Am I being simulated by their love affair?

After descending from the sixth floor to the first floor, the young man threw his trash into the garbage room on the first floor, greeted the female manager at the front desk, and walked briskly out of the apartment building.

The weather is starting to warm up. "Minimum 14 degrees Celsius, maximum 24 degrees Celsius, Tokyo is experiencing a gentle breeze and sunny weather today"—that's how the TV program at breakfast described it.

Feeling relaxed, Jun Matsue walked onto the sidewalk and glanced back at the apartment entrance.

A dark gray stone slab is embedded in the marble wall near the entrance, engraved with the name of the apartment building.

"Kazama Mansion".

"Mansion" comes from French and means luxury home. In Japan, it refers to a slightly upscale apartment building. There are also suffixes such as "Palace," "Building," and "Heights."

The boy walked towards the station not far away. He took out his phone and sent a message to Natsumi Imokawa.

"I'm off. It'll be about half an hour to my apartment in Imogawa."

"Okay~ I should be ten minutes late. Songzhi can take the key and go in first."

"Take your time," Jun Matsue typed in reply, facing the sunlight.

"We've almost finished setting up here. Once the Imogawa side is done, we can bring you over to take a look."

"Oh..." the girl replied somewhat guiltily.

The boy smiled, and before putting his phone away, he glanced at his pinned group chat—

Although "Kazama Mansion" sounds sophisticated, he thinks "Mitaka Dai" sounds better.

Chapter 877 Because We Are a Couple

At 8:40 a.m., Natsumi Imokawa got off at Akihabara Station.

She glanced at the dazzling array of notices on the platform and hurried toward the passageway to the side.

The girl hadn't originally planned to get off the train. Akihabara Station had five lines, and transferring between them would be too much of a hassle—she was never one to waste her energy on such trivial matters.

But her boyfriend was waiting for her... Thinking of this, Natsumi Imokawa quickened her pace.

Turn right at the transfer passage and walk along the wall. The girl walked out of the brightly lit passageway and the platform of the express line appeared in front of her.

"Tao Chuan——"

A boy not far away waved to her—Jun Matsueda stood in the hurried crowd, like a tree parting a stream.

"I saw it~" Natsumi Imokawa tightened the backpack strap on her shoulder, stood on tiptoe and waved.

She picked up the mini camera hanging on her wrist, took a picture, and walked quickly toward the boy.

"Good morning, Matsueda~" The girl's voice was sweet. "Weren't we supposed to meet in Minami-Senju?"

"Who told you to say you haven't had breakfast yet?" Jun Matsuoka glared at her casually and handed her the bag.

"I bought you milk and bread at the convenience store at the station."

"I was thinking of having breakfast over there..." Natsumi Imokawa explained weakly, but the last part of her sentence was quickly overshadowed by the sound of a train pulling into the station.

"Let's get on the train first." The boy looked at the crowd moving along the platform. "We don't want to be unable to squeeze in later."

It was 8 or 9 a.m., the morning rush hour, and today was Monday. The crowded carriage was deathly quiet. There were no seats left when the two of them boarded, so Jun Matsue could only stand in the corner of the carriage with the girl by his side.

Seemingly worried that he might be uncomfortable being squeezed, Natsumi Imokawa, who was pressed against the wall, quickly spoke up.

"We'll be there in ten minutes, just bear with it, Pine Branch!"

"It's okay," the boy smiled at her. "Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you?"

"I'm not feeling unwell," the girl blinked.

"Sitting in the car with Songzhi, so close, and she even got to eat the breakfast he bought for me..."

She held up the plastic bag in her hand and shook it.

"I'm overjoyed!"

The smile in Jun Matsueda's eyes became even more pronounced. Just then, the sound of the train starting rang out, and the girl, who wasn't standing properly, swayed unexpectedly and fell into his arms.

"Let's eat breakfast first." He stroked the girl's hair.

The train was unusually quiet, save for the restless drowsiness of Monday morning office workers and the occasional whispers around them. Standing in the corner of the carriage, Natsumi Imokawa leaned against the wall, munching on a sweet cheese bagel while watching the boy surrounding her.

"Songzhi bought banana milk again~"

"Hmm." The boy leaned against the wall with one hand and shook the bottled milk drink he was holding with the other.

"I remember Imokawa liked to drink this."

"That's wonderful~" The girl tilted her head back and squinted her eyes happily.

"Is this what it feels like to have a boyfriend?"

Jun Matsueda poked her chubby cheeks as she chewed, "I feel more like a boyfriend when I'm helping you pick out a house."

Two weeks have passed since the end of the University of Tokyo exams—these two weeks have been the busiest period for male students since the beginning of the year.

First, I need to help the girls in the "Mitakadai Exchange Group" choose a shared apartment, then I need to help them pack their luggage, and at the same time, I also need to take care of Natsumi Imokawa...

So he and Imokawa didn't actually go on many dates in the past two weeks. Even when they did meet, it was to help the girl with finding a place to rent.

Fortunately, the busy days have finally come to an end today.

Jun Matsueda lowered his head slightly and looked at his girlfriend in his arms.

"Imokawa looks beautiful today."

As the weather began to warm up, Natsumi Imokawa couldn't wait to lighten her clothes—today she was wearing a sky-blue short-sleeved dress with a light beige cardigan over it. The dress had a delicate dandelion pattern, giving her an exceptionally fresh and clean look.

The yellow sunflower hair clip she often wore on her side of her hair was replaced with a light blue cloud hair clip—neither Mochizuki nor Tomatsu would use such a childish pattern for their hair accessories, but it suited Imokawa perfectly.

