the top of the exam paper in neat and beautiful handwriting.

It's all Matsueda's fault; she made me look forward to it all over again.

(End of this chapter)