Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 680 The Girl's Rebellion

The rain was falling softly in Shibuya, and the coffee on the table was just beginning to warm up when the boy and girl sitting by the window fell silent again.

Yamami Maki looked at the boy who had his head down, and even after the waiter walked past the two of them, he still showed no sign of saying anything.

"Um, I'm sorry..." she said cautiously, "I was overthinking it."

"No." Matsueda Jun then made a move, his gaze shifting from the coffee in front of him to the girl across the table, his expression somewhat stiff—or rather, somewhat strange.

"I just didn't expect you to say that."

Now it was Yamami Maki's turn to be silent. She lowered her eyes and clenched her hands on her lap.

"...I thought about it for a long time before I finally decided to tell Matsueda-san these things."

She had thought about it for a long time, of course. A whole week had passed since her last meeting with the boy. In these past few days, the matter of the system simulation and Matsueda Jun had been like the chirping of cicadas in summer—even if she didn't try to think about it, it would always linger in the girl's mind.

How can we avoid the future depicted in the simulation and ensure that Matsueda can find happiness? This is a question that troubles her even in her dreams.

Yamami Maki's first thought was, of course, to get Matsueda Jun back together with her.

The girl was very clear about this, and she was confident—unlike those out-of-control girls in the simulation who only demanded love, she was now qualified to be Matsueda's destiny.

Even if choosing to submit wouldn't bring her a happy family, she was willing to leave. Although this might not give Jun the obsessive and overwhelming love that other girls had, this gentle love was exactly what Matsueda Jun needed in the midst of chaos, and it was what could give him true happiness.

As long as she could have a chance to make amends... Yamami Maki looked up at the boy in front of her.

To hide the disappointment in her eyes, she picked up her coffee.

However, the system gave her the foresight to predict tragedy, but did not give her time to make amends.

"Either choose to be with one person, keep the news a secret for now, and leave Tokyo with her after graduation in March, never to come back or contact anyone else."

This was the choice given by Yamami Maki, and of course she hoped that she would be the lucky one chosen.

The girl wants to find happiness with Jun Matsueda and wants her ex-boyfriend to fall in love with her again.

But in the boy's heart, there are people who are more important than her now, and more than one.

Not having the time to create a perfect ending that belongs only to her and Tsun-kun will perhaps become the biggest regret in her future life.

Moreover, even if she and Tsunku get back together, she might not be able to completely escape the entanglements of other people...

"Therefore, we have no choice but to conquer it."

Jun Matsue looked at the girl who spoke again, waiting for her to continue.

“Run away at all costs—if Matsueda-kun had such thoughts, he would have done it already, instead of getting himself into this mess.” Yami Maki’s eyes held pity for him.

"But conquering everyone is no easy task."

"..." The boy placed his hands on the table. "What exactly is this 'conquering' that the senior was talking about?"

The girl took a deep breath, puffed out her chest, and said, "Matsueda-kun, do you still remember what Grandpa told you back then?"

She was referring to what the old man had said when they visited the Yamami Maki family and he suddenly appeared and pulled them to the temple. Matsueda Jun blinked.

"Didn't the senior go to return the fan back then?"

Yamami Maki nodded awkwardly, "I didn't go far, I went there after hearing what Grandpa said..."

The boy picked up a spoon and stirred his coffee, making a soft "ding-ding" sound. He remembered what the old man had said.

"Either you change yourself for others, or you change others for yourself. That's the price you pay for having love."

"Either you are conquered by Maki and willingly become a member of our Yami family, or you conquer Maki and make her willing to leave the family for you."

Memories were drowned out by the sound of rain outside the window and the noisy conversation inside, but the girl's tone was more determined than before.

"I now think Grandpa was right—love is about conquering or being conquered."

"Especially for Matsueda-kun, whether it's Mochizuki Haruka and Tomatsu Tomoka, or Kurusu Yosei, or even me, we all just want to mold you into the image we each like."

"If it's a normal romantic relationship, then of course there's no problem. If you haven't been changed, but the relationship can still go on, then the one who has been changed is someone else."

Of course, the girl was referring to two extreme scenarios. In reality, it is more common for two people to gradually change each other and eventually accept the changed shape of each other's souls.

"But once Matsueda falls for someone, you become soft-hearted."

