Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 315 Holding hands behind everyone's back, expressing unspeakable feelings.
"Thank you all for your hard work~"

The shop manager clapped his hands as he walked up to the group who were about to get on the bus. "The appearance fee has already been paid to Izumi-san. Won't you stay and have some more fun?"

"No need." After taking out her phone and confirming that the payment had been settled, the girl shook her head.

"We haven't even had dinner yet, we're starving."

"Haha," the store manager's smile turned awkward again. He took out his phone and transferred another sum of money. "Thank you all for your help. Dinner is on me. I wish you a successful collaboration in July!"

The girl got into the car, looked at the new transfer information on her phone, and nodded in satisfaction.

"So how much is the appearance fee?" Aya Miyamura leaned over and asked curiously.

"Including the 10,000 yen that the store manager just transferred, the total is 50,000 yen."

"So much?" the girl asked in surprise. She only knew that everyone had agreed to split the appearance fee equally, but she didn't know exactly how much money she would receive.

"The appearance fee has doubled, but we're just opening act. We're a newly formed student band, so we'll only get around 10,000 to 20,000 yen per show, and we'll have to split it among ourselves."

The president of the Light Music Club, who always has a cold expression, becomes quite animated when talking about this kind of thing.

"A ticket for a mixed-gender show costs around 2,700 yen. If the Chikamatsu show is sold out, we'll earn 400,000 yen. If it were a formal performance..."

Yamami Maki tried hard to focus her attention on the girl who was speaking, because her cheeks were still hot and she was still immersed in the performance a few minutes earlier.

"Are you feeling hot, senior?" Jun Matsueda, who was sitting across from me, leaned closer. "Should we turn the air conditioning down a bit?"

"No, no need!" The girl hurriedly waved her hand. "I'm just a little excited from leaving the livehouse."

She could look directly into Matsueda's eyes before, but now the unspoken atmosphere between them made the girl blush.

The van quickly returned to the familiar studio. Xiaoxing didn't get in the van; she went to find her boyfriend after the performance. The four of them went into the practice room and spent more than ten minutes putting the moved equipment back in its place.

"I'm so hungry~" Miyamura Aya exclaimed, "Let's go eat! Dinner's free tonight!"

They decided to have barbecue for dinner. Jun Matsueda stood alone in the studio lobby waiting for the girls to come downstairs. The girls were always a little slower when they were getting ready to leave.

A lone footstep echoed down the corridor. Yamami Maki's steps were somewhat hurried as she sat down next to Matsueda Jun.

"Aren't they ready yet?" Jun Matsue was also a little hungry.

"Aya-chan is helping Izumi change the strings on her guitar; it'll probably take a while," the girl said with a smile.

The studio was quite crowded in the evening. Men and women carrying musical instruments walked around the lobby, like extras before a love story unfolded, faithfully playing their roles.

"What did you think of today's performance, senior?"

"It's great!" Yami Maki said with a smile. "The audience's response was very enthusiastic. This is only the premiere, and it will definitely get better and better from here on out."

"What about my performance?" Jun Matsueda continued to press, and the girl's heart trembled.

"The drumbeats were very steady, and the final singing was also very beautiful." Yami Maki lowered her head, looking at the tips of her shoes, her cheeks flushing again.

"It's very tempting." The girl's voice was very soft, like a gentle drop of water splashing in a noisy hall, hitting his ear.

"I'm glad you like it, senior." Jun Matsue looked at his senior's ears, which had turned red. "This is my first time singing on stage, and I was a little nervous."

"But seeing you in the audience reminded me of those days in the practice room, and suddenly I had so much to say and so many songs to sing."

She seemed not to have misunderstood; the girl's heart began to pound, like the restless cockatiel in her house, chirping and hitting its cage.

But what should Youhua do?

Thinking of the happy expression on her junior's face when she talked about her sweetheart, the fledgling bird in Yamami Maki's heart began to settle down again.

"It's not that I dislike Matsueda," the girl told herself. "I just want to find a way to make everyone happier."

Or, to put it another way, it would be better if Yuuka could suffer less injury.
"Yuka should enjoy everyone's performance too." Yami Maki smiled somewhat reluctantly, unable to directly respond to the boy's feelings, which made her feel a dull pain in her chest.

