Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 564 Tasting the Flavor

May 16th, Friday, fifteen days until the end of May.

After school today, Jun Matsueda did not ride his bike home directly with Haruka Mochizuki, but instead went to a supermarket near their apartment.

The boy parked his bicycle by the roadside and walked into the supermarket. He handed his backpack to the girl following behind him and picked up a dark green basket from the doorway.

Mochizuki Haruka took his bag and placed it horizontally in front of her lap along with her own schoolbag, a posture that looked very traditional and ladylike.

"Aren't there still plenty of vegetables in the fridge? Why are you at the supermarket again today?"

"Summer's here, time to get some ice cream." Jun Matsueda shook the basket in his hand and headed straight for the freezer where the ice cream was kept.

"Ice cream?" The girl frowned. When Songzhi was at home, he wasn't very interested in this stuff; she was the one who put it in front of him.

Mochizuki Haruka slowed her pace slightly, but she quickly figured out what was going on, and then hurried over to the boy's side.

"Was this bought for Lai Qiyang?"

Jun Matsueda didn't hide from Yosei Kurusu that she was going back to her apartment this weekend.

The boy nodded, glancing at the black hair brushing against his shoulder. "Buy more and put them in the fridge. Anyone who wants some can eat them."

The girl puffed out her cheeks slightly, "If you buy it now, I'll eat it all tonight."

Jun Matsueda couldn't help but laugh. "Then you might have to go to the hospital."

Wang Yueyao glared at him and reached out to open the freezer door.

"She can buy hers, I'll buy mine. My ice cream is in room 506, and she's not allowed to have any!"

"I have no objection." The boy nodded.

The girl bent down to choose, then took out two tubs of Lady Borden chocolate and two tubs of Häagen-Dazs matcha brownies. She put the ice cream into the basket in Matsueda Jun's hand, while the boy looked at the English letters on the packaging—the young lady's food has to be a bit fancy.

Having found the ice cream that Yosei Kurusu wanted, Jun Matsueda grabbed a few vanilla-flavored boxes, filling his shopping basket to the brim, and then closed the freezer door.

"Is there anything else you'd like to buy, Mochizuki?"

"No." The girl turned around and walked towards the cashier. "I don't like the things in the supermarket. They're all frozen vegetables and semi-finished products, and the quality of the fresh ingredients isn't very good either."

"I bought a frozen white fish before, and it smelled terrible after it was thawed, so I threw it directly into the trash can."

The clerk standing behind the cashier opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to argue, but upon seeing the girl's aloof gaze, the clerk immediately abandoned that idea.

"No wonder I haven't seen you come here to buy groceries much." The boy put his shopping basket on the checkout counter. "But they do offer pretty good deals when they have promotions."

Mochizuki Haruka pouted, "I prefer Saeki; their shops are prettier."

Seeing the girl's cold eyes suddenly soften, the shop assistant paused in surprise, looking down at the barcode on the ice cream box.

That’s great…

It's unclear which one she actually envies.

After paying, Jun Matsueda realized that a 5,000 yen bill was missing from his wallet. He walked out of the supermarket carrying two plastic bags—at Haruka Mochizuki's request, her ice cream and Yosei Kurusu's ice cream were not packed together.

Riding home faster than he had come, he and the girl quickly stuffed the ultimate summer dessert into the refrigerator. Jun Matsueda took out the chilled lemon tea from the top shelf of the refrigerator and poured himself a large cup.

Although it was cloudy today, the high temperature didn't drop at all, and the muggy feeling was even more obvious. Mochizuki Haruka went into the bathroom to take a shower, leaving him alone in the living room of 506.

Listening to the pattering sound flowing into the living room, Jun Matsue sat on the sofa and examined the lemon tea in his hand—the light brown liquid was crystal clear, with a few lemon slices floating in it, and the cool touch transmitted from the glass to his fingertips.

Auntie brought some black tea with her when she came to the parent-teacher meeting yesterday, so the girl spent the evening in the kitchen of room 506 video chatting with the maid while concocting a large pot of lemon tea from the refrigerator. It looked pretty good, the boy said, shaking the cup in his hand and taking a sip.

The aroma of tea and lemon was very distinct, with a perfect balance of sweet, sour, and slightly astringent... Just as he was savoring it, he heard footsteps coming from the hallway outside the living room.

"How does it taste? I haven't tried it myself yet."

Mochizuki Haruka changed into a casual tank top and stood behind the sofa, tilting her head cutely as she dried her wet long hair with a towel.

“It tastes much better than barley tea.” Jun Matsueda took a big gulp to show his approval.

"That's good." The girl continued drying her hair, her rounded shoulders swaying along with it.

"Then next time, ask the manor to send more. You've been drinking barley tea for so long, it's time to change things up."

“Barley tea is quite healthy too.” Although he said that, the boy didn’t object. He watched as Mochizuki Haruka walked around the sofa and sat down next to him.

Beyond her thin tank top and shorts, all that remained was dazzling white.

"What are we having for dinner?" the girl asked casually.

"How about some udon?" Jun Matsue stared at the lemon tea on the table, as if tonight's menu was engraved on the glass.

"I want something light today. I have some shrimp on the side, so I'll make shrimp and scrambled eggs to put on top of the udon."

"Then add some shredded cucumber for me."

Mochizuki Haruka put down the towel in her hand. Just as she was about to get closer to the boy's body, Matsueda Jun stood up from the sofa.

"Then I'll go back and cook noodles first." His gaze didn't linger on the fair skin beside him. "I'll call you when it's time to eat."

Before the girl could answer, the boy turned around. His steps were neither hurried nor slow, but firm as he walked towards the entrance.

"..." Mochizuki Haruka watched him walk out of the room, the metal door closing with a soft click.

"What an ungrateful fellow."

She shook her head vigorously, and water droplets flew from her half-wet hair, landing on the sofa where the boy had just been sitting.

The girl had hoped to make some tangible progress before returning from Kiyoshi tomorrow, but unfortunately, Matsueda Jun seemed to have become more vigilant and had seen through her temptation early on.

She leaned back on the sofa and took out her phone to send a message to her aunt.

"Failed."

“I knew it!” Auntie replied quickly, “You can’t just use temptation and hints to get to someone like Songzhi!”

"Xiaoyao, just listen to me, and pretend to be pitiful when the time comes~"

The girl pursed her lips reluctantly, tossed her phone aside, stared blankly at the empty black screen of the TV for a while, and then looked at the table.

A nice-looking cup of lemon tea is standing there.

Mochizuki Haruka picked up the glass and, following the angle at which Matsue Jun had just drunk his tea, pressed her soft lips against the cool glass.

The girl tilted her head back, her slender neck undulating gracefully, emitting soft swallowing sounds.

She finished the rest of her lemon tea in one go, put down the cup, and licked her lips with a lingering sense of satisfaction.

It tastes just like I imagined.

(End of this chapter)