Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 557 Comfort
The next morning, Jun Matsue, who had just woken up, walked out of his bedroom and put on his school uniform shirt as he headed towards the entrance.

He now has a habit of unlocking the security door first thing after getting up, so that he won't be blocked from coming over.

However, just as the boy passed the empty dining table in the living room, he heard the sound of a key turning outside the security door.

Jun Matsue blinked in surprise as he watched the girl push open the door and walk into the room, bathed in sunlight.

"...Why did Mochizuki get up so early today?"

Mochizuki Haruka was still wearing a spaghetti strap nightgown, revealing the dazzling skin of her shoulders and arms—judging from her disheveled, sticking-up hair and the wrinkles in her nightgown, she must have just woken up.

However, the girl's expression was quite energetic. She twirled the key on her finger and said, "I want to try the feeling of opening your door myself, which I haven't done in a long time."

This is a right she lost and then regained.

The boy then realized that he no longer needed to open the door for Mochizuki, and he yawned.

What would you like to eat for breakfast?

"Anything is fine, I need to go back and wash up."

Despite saying this, the girl at the door did not turn around and leave, but stared straight at him.

Matsueda Jun looked down and realized that his shirt was only half-buttoned, revealing the firm muscle lines between his chest and waist, and that even his morning menstrual period had not completely subsided.

The boy calmly and quickly buttoned up his shirt, watching his school uniform trousers return to their flat state. When he looked up again, the girl in the entryway stuck out her small, bright red tongue, turned around, and disappeared through the doorway.

After spending a few minutes washing up, I had breakfast with Mochizuki Haruka, who had returned to the living room. Then I rode my bicycle to school. When Matsueda Jun walked through the back door of the classroom, Tomatsu Yuka was still sitting in her seat as always.

The boy paused, and after he put his bag down on his seat, the girl to his right looked up and smiled at him.

Good morning, Jun-kun.

"Good morning." Jun Matsue looked at her smile.

The boy felt as if he had witnessed a vibrant flower experience a sudden downpour, leaving the girl's temperament somewhat incomplete.

Just like the illusion he once had, even now that an earthquake has struck, walls have collapsed, and classrooms are stained with blood, she can still sit quietly in her chair and look at him with a smile.

Tomatsu Tomoka used to exude a dangerous yet unpredictable charm. Her innocent smile was like a beautiful poison proclaiming its harmlessness. Only Matsueda Jun knew that she was simply hiding her true intentions.

But now, the girl has lost that composure, that strength that allows her to smile.

Jun Matsuoka had hoped that she was truly pure inside and out, but the vulnerability that could not be hidden in her smile at this moment made him feel pity.

So the boy asked one more question.

"How did you sleep last night?"

The girl blinked, slightly surprised. "...Not good, not bad."

"I went to bed a little late and woke up a little early, but thankfully I didn't have any weird dreams, so I felt pretty at ease."

Jun Matsue nodded. "Then you can rest a little longer at noon."

Tomatsu didn't send any messages until bedtime last night, so he took the initiative to call her. The girl seemed to still be chatting with her mother, just saying that everything was fine and there was no need to worry.

Doesn't saying that make things even more worrying...? Matsueda Jun sighed inwardly.

Perhaps because there wasn't much time left before class, the two didn't talk much. It wasn't until after the fourth period at noon that Tomatsu Yuka turned around amidst the bustling noise.

"Would you like to have lunch with me today, Jun-kun?"

"..." The boy turned around and looked at the girl sitting by the window.

Mochizuki Haruka was lying on the table, her chin resting on a cushion, looking out the window, only allowing him to see the full back of her head and her fair neck.

"Wait for me," Jun Matsue said to the girl in front of him, then walked towards the window.

"Aren't you going to the cafeteria for lunch today either?" he asked, squatting down next to Mochizuki Haruka.

"I'm not going." The girl turned to look at him. "I got up too early this morning, I need to catch up on my sleep."

"I want to eat takoyaki, freshly made and piping hot," she said, pursing her lips.

"Okay," the boy agreed. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Also, bring a carton of soy milk."

Matsueda Jun was about to get up, but Mochizuki Haruka grabbed his sleeve.

