Am I being simulated by their love affair?

"It feels like something is falling~"

"I only see the accumulated longing day after day~"

The girls waved their arms in unison, and the glow sticks in the audience also waved.

Lai Qi Yang Shi returned to the center, and the others squatted beside her like stars surrounding the moon. The girl covered her face with one hand and whispered into the microphone.

"Guilt mixed with other feelings~"

"Why can't I leave you?"

The music changed, the tune becoming more passionate, and the girls stood up, like buds blooming, and sang in unison.

“No matter how many times we meet, no matter how much I miss you, this feeling will never change.”

"The words I want to say to you pile up day and night"

“A buffer period in pursuit of the meaning of existence”

"Everything is covered up with shouting!!"

The girls gathered around the center position again, stretched out their hands and danced towards the devilish girl, "Haruyo!"

During the interlude of the music, Kurusu Yoshi, who was standing in the center, raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and slowly lowered his arm, pointing to the audience seats in front.

Haruyo is the romanization of "Yoshi", and it was not until now that Kurusu Yoshi officially appeared.

"Haruyo!!!" The cheers from the audience were about to break through the roof. Jun Matsueda could hear that the man sitting behind him, who originally supported Meijiang, was shouting the loudest.

Jun Matsueda looked at the glittering stage. The girl's magic was almost visible to the naked eye, floating down from the stage and surrounding his seat.

From his angle, he could clearly see that the pink-haired girl's wink and index finger were both directed towards Matsueda Jun.

The girl named Kurusu Yoyo dominated the stage for half an hour until the end of the performance.

"How about it? All my poses are for you? You're my exclusive idol! Pretty awesome, right?" In the performance corridor, the girl patted Matsueda Jun's shoulder proudly.

It was past nine o'clock and they stood at the back door of the venue, waiting for the enthusiastic crowd outside to disperse.

Matsueda Jun leaned against the iron gate. "Your performance is truly impressive. I mean. Your mother might have been right to let you become an idol."

"You were born to be on stage."

"Matsueda thinks so highly of me? I'm a little happy~" the girl giggled.

"Tonight is your debut performance as a new member. Won't the girls in the group have a welcome party or something?" Jun Matsueda was a little curious. Whenever he found a part-time job in a supermarket, everyone in the department would hold a welcome party.

"They were going to do it, but I said I had a night shift, so I canceled it."

"Is this excuse okay?" Jun Matsueda looked at the glass window of the back door and saw that many fans who were captivated by the girl had not left.

"Do you think being a young idol has it easy? Many of them have part-time jobs while also running their business."

Lai Qi Yang Shi let her hair down and put on a baseball cap. Her body after exercise exuded a faint fragrance in the closed and narrow space. Her face was flushed and she was breathing slightly.

"Follow me to the employee passage on the other side." The girl pushed open another door and waved to him.

The two walked down another corridor. The girl who had been enjoying the cheers on the stage just a dozen minutes earlier was standing in front of Jun Matsueda. Her long pink hair swayed, as if waiting to be grasped by a large hand. Then, in this underground space, shielded from the desires and gazes of many, she would become his exclusive idol.

After opening the door, there was an underground passage in Shibuya, and the two people who were trapped in the venue by fans finally escaped.

Kurusu Yoshi held the baseball cap with his left hand and turned the brim to the back of his head with his right hand. His long hair fluttered and his posture was handsome.

"Let's go get a midnight snack! A midnight snack! I didn't eat much before the show, and I have to sing and dance all the time. I'm starving!"

The two walked into a shop called "Gokumi Teppanyaki" and sat down at the bar-style seats surrounding the central kitchen.

"This restaurant was recommended by my new teammate! He said the hamburger patties are delicious." Kurusu Yoshi picked up the menu and ordered the L-sized hamburger patty set meal.

The barbecue guy put the big piece of meat patties on the iron plate and grilled it to bring out the aroma of raw meat. Jun Matsueda didn't place any order because he was not hungry.

"Are you satisfied with your performance tonight?" He felt that he had been trained by Tsushima Kou to become a qualified member of the news department.

"I think it's great!" The girl stared at the hamburger meat, which gradually turned from red to brown. "It's just that the song selection doesn't seem to suit me, but it's work after all."

"Some people are more suited to singing these sad, unrequited love lyrics. I'm the energetic type on stage, so the compatibility is average."

Matsueda Jun thought of a certain girl again and decided to change the subject. "So this is on the right track? Can things continue well?"

