Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 23 A Visit to the Orphanage

"Why is Tomatsu-san here?" Jun Matsueda met an unexpected person at the door of the Mitaka City Welfare Home.

"Because our wind band is having a charity performance, and today is the first stop." Tomatsu Tomoka was also surprised. Should she say it was fate or destiny? The girl felt sweet inside.

Jun Matsueda followed Tomatsu Tomoka into the house, and for a moment he couldn't tell who was the host and who was the guest.

After passing through the gate is the lawn of the welfare home. In the middle is a simple wooden stage where Yamami Matsukori and other members are standing.

Jun Matsueda walked over, and the reflections from the rows of musical instruments almost blinded him.

"Hey, why is Jun Matsueda here?"

"Has Tomatsu finally conquered Matsueda-san?"

The whispers of the girls in the wind band sounded like the wind blowing across the lawn.

"Ah! Chun-ge! Chun-ge is back!"

In the audience seats below the stage, sharp-eyed children spotted two people approaching from the side and shouted in surprise.

Jun Matsueda jumped onto the stage, "Children, the king of Mitaka City Welfare Home is back!"

"Ohhh!!!"

He was immediately surrounded by the chattering of excited children.

Yamami Maki ignored Matsueda Jun's sudden change of style and asked Tomatsu Tomoka who had returned to the group of girls, "Tomoka, have you found the director? According to the procedure, you need to contact the director after the performance."

Tomatsu Tomoka shook her head. She met Matsueda Jun at the gate just now because she went to see the dean.

"If you want to find the director, I'll take you there." Jun Matsueda walked past the children and came to the wind band.

"I didn't expect to see Matsueda-san here." Yamami Maki bowed her head and a girl in the back row couldn't help but ask, "Does Matsueda-san come here often?"

Yamami Maki and Tomatsu Touka looked at the girl who spoke, and scared her so much that she shrank back into the crowd.

"I'm sorry, Matsueda-kun, my club member was too reckless." Yamami Maki bowed to Matsueda Jun again to apologize.

"Ah, it's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Matsueda Jun lowered his head and reached out, picked up the two naughty kids around his waist, and carried them on his shoulders. "Because this is where I grew up."

Jun Matsueda smiled a smile as bright as a sunflower, and the screams of the child on his shoulder echoed across the lawn.

The girls in the wind band were grouped in twos and threes, led by Tomatsu Tomoka and Yamami Maki, following behind Matsueda Jun. From a distance, they looked like a mother goose with a group of golden ducklings.

Yamami Maki came to the end of the line and found the girl who had just spoken. "Gujima Naoko, please think carefully before speaking in the future. When we are out there with our instruments, we represent the Hanaoka High School Wind Band. Don't leave a bad impression on others."

Her tone was unusually serious, and the girl nodded quickly, "Yes! I will be careful next time."

"Don't talk about Matsueda-san's affairs in school, okay?" Yamami Maki warned the other members around her before walking back to the front of the team. "Excuse me, Matsueda-san, I just had something to tell you."

"Don't worry, Yamami-senpai. You don't need to come with us. The members can go somewhere else to rest."

"It's okay. This is our first time here and we want to walk around and satisfy our curiosity." Yamami Moki smiled slightly.

Tomatsu Tomoka sighed and thought that it would be better if the manager had not come along. That way, she would be the one giving instructions to the members and chatting with Jun-kun, which would perfectly demonstrate her gentleness and thoughtfulness.

"The director's wife should be in the vegetable garden at this time." Matsueda Jun pointed to the green not far away, where a hint of silver could be seen swaying.

"Grandma, I told you a long time ago, just leave this kind of thing to someone else. It's such a hot day!"

The girls stood by the field, watching Matsue Jun walk into the vegetable garden and snatch the water bottle from the old man's hand. "Oh, Jun's back," the silver-haired old man smiled, his tone surprised, but he seemed completely unsurprised.

The elderly woman, Hirotani Tomomi, has been managing the Mitaka City Welfare Home since she was 42. She has been doing so for 31 years now, and she always maintains a calm and composed smile. The children all call her Grandma Miko.

She walked out of the vegetable garden and waved to the girls one by one: "Sorry, just listening to your performance, I felt like my heart was rejuvenated, and I couldn't help but run to the vegetable garden to work."

"It's our honor." The girls in the wind band responded one after another. This is an old man worthy of respect.

"After Xiaochun finishes watering, we'll go have lunch."

The old man, once a young girl, stood with the girls, watching Jun Matsueda working. He watered the plants with a kettle, occasionally bending down to pull weeds or straighten plants blown by the wind. When he finally stood up, Jun Matsueda was holding cucumbers, lettuce, and potatoes and smiling at everyone.

"Today's lunch will be very fresh."

Jun Matsueda in school is too perfect. Even the girls in the wind band would be intimidated when they see him. However, the boy in front of him looks like a boy next door in the countryside. He has clear eyebrows and eyes under his straw hat, and his teeth are shiny when he smiles. Beads of sweat flow along his jawline.

The water surface in the field reflected the girls' dazed faces, and the old man was very satisfied.

This is the most shining child in Mitaka City Orphanage whom she watched grow up.

The dining table in the cafeteria was several long tables. Dean Junhe Matsueda, as the host, sat with the wind orchestra.

"These potatoes and lettuce were just picked by Xiaochun from the fields. You can't find such natural ones in the city," Grandma Meiko greeted the girls with a smile.

Tomatsu Tomoka and Yamami Maki each picked up a piece of lettuce with their chopsticks and put it into their mouths, holding it with their left hands. It was a very ladylike way of eating, and the two of them moved in unison, like sisters.

"Well, it's really delicious!" Tomatsu Tomoka covered her mouth and praised the dean, and the old man laughed.

From the first moment she saw the old woman, Tomatsu Tomoka was ready to please her.

"Brother Chun!" The child sitting nearby pulled Matsueda Jun, wanting to take him to the children's area. Matsueda Jun had no choice but to leave with the bowl.

Naoko Gujima chewed some vegetables and looked at Jun Matsueda, who was posing among the children. He still had chopsticks in his mouth and said to his companions, "It feels so novel to see Matsueda like this."

The girl next to him nodded in agreement, "Just seeing Matsueda-kun like this makes this trip worthwhile."

"Why did you call Matsueda-kun already?"

"Hehe." The girl giggled, but stopped laughing when Tomatsu Yuka looked over.

After lunch, the director returned to his office to sort out some paperwork, and the band also left. Only Tomatsu Tomoka remained in the orphanage. She said she had lost her keychain and needed to look for it, but the girls were too lazy to expose her.

Everyone brought out chairs and sat under the eaves, looking at the dazzling green trees in the sun, listening to the never-tiring chirping of cicadas, and hiding in the shade to cool off.

"The long summer"—whose musings are these?

"Why do you say you don't want to take the exam?" The low voice of Jun Matsueda suddenly came from the hall behind them, with unconcealable anger, shaking away their sleepiness.

"Why do you say you don't want to take the high school entrance exam? Do you want to leave the orphanage?" Everyone walked into the hall and saw Matsueda Jun questioning the boy standing in front of him.

"Do you know what it means to live alone?!" Jun Matsueda's anger echoed in the hall, silencing everyone.

The boy's skin was a little dark, and he didn't dare to meet Matsueda Jun's gaze. Even with his head lowered, he couldn't hide his stubborn eyes.

In Neon, there are about 30,000 minors living in welfare homes. If they fail to get into high school, they have to leave the welfare homes early and face the cruel society alone.

(End of this chapter)