Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 61 The Girl's Desperate Measures

"From whom did Mom hear such a thing?"

Tomatsu Tomoka pretended to be surprised and tried to cover up the truth with a foolproof rhetorical question.

"Stop pretending. Do you still expect to fool your mother?" Tomatsu Miyuki patted the table and asked his daughter to sit down opposite him.

"That's the boy named Jun Matsueda from last time, right? It's almost spread among all the freshmen in Haneda, and I just found out about it."

Tomatsu Tomoka had no choice but to nod. The cold and hard touch of the wooden chair made the dark clouds in her heart gradually rise.

Tomatsu Tomoka watches TV dramas and chats with others at school. Whether on screen or through others' mouths, mother and daughter usually communicate in the bedroom. The mother holds her daughter's hand and sits close to her on the soft bed. If they find themselves talking about something emotional, they hug each other.

Tomatsu Tomoka longs for closer distance and physical contact.

Sometimes, ten thousand heartfelt words are not as touching as a gentle hug.

She had forgotten the last time her mother had entered her bedroom. Did her mother ever sit on her bed? She had no recollection of it.

Tomatsu Miyuki knocked on the table to bring her daughter back to reality. She also used this method to get her subordinates to focus when giving presentations at meetings at the company.

"Tell Mom about Jun Matsueda."

What should she say? Tomatsu Yuka had so much to say, yet she didn't know where to begin: their first meeting at the opening ceremony, his eyes in the sunlight, becoming deskmates, running for class monitor.
His gentle and polite manners, but in fact his indifference that kept people at a distance, his falsehood and his truthfulness, the way he used to raise the corners of his mouth a little more when facing himself, and his posture when he jumped high to dunk.

No matter how much he hates me or ignores me, he will not watch me fall into danger. He will stand in front of me and let me lie on his back to block any possible strange looks.

His hateful, charming, and innate warmth and kindness.

But what the girl wanted to tell her mother most was not these.

"He's someone I like very, very much."

There was a pleading tone in her voice.

Tomatsu Miyuki could only sigh, "Do you really understand him?"

“No one knows him better than me,” the girl said firmly.

"Mom asked her friend's daughter, and she said Matsueda-san is very famous in school. Famous in every sense of the word, right?"

"Some people say he's a playboy, money-grubber, and a bully, did you know that?"

"Those are all fake; it's just malicious rumors spread by someone."

Tomatsu Tomoka felt her hands trembling. The evil consequences she had sown in the past finally blossomed in her mother's mouth.

"What about him serving drinks? There are even photos of him."

"Technology is so advanced nowadays, anything can be forged, and the school has also refuted the rumor."

"So I asked my friend who works at Yugaoka, and she said that a girl with a strong background asked the school to suppress it."

"."

The woman's voice softened. "Even if these are all fake, we can't deny that Matsueda-san is a very eye-catching person, right?"

"There's probably nothing wrong with him, he's just been forced into this vortex. Even the most outstanding tree in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. If you were around him, you'd probably have to endure a lot of criticism and questioning."

"And you'll have to face many opponents. Like that girl, with such a powerful background, no one would dare to spread rumors about her, right? Then she must be related to Matsueda-san. Are you confident you can defeat her?"

Tomatsu Miyuki leaned forward. At this moment, she really wished she could reach out and hold her daughter's hand.

But the girl's hands were not on the dining table, but clenched tightly under the table, her nails almost scratching her skin.

"Mom is just worried about you. Matsueda-san is too complicated. You're just a simple girl. Mom is afraid that you'll get close to him without thinking and end up breaking your heart."

Tomatsu Tomoka finally placed her hands on the table to support herself. She looked up at her mother, tears streaming down her face, darkening the solid color of her skirt.

"Mom, I'm not some innocent and kind girl—I was the one who dragged Jun Matsueda into this whirlpool. I almost destroyed him."

