Am I being simulated by their love affair?

This is not to say that the level of their principal saxophone player has declined; on the contrary, her appeal is growing at an incredible rate.

Especially when practicing "Fantasy of Eternal Summer Days", almost everyone was suppressed by the emotions during the girl's solo.

Sadness, resentment, self-blame, and inability to find relief, these strong emotions even make the girls feel uncomfortable.

Standing on the stage, Yamamaki frowned as she looked at the saxophone-playing girl who was immersed in the music.

Yamami Moki didn't want to describe her juniors like this, but she really felt that way.

A musical monster is about to be born.

Chapter 84: Meal at the Mochizuki Family

When Mochizuki Haruka and Matsueda Jun opened the car door, the woman in the back seat was looking through a pile of documents.

This was an extended sedan with sofa-style seats in the back. Jun Matsueda sat opposite his aunt and nephew.

Wang Yuehua changed out of her hospital gown and put on her long skirt again. She didn't look like a sick person at all.

However, when my aunt was silent, she did look more and more frail, completely different from her temperament when Jun Matsueda first met her at the manor.

"Why are you staring at me?" The woman gently kicked his calf with the tip of her high heel.

"Because my aunt is sitting opposite me."

The woman and her niece switched places, and this time it was Mochizuki Haruka who stared at him, while Matsueda Jun looked at the street view outside the window and listened to the two people chatting.

"Auntie, now that you're awake, do you feel any discomfort?"

"It's like I just had a good sleep. Everything feels normal and I feel quite refreshed."

The woman knocked on the armrest of the seat, creating a groove, and pulled out a few glasses and a steaming bottle of soda.

Her high heels rubbed against his trouser legs, "Mr. Matsueda, I want to drink soda. Can you pour it for me?" She winked at Jun Matsueda.

It seemed that my aunt also had something to say. She took the soda bottle and gently unscrewed the cap with her left thumb and index finger, making a crisp sound.

Mochizuki pressed another glass into her niece's hand, and Matsueda Jun poured soda and got himself one too. It had a lemony flavor, a bit like the drink she'd had on the Shinjuku rooftop that night.

The tires of the stretched sedan were spinning as fast as a phantom. When they passed over the bumps on the road, he didn't feel any bumps at all, but only saw ripples on the surface of the water in the cup.

"It looks like it's going to rain soon." Mochizuki Hua and Matsueda Jun were on the balcony of the manor, looking at the ripples in the pond.

"It rains every time I come here." Jun Matsueda said while sitting at the small round table.

"Maybe the Mochizuki family is just unlucky," the woman sighed. The black gauze dress she wore today was similar to the one she wore that day, with a layered design and thin sleeves, allowing a glimpse of the flesh-colored arm. She stood at the edge of the balcony, the wind barely able to lift the hem of her skirt.

Jun Matsueda knew she wasn't talking about the weather.

"When I woke up today, I asked the doctor if my symptoms would get worse. She said that at the moment, there was no sign that my condition wouldn't get worse."

The rain got heavier, and Wang Yuehua, who had been looking at the pond with her back to him, turned around.

"Am I really going to become Sleeping Beauty?" There was visible worry in her eyes. These emotions were well hidden on that rainy afternoon more than a month ago, but now they were finally revealed.

In the face of a disease whose name she didn't even know, wealth, power, and her still young life span were of little use. She could only watch the end approach.

"The doctor said that the worst possible outcome is brain death." The woman's voice trembled slightly.

What should Matsueda Jun say? He couldn't offer any help to his aunt, and she wasn't the schoolboy Haruka Mochizuki, whose mind was already fully mature. A few words wouldn't comfort her.

She sat down in the seat opposite Jun Matsueda, her two white arms folded on the table. The woman lowered her head to look at the ground on the balcony, her posture as if she was taking a nap at school.

"Oh - ah - what should I do!" She suddenly shouted with her head down, with a bit of girlish anger and helplessness.

It seemed that this was her way of venting her emotions. Jun Matsueda looked into the distance and counted the dragonflies over the pond.

Wang Yuehua continued to shout nonsense about things like company, equity, love, virginity, etc., and her voice became more and more vague, even unclear than a pond in the rain.

As if she was tired of shouting, the woman became quiet. She took a few deep breaths and looked up at the boy sitting opposite her.

"After I woke up last time, I started making plans for what to do in case I lost consciousness for a long time."

"I can ensure Xiaoyao's material life is very good. I am even sure that when she takes over, the scale of the Wangyue family will become even larger."

"But I don't know, if I never wake up again, will she still be the little girl who can cry and laugh, and who will frown and listen to me read fairy tales to her."

When she said this, she looked at Matsueda Jun without blinking, and the implication was obvious.

"You shouldn't count on me for this kind of thing. It would be more reliable to find a psychologist for her." Jun Matsueda avoided the woman's eager gaze.

Although he had an agreement with Mochizuki Yao, this was not the same as his aunt's instructions. To put it bluntly, if the woman in front of him really wanted to die, then what she was doing now was no different from entrusting an orphan to someone else.

Jun Matsueda had no intention of accepting such a heavy thing.

