Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 676 Pre-departure Preparations
Two days later at the Setagaya Library, Tomatsu Yuka sat upright behind the counter and glanced at the time on her phone.

She looked up and touched the arm of the boy next to her.

"Chun-kun, it's time to go home."

Jun Matsue paused for a moment while writing with his head down before putting down his pen.

"You're off work already?" He stretched and picked up his water glass. "I haven't even done a few problems yet."

"I'm quite busy today." The girl's gaze swept over the square tables in the hall where readers were sitting, and there were noticeably more than before.

"The museum is currently holding its 30th anniversary event, and it's been very busy with visitors."

"Has Chun-jun not finished solving this problem yet?"

She leaned closer, bent down, and pressed a corner of the exercise book down, her long, straight black hair cascading onto the table like a soft waterfall.

"The calculation process is too complicated; I'm only halfway through," the boy said, pressing his temples.

"Then let's go home first." Tomatsu Yuka took off her librarian apron. "We can sit in the readers' seats for a while longer, and finish solving the problem before we leave."

Soon, a young man and woman carrying bags walked through the hall and sat down in a corner by the bookshelf.

"Does Jun-kun need my help?" Tomatsu Yuka moved her chair so that her hair could fall to the boy's shoulder.

"No need, it's just calculations." Jun Matsue opened his draft notebook, the white pages gleaming slightly in the sunlight streaming into the room.

So the girl rested her chin on her hand and watched him solve the problem, blinking her eyes.

There was hardly anyone around them, only the occasional footsteps passing by the bookshelves and the hoarse chirping of cicadas from the street not far from the window.

Jun Matsue didn't make any extra movements, nor did he respond to the girl's gaze. He simply kept moving the pen in his hand. Tomatsu Yuka had a faint smile on her face as she quietly and contentedly watched him, without the slightest sign of annoyance or impatience.

If she could, she would stay by her beloved's side forever, watching the seasons change.

Five minutes later, the boy put down his pen and gently exhaled.

"It's solved."

Tomatsu Yuka raised her hands and clapped silently, looking incredibly cute.

"Are you leaving?"

Jun Matsue put the pencil case and notebooks back into his bag. "Are you free after get off work, Yuka?"

"Hmm?" The girl blinked in surprise.

"Of course! Does Tsunkun want to go on a date with me?"

The boy smiled and said, "Isn't the Literature Museum celebrating its 30th anniversary? Let's take a look around inside."

"No problem~" She nodded happily, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and stood up.

After exiting the library, turn right at the three-way intersection in the corridor to enter the literature hall. A boy in a white shirt and a girl in a white dress walk together and silently hold hands.

Before entering the exhibition hall, Tomatsu Yuka first looked at the colorful sculptures in the corridor at the entrance.

"We have a larger mascot now!"

Jun Matsuoka walked up to the sculpture. It was a bird sitting on the ground, and it was hard to tell whether it was a pigeon or a dove. It was holding an open book in its hands, with a cup of coffee at its feet, and a round beret on its head with a stick-up ribbon that looked like a cowlick or the stem of a fruit.

"This is based on the logo of the Literature Museum." He looked at the large letters S and B on the book cover.

This isn't an insult; it's the abbreviation for Setagaya Blog Museum, "setabun." Of course, when guys first start working here, they inevitably feel a bit strange.

The girl stood next to a bird with an artistic air about it. "Is it because the logo has a coffee on it that there's coffee inside the literature museum?"

"You'd have to ask the curator."

"Hmm...it's still pretty cute~" She leaned against the sculpture and made a V sign. "Tsun-kun, can you take a picture of me?"

After taking a few poses, she returned to the boy's side and asked, "Aren't you going to take some pictures, Tsun-kun?"

"I'll pass." Jun Matsueda shook his head.

Although he was already used to it, he still didn't want to take a photo with the mascot holding the "SB" book.

So the girl took the boy's arm and continued walking inside, passing a large poster hanging overhead—"Shirow Masamune World Exhibition: The Creative Trajectory of 'Ghost in the Shell'".

"Has Chun-kun seen this?"

"I think I've seen a bit of this before." The boy looked at the figure curled up like a baby on the canvas in front of him. The woman's body was connected to mechanical circuits all over. She was holding a gun in her hand. What impressed people the most was her pair of heroic eyes.

When Mochizuki watched the Ghost in the Shell movies, he also watched a few clips.

