Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 743 Softening

Chapter 743 Softening
During Wednesday's lunch break, Class 6 of Grade 3 was discussing the final division of labor for the cultural festival.

"...So it's settled then?"

Standing on the podium, Jun Matsueda turned to look at the blackboard, with the gentle-looking Tomoka Tomatsu beside him.

"During the cultural festival, the class is arranged with two baristas, one assistant, and three waiters, with two shifts rotating, each shift lasting half a day."

"The specific personnel arrangements have been written on the blackboard."

"For the accompaniment group, those who are interested can sign up with Youhua. The rest of you who don't have any tasks that day will be the main force in setting up the class. We will make arrangements after the mock exam."

"Yuhua and I will be in charge of the logistics, such as the coffee machine and tableware. Does anyone have any questions?"

"No—" came the loud and unanimous reply from below.

“OK.” Jun Matsueda held up the class project application form in his hand and paused on the podium.

"Then please have a peaceful and uneventful time during the mock exams at the beginning of the month, and then happily welcome the upcoming cultural festival."

"Oh..." The voices below drooped.

Tomatsu Yuka smiled, and the boy handed her the documents in his hand. The two walked down from the classroom together.

As they passed the middle section of the seating area, Jun Matsueda was suddenly grabbed by Ken Sakamuro, and the girl behind him also stopped in her tracks.

"Songzhi! The movie you guys acted in has already been viewed over 300,000 times!"

The boy winked at him, "Have any directors or agents contacted you?"

“First of all, that’s not a movie.” Jun Matsueda blew on his bangs.

"Secondly, ever since I learned to walk on the street, uncles and aunts wearing sunglasses have been asking me if I want to be a big star."

The people in the surrounding seats immediately laughed, and Tomatsu Yuka followed behind the boy with a smile.

"But to be honest, I'm really envious of Yuka..." The girl sitting next to her looked up with envy, "She can act and make movies with her boyfriend, and so many people watch them."

“But my character in the script is really miserable~” The girl blinked. “After appearing briefly at the beginning, I only live in Tsunkun’s memories.”

"But Imokawa-san took really good photos of you guys together, she's amazing!"

"I heard that Imokawa has been admitted to Tokyo University of the Arts..." someone next to the girl continued.

After dealing with her classmates' curiosity, Tomatsu Yuka's gaze swept to the corner of the classroom—as soon as the two finished explaining the arrangements for the cultural festival, Mochizuki Haruka, who was sitting by the window, lowered her head and lay down on the table.

This guy is pretty honest... The girl returned to her seat, thinking that Mochizuki would cause her some trouble.

"Will Yuka hand in the application form after class?" Jun Matsue, who was sitting next to her, asked.

"You seem to know this year's executive committee chairperson quite well? I saw you chatting with her in the hallway yesterday."

"No problem~" Tomatsu Yuka smiled, "Would you like me to come to the after-school cultural festival preparation meeting?"

The boy shook his head. "I only need one person."

Before resting her head on the table with her arms resting on it, the girl winked playfully.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Jun-kun~"

Jun Matsue did not take a nap at noon today.

The beginning of the month is another round of mock exams, and now there's also preparation for the cultural festival to keep me busy, and I can't neglect my part-time job either...

After finishing the last big question on the test, the boy put down his pen and let out a soft sigh.

Thankfully, the weather is cold, unlike in summer when leaving the air-conditioned room makes you feel listless.

He looked up, and a whole bunch of heads in the classroom fell down in unison.

It seems that no matter how hot or cold the weather is, as long as you're at school, everyone can find an excuse to slack off.

Jun Matsue blinked and looked at Tomoka Tomatsu's sleeping face beside him.

The girl's small face was nestled in her arms, its outline partially obscured by her collar. Her cheeks were flushed with a warm pink, making her look peaceful and languid.

He turned to look at the other side—unfortunately, Mochizuki Haruka was taking a nap facing the window, so he could only see the back of her aloof head.

The boy silently stretched, got up, and quietly walked out the back door of the classroom.

I need to go buy a can of coffee.

Following the deserted stairs down to the third floor, Jun Matsue stopped at the vending machine at the bottom of the stairs.

Although the balcony doors at both ends of the corridor were tightly closed, you could still feel a few wisps of cool air passing by.

He pressed the hot coffee button in front of the brightly lit vending machine, listened to the machine's operation, and glanced at the ice cream vending machine next door.

After the temperature dropped, it doesn't seem to be as popular anymore.

With a soft but noticeable "thump," the boy bent down and took out a hot can of coffee from the retrieval slot.

