Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 605 Prelude to the Fireworks Festival

The boy's hands roamed over the smooth, white back in front of him, quickly wiping away the last bit of sunscreen.

"Is this good?"

Jun Matsue straightened up and looked at the girl sitting astride a beach chair with her back to him.

"Not enough." Mochizuki Haruka turned around, her fingers hooking the straps of her swimsuit to reveal her fair and delicate chest skin.

"I haven't applied sunscreen to my chest yet!"

“…You can apply this yourself.” Jun Matsueda tossed the sunscreen onto her lap, where the girl gently caught it.

"You've already done it, what are you still shy about?" Mochizuki Haruka rolled her eyes at him.

The girl didn't insist. What bothered her was that Songzhi was distancing himself from her because of other people. Now that they were alone, she saw the boy's resistance as just a little bit of fun between lovers.

Mochizuki Haruka unscrewed the bottle cap herself and began applying it to her collarbone and chest. Matsueda Jun sat down on the recliner next to her, watching the undulating white lines approaching the two of them.

This is the corner of Usami Beach where the waves are the smallest, and there are almost no people. There's only a parasol and deck chair that Mochizuki Haruka rented from a nearby shop, and a small cart with snacks and drinks next to it.

"Why are you taking so long to change your clothes?" Jun Matsue looked at the girl next to him, who had already applied sunscreen.

He received a message from Mochizuki Haruka after he finished applying sunscreen to Tomatsu. The girl didn't say anything, but just sent a picture of the beach. The boy walked across most of the beach before he found her elegantly sipping juice in a corner.

The girl pouted, "I brought several swimsuits, I have to choose one."

Mochizuki Haruka is currently wearing a halter-neck one-piece swimsuit, its deep blue color resembling sea ice, revealing a large expanse of skin on her back. The smooth lines of her youthful body are perfectly suited to the one-piece swimsuit, making her appear pure and sweet.

"So you're just going to lie here under the parasol like this from now on?" Jun Matsue glanced at the girl wearing sunglasses, then looked at the bustling beach not far away.

"If you don't go out and play in the sun, won't all the sunscreen you applied be wasted?"

Mochizuki Haruka turned her face to the side, leaving the boy with only the back of her head.

"So many people, it's annoying, I don't want to play."

"Shall we go for a walk together?"

The girl gave a soft hum, picked up the sun-protective clothing hanging on the back of the chair, and sat up from the recliner.

"For the sake of the pine branch."

The two walked towards the surging crowd on the other side, first passing two boys playing soccer on the beach, then a group of girls playing volleyball, passing through a bunch of colorful bubbles that seemed to float in from nowhere, and then returning to the camp of Class 6, Grade 3.

“Sakamuro and the others are learning to surf…” Jun Matsueda stood at the edge of the beach, letting the cool seawater wash over his feet.

In the distance, Kenjiro Sakamuro lay sprawled on his surfboard, swaying with the waves. Several other similar figures stood around him, exuding a laid-back, carefree vibe.

When the white line in the distance turned into leaping waves and approached, the boys got excited, lay on their surfboards, stretched out their arms, and swam towards the crest of the wave.

“If Matsue wants to learn to surf, I can teach you.” Mochizuki Haruka stood beside him, the girl picking up a seashell that had been washed ashore and playing with it in the sunlight.

You can surf?

"I learned it when I went to the beach with my aunt." She tilted her chin up. "Later, when I was traveling all over the world, I even booked a whole beach to practice on."

"Surfing is indeed quite fun; among the many boring sports that rich people like, it's one of the more interesting ones."

The girl's arrogant yet reserved expression shone brightly under the sky, and Jun Matsue smiled.

"Then I'll learn from you later. But today I only have two or three hours, so let's forget about it."

The two turned around and went back to the classroom camp, where they ran into a group of girls carrying volleyballs.

"Want to play beach volleyball, Mochizuki-chan?" The sassy Rion walked up to them. "We're actually short one person right now~"

Jun Matsue looked behind her, and Yuka Tomatsu smiled at him, holding up the volleyball in her hand.

Mochizuki Haruka glanced at the girl holding the ball, "...Does Tomatsu also want to play?"

Tomatsu Yuka's smile froze for a moment, then she quickly nodded.

"Then I want to play."

Half an hour later, Jun Matsue sat by the makeshift volleyball court marked out with wooden sticks, watching the girls panting on the sand.

The beach volleyball team, playing in groups of three, hadn't initially planned to keep score seriously. However, once the girls who had been taking photos, chatting, and collecting seashells gathered around the sidelines, the atmosphere became serious and intense.

