Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 637 Strange
"Why the sudden decision to go sing karaoke?"

Although he had already followed the girl into the stairwell, Jun Matsueda still belatedly asked a question, just to go through the motions.

"Why are there so many whys?" Kurusu Yosei said, walking down the stairs below him without turning around.

"Just like wanting to play video games or eat desserts, do you need a reason to want to sing?"

“…Okay.” The boy nodded. It was quite unexpected that Kurusu had suddenly changed his clothes and said he was going out.

Upon reaching the first floor and pushing open the unit door, the bright sunlight fell on the tips of their shoes, and the intense heat made them hesitate to proceed.

"So, where does Kurusu plan to sing?" Jun Matsueda asked, looking at the girl beside him.

Yosei Kurusu stood in the shadows, wearing a dark denim overalls skirt and a simple white short-sleeved shirt. The light illuminated her bright face, making her look as approachable and lovely as a childhood sweetheart next door.

"Let me see." She took out her phone. "The nearest karaoke bar is..."

"It's near Haneoka High School," the boy answered directly. "I've been there a few times; the environment is pretty good."

"Oh?" The girl looked up. "Who did you go with?"

"..." Jun Matsue looked at the bicycle shed across the street, where it seemed that an Akita Inu was hiding underneath with its tongue lolling out.

He decided it was better to be as honest as possible, "I went with my classmates and also went alone with Tomatsu."

"I don't want to go to your school!" Kurusu Yosei glared at him and turned her face to the other side, which was in the direction of Mitaka City.

"Let's go to the city center today!"

She walked into the sunlight, took out a parasol from her handbag, and tucked it into the boy's arms. Her raised arm gleamed with a delicate, luminous light.

"Pine branch, come and hold the umbrella for me!"

The boy walked up to her on his own initiative, and the umbrella he opened made a clean, loud "whoosh" sound, covering the two of them.

Yosei Kurusu came closer, his long pink hair swaying on his shoulders with each step, looking exceptionally dreamy.

Matsueda Jun gripped the umbrella handle tightly. "So, should we take a taxi or the bus?"

"Take the bus, taxis are too expensive."

"Don't you have money now?"

"You can't waste money like this! I'm thinking of going to Hokkaido and Izu, and I also want to buy a house in Tokyo!"

The two walked towards the bus stop outside the alley. The boy's soft laughter drifted out from under the umbrella and quickly dissipated into the buzzing of cicadas.

The air conditioning on the bus heading to the city was very strong. Sitting in the back, Jun Matsueda glanced at the girl next to him who was wearing a mask. Yosuke Kurusu rested his chin on his hand on the window sill, watching the swaying scenery on the road.

The girl seemed oblivious to his gaze as he took out his phone from his pocket and texted his manager.

The reason why Kurusu's situation changed was probably due to the storm of rumors online. In addition to learning about the situation from the girl, Matsueda Jun felt that he needed to have another source of information.

"Are you free right now, Miss Agent?"

"Yes, I am," the woman replied quickly. "What can I do for you, Matsueda-kun?"

"I'd like to know about the current situation in Kurusu. Is it convenient for me?"

"Where are you now?"

"On the bus, she said she wanted to go to karaoke."

"It's better to take a taxi if possible," the woman suggested. "The company is preparing to sue the opposing team. Once the legal proceedings begin, the media will be much more restrained."

The boy glanced at the girl's profile again and continued replying on his phone.

"The legal process will probably take a long time. When will Kurusu be able to resume activities?"

The message quickly showed as read, but this time there was no prompt reply. Jun Matsue scrolled through the chat window to confirm that his network was working properly.

Even the agent couldn't be sure when the storm would pass... The boy had a bad feeling.

Why is Songzhi frowning?

The girl waved her small hand in front of his eyes, and before she could get closer, Jun Matsueda closed the chat window.

"Report the situation to your guardian."

"Isn't Matsueda my guardian?" Kurusu Yosei asked, tilting her head. "I have to take you with me everywhere I go now~"

“That might not be your guardian, just your lackey.” He put his phone back in his pocket and looked into the bright, intelligent eyes in front of him. “After all, you don’t seem to have listened to me before.”

Yosei Kurusu lowered her eyelids, stuck out her tongue, and made a face at the boy.

"You're my fan, so you should be following me."

Entering the karaoke bar in the city center, the furnishings were no different from those near Haneoka High School. Jun Matsueda stood at the front desk to check in, while the girl walked briskly to the beverage machine and took out two paper cups.