When he looked up again, Jun Matsue didn't open the coffee. Instead, he turned his head to look at the stairwell as if he had something in mind.

Mochizuki Haruka, with her beautiful black hair flowing down her back, stood there with her arms crossed, her cool gaze fixed on him.

"Isn't Wangyue sleeping?" the boy asked, somewhat surprised.

He didn't hear a single footstep. It seems that even if Wangyue turned into ice, she would still be a cat with icicles on the tip of her tail.

“I woke up when you stood up from your seat.” The girl’s tone was still chilly.

"Did I wake you up? Sorry." Jun Matsueda handed him the coffee.

Mochizuki Haruka didn't take it, but instead glanced at the coffee in front of her.

"I don't want to open it myself."

The boy was stunned. He had only made a casual attack and hadn't expected Mochizuki to actually accept it.

He laughed, and with his right hand holding the coffee, he bent his index finger and effortlessly hooked the tab.

With a crisp "click," a warm, pleasant coffee aroma wafted from the can.

"Give."

The girl took the coffee, held it with both hands, and took a small sip. She watched as the boy pressed the button again, waiting for the second can of coffee to drop.

"What does Mochizuki want to tell me?"

Jun Matsue knew that her sudden appearance was definitely not to scare him.

"How was the accompaniment group for the cultural festival café arranged by Matsugi?"

"We'll see how many people sign up," the boy said, bending down to take out a coffee.

"I won't be performing. It's a bit noisy to have the drum set in the coffee shop. Tomatsu will definitely be performing. If not many people sign up, I might have to ask her to play more."

“I want to participate too,” Mochizuki Haruka said without hesitation.

"...Are you going to play the piano?" Jun Matsue walked up to her with a coffee, but the girl didn't move.

"It doesn't matter, piano, violin or guitar are all fine."

"As expected of Mochizuki."

The boy exclaimed in admiration and gently leaned on Mochizuki Haruka's shoulder. The girl merely glanced at him and remained unresponsive.

"However, if you're playing music for a coffee shop, you might need to coordinate with other people. Are you okay with that?"

Mochizuki Haruka then took a step to the side and smoothed her hair that fell over her shoulders.

"Should she cooperate with me, or should I cooperate with her?"

“That depends on what kind of song you’re playing,” Jun Matsueda said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Or perhaps we could discuss it later?”

"..." The girl tacitly agreed and changed the subject.

"After the pine branches, do we also need to borrow a coffee machine and cutlery?"

“And the raw materials.” The boy nodded. “Disposable tableware is fine, the main problem is the coffee machine.” “Either we can use class funds to buy a used one and then sell it after the cultural festival, or we can use a coffee pot—but it’s not as convenient as an automatic coffee machine, and it’s not easy for a ‘barista’ to get the hang of it…”

They're called baristas, but those classmates have only worked part-time in coffee shops, and their skill level might not even be as high as Caijiang's.

“I can lend it to you,” Mochizuki Haruka said without hesitation.

“I have a coffee machine and a coffee grinder at home. I can also buy coffee beans and tableware for the class. It should be much better than you going to find them yourself.”

"..." Matsueda Jun looked at the girl's face.

Why did her attitude change so quickly all of a sudden?
"Just borrowing the coffee machine is fine." The boy thought for a moment, "Your tableware must be high-end, it's not appropriate to use it at school."

"Forget about using a coffee grinder; grinding on-site is too much trouble. Just buy the coffee powder in advance."

"So, are you still going to go out and buy it with Tomatsu Tomohana?" Mochizuki Haruka stared at him intently.

"For coffee powder, I can just ask Aya-chan."

But the materials for decorating the classroom still need to be bought together with Tomatsu... the boy added in his mind.

The girl seemed to have given up, lowering her head to continue drinking her coffee. Matsueda Jun, on the other hand, didn't move, just holding the coffee can and watching her lips, now stained with moisture.

"Why are you looking at me?" Mochizuki Haruka glared at him.

"Shall we go upstairs together?" the boy asked tentatively.

The girl didn't answer, but turned and walked into the stairwell. Jun Matsue immediately followed her.

The stairwell remained empty. The boy switched hands to hold the coffee, while his free left hand stealthily reached for the swaying skirt beside him.

He easily grasped Mochizuki Haruka's small hand; it was soft and smooth, a little cool, yet still had that familiar feel.

The girl did not struggle, nor did she interlock her fingers with his, as if she had not noticed that someone was holding her hand.

