Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 249: A Trip to Kumamoto Just for the Exam

"So, Matsueda-san is going to Kumamoto?"

Tomatsu Yuka put down her pen and looked at the boy sitting to her left. On the other side, Mochizuki Haruka's gaze also turned towards her.

This was supposed to be a PE class, but unfortunately, the spring rain outside had been drizzling all morning, so everyone had to stay in the classroom to study. Although it was supposed to be a study session, everyone was mostly chatting and playing games, with laughter rising and falling in the classroom, but kept within a range that wouldn't disturb the classes next door.

"It seems so. This year's biology competition finals will be held at Kumamoto University." Jun Matsueda glanced at the message on his phone.

"I don't really understand why the tournament organizers chose Kyushu Island as the venue for the finals."

He sighed. Kyushu was already the southernmost of Japan's eight major regions, and it was only separated from Kagoshima, the southernmost region, by Miyazaki Prefecture.

"It's so far~" Mimi Mizushima, who was sitting in front of Tomatsu Yuka, sighed. She turned around and joined the conversation. On a rainy day, no one had much motivation to study during PE class.

“You can treat it as a trip,” Tomomatsu said with a smile. “It would be nice to visit Kumamon and Kumamoto Castle.”

"When will you be back?" Mochizuki Haruka was more concerned about this question.

"It seems like we'll be staying for two or three days, there are also learning and visiting activities and stuff." Jun Matsue hadn't looked into it carefully, he was just hearing what his senior told him.

"Two to three days." The black cat girl looked somewhat tempted. If she went with Matsueda Jun, wouldn't it be no different from a couple's trip?
"Besides Yamami-senpai and Matsueda-san, are there any other students from Haneoka High School who made it to the finals?"

Tomatsu Yuka pulled her chair a little closer to the left, and her two long legs under her school uniform skirt crossed, revealing a fleeting glimpse of her absolute territory.

"What a scheming woman," Mizushima Miya rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"No, right?" When Jun Matsueda went to Shoko Kominato's office to report, the teacher didn't mention anyone except for Maki Yami from Class 3-4.

Wasn't that supposed to be a trip for two, a man and a woman alone? Tomatsu Yuka put down her crossed legs. The girl felt a little regretful. If she had signed up for the biology competition, she might be spending time alone with Matsueda right now.

"What's with those expressions?" Jun Matsue looked around at the girls around him. "I'm going to take an exam, not to play around, okay?"

“That’s true,” Tomatsu Tomohana said with a somewhat forced smile. Mizushima Miya began to massage the girl’s back, seemingly to comfort her.

The bell rang, and Jun Matsue walked out of the classroom. He was going to find the teacher in charge of the biology competition to inquire about the travel arrangements to Kumamoto. As he stepped onto the stairs, he turned around to look at Haruka Mochizuki behind him.

"What are you going to do? Don't even think about coming to Kumamoto with me."

"Oh." The girl nodded, her tone slightly disappointed. She had indeed wanted to test the waters, but there was something more important to tell Matsueda Jun.

"There is now hope that my aunt will wake up."

Jun Matsueda pulled his right foot back from the step and stood next to the girl. "Are you sure? Did that new treatment work?"

Mochizuki Haruka nodded. "Although there is only a slight effect so far, Aunt's nerves are indeed showing a relative response, unlike before when the fluctuations were just accidental."

"That's good news too." As students gradually filled the stairwell with students coming and going from get out of class, he had no choice but to lead the girl back to the corridor. "At least we've found a direction for treatment, haven't we?"

"Hmm." A smile appeared on the girl's face. She leaned against the windowsill and looked at the cherry blossoms swaying in the rain. "I feel a little tired, but I can finally see the possibility of it ending."

Jun Matsue thought for a moment, "How about we come to 507 for dinner tonight to celebrate?"

Mochizuki Haruka instinctively wanted to nod, but she held back. The girl's hands were behind her back, her fingers twisting together, showing that she was going through a fierce internal struggle.

"Let's forget about it." She shook her head with difficulty. "I need to oversee the medical team's discussions on the next treatment plan, and I'll probably have to take a lot of time off during this period."

Matsueda Jun was somewhat surprised. If it were the old her, she would have already ordered food from him by now. He looked into Mochizuki Haruka's eyes, and the girl tilted her head in confusion, meeting his gaze.

"What's wrong?" "You've really grown up." He resisted the urge to pat the girl's head.

"Don't talk to me like an elder." Mochizuki Haruka rolled her eyes at him, tossing her black hair that brushed against her shoulder. "It's because someone keeps trying to push me forward, wishing they could whip me into an adult."

“I never had that thought!” Jun Matsue said seriously. “I just hope you can live a good life on your own.”

"..." The girl was silent for a few seconds, allowing the sound of rain outside the window to seep between them. "Are you still thinking that you'll stay away from me once Auntie wakes up?"

Students carrying books walked down the corridor, seemingly able to keep going as long as the school bell didn't ring, leaving only two still figures in the corner as a discordant note in the moving background.

"No, it won't." Matsueda Jun's voice was like heavenly music to Mochizuki Haruka, and the girl with her eyes lowered looked up at the boy in front of her.

Many things quietly changed during her absence from Tokyo; perhaps this is the meaning of the Little Prince leaving his planet.

"Really?" Mochizuki Haruka blinked.

Jun Matsue smiled. "I also want to see the young lady of the Mochizuki family gradually become a better human being."

The girl wasn't particularly satisfied with the boy's answer. She pouted and decided to let him off the hook for the time being.

"Taking leave frequently will interfere with my studies. Will you tutor me?" Mochizuki Haruka asked him one last time.

"If Auntie agrees."

The sound of rain outside the window drew closer to the two of them, seemingly criticizing Matsueda Jun for his increasingly cunning answer.

After dinner, in room 507, Yosei Kurusu looked at the boy washing dishes in the kitchen and asked, "So, you're going to Kumamoto in a few days?"

"I already told you I wasn't going there for fun," Jun Matsue felt like a broken record today.

“I’m going on a long trip the day after tomorrow too~” The girl turned around, leaned back on the sofa, and said defiantly, “The company has arranged for me to go to Osaka to participate in a music festival and promote the album.”

"I was thinking of taking you with me, but it looks like there's no chance?"

As Jun Matsue walked out of the kitchen, there was a piece of crème brûlée with a missing piece on the table. It was his dessert, but it looked like the girl had stolen it.

"I can only wish Ms. Kurusu a successful performance in advance."

Kurusu Yosei made a face at him and ran into the bedroom. The guilty thief fled the scene of the crime.

Jun Matsue sat on the sofa with a pudding in his hand, watching the neon-lit rain outside the balcony. The bouncy pudding had a sweet caramel flavor, and the sound of the rain outside the window, combined with the warm yellow light inside, gradually relaxed his tense body.

His phone rang, and he put the plate he was holding on the coffee table and answered the call from Yamami Maki.

"Matsueda-kun! Have you packed your luggage for Kumamoto?" The senior's voice, besides its usual gentleness, also carried a hint of childlike excitement.

"Clothes and travel supplies are ready." Jun Matsueda lay back on the sofa with his eyes closed, feeling the light passing through his eyelids.

"That's good. I'm looking at the information about Kumamoto City, and it seems like there are a lot of fun places to visit!"

"We're not going there to have fun, are we?" Matsueda Jun originally wanted to say, but the words came out differently.

"Then I'll make time to go and take a look when I have some free time."

(End of this chapter)