Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 718 The Women Before the Typhoon
September 24th, Wednesday.

At 3:40 p.m., Jun Matsue locked the window on the outside of the classroom and turned to look at the girl behind him.

"Is this okay?"

Tomatsu Tomori nodded. "Ms. Kominato said we don't need to lock the door, we can just leave."

"The school union will come to reinforce the windows later."

The coolness of the rain touched his fingertips through the glass. The boy released his hand from the window and walked towards his uniform bag on the table.

"Let's go then."

Two sets of footsteps walked out of the teaching building, close together. Jun Matsue opened his umbrella, and the girl beside him naturally took his arm.

Feeling the firm, warm body of her beloved, Tomatsu Yuka lowered her head, watching the ripples left by the tips of her shoes in the shallow puddle.

A gust of wind lifted the plaid skirt of her uniform, and a noticeable coolness rose from the fair skin above her calves and socks. The girl held down the hem of her skirt with one hand and leaned even closer to the boy.

"The temperature seems to be dropping really fast."

"After all, a typhoon is coming." Jun Matsue looked at the sparse rain lines outside the umbrella eaves.

The 19th typhoon of the year is going to pass through Tokyo tomorrow, so after school today, the two class leaders are going to lead a big clean-up to prepare for the typhoon and the upcoming holiday.

“Mom has already gone home.” Tomatsu Yuka took her phone out of the pocket of her skirt. “She told me to go home early so we can go grocery shopping together.”

"Maybe he's worried you'll be out on a date and won't come home."

She chuckled softly twice, then linked arms with her lover and walked out of the school gate.

Jun Matsue walked onto the sidewalk and switched sides with the girl, shielding her from the car spray that might splash onto her skirt.

"So, does your mother know that we're dating?"

"Hmm..." Tomatsu Yuka pondered, staring at the damp brick surface beneath her feet, "She should know, right?"

"After all, I've tried on clothes and put on makeup in front of my mom several times before going out, so she can definitely tell that I'm going on a date."

"—And she definitely knows that I only date Tsunku!"

Her serious tone made the boy laugh. They heard the sound of a car approaching from behind, and the two moved closer to the wall.

"But is this okay?" Jun Matsue asked in a more serious tone, "She doesn't support you dating me, does she?"

Having witnessed Mochizuki Haruka's ruthless iron wall yesterday, he thought of this issue again.

The girl under the umbrella blinked and looked up at the station faintly visible at the end of the road.

“My mother did not approve of it before, but every time she asked me about school when we ate at home, I would mention Tsunkun.”

"She probably doesn't care anymore by now."

"Don't you care?" The boy gripped the umbrella handle tightly. "What if our secret gets exposed?"

“Then let’s not expose ourselves,” Tomatsu Yuka said without hesitation.

"Tsun-kun and I are both naughty kids who love acting. Can't we even be a devoted couple in front of our mothers?"

"And what is Jun-kun worried about?" She lightly jumped over the puddle in front of her, her posture playful.

"I'm not like Yamami-senpai, would I break up with you just because my family is angry?"

"..." Matsueda Jun could only smile helplessly as he and the girl stepped onto the wet steps in front of Kugayama Station.

Tomatsu Yuka stopped at the fork in the road in the station passage and looked at the boy next to her who was folding up his umbrella.

"Tsun-kun isn't riding in the same car as me today, right?"

“I have to go to my senior’s place.” The boy nodded. “Her old apartment is right next to the Kanda River, which is a bit dangerous during typhoons.”

The girl still had a smile on her face. "Remember to remind her not to forget to attend the brass band's performance in October."

"..." Matsueda Jun glanced at her.

"Tell Yuka first that I really don't have any feelings for her right now, so don't be too harsh on her later."

"Okay~" Tomatsu Yuka stuck out her rosy tongue.

"I'm not Mochizuki Haruka, I would never do anything to bully others."

After telling the girl to text him when she got home, and watching her board the tram and wave sweetly back, Jun Matsueda walked onto the opposite platform to wait for the Keio Inokashira Line train bound for Kichijoji.

After boarding the tram, the boy took out his phone and sent a message to his senior saying "I'll be there in half an hour." He glanced at the murky scenery flowing outside the window, then looked down and found the black cat avatar in his chat list.

The aloof black cat had unknowingly sunk to the bottom of the list—the unread chat box hadn't been refreshed since Monday's PE class.

