Am I being simulated by their love affair?

"No need!" Natsumi Imokawa waved her hand dismissively.

"Dad said that as long as I'm happy, that's all that matters!"

"..." Matsueda Jun nodded helplessly.

"But is Imokawa himself prepared?"

"What do you mean?" The girl blinked.

"Even though you're spending every day with the person you love, your relationship isn't legally recognized; and even if you want to share the joy of love, you have to choose your partner carefully, otherwise you'll attract gossip and rumors..."

The boy said in a low voice, "And, if you have to watch your boyfriend be intimate with other women, even if I try my best to be fair, you will definitely feel wronged at times."

"Most importantly, we want to live like this for the rest of our lives—that's what Tomatsu and I all plan to do."

"..."

The background music stopped, the credits on the screen disappeared, and everything went black again, leaving the empty theater in a profound sense of loneliness.

“That’s not what I think.” Natsumi Imokawa’s eyes were clear and bright.

She took the boy's hand that was resting on the armrest.

"Actually, I didn't think that much about it—I just wanted to be in a relationship, I wanted to be Songzhi's girlfriend, and experience what it's like to be in love, that's all."

"Why think so far ahead? I want to date Songzhi now, and Songzhi wants to date me too, so let's start dating."

"Don't think about having to be together forever, or that breaking up would be unfair to me." The girl's cheek leaned closer.

"The pine branch wasn't the one who chose me from above; I was the one who chose you first."

"Just like Songzhi said, we might be very happy when we're in love, but we'll also be unhappy..."

"If I'm ever really unhappy in the future, I'll break up with Songzhi myself—then I'll just be Songzhi's friend again and watch your love story like a spectator."

"Isn't Matsue holding onto time too tightly?" Imokawa Natsumi asked in an innocent tone.

"—We're adults now, we're grown up."

"We will take responsibility for ourselves."

"..." Matsueda Jun blinked. "So, what Imagawa means?"

"No matter how others date, we should just date our own," the girl said firmly.

"Let's start by getting to know each other—"

"How long we've been together, whether we should get married, whether we have children... we can decide those things later."

"Right now, all we need to do is date." Her clear eyes magnified in front of the boy.

"At least let me fall in love first, okay?"

Her innocent and beautiful face filled his vision, and Matsueda Jun felt as if he had been thinking for a long time, but in reality, it only took a moment.

The boy sighed with relief and popped the last kernel of popcorn into his mouth.

He grasped the girl's hand, stood up, and walked towards the bright, dazzling lights outside the screening room exit.

"Let's start by dating!"

(End of this volume)

Volume 7: Their Story (To be continued)

Chapter 874 On the Road to the New Home

February 21st, two weeks after the end of the university's internal exams.

Today is Saturday, which used to be half a day off for Jun Matsuoka—but that's all in the past now.

The boy woke up half an hour later than usual on school days, and after washing up, he started packing the things he had prepared the night before.

At eight o'clock in the morning, when Yosei Kurusu walked out of the bedroom yawning, there were already sealed cardboard boxes piled up in a corner of the living room, blocking some of the light coming in from the balcony.

"Matsue, you've already packed everything up?" Miss Idol walked to the stacked cardboard boxes and touched the boy's arm muscles.

"If you put it here on the balcony, how am I supposed to do yoga in the morning?"

"What kind of yoga?" Jun Matsueda turned his head and glanced at her.

"The landlord arrived at 9:30, and then there's the moving company. Who are you trying to impress?"

"Oh right!" The girl, who had just woken up, suddenly remembered her task for the day.

"Then we won't do yoga today." She pulled down the hem of her rolled-up pajamas and gave the boy a flirtatious wink.

"Only pine branches can appreciate my great figure~"

As Yosuke Kurusu spoke, she looked towards the kitchen, sniffed the air, but couldn't smell any food.

"Hasn't Songzhi had breakfast yet?"

"No." The boy made a tearing sound as he tore the yellow tape in his hand.

"I just got up not long ago, and I was thinking of packing up the things I organized last night first."

"You've worked hard~" The girl hugged him with a smile, "I'll go wash up first, and then I'll make breakfast."

"Songzhi must be working really hard today, right? We need to make sure you have a good breakfast!"

Watching her shuffle towards the bathroom in her slippers, Jun Matsueda placed the roll of tape in his hand on the cardboard box and picked up his phone.

A photo quickly popped up in the "San Ting Dai Rental Exchange Group"—

The morning light outlined the square shape of the cardboard box, and the roll of tape standing on the box cast a hollow oval shadow, which seemed somewhat out of place compared to the angular light and shadow around it.

"Moving worker Jun Matsueda is online today."

Half an hour later, when Mochizuki Haruka carried Kinchi into the living room, Kurusu Yosei, wearing an apron, happened to be carrying two plates out of the classroom.

"There's no share for me?" The young lady released the cat from her arms, letting it wander to the cat bowl on its own.

Miss Idol glared at her. "It's in the kitchen. Get it yourself."

The girl sat down and placed the open sandwiches from her plate on the table. Mochizuki Haruka walked into the kitchen from behind her.

"This one's made with pine branches~" Kurusu Yosei pushed the plate in front of the boy. "Big size!"