"Go Mochizuki! Suppress them hard!" These were the glamorous girls standing on Mochizuki Haruka's side.

"Yuka-chan, don't lose! Persistence is victory!" This is what the girls who don't usually get along with the hot girls say.

Jun Matsue glanced at Haruka Mochizuki, who had her hair tied up in a ponytail and was standing with her hands on her hips, and then at Tomoka Tomatsu, who was panting with her hands on her lap on the other side.

"It's surprisingly evenly matched..."

Mochizuki's volleyball skills are quite good, which is not surprising for the boys. However, although Tomatsu is not physically strong, he is very accurate in judging the landing point of the ball and the opponent's movements.

Of course, if it were a one-on-one volleyball match, Tomatsu Tomoka would probably be defeated by Mochizuki Haruka by now.

However, since this is a three-on-three team match, Tomatsu Yuka only needs to save the ball, and her teammates will naturally hit the ball back forcefully when it is raised into the air for her.

Jun Matsue glanced at the girl standing by the net on the other side, acting as a scoreboard. Seventeen to fifteen, Mochizuki's team was slightly ahead.

The boy stood up and walked off the field.

"Where is Matsue going?" Mochizuki Haruka walked over, while Tomatsu Yuka was busy drinking water, but her gaze was fixed on him.

“There seems to be an ice cream truck over there,” Jun Matsue pointed to the ice cream truck in the distance. “I’ll go buy some for you.”

"The winning team will receive an ice cream personally delivered by Matsueda-kun!!"

Some nosy girls started egging him on, and Jun Matsue glanced at her before walking out of the crowd.

Looks like I'll have to buy six ice creams.

Walking across the bustling beach, the boy greeted students from other classes along the way and borrowed a bubble gun from Sugisaki, who was lying under a parasol—the bubbles he and Mochizuki Haruka had seen earlier came from there.

When he heard the shouts coming from behind the ice cream cart, Jun Matsueda suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. He turned ninety degrees and walked towards the outer edge of the beach near the road.

"What is Yuchuan doing here?" the boy asked, looking at the girl sitting on a folding stool with a camera in front of him.

"I'm taking pictures." Natsumi Imokawa put down her camera, revealing her slightly flushed cheeks.

“I mean…” Jun Matsue glanced back at the crowd behind him, “We’re all at the beach now, aren’t you going to play in the water or take a stroll?”

He felt like an old auntie who liked to meddle in other people's business. Whenever he saw a withdrawn child like Imokawa and Mochizuki huddled in a corner, he couldn't help but want to make them move around more.

"I don't want to play in the water." The girl shook her head vigorously, protecting the camera hanging around her neck. "If the camera gets wet, it'll be ruined!"

"Is the camera your true form?"

"And it's hot and sunny at the beach..." The bright sunlight overhead made Natsumi Imokawa's face flush even more. She took out a mini fan from her pocket and blew her bangs flying wildly.

Jun Matsueda glanced at the girl's jacket and said, "If you're hot, take off your sun protection jacket."

"I'm wearing a swimsuit underneath, and it would be very noticeable if I took off my coat..." she said softly, her legs together.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "You weren't planning on going in the water, but you're wearing a swimsuit?" "Because everyone else has changed into their swimsuits. Wouldn't it be strange if I didn't?"

Jun Matsueda sighed helplessly, "They sell some cool ice cream over there, do you want some?"

"Yes!" Natsumi Imokawa finally stood up. "I want wasabi flavor!"

"You actually like the taste of wasabi..." Jun Matsueda glanced at her again.

"If you want to eat it, come with me to buy it."

Two minutes later, the girl stood in front of the ice cream truck. The colorful ice cream, emitting bursts of cold air, lay in the square groove under the lid like free snow.

"It doesn't have wasabi flavor..."

"Two vanilla, two strawberry, one chocolate, and one melon," the boy told the shopkeeper, then turned around.

What flavor of Imokawa would you like?

The girl hesitated for two seconds, then said, "Mint flavor, I guess."

Jun Matsueda turned around, "Add a mint flavor too!"

Holding a double scoop of mint ice cream in a paper cup, Imokawa Natsumi used a spoon to scoop a big mouthful and put it in her mouth, then squinted her eyes in satisfaction.

"Where is Songzhi going now?"

“Go back to class.” The boy waved the two large paper bags in his hand. “The girls are playing volleyball, and these are gifts for them.”

"I see. May I come with you?"

“Of course you can.” Jun Matsueda glanced at her. “Didn’t you say you didn’t want to move?”