Jun Matsue thought for a moment, then leaned back in his chair and began editing the message.

"A typhoon is coming soon. Be careful when you are near a window or on a balcony."

"Remember to remind your aunt as well."

The message was sent successfully. The boy stared at the chat box for a while, but the usual read mark did not appear.

"You're not even checking your messages anymore?" He put down his phone.

Or did you already see it in the pop-up message notification, but just didn't click on it?

It doesn't matter anymore, since Mochizuki's attitude is already quite clear.

What should be done next...? Listening to the distorted sound of rain outside the slightly swaying carriage, the boy fell into deep thought.

Twenty-five minutes later, after glancing at the still unread message screen, Jun Matsueda put his phone in his pocket, picked up his slowly dripping umbrella, and stepped off the train.

When the boy entered the apartment in Higashi-Nakano 1-chome, the tops of his uniform shoes were completely wet. He took a few steps in the corridor to shake off the water before knocking on the door of room 404.

A gentle and warm female voice sounded from behind the door, "May I ask who this is?"

“It’s me,” he said naturally.

The tightly closed security door was quickly pushed open, and Jun Matsue took a step back, looking at the girl's joyful face behind the door.

"Welcome~" Yamami Maki said with a smile in her eyes, taking slippers out of the cabinet and waving to him.

"Is it raining heavily outside?" She leaned down to look at the person's trouser leg.

"Are Matsueda's shoes wet? Should we wipe his feet?"

The boy took another half step back, and the girl's gentle eyes froze for a moment, revealing a clear sense of disappointment.

"I'm sorry," she said, her smile somewhat forced. "I shouldn't have asked so many questions."

“…Senior, you’ve misunderstood.” Jun Matsueda glanced aside. “It’s your clothes.”

He didn't feel uncomfortable with his senior's concern, but the girl was wearing short-sleeved and short-sleeved casual clothes, and her fair skin would easily be exposed when she bent over.

“…Ah.” Yamami Maki belatedly clutched her chest and straightened up, her face quickly flushing red.

"Um," she stammered, "I usually wear a nightgown at home, but it would be more troublesome to wear a dress today because we're reinforcing the windows and stuff." The boy nodded without changing his expression, went inside, and closed the door behind him.

"Just be careful, senior."

He stood in the entryway and changed into slippers. The girl beside him looked dazed, as if she hadn't yet recovered from the unexpected incident.

Just as Jun Matsue finished putting on his slippers, turned around, and hung the folded umbrella on the storage rack behind the door, a hollow and continuous buzzing sound suddenly entered the room, and the two of them looked up at the same time.

The booming noise flew over from a place higher than the apartment building rooftop, amplified briefly, and then gradually faded away.

"Is this the noise from an airplane?" He looked at the female student in front of him. "It is indeed a bit of a nuisance."

"That's right, I told Matsueda-san about it."

A gentle smile returned to Yamami Maki's eyes—she recalled those moments when she lay in her apartment bed, sharing the trivialities of life with the boy.

"It becomes especially noticeable when the weather is bad~"

As they walked into the living room together, Jun Matsue stopped and blinked in surprise.

In just one week, the space had changed completely—the original small sofa and dining table were gone, replaced by a square low table and a soft cushion underneath.

"What do you think, Matsueda-kun?" The girl sat down at the low table and waved to him. "This is a kotatsu that just arrived a few days ago~"

"..." The boy walked to the cushion, took off his shoes, and sat down.

Maki Yami sat against the wall, facing a clean stove and a row of windows above her—rainwater flowed down the windowpanes, casting ever-changing light and shadow on the living room floor.

She opened her arms and looked at the boy sitting at the table, who was facing away from her. "Doesn't this make the living room feel much more comfortable?"

"It definitely feels more comfortable." Jun Matsue nodded, keeping his senior's profile at a suitable distance from him out of the corner of his eye.

Kotatsu are indeed more comfortable and save more space, but they also bring people closer together.

The girl tapped the small wooden table in front of her, lifted the tablet covering it, and showed a satisfied expression.

"I've tried it out these past few days, and it's quite suitable for eating, watching TV, and relaxing. I'm sure it will be very cozy to cover myself with a blanket and turn on the kotatsu under the table in winter!"

Jun Matsue adjusted his posture by holding onto the table, but he soon bumped into the girl's small feet under the table, so he had to awkwardly cross his legs.

