Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 628 Harmony among Three

The water glass on the desk emptied and filled again, filled and emptied again, and time flowed quietly between the fullness and the depletion of the barley tea.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Jun Matsue closed his book, tidied his desk briefly, and then walked out of the bedroom with a half-full water glass, closing the door behind him.

Looking around, there was still no one on the sofa. Jun Matsue walked around to the TV and sat down at the girl's feet.

"Have you finished learning pine branches?"

Yosuke Kurusu, who was lying on the sofa looking at his phone, looked up and tugged at the leg of his shorts with his toe.

"Let's stop here for today, take a break, and then prepare to cook."

After sending a message to Mochizuki Haruka to confirm that she would be back around mealtime, the boy looked up.

What would you like to eat tonight, Kurusu?

"Hmm..." The girl's index finger, which was swiping across the phone screen, stopped.

"Tomato and egg stir-fry, please."

Jun Matsueda tugged at his trouser leg, releasing her mischievous toes. "Is it really that ordinary?"

"Is it normal?" The girl looked at him as he turned up the TV volume. "I've never eaten this outside before."

"Because only Chinese restaurants have it."

"Anyway, I'm going to eat pine branch's tomato and egg stir-fry!" Kurusu Yosei sat up and put his phone on the coffee table.

“No problem.” The boy glanced at her phone, then paused.

"What are you looking at?" His voice was a little louder.

"I just look at what people say about me online," the girl said casually. "I mainly look at how people who hate me are criticizing me."

Jun Matsue looked closely into her eyes and confirmed that the girl's words were sincere and not tinged with negative emotions.

"You don't mind?"

Yosei Kurusu blinked. "If you're asking whether I care or not, of course I do."

"I'm quite curious why they dislike me."

“…That’s not what I meant.” Jun Matsue looked into her bright eyes. “When you look at these things, don’t you feel sad, depressed, or anxious or anything?”

"Why?" The girl tilted her head. "That's a thought only someone who has done something wrong would have, right?"

"I don't think I did anything wrong."

"Perhaps from everyone's perspective, as a public figure, I really shouldn't have thrown that punch on the live broadcast stage."

She raised her right hand and wagged her index finger at the boy in front of her.

"But I don't regret it at all!"

"Perhaps it is because everyone holds the same idea that Masahiko Sakurai has been able to remain active in the entertainment industry—he is so sure that no one will hurt him in front of the camera that he can shamelessly say such things."

"That's why I'm going to give him a good punch and tell him—" Kurusu Yosei's fair right hand clenched into a fist, creating a gust of wind in front of the boy.

"The only reason someone as utterly rotten as you can survive in the entertainment industry is because you haven't met me yet."

The living room was quiet for a moment, then a loud and heartfelt round of applause broke out.

"Very cool." Jun Matsueda clapped his hands. "Whether it was that punch or the statement you issued later."

“Right!” The girl knelt on the sofa, her hands on her hips in a somewhat narcissistic gesture.

"Eri said she was especially grateful to me, it felt so good~"

The boy breathed a sigh of relief. It was good news that Yosuke Kurusu wasn't hiding as much pressure as he had thought.

Perhaps only Kurusu could do this, he looked at the girl's radiant face.

In a sense, she is also an extremely self-centered person—Kurasu Yosei will not go with the flow in the murky world of entertainment; she will only let the identity of an idol suit her.

"So how are you being attacked online now?" Jun Matsue asked curiously.

Since the girl herself doesn't mind this, he has no reason to hide it anymore.

Yosei Kurusu picked up his phone and waved it. "Want to watch this together, Matsue?"

Jun Matsueda shifted his position, moving a little closer to her. The girl placed her phone in the middle, and their heads were close together.

“I’ve been unhappy with Qiyang Shi for a long time—” The boy’s mouth was immediately covered after he had only read a few words.

"Don't say it out loud!" Kurusu Yosei glared at him. "Even if I don't mind, I don't want to hear such words coming from Matsueda's mouth!"

The boy nodded, and the girl then let go of his hand.

"I've known for a long time that I'm annoyed by Qi Yangshi—she's been inexplicably confident since her debut, and anyone who gets close to her must be annoyed, right?"

"Even on this TV show, she didn't show much respect to Hachi. Yonezu-san is a senior, but she kept laughing and joking around in front of him, as if they were old friends."