"I can't be fooled by just bringing you a meal." The girl placed her right hand in front of him, extending only her little finger.

"This is my original patience."

She bent her little finger, only letting the boy see a short section of it.

"There's only this much left now."

Jun Matsue smiled helplessly, "Is there any way to make up for it?"

The girl leaned close to his ear and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"Hurry up and break up with her."

In the bustling cafeteria, Tomatsu Yuka looked at the boy sitting opposite her.

"I didn't prepare a bento box today, so I had to come to the cafeteria with Jun-kun."

“I never intended to eat a bento box.” Jun Matsueda picked up a golden pork cutlet from his bowl. “How could you possibly be in the mood to prepare a bento box?”

The girl's usual smile was faint and gentle. "It seems like Mochizuki-san is angry?"

The boy didn't say anything, but took a bite of the pork chop, chewed it, and shook his head.

"I'm sorry to have troubled Tsun-kun, but I'm actually a little happier." Tomatsu Tomoka gently took a bite of half a thick omelet.

"At least that shows that I still hold a place in your heart that I can compete with Mochizuki Haruka, doesn't it?"

Jun Matsue swallowed the food in his mouth. "I thought you were in a bad mood, but I didn't expect you to care about this."

The girl scooped up a small spoonful of tea-soaked rice and put it in her mouth—she usually didn't eat much, and today there were only a few small clumps of rice in her bowl.

"Well, how should I put it?" Her eyes were somewhat unfocused, and it was unclear where she was looking.

"I talked a lot with my mom last night, and I'm feeling a bit conflicted right now."

Jun Matsue put down his chopsticks and drank a bowl of miso soup.

He ate quickly, partly because he wanted to buy hot takoyaki for Mochizuki Haruka, and partly so he could concentrate on listening to the girl in front of him.

"Mom said something similar to Dad, and she admitted it very readily."

"She said the reason she lied to me was because she and her father thought about it and realized that I might not be able to accept the fact that their relationship had cooled down, so they came up with this excuse."

Is falling in love with someone else really easier to accept than the end of a relationship...? Jun Matsueda felt that Ms. Tomatsu was being somewhat insincere. "I asked her a lot about her past."

"She and her father got together because they were well-matched in terms of social status. They didn't dislike each other, so they got married."

"Actually, they didn't want children at first, but as time went on, their thoughts changed, and that's how I came to be."

"So my parents didn't have a very pure love for each other; it was just that time made them used to each other."

Tomatsu Yuka stopped eating as she was talking. Matsueda Jun gently tapped her bowl with his chopsticks, but she didn't react. It wasn't until he picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful of ochazuke (rice with tea) and brought it to her lips that the girl obediently opened her mouth.

“It’s sad as it is, but you still have to eat.” The boy said seriously, “If you don’t eat, you’ll become sadder and sadder.”

The girl smiled softly, swallowed the food in her mouth, and continued speaking.

"Their relationship was sustained by a stable period of time, so it's normal that their feelings for each other have faded now due to the debts that followed and the long separation."

"But when I hear my mother talk about these things, I still feel a sense of disillusionment..." Her eyes blurred, and tears welled up in her drooping eyebrows.

"I always thought my parents were a very loving couple..."

Jun Matsue scooped up another spoonful of ochazuke and fed it to Tomoka Tomatsu. The girl chewed it unconsciously, her cheeks puffing out cutely, and some of the disappointment in her eyes dissipated in the salty and savory tea soup.

"True love is actually quite rare," the boy comforted him. "Just look at the people around you."

"Choosing to date is like agonizing over what to eat for lunch in the cafeteria."

He picked up the last small piece of pork chop from his bowl. "It looks pretty good. I suddenly wanted to eat this today because it's cheaper or more convenient..."

"Their reasons are essentially no different from those of adults."

“That makes sense…” Tomatsu Yuka lowered her eyes.

After finishing the last few bites of their lunch, Jun Matsueda returned to the cafeteria window and watched as the freshly baked takoyaki were packed into a cardboard box. He then bought a bag of soy milk from the vending machine and walked out of the cafeteria with the girl.

“But your parents definitely mean something different to you.” The boy looked at the cherry blossoms on both sides of the road.