"..." He patted the cushion beneath him. "Wouldn't it be uncomfortable to sit on this for a long time?"

Yamami Maki nodded in agreement. "I bought two tatami sofa chairs, they'll arrive in a couple of days."

She didn't say why there were two.

Just like how she didn't go to her room to change even though she knew her thin loungewear posed a risk of revealing too much...

The boy glanced at the rain outside the window and said, "There's no problem then. Just keep an eye on the water and trash around the stove."

With his approval, the girl relaxed and rested her cheek on the low wooden table.

I'm so looking forward to winter!

Seeing the boy's hand resting on the edge of the table, she placed her right hand on the table as well, and tapped her index finger lightly.

“My sister brought my luggage over last weekend,” Yami Maki said softly. “Autumn and winter clothes, as well as a laptop, textbooks, and a tablet…”

"Following Songzhi's suggestion, I moved that small table under the air conditioner—along with the homemade vase."

"The day before yesterday, when I was sitting in front of the computer checking the new semester's class schedule, the setting sun outside the balcony shone on the wall in front of me. It was a golden yellow color that made me feel very warm."

"The small vase I had placed in the corner of my desk was also illuminated. Although the flowers in the vase had dried up quite a bit, it still looked pretty at that moment."

As the girl spoke, her face remained resting on the table in a cute and languid posture. Her gaze was slightly upward, directed at the boy listening to her.

"For the next half hour, I did nothing but close my laptop and quietly watch my illuminated little flowers until the sun disappeared."

Her calm and understated tone was filled with happiness, bringing peace and tranquility to the listener's heart.

"Matsueda-san."

Jun Matsue lowered his head and met the gaze of the serene-looking girl.

"I'm growing to love this little house more and more."

"...It seems that my senior is even more powerful than I thought," the boy said calmly.

"Is that so?" Yamami Maki, who was lying on the table, narrowed her eyes and smiled brightly.

"Hearing Matsueda say that made me even happier than I thought!"

Seemingly feeling that the air around the kotatsu was a bit stuffy, Jun Matsue suddenly stood up.

"Let's check your disaster preparedness first."

The girl sat up straight with a smile, looking full of energy.

"no problem!"

"First, there's the bathroom and the stove."

"I've installed all the sealing strips as Songzhi instructed, and I've also filled the tub with water. I'm going to take a shower early tonight and fill the bathtub with water too."

"Then comes food and drinking water."

"I bought curry, carrots and potatoes, as well as instant noodles, eggs, bread and ham. I also bought a big bottle of mineral water. I can stay home for two days without any problem."

The boy closed the refrigerator door. "Have you tried cooking?"

“Yes!” Yami Maki nodded beside him. “I’ve tried making sandwiches and curry rice, and they went quite well.”

"I felt a little nauseous when I was cutting the chicken..."

Matsue Jun pursed his lips. As expected of the young lady, her habits in this regard were the same as Mochizuki's.

"Let's take one last look at the balcony." He glanced at the girl's closed bedroom door. "The noise from the plane was so loud just now, didn't you put a weatherstripping on the balcony door?"

"Ah!" Yamami Maki hurried towards the bedroom. "I was just putting tape on the balcony door, and I think I forgot to close it!"

The boy followed her into the bedroom—the sound of the heavy rain was particularly loud, and sure enough, the balcony door was half open, with a roll of waterproof tape lying on the floor next to the door.

“I had almost finished sticking it on.” Yami Maki bent down and picked up the tape from the floor. “I just heard Matsueda knocking on the door, and I forgot about it…”

Jun Matsue glanced at the small table leaning against the corner of the wall, on which sat a laptop, textbooks, and the homemade vase that her senior had mentioned that made her feel happy.

The small yellow and white flowers in the transparent plastic cup have turned into pale pink cosmos flowers. Judging from the water droplets on the petals, she probably just changed them today.

The boy looked away. "It's okay, let's continue now."

Sitting at the foot of the girl's bed, watching her pull up the sliding door to the balcony and apply the final border of the cross-shaped tape to the glass along the door frame—Matsueda Jun didn't look at the large expanse of skin exposed when Yami Maki bent over and squatted down, but instead looked at the simple vase she had placed in the corner.

They are meticulous and considerate, have a strong desire to share, and are willing to listen to you and bravely try and take action...

It's really hard to dislike a senior like that.

(End of this chapter)