Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 486 Holding hands, kissing, and hugging
When Yosei Kurusu returned to the living room, he slammed his water glass onto the coffee table with a "clang".

"What do you mean you're dating again?"

"Because of Yamami Maki."

Jun Matsue lowered his head, and the girl's incredulous expression disappeared before his eyes, leaving only an empty plate on the table—the strawberries had all been eaten.

Laiqi Youse didn't sit down, but remained standing next to the boy. "Isn't that your ex-girlfriend?"

“Actually, she’s not even an ex-girlfriend,” Jun Matsueda chuckled. “Most people don’t know about my relationship with her.”

"That's not the point!" Her previous ease and cheerfulness were gone; under the light, she even looked somewhat gloomy. "Why are you in love again?!"

So Jun Matsuoka told her about the graduation ceremony.

"So you're just pretending to be a couple now?"

The girl's complexion improved slightly, and she sat down on the sofa, getting closer to the boy than before.

“Yes.” Jun Matsueda nodded. “We are partners who hurt our senior together.”

Even as he said this, the words that Matsumura Tomoka had spoken to herself by the cherry blossom grove that day kept flashing through his mind—

"Because my only thought is to make you happy."

"So you guys are doing CP (couple) marketing now?" Yosei Kurusu suddenly said.

"What?" He was stunned.

“It’s just a couple’s promotional campaign!” She stared straight into the boy’s eyes. “Many people in the entertainment industry do this too, pretending to be a couple to generate buzz for their vacation.”

“Formally, it seems to be the same thing.” Jun Matsue breathed a sigh of relief; the girl seemed to accept this more easily than he had imagined.

"So what did you all do?"

“Nothing much.” He recalled, “Aside from the kiss at the cultural festival, it seems like we just held hands and linked arms after that.”

"Oh." The girl nodded, then stretched out her right hand and placed it on the boy's left hand, which was placed next to her.

"Kurasu, you—"

Just as Matsueda Jun realized the movement on the back of his hand, Kurusu Yosei placed his left hand on his shoulder and turned him around—

They looked at each other face to face, their bodies closer than ever before. Jun Matsue could even feel the girl's chest pressed against his clothes, their breaths almost touching.

"We still need to kiss, right?" The girl's breath hit the boy's face as she spoke, carrying the sweet scent of the fruit she had just swallowed.

"What—" Before Jun Matsue could speak, the berry red color on her lips magnified before his eyes.

A cool, elastic touch landed on the boy's cheek—he turned his head away in time.

"Why did the pine branch turn its head?"

As Kurusu Yosei complained, she reached out and cupped the man's cheek, preparing to kiss him a second time. The boy immediately raised his arm and pulled them apart.

"what's wrong with you?"

Matsueda Jun wiped the dampness off his face with the back of his hand, surprised by the girl's swift action.

"Aren't you two already working as a couple?" Kurusu Yosei said in a matter-of-fact tone, licking her rosy lips with lingering satisfaction.

"If couples can do these things, it means they're not important, right? Then I'll do it too!"

The girl moved closer to him again, and Jun Matsue stretched out his arm to block her shoulder. "Is there something wrong with your understanding?"

"Isn't that how it is?" Kurusu Yosei didn't give up, trying to break free from his control. "Then why can you kiss her but not me?"

"..." Jun Matsue couldn't explain why, but he just wasn't going to let go.

"Why—" the girl asked as she struggled, and she quickly came up with a crooked idea—sticking out her tongue at the hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, hey, hey." Jun Matsue slid his hands down and grabbed the stubborn arms. The girl twisted again, her loose long-sleeved sweatshirt slipping down in the tugging, revealing her fair and rounded shoulders. This couldn't go on, and the boy was at a loss. He couldn't really force himself on her.

"Kurasu, listen to me." Jun Matsueda decided to try a different approach to calm the girl down. "Even if being a couple doesn't count as being a couple, you can't be a couple with two people at the same time, right?"

"That seems to be the case." Kurusu Yosei paused his actions. "So when are you going to finish?"

"I'm not sure, but it won't be very long."

"Then when will I be able to wait!" the girl struggled again.

"Anyway, I won't kiss you right now." Jun Matsueda released her arm and retreated back onto the small sofa. "This has nothing to do with my relationship with you. Has your idol career come to an end?"

"Are you ready to be in a relationship?"

Lai Qiyang stopped moving. She sat cross-legged on the sofa, looking at the wary boy with resentful eyes.

"I just finished my tour and haven't even had a full day of rest yet, why are you asking me about such troublesome things?"

“It’s all your own fault,” Jun Matsue said, touching his cheek again. He felt a persistent dampness on it.

"I don't care!" Kurusu Yosei stood up from the sofa, glaring at him fiercely. "You have to make it up to me!"

The boy sighed, "As long as it's not a sexual favor, anything else is fine."

The girl's eyes darted around. "Then you'll drink with me!"

“…We’re out of alcohol at home; we finished it last time.” Jun Matsue wanted to try and smooth things over again.

"Then let's go buy it!" The girl moved closer to him.

"Then I'll go buy it," Matsueda Jun decided to leave. "It probably wouldn't be convenient for you, would it?"

“No problem, I’ll go with you!” Kurusu Yosei smoothed his black hair. “My current look is quite different from when I perform. I can just change into a hoodie!”

So the two of them started packing their things. The girl went back to her room to change her clothes, and Jun Matsue wiped the water stains off the table with a tissue.

The boy thought to himself, "It feels like I've done something strange."

A few minutes later, the two opened the door to 507. The cold wind from the corridor rushed into their collars, and the boy and girl instinctively shrank their necks.

"Close the door gently and slowly," Yosei Kurusu whispered to the person next to her, "Don't let the neighbors find out!"

Jun Matsue nodded, closed his front door like a thief, and silently walked down the corridor with the girl.

The motion-activated lights in the stairwell lit up one by one, and the two followed the falling light out of the apartment building. Kurusu Yosei stopped and put on the hoodie.

Before them lay the familiar alleyway of the residential compound, the dim streetlights carrying the inherent coldness and restraint of neon lights. A few steps further ahead lay the crossroads with flashing traffic lights and the Musashino Mori Cafe where the two of them often ate.

The sky was a clear, silvery-gray, and the bushes along the road cast small, irregular shadows. Yosei Kurusu took a deep breath; the night breeze carried the scent of nearby cherry blossoms, which was refreshing and invigorating.

As if nothing had changed, the girl turned to look at the boy behind her.

"Give me a hug, Pine Branch?"

"You're here again?" Jun Matsue raised his eyebrows.

"Today is the day I return to Tokyo!" Kurusu Yosei said with a smile. "You haven't even given me a proper welcome!"

"Just a hug, nothing else."

The boy's figure froze for a moment, then he slowly opened his arms.

The girl immediately rushed in, and the same thought flashed through their minds.

That hug was so warm.

(End of this chapter)