Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 543 Natsumi Imokawa couldn't understand.
Despite some minor setbacks, the afternoon filming went smoothly. When the crew of "White Line Flow" finished filming the last scene, the sun on the horizon showed no sign of setting.

"Is this the end for today?" Tomatsu Yuka smoothed her black hair.

The girl had finished touching up her makeup, and her previously gloomy expression brightened again. However, there was still some moisture in her eyes, revealing a delicate and fragile quality.

Her words went unanswered. Jun Matsueda, who was standing to the side, took a step and walked to Natsumi Imokawa on the other side.

The young director was still looking down at the camera when the boy gently patted her shoulder.

"Has all the filming for today been completed?"

"Ah." Natsumi Imokawa looked up as if waking from a dream, her thumb pressing on the camera. "All done."

"It's still early, shall we take some more pictures?" The girl in front of the camera tilted her head; she didn't really want to be separated from Matsueda Jun right now.

"The lighting isn't quite right right now," the authoritative director shook his head. "Besides, shooting too much in one day isn't good either; the story requires seasonal changes."

Matsueda Jun helped her pack up the tripod and put it in her backpack. "Can Yuka rest now?"

"Ah."

Natsumi Imokawa nodded, while Tomoka Tomatsu sighed silently.

Twenty minutes later, the three arrived at a nearby station. Tomatsu Yuka turned to look at the boy next to her.

"Isn't Tsunkun leaving?"

Jun Matsue raised his right hand, his thumb pointing behind him at the girl who was staring blankly at the roadside flower bushes.

“Imokawa still needs to shoot some establishing shots, so I have to do her hard work.”

"Then I'll go back first." Tomatsu Yuka nodded obediently. "I'll contact the detective about hiring him when I get home."

"Message me when you get home." Jun Matsueda watched her pass through the gate at the station. "Remember, whatever you do, don't go over there alone."

"Okay~" The girl turned around and waved goodbye to him with a sweet smile.

Watching Tomatsu Yuka's figure disappear into the crowd, the boy turned around, walked down the steps, and picked up the heavy backpack at Imokawa Natsumi's feet.

"Let's go, keep shooting your establishing shots."

“…Oh.” The girl slowly started walking, her interest seemingly low.

The two walked down the street in the opposite direction from where they had come from. The wind picked up, blowing the pale yellow hem of Imokawa Natsumi's skirt and her black hair that was loose over her shoulders.

"Matsue, what were you doing with Tomatsu-kun when you had your back to me in the park earlier?"

The girl wasn't good at subtle probing; to satisfy her curiosity, she could only clumsily ask questions directly.

"I just comforted her a little," the boy said vaguely.

"How did you comfort me?" she pressed on. "I saw you lower your head."

"Did you two kiss?"

“No.” Jun Matsueda waved his hand. “I just kissed her forehead.”

"Weren't you two breaking up?" Natsumi Imokawa didn't stop walking, leaning forward slightly to better observe the boy's eyes. "Why are you kissing?"

"Isn't it because of your filming—she's crying so hard, when are you going to comfort her?"

"..." The girl pouted slightly, "Then I can wait too."

Facing the warm breeze, she tried to recall the feeling she had when facing Jun Matsuoka's back—that somewhat inexplicable bitterness, or perhaps unease, had now completely vanished.

Natsumi Imokawa was somewhat unwilling to accept it. "Why did Matsue turn around and look at me then? Why did Tomatsu-san cry? What were you thinking when you kissed her?"

Her barrage of questions left Matsueda Jun momentarily bewildered. "Why are you asking so many questions?"

"...Because...because I originally wanted to take a picture of you bending down to kiss her." The girl bit her lip, quickly coming up with an excuse for herself.

"Look, you're kissing Tomatsu-san who's crying. Isn't this a perfect scene for a farewell?"

"Weren't all the farewell scenes filmed?" Jun Matsueda has a very good memory.

“Isn’t it normal for a finished film to have a lot of backup material?” the girl argued. “…It’s not a topic that’s convenient to talk about, anyway, it’s because of her family.” The boy looked across the street, “As for why I glanced back at you, it’s just that I felt it wasn’t appropriate for you to see this.”

“I’m not a child anymore!” Natsumi Imokawa pouted, turning her face toward the quietly flowing river by the roadside.

"I'll take the picture right here! Pine branch, could you get me the tripod?"

The two stopped by the river. This was downstream from the river in front of Fujimori High School. The girl set up her camera and looked at the shimmering water, but she quickly became lost in thought.

What exactly was that feeling that swept through my mind at that time?
The boy was vague about her question, and now, recalling the scene, Natsumi Imokawa can no longer find that feeling.

The girl was unaware that this was because she already knew in her heart that Jun Matsue had not kissed anyone in front of her.

She could only guess wildly. Maybe it was because Songzhi was deliberately turning his back to her? He had never been secretive towards her before...

"Tamo River."

"Taochuan?"

Jun Matsue called out twice before the girl sitting in front of the camera finally turned her head.

"what happened?"

"I'll go buy a bottle of water. Will you be okay here by yourself?"

“No problem.” Natsumi Imokawa nodded, but then she remembered something and picked up the half-finished soda she had placed on the side of her backpack.

"Aren't there still some left?"

"That's your water." The boy rolled his eyes at her. "The bottle that was next to your feet was my water, but you've already drunk it all."

The girl opened her mouth slightly, her expression somewhat blank and cute. "I saw it was right next to me, so I picked it up and drank it."

"So what if you drank it?" Jun Matsueda stood up. "We're not middle school students anymore, why would we care about indirect kissing or anything like that?"

“Indirect kiss…” Natsumi Imokawa repeated softly, her face turning slightly red, but unfortunately the boy who had turned away didn’t see it.

When Jun Matsue returned to the tripod by the river, the girl was still staring blankly at the river, but she quickly turned her head away when the footsteps approached.

"I bought you a bottle of water too." The boy shook the orange juice in his hand. "These two bottles are different this time, so don't drink the wrong one again."

"Didn't Matsueda say he didn't mind indirect kissing?" Natsumi Imokawa blinked.

Jun Matsue paused for a moment, then ignored the girl's question and sat down next to her.

"Once the scenes for the next two days are finished, Wangyue and the others can finally rest?" The boy unscrewed the bottle of soda in his hand.

“Yes.” Natsumi Imokawa nodded. “But the pine branches can’t rest yet.”

“…What else do I need to do?” Jun Matsuoka turned his head.

The girl's full lips had a slight sheen, whether from the bright sky or the shimmering river surface, it was hard to tell.

“Matsue also needs to record audio—a lot of this short film is from Kashiwabara Hikaru’s subjective perspective, so you have to act as the narrator.”

"Just recording?" He breathed a sigh of relief. "Where will it be recorded?"

"my home."

"Your home?" Jun Matsuoka looked up again.

"It's the studio I took you to last time." The girl blinked again. "Is the pine branch okay?"

"...No problem, just call me when the time comes."

Just like the inexplicable feeling she had not long ago, when she heard the boy agree, Natsumi Imokawa felt a joy that had nothing to do with her creative work.

But this time she knew why—

It's more comfortable to be alone with Songzhi than to be watched by other people during a photoshoot.

(End of this chapter)