Am I being simulated by their love affair?

“It must be a child.” Yamami Maki returned to his side with a small bottle containing white pepper.

"There shouldn't have been any residents upstairs, but it seems a single mother moved in recently..."

As the girl spoke, another "clattering" sound came from the ceiling above them. Although it was somewhat heavy, it was clearly not the footsteps of an adult, and it was accompanied by the sound of something rolling.

"It's probably just kids playing with toys." She looked up and then smiled at the boy.

Jun Matsue frowned slightly and poured the chopped chicken pieces into a plate on the side.

"Is the ceiling in this apartment so thin?"

"It's actually not bad." Yamami Maki turned to the side, supporting herself on the counter with one hand, watching the boy wash the cutting board in front of the sink.

"It's probably because children like to be active and tend to walk without paying attention—her mother must have been in the room too, since there wasn't much footsteps."

"It was the same before. Usually, when it's not during my break time, I would just put on my headphones and listen to music."

"It won't last long anyway." She stuck out her tongue playfully.

"I think she'll get scolded by her mother if she throws a tantrum."

"It's good that it didn't affect your life, senior." Jun Matsueda continued slicing the mushrooms.

"Speaking of which, why haven't I seen Xiao Kui today?"

"Guess?" the girl said with a grin, looking at his rolled-up sleeves.

It was rare to see a senior student acting like a little girl... The boy paused in his chopping.

So he obediently raised his head and made eye contact with the girl, then deliberately looked at the plate of chicken leg meat he had just cut with a complicated expression.

"How could that be~" Yamami Maki laughed out loud, giving him a reproachful look.

"Xiao Kui isn't even as big as this chicken leg!"

"It's going to the vet for a check-up today—because Tsun-kun is coming, so I asked Kokoro to take Himawari to the vet for me."

Jun Matsue picked up the seasonings that were placed against the wall and began to marinate the chicken drumsticks.

"No wonder even the cage is gone."

“Speaking of which, I’ve had an idea lately—” The girl’s eyes sparkled.

"I want to buy a small birdcage that's easy to take out, so I can bring Xiaokui to see the sky in the future."

As Jun Matsue mixed the chicken and sauce together, he looked out the window at the sky.

"That's a great idea."

“But I’m thinking,” Yami Maki’s eyelashes trembled slightly, “if Aoi really falls in love with the sky outside, wouldn’t that be a little cruel to it?”

"..." The boy paused.

He looked at the girl beside him.

"Perhaps it does yearn for it, but nature is cruel. In order for Xiao Kui to survive, all I can do is take it out to see the world more often."

"Hmm." Yamami Maki nodded slowly.

"But seeing the real sky with our own eyes is an unparalleled experience, both for us and for the parrots."

“That’s right!” She nodded vigorously.

"So we should still take it out to see the world."

"That's what I think." Jun Matsue turned on the tap and started washing the sauce off his hands.

"Also, senior, remember this: you are not Xiao Kui, you are my senior, a legendary senior from Yuqiu High School."

"You are very strong, so of course you can live happily according to your own wishes."

The girl's final answer was a firm and cheerful "Mmm".

Half an hour later, two steaming bowls of rice cake soup appeared beside the quiet kotatsu. Yamami Maki savored the delicious and rich flavor, her gaze quietly shifting from the tablet with the news on the table to the side beside her.

The boy sitting next to her was focused on eating chicken and rice cakes. He nodded slightly, seemingly satisfied with his meal.

But in the girl's heart, besides the warm feeling of fullness, there was something else—

Previously, Mochizuki Haruka squeezed together with Tsunku right in front of her, but now she can sit on the same side of the kotatsu with Tsunku and eat and watch TV together.

In her own little nest, eating meals cooked by her sweetheart, while passing the time watching meaningless news broadcasts... this is a daily life she never experienced when she was dating.

Yamami Maki looked up at the round, shimmering white light on the ceiling.

She had previously thought that the New Year she spent with the boys in the orphanage would be the happiest moment of her life during this period.

Unexpectedly, this record was broken so quickly...

The chicken and mushroom rice cake soup, with eggs, carrots, and komatsuna (Japanese mustard greens), wasn't anything particularly rare or exotic, but the boys and girls all enjoyed it.

The chicken was tender and flavorful, and the rice cakes were soft and chewy. They didn't even leave a drop of soup behind.

After lunch, Yamami Maki took the initiative to wash the dishes, while Matsueda Jun, feeling warm and cozy, sat back down by the kotatsu and looked at the graceful figure by the stove.

He nodded at the bow tie on the girl's back; the pale yellow floral apron suited her best.

The rain outside the window hadn't stopped, and the owner was still tidying up. Of course, the boy couldn't just leave. He turned down the volume of the news broadcast on his tablet and listened quietly to the sounds coming from the stove.

"Would you like some fruit after your meal, Jun-kun?" Yamami Maki turned to look at him. "Or maybe play some games? Kokoro-chan's game console is still here with me."

“I can do it myself.” Jun Matsueda stood up and walked towards the refrigerator.

He closed the refrigerator door, took two oranges, and turned around. The noise coming from outside the entryway made him pause.

It was the sound of two men talking as they walked, discussing their university courses and the lunchboxes they were carrying. The conversation ended with a loud slam of a door closing a short distance down the corridor.