The barbecue boy picked up the half-cooked meat, sprinkled it with chopped onions, and handed it to him on a tray. Kurusu Yangshi took it eagerly, used silver chopsticks to tear the large piece of meat into small pieces, and placed it on the iron plate for further processing.

"It's hard to say. The underground idol scene nowadays isn't as simple as it was back in my mom's time. The competition is fierce, and there are a lot of dark sides."

"The kid who's been so popular at the Tokyo Idol Theater recently debuted as a local idol when he was only eight or nine years old. Can you believe it?"

The girl took out a pair of bamboo chopsticks and put the roasted meat ball into her mouth, chewing it with great enthusiasm, looking like she was about to fly.

A nine-year-old underground idol... Jun Matsueda can only sigh that Japanese people are becoming more and more perverted.

Kurusu Yoshi swallowed his hamburger meat, picked up his cup, took a sip of tea, and continued, "And even if this company's operating model is relatively healthy, it still depends on the atmosphere within the department and the group."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that we were holding hands on stage at the end of the performance just now, and we looked very friendly. Someone might already be plotting how to suppress me."

"Even if you have the talent, connections, opportunities, and background, you still can't necessarily make it in Tokyo's entertainment industry. Not to mention all the random people who sneak in and use their status as underground idols to boost their status."

"The place where I fought was much more terrifying than you think!"

Kurusu Yoshi placed the last bite of meat in front of Matsueda Jun, "But none of this matters. Come and share the joy of my debut!"

The steaming hamburger meat moved closer and closer, almost touching the tip of Jun Matsueda's nose. He opened his mouth and swallowed it.

"good to eat."

Juice from the grilled meat oozed out of his mouth, and Jun Matsueda looked at the girl in front of him who was licking her chopsticks.

Clearly, what she was talking about was darkness, competition, and chaos, but the girl's tone seemed to be saying.

She came here just to release the light.

Chapter 83: The End of September, the Autumn of Emotions

On the last day of September, Jun Matsueda was in the office of his homeroom teacher, Shoko Kominato, watching the maple trees outside the window begin to turn red.

September in Neon passes quickly.

September in China is the start of school for new students, a time of farewells, settling down, starting school, and finally reunion. For them, September is a time of leaving their homes, a time of transformation, a shift in time and space. Many memories are forced to end, and many stories are forced to begin.

Yet, September's arrival in Japan isn't a special time; it marks the middle of the school year and the awkward temperatures. September is a month of transition, a time when people wait for the harvest, for the leaves to turn yellow, for the summer heat of the Kanto Plain to dissipate, and for the year's end to brew.

"Matsueda? You're not distracted, are you?"

Matsueda Jun secretly shifted his gaze back, "Teacher Kominato is talking about the previous National Olympiad. I'm listening."

"Didn't Mr. Kashida give you the answer? Is it correct?" Kominato Shoko looked at the boy in front of her who had grown taller, and the sadness about his height gradually grew in her heart.

"The teacher said that based on the scores from the past two years, a gold medal is a no-brainer, and we might even have a chance to qualify for the international competition."

He thought to himself, if he had known earlier, he would have answered the field questions more casually, otherwise he would be in trouble if he really made it to the international competition.

If he were given another chance, Jun Matsueda would explain the red tide's color change this way: the second impact caused the death of marine life around the world, and their blood dyed the sea red...

"Well... the gold medal is basically locked in. I'll report this to the principal. The results will be announced in early October, right? The bonus should be given to you in mid-October." The teacher, who looked like the girl next door, glanced outside the corridor.

"Thank you, teacher." He felt that he could leave.

"Matsueda-san."

"Hmm?" Matsueda Jun perked up. Teacher Kominato would only call him that when he was serious.

"Teacher has always believed that you are a good child." Xiaominato Shengzi hesitated, "You need to deal with your relationship problems and don't make the girl too sad."

"But don't get yourself hurt!"

When Jun Matsueda walked out of the office, he was still recalling what Shoko Kominato said. Why did the teacher suddenly mention this?

When he saw the girl standing in the corridor, he understood why.

Mochizuki Haruka has her hair loose with bangs today, and a golden hairpin with a cat head pattern on it is pinned on her head, giving her a girl-next-door vibe and a cute everyday style.

The girl took the initiative to speak: "Auntie is awake."

Auntie has woken up, but Mochizuki Haruka is still in school. It seems that she has made a lot of progress.

