Am I being simulated by their love affair?

"I'm glad Songzhi likes it!" She smiled with relief.

The girl was dressed in a dress with a base layer. The dress was a vest style with a light yellow background and black and white plaid pattern, making her look exceptionally well-behaved.

However, the plaid pattern on Imokawa's chest was stretched into exaggerated curves, giving him an air of more than just cuteness... Matsueda Jun blinked.

Her undershirt was a light pink, almost white color, with a small petal-shaped collar, giving it a youthful feel. The neckline also had an orange-red ribbon—a pretty bow that hung down, making the chest area less visually prominent.

The boy continued looking down; the dress was cinched at the waist with a belt, and the knee-length hem revealed the girl's cotton socks, making her look cute and innocent.

Jun Matsueda looked up at Natsumi Imokawa's sunflower hair clip.

"It seems like Imokawa dressed up very carefully today."

The girl nodded approvingly, "My mom picked this out for me~"

"Although bow ties and belts are troublesome to put on, if Matsueda says they look good, then it's worth it!"

The boy smiled and asked, "Is it almost time to enter?"

“We’ll make it!” Natsumi Imokawa pointed to the building not far away.

"I bought a ticket for 9 o'clock, it's just a few minutes' walk away..."

Before taking a step, the girl turned her face.

"Want to hold hands with the pine branches?"

Jun Matsue lowered his gaze to her small hand, which was peeking out from her sleeve and eager to try.

The entrance exam for the University of Tokyo just ended yesterday evening, and he couldn't possibly leave his girlfriends to comfort them and immediately come to Imokawa to discuss their relationship.

So this morning, the boy came to meet Natsumi Imokawa—but just chatting would be a bit awkward, so the girl happened to have a movie she wanted to see, and they bought the tickets.

“…Let’s talk about it after we finish watching the movie.” Jun Matsueda looked at the girl’s expectant gaze.

If everything goes smoothly, they should be a couple when they leave the movie theater.

“Okay~” Natsumi Imokawa was not discouraged. Instead, she moved closer to the boy and raised the mini camera on her wrist.

"Let's take a group photo first, and then we'll set off!"

After passing through the bustling traffic of Shinjuku, I went into a building next to the road. The movie theater was on the upper floor of the shopping mall and could be reached directly by elevator.

The girl pressed a number in the elevator and looked at the profile of the person next to her.

"How did Songzhi do on the exam? Is he likely to get first place?"

"Didn't Imokawa ask that last night?" Matsueda Jun naturally took her handbag.

"I feel great, but the results won't be out so quickly."

“I thought Matsueda had already checked the answers.” Natsumi Imokawa blinked.

"Didn't we get the answers on the second day of the common exam?"

"Hmm, maybe." The door in front of him slowly opened, and Jun Matsue let the girl exit the elevator first.

"However, I didn't check or look for answers; I just chatted with Tomatsu about a few of the more difficult questions."

"Ah! I understand, I understand!" Natsumi Imokawa leaned closer, her curved hair swaying in the boy's vision.

"When you've just finished an exam, you don't want to look at the answers or touch the books, right? That's what I felt like when I participated in the Shanghai Oriental Art Center's entrance exam!"

"uh-huh."

The boy looked at the spacious hall in front of him; the soft lighting in the cinema made him feel relaxed.

"So watching a movie with Imokawa is also a way for me to start my vacation."

He stretched, carrying the girl's handbag, and asked, "Shall we go get the tickets now?"

Natsumi Imokawa picked up her mini camera again and took a picture of him holding the bag.

"Good~"

Entering the screening room, Jun Matsueda placed a tray of cola and popcorn on the armrest between the two of them, sat down, and glanced at the admission ticket in his hand.

"Wuthering Heights...which famous novel was the film adapted from?"

“That’s right~” The girl who sat down naturally leaned her body towards him.

"It's a movie that was just released recently, I heard..."

"What do you say?"

She shook her head, her slightly flushed cheeks hidden in the dim light.

"You'll know once you see the pine branches~"

The screen in the screening room lit up quickly. There were still more than ten minutes of commercials before the main feature started. Jun Matsueda ate popcorn one kernel at a time—his hand occasionally brushed against Imokawa's soft little hand as he rubbed it against the popcorn bucket.

"I also brought the amulet that Imokawa gave me when I took the exam this time."

"Really?" The girl's voice held a hint of amusement. "Then I guess I've helped Matsue in some way~"

"Of course. Speaking of which, when I entered the examination room, the examiner actually said she knew me."

"Huh? Is pine branch that famous?"

Natsumi Imokawa quietly slipped the biggest popcorn into the boy's hand—and the boy pretended not to notice.

"Is it because you participated in a competition before? Or because you scored 978 on the common exam?"

"No." Jun Matsue put the popcorn the girl offered into his mouth—it tasted especially sweet, perhaps because it was so big.

"It's because this examiner has seen 'White Line Flow'—"

"The first thing she said when she saw me was 'Hikaru Kashiwabara'..."

In a dimly lit corner of the movie theater, Natsumi Imokawa's suppressed giggles echoed.