Yamami Maki looked at the boy with his eyes downcast, her tone gradually becoming strained.

"You'd rather submit to yourself than change the other person..."

Jun Matsue stopped stirring his coffee and stared at the rippled surface of the dark brown liquid in the cup.

He knew exactly what his senior was referring to; he had almost given up many things for their relationship.

"I didn't mean to criticize Matsueda-san!" The girl stretched her hands out from the table, as if trying to grasp something.

"Back then, I was too greedy and too naive..."

After fully waking up from the long dream, Maki Yami realized that the most ridiculous thing she had ever done was that even after experiencing such a relationship and meeting someone like Jun Matsueda, she still thought she could willingly live alone in the Yami family for the rest of her life.

Seeing the boy's deep gaze, she suppressed the sadness in her words.

"I just want to ask, did Matsueda like the person she was back then?"

“…I’ve never liked anyone,” Jun Matsue said calmly.

“That’s the problem.” Yamami Maki leaned forward and rested her body on the table.

"Matsueda always forces himself to change in a way that you don't actually want to accept for the sake of the person he likes—that's how it was when he was with me, and that's how it is now with Mochizuki."

“But…you have more than one person in your heart now,” she said with some difficulty.

"You must change for Mochizuki Haruka, change for Tomatsu Yuka, change for Kurusu Yosei..."

"But what they want from you is different, even contradictory."

"It's like being torn apart by five horses..." The girl pulled out a tissue, pressed it on the table, and forcefully pulled at the four corners.

"In the end, it will only lead to your mental breakdown."

"..." Matsueda Jun looked at the torn paper, loosened his grip on the paper, and let out a long breath.

"I understand what you mean, senior."

Yamami Maki nodded. "So if Matsueda-san doesn't want to run away but also wants to protect herself, she has no choice but to conquer everyone."

"It's not about changing yourself, it's about getting them to change for you."

After she finished speaking, she looked at the boy, as if even the rain outside the window had lessened, and they could clearly hear each other blinking.

“Both of the options you mentioned make a lot of sense,” Jun Matsue said, picking up his coffee.

The hot mocha was no longer hot. He took a few sips, and the fragrant, sweet liquid slid down his throat.

"...What choice do you want to make, Matsueda-san?" the girl asked nervously.

"We can't just make a hasty decision like this," the boy smiled, pursing his lips. "We definitely need to think it over carefully."

"Hmm, hmm." Yami Maki nodded. "We need to think this through carefully."

"Anyway, thank you, senior."

Jun Matsueda placed the coffee on the table and looked at the girl in front of him with mixed feelings.

He never imagined he would be listening to his ex-girlfriend analyze these emotional pros and cons. "Um, Matsueda-san..." Yami Maki's expression became reserved again, "I also want to take this opportunity to apologize to you."

The boy didn't speak, but he didn't avoid her gaze either.

"No matter what, it was all my fault back then." The girl lowered her head deeply. "I was stubborn and didn't communicate with Songzhi. I thought I was just trying to make you happy."

As he watched her long, black hair obscure the contours of her face, Jun Matsue sighed.

"Weren't you provoked by Mochizuki and Tomatsu one after the other? You can't say it's all Yamami-senpai's fault."

When it comes to matters of the heart, saying sorry is of no use.

"And according to what my senior said today, even if we hadn't broken up, we probably wouldn't have been happy afterward."

At that time, he didn't want to see his senior suffer because of her choice, but he wasn't willing to change for her either.

It's just that the young boys and girls are moved by their own self-sacrifice—as if giving something will definitely make the other person happy.

According to the old man, neither of them truly conquered the other.

"There's nothing to regret." The boy looked at the lowered surface of the coffee in the glass—the beautiful latte art had long since turned into a mess.

"There's no point in dwelling on the past."

The sweetness of the hot drink fades in the mouth as the temperature rises, followed by the rich bitterness of the coffee on the tip of the tongue.

"I have indeed changed a lot," Jun Matsue thought to himself.

He should have been the one most concerned about the past.

"..." The girl nodded silently.

She could let go of the things she was once obsessed with, but the regretful feelings from the past could never be easily brought back—something she already knew in her dreams.

But Yamami Maki didn't want to give up.

