Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 496 The Platform of Memories

Tomatsu Yuka looked at the camera in her hand and nodded in satisfaction.

"Imokawa-kun's photography skills are indeed very good."

The screen showed a scene of a boy and a girl kissing in front of a cherry blossom tree. The angle, lighting, and composition were all perfect, and the way they kissed looked completely natural in the sunlight.

"Thank you." Standing next to the girl, Natsumi Imokawa looked down to the side, feeling a little uncomfortable with Tomatsu's praise.

"Would you like to take any more photos?" Jun Matsueda asked as he approached the girls.

"Is that enough?" Tomatsu Yuka leaned closer to the boy. "With a final photo to seal the deal, we don't need much more embellishment."

Then Matsueda Jun looked at the other girl, "Did Imokawa also come to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden this afternoon?"

Natsumi Imokawa shook her head. "We arrived this morning. My mother likes to come here for picnics during cherry blossom season."

Is Mr. Imokawa here too?

"Hmm." The girl sensed something was wrong. "Is Songzhi going to see her father?"

The boy nodded. "I've met him a few times during the summer vacation. If it's convenient, it would be polite to say hello."

"..." Of course, Natsumi Imokawa wouldn't mind letting Jun Matsueda meet her father, but Yuka Tomatsu certainly wouldn't just stand there dumbfounded waiting for them.

In the girl's heart, Tomatsu-kun wasn't exactly a close friend, so the idea of ​​her going with Matsue to meet her parents seemed rather strange.
"Well, let's forget about it." The girl reluctantly refused Matsueda Jun's offer. "They'll definitely keep bothering you to chat, which will take up too much of your and Tomatsu's time."

Jun Matsue didn't seem to care much about it. "Then please give them my regards."

"Okay!" Natsumi Imokawa breathed a sigh of relief. "See you next time."

Tomatsu Yuka didn't join in the conversation until the girl turned to leave with her camera, at which point she waved to her.

"Goodbye, Imokawa-kun~"

"Since you're not planning to take any more photos, shall we go back?" Jun Matsue looked at the girl beside him.

"Hmm! Let's wander around a bit more and then head back."

At 3:30 p.m., the two boarded the train back home. Tomatsu Yuka sat at the very edge of the carriage, gently leaning against the boy next to her, and began editing a dating tweet she was going to post on her account.

"Ah, Imokawa-kun sent the photos."

Jun Matsueda turned his head; the girl's phone displayed a photo of the two kissing, plunging him into vivid memories of what had happened not long ago.

"Hmm," Tomatsu Yuka tapped her fingers on the screen, swiping out a series of selected photos.

"That's all for now. Let's have Songzhi review it first."

The girl handed her phone to the boy, leaning her upper body closer to him. Her long, black hair fell over his shoulders and neck, bathed in the warm glow of the sunlight.

Jun Matsueda looked at the photos, starting from the entrance of Ueno Park, where girls had taken candid shots of the two resting on the grass, and ending with their kiss in front of the cherry blossom tree. The ambiguous atmosphere gradually developed, the most standard kind of heart-fluttering feeling of adolescence.

"That's pretty good, let's just post it like this."

"Okay~" Tomatsu Yuka took the phone, pressed the send button, and the pop-up screen quickly refreshed with messages of likes.

"Now that we're on holiday, everyone's been checking social media a lot more frequently!"

The girl smiled, gathering her black hair behind her, causing the sunlight streaming through the car window behind them to flicker. "Do you think my senior will see?"

“I don’t have an answer.” Jun Matsue looked at the warm yellow sunlight in the carriage. “I don’t even know what she’s been doing lately.”

"That's true." Although she put her phone away, Tomatsu Yuka still held onto the boy's arm. "It's been a long time since you've posted anything on social media."

"But I've seen her in other people's posts. She must be on a graduation trip with her classmates. School starts in early April, so she should be back soon."

"A graduation trip?"

Jun Matsue blinked, and upon hearing the news about Maki Yami, he was calmer than he had expected.

The sunlight swept past them quickly, and ten minutes later, the two arrived at Meidai-mae Station, standing on the platform waiting for the Inokashira Line tram to transfer to.

The girl next to her seemed to be replying to friends who saw the post and wanted to chat with her. Jun Matsueda looked up at the advertisements for girls' bars and live houses on the building outside the opposite platform.

Among the many buildings blocked by the towering structure in front of us is "Denny's Studio," where the band used to practice frequently. However, that practice room, which belonged exclusively to Maki Yami, is now probably empty and has been deserted for a long time.

He turned around again, and on the other side of the platform, outside the wall, were a restaurant street and convenience stores.

The movie "Love Like a Bouquet" that I watched with my senior back then, the male and female protagonists met because they missed the last train to Mingda Station, and the two walked together past a FamilyMart convenience store near the station.

European curry, Italian pizza, barbecue after a first performance, and izakayas for celebratory banquets are all gathered in this small neighborhood.

"My senior gave me a thumbs up!" Tomatsu Yuka interrupted his reminiscence.

Jun Matsuoka turned around and looked down at her phone.

The comments under the recently posted dating update were full of cheers and blessings, making Yamami Maki's silent like seem so inconspicuous in comparison.

"None of the relationship updates I posted before were liked by my senior." The girl looked up at the boy in surprise.

“A masochist,” Jun Matsue uttered.

Tomatsu Yuka smiled, put away her phone, and looked around. "There must be many memories of Tsunku around here, right? These days, I hardly ever stop here except to change trains."

The boy nodded.

"There must be many more places like this, right?" the girl continued. "How about you take me to those places where I made memories with my senior during spring break?"

"I'll record all these experiences and post them on my social media. It's both revenge on my senior and a cure for you—I'll help you erase all those sad memories, okay?"

Jun Matsue's face showed an ambiguous expression. "My memory is better than you think. No matter how hard I try to cover it up, I will still remember it."

“That’s okay!” Tomatsu Yuka walked away from the boy and stood in front of him. “Just like Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden—Tsunku used to only remember that we went there together, but now he also thinks about how he almost kissed me there, doesn’t he?”

"That way, at least when I'm reminded of her, my mind won't be solely occupied by her."

The Inokashira Line trams approached from afar, their distorted wind whistling into people's ears.

“An impeccable reason.” Jun Matsuoka nodded.

When spring break ends, it'll be time to say goodbye to my senior for good.

(End of this chapter)