"Are you going back to your apartment tonight?" Jun Matsue decided to seize this hard-won opportunity. "I just aired out your blankets a few days ago."

"No." Mochizuki Haruka resolutely refused.

The boy didn't ask any more questions, but just gently squeezed the small hand he was holding—the fourth floor was just around the corner.

As she stepped off the stairs, Mochizuki Haruka let go of his hand.

"I won't ask Tomatsu Yuka to sign me up for the accompaniment."

This is the girl's bottom line—no matter how much she tries to appease or soften her stance, it's only in front of Matsue; she will not listen to Tomatsu Yuka's orders.

Jun Matsue nodded. "Then I'll go talk to her."

When the two entered the classroom, Tomatsu Yuka had already woken up from her short lunch break. She turned her head to look at the two behind her and blinked silently.

"I went and bought a coffee." Jun Matsueda smiled and placed the coffee on the girl's table. "Tomoka, would you like a sip?"

A sharp pain shot through the boy's waist—Mochizuki Haruka, who was walking towards the window, casually pinched him.

"Thank you, Jun-kun~" Tomatsu Yuka smiled again, took a sip of her coffee, and showed a satisfied expression.

As for the coffee in Mochizuki Haruka's hand, she didn't pay any attention to it.

After observing the girl's expression for a while, Jun Matsue took the coffee she offered and spoke naturally.

"Yuka, Mochizuki is planning to join the music accompaniment group for the cultural festival."

"..." Tomatsu Yuka was silent for a brief moment, then smiled and nodded.

"Of course, no problem!"

At 4:10 p.m., the school bell had already rung, but the door to the conference room on the third floor of the administration building remained closed.

When the faint voice of "The meeting is over" came from behind the heavy wooden door, the students carrying documents poured out of the room and hurried back to their respective classrooms.

Jun Matsueda was one of the last to leave the meeting room. Watching the crowd quickly disperse, he first sent a message to Tomomi Kaname, who had already gone home, before heading upstairs to Class 3-6.

As he passed the third-year students' study room, he glanced inside a few times but did not find Mochizuki Haruka.

Back in my classroom, it was already empty, with only a few backpacks left on the desks by students who had gone to study.

The boy quickly packed his things, his movements even lighter than before.

Jun Matsue was in a good mood in the afternoon, not because the cultural festival preparation meeting after school went very smoothly, but because of the girl he unexpectedly met by the vending machine during lunch break.

Although he didn't know how Mochizuki Haruka's attitude had softened, since the opportunity to end the cold war had appeared before him, he would naturally choose to accept it gladly.

As the boy walked out of the classroom and closed the door behind him, he headed towards the stairwell, only to be blocked by a figure emerging from the classroom of Class 5, Grade 3.

"...Why hasn't Imokawa left yet?" Jun Matsue looked at the girl in front of him in surprise.

“I’m waiting for the pine branch!” Imokawa Natsumi said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I have something to give you—"

She took a paper bag out of her purse and carefully pulled out the photos.

"this!"

She held the photo in both hands and presented it to the boy's chest.

Jun Matsueda looked at the photo in front of him.

He was very familiar with the scene above; it was a photo of the two of them by the Arakawa River—even from a third-person perspective, the girl kissing his cheek in the photo still made his heart flutter.

"……Thanks."

He reached out and took it, carefully stuffing it into a compartment in his backpack.

"That's great." Natsumi Imokawa breathed a sigh of relief, watching the boy's actions.

"Actually, I wanted to give you the photo the day before yesterday, but you weren't in the classroom at noon, and I ran into Mochizuki-san..."

The girl waited anxiously for a day, and only after realizing that Mochizuki-san didn't seem to intend to do anything to her did she start "waiting for the rabbit to come to the tree stump" again.

"You ran into Mochizuki?" Jun Matsue looked up.

"Mmm!" Natsumi Imokawa scratched her cheek.

"Because Mochizuki asked me what I wanted to give you, I showed her the photo."

"It shouldn't matter, right?"

"Didn't she ask you any questions?" The boy seemed to understand something.

"I asked." Natsumi Imokawa nodded blankly.

"I told you I liked you and even confessed to you, and then Mochizuki stormed off in a huff."

Anyway, she figured she wouldn't be able to hide it from them later anyway, so she might as well just be honest—that's what the girl thought.

“…I see.” Jun Matsueda zipped up the uniform and pressed the part of the uniform that contained the photo.

"Looks like I should thank Imokawa." He smiled.

"What are you thanking me for?" Natsumi Imokawa tilted her head.

"I can't say for sure... Anyway, Imokawa helped me a lot."