Jun Matsue looked at the golden double slices of toast in front of him, the mushroom, bacon and omelet on top looking particularly tempting.

Taking a big bite, the aroma of egg yolk, bacon, and fresh lettuce spread across his tongue, and the boy nodded in satisfaction.

"Did they use a new sauce for today's sandwich? Is it another one of Kurusu's secret recipes?"

"No~" Kurusu Yosei didn't say anything, but instead rested his chin on his hands, smiled, and shook his head at him.

"This is a spicy honey sauce that I saw at the supermarket before. I guess Songzhi will definitely like it."

"Spicy honey?" Mochizuki Haruka carried the plate and sat down on the other side of the boy.

"It sounds very strange."

"You want some, but you haven't had any yet!" Miss Idol glared at her again.

"Yours is regular mayonnaise, the spicy honey is for Songzhi!"

The girl picked up her sandwich and took a big bite.

"Who was it that wouldn't even sit at the same table with me back then? Now they're being picky!"

"Did I say your cooking wasn't good?" Mochizuki Haruka picked up her knife and fork and elegantly cut the sandwich into small pieces.

"Don't make it sound like I've been charmed by you—it's just that Matsue wanted to see us eating at the same table, so I did it."

"..." Jun Matsue swallowed the sandwich in his mouth and looked at her relaxed eyebrows and eyes.

"Actually, you don't hate Kurusu that much, do you?"

“How could anyone truly hate me!” Yosei Kurusu puffed out his chest and answered quickly.

"Those who hate me are ultimately just jealous of me."

"As the boss, of course I wouldn't dislike my cash cows."

Mochizuki Haruka licked the sauce from the corner of her lips without changing her expression, and said this.

After breakfast, the young lady, who hadn't done any physical labor, went into the kitchen, put on gloves, and washed the dishes. When she returned to the living room, there was another box piled up in the corner.

"Are you all ready?" She looked down at the cat rubbing against her feet.

"Everything in the bedroom is packed up, mainly clothes and such." The boy next to the cardboard box turned around and patted the dust off his clothes.

"We're only missing the things for the living room. What about Mochizuki's side?"

“The maid tidied it up last night.” The girl frowned slightly and reached out to brush the white wall dust off his hair.

"I suggested that they just tidy up your side as well."

“That won’t do.” Jun Matsue grasped her hand and shook it.

"You only truly feel like you're moving when you pack your own luggage, right?"

Mochizuki Haruka pursed her lips. She didn't say anything, but walked to the side and picked up the cat paw pillow on the sofa.

"Take this cushion with you too, and put it in whichever box you prefer."

The boy laughed and picked up an empty cardboard box that was stacked to the side.

"Put it here, and let Mochizuki check if there's anything else we need to bring."

"I'm bringing the kitchen utensils too!" Yosei Kurusu emerged from the bathroom and placed the bottles and jars he was carrying on the coffee table.

"And the seasonings too~"

“Then we’ll have to find another box to separate them.” Jun Matsue pulled out a small cardboard box from the side.

"Put the spice bottles in plastic wrap to prevent spills during the move."

"How is that possible?" Mochizuki Haruka looked up as she stuffed the meowing golden branch into the cardboard box.

"The moving company I chose is absolutely the most professional."

At 9:20 a.m., after greeting the landlady, the three people from 507 carried cardboard boxes downstairs, their footsteps in the stairwell much slower than usual.

Yosei Kurusu leaned against the handrail and looked down at the boy walking lightly up the stairs below.

"The pine branches are really strong."

She and Wangyue behind her each carried a cardboard box, while the boy was carrying three cardboard boxes and couldn't see the road ahead.

Mochizuki Haruka nodded. "I doubt he could carry both of us."

After running up and down the stairs twice with the girls to load all the cardboard boxes into the truck, Jun Matsue returned to his apartment, opened a bottle of mineral water, and looked at the empty living room in front of him.

"I'm not used to it yet..."

Pillows, water cups, photos of idol actresses on the TV cabinet, snacks on the coffee table... the traces left over from three years are almost gone after tidying up.

"Why aren't you used to it?" Kurusu Yosei took the bottled water from his hand. "Shouldn't you be looking forward to it?"

The boy smiled and said, "That's true."

Seemingly unfamiliar with the room's appearance, Jinzhi, who had been sunbathing on the balcony, quickly returned to her owner's feet.

Wang Yueyao bent down, hugged her cat, and rubbed it.

"It seems it also knows it's time to leave."

"Ugh—" Matsueda Jun stretched his arms and yawned.

"Then let's go."

After going upstairs with Kurusu and returning their keys to the landlady, and exchanging pleasantries, at 9:30 in the morning, Matsueda Jun carried the girls' suitcases out of the apartment and got into the passenger seat of Mochizuki's car.

"You haven't forgotten anything, have you?"

In the rearview mirror, the girls sitting in the back all shook their heads in unison, while Mochizuki Haruka looked at the maid holding the steering wheel.

"You can go now."

The car started its engine and merged into the main road, heading towards Yotsuya. Jun Matsueda rolled down the window a crack, letting the wind blow past his ears.

February is officially entering its latter half, and temperatures are rising accordingly. Today's high is 16 degrees Celsius, making it a sunny and pleasant day...