"Because this person loves to pretend and piggyback on others' fame. When they debuted on 'Idol Producer,' they piggybacked on the number one contestant from their cohort, and every time they appeared on a show afterward, they piggybacked on the other guests from their cohort. They also like to act innocent to market their persona, saying things that show they have no guile, which makes them what fans call 'simple and insightful.'"

"What do you mean by 'it seems like no one in this generation has any dreams'? I was disgusted when I saw that episode of 'Masked' trending—what business is it of yours whether I have dreams or not?!"

"That's true. After all, work and life are already exhausting enough, and then you have to listen to her spouting nonsense about dreams and such. How can you not feel disgusted?"

"To put it bluntly, she has no brains. Her life has been incredibly smooth, which is why she can say these things without any burden and even hit people on stage."

"I feel like he'd be the kind of person who enjoyed bullying others in high school, and thought it was perfectly justified and even had fun with it."

"I understand, I understand. There was someone like that in my class when I was in school, she really is just like her..."

"...Do you still want to see?" Jun Matsueda frowned and grabbed the girl's hand as she swiped on the phone screen.

"I feel a little nauseous."

These comments don't even qualify as "criticism," but rather as subjective, malicious, and private statements that have virtually nothing to do with the incident that sparked the controversy; they are purely personal attacks.

"It's alright." Kurusu Yosei blinked and scratched the boy's palm with the hand that was being held. "I don't think what they're saying is right at all, so I don't really care."

"However, some comments are quite reasonable, such as that I was too outgoing on the show and not respectful enough to my seniors and guests."

"You can say that however you want, right?" Jun Matsue subconsciously retorted on her behalf.

"Compared to those who dislike you because of this, there should be more people who like your personality; otherwise, how could you have built up such popularity?"

“That’s right!” the girl nodded. “So my attitude is—”

"What you're saying might make sense, but I won't change it."

Seeing her confident smile despite her lack of conviction, Jun Matsue felt even more at ease.

"But even if this incident ends, the impact won't be over so quickly, so you need to be mentally prepared."

Yosei Kurusu waved his hand, "I know~"

"Then I'll go prepare the ingredients first." The boy stood up. "Kurasu, remember to eat less snacks, so you don't miss dinner."

"OK~"

"Oh, right." He turned his head and suddenly remembered something, "Do you have Imokawa's contact information?" "Natsumi-chan? No, I don't."

"Then I'll send it to you. Tell Imokawa that you're doing well now, she's quite worried about you."

"no problem!"

A few minutes later, as Jun Matsueda was whisking eggs in the kitchen, his phone suddenly vibrated.

She took out her phone from her apron pocket. It was a message from Natsumi Imokawa. The girl had sent a screenshot of a friend request from Yosei Kurusu.

“Pine branch… this isn’t some kind of scam, is it?” Her words were tinged with panic.

The boy wiped his hands. "This is her personal account. Didn't the application message say that I asked her to add you?"

"Weren't you quite worried about her before? I thought it would be better if she came to talk to you in person."

"As long as he's not a scammer..." the girl breathed a sigh of relief. "I only trust Songzhi."

There was no word from Natsumi Imokawa. Jun Matsueda turned around and looked out of the kitchen. Yosei Kurusu was leaning on the back of the sofa typing. It seemed that the two of them had started chatting.

While the boy was preparing the ingredients, the girl on the sofa changed into several lazy, sprawling positions. Apart from Jinzhi, who secretly slipped through the doorway into the living room, no one saw the idol's listless state.

When Mochizuki Haruka pushed open the apartment door, Matsueda Jun was just bringing out the last plate of okra with vinaigrette from the kitchen, and Kurusu Yosei, who was sitting at the dining table, had already picked up his chopsticks.

The girl hurriedly stepped over the golden cat that was dozing in front of her and sat down at the dining table.

"Where did Mochizuki go home?" Jun Matsue asked, looking at the girls scrambling for the first bite of dinner.

Mochizuki Haruka picked up a piece of scrambled eggs with tomatoes and put it in her mouth. "Just keeping Auntie company to pass the time, what else can we do?"

This time she went home not only to prove to Songzhi that she was magnanimous and kept her promise to him, but also to consult her aunt, whom she hadn't asked in a long time, about how to handle the sudden holiday that had come to Qiyang.

Auntie's advice is to hold back. Internal and external troubles will only become an opportunity for the young man and woman to deepen their feelings. In any case, Matsueda Jun has already expressed his attitude to Kurusu Yosei. After the incident is over, the idol girl will also return to her career. So there is no need to be too nervous.

