Am I being simulated by their love affair?

"However, I will not interfere with how you and Yuka handle your relationship, and I will try my best to respect each other's wishes."

Yamami Maki's expression was blank, only her eyes lit up—she was confirming that there was no problem with her reading comprehension.

Jun-kun's words didn't seem to mean that she should "stop here"?

His words left room for the girl's sincere heart, to carry the rekindled flame through the snowy pine forest.

"What are you still sitting there for?" the boy asked, extending his hand to her.

"It's getting dark, and it's going to get cold soon, so everyone should get ready to go inside."

"Jun-ge, remember to write greeting cards with us tonight!" Miyamura Aya led a group of children past him.

"Sister Moji is coming too!"

"..." The lights in the house came on, and Yamami Maki, who was sitting with her legs bent, looked up at the face of the person she loved in front of her.

The colors of the setting sun faded from his face, but his eyes still held the warmth of the sunlight, a warmth that would not easily be extinguished.

She smiled, raised her hand to hold the boy's hand, and stood up with her usual graceful movements.

"Thank you, Jun-kun~"

"It's just lending a hand."

Matsue Jun calmly released his hand, but the warm and soft touch in his palm did not immediately disappear.

"Senior, would you like to go to the kitchen and watch the aunties cook?" the boy suggested. "The food at our orphanage is pretty good; you could learn a thing or two from them."

“Yes!” Yamami Maki nodded without hesitation, smiling as she walked into the house with him.

"I'm already looking forward to dinner tonight!"

After dinner, it's time to write greeting cards—the staff of the welfare home gather in the canteen, helping the children write down their New Year's blessings and wishes.

After writing his greeting card, Jun Matsue left the cafeteria first, walked through the empty dormitory corridor, and returned to his room.

In the past two years, the orphanage has seen a lot of new, innocent faces. Boys who stay in the canteen are often surrounded by naive little girls, which is why the adults chase them out early.

From another perspective, this also shows that he was indeed considered a half-guest in the welfare home.

Jun Matsue closed the ventilation window and sat at his desk, gazing out at the dark, even winter night through the glass.

This is probably why his grandmother told him to go back to the orphanage less often and spend more time with his girlfriend.

—One day, the orphanage will become the only remaining space of remembrance in the hearts of the children.

That place where the girls are will be his true home.

With a silent sigh, Jun Matsueda took out his phone.

Kurusu went home to see her mom today. She saw the "Kurasu Family Secret Recipe" sent by Idol Girl and replied to the proud cat far away in Kamakura. In the end, all that's left is the plush penguin with the camera hanging on it.

Before opening the unread messages, the boy glanced at his backpack, which was placed on the side of the table.

Inside the pure black backpack lay a thick photo album—besides the suit given to him by the Mochizuki family, he had brought all the gifts the girls had given him on this trip back to the orphanage.

A few cheerful footsteps passed by in the corridor; they must have been junior high school students who had finished writing their greeting cards. Jun Matsueda pulled his attention back and tapped on the penguin icon on his phone.

Sure enough, they were a few blurry photos, as if they had traveled from the bubble era. The boy couldn't help but smile.

Ever since he made the bold statement that he would take 6,000 photos to recoup the cost of the camera, Imokawa has been sending several photos almost every day—each with different content and filters, all taken with the mini camera he gave him.

They each choose their favorite photo and share their thoughts and reasons—this is a tacit understanding that the two have recently developed.

Today's photo is... Jun Matsue clicked on it to take a look.

A coastal walkway bathed in sunlight until it turned white; a modern motorcycle in black and yellow that resembled Bruce Lee; graffiti on a wall with letters blurred by low resolution; and finally, a bookstore door in black and red that looked like a blood-soaked movie set.

"I prefer the second one." The boy quickly made his choice, "It has a kind of handsome feel that really suits my taste."

“Me too!” Natsumi Imokawa’s reply popped up quickly.

"But I really like the motorcycle I photographed—it's all a soft pink, so cute!"

Jun Matsue smiled and said, "We can buy one when Imogawa goes to university."

"Great idea!"

Because the two had the same choice, today's conversation was exceptionally short. The boy stared at his phone screen for a while, thinking, and then decided to find another topic.

However, the girl's new message popped up first—

"By the way, has Songzhi finished looking through my photo album?"

"..." Jun Matsueda glanced at the backpack beside him again.

"No," he answered honestly, then sped up his typing.

“I’m looking at it, but because I feel it’s very precious, I only take it out to look at it slowly when I’m alone.”

The boy's typing speed was still a bit too slow, so he switched to voice messages.

"And I have a pretty good memory. Seeing a photo will bring back related memories—although it takes a lot of time to recall them, it's also a lot of fun."

"Like savoring tea, the aftertaste lingers. Can Imokawa understand this feeling?"

After sending the rather long voice message, Jun Matsue waited in front of the screen for a while and soon received the same voice reply.

"Oh!" Imokawa's voice clearly didn't sound disappointed. "Then you can take your time looking at the pine branches. I'm so happy that you like this photo album so much!"

The girl sent another text message—

"So happy!!"

The boy's lips naturally curved into a smile. "I was planning to continue looking at your photo album after we finished talking."

"Then let's stop chatting!" Imokawa Natsumi replied in a cheerful voice. "Matsue, hurry up and look at the photo album~"

The girl kept her word, and Jun Matsue's "Really?" message remained unread. He put down his phone with a smile.

Let's continue looking at the photo album.