"That's a nice thing to say. A psychologist or something. If she wants to fire someone, she can do it at will." The woman deliberately used a relaxed tone to dilute the serious atmosphere.

"I made an agreement with Mochizuki Haruka before. If anything happens to her, I will do my best to help. But Aunt, please don't expect too much. It's better to make more arrangements."

He didn't want to get entangled with the woman over this matter.

"So what are your plans now, Matsueda-kun?"

"Mochizuki Haruka has a strong fear of death. We need to let her learn to accept death first, starting with a fake death."

Jun Matsueda's thoughts have never changed. This is a fact that the girl must face, no matter how much she tries to avoid it.

"Then I can only look forward to seeing what Matsueda-kun has to offer." The woman smiled and stood up, and the two of them left the balcony. "It's time to go and ask Xiaoyao to come over for dinner. If she asks later, just say we were talking about the orphanage."

Jun Matsueda nodded, and as he went downstairs, he looked at the slender back of the woman in front of him, with the layers of black veil on her shoulders undulating.

"Looking at black clothes for too long can really affect your mood." The woman said she had a lot of plans, but she didn't mention her future, which made him feel a little uncomfortable. "There's an overseas expert team on the way, don't be too pessimistic."

Wang Yuehua held onto the stairs with one hand and looked back, smiling a bit wickedly, "Matsueda-kun actually cares about me. If Xiaoyao hears this, she'll be jealous."

Mochizuki Haruka was already sitting at the dining table waiting for the two of them. She still had the cat hairpin on her head and a lazy golden female cat in her arms.

"Golden Branch!" Jun Matsueda called softly, and the cat stretched out on the girl's black thigh-high socks and jumped into his arms.

The girl looked at him angrily, or perhaps at the cat in his arms, "You stayed upstairs for a long time."

"I asked Matsueda-kun some things about the welfare home." The woman sat down at the dining table. The maid carried the dishes into the hall, and the aroma of seafood wafted in.

"Is dinner going to be seafood paella?" Jun Matsueda looked at the risotto in front of him with rich soup, with tamagoyaki, sea urchin, shrimp and tuna pieces spread on top, and the gaps filled with salmon roe, which was bright red and very appetizing.

He pretended not to see the girl's look of seeking confirmation. He had agreed not to tell lies in front of her.

"This is what Xiaoyao arranged for you. She thought you would like it." Auntie began to fan the flames. In fact, she just wanted to eat it, so she asked the kitchen to make it.

Mochizuki Haruka glared at her.

The Mochizuki family did not follow the etiquette and rules when eating as Matsueda Jun thought. The aunt and nephew chatted while eating, and of course he did not speak.

The girl opened her little mouth and put the white and tender scallop meat into her mouth, squinting her eyes in satisfaction. Jinzhi under the table meowed with greed.

"The school held a ball game two days ago," she said to her aunt.

"Matsueda-kun must have participated, right?" The woman looked at Matsueda Jun. She was impressed by the way he unscrewed the bottle cap with two fingers in the car before.

Jun Matsueda swallowed the tuna and wiped his mouth with a tissue. "We participated in the basketball game. Our class won the school championship."

The aunt clapped her hands, and Mochizuki Haruka continued, "I signed up for tennis, and I became the champion, the whole school champion."

"Really?" The woman put down the spoon and walked over to the girl. "I haven't seen you play tennis in a while. What style and color is your tennis uniform? Are you wearing a skirt? Do you have any photos?"

Mochizuki Yao pushed her aunt's face away from her. "There are no photos. If you want to see them, I can just wear them for you."

"But I want to see you win the championship even more! You must look so handsome!" The woman stomped her feet regretfully. The golden cat jumped around under her long skirt. The girl buried her head in her food, hiding her smile.

When Jun Matsueda got into the car to leave the manor, the dragonfly was still flying over the pond. Although the rain had stopped, there were still circles of ripples on the water surface.

He turned on his phone and saw new messages in the news department's group chat.

"We need to prepare for the filming of the Wind Ensemble National Convention."

Chapter 85: Mountains, Seaside, and Plains

By the end of Saturday morning classes, the school bus was parked on the side of the road at Hanaoka High School.

The school gates stood behind the members of the wind band. The girls each pulled out their instruments and smiled at Natsumi Imokawa's camera. The students leaving the school were drawn to the gold in their hands.

Standing at the front were the smiling principal and advisor Hirouchi Aya. Matsueda Jun had never seen Hirouchi look so serious.

After the photo shoot, the three members of the News Department watched as the principal addressed the girls. The key message was to work hard and strive for a national gold medal, and everyone nodded in agreement.

The atmosphere became lively only after the girls watched the principal walk through the gate and into the school building. Hirouchi Aya had already boarded the bus and let them make some noise.

"Xia Shi Xia Shi, come and take another photo for us!" The most lively tuba leader waved to Yuchuan Xia Shi who was standing next to him.

The girls stood in their positions for the stage, maintaining a dignified expression, took a traditional makeup photo first, and then let themselves go.

