Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 421 Heart Disease
On the night Mochizuki Haruka visited the Yamami family, Matsueda Jun was packing his things for his overnight training in the apartment's living room.

"Songzhi bought a new backpack?"

Yosuke Kurusu, who was lying on the sofa, leaned out and picked up the deflated backpack from the floor, shaking it in his hand.

What's more eye-catching than the backpack is the girl's round, white skin swaying with gravity.

"It's not a new one; it's a hiking backpack that I won in a supermarket raffle before."

Jun Matsueda usually carries the school-issued uniform bag to and from school—the kind of rectangular shoulder bag that often appears in anime, which is definitely not suitable for use during his overnight training program.

The boy, who was tidying up outdoor gear on the floor, stood up and took the backpack from the girl's hand. "It's getting cold, remember to wear more loungewear."

Kurosaki Yosei glanced down at her short-sleeved shirt, the drooping neckline revealing an alluring curve. She casually stretched, walked over to the boy, squatted down, and watched him stuff his gear into his backpack one piece at a time.

"Why is it that your school allows us to go on trips every year?" the girl asked, counting on her fingers.

"Sports meets, cultural festivals, ski studios, nature studios, opera studios, and all sorts of training camps, school trips, and off-campus learning opportunities."

"High school education in Japan is too easy!" she concluded.

“That’s how it is in Japan.” Jun Matsueda was still focused on packing up his gear. “Not everyone goes to university. High school is the last time we all spend on campus together, so of course we have to make it as fulfilling as possible.”

"Moreover, many activities are not part of a unified event; you have to pay to register yourself, so there aren't actually that many."

"Roar!" Kurusu Yosei stared at his profile. "All I know is that while I'm still working, you're going out to play again."

"When I go to school, don't you also sleep soundly at home or lie on the sofa watching TV?" The boy rolled his eyes at her.

"Want to be a high school student again?"

The girl nodded honestly, "I want to be a high school idol."

“Wake up,” Jun Matsueda said mercilessly. “The Showa era, when high school idols could still shine, is long gone.”

"It's already the Reiwa era, so you should just focus on your idol career."

"Ugh~" Kurusu Yosei seemed to have been shot in the chest, sobbing as he collapsed onto the sofa.

The boy zipped up all the compartments, picked up his bag with one hand, stood up, and looked at the girl acting strangely on the sofa. "I need to prepare breakfast for tomorrow. What kind of sandwich do you want?"

"I'm not eating!" Kurusu Yosei jumped up from the sofa. "Matsue won't be here tomorrow, I'm going to sleep in!"

"Alright then." The boy sighed, took out toast, ham and eggs from the refrigerator, and went into the kitchen.

When Jun Matsue walked out of the kitchen, the girl in the living room had disappeared, and the sounds of humming and showering came from the bathroom.

The boy put the sandwich in his hand into the refrigerator, picked up his phone from the sofa. The phone screen was still lit up, showing a message from Yamami Maki.

"Is Matsue-san free right now?"

He glanced in the direction of the bathroom. "Are you free, senior, want to video chat?"

"Voice communication is fine."

On the other side, Yamami Maki sat in the dark room, staring at the cold light of the screen in front of her. She didn't want her sweetheart to see her looking so dejected.

So Jun Matsue went back to his room and put on his headphones.

"Hello?" A girl's voice rang in his ear, "What are you doing right now, Matsueda-kun?"

"I just finished making breakfast. I'm going straight to the station tomorrow morning, so I want to save some time."

He sat down by the window. "Why does your voice sound muffled? Do you have a cold?"

"I just lay in bed for a while, so my body probably hasn't woken up yet," Yami Maki said with a smile.

In fact, after Mochizuki Haruka left, she locked herself in her room, even skipping dinner under the pretext of feeling unwell. Although feeling unwell was just an excuse, the girl felt as if she really was sick.

"So, has Matsueda-san already packed her luggage?"

"Yes, all sorts of cups, coasters, and stoves were stuffed into my backpack."

Jun Matsueda originally wanted to film a video of his senior organizing things, but Yosei Kurusu, who was always around, made him give up.

"I see," the girl's voice sounded like a dream, making the boy feel that something was wrong.

"Are you in a bad mood, senior?"

The street where the Yami family lived was too quiet; there wasn't even the sound of passing cars. All he heard through the receiver was pure silence.

"Dad brought up family matters again today." Mochizuki Haruka's words still echoed in Yamami Maki's ears, and she chose to lie again.

"I'm wondering, is Matsueda still happy being with me?"

"Of course I'm happy," Jun Matsueda replied without hesitation. "Otherwise, why would I choose my senior?"

"But all I've brought you are unhappy things." The girl's voice trailed off.

"You're being forced to leave the band, and you even need to report to Dad before going back to the orphanage."

"Senior, these are all temporary," he immediately reassured her. "Have you ever read Norwegian Wood?"

The girl didn't speak, she just nodded, but the boy on the other end of the phone seemed to sense her movement.

"There's a guy in there whose goal is to become a gentleman: he does not do what he wants to do, but what he ought to do."

"It's impossible for everything we do to be something we enjoy and that makes us happy."

"In most cases, the feelings of pain and pleasure are short-lived, but we often do many things that make us unhappy in order to achieve that goal of making ourselves happy."

"For example, if you want to get into a good university, you have to study hard at all times and suppress yourself when everyone else is having fun. But can you say that such a process is not worthwhile?"

"This is the process we are going through, and what I want to achieve is to be with my senior."

"I'm willing to endure these unhappinesses so that I can be happy with my senior."

"You don't need to feel guilty or anything."

"Matsueda-kun is always like this." A smile finally appeared in the girl's voice, like a starlight drifting from a hearth fire.

"What?" Jun Matsuoka breathed a sigh of relief.

"No matter what troubles you have, as soon as Matsueda-kun talks about it, it all seems to become insignificant."

"That's because my senior cares about me," he said with a smile.

A few minutes later, Yamami Maki hung up the phone, and the faint smile on the girl's face vanished along with the sound in her ear.

Perhaps what the boy said made a lot of sense. She looked out the window at the night sky, and her eyes became melancholy again.

"But Matsueda did not deny that he is not happy right now."

Will Matsueda be happier if she joins the Yami family?

The next morning, Jun Matsueda got up earlier than usual and arrived at Shinjuku Station without incident.

He, who didn't need to go to school, was unaware that Yamami Maki hadn't come to school.

She took sick leave.

(End of this chapter)