Unlike delicate and fragile flowers, cherry tree leaves are broad and rounded, with distinct and strong pale green to white veins.

“We often think that parents can only see their immature side, but when children look at their parents, they can often only see their beautiful and strong side. The so-called disillusionment may just be that you have finally discovered their whole picture and seen reality.”

“…Tsun-kun is more mature than I imagined.” Tomatsu Yuka took the boy’s hand affectionately. “I only understood this after talking to my mother last night.”

"Because she had no intention of remarrying, we started talking about our future plans."

“My mother doesn’t plan to date anyone for the time being. She even apologized to me, which was a bit of a surprise to me.”

"What are you apologizing for?" Jun Matsuoka led the girl out of the shadows under the tree and chose a small path to head towards the teaching building.

“My mother said she was too focused on her career and often neglected my feelings. She knew that this was not good, so she apologized to me.”

"She said that if I have any complaints or anything I want her to change, I can just tell her directly, and she will try her best to correct it."

"Hearing my mother say that touched me a little, which is probably why I slept relatively well last night." She tightened her grip on the boy's hand.

“After all, she does love you.” Jun Matsueda smiled.

The two walked up the stairs of the teaching building. When they passed the third floor, the boy went out of his way to buy two ice creams and handed the melon-flavored one to the girl.

"Eating something sweet can make me feel better."

"At this rate, Tsunku will fatten me up," Tomatsu Yuka said with some distress.

As they reached out and tore off the wrapper from the ice cream cone, their clasped hands naturally separated. Back in the slightly chilly fourth-floor corridor, Jun Matsue went into the classroom first.

Mochizuki Haruka was still lying on her desk. The half-open window blew the curtains, and the white, semi-transparent gauze brushed against the girl's black hair, casting a hazy light over her body.

Jun Matsue walked over to the girl with the bag and gently nudged her.

"Lunch is ready?"

The girl shook her head. She didn't look up, but patted the boy's clothes with her hand on the table, signaling him to stop bothering her.

“This guy…” Jun Matsue stuffed the takoyaki and soy milk into her drawer.

They said they wanted it piping hot, but it turns out they were just venting their anger and making things difficult for him.

He returned to his seat, and Tomatsu Yuka, who was sitting next to him, silently cast his gaze over, clearly indicating that she hadn't finished speaking.

So the two left the classroom and went to the terrace at the end of the corridor.

Today the sky is high and the clouds are wide, and the temperature is pleasant. There are many first-year and second-year students strolling in the open space downstairs, looking carefree.

"Actually, you don't need to care too much about your parents' affairs."

Jun Matsue looked at the girl beside him, bathed in sunlight. Her shimmering black hair fluttered in the wind, possessing a beauty that was both dreamlike and illusory.

“Because your life hasn’t changed, has it?” he said softly, and Tomatsu Yuka looked up.

“You lived with your mother before, and you still do now.”

"And now you can see your father, everything is changing for the better, isn't it?"

"Just live like before. Given your parents' situation, if they really remarry, will it be as harmonious and warm as you imagine?"

"If they start arguing, whose side will you take?"

"Will those warm childhood memories shatter under the harsh realities of life?"

The girl lowered her head and smoothed the hair behind her ear. "...I really hadn't thought about these issues."

"You think that if Father comes back, everything will be the best, right?"

Tomatsu Tomohana nodded slightly. "It seems a bit impractical."

“Hmm.” Jun Matsueda leaned against the railing, their arms touching. “So all you need to do is let go of your fantasies and face reality.”

The girl smiled, looking troubled. "I can understand the principle, but putting it into practice seems a bit difficult."

The boy looked at the sparrow hopping on the grass and said, "Let's take it slow."

Although Mochizuki Haruka was still urging him to resolve the issue as soon as possible, gentleness and patience were the only way to deal with Tomatsu Yuka in her current state.

"Hmm." Tomatsu Yuka looked at the boys and girls sitting on the lawn sunbathing. They were so immersed in happiness that they didn't notice their seniors standing on the terrace.

She pressed her cheek against Jun Matsueda's arm and rubbed it against him reassuringly.

"At least one thing I'm very clear about."

"My love is definitely different from my parents'."

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(End of this chapter)