"But I want to take pictures!" the girl blinked. "Girls' bodies look really good when they're exercising!"

"Don't even think about it, everyone's wearing sun protection clothing just like you."

“Oh…” Natsumi Imokawa lowered her head, looking at the camera trembling in front of her chest.

The heavy camera pressed down on her thin coat, revealing the full, prominent contours of her chest.

"Can I take a picture of that pine branch?" the girl suddenly asked.

Jun Matsueda paused in his tracks. "What do you want to film?"

"Take off your jacket and let me see your abs," Natsumi Imokawa said bluntly.

The boy looked into her eyes and said, "...You're giving me the illusion that I'm a gigolo."

"Hurry up, hurry up!" The girl looked up at the approaching camp ahead, then turned back and urged in a low voice.

"Once I run into Tomatsu and Mochizuki, there won't be another chance!"

"..." Jun Matsue put the two paper bags in one hand and carried them, while using the other hand to unzip the sun protection clothing.

"Wow—" Natsumi Imokawa's lips parted into a round shape. She stood in front of the boy with an ice cream scoop in her mouth and raised her camera with her right hand.

A series of camera shutter clicks rang out as the girl's lens zoomed in closer and closer, moving up and down between the boy's chest and the muscle lines of his waist and abdomen.

"Pine branch, pull your clothes open a little more." She was still giving orders. "It would be best to rinse them with some water. The glistening water droplets on your muscles would look really nice."

"That's enough, okay?" Jun Matsueda zipped up his pants again, and the girl in front of him let out a regretful sigh.

"If you want to see it, you can practice it yourself."

"Me?" Natsumi Imokawa lowered her head. She could only see the deep cleavage on her chest, not her soft belly.

"I can't do it anymore..."

With no youthful bodies available for her photography, the young photographer bid farewell to Jun Matsueda without hesitation. Just as the boy entered the camp alone, a huge cheer erupted from the sidelines of the volleyball court.

"We won!"

"Mochizuki is the strongest!!"

Jun Matsue watched as the gyaru stormed into the arena, surrounding Haruka Mochizuki, who was raising her arms in a victory sign.

"In the end, Mochizuki won."

He walked to the other side of the field, where Tomatsu Yuka was sitting on the sand, panting. The girls comforting her noticed the boy's arrival and made way for him.

Jun Matsue handed her the melon-flavored ice cream, saying, "You only lost by two points, that's pretty impressive."

"I was just too weak..." the girl sighed. "I didn't have the strength to save the ball in the end."

"It's just for fun, don't take it too seriously."

The boy waved the melon-flavored sundae in his hand again, and only after Tomatsu Yuka reached out and took it did he distribute the rest of the ice cream to the other girls.

"Matsugi, where's my prize?" Mochizuki Haruka's voice came from behind him.

Jun Matsue turned around, and the girl in front of him stood tall and proud, looking like a triumphant general.

“Here it is.” He took the chocolate ice cream out of the paper bag. “This is the last one, and the owner specially added a little extra for you.”

"That's it?"

Jun Matsueda then pulled out a bubble gun hidden in the bag, "and the spoils I snatched from Sugisaki."

Mochizuki Haruka pursed her lips, glanced at the girl sitting to the side eating ice cream, and then whispered to the boy.

"Feed me mouth-to-mouth at night."

Tomatsu Yuka paused, tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and then scooped up a large spoonful of ice cream.

Jun Matsueda shoved the chocolate sundae into her hand. "I'm going back to Tokyo tomorrow, so behave yourself."

“…This is boring.” Mochizuki Haruka pouted, picked up the bubble gun from the boy’s other hand, and walked towards the hot girls behind her.

After playing volleyball, sunbathing, and having lunch at a sushi restaurant on the beach, Jun Matsueda and the girls boarded a train bound for Atami.

The boy sat down and looked at the red sea bream pattern on the back of the chair.

"This is the last stop."

The train they were on was called the "Golden Eye Sea Bream," a train specifically modified for sightseeing. There were no assigned seats; each carriage had a row of seats facing the windows.

Tomatsu Yuka looked out the car window at the sea, and the young man riding a bicycle on the highway became a long, blurry silhouette.

"The time on the school trip seemed to fly by."

"Isn't there still one night left?" Mochizuki Haruka's tone seemed to be deliberately going against her. "If you don't plan to watch the fireworks festival, you can take a bus directly back from Atami later."

Without responding to the girl's provocation, Tomatsu Yuka simply glanced at the boy beside her and gazed out the window with him at the boundless, deep blue plains.

The fireworks festival with just the two of them seems like it'll never come back...

(End of this chapter)