"Is it good? What's it about?" Tomatsu Yuka asked at just the right moment.

She tilted her head slightly, faithfully playing the role of a naive and innocent girl who humbly listened to her boyfriend's explanation.

"How should I put it?" Jun Matsueda walked past the sketches. "It's about the relationship between humans and the body in a future where technology is highly advanced, the issues of artificial intelligence, and the essence of life—the so-called cyberpunk..."

"Actually, I don't really understand either."

The girl let out a light, gentle teasing laugh, without a trace of malice.

After leaving the "Shirow Masamune World Exhibition", the next stop was "Unno Juzo and Japanese SF Novels". Rather than looking at the exhibits, the young men and women seemed to be observing the exhibition hall, which was both familiar and unfamiliar, as well as many familiar faces among the visitors.

After walking around the literature museum, the two sat down to rest for a while in front of the coffee bar on the first floor.

His gaze passed over the girl in front of him who was taking small bites of mousse cake, and Matsueda Jun looked at the poster on the wall.

"We're almost at Bonsai."

Tomatsu Yuka licked the cream from the corner of her lips, turned her head to look at the poster pasted behind her, which was about the Shimokitazawa Bon Festival.

The Obon festival on the 15th of August is considered the grandest summer festival in Japan. The Gozan no Okuribi (Five Mountains Fireworks) in Kyoto and the Tanabata Festival in various regions are both considered part of the Obon festival.

The boy took out his phone and looked at it. "It's a nine-day weekend this year."

Although it's not a statutory holiday, most companies give employees time off due to the Obon festival's tradition of family reunion and ancestor worship. Combined with the "Mountain Day" holiday, it creates a long weekend.

"So the increasing number of visitors these days is partly due to the long weekend, right?" The girl cut off a small piece of cake. "Tokyo Station must be packed with people these days."

"But it has nothing to do with us." She picked up the cake with her fork and held it out to the boy with one hand.

"Tsun-kun, would you like to try a piece?"

Jun Matsue looked at the expectant girl.

Tomatsu Yuka is wearing a white dress today, with a black ribbon bow at the neckline. The fabric above the chest is a thin and breathable gauze, and the sleeves have lace-trimmed cutouts that reveal her fair and delicate arms.

A pure white dress and long, silky black hair—the simplest colors accentuate her unadorned beauty—especially when the girl sits before you, her honey-brown eyes gazing at you with all her heart; that pure, unadulterated love is always intoxicating.

In the future that the senior student dreamed of, Tomatsu Yuka did not give up even after being dumped. At a university party, she appeared late in front of the surprised Matsueda Jun. After the drinks were exchanged, the boy who did not intend to drink unexpectedly got drunk.

What followed was a fait accompli, and then, in order to find him who had left Tokyo, she recklessly abandoned her studies...

Jun Matsue snapped out of his daze and put the cake the girl had given him into his mouth.

"It tastes good." Only Tomatsu Tomoka, no matter what she did in the simulation, the boy was never surprised.

Stepping out of the Setagaya Literature Museum, the afternoon sun at five o'clock was still bright and dazzling. Jun Matsueda opened his umbrella, and the girl tacitly ducked in. The two walked quickly toward the station not far away.

As the station came into view ahead of the intersection, Tomatsu Yuka suddenly remembered something and turned to look back at the literature museum behind her.

How long have we been working here?

Jun Matsue looked at the eaves of the umbrella above his head and recalled, "A little over a year and a half."

"In that case, we rarely venture out to explore other areas like we have today."

"Hmm..." The boy stopped by the roadside. "I guess it's because of work?"

"Going to work isn't exactly a happy thing. Working here every day makes you lose interest in getting to know this place."

"Is it the same principle as when they say don't turn your hobby into your job?"

The girl nodded in agreement. "That's kind of like saying marriage, isn't it? Like, marriage is the grave of love or something."

Jun Matsue didn't answer. As the two put away their umbrellas and stepped onto the station steps, he looked at the entrance and said...

"Yuka, do you like this kind of relationship?"

"..." Tomatsu Yuka turned to look at him.

She neither said she liked it nor disliked it; she simply smiled naturally.

"It would be even better if I could spend all day with Tsun-kun."

"What if things continue like this?" the boy continued.

He wasn't referring to the time they spent together like this, but rather to the time he would have to face other girls after they parted ways at Hamadayama Station.