The boy turned around and asked, "Can you hear sounds from the hallway that clearly?"

"Because it's quiet inside." The girl washing the dishes smiled at him.

"If I were sitting in the living room, I would definitely be able to recognize Tsunku's footsteps when he came in~"

"..." Jun Matsue returned to the kotatsu and sat down. He changed his position and stared at the security door in the entryway.

Soon, more footsteps approached, but this time it wasn't a resident—it quickly knocked twice on the door next door, put down its things, and left.

"Who lives next door to the senior student?" the boy asked, peeling an orange.

“They must be a couple,” Yami Maki replied without turning around.

"They all leave early and return late, and I've hardly ever seen them in the hallway. They must be very busy with work."

Jun Matsue didn't say anything, but put a segment of orange into his mouth and chewed it slowly.

After two more footsteps echoed in the hallway, the girl finished washing the dishes and tidying up the stove. She sat down by the kotatsu, and the boy handed her half an orange.

"Thank you~" Yamami Maki smiled, then noticed the boy's absent-minded expression.

"What is Chun-kun thinking about?"

"..." Jun Matsue swallowed the fruit in his mouth.

"I feel that the environment of this apartment of yours is a bit unsafe."

Just now, every time footsteps were heard, Jun Matsue's attention would be focused on them—only when they disappeared outside of room 404 could he relax.

The boy wasn't worried about himself, but about the female senior who lived alone—if he put himself in her shoes even a little, he would find it hard to let his guard down.

The security in this apartment building is still too poor, and the security door isn't thick enough—otherwise, how could those footsteps be so clear?

"Ah..." The girl blinked innocently, and as she spoke, the sound of children's footsteps echoed from the ceiling again.

Moreover, the staff turnover is also high... Matsueda Jun added to himself.

Today, the upstairs neighbor is a single mother, and she will probably remarry in a few months, making the upstairs neighbor a new single father. When the couple next door saves up enough money, they will most likely move out, and the ones moving in will be college students who are short of money, just like those people in the hallway just now.

"I think it's alright?" Yami Maki tilted her head and smiled.

“I’m in the room on the far right. Although there is a lot of noise in the hallway, not many people will stop here. Besides, there’s an electronic doorbell, so I can see clearly who’s outside the door.”

"..." The boy didn't voice his earlier concerns.

Because he quickly realized one thing—

He worries so much simply because he cares so much about his senior.

How much do I care?

Matsue Jun lowered his shoulders with a sigh of relief.

"Senior, have you considered moving?"

"Moving?" The girl blinked. "Where to?"

“Move in here,” he continued, explaining.

"I mean, after I graduate, we'll rent an apartment together."

Chapter 856 Overnight Stay

"I mean, after I graduate, we'll rent an apartment together."

After saying those words, Jun Matsuoka realized that he was neither surprised nor excited.

As if he had been prepared all along, he now clearly understood that his concern for his senior and his care about this rented room actually represented the same kind of feeling.

like.

From the moment his senior returned to the orphanage with him, to the moment the girl chose to leave her family—watching her resolutely make up for the regrets of their past relationship, Jun Matsue's affection for her grew naturally, like thawing river water.

So this phrase "let's share an apartment" can be seen as a response to Yami Maki's choice of him.

Jun Matsue looked at the girl beside him.

The senior student froze, her mouth still full of a half-chewed orange, looking somewhat comical.

"...Isn't this a bit too fast?" The boy thought of the "Mitaka-dai Rental Exchange Group" on his phone.

"Either—"

Before he could finish speaking, Yamami Maki, who was sitting next to him, threw herself into his arms.

"Not fast! Not fast at all!" The girl swallowed the orange, her tone a little flustered, afraid that the boy might suddenly change his mind.

"You live with Tsunku, right?"

Jun Matsue nodded and put his arm around his senior's back.

"But there are others—"

His words were interrupted again when Yami Maki hugged the boy tightly, tilted her face up, and pressed her lips to his.

The body in his arms trembled uncontrollably, and Matsueda Junya also hugged the girl's back tightly to soothe her agitated heart.

The boy quickly noticed a warm, damp sensation on his face, like raindrops, and a bitter, salty taste seeped between their lips.

"I'm sorry." Yamami Maki let go of his hand and smiled at him with tears streaming down her face.

"I don't know why I started crying..."

"It's okay." Jun Matsue wiped away her tears with his thumb. "I know you weren't crying because you were sad."

"I suddenly feel like I can't control myself..." The girl looked down at his movements.

"Tsun-kun was serious, wasn't he?"

"Of course," the boy replied softly.

“I just can’t rest easy with you living here alone—I can only feel at ease when you’re by my side.”

"..." Yamami Maki's wet eyelashes fluttered.

"Does this count as liking someone?"

Even though the boy's affection was so obvious, she still needed a word of reassurance to put her mind at ease.

“Of course.” Jun Matsueda repeated what he had just said.

"It's because I like my senior that I'm so worried about this room now."

When the boy visited his senior's room again, and they met face to face a week later, he realized that his "concern" for her was obvious, and he naturally admitted that he "liked" her.

“Then…” The girl’s fair face moved closer to him again.

"Can Jun-kun and I be together now?"