Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 742 You also like Jun Matsueda?
October 20th, Monday.

October has officially entered its latter half, and the highest temperature in Mitaka City has dropped below 20 degrees Celsius. Today, the students at Haneoka High School are discussing two pieces of news—

The first was that the brass band won the gold medal at the national competition.

Two gold medals in three years is certainly a very good achievement for the Haneoka High School Wind Ensemble, which is not a long-established powerhouse.

However, Tomatsu Yuka, the former club president, was brought up again by some people for commentary, who said that although she was very capable, she lacked leadership skills, which was why the previous brass band was eliminated in the Gold Division.

This claim was disproven after the current minister thanked Tomatsu-senpai for her guidance via social media post, but Tomatsu-yuka didn't really care anyway.

Because she's busy dating.

After the bell rang to signal the end of the fourth period in the morning, Tomatsu Yuka stretched and took out a beautifully packaged bento box from her schoolbag.

"Chun-kun~" She gestured towards the boy sitting next to her.

This is a bento box made by the girl herself; she carefully cooked it this morning.

Tomatsu Yuka blinked, her soft, brown eyes carrying a hint of allure.

Yesterday, she went to get a treatment with her mother and didn't get to be affectionate with Tsun-kun. As a child who gets unhappy if she can't have candy, she needs to find a chance to taste something sweet first.

Jun Matsue closed his book and nodded. He got up and picked up his coat, which was hanging on the back of his chair.

"wait for me."

The girl watched him walk toward the other side of the back row with a smile.

The boy stopped by the window. Mochizuki Haruka sat upright in her seat and took out a rather high-end-looking metal lunchbox from the drawer without looking to the side.

"Mochizuki brought a bento too?" he asked in surprise.

The girl didn't answer, but simply raised her delicate face and blinked, as if to say, "What brings you here?"

Jun Matsue raised her hand and closed the window next to her, which was letting in a cold draft.

"Have you seen the short film that Imokawa released?"

"She filmed it quite well, and Kurusu also shared it for her, so the number of views is now close to 100,000."

"Even though there's no cast list or anything, is it okay if you and your aunt are in it?"

Mochizuki Haruka placed the lunchbox on the table and pressed one hand against the cat paw sticker on the lid.

"Didn't you ask that before?"

The boy smiled and asked, "What about your aunt?"

She even regretted not being on camera... The girl pursed her lips.

"This is none of your business." She looked at Tomatsu Yuka, who was smiling behind the boy.

"Songzhi should go and be all lovey-dovey with someone else."

Jun Matsuoka looked into her indifferent eyes, but his expression remained warm.

"I put the box of ice cream that Mochizuki hadn't finished into the freezer."

"I was thinking of eating it when you come back."

"..." The girl blinked.

She turned around and opened her lunchbox a crack, indicating that someone could leave.

The boy put on the jacket he was holding. "It's getting cold. Even if it's just to provide energy for my body, Wangyue needs to eat more."

He turned and walked away, leaving the classroom with Tomatsu Yuka. Students passing by the back door in the corridor immediately called out to the two of them in surprise.

"Songzhi! I saw the short video you made yesterday!"

"I saw it too! Yuka looks great in photos!"

Holding her bento box ready to open, Mochizuki Haruka turned her head to watch Matsueda Jun walk out of the classroom, then reached out her right hand and gently closed the door behind her.

"..."

The noise in the corridor suddenly became muffled, and the girl hummed, a sound only she could hear.

The second piece of news that Haneoka High School students are discussing today is the short video that Natsumi Imokawa released on Saturday morning.

Over the course of a weekend, thanks to Yosei Kurusu's reposts and enthusiastic praise, "White Line Flow" has spread among the students of Haneoka High School, even though it's not yet a huge hit online.

With the most eye-catching boys and girls in the school, coupled with the director's free-flowing script and skills, this short film has become an unavoidable topic of conversation during breaks at school.

Even today, while sitting in the classroom, Mochizuki Haruka could feel the curious gazes fixed on her seat—the last time she felt such undisguised and bold gossip was when she first entered school.

As the girl composed herself and opened her lunchbox, Hane Rion, who was sitting in the front row, walked over.

"Should we bring lunch for Mochizuki-chan today too?"

When the cheerful, hot girl saw the lunchbox on the table, she was just as surprised as the boy had been earlier.

"Mochizuki brought a bento?!"

"Isn't bringing your own lunchbox a normal thing?" Mochizuki Haruka looked up and rolled her eyes at her.

"But you've never brought one before..." Rion muttered softly.

"Then I don't need to bring you lunch?"