Jun Matsueda looked surprised. He hadn't expected his senior to bring up Tomatsu at this moment. Before he could say anything, the girls who were with him came down the stairs and walked towards the two of them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting~" Aya Miyamura waved to the two of them, "Let's go! To the yakiniku restaurant!"

The yakiniku restaurant was right next to the station, not far away. Miyamura Aya and Izumi Mizuki, who were walking ahead, were still talking about the performance and did not notice the two silent people behind them.

“Matsueda-san.” Yamami Maki spoke again, and Matsueda Jun looked into her eyes. “I have a little over one semester left before graduation.”

Academic issues are something that boys should definitely consider. Falling in love at the time of graduation is a risky decision for most people.

"Hearing what Matsueda-kun said earlier, I really feel very happy." The girl stopped and looked up at him.

The girls, who had already walked some distance away, turned back in confusion. Jun Matsueda waved his hand, signaling them to go ahead.

"Just gazing into Matsueda's eyes for a long time in the crowd is enough to make me so happy." The white light shimmered in Yamami Maki's eyes, and the affection within was self-evident.

"If happiness is yeast, then I am the fluffiest loaf of bread right now," the girl laughed.

"If I could be by Matsueda's side every day, I'm afraid I'd be overwhelmed by the happiness."

“But I’m graduating soon.” She looked at Jun Matsueda with calm and sweet eyes. “I’m a little worried that I’m too happy to achieve my goals.”

Actually, this was just an excuse. The girl knew very well that the real reason was someone else.

“And there’s also Yuka.” Yamami Maki looked to the side. “She’s a very lovely junior of mine. I know very well what it means for her that we’re together.”

She understood Tomatsu Yuka better than before. The young girl didn't have much, and seeing her senior, whom she relied on, walking together with the person she admired would be an unbearable blow.

“But there’s only a semester or so left before I say goodbye to everyone at school.” Yami Maki took a step forward, her head bowed, and she could already see the tips of the boys’ shoes.

"I only have one more semester or so before I can say goodbye to Youhua."

“Before that.” The girl looked up at Jun Matsueda with pleading in her eyes.

"No matter how good our relationship is, we can't be lovers, okay?"

The boy's silence made Yamami Maki feel a little panicked, and tears welled up in the girl's eyes.

"I'm sorry, it's clearly me who wronged Matsueda-kun, yet you're making so many demands."

"Is that all?" Jun Matsueda's voice rang in her ears, without the anger or disappointment the girl had imagined.

"You said so much all at once," the boy in front of her laughed. "I'm still trying to understand, why are you crying?"

He hadn't expected that just a tentative advance would lead to his senior revealing everything about herself, leaving him somewhat caught off guard.

Jun Matsueda wiped away the girl's tears with a tissue. "So, since we're still in Haneoka, it's impossible for us to be lovers in name only, right?"

"Isn't that going too far?" Yami Maki lowered her head in shame.

"It's alright." Jun Matsueda gently held the girl's wrist. The boy's hand was warm. Although it was the first time she had touched it, Maki Yami had already become hopelessly accustomed to the feeling.

"I've never confessed to you, so why are you suddenly saying all this?" He winked slyly with his left eye.

This is also why Jun Matsue didn't confess directly to Maki Yamami; he knew that his senior would definitely have some reservations.

The girl hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"In front of everyone, we are just seniors and juniors at school, ordinary friends," the boy continued.

“It should be a little better than a normal friendship,” Jun Matsueda added.

"As for their relationship in private, they're definitely not lovers, right?"

"Could you please let go of my hand first?" Yami Maki said, her face flushed. "There are so many people around."

Although it was a refusal, the girl spoke so softly and sweetly that it made it hard to let go.

"Let's shake hands a little longer," Jun Matsue blinked innocently. "Anyway, nobody on the street knows us."

"All right."

The two who had been standing on the side of the street finally took a step. Their hands, which had been clasped together, were now clasped apart, but the distance between the boy and girl had become much closer.

They were so close that their fingertips could touch.

　Adults who want to vote with monthly tickets can save them for the double bonus at the end of the month!
　　By the way, the fact that Matsueda told his senior that their relationship was a little better than ordinary friends corresponds to Mochizuki's earlier mockery of him: "In someone's eyes, anything below lovers is just ordinary friends, there is absolutely no middle ground."

　　
　
(End of this chapter)