"Do you like the pine branches?" The girl straightened her back.

"I bought this when I went shopping with my mom a while ago. It's from the same store as that yellow floral dress!"

"I can tell," the boy nodded, "It looks especially good on Imokawa."

"Hehe..." Natsumi Imokawa couldn't suppress her joy and raised her lips, as bagel crumbs fell from the corner of her mouth.

"what."

The girl lowered her head and reached out to pick it up; the thin collar trembled, and bread crumbs fell into it.

— Jun Matsue watched her search for that insignificant white fragment.

Natsumi Imokawa silently unbuttoned her cardigan; the neckline of her dress was much deeper than the cardigan, and her impressive bust immediately sprang out, swaying wildly—

Against the backdrop of the sky-blue fabric, large swathes of full, white skin resembled piled-up snow, delicate and alluring.

"Found it~" The girl picked up a bread crumb and licked it into her mouth.

"..." Jun Matsue replayed the scene in his mind, especially the moment when her fingertips pressed against his skin and bounced back.

"Pine branches?"

"What's wrong?" The boy snapped out of his daze and met Imokawa's gaze.

Natsumi Imokawa pointed to the bottle he was gripping tightly in his right hand.

"A bit dry."

"Then I'll open it for you."

Using his index finger and thumb to unscrew the bottle cap, Jun Matsue handed over the milk to Imagawa under her astonished gaze, watching her tilt her head back and drink it.

At first, the boy was looking at her outstretched neck, but soon his gaze fell on the deep cleavage below her neckline.

Taking the milk from the girl who was licking her lips, Jun Matsue glanced at the sardine-can-like carriage behind him and reached out to cover her cardigan.

"Imokawa, put on your coat first, otherwise the bread crumbs will fall on you again."

"Oh, oh..." Natsumi Imokawa was still holding a bagel in her hand, and she puffed out her chest.

"It's not very convenient for me to eat breakfast, could you help me with the pine branch?"

"..." Jun Matsue returned the milk to the girl and carefully buttoned up her cardigan.

As for the train swaying along the way, causing Imokawa's chest to bump into his hand from time to time, that's another matter.

Ten minutes later, the two walked out of the station, and Jun Matsue carried the large black backpack on his girlfriend's back—such a bulky thing was really out of place with the girl's fresh and cute outfit today.

"What did Imokawa bring today?" He felt the weight on his back. "Your equipment?"

Yes~

After throwing the packaging bag and milk bottle into the trash can, Natsumi Imokawa walked briskly back to the boys' house.

"My parents have already arranged everything for me, including the house layout. I'll just bring the equipment over today, and then it'll be all done!"

"However, I will probably stay here for an extended period until before the start of the semester. During the holidays, I will stay at home first—they will miss me."

The boy smiled and looked at the apartment building standing not far away—its gray cement surface was exceptionally bright in the sunlight.

"It's a pity we couldn't rent the room where we filmed 'White Line Flow' back then."

"We're all in the same apartment building," the girl waved her hand.

"Besides, the room we rented when we were filming was a bit small. It wasn't big enough if we wanted to record audio or edit videos."

The room Natsumi Imokawa ultimately rented was in the same apartment building she chose when filming "White Line Flow"—with a great view of the shimmering Arakawa and Sumida Rivers behind it.

"Imokawa really chose a very convenient location back then," Matsueda Jun said, taking out his phone as he walked.

“It only takes about ten minutes to bike to Tokyo University of the Arts, and it only takes about half an hour by tram to my apartment—it seems Imogawa really should buy a bicycle.”

"I'm already picking out a bicycle..."

Natsumi Imokawa walked beside him, and as she spoke, she looked at the boy's arm swinging with his steps.

"Pine branches."

"Hmm?" Jun Matsueda put down his phone.

"Um." The girl silently extended her little finger and hooked it around his drooping right hand.

"I want to walk hand in hand with the pine branch..."

The boy smiled at her expectant eyes, which were filled with sunshine.

"If you want to hold my hand, just do so. You don't need to tell me—we're a couple."

Imokawa Natsumi nodded vigorously, then grasped his hand.

"My hands tend to get hot, and now that the weather is warmer, they might sweat more easily..."

“It’s not like we’ve held hands for the first time.” Jun Matsue shook her little hand.

"I just love the warm feeling that Imokawa has."

The girl blushed slightly, snuggled closer to the boy's arm, and her steps became more lively.

So we're on a date now?

"Wasn't it like that before?"

"Does it count before too?" Natsumi Imokawa turned her head and began to think seriously.

"After we started dating, every time we met, we talked about finding a house. It didn't feel like a date at all, did it?"

"Really?" The boy smiled and stared at her face.

"But I remember that Imokawa always smiled very happily."

The girl blinked naturally, meeting his gaze.

"Of course I'd be happy to see pine branches."

"..." Jun Matsue felt his heart beating a little faster.

A girl who is honest and naive in love can always easily break down his defenses.

“Then let’s go on more dates in the future,” he said, squeezing the girl’s hand. “Let’s make up for all the dates we’ve missed.”

Natsumi Imokawa walked away with the boy, their silhouettes stretching long on the bustling street in front of the station.

"Just hold hands a little longer..."

It's about a ten-minute walk from Minami-Senju Station to "Toei Minami-Senju Apartment Building 3". The boys and girls, of course, walked a little faster, from the bustling street to the relatively quiet apartment building, and took the elevator to the ninth floor.

Holding hands with his girlfriend, Jun Matsue walked to the end of the corridor and watched her take out her key and open the door to room 906.