"Thank you, but not today."

The girl glanced inside the lunchbox; it contained neatly arranged sandwiches that looked very substantial.

"Then I'll go?" Her tone was a little disappointed.

Mochizuki thought for a moment, "Could you bring me a pudding when you come back, if they still have any in the cafeteria?"

"Okay!" Spicy Girl's expression brightened again. "See you later~"

"see you later."

The girl skipped away, and the seat by the window finally quieted down. Mochizuki Haruka picked up a sandwich from the box.

This is an avocado, salmon, and cheese sandwich she brought from home. It's a large portion, and after being cut into pieces, it filled the entire bento box.

The plump, grilled salmon seems to overflow from the bread, paired with melted cheese and tender green avocado puree, making it incredibly appetizing.

But faced with such a tempting sandwich, Mochizuki Haruka sighed slightly.

This was made by her aunt before she left home this morning, as a way of showing her care.

As for why we should express concern...

Yesterday at noon, the two had a minor argument after watching "White Line Flow".

It can't really be called a dispute, because the aunt and niece have never quarreled before, and there are only some minor differences between them now.

Mochizuki Haruka held a still-warm sandwich in her palm and took a bite.

"..." She took out her phone and sent a message.

"The sandwich tastes good."

The aunt on the other side of the screen replied with a smiley face.

"As long as Xiaoyao likes it~"

The girl smiled faintly, put down her phone, and gazed at the gray sky outside the window, focusing on chewing the sandwich in her mouth.

Yesterday at noon, in the bedroom of the Wangyue family manor, Wangyue Hua looked at her niece beside her with a slightly surprised expression.

"...Haruka can't hold on anymore?"

Mochizuki nodded silently.

"Are you angry with Songzhi?" The woman on the sofa shifted her position and pressed her arm against Songzhi's.

The girl lowered her head and remained silent.

She was certainly very angry before. But as time went by and she grew distant from Songzhi, the flames of anger in her heart lost their fuel.

"You don't want to have a cold war with Songzhi anymore?"

“…This is a bit tiring.” Mochizuki Haruka nodded.

"I want to go back to Songzhi."

Especially after watching "White Line Flow," and seeing myself as someone who couldn't even get a glance from my lover.

"What about your future?" the woman asked, her voice tinged with worry. "Is Haruka just going to give in like this? What if Matsueda Jun wants to find another woman later?"

The girl stopped talking.

“You’re the eldest daughter of the Wangyue family.” Wangyue Hua gently nudged her. “What kind of talk is it to share a boyfriend with someone else?”

“But whether Matsue likes me or not has nothing to do with whether I’m a young lady or not…” Mochizuki Haruka couldn’t help but say.

“Besides, if I don’t go to Matsue, other women will go to him—that Yamami Maki recently met with him again.”

The aunt frowned; she was unaware that the youngest daughter of the Yami family had run away from home.

She gritted her teeth. "That Jun Matsueda guy... he's infuriating!"

Is he still waiting for you to come back?

The girl nodded.

"Then why are you in such a hurry?" The woman hugged her shoulders. "Anyway, he still likes you."

"If you let him control you like this, what kind of status will you have in the family in the future?" The aunt gently pinched her niece's nose.

"Even if it's just to make yourself a little more important in his heart, you have to hold on a little longer."

"Otherwise, if we really do what Songzhi wants, once he has you in his grasp, he'll start focusing on seducing other people."

“Matsue isn’t that kind of person…” Mochizuki Haruka weakly retorted.

"Anyway, don't rush." ​​Wang Yuehua hugged her.

"Matsue certainly won't refuse something that's offered to her, so why is Haruka in such a hurry?"

"Even if we really have to go along with his ideas, we have to be prepared."

"For example, whether Songzhi changes his surname, and whether there's any real guarantee of affection between him and our family in the future..."

Auntie went on and on, and Wang Yueyao finally nodded.

"I see……"

After swallowing the fish and avocado in her mouth, the gray sky before her eyes cleared again. The girl by the window blinked, watching a few yellow leaves fall from the cherry trees along the school's main road.

Despite the closed glass, Mochizuki Haruka didn't feel much of a chill.

But autumn has truly arrived.

She recalled the boy's pleading words from before.

"Please don't make me wait until winter, okay?"

The girl looked at the lunchbox in front of her, inside which lay two sandwiches.

"We've made so much, we can't eat anymore."

It's all pine branches' fault; before, we could just feed him the leftovers...

After wiping her mouth with a tissue, Mochizuki Haruka closed the lunchbox, put it back in the drawer, and got up to leave the classroom.