"How long do you plan to sing?" the boy asked, looking at the price list presented by the shop assistant.

"Hmm..." Kurusu Yosei raised his head while holding up his cup, "Let's sing for three hours first!"

"Three hours?" Jun Matsueda turned around in surprise. "You can sing for that long?"

"Is three hours a long time?" The girl puffed out her chest. "When I performed before... I sang for at least two hours when I was singing alone. If you include Songzhi, three hours is normal!"

"Let's start with two hours, and add more if that's not enough."

"Oh." She swirled the glass in her hand. "What would you like to drink, Pine Branch?"

The boy took the receipt from the clerk. "What did you drink?"

Orange juice~

"Then I'll have orange juice too."

"OK~"

As the young boy and girl walked into the aisle with their drinks, the saleswoman, who was almost thirty and standing behind the counter, lost her smile.

“That despicable young couple…” she said with resentment.

After entering the private room, turning on the lights and closing the door, and checking every nook and cranny to make sure there were no security cameras, Jun Matsue nodded.

"No problem."

"I can't wait any longer." Yosei Kurusu immediately took off his mask and hat and turned on the display screen on the wall.

"It's been so long since I sang!"

Watching the girl pick up the karaoke machine and rapidly tap the touchscreen, Jun Matsue smiled and locked the door to the private room, so that Anzu Kurusu could sing to her heart's content.

"Didn't you sing at the company or the artist's apartment?"

Yosei Kurusu put down the equipment and picked up the microphone. "That was practice, it's different!"

She walked to the large screen, and the boy knowingly pressed the button on the wall. The light ball on the ceiling started to rotate, casting colorful spots of light on the girl.

As if she were in the center of a stage, the girl closed her eyes.

Relax your shoulders, straighten your waist, keep your head upright, keep your legs together, and slightly separate your feet.

She opened her eyes, her right hand holding the microphone naturally extended, and her left hand rose, reaching out to the boy sitting in front of her.

Yosei Kurusu leaned down towards Jun Matsueda, her eyes shining on the boy, and she smiled radiantly.

"What I want is a performance with an audience!"

Jun Matsue blinked. The girl who had become increasingly lazy and sedentary in her apartment now seemed to overlap with the radiant idol from the video.

Yosuke Kurusu sang for half an hour straight, dancing and singing as she completely turned the karaoke room into her own stage.

When she put down the microphone and plopped back down on the sofa, Jun Matsue brought her a glass of orange juice that had been placed to the side.

"I haven't sung enough yet~" The girl's eyes sparkled.

She only sat down temporarily because all the songs she initially requested had already been sung.

"Let's take a break." The boy pushed the paper cup in his hand to the girl's lips, and Kurusu Yosei reluctantly took it and took two small sips. "Where's the karaoke machine?" She looked around; to make room for herself, the boy had moved the coffee table to a corner.

"Here it is." Jun Matsueda picked up the tablet from the sofa. "Why haven't I seen you sing your own songs?"

"I've sung my own songs so many times already, so of course I need to change things up during my break~"

The girl gave a seductive wink, "But if Songzhi wants to hear it, I can still sing it for you."

"..." Jun Matsue shifted his position to create some distance between himself and her. He picked up another glass of juice from the coffee table and pretended to take a sip.

"As you like."

Yosei Kurusu immediately abandoned her performance posture, slammed the tablet on her lap, lowered her lips, and looked at the boy with a stern face.

"That's not what you used to say to me..." the girl gazed at him intently.

“I want to hear it,” Jun Matsue immediately changed his mind.

Do you really want to hear it?

"I really want to hear it." The boy nodded vigorously.

"Then what were you hesitating about just now?" Kurusu Yosei asked persistently.

What are you hesitating about?

The taste of orange juice on his tongue gradually faded, leaving only a false sweetness. The drinks at this shop weren't very good—as if they were trying to distract him, the boy thought.

Expressing too much affection for the girl, in any sense, would only cause the two of them to become more deeply involved, and that was his concern.

"It's still uncertain when Yang Shi will resume her activities, but she shouldn't be kept silent for too long."

The agent later responded as follows.

The unexpected holiday will end, and I still have to deal with Mochizuki and Tomatsu's issues. The renewed closeness and overlapping lives are just a sweet illusion—like that romantic and gorgeous pink hair, the dreamlike color will eventually fade.

