Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 404 Wrong then, right now

The next day at noon, Jun Matsueda sat in the newsroom, watching Natsumi Imokawa move the mouse.

The photos on the computer screen kept changing, all related to the student council election on Monday. The girl turned around and looked at Tsushima Kou standing behind the two of them.

"Does the minister think these are acceptable?"

"That's good." The smiling boy nodded. "But shouldn't you change how you address me? I'm no longer the minister."

Imokawa Natsumi quickly apologized, her face flushed. Matsueda Jun yawned and looked out the window at the figures coming and going in the corridor.

"Have all the seniors moved out?"

“There wasn’t much stuff to begin with,” Tsushima Kou chuckled. “We’ve already packed up pretty much.”

Today marks the final handover between the old and new student councils. As expected, Mitani was elected and the photo of the new student council president has already been posted on the bulletin board.

"Since there's nothing wrong with the campaign photos, I'll be going now." The boy checked the time. "We seniors still have a lot of things to tell our successors."

"Thank you for your hard work." Jun Matsueda stood up and saw his senior out of the room.

After closing the door to his office, he glanced at the student council office coming and going on the other side of the corridor, then turned around and looked at Tsushima Kou, who was leaning against the railing.

"Aren't you going back?" Jun Matsue asked.

"Didn't you need to talk to me?" the boy asked with a smile. "Otherwise, given your personality, why would you have bothered to come out and see me off?"

"..." Jun Matsue nodded. "Let's go, I'll treat you to ice cream."

Pick up the ice cream cone that fell from the vending machine, tear open the outer shell, peel off the round paper on top, and take a bite without too much pressure. The slightly bitter, cool and rich matcha flavor melts in your mouth.

Jun Matsueda looked at the boy next to him who was eating an ice cream cone and asked, "How do you feel about your senior's mood today?"

Which senior?

"Which other senior could it be?" he said irritably. "Of course it's Senior Yamami."

"What exactly is your relationship now?" Tsushima Kou asked, his curiosity piqued. "Can't you just ask her directly?"

Jun Matsueda shook his head. The surface of the ice cream began to melt, and the sensation on his tongue became ambiguous.

He hadn't met with Yamami Maki alone today, and even if he did, the senior in front of him might not be the real senior—the girl was too considerate of others, and if her hesitation would worry the person she liked, she would probably choose to keep it to herself.

"Hmm," Tsushima Kou could only try to recall, "She seemed quite happy chatting with Mitani in the office."

"Isn't there anything more detailed?" Jun Matsueda was not satisfied.

"I'm not that close to her, we're just colleagues in the student council," the boy said helplessly. "Besides, I don't have your memory. I'm lucky if I can even vaguely remember what her expression was like."

"Aren't you supposed to be a shrewd person?"

"I'm just an ordinary high school student with ideals about journalism," Tsushima Kou said seriously.

Jun Matsue snorted. "People who portray themselves as ordinary are not to be trusted."

So they finished their ice cream quickly and efficiently, returned to the first-floor corridor, and before parting ways, Tsushima Kou finally remembered something.

"Yamami-kun is quite talkative today, or rather, she was a bit quieter the past few days."

"That's good." Jun Matsueda finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When the boy returned to the clubroom with the ice cream, Natsumi Imokawa was still intently staring at the computer.

"What are you looking at again?" Jun Matsue placed the cookie-flavored ice cream cone that the girl loved next to her.

“I registered an account for your band and uploaded the videos of your first performance and practice.”

Natsumi Imokawa stood up and offered her seat to Jun Matsueda. "Want to take a look? There aren't many reviews, but everyone seems to think it's pretty good."

The boy sat down and glanced around; most of the messages were encouraging, and some inquired about performance schedules. The girl stood beside him, licking her ice cream in small bites. "If you cultivate this long-term," she said, "I feel like you could gain a lot of fans!"

“That requires someone to handle filming and editing. Do you have the time? None of us are good at that.”

Jun Matsue turned his head. He originally wanted to look at Natsumi Imokawa, but the girl's full breasts blocked his view, so he had to move his chair to create some distance.

"Hmm," the girl thought for a moment, "I still have some free time now, but it's hard to say when I'm in my senior year of high school."

"I see. But if it's my senior year of high school, I definitely won't be in the band anymore."

"Huh?" Natsumi Imokawa was taken aback. "Is Matsueda withdrawing?"

"Well, I don't have as much enthusiasm as Aya-chan and Izumi-san. I'll focus on my studies from now on."

It's still too early to say what will happen to the Yami family. In order to gain the approval of the elders, it would be better for him to leave the band.

"But wasn't Matsueda all smiles during the previous performance?"

The girl bent down, snatched the mouse from the boy's hand, and clicked on the video on the page.

The stage lights flashed, and below was a crowd that rippled like a tide. The boy sitting behind the drum set moved with fluid grace, and the restless drumbeats resonated with the hearts of the audience.

"Look." The girl zoomed in on the image. The boy's expression was a little blurry, but you could still see the sparkle in his eyes and the upturned corners of his lips.

“That’s because you’re all in the audience, of course you’d be happy,” Jun Matsueda replied.

The girl clicked on another video, which was a scene in the practice room, showing only a boy playing the drums.

Jun Matsue looked at himself on the screen, completely absorbed and lost in the moment, as if he were in another world.

"Pine branches?" Natsumi Imokawa asked, her tone filled with doubt.

“Okay.” Jun Matsueda turned to look at the girl. “Imokawa, just like you are working hard to get into a film school, I am also working hard towards a goal right now.”

"So we have to put the band thing aside for now, and besides, a band isn't the only way to enjoy music."

In an instant, Jun Matsue suddenly remembered Yuka Tomatsu, the woman who gave up the brass band for him.

The weight of some things can only be truly understood after experiencing them firsthand.

"..." Natsumi Imokawa stared at the boy in front of her, "As long as Matsueda is happy."

"Songzhi didn't seem very happy the past few days, but thankfully you're happy again today."

"Thank you." The boy seemed relieved for some reason.

"As for what that goal is, I'll tell Imokawa if I have the chance."

"it is good."

The girl's approval seemed to tell him that he was right.

However, some people don't think so.

After school, Mochizuki Haruka hurriedly returned to the manor with her schoolbag and went into the woman's bedroom.

"Auntie." The girl's voice was filled with barely concealed anxiety.

"Matsueda went home with Yamami Maki yesterday!"

　The title of this chapter comes from Huang Qishan's song "Wrong Then, Right Now." It's a very nice song, I recommend everyone give it a listen.

(End of this chapter)