Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 297 The Price of a Miracle

As Mochizuki walked out of the ward, she covered her mouth in surprise, looking at the trembling figure in Matsueda Jun's arms.

"Oh dear, did Matsueda make our Haruka cry?"

"No." Mochizuki Haruka turned around, smiling as she wiped away her tears. "I'm just too happy."

"..." Jun Matsue lowered his head, looking at the large, semi-transparent wet stains on his chest. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt today.

"I've wanted to say this before, your tear ducts are really well-developed." His voice was very soft, drifting into her ears.

The girl didn't turn around, but simply lifted the heel of her little leather shoe and gently kicked his shin.

"Today is a good day, don't be sad, young lady." The aunt bent down and gently wiped away the remaining tears on her face with her soft fingertips.

"After all, even the cicadas are celebrating for us."

Jun Matsue stood in the corridor outside the ward, watching the black car drive away from the hospital entrance. The aunt, now fully recovered, was finally free from her niece's supervision and was preparing to return to the group to gather her subordinates.

"Aren't you going with her?" He looked at the girl beside him. Mochizuki Haruka had just returned from the restroom and washed her face.

"My aunt is going to the company, what would I do if I went with her?" The girl looked at her phone screen to make sure there were no traces of crying on her face.

"I don't want to go anywhere right now, I just want to stay by your side."

Matsueda Jun glanced at her a couple more times. The girl, now free of her burdens, seemed to have lost all sense of shame, and spoke sweet nothings without blushing at all.

"Isn't it because we need to pack Auntie's things?"

Although the woman had been discharged from the hospital long ago, Mochizuki Haruka did not take anything from the ward beforehand, just in case.

"That's only a secondary reason."

Back in the ward, the various medical instruments that had always been placed by the bedside had been moved away. The windows on the outside wall were wide open, and the white curtains fluttered, showing signs of wind. The smell of disinfectant had been greatly reduced, and the sunlight from outside shone on the two large beds. The soft bedding was turned up, and they looked like they were very comfortable to sleep on.

Wang Yueyao sat on her bed, looking at everything. The girl had guarded this place day after day, but she could not find peace. Even the lines and contours in the corners would make her feel sharp and glaring, and she would want to cry.

Looking at the room now, it suddenly seemed cozy. There were some Christmas decorations on the walls and windows, which she and Matsueda Jun had left behind last year. Whenever she was on the verge of collapse here, the boy would rush to her side. Even after she left the apartment, she was able to get through those unbearable days in the hospital by relying on her memories of him.

Although she can now recall these past events in such an ordinary way, Mochizuki Haruka will not feel any nostalgia because of them.

"Matsue, I will never go back to this hospital again," the girl sitting on the bed said.

"Then let's tidy it up properly," Jun Matsue smiled. "Make sure we don't leave anything behind."

"No, it won't." Mochizuki Haruka gently shook her head; those things most worth preserving had already been carefully placed in her heart.

There weren't many things worth taking from the ward; they were mostly clothes belonging to two women, one older and one younger. The aunt had fewer clothes, while Mochizuki Haruka had more.

Jun Matsue watched the girl sitting on the empty bed folding clothes. Her movements were clean and efficient, and the folded clothes were neatly arranged. He remembered the night before the school trip to Hokkaido when he helped the useless kitten pack her luggage.

"You've become quite capable." He looked at Mochizuki Haruka smoothing out the cuffs of her clothes. "I packed all your luggage for your school trip back then."

“People always change.” The girl deliberately spoke in a mature tone. “Someone wants to see me gradually become a better human being, and I can’t let him down.”

A few nights ago, when her aunt was at home with nothing to do, the girl told her the story of Hokkaido: the earthquake, the blackout, and the night that made her make up her mind.

"Songzhi is truly a sinful fellow~" This was Aunt's exclamation after hearing the story.

When Mochizuki Haruka casually folded her underwear and bra in front of him, Matsueda Jun decided to walk around the room to check if she had left anything behind.

He opened each of the bedside table drawers—a scarf hanging on the coat rack, a mechanical pencil on the windowsill, a hair tie—and found a somewhat familiar postcard at the very bottom. "What's this?" Out of politeness, the boy didn't look at it, but instead showed it to the girl.

Looking at the postcard, Mochizuki Haruka reached out and took it. "The postcard I sent to my aunt from the Otaru post office, the envelope should be with you. It's the one I left for you when I left Tokyo."

“I see.” Jun Matsue found the source of the familiarity. “Then we should keep it safe. Auntie will be very happy to see it.”

"No need." The girl put the last piece of clothing into her suitcase, then took the postcard and walked to the trash can.

The sound of paper tearing slowly rang out, and the shredded postcard drifted into the trash can. She clapped her hands and returned to the boy's side.

"I have already told her everything that was written on the postcard in person."

It seems that the snow in Hokkaido truly has a healing power.

The two finally stood at the hospital entrance. The suitcase containing the clothes had already been taken away, and Mochizuki Haruka was just holding her handbag, following Matsueda Jun.

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

The girl shook her head and looked at the lush forest not far away. Stepping from indoors to outdoors, the incessant chirping of cicadas became even louder, becoming the most intense background sound of summer.

"Let's take one last look at the park before we leave," Jun Matsue suggested.

The two had already seen the public green park next to the hospital, covered with fallen leaves and snow; it would be a pity if it lacked the greenery of spring and summer.

As they walked past two vending machines, one white and one pink, on the sidewalk, their backpacks bumped together again. Jun Matsueda switched his bag to the other side and sighed.

"When I first met you, I had never seen you carrying a bag."

Mochizuki Haruka glanced at him, her beautiful brows furrowing. "I'm very satisfied that you remember so many details."

"But there's no need to marvel at every change, it feels a bit like you're a pervert stalking me."

Jun Matsue laughed again. "I just think it's fine this way."

"Then please be more attracted to me." The girl's accusation was soft and powerless.

Walking along the path into the green park, the neat, bright stone brick path turned into uneven, grass-colored, rustic long bricks, and the sound of cicadas became louder, surrounding the two people on the lawn from all directions.

“I used to hate parks with cicadas chirping,” the girl sitting next to him suddenly said.

"why?"

"Because the thought of countless insects crawling and chirping on the surrounding trees makes me feel disgusted."

Jun Matsue laughed loudly. The girl rolled her eyes at him and continued speaking.

"At the time, I firmly believed that this hatred would stay with me for the rest of my life, because every time I heard the sound of cicadas, these disgusting images would appear in my mind."

Even as she said this, Mochizuki Haruka smiled, twirling a fine blade of grass from the hem of her skirt. "But now it doesn't sound so hard to accept."

"I've really changed a lot."

Matsueda Jun looked at the girl's upturned face, which had a dreamlike quality under the sky, yet was undeniably present before him.

He was the one who watched her change, and the one who accompanied her through that change.

"Perhaps this is the price to pay for creating miracles with your own hands."

(End of this chapter)