The girl thought her aunt made sense, but the love she deserved couldn't be diminished by the presence of others... Mochizuki Haruka looked up at the boy sitting next to her and silently licked her lips.

After dinner, Jun Matsuoka sat down at the coffee table and picked out a classic fantasy movie to try and pass the time before bed.

As the envelopes delivered by owls filled the living room, the aunt's family, who had been putting the protagonist in a difficult position, showed expressions of panic and fear, while the three people sitting on the sofa maintained a relatively harmonious atmosphere.

"Songzhi, do you want some snacks?"

Yosei Kurusu stood up, picked up the large bag on the coffee table, which was full of the spoils she and Matsue had acquired that morning.

"I bought some really delicious jelly~ I found it when I was locked in the celebrity apartment!"

"You can try some." The boy held out his hand, and two colorful jellies landed in his palm.

"Want some Mochizuki?" Kurusu Yosei turned to look at the girl who was engrossed in the movie. "I'm not as stingy as some people, you know?"

Mochizuki Haruka glanced at her, "...Not interested."

Once she's eaten something from Laiqi Yangshi, she can no longer justify telling her not to eat her food. That's how naive and simple the young lady's sense of territory is.

"Wait a minute, this isn't for eating, is it?" Jun Matsue immediately changed the subject, taking a pink bottle out of the plastic bag.

As soon as the boy next to her made a move, Mochizuki Haruka, who was focused on the movie, immediately came over. She looked at the delicate little bottle in Matsueda Jun's hand and took a deep sniff of the boy's scent.

There's no smell of pine needles; it seems the pine branches are behaving themselves this afternoon...

"This is hair dye." She looked at the girl on the other side. "You want to dye your hair?"

"Hmm~" Kurusu Yosei reached out and gathered his long black hair that was draped over his back.

"I want to dye it pink again!"

"..." Jun Matsue thought for a moment, "Wouldn't pink be too conspicuous?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm conspicuous." The girl took out her phone and showed photos of herself on stage.

"My current image is mostly black hair. If I dye it pink, it would be harder for people to recognize me."

"You're going to dye it yourself?" Mochizuki Haruka glanced at her again. "If it's pink, you'll have to bleach your hair beforehand."

"I bought hair bleach too!" Yosei Kurusu took another box out of the bag. "Eri told me that one person can bleach their hair!"

“…That’s very troublesome.” When it came to her professional field of styling, Mochizuki Haruka became a little more talkative.

"You have to do both zoning and isolation. Bleaching your hair in the shop only takes three hours, but if you do it yourself, it might take at least six hours."

"And if the technique is not good, it will break or damage the hair during bleaching."

How much experience do you have?

"I used to leave it to the stylist." The idol, with a mysterious confidence, blinked innocently. "If it's too much trouble, I can ask Matsue to help me."

"Don't talk like I have experience." Jun Matsue didn't want to ruin the girl's beautiful hair.

"Isn't Songzhi a fast learner?"

"..."

Wang Yueyao sighed, a hint of helplessness in her condescending expression.

"I'll have the maid from my house come over and dye your hair."

"...Mochizuki is really that kind?" Kurusu Yosei found it hard to believe.

The naive idol, of course, had no idea that the girl's kindness was simply because someone had paid the price for her.

At 10 p.m., Jun Matsue lay on his bed in his bedroom, listening to the chirping of nightingales echoing in the soft hum of the old-fashioned air conditioner outside the window.

Spending the day like this seems pretty good.

However, it's better to have fewer of these days, since Kurusu's leisurely vacation is earned at the cost of a media storm.

Just as the boy was about to close his eyes and fall asleep, his phone, which was on the bedside table, suddenly lit up.

"Come to my room."

While he was still thinking about how to reply, another message popped up.

"Don't pretend to be asleep."

"Tomorrow is Monday, are you going to put it off until next week?"

"I've been so good to Kurusu, Matsue isn't planning to go back on her word, is she?"

Jun Matsue sighed and sat up, pressing his ear against the wall.

On the other side, there was indistinct music playing, and Kurusu seemed to be watching a video.

He took out his phone and sent a message, "I'll be there in half an hour."

Mochizuki Haruka didn't reply, but instead sent a short video—a girl with her lips parted, her wet, red tongue moving, the provocative intent self-evident.

Half an hour later, Jun Matsue pushed open the bedroom door and quietly walked out of the room.

There's only one downside to this kind of life: the once open and aboveboard relationship in the apartment seems to have turned into an affair, making him extremely cautious.

(End of this chapter)