Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Wang Yuehua stared straight ahead, her arms crossed as if deliberately putting on airs, but this only accentuated her beautiful figure and the faint blush on her face.

"Why are you looking at me?" The woman, shuffling in her slippers, turned around and glared at him.

"Don't think that everything will be fine just because you've slept with Haruka! I know you're already dating Yosuke Kurusu!"

"Just because Xiaoyao doesn't care doesn't mean I agree. You better watch out! I'm keeping an eye on you!"

"You're not allowed to see any more women, do you hear me!"

Jun Matsue blinked and smiled gently, like a considerate butler.

"There are steps down the stairs ahead, Auntie, please be careful."

"...This is my home, do you need to tell me?!"

Chapter 824 The Men and Women of the Mochizuki Family

As Mochizuki Haruka rubbed her eyes and walked down the stairs, she saw two people sitting at the dining table—

My aunt, who had changed into a knitted dress, put on a bathrobe and ate her breakfast with a delicate and languid air, fiddling with her knife and fork.

The boy sitting next to her took off his coat, revealing a white shirt and knitted vest underneath.

Instead of eating breakfast, he was flipping through pages on the tablet computer in front of his aunt, occasionally stirring the salad to ensure that every bite of vegetables she ate was crisp and juicy.

The girl puffed out her cheeks slightly and quickened her pace toward the dining table.

"Xiaoyao, wake up." Wang Yuehua looked up and elegantly wiped the sauce from the corner of her lips.

She patted the empty seat next to her, "Come and have breakfast."

However, Mochizuki Haruka did not go to the empty seat, but instead sat on the lap of the boy on the other side.

"Feed me with pine branches."

Matsueda Jun naturally withdrew his hand from the news he had been helping the woman read, and pulled the girl closer to him.

"What does Xiaoyao want to eat? Auntie said the Eggs Benedict is good today."

"I don't want to eat that much..." Mochizuki Haruka twisted her waist comfortably in his arms.

"Shall we share some?"

"Alright~"

"..." Wang Yuehua stopped chewing and looked at the two people beside her who were eating breakfast together.

She suddenly felt that the salad in her mouth was a bit bland and tasteless.

"Ahem..." Auntie took a sip of milk and coughed lightly twice.

"After dinner, we'll be exchanging gifts."

"Oh..." Taking a bite of the small pancake covered in egg and ham that was brought to her mouth, Mochizuki Haruka nodded lazily.

"I haven't opened the gift on the bedside table yet."

Watching the boy refill her empty cup with just the right amount of milk, Wang Yuehua narrowed her eyes slightly in satisfaction, like a fox lying by a fireplace.

"That's perfect, we can open them together later and guess who gave us the gifts."

A dozen minutes later, the three of them returned to the small hall on the third floor after finishing their breakfast. The sunlight from the terrace shone directly onto the Christmas tree next to the round table, creating the perfect atmosphere for relaxing after a meal.

Jun Matsuoka and his aunt and niece sat down together, dividing the space on the small round table into three equal parts.

As the maid carrying gifts approached from a distance, the boy turned his head and reached out to pluck a thin branch from the Christmas tree beside him.

"It's a real tree, and it feels very vibrant."

"Because it was sawed off a couple of days ago." Wang Yuehua stretched and showed off her figure, which was wrapped in a knitted dress, without any hesitation.

"There's a large pine forest behind the yard; you can just pick a couple of small trees to use as Christmas trees."

“By the way—” she pointed to the golden bells on the treetops.

"The decorations on this tree were all hung by me and Xiaoyao. It should have been done by you, the man of the Wangyue family."

"What are the women of the Mochizuki family doing?" Matsueda Jun blinked, seemingly already used to being targeted by his aunt.

“Unwrap the presents,” the girl in the other corner replied.

Mochizuki Haruka placed the gifts brought by the maid on the table and then took the two boxes in front of her.

“This was given to me by my aunt and Songzhi.”

Her possessive behavior made the boy smile, and his aunt gently patted the table to distract him.

"Why are there four more boxes? Didn't Haruka say that the gift I wanted was for Matsueda-kun to cook?"

“I know.” Jun Matsue nodded.

"However, I think cooking is also the duty of the men in the Mochizuki family, so I brought a box of snacks for my aunt."

"..." Wang Yuehua suppressed the corners of her upturned lips and nodded with feigned modesty.

"You're smart to know what's good for you."

"As for snacks..." she picked up the flat, square box on the table, "Is this it?"

"uh-huh."

"The gift Xiaoyao gave me is..." The woman searched with her eyes.

"This," Mochizuki Haruka pushed a plain square box on the table, "is something I had with me before—"

Before she could finish speaking, her aunt, who had leaned out, covered her mouth.

"It'll be no fun saying it now! Let's open the presents!"

"..." Jun Matsue looked at the two remaining boxes on the table—

One large and one small, one long and one short, it seems to be a gift for him.

The first to open the gift was Mochizuki Haruka. The girl deftly unwrapped the gift box and took out the contents.

A pure white scarf and a white crocheted wool pendant.

"Hmm." Mochizuki Haruka picked them up and looked at them. "They're a bit hard to guess..."

She focused her attention on the pendant—white yarn with a touch of color, woven into a hexagonal snowflake pattern, the outline of which was fuzzy and somewhat rough.

"Did Auntie make this herself?"

“That’s right!” The aunt next to her proudly raised her head. “I specially found someone to teach me how to knit it. Isn’t it beautiful?”