"...Tch." Kurusu Yosei made a somewhat dissatisfied sound. "Stop thinking about it and just listen to me sing seriously from now on."

The girl's every smile and gesture dominated the atmosphere in the small room, and the brief moment of tension dissipated in the cheerful prelude. Jun Matsue watched as she picked up the microphone again and opened her pink lips.

But the next second, the melody in the room disappeared again. Kurusu Yosei pressed the pause button and gently patted his cheek.

"I forgot to warm up my voice!"

The boy watched her turn off the microphone and puckered his lips.

"Doo- ...

The girl's lips trembled up and down as if she were blowing air, and Matsueda Jun was stunned.

"What is this doing?"

“Speak up.” Kurusu Yosei stopped pouting and turned to look at him.

"Haven't you seen Aya-chan do that before?"

"No." The boy opened his mouth and made a dry, bubbly sound. "She's usually like that."

"I'm from the Dadu Party, you know." The girl said, then closed her lips and hummed a tune of "Say So" with trembling lips.

"Practicing like this regularly can make your voice sound better, right?"

"..." Matsueda Jun imitated it with some doubt, only managing to produce a comical sound like a child playing a prank.

"How strange!" Kurusu Yosei laughed. "Don't pine branches make a tinkling sound?"

"It seems like I really don't know how." The boy recalled that he had never done such a silly thing since he was a child.

"Then I'll teach you!" The girl came over with great interest.

After following Yosei Kurusu's instructions for a few minutes, Jun Matsueda did not produce the correct lip trill. He simply admired the girl's delicate lips that were constantly trembling and her innocent laughter.

At least it made Kurusu happy... The boy pursed his slightly numb lips and took another sip of orange juice.

"Shall we continue singing?" The girl picked up the tablet, ready to press the play button.

However, the intro was interrupted by background noise halfway through because an untimely ringtone sounded in the room.

Yosei Kurusu turned his head and watched Jun Matsueda take his phone out of his pocket, then stood up without hesitation.

"I'll take a call first."

"It's ready to be picked up in the room." The girl paused the music and called out to the boy.

"..." Matsueda Jun glanced at her, then sat down on the sofa, slightly increasing the distance between them.

"Hey, Mochizuki?"

The boy's first words ruined Yosei Kurusu's mood. She looked up and stared at the colorful light ball that was constantly rotating on the ceiling.

"Yes, I'm not home right now."

"Where are we?" Jun Matsue looked at the girl beside him. "Kurusu wants to sing. We're at a karaoke bar in the city right now."

"You want to come over?"

"...Let me ask first, and I'll get back to you later."

The boy had just put down his phone when Yosei Kurusu's voice immediately rang in his ears.

"I do not want!"

"I don't want her to come over."

The girl's voice was still pleasant, but it no longer sounded lively and cheerful; instead, it carried a clear sense of hostility and resistance.

"Okay, I'll talk to her about it."

Although he said that, Jun Matsue did not immediately pick up his phone. He still needed to think about how to refuse Mochizuki without making her upset.

How best to explain this... The boy stared at the screen hanging on the wall for a while before realizing that the music had not started again.

"What's wrong?" He turned his head, but Kurusu Yosei was still staring at him.

As if something was blocking her way, the girl's voice became harsh.

Why are you still thinking about Mochizuki Haruka?

"Why don't you just tell her you don't want her to come?"

Jun Matsue nodded. "That's what I'm planning to do, I'm just thinking about how to phrase it appropriately."

However, Kurusu Yosei was not satisfied with this answer, and the smile had long since vanished from her face.

"...Matsue, did you and Tomatsu do it?" she asked a strange question.

The colored lights overhead continued to spin, but the boy felt the atmosphere in the room was beginning to turn completely in a bad direction.

"Why do you ask this suddenly?"

The girl didn't answer. She turned around and looked down at the shimmering image of herself on the screen in front of her.

"...No, I never did it with her."

Upon hearing the boy's answer, Yosuke Kurusu's expression remained unchanged.

As if she had expected it, she asked another question.

"Is Mochizuki Haruka really that special to you?"

Jun Matsue could no longer answer this question decisively. He wasn't even thinking about how to answer it; instead, he was looking at the girl in front of him with surprise and caution.

Unlike the idol on stage or the roommate with a friendly demeanor, Yosei Kurusu is showing a side of herself that the boys have never seen before.

Her vulnerability was completely exposed.

(End of this chapter)