After watching the film patiently for an hour, Matsueda Jun finally realized what Imagawa's "it is said" was all about—

On the big screen, handsome men and beautiful women are lying on a luxurious bed, deeply embracing each other. They have taken off most of their clothes and are licking each other's skin.

"..." The content on the screen started to get more explicit, and the boy couldn't help but turn his head away.

The girl beside him was intently watching the screen—but Natsumi Imokawa must have noticed his movements out of the corner of her eye, and her cheeks grew even redder in the warmth of the movie theater.

The girl changed her posture, and the two of them silently pressed their arms together on the armrest.

"Don't you think the pine branches look good?"

"Hmm..." Jun Matsueda looked at the passionate scene on the screen, which was full of texture and had a slightly strange style.

"It is quite beautiful."

"But?" the girl leaned over and asked.

"It's nothing..." The boy picked up a can of cola and took a sip, letting himself cool down in the warm, sweet aroma of the cola.

This movie is quite suitable for couples to watch... A few minutes later, Jun Matsueda sighed at the aftermath of what happened.

He glanced at the girl beside him again—Natsumi Imokawa's eyes shone brightly in the darkness, reflecting the light from the screen.

I feel like Imokawa is the type who would drag him to watch action movies after they start dating, while pretending to be innocent...

At 11 a.m., the lights in the screening room came on.

As the credits rolled on the screen, the boys and girls sitting in the back row all sighed in unison.

"How are you feeling, Matsue?" Natsumi Imokawa turned her head and asked.

"...Uh, the visuals and music are both quite good." Jun Matsueda carefully chose his words.

"But I feel that Wuthering Heights shouldn't be such a 'passionate' and 'desire-driven' story?"

“I think so too~” the girl stuck out her tongue, “The plot is a bit awful.”

"But I heard that this movie is not suitable for children, so I wanted to watch it with Songzhi."

The boy glanced at her helplessly and shook the little bit of cola left in his hand.

"Shall we go?"

"No rush!" Natsumi Imokawa patted the armrest.

"How about we finish watching the cast and crew credits? Everyone's gone now, so if Songzhi has anything to say, you can just tell me right here."

"..." Jun Matsueda turned his face toward the big screen, looking at the lines of white letters scrolling by.

"I got back together with my senior last month."

His voice wasn't loud against the background music in the screening room, but the girl turned her head away immediately.

"what?!"

"I'm sorry," the boy said in an exceptionally soft voice.

"Imokawa said before that he didn't want to hear about me and other girls, and I was also a little guilty, so I didn't tell you."

"..." Natsumi Imokawa glared at him for a while, her cheeks puffed out.

"How many girls is Songzhi dating right now?"

"Four—Mochizuki, Tomatsu, Kurusu, and Senpai."

"If you include me, that makes five?" The girl sounded a little confused.

"The lines are so long they could stretch from Monday to Friday..."

Jun Matsue smiled and pursed his lips. "That's why I said I wanted to have a good talk with Imagawa."

"My situation is too special. Can Imokawa really accept it?"

Natsumi Imokawa didn't speak, but instead gripped the armrest and turned her body towards him—meaning, "You speak."

The boy finished the last sip of his cola and gathered his thoughts.

"First of all, there's the basic fact—if you include Imokawa, I'll be dating five people at the same time."

"In this situation, no matter how hard I try, the number of relationships I can have in each romantic relationship will definitely be much smaller compared to normal romantic relationships."

"So Imokawa needs to be mentally prepared for this—the relationship you choose may not be the one you want."

"But that's still love, right?" the girl asked without hesitation.

"I can rightfully have Songzhi's time; we can kiss, go shopping, go on dates..."

As she spoke, she glanced at the screen in front of her seat, seemingly recalling the passionate scene she had just watched.

“Of course,” Jun Matsue laughed, “because you’re my girlfriend.”

Natsumi Imokawa's cheeks flushed again. "And then?"

“And then…” Jun Matsue cleared his throat.

"So in order to spend more time together, the four of us, including Mochizuki, have already discussed it and decided to live together after we enter university."

"Two three-bedroom apartments, one room per person—theoretically, there's also a room for Yuchuan, it just depends on whether you want to move in."

"...Six people living together?" The girl looked hesitant at this point.

“I’m the kind of person who prefers to be alone. It would be fine if I only lived with Songzhi…” she frowned.

"Besides, one room probably won't be enough for me at university; I'll need at least a workspace, right?"

"We can talk about that later," the boy gently advised.

"It's not that Imokawa has to move in, it's just more convenient this way—people like Kurusu and Mochizuki both have their own places to live outside."

“That’s fine…” Natsumi Imokawa’s eyebrows relaxed. “Any other questions?”

“There’s another important question,” Jun Matsue said, looking into her eyes.

"Although I know your parents are quite open-minded, I still want to find out whether they can accept my situation."

"It's not just about having five relationships at the same time—it will be very difficult for us to get married legally in the future, and we can only selectively reveal this relationship to others..."

Even so, can you accept it? Will your parents support you?

"..." The girl's expression was somewhat hesitant.

“My parents never mentioned something that happened so far in the future.”

"Should we ask them before making a decision?" the boy asked gently.

"We've come this far, there's no rush."