Tomatsu Yuka stopped as she walked past the station entrance, the smile on her lips gradually fading. Matsueda Jun turned to look at her.

A few noises came from the passengers walking out behind them, but the teen drama couldn't stop them from going home. After a surprised glance, the group of people walked around a few steps and continued on their way, discussing the promotional window for the Qixi Festival in the station passage.

This is the real Tomatsu Tomoka. Matsueda Jun looked at the expressionless girl in front of him—in the past, when she was in front of him, Tomatsu would always hide her turbid and unhappy emotions and give him her cleanest and brightest self.

"...Does Jun-kun really want things to continue like this?"

Tomatsu Yuka blinked, her tone losing some of its sweetness, leaving only its original gentleness.

“I don’t know either.” Jun Matsue recalled the future his senior had described, “But right now, this is still the one I most want to choose.”

"Then why did Chun-jun ask this today?"

The boy looked into the girl's eyes and said, "I just want to know what you're really thinking."

If neither Mochizuki nor Tomatsu offers any room for maneuver, he may truly have no choice but to make a single decision to avoid a potential future tragedy.

"..." Tomatsu Yuka curled her lips again and smiled gently.

She took the boy's hand and led him to a corner.

“Tsun-kun knows exactly what kind of person I am—I’m willing to say as many insincere words as I want, as long as I can get what I want.”

“I know.” Jun Matsue nodded without surprise, continuing to wait for her real answer.

"..." The girl sighed helplessly, "Even knowing everything about me, he is still willing to trust me. Perhaps only Jun-kun in the world would do that."

Tomatsu Yuka looked up at the strip lights on the ceiling of the corridor.

"I will never oppose any of your ideas. I will just smile and agree with you, while secretly trying my best to occupy the largest area in your heart."

“Once I become more and more important to Chunjun, I will naturally be able to drive away those unimportant people.”

She winked playfully at the boy, "This is Tomatsu Yuka, the cunning and ruthless one~"

Accepting reality and taking things one step at a time—that's the approach the girl chose.

To be with Jun Matsueda, Tomoka Tomatsu could temporarily compromise, but if she could climb to the position of the victor, she would definitely kick all her rivals out without hesitation.

"..." Jun Matsue nodded helplessly.

Tomatsu revealed both his outward support and his inner opposition, a rather unsophisticated approach, of course, to reciprocate his trust.

"Let's go home." He turned around and led the girl into the passage.

"Did Jun-kun and Mochizuki have a fight?" Tomatsu Yuka asked in his ear.

"That kind of willful guy would never be as understanding as I am~"

Matsueda Jun avoided the girl's hot, wet breath and the softness against his arm. "Nothing of the sort."

It's just that we might argue in the future...

"She definitely doesn't understand love! All she does is cling to you and want to kiss and hug you—this kind of love is probably a grave once it enters marriage..." Tomatsu Yuka kept whispering in his ear until the two got into the car.

Fifteen minutes later, the girl stepped out of the train car, turned around and waved on the platform, her pure white dress fluttering in the hot wind.

"See you tomorrow, Jun-kun~"

Jun Matsueda waved to the envious passengers opposite him, and the girl smiled at him through the train window until the train started moving and the swaying hem of her skirt disappeared behind the closed railing.

The boy sighed softly and took out his phone to send a message to Aya Miyamura.

"We might have to temporarily move to a different place with Aya-chan in a few days. Would you be willing?"

"What?" The girl was extremely surprised by the message. "Why do you suddenly want to switch rooms with me?"

"Because it won't be suitable for me to stay in the apartment anymore at that time."

"What do you mean? Are you going to argue with Yang Shi-jie or Yao-jie?"

Don't make wild guesses.

Jun Matsue looked out the car window at the buildings rushing past, where the heat of the sun was gradually disappearing, as if the city was desperately trying to escape the sun.

The phone in my pocket vibrated again after a while.

"Since you knew you would argue, why didn't you communicate properly beforehand?"

The boy thought to himself, "Because this is a problem that can't be communicated."

Only by verifying or disproving what his senior said about the future can he know what he should do.

Not receiving a reply, Caijiang sent another message.

"Okay, then Chun-ge, remember to pack your things properly."

"Even if you're going to run away from home, you have to be prepared."

　The title of this chapter comes from the song "Preparation Before the Trip" by the band Fishsticks.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)