The girl silently looked away. "Actually, I initially thought it was woven by pine branches because he was very good at knitting in home economics class."

"And then?" the boy next to him asked, resting his chin on his hand.

“Because pine branches are very powerful, this definitely wasn’t made of pine branches—” Mochizuki Haruka shook the snowflakes in front of her.

"A bit rough..."

"...What do you mean?!" Mochizuki Hana raised her eyebrows and puffed out her cheeks like a spoiled little girl. "Yasuka thinks I didn't do well!"

"No~" the girl's tone softened, "I never expected that Auntie could make such a delicate pendant."

The woman calmed down and proudly puffed out her chest, "It took me almost half a month of my bedtime!"

"Thank you, Auntie~" Mochizuki Haruka walked over and hugged her. "I really like it. I'll hang it on my schoolbag from now on."

Watching the two cuddling and snuggling together, Jun Matsueda couldn't help but smile—he definitely preferred the atmosphere at the Mochizuki family's house.

"So, Songzhi's gift is this scarf." The girl returned to her seat and wrapped her face in the thick, soft scarf.

"It feels quite comfortable... but don't I already have a scarf?"

"This is for Mochizuki to wear when she rides her bike," the boy explained. "Your scarves aren't big enough or warm enough."

“No wonder Matsue always put your scarf on me when we ride bikes…” Mochizuki Haruka hooked the scarf off her neck and showed him the sweet curve of her lips.

"I'll put it on when school starts."

"Wait a minute!" Their tender gaze was interrupted as Matsueda Jun turned his head—his aunt stood with her arms crossed over her chest, looking at him with an elegant expression.

"Did you make these pine branches yourself?"

The boy shook his head. "I can knit beautifully, but I can't knit something that's warm, thick, airtight, and pretty."

"Not enough sincerity!" The woman raised the tip of her delicate nose, her face displaying a beautiful arrogance that made one feel utterly irritated.

"It's just that our Xiaoyao has a good personality. Even though you didn't knit the scarf yourself, she's still so happy—you should appreciate her kindness!"

Wang Yueyao gave her a helpless look; her aunt was adding drama again.

"...Shall I express my sincerity again?" Jun Matsue blinked.

"How do you express it?" Wang Yuehua raised an eyebrow.

The boy took a sip of the black tea on the table to moisten his throat, then looked at the moon-gazing tree beside the table and softly hummed a melody—

"It's that time of year when the pine forests are covered in frost~"

"The fields have all turned into winter landscapes."

"And what about me~" He looked at the pure white scarf around the girl's neck, as if gazing at a snow-covered field that belonged only to him.

"Let me be dyed your color too~"

Wang Yuehua's deliberately arrogant demeanor gradually disappeared—the melody the boy hummed was lively and melodious, like a cheerful girl's outpouring, yet also carrying a touch of deep sorrow that she didn't want to share, causing her eyes to shimmer.

"In the still of the morning, I'll knock on your door."

Everything has been dyed the colors of winter~ Let me be dyed your colors too~

If I could, I would want you to always be by my side, never wanting to leave.

After singing a short verse, Jun Matsueda took another sip of tea.

No one spoke in the small hall except for the maid who was cleaning, who walked past the three of them, leaving behind the soft sound of her shoes rubbing against the carpet.

Wang Yuehua snapped out of her daze, her naturally alluring eyes falling on the boy in front of her, her expression of amazement as if she were seeing him for the first time.

"You didn't just come up with this, did you?"

"...Auntie is overthinking it." Jun Matsue waved his hand. "I'm not that capable."

"Xiaoyao asked me to write a song for her before, and I've been remembering it. What I just sang was a demo."

Mochizuki Haruka didn't speak, but simply clutched the scarf around her cheeks with both hands and nodded with a smile.

"Did you write down this demo?" His aunt leaned forward and asked anxiously, "Won't it sound different next time you sing it?"

The girl took off her scarf and folded it neatly. "He has a very good memory."

“…Oh, right.” Wang Yuehua sat up straight again, trying to explain herself as if she were burying her head in the sand.

"I asked about this song because I thought it sounded good and I felt it could make money like 'Happy End'."

Jun Matsueda shook his head. "Although we haven't even thought of a title yet, this song won't be released."

"Since it's a song written for Xiaoyao, it's enough for her to hear it alone."

Mochizuki Haruka put the scarf back in the box, pursed her pouting lips, and glanced at him. "Who wants to open the gift first?"

The girl still remembered Kurusu's previous willful request, but she was in a good mood now and decided not to expose Matsugi.

"I'll do it." Auntie, having composed herself, extended her hand.

She hummed the tune the boy had just sung, her words muffled, and first unwrapped the small gift box—

It's a classic square jewelry box. The outer casing doesn't look particularly high-end, but it feels quite nice to the touch...

Wang Yuehua glanced at the boy and girl staring at her, lowered her head and adjusted her expression slightly, and opened the box with the composure of an adult.

However, the sudden spark in her eyes quickly revealed her true nature.

The woman reached her right hand into the box, and when she raised it, a shimmering silver light appeared on her hand.

"It was a necklace!"

Jun Matsue blinked, looking at the necklace hanging from her fingers—at the end was a tiny, bright red apple, swaying in the openwork silver chain.

"It's a dreamcatcher and an apple combination, isn't that interesting?" Mochizuki Haruka said, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at the necklace.

"I saw it when I was shopping with my classmates after school. It looked pretty good and would make a great Christmas gift."