Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 748 The Last Cultural Festival

On November 7th, the day of the cultural festival, Jun Matsue woke up half an hour earlier than usual.

The boy drew back the curtains; the light was dim. He picked up his phone from the bedside table, checked the time, and then went to the bathroom to wash up.

As he stood in front of the sink to get water, the tightly closed door in the mirror suddenly opened, and Yosuke Kurusu, wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, walked out of the restroom, rubbing his eyes in a daze.

"Songzhi is up so early today?"

When Jun Matsue looked at the long-haired girl standing behind him in the mirror, he was almost startled.

"...Why don't you turn on the light when you go to the bathroom?"

The bathroom layout of room 507 is a common feature in Japan: a wet and dry separation design. There are two doors in front of the sink, one leading to the shower and the other to a small toilet. So the boy didn't notice that there was someone in the toilet behind him.

"You've forgotten..."

Miss Idol closed the bathroom door, then turned on the light as a last resort. A sliver of light peeked out from under the door, casting a glow on their heels.

"what time is it now?"

She squeezed next to the boy, washed her hands, and then put her wet hands on his shoulders to dry them.

"...a little after 6:30."

Jun Matsue put the toothbrush in his mouth, shook his shoulders, and the girl's hands slid down.

"So early?!" Kurusu Yosei's voice became more awake. "What's Matsue doing?"

"There's a cultural festival today," the boy mumbled while brushing his teeth. "I need to get there early to prepare."

"Oh~~" the girl uttered a long, undulating sound.

She reached out and wiped her hands on the boy's waist before heading back to sleep.

"I have to go to work today, is it okay if I come over this afternoon?"

"Mmm." Jun Matsue nodded, toothpaste foam still in his mouth. "Call me when the time comes."

The idol walked away in her slippers, followed by the sleepy sound of the door closing.

The boy peeked out and made sure she was back in the bedroom and not sleeping in some random place. He then spat out the foam in his mouth and turned off the bathroom light behind him.

A few minutes later, a bicycle emerged from the apartment building, crossed the intersection, stopped next to a convenience store, and continued on its way with breakfast in hand.

"..."

The cold wind that rushed towards him made Jun Matsuoka squint his eyes slightly. He exhaled the warm breath he had been holding in his chest and felt the warmth quickly dissipate on his face.

The boy stopped at the traffic light and looked down to squeeze his bicycle handlebars.

He wasn't wearing gloves, but he had already applied hand cream as instructed by Mochizuki Haruka yesterday.

It seems like I applied a bit too much; aside from it being a little slippery when gripping the handle, I didn't feel anything particularly special.

The green light came on, and he started pedaling his bicycle again. Jun Matsue looked ahead and watched the crows perched on the telephone pole fly over his head.

Today is the start of winter, and the weather has gotten a bit colder.

Will the girl return to the apartment to apply hand cream to him before his breath turns into white mist?
A lone bicycle crossed the intersection and headed towards Haneoka High.

Arriving at school before 7 a.m., Jun Matsue walked into the classroom, and the girl sitting at the coffee table immediately turned around.

"Tsun-kun is here~"

The boy blinked and walked over to the girl. "Yuka arrived even earlier than me."

"I just arrived too~" Tomatsu Yuka said with a smile, taking the boy's hand in hers.

"It's already quite chilly in the mornings now; you can feel it even sitting in the classroom."

“It’s okay.” Jun Matsue stretched out his hands. “A hug will warm you up.”

The docile girl nestled into his arms, and the two embraced tightly, feeling each other's warmth in the dry, slightly chilly indoor air.

Tomatsu Yuka rubbed her soft cheek against the person in front of her, then buried her face in his neck and breathed softly on him a few times. The thin chill emanating from the boy quickly melted away.

"Time to get to work."

Matsueda Jun loosened his embrace, and footsteps came from the corridor outside the window, mixed with the boy's carefree voice. The girl reluctantly lowered her arms.

"Hasn't Chun-kun had breakfast yet?" She glanced at the plastic bag on the table.

"Hmm, I bought a beef rice ball on the way, thinking I'd save some time."

Tomatsu Yuka smiled sweetly, "Then Tsunku can eat later. After you bring the milk over, I'll make you a hot latte for breakfast~"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ken Sakamuro pushed open the classroom door, followed by Mimi Mizushima, whom he had met on the way.

The tall boy shivered as he entered the classroom. "It's so cold in the classroom so early in the morning!"

"It's all because you didn't button your coat..." Jun Matsue glanced at him and greeted Mizushima-san as they passed by.

"Then Sakamuro and I will go to the cafeteria first."

Tomatsu Yuka, her cheeks flushed with a warm blush, waved to the two of them.

"Be careful on the road."

