Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 230 Her Gift
The girls in the lobby looked at the two people and the cat standing by the aisle.

Some people stared at the boy carrying a canvas bag, looking like he was going out to buy groceries, while others stared at the girl who had taken off her hat, her demeanor as serene as melting snow.

Some people just want to see cute cats.

Mochizuki Haruka observed Matsue Jun in front of her, scrutinizing him carefully from head to toe, from the stray hairs on his head to the creases in his trousers.

"I feel like I don't like you as much anymore."

Jun Matsueda's expression remained unchanged, while the cat in the girl's arms meowed.

"Boring, no excitement at all, heartless man."

Mochizuki Haruka stuffed the cat in her arms into Matsueda Jun's bag; a few golden hairs had already stuck to her wool jacket.

"Since you asked me to pick you up, you'll probably be sleeping in room 506 tonight, right?"

Jun Matsue took his hand out of his pocket. His hand had twitched slightly when Haruka Mochizuki was speaking, though the girl couldn't see it.

"uh-huh."

"Do you want to get your luggage?" He looked at the girl with empty hands; her luggage must have been checked in.

"No need, someone will get it." Mochizuki Haruka walked out of the crowd, and Matsueda Jun followed in her footsteps.

The people who came to pick them up watched the two leave. The cat in the bag poked its head out from behind the boy and looked at them.

"I'm so envious."

I wonder if the person speaking envies the girl, the boy, or the cat.

Mochizuki walked through the passageway, then suddenly turned a corner and headed towards the baggage claim area.

"Didn't we say we wouldn't bring any luggage?"

"I suddenly remembered that I need to get something now."

The girl's dark green skirt swayed, and she walked quickly, still retaining a backpacker's air even after returning to Tokyo.

Before the two people and the cat even got close to the baggage claim area, the maid had already hurried over with a suitcase.

After taking the suitcase, Mochizuki Haruka returned the way she came and walked side by side with Matsueda Jun toward the exit.

"How do we get back?" Jun Matsue gently pushed the cat, which had been looking around, back into the bag.

"The driver should be waiting at the door."

"..." Jun Matsue shrugged. It seemed that the only purpose of his airport pickup was to make the girl happy.

On the escalator leading to the first floor, he looked at the suitcase in the girl's hand. The black exterior of the suitcase had a matte finish, exuding a sense of luxury.

"Does it look good?" Mochizuki Haruka turned her head, raised her left leg, and wore matcha-colored slouch socks with several black lace bows tied on them.

“I’m looking at your suitcase, not your legs,” he tried to correct the girl’s misconception.

"Interested?" She shook the suitcase.

“This box is a bit like one of those,” Jun Matsue gestured with his hand, “like the boxes that spies in movies carry, containing all sorts of amazing gadgets, or maybe some top-secret items for a deal.”

The girl stepped off the escalator and handed him the box in her hand, saying, "This is a souvenir for you. Open it when you get on the train."

Only when she got in the car and sat next to Jun Matsueda could she explain the meaning of each gift.

The two walked through the airport terminal, the boy and girl like colorful oil droplets, gliding through the bland and tasteless crowd.

After getting into the black sedan and closing the door, the cat darted out of the bag, jumped onto the passenger seat, and stared at the man in the black suit.

The girl curled up comfortably in the corner of the sofa, watching the car slowly start and leave the white lights of the terminal.

“Now I’m finally back in Tokyo,” Mochizuki Haruka said softly. “Welcome back,” Matsueda Jun replied in the same tone.

The girl wriggled a few times and moved her body next to the boy. "You can open the box now."

Jun Matsue pressed the button next to the armrest of the seat to turn on the roof light. He placed the suitcase horizontally on his lap and slowly opened it.

"Wow," Jun Matsue exclaimed.

"What was your first impression?" The girl leaned closer, her face appearing especially warm under the yellow light.

"It's like a magic item."

He carefully examined the contents of the box—a piece of transparent glass through which he could see shaped snowflakes, a red flower, an hourglass, and a bluish, porous stone.

"These are all things I brought back for you personally from all over the world."

"This glass contains a snowflake specimen from Longyearbyen, preserved in resin so it will never deteriorate. I made it myself."

"I took this poppy plant with me from Bedley, along with the soil where it took root, and it wasn't packed into a box until just before boarding the plane. Perhaps it's still alive now."

The girl's fingers slid over each of the items.

"This hourglass is filled with fine Sahara sand, and I filled it in myself."

"I found this stone near a volcano in Guatemala. When I got there, the lava had just cooled down."

"I was thinking of bringing you a penguin feather as a souvenir from Antarctica, but it's uglier than I imagined, so I'll pass." Her tone was somewhat regretful.

Jun Matsue recalled reading in a book that when male penguins court females, they present them with a stone, and if their courtship is accepted, the stone becomes part of their love nest.

“These are the proofs I’m giving you.” Mochizuki Haruka looked into his eyes.

This is proof that she is gradually getting better, and proof of her love.

“No one can refuse such a gift.” Jun Matsueda closed the suitcase lid and turned off the roof light. “I certainly can’t.”

The girl hummed contentedly, "I knew you'd like it. You boys just love weird and unusual things."

The cat in the front row poked its head out and looked at the two humans behind it. Their eyes gleamed in the darkness, as if they were its own kind.

The girl began to share her experiences along the way, "The last place I went to was Longyearbyen, where there were more polar bears than humans! Birth and death are not allowed there."

"The Milky Way is visible in the Sahara night sky, and the stars are so numerous they seem like grains of sand in the desert."

Mochizuki Haruka didn't mention that she read poetry under the Sahara starry sky, "Tonight I don't care about humanity, I only want you." That was the moment the girl missed Matsueda Jun the most, because the Sahara starry sky always reminded her of the nights in Hokkaido and the words he had said to her.

As the car passed the post office in Meguro Ward, the ringing of the bell interrupted their conversation.

Mochizuki Haruka watched as Matsueda Jun answered the phone, and another girl's voice came through the receiver—it was his roommate.

"Matsue! Why haven't you come home yet!" Kurusu Yosei's voice sounded like he was accusing someone.

“I’m already on my way back.” Jun Matsueda watched as Haruka Mochizuki’s face gradually approached and came close to his.

"Jinzhi isn't home. Did you go to pick up Wangyue?" Although it was a question, in the girl's mind, it was the truth.

"Yes." If he didn't admit it, Mochizuki Haruka's face would be pressed against his.

"You have to be back tonight, and you're not allowed to stay out all night!" After saying this, the girl who was staying at home hung up the phone.

Mochizuki Haruka took her phone out of her pocket, checked the time, and then looked at Matsueda Jun.

"We still have more than two hours left, what should we do?"

(End of this chapter)