"Take another lively one!" The wind band raised their instruments, and the girls in the back row stood on tiptoe, their sailor uniforms lifted up to their chests, revealing their bellies, which were either flat or plump.

As the director, Yamami Maki also held up her oboe and smiled at the camera, in the same posture as when she had shown her commanding demeanor on stage before.

"Xia Shi, please take a picture of me beating Duodai!" Duodai is the principal tuba, and the person speaking is the principal trombone. She has wanted to play Duodai with the trombone for a long time.

The trombones and tubas chased each other around in a circle.

Someone even threw a flute into the air and asked Natsumi Imokawa to take a picture of it.

"You are not allowed to play musical instruments. What if you drop them?" Yamami Maki walked to the club member and smiled kindly. Imokawa Natsumi did not take a picture of the flute, but instead caught the club leader scolding someone.

"Stop playing around!" Hirouchi Aya shouted from the car doorstep, "It takes several hours to get from Tokyo to Nagoya. There are pictures for you to take there!"

The girls then boarded the bus one after another. As usual, Tomatsu Tomoka and Yamami Matsukio sat at the front.

After getting on the bus, the girls saw the trio from the news club, and the atmosphere became awkward again. Imokawa Natsumi sat with her classmate, Senshita Yumi, while Matsueda Jun sat alone in the back seat.

When the girls see Jun Matsueda, they will think of Tomatsu Touka who cried silently on the bus on the day of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, and think of her now terrible saxophone.

The two people at the center of the incident were sitting far away. They had not communicated with each other since they started taking pictures, and they did not look like classmates at all.

After everyone was seated and Tomatsu Tomoka and Matsueda Jun were no longer visible, the atmosphere began to return to normal. After confirming that everyone was present, the bus departed for Nagoya.

It is 326 kilometers from Tokyo to Nagoya, and it only takes two hours by Shinkansen, but this time there is no Haruka Mochizuki to cover the expenses for the girls, so the brass band can only take the school bus.

The girls expected to spend four to five hours in the car. Some of them had already taken out cards and snacks and started playing games, while more were chatting with their companions or playing with their mobile phones.

When the bus crossed the bridge over the Tama River, Mitaka City was already behind them. Matsueda Jun and Tomatsu Yuka were sitting far away, but both were looking at a section of the Tama River bank in the distance.

That is the area of ​​Chofu City, and it was also the place where the four cities jointly held a summer festival two months ago.

The moment when the fireworks were at their brightest and the shooting stars brushed past the two of them was like a song that was playing on repeat in Tomatsu Tomoka's mind.

The girl remembered the lyrics he hummed softly, "I came to see you regardless of everything, I will be extinguished and never come back."

As much as she liked the lyrics back then, she hates them now.

Because it sings about a one-way ticket that never returns.

Jun Matsueda thought more than the girl. The first thing he remembered was their first meeting by the river that day, a strange girl in a bright yukata who he mistakenly thought might commit suicide.

Then there was the girl in the white and purple yukata, sitting with him on the dim roadside, and as she stood up, she extended her hand to him. It was an invitation to the fireworks festival, and also proof of her timidity before taking the final step.

The last thing he remembered was not the moment when Hanabi was at her most beautiful and the girl was at her most innocent, but the moment before that when she revealed her masterpiece with a wicked smile - the yukata he was wearing.

He didn't tell her at that moment, but he certainly knew that his heart was warm, like fireworks on the river, blooming in the unknown darkness.

But the bus was driving farther and farther away, and that small stretch of riverbank was out of their sight.

Yamamiya Moki secretly observed the girl sitting next to her out of the corner of her eye. Her face suddenly brightened up and even her eyes were warm, but in the blink of an eye it dimmed again and returned to its normal state of the past few days.

She didn't know what happened.

"Don't worry about me, Senior." The girl suddenly said, "I feel like my performance is better than ever. We will definitely win the national gold medal."

Hearing her say this, Yamamiya Maki's worries became even stronger. Just because something is not talked about doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

As the bus passed Gotemba City, the still energetic tuba principal exclaimed out the window, "I can see Mount Fuji again!"

On the left side of the road is the snow-capped peak of Mount Fuji, and on the right side is Mount Myojin and a series of mountains. Passing through them, you can see the blocked Lake Ashi.

"This is a good sign!" Duodai, the principal tuba player, said confidently. The girl next to her asked, "Why?"

"Didn't I tell you at the beginning that if we won the national gold medal, we would go to Mount Fuji? Now that we've seen it in advance, it means we can definitely win the national gold medal!"

The driver laughed, and Duodai became a little angry and asked, "Uncle, what are you laughing at?"

So everyone laughed.

The bus drove along the highway and stopped at a service area in Shizuoka. The driver got off the bus to rest for a while, and those who were still awake also chose to get off the bus to breathe some fresh air.

Of course, the two people who had something on their minds did not fall asleep. They got off the car one after another, and Yamami Maki also got off after Tomatsu Tomoka.

The service area is built right on the suspended highway, and on the right you can see the valley spreading towards the plain.

People with worries naturally walk to the edge of the service area platform, where the view is wider and it is conducive to feeling relaxed.