The boys walked out of the teaching building and headed to the cafeteria. Sakamuro Ken patted the person next to him on the shoulder.

"Does Songzhi seem to be in a good mood lately?"

"Really?" Jun Matsueda pushed open the cafeteria door.

An aunt wearing an apron and a mask waved to them, with milk in a plastic box at her feet.

Of course, a coffee shop needs milk. To ensure a sufficient supply of milk, Jun Matsueda went to the cafeteria in advance with Kominato-sensei's autograph and asked the staff in charge of milk supply to purchase a batch of fresh milk for the class.

"Thank you so much!" The two men stepped forward, bent down, and together lifted the box of milk before turning and leaving the cafeteria.

The tiled road was still damp with dew in the morning. Boys carrying cardboard boxes walked in the middle of the road to prevent slipping and accidents.

"I've noticed that Matsueda's expression has softened a lot lately," Ken Sakamuro said, continuing their conversation about the previous topic.

“Last month you always had a stiff and unyielding look on your face, and the female students on the street were too afraid to talk to you.”

“Isn’t that great?” Jun Matsue, who was walking behind, smiled.

"Hmph...is it because of Mochizuki?" The boy turned his head and glanced at him, speaking in a detective-like tone.

"I've seen you two exchanging glances again lately!"

"...Why are you sitting in the front always paying attention to what's going on in the back?" Jun Matsue nudged him through the milk carton.

The two turned at the intersection in tacit agreement, carrying their suitcases into the teaching building. As they walked up the stairs, Ken Sakamuro let out a helpless sigh.

"I'm studying for exams every day now, and I can't even play basketball at school. Besides keeping up with what my celebrity friends are up to, what else can I do?"

Jun Matsue bounced the box on the landing at the corner of the stairs to prevent it from slipping from his hands, and then looked up at the boy walking in front of him.

"Just keep it to yourself, don't tell anyone else."

"I know, I know~" Ken Sakamuro waved his hand and braced his back against the plastic box.

"By the way, how did you do that? Tomatsu didn't seem that angry to me."

"..." Stepping onto the fourth-floor corridor, Jun Matsuoka let out a sigh of emotion as he recalled the ups and downs of the past few months.

"It's that simple, thanks to my hard work, love, and sincerity."

Back in Class 3-6, there were a few more people in the classroom, and the temperature seemed to have risen considerably. The two carrying the milk carton walked to the coffee counter, and Sakamuro Ken called out to the girls gathered around the table.

"Make way! Make way!"

The chattering girls quickly dispersed, revealing two fully automatic coffee machines on the bar—drips of dark brown liquid into porcelain cups, carrying a rich aroma and warmth.

Ken Sakamuro stepped aside, and Jun Matsueda opened the small refrigerator that had been moved under the podium in advance and put all the milk that had just been brought up into it.

"You've worked hard~" Light footsteps landed beside him, and the boy who had been squatting down looked up to see Tomatsu Yuka's smiling face.

Jun Matsueda stood up and looked at the girls sitting in the first row at the bar.

Mochizuki Haruka and Rion were sitting there when the girl in the maid outfit took a sip from her paper cup, then immediately closed her eyes and frowned.

"so bitter!"

"This is what espresso is like." The elegantly seated girl picked up the sugar packet from the table, unwrapped it, and poured it into a paper cup.

Mochizuki Haruka then picked up the paper cup and took a sip, her delicate eyebrows trembling slightly as she pierced through her composed facade.

Jun Matsue smiled and turned to look at the girl beside him.

"Have you already made the coffee?"

Tomatsu Tomoka nodded.

"Although we tried making it yesterday afternoon, just in case, we will definitely do another trial run before opening today."

"Looks like there's no problem?"

"Tsun-kun will know once he tries it~"

The girl picked up the coffee cup from the machine, then bent down to take out a large carton of milk and poured it into another milk jug.

She picked up the milk, dipped the metal rod protruding from the edge of the coffee machine into the milk pitcher, and then a soft exhalation sound was heard.

A dozen seconds later, feeling the metal cup heat up, Tomatsu Yuka turned off the steam wand and slowly poured the milk into the coffee cup next to her.

The brownish liquid slowly rose, and finally appeared in the center of the coffee as a not-quite-round white blob. The girl gently pushed the milk pitcher, turning it into a crooked heart shape.

"Here you go." She handed the coffee to the boy. "I'm not very good at latte art."

"Let's enjoy our first hot latte of the day with a rice ball, Tsunku!"

"Thank you." Jun Matsue smiled and accepted it, while Haruka Mochizuki, who was staring at the bar not far away, let out a soft, disdainful snort.