Half an hour later, a few soft knocks came from the quiet room. Jun Matsue, sitting at his desk, was flipping through a photo album and didn't seem to care.

"Matsueda-kun?"

The boy then looked up, and by the time he turned around, the door had already been pushed open.

"Ah." Yamami Maki peeked her head out from the crack in the door, her slightly open mouth forming an adorable "O" shape.

"I thought you weren't in the room..."

"It's good that you're here, senior." Jun Matsue smiled apologetically. "I was so focused on what I was watching that I didn't notice what was going on outside."

The girl then entered the room with peace of mind, and looked curiously at the desk.

"What are you looking at so intently, Chun-kun? A workbook, or an extracurricular book?"

Yamami Maki walked to the table, her eyes widening in surprise.

"It's a photo album? This must be from when Tsunku participated in the Winter Cup qualifiers, right?"

"Hmm." Since he had been seen, Jun Matsue didn't intend to close the photo album.

"This is a Christmas present that Imokawa gave me before, and I still haven't finished looking at it."

"Wow, amazing..." The girl bent down and examined it carefully.

"The muscle contours when he exerts force, the sweat on his face, and the dynamics of his posture—these perfectly capture Tsunku's charm!"

"...Thank you for the compliment." The boy closed the photo album. "What did you want to talk to me about, senior?"

"Ah." Yamami Maki then remembered the main topic.

"Aya-chan has lit the fire pit again. I received some genmaicha from Grandma today, and I want to brew some and try it out."

"Would Chun-kun like to try some?"

“Of course.” Jun Matsueda stood up. “I also brought the matcha you gave me before. Would you like to brew some to drink?”

"Hmm..." The girl hesitated for a moment, then revealed a gentle smile.

"Drinking tea also depends on the occasion and timing. I think the environment and atmosphere tonight are more suitable for genmaicha."

Matcha has high requirements for water quality and temperature, but genmaicha is different—since she lives in an orphanage, she is willing to try to adapt to the "water quality" here.

Yamami Maki winked playfully, "Tsunku can enjoy the matcha I sent all by himself~"

"Let's go then." Jun Matsue walked towards the door, and his senior turned off the light for him.

They hadn't gone far down the corridor when the light-footed girl suddenly spoke again—

"Speaking of which, what are your feelings for Natsumi-kun?"

"That photo album must be very thick, right? Her thoughtfulness is very precious and touching."

"..." The boy glanced at her.

I just found out what Kotomatsu and the others were thinking for you...

Jun Matsue sighed for the "selfless" girl.

"Senior, you should take care of yourself first."

“Okay~” Yamami Maki nodded obediently with a smile.

"By the way, I'm going to Kamakura to see Mochizuki tomorrow, so I probably won't be back until tonight."

—Although it wasn't necessary, the boy still told the senior about his schedule.

“…Okay.” A hint of reproach finally appeared in the girl’s eyes.

Even on vacation, Tsunkun is still incredibly busy!

Jun Matsue blinked.

His gaze pierced through the depths of the corridor, as if he could already see the warm sparks drifting on the eaves.

No matter how busy we are, we still have to go back to the welfare home for our New Year's Eve dinner.

Chapter 841 Kamakura and Mochizuki

December 30th, the second to last day before the New Year.

To see Mochizuki in Kamakura, Jun Matsue got up earlier than usual today—at 6:35 a.m., he got dressed and pushed open the door to his room.

The windowless corridor was dimly lit, with only the bathroom and toilet at the end of the corridor lit by a warm yellow light. The boy glanced at the quietly closed door of the next room.

The senior student should still be sleeping, so Jun Matsue tiptoed toward the end of the corridor.

After quickly washing up and applying the skin cream that Wangyue had given him, the boy, wrapped tightly in his cotton-padded coat, went outside at 6:55 a.m. after having breakfast in the cafeteria.

The morning sky felt like dusk, distorting his sense of time. He turned his head to take a look.

The windows of the building behind me were dark, with only a few scattered lights on, and the warm light emanating from the cafeteria door on the first floor.

Jun Matsue turned around, exhaled a puff of light white mist, and watched it rise into the dim sky.

"call……"

He took out his phone and sent messages to Wangyue and the two girls at the orphanage.

"I'm off."

As the boy stepped out of the orphanage, a discreet black sedan was parked outside the alley. He got into the car and nodded to the female driver in the driver's seat.

The car, which had been dozing by the roadside, soon came to its senses, first heading east past Haneoka Highway to enter the national highway, and then heading south.

The sky above the car continued to flow, and the twilight-like dawn gradually brightened—an hour and a half later, when Jun Matsue got out of the car and looked at the gentle hills behind Shichirigahama, the sky heading towards the coastline had completely brightened, turning into a light blue with wisps of pale white floating on it.

He took a deep breath of the air, which was filled with the scent of the sea and was cool, and turned to look at the driver's side window that had been rolled down.

"Is this all you're taking it to?"

The driver bowed respectfully. "The young lady said she would take you up the mountain."

"Up the mountain?" The boy turned around.

The Shichirigahama neighborhood is nestled between the coast and the hills, but Jun Matsue had not yet seen the coastline hidden by layers of houses. He only saw a small figure on the road leading up the mountain, gradually getting bigger towards him.

Ignoring the car that turned around and drove away behind him, the boy strode forward and quickly pulled the approaching figure into his arms.

"I didn't expect it to be Miss Mochizuki who came to pick me up in person."

Mochizuki Haruka, who was being held by him, let out a soft hum.