Now that she has decided to leave the family, she will naturally continue to pursue happiness to the very end. Even if reconciliation is impossible, she wants to be able to watch Tsun-kun's life from a closer distance so that she can feel at ease.

It seemed that what she possessed was no longer the ordinary feeling she once had... The girl discovered that besides the unspeakable bitterness in her heart, there was also a hint of joy.

Now, she has finally become special.

Matsueda Jun noticed the girl's gaze was fixed on some point in the void in front of her. "Are you looking at the system panel?"

"Ah, yes." Yami Maki nodded somewhat flusteredly.

"What kind of system do you have?" the boy suddenly remembered.

We need to ask them about the system that has reappeared.

"Uh, is this something I can say?" the girl asked uncertainly. "Actually, there's nothing much, it just says 'Temporary User Three'..."

"And something that feels like a mission."

Sensing the boy's surprised gaze, she tentatively read aloud the red words in front of her—

"Prove to the users that you are right."

Yamami Maki hunched her neck slightly and looked around. There was no punishment as she had imagined, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Jun Matsue frowned and repeated what he had said, “Why does it sound like it’s talking to itself?”

“I feel the same way.” The girl nodded in agreement.

However, judging from the current situation, what she planned to do was somewhat different from what the system instructed. Fortunately, her rebellion did not result in any punishment...

"Apart from these, there is nothing else in the system."

It was just a simulated dream, and it felt quite similar to Mochizuki's system... Matsueda Jun recalled in his mind.

In this light, Tomatsu's system, which allowed him to see favorability ratings, was actually the most useful system back then.

However, it's also possible that the dreams of the senior student and Mochizuki have a significant impact...

The boy temporarily put aside his thoughts and looked at the girl who was sipping her coffee. "Anyway, if there are any changes to the system later, please let me know as soon as possible."

“No problem.” Yami Maki swallowed her coffee and answered hastily.

The topic of the unpredictable future came to a temporary end, and to the girl's delight, Jun Matsueda did not immediately get up and leave this time.

The boy gazed at the increasingly dense rain outside the window. "How will you get home, senior?"

No matter what, his senior was doing all this to help him, and she always acted like she was "use it and then throw it away," which made him feel somewhat guilty.

Maki Yami's tone was much lighter than before. "I mostly take the train when I go out now."

"Train?" Jun Matsueda took out his phone and looked at the map. "Then traveling to and from Ochanomizu every day must take a lot of time."

"It's not so bad, actually." The girl smiled. "It's just ten minutes longer than taking a car."

Faced with her smile, the boy remained silent for a moment before finishing his coffee.

"Let's head back while the rain isn't too heavy yet."

Whether it was because he was deliberately looking for a topic to talk about, or because he found that natural and gentle temperament in her smile, Jun Matsuoka felt a little awkward.

"Hmm!" Yamami Maki didn't seem to mind; she picked up her umbrella and stood up.

"Matsue-san and I are on the same train station, right?"

As Jun Matsueda walked into the labyrinthine Shibuya Station with the girl, he looked ahead at the wall formed by the backs of the crowd, and the Obon festival banners above the passageway swayed in the swirling air.

He and Yamami Maki were not going the same way, so they would have to part ways after walking through this passage.

Matsueda Jun thought for a moment, "Did Yamami-senpai participate in any activities for this year's Obon festival?"

"...No activities." The girl next to me turned her head and smiled.

"No?" The boy was somewhat surprised. "Family ancestral worship or something—"

“I told my father I won’t be participating this time.” A hint of a smile appeared in Yamami Maki’s eyes.

"Although he wasn't very happy, he agreed, since I wasn't a necessity to begin with."

"..." Jun Matsue's closed lips parted slightly, then closed again.

"It's all good. Be careful on your way home, senior."

The boy and girl walked out of the passage and parted ways at the fork in the road. Yamami Maki watched the boy's back gradually disappear into the crowd—this time she wasn't as sad as before.

Chunjun didn't ask, perhaps because he didn't want to get closer to them, or perhaps because he had long since lost his concern and curiosity for himself.

But it doesn't matter, the girl thought. Even if they can't get back together, she is determined to break away from her family.

Yamami Maki turned and walked through the crowd towards the other platform.

Because I'm already a rebellious child.

The future she desires lies outside the birdcage.

　Meow, I'm late.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)