Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 426 A Troublesome Night, an Embarrassing Red

Sukiyaki is a dish that can be cooked in any way and never taste bad, but even Haruka Mochizuki has to admit that Tomoka Tomatsu's sukiyaki is especially delicious.

After the girls said they were full, Ken Sakamuro and Jun Matsueda shared the last bit of udon noodles soaked in broth.

"Songzhi, we're having a bonfire party with Class 5 later, do you want to come?"

Jun Matsue turned off the tap and observed the luster inside the iron pot, finding no traces of colored oil.

"I want to see the night view of the mountain lake." He picked up the washed dishes and prepared to leave.

"Hey! There's hardly anyone around, and it's pitch black, what's there to see?" Ken Sakamuro called out to him.

"There will be activities at the bonfire party, including singing, dancing, and playing games. Someone from Class 5 brought incense sticks and fireworks, and there will also be roasted marshmallows to eat!"

Of all the items, only the roasted marshmallows were somewhat attractive to Jun Matsue; he turned around and sized up the attentive boy.

"Why are you being so enthusiastic? Who gave you a task?"

Ken Sakamuro gave an awkward laugh. "A few girls in Class 5 asked me to do it."

"Tell them I have someone I like." The boy waved his hand, picked up the pots and pans, and walked away.

"Huh? When did you get someone you like?" The surprised voice came from behind him and gradually faded away.

After returning the borrowed iron pot to the camp hut, Jun Matsue took his own tableware back to his tent. He slept with Ken Sakamuro in the spacious two-person tent, and sitting inside, listening to the faint sound of the lake, naturally brought a sense of peace.

After putting away the tableware, he stepped out of the tent, and the girl guarding the door bumped into him without avoiding him.

"What are you doing?" Jun Matsue asked, looking at Haruka Mochizuki, who had taken two steps back.

"I'm afraid you'll get lost." The girl's tone was a little haughty. She turned her face and looked in the direction where voices were faintly coming from. "Do you want to go cycling with me along the lake tonight? Consider it exercise after dinner."

"No, thank you." The boy declined the invitation again. "I want to take a walk by myself."

"Alone?" Mochizuki Haruka frowned in dissatisfaction.

“Alone.” Jun Matsue nodded.

"..." The girl stared at him for a few seconds. "It's not safe by the lake at night, so be careful."

The guy was almost laughing, even though you just invited him to go cycling along the lake.

"There seems to be roasted marshmallows at the bonfire party later. Could you try some for me?"

He took a flashlight out of his pocket and waved it in his hand like a drumstick. "Have fun."

Mochizuki Haruka watched as Matsueda Jun's figure disappeared behind the layers of tents before turning around and walking back towards the source of the commotion.

“You’re in too much of a hurry.” Tomatsu Yuka appeared next to the other tent, a smile on her face.

"No matter what, we should give Songzhi some time to think and process things."

"None of your business." Mochizuki Haruka walked past her, glancing at her. "You're not my dating coach."

"I don't want you to chatter in my ear like you did when you seduced Songzhi before."

After reporting to Aya Hirouchi, who was guarding the camp exit, Jun Matsueda strolled alone along the lake and soon reached the constructed trail.

Although it was dark, it wasn't dark enough to need a flashlight yet. Every now and then, a few cyclists would pass by. He walked on the far right side of the road to avoid being bumped into by someone who wasn't paying attention.

The streetlights were sparse, which made the starlight stand out. Jun Matsue looked up and saw countless silver stars scattered like grains of sand in the clear night sky.

Separated from the trail and the lake by the reeds that can be seen everywhere in autumn, some long and some short, swaying in the wind, a ring of intermittent light can be seen on the opposite shore of the lake, the light that belongs to the human world, and the hazy light from the villages can also be seen above the rolling mountain ridges.

The girls were right. In such an environment, worries would naturally hide away without leaving a trace.

But Jun Matsue took out his phone again and looked at it. The two messages he had sent to Maki Yami three hours earlier were still unread.

As a result, the joy of wandering freely between heaven and earth has become almost nonexistent.