As students entered the classroom, they busied themselves with their tasks. Jun Matsue sat in a corner eating breakfast, watching the barista and waiters busily setting up the counter. A large, handwritten menu hung on the blackboard, its colorful cursive script adding a touch of Western flair to the classroom.

After finishing his beef rice ball in a few bites, the boy picked up the remaining hot latte and drank it all in one gulp. He threw the packaging bag into the trash can, then walked out of the classroom with his coffee cup.

As Jun approached the sink in the bathroom, just as he was about to rinse the porcelain cup, a figure silently appeared in the mirror in front of him.

"Let me see your hands." Mochizuki Haruka stood behind him with her arms crossed.

The boy put down his cup and turned around. The girl who had approached him took his hand without saying a word.

Besides carefully stroking and feeling it, the girl also brought it close to her cheek and gently sniffed it.

Aside from the faint creamy scent of the skin cream, and the lingering aroma of coffee on his slender fingers, Mochizuki Haruka nodded in satisfaction and released the boy's hand.

Jun Matsue turned around to rinse the coffee cup. The girl looked at his bangs in the mirror and raised her chin demurely.

"Even if you wear gloves later, you still need to apply hand cream, Pine Branch, do you hear me?"

The boy turned around and smiled at her. "Yes, ma'am."

After shaking the water droplets off his coffee cup, Jun Matsue and the girl returned to the corridor together.

"So how did you finally agree on the accompaniment?"

"Times are separate; she plays her saxophone, and I play my violin. It's that simple."

"That's fine too." He smiled and chose to accept this less-than-ideal outcome.

As she walked past the girls from Class 5 who were wearing princess dresses, Mochizuki Haruka suddenly turned her head to look at the boy and said casually.

"Just letting you know, my aunt said she'll be coming to see this year's cultural festival."

Jun Matsue blinked. "Is Auntie coming? When?"

"I don't know." The girl's smile was sweet but tinged with a hint of malice.

She said it depends on her mood.

The boy's relaxed mood from breakfast quickly tightened again—since Mochizuki specifically mentioned that her aunt was coming, she must be looking for him, but he couldn't be sure about her attitude...

If only getting a few lashes would solve the problem.

He pushed open the classroom door, and the warm aroma of coffee enveloped him, drowning out the jumbled thoughts in his mind.

At 8:40 a.m., Class 6 of Grade 3, with all members present, left the classroom under the guidance of their homeroom teacher, and the laughing and joking crowd entered the corridor.

Jun Matsue, trailing at the end of the line, entered the auditorium, where a huge crowd came into view—unlike the usual neat school uniforms, the Haneoka High School team today was a mix of bright and colorful outfits.

The boy followed his class to an empty seat and sat down. He paused for a moment, then craned his neck to look around. It seemed that a familiar girl was missing from the line of Class 5 next door.

"What are you looking at, Jun-kun?" Tomatsu Yuka asked with a smile as she sat down to his left.

"Anyway, he's definitely looking at women." Mochizuki Haruka, sitting to the right, straightened her skirt and said in a cold tone.

"Can't I even say hello to Aya-chan?" Jun Matsueda raised his head and waved to Aya Miyamura, who was looking back from a distance.

"I wondered if Imokawa had been called away to take photos."

The people in the auditorium quickly arrived, and when the young and beautiful host walked onto the stage with a microphone, the boy finally saw Natsumi Imokawa's figure in the side stairwell.

The girl was still wearing her school uniform, and she held up a camera with both hands to cover the lower half of her face—everyone's attention was focused on the stage, and apart from the boys who were specifically searching for her, no one noticed the girl standing in the shadows.

But when the big screen on the stage lit up, the girls sitting on either side of Jun Matsueda simultaneously gripped his hand and looked at the camera flash that was flashing to their sides.

Standing in the corner, Natsumi Imokawa shrank back. She hesitated for a moment, then put down her camera and waved in their direction.

Jun Matsue tried to raise his hand in response, but Tomatsu Yuka and Mochizuki Haruka held his hand tightly, showing no sign of letting go.

"..." The boy looked around. "Is this okay?"

"What's wrong with it?" Mochizuki Haruka asked, staring at the stage.

Tomatsu Yuka smiled nonchalantly, "Anyway, we're all in our seats, so no one can see us~"

So Jun Matsue could only blink his right eye at the camera in the distance before looking at the stage.

The first thing played on the big screen was a story that took place at Haneoka High School in the new year.

Sports meets, Koshien Stadium, school trips, national wind band competitions...

The cherry blossoms that bloomed when the new students entered school have long since faded, the cicadas' chirping in summer has vanished in an instant, and the verdant ginkgo trees on the streets of Tokyo have unknowingly turned golden in the morning dew.

The final year's cultural festival opened amidst cheers in the auditorium.

(End of this chapter)