Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 561 Roles and Actors

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Jun Matsueda, carrying a backpack full of props, walked into a cafe near the izakaya with the girls.

Filming for today has wrapped up, and the crew has decided to go somewhere else for afternoon tea, take a short break, and then disperse.

"What would you like to drink, Pine Branch?" Mochizuki Haruka asked, holding the menu and looking at the boy sitting next to her.

"Hmm... ice cream soda, I guess."

She looked across at the other side, "What would Auntie and Yu Chuan like to drink?"

"Strawberry milkshake." Natsumi Imokawa said as she took her laptop out of her bag. She was in a hurry to copy materials and didn't even look at the menu.

"I won't order anything." Wang Yuehua also moved closer to the computer, looking quite interested. "I'll just have a drink with you later, Xiaoyao, you don't mind, do you?"

Mochizuki Haruka nodded, called the waiter to order, and while the girl was talking, Matsueda Jun took out his phone and opened the chat box with Tomatsu Yuka.

The boy sent her the photos he had just taken on set. Tomatsu said she wanted to see what he looked like as a tough guy, and also wanted to see how things were going on her end.

Tomatsu Yuka replied quickly, sending a surprised rabbit emoji with its ears perked up.

"You look so much more mature, like a real adult. The makeup artist is amazing!"

Matsueda Jun looked up and glanced at his aunt, who was chattering away at Imokawa Natsumi, and said, "It was Aunt Mochizuki who did the makeup. It's really impressive."

"I see~ Have you finished filming now?"

"They're already resting at the coffee shop."

“What a coincidence, my dad and I are at a coffee shop too.” The girl sent a photo of the coffee bar counter, with the sign reading “Penguin Café”.

"We're at the Penguin Cafe at Sumida Aquarium!"

The boy thought for a moment, "The one under the Tokyo Skytree?"

"That's right, although it's not very big, it's very interesting."

Tomatsu Yuka sent a few more photos. In addition to penguins, there was a group of slender snakes poking their heads out from the bottom of the water, which looked quite adorable.

"This garden eel merchandise is so cute! I bought one for Tsunku too~ I'll give it to you when I get back to school!"

It seems Tomatsu is in a good mood... Matsueda Jun sent a nodding emoji, and just as he clicked send, Mochizuki Haruka's voice rang in his ears.

"Ice cream soda." The girl pushed a glass of indigo-colored drink in front of him, taking the opportunity to glance at the screen.

Who are you talking to?

“…Tomatsu.” Jun Matsueda chose to answer honestly, “Show her photos of the film crew.”

"Why don't you call her Youhua anymore?"

Mochizuki asked in a somewhat sarcastic tone, but the boy didn't answer. He lowered his head and focused on drinking his beverage.

"So Matsueda-kun hasn't broken up yet?"

The aunt across from me blinked, her surprise unreadable – was it genuine or just acting?

The silence on the table suddenly became abrupt. Natsumi Imokawa, who was sitting in the corner, peeked out and glanced at the three of them.

She secretly picked up her cup, tucked herself back into her laptop, and took a leisurely sip of her strawberry milkshake.

I should just focus on organizing my materials...

"We haven't broken up yet," Jun Matsue replied simply, looking into the woman's bright eyes.

That's just how it is, and there's no need to explain it.

Mochizuki Haruka glanced at him. "Matsue said it'll happen soon; they'll break up this month."

The girl's words weren't meant to urge her; she just didn't want to lower Songzhi's standing in her aunt's eyes.

"I see..." Wang Yuehua blinked. She didn't say much, but simply reached for the lemon soda in front of her niece.

"Give me a sip too, Auntie!"

Mochizuki Haruka pushed her drink over and took the initiative to change the subject.

"Are there any passionate scenes in your later episodes?" Auntie smiled and chewed on her straw without saying a word. Jun Matsueda gently kicked the girl's foot that was under the table opposite her.

"What?" Natsumi Imokawa took off her headphones in a daze.

"Wangyue is asking about the passionate scenes."

"Oh, oh." The girl looked at Mochizuki Haruka, her tone becoming cautious again.

"Well, it's called a love scene, but there aren't actually that many nude scenes..."

"It's just a shot of them hugging and kissing on a date, then they go to bed together, showing a front view of their shoulders, or a little bit of their backs, or even their thighs if that's not possible!"

"These can all be achieved using camera angles!"

As Natsumi Imokawa spoke with eager eyes, Haruka Mochizuki's little face hardened again.

"Like I said, I'll be on set then, and we'll discuss the specifics of filming on set later."

"Okay..." The girl breathed a sigh of relief; she was relieved that she hadn't been rejected outright.

Is this what it feels like to have your creative work controlled by capital? This thought suddenly popped into her head.

"Auntie, have you had enough to drink?" Mochizuki Haruka asked the woman sitting opposite her, pursing her lips.

"Alright, alright, here you go~" Auntie pushed the tall glass back.

The girl frowned unhappily, "You bit my straw flat."

"Let me get you another straw~" Wang Yuehua called over the waiter.

"Auntie, I'm not playing a happy character either, why are you jealous?" She inserted the new straw into her niece's glass.

"It would be such a shame if Xiaoyao's pretty face got wrinkled."

"Look, the fiancée doesn't even have a name, which means she's not important to Kashiwabara Hikaru at all."

"Later, near the end of the story, when Kashiwabara Hikaru heard that an earthquake had occurred near the island where Konno An lived, he immediately abandoned his fiancée and ran to the airport!"

"So she's pitiful too~"

After hearing her aunt's words, Mochizuki Haruka's tense face softened a little. She blinked, lowered her head, and drank her beverage through the straw.

"What do you think, Matsueda-kun?" Mochizuki Hana then looked at the boy sitting diagonally opposite her, gazing out the window. "No matter how you look at it, it's all Kashiwabara Hikaru's fault, isn't it?"

"Although he doesn't intend to be a scumbag, his behavior is a bit scumbag-like."

Just as Jun Matsueda was about to nod, his cell phone on the table suddenly rang, drawing the attention of the four of them.

On the lit-up phone screen, Yosei Kurusu's name flashed so prominently.

The conversation was abruptly interrupted as the boy answered the phone under the watchful eyes of three people.

"Hey, Kurusu?"

He watched as Mochizuki Haruka placed her right hand on the chair beside her thigh.

"...I'm outside right now. Filming in Imokawa just finished."

"Uh-huh……"

"Will you be back in a few days?"

The girl, who was drinking her beverage, bit the new straw flat.

"Okay, I'll tidy up your room for you when the time comes."

Jun Matsue didn't talk for long; he hung up the phone after hearing the girl's message.

Silence fell over the table again, the lonely sound of the straw sounding somewhat empty. The boy looked up and saw his aunt's meaningful gaze.

"Acting is acting, but Matsueda-kun, you can't become such a scumbag, okay?"

(End of this chapter)