The girl's voice was hoarse, and she was almost unable to speak. Tomatsu Miyuki looked at the girl crying on the table in surprise, not knowing how to understand her daughter's words.

She could only walk over and gently stroke the girl's trembling back. A wave of regret suddenly welled up in the mother's heart. This action seemed too late. It wasn't a day, a week, or a month late, but a year, a junior high school, or even an entire childhood late.

She should have done it a long time ago. Exhausted from crying, Tomatsu Yuka finished telling her story from the start of the school year to the present in a self-loathing tone.

"give up."

Tomatsu Tomoka raised her head and stared blankly at the woman with a stern face.

The mother wanted to support her daughter very much, but after hearing the girl's explanation of the whole story after omitting the system, she felt only horrified.

Miyuki Tomatsu couldn't understand why Jun Matsueda could make his outstanding daughter obsessed with him to such an extent, even to the point of being pathological.

"Didn't you say that you were slowly changing? Why not take this opportunity to learn to control your emotions and become friends with Matsueda again?" The woman was more dedicated than when she was persuading a client.

"Do you think Matsueda-san will forgive you? Even if he does, will he fall in love with you again? Do you have to wait forever for him to change his mind? How long will that take?"

The woman knew very well how short youth was, and she didn't want to see her daughter waste her time on hopes that were almost impossible to come true, and suffer and torture herself for it.

"Mom, I don't want much anymore, please don't tell me to give up, okay?" Tomatsu Yuka didn't get the support she had expected, and her tears started flowing again.

Tomatsu Miyuki just looked at his daughter calmly, "I won't watch you destroy yourself, Tomoka. Giving up is not that difficult. Just think of it as doing it for our family, okay?"

"Mom gave up at first, too."

Before the girl could express her surprise, the woman continued speaking.

"When you were in the third year of junior high school, Mom had an opportunity to transfer out of town. If I had accepted the transfer, my position would have been directly raised by one or two levels when I returned to headquarters."

"But mom gave up. We had just settled down at that time, and you were in a critical period of learning. I couldn't hand you over to anyone else. This was my responsibility."

"I know it's presumptuous of me to ask you to think about Mom, but I don't want you to get any deeper into trouble. Once Dad pays off his debts, we can live together again. Mom really doesn't want to see any more trouble in our family."

Looking at his daughter, Tomatsu Miyuki's eyes turned red and tears flashed in his eyes.

"Promise mom that you'll learn to give up, okay?"

Tomatsu Tomoka was silent. What else could she say?

The girl could only throw herself into her mother's arms to release her sadness.

Tomatsu Miyuki patted his daughter's back, and after a long time, the crying stopped.

She walked Tomatsu Tomoka into the room and said, "Don't set the alarm tomorrow. Just sleep until you wake up naturally. It's nothing important anyway."

The girl hid in the quilt and didn't say anything.

The next morning, Tomatsu Miyuki, who had just gotten up for work, looked at the girl sitting at the dining table and asked in surprise, "Why are you up so early? Didn't you say you should sleep until you wake up naturally?"

Seeing the golden instrument on the table, she remembered, "We have wind band practice today, right? Don't tire yourself out. Do you need mom to take you there?"

Tomatsu Tomoka shook her head, and the woman changed into her uniform and went out.

The girl looked at the closed black door quietly and talked to herself.

"I've told my mom several times, but she still hasn't remembered."

Today is the day of the Tokyo Metropolitan Wind Music Festival.

"He will always remember Junjun's words, no matter how small the matter is."

"Whether it's love or hate, as long as you give it, it will remain in his heart and never fade."

"I'm sorry, I can't listen to my mother anymore."

Tomatsu Tomoka recalled what she said in front of the girls in the wind band on the day she resumed training.

"Let's all work towards the national gold!"

"After I win the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament, I will confess my love to Matsueda-san!"

　The big one is coming soon! Tomorrow there will be a competition for the top recommendation spot, so please read on!

(End of this chapter)