"She said she would pick me up in the evening, and I want you to come with her."

After thinking for a while, Matsueda Jun nodded. The last time Mochizukihua woke up, they didn't talk much. This time, he wanted to talk to his aunt about her niece.

The topic ended, and the two walked downstairs together. When they were halfway up the stairs, Mochizuki Haruka suddenly spoke.

"Did you get a roommate recently?"

It had been a month since she asked this question, which was really beyond Jun Matsueda's expectations.

"Have you checked on her?"

The girl hesitated for a moment before nodding, "An ordinary girl, no background."

She had seen photos of Kurusu Yoshi, the girl smiling brightly beside Matsueda Jun. She knew them all, whether they were eating barbecue on a rooftop in Shinjuku or watching a show in the basement of Shibuya.

But she would rather not know.

It was difficult for Mochizuki Yao to describe how she felt when she saw those photos. It was as if her cat had stretched out its little claws and scratched her heart through the thick membrane. Even though the pain was dull, the tingling feeling could not be shaken off.

The girl really wanted to ask him, I am suffering here because of the unfairness of fate and confused by the illusions in my dreams, why can you walk with another girl and lie on her shoulder drunkenly?

why?

Is it so happy to be with her?

Can't you just look at me one more time?

Jun Matsueda stopped and turned to look at her, and the girl was caught off guard and bumped into him.

Mochizuki Yao felt incredible. Did he say it accidentally? Or could he hear my thoughts?

"Mochizuki Haruka, you've gone too far. Class 1 is behind you."

......So that's how it is.

"Feel sorry."

She turned and walked back into the classroom, returning to her seat. The girls gathered around Mochizuki Haruka, chatting about their daily lives. It didn't matter if she didn't talk; the girls just liked having her around. The princess of Class 2, the aloof mascot—that was her identity.

In this space that made her feel a little more at ease, Mochizuki Haruka found that it was meaningless to think about love and not love.

Because Jun Matsueda probably wouldn't choose to be with her.

Jun Matsueda waited there for a while before opening the back door of Class 1.

Mochizuki Haruka's attitude towards him seemed to be becoming more and more troublesome, so he would have to find a way to remind her later.

It’s already like this now. What if my aunt really falls asleep and never wakes up?

Jun Matsueda returned to his seat, took out the information he had obtained from Mr. Kominato, and started to think about the next competition.

Mizushima Miya on his right leaned forward and looked over him at Tomatsu Touka's seat, which was empty.

It was not until the end of lunch break that Tomatsu Tomoka returned to the classroom, and the expression on the girl's face was not relaxed.

Mizushima Miya walked to Tomatsu Tomoka's seat and squatted down, and the two began to talk in a low voice.

"Is this another confession?"

The girl nodded casually. She first glanced at the materials on Jun Matsueda's desk, then took out the textbook for the next class from the drawer.

"I really don't know what those boys were thinking. They all came to confess their love to me without caring about your feelings at all." Mizushima Miya said indignantly. She secretly glanced at Matsueda Jun next to her.

Of course he didn't react.

In fact, it is not only Tomatsu Tomoka, but also Matsueda Jun who has been receiving many girls' affection hints, intentionally or unintentionally, overtly or covertly, recently.

The reason why the boys charged towards Tomatsu Tomoka was partly because they thought they could take advantage of the opportunity, and partly because they were warm-hearted and felt so sorry for the haggard girl who had suffered a breakup that they thought she needed their care.

The girl's fragile expression is like a woman wearing plain white mourning clothes, which always arouses pity.

The girls who are interested in Matsueda Jun think this way: even Tomatsu Touka, who is known as the freshman killer, failed to express her love. Maybe Matsueda is quite unique in choosing his partner. For example, he doesn’t care about looks, or he likes people with interesting personalities?

At this time, they will feel that their hearts are extremely beautiful.

For the two parties involved, they will only think that they have added a lot of troubles to their lives.

After the afternoon class ended, Matsueda Jun followed Mochizuki Haruka, who was guarding the back door, out of the classroom. Before leaving, Mochizuki Haruka gave Tomatsu Touka a mocking look, but the girl, who was concentrating on her homework, didn't pay any attention.

After most people in the classroom had left, she picked up the bag containing the saxophone and walked towards the activity building.

The members of the wind band recently reached a consensus.

Tomatsu Tomoka's performance is becoming terrifying.