He definitely didn't not check his phone for three hours; he even sent a few polite messages to Kazuaki Yamami. The man showed no signs of anything unusual, so it wasn't a sudden incident.

The senior student has temporarily refused to communicate with him; that's an obvious conclusion.

Was it a backlash from her previous argument with her father, or was it unilateral pressure from the Yamami family? That was the first reason he thought of.

Perhaps he should speed up his efforts to show his loyalty. Jun Matsue slowed down, the shadow of Mount Fuji floating on the lake.

The boy recalled what Tomatsu Yuka had said earlier that day, and he had, of course, considered similar thoughts—initially, he had wanted to change his senior. However, what the girl said was too fast and too intense. Both Tomatsu Yuka herself and Mochizuki Haruka had very unique family and upbringing environments. As for Yamami Maki, in the end, she was just a very typical Japanese high school girl.

He recalled the day he went shopping with his senior, the tentative advances after dinner, and the girl's fragile expression as she leaned against him in the open woods, tears streaming down her face.

Once you get back to Tokyo, leave the band as soon as possible to put your senior and her parents at ease.

Jun Matsuoka quickened his pace, trying to uproot the regret in his heart. He wanted to digest all these negative emotions with the help of the night breeze, starlight, and the ripples on the mountain lake.

However, the girl who appeared beside the path interrupted the process. Jun Matsue stopped and looked at the figure not far away, hidden by the pampas grass.

"Imokawa?" he called out.

Natsumi Imokawa, who was holding the camera, turned around, stared blankly at the boy for a second, and then subconsciously pressed the camera button.

The sound of a young girl's camera shutter clicked from the reeds.

"Come to think of it, our class did indeed go camping with Class 5."

Standing next to the girl, Jun Matsueda recalled what Ken Sakamuro had said to him before he left the camp.

“I had no idea that Matsue and I were staying together at night.” Natsumi Imokawa raised her camera and pointed it at Mount Fuji in the distance.

"So how did you end up running away like me?" The boy looked at the girl's profile, pressed against the camera, her smooth cheeks showing a hint of baby fat.

"Are you here to take photos?"

The girl nodded and then shook her head. "I came here in advance to scout the location. I want to get up early tomorrow to photograph Mount Fuji at dawn."

“I understand.” Jun Matsueda nodded.

Natsumi Imokawa put down her camera and stepped out of the grass, her steps uneven, with Jun Matsueda following behind her—now there were two of them walking on the road.

"Would you like to come with me, Pine Branch?" the girl asked the boy beside her. "I want to walk to the shores of the plains."

“No problem.” He nodded. “Just consider it digested.”

After walking for a while, Jun Matsue looked up at the boundless starry sky above him and said, "I was thinking about the night I left Hokkaido."

“Me too.” Natsumi Imokawa nodded. “The photos of the starry sky I just took are pretty good. I’ll show them to you later.”

After she finished speaking, the girl still looked at the boy, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Jun Matsuoka stopped in his tracks.

Do you need to use the restroom?

"Is Songzhi in a bad mood?" the girl asked, mustering her courage.

The boy was silent for a moment, then laughed, but the smile was not obvious and was somewhat bitter.

"Is it that obvious?"

The girl nodded and then shook her head again. "It's not obvious, but I can tell."

"Because we are friends."

As Natsumi Imokawa said this, she gripped the camera strap hanging from her chest, feeling a little nervous about initiating the conversation.

“I’ve been having some worries lately,” Jun Matsue said. “Mainly because there’s no clear solution and no one to talk to, so it’s been quite frustrating.”

"Well, although I don't really understand."

The girl stopped and tried to organize her thoughts, while the boy turned to look at her.

"Although I'm not as skilled as Songzhi, and I don't have much experience helping others..."

An embarrassed blush appeared on Natsumi Imokawa's face, barely visible in the darkness.

“But I’m very good at keeping secrets!” She looked up at the boy in front of her.

"So if Songzhi has something on his mind, then..."

"You can tell me!"

(End of this chapter)