When the girl returned to the deserted fourth-floor corridor with a carton of milk, a somewhat abrupt figure appeared outside the back door of Class 6, Grade 3.

"..." She frowned and walked towards the girl who was peeking out from the back door.

"You're here to find pine branches?"

Suddenly a cold voice came from behind her, and Imokawa Natsumi, who was peering into the classroom through the small window, turned around abruptly.

Upon realizing that the person in front of her was Mochizuki Haruka with a cold expression, the girl's shoulders trembled again.

"Hello, Mochizuki-san..." Her voice was timid, but she didn't forget her purpose.

"Um, hasn't Songzhi returned yet?"

"..." Mochizuki Haruka's delicate eyebrows furrowed a little more, but her expression remained unchanged.

She had a fairly good impression of Natsumi Imokawa and even gave "White Line Flow" a donation on YouTube, leaving a simple comment: "The film is good."

However, Imokawa's overly alluring body always made her somewhat uncomfortable.

The girl glanced at the bulging chest beneath her uniform jacket and nodded.

"He went off to be all lovey-dovey with Tomatsu, and we don't know when he'll be back."

The obvious sarcasm in her words made Natsumi Imokawa take a half step back. Leaning against the door behind her, she nodded, clutching the paper bag in her hand.

"Oh..." She was a little disappointed, then remembered something.

"Um, I saw that Mochizuki gave a reward to 'White Line Flow'. That's your account, right? Thank you so much!"

The girl bent down and Wang Yueyao waved her hand.

"I just thought it was nice, so I gave it a tip." She glanced at the girl's hand.

"Do you have something to give to Songzhi? I can pass it on to him."

"Ah, no thanks." Natsumi Imokawa straightened up.

She pressed the paper bag containing the photos to her chest, her smile somewhat shy.

"I still want to hand it to him personally."

Looking at the faint blush on the girl's cheeks and then at the paper bag in her hand, Mochizuki Haruka suddenly had a bad feeling.

Could it be a love letter inside?

"...Would it be convenient for me to take a look?" Her tone became a bit forceful.

Natsumi Imokawa's expression immediately became conflicted. She subconsciously lowered her head and put her hands behind her back.

But after a short while, the hesitant girl seemed to remember something, took a deep breath, and straightened her chest.

"Sure, sure... Could you stand a little further back, Mochizuki-san?"

Mochizuki Haruka frowned and took a step back, watching as she carefully lifted the paper bag and pulled out a thin photograph.

It was the evening before yesterday, when the sky was ablaze with sunset colors. Natsumi Imokawa suddenly kissed Jun Matsueda on the cheek by the Arakawa River—the girl's shyness and the boy's surprise were captured in the photo, full of youthful naiveté and romance.

Seeing the person in front of her suddenly darken, Imokawa Natsumi hurriedly put the photo away and hid it behind her back.

"You like Jun Matsue?" Haruka Mochizuki's voice was even colder than when the two had first met.

Natsumi Imokawa's breathing was a little erratic, but that didn't stop her from nodding slowly and firmly.

"Yes, I like pine branches!"

As if to defend her right to what she likes, she added another sentence.

"I've already confessed my feelings to him!"

The small corridor outside the back door fell silent. The girl, who had mustered her courage, shrank her neck and nervously observed the expression of the person in front of her.

Natsumi Imokawa had already decided that if Haruka Mochizuki suddenly rushed over, she would immediately turn around and run away.

Anyway, she likes Matsue, and it has nothing to do with Mochizuki.

Mochizuki Haruka clenched the milk in her hand, squeezing the neatly arranged cardboard box out of shape.

"..."

She wanted to throw a tantrum, but looking at the timid and soft-spoken girl in front of her, and remembering that Jun Matsue and Yuka Tomatsu were not present, she felt it was pointless.

"Step aside."

Natsumi Imokawa hurriedly walked to the side, watching the girl walk straight past her without even closing the door.

Leaving the big-breasted, brainless girl behind, Mochizuki Haruka returned to her seat with a sullen face.

She tossed the milk into the drawer, opened the window, and let the cold wind from outside blow across her face.

The cherry trees along the avenue in the distance swayed in the wind, but the girl's gaze remained fixed.

The vibrancy of summer has faded, and the lush green treetops are gradually turning into a desolate yellow.

Wang Yueyao recalled the advice her aunt had given her yesterday.

The girl knew that her aunt was also thinking about her happiness, which was why she advised her to persevere, to be ruthless, and to consider the more distant future.

But her current unhappiness is becoming unbearable.

(End of this chapter)