Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 702 A Battle of Wits in Love and Double Happiness
September 10th, Wednesday, 7 PM.

The sun had long since set, and the lights in Room 507 of the Sanyingtai residential complex were off. The living room was dark and quiet, devoid of any sign of human presence.

However, this lifeless darkness was soon broken—two footsteps approached the entrance door, gradually becoming clearer.

"Did you buy too much ice cream? It looks like we won't be able to finish it all in the fall."

"If you can't finish it, just keep eating it! You can still eat ice cream even in winter!"

The cheerful, light footsteps stopped at the door first, followed by the crisp sound of the lock being opened.

The security door creaked open, and a ray of light from the hallway spilled onto the floor behind the entryway, piercing the darkness in the living room.

The switch on the wall was pressed, and with a soft "click," the darkness in the room seemed to fall as if a curtain had been drawn, and a warm light shone through.

"I'm going to take a shower first!" Yosei Kurusu lightly changed into slippers, tossed her hair, and ran towards the bathroom.

"Didn't you want to be the first to witness the news of your comeback?" Jun Matsueda walked into the living room carrying shopping bags.

The girl's body was already hidden by the wall; only her raised, fair arm swayed before disappearing around the corner.

"Then it'll have to be 8 o'clock sharp. I don't need that much time to take a shower~"

Okay, the boy sat down on the sofa and started unpacking his shopping bags.

Snacks are put in the coffee table cabinet, groceries are stuffed into the top shelf of the refrigerator, and ice cream is put at the bottom to freeze...

After tidying up, he picked up the two bright green cans of beverage from the bag, opened one, and started drinking.

This is the cantaloupe-flavored soda that I wanted to buy in Kurusu, and it tastes surprisingly good.

Picking up the remote, I turned on the TV and randomly selected a program. The boy, who was drinking soda, shifted his position on the sofa, and the intermittent sound of the shower drifted behind him.

Today is the day that Kurusu officially announced her comeback. Even though she had been busy at the company for most of the day, the girl was still full of energy when she got home. So after dinner, she took herself out for a walk and also went to the supermarket.

Jun Matsue took out his phone and glanced at it. It was 7:10, fifty minutes before the official announcement the girl had mentioned.

He glanced back at the corridor leading to the bathroom. The shower had stopped, and Kurusu must have just started lathering up; it would be a while before he finished.

Time was of the essence, so the boy opened the chat window and found the black cat avatar buried at the bottom.

"I just remembered, is Jinzhi's food allergy better yet?"

He hadn't paid attention to Jinzhi for a while, and it wasn't until a few days ago when he accompanied Yuchuan to go street walking that he remembered it—using this topic to break through her defenses, the probability of Mochizuki reading his message but not replying shouldn't be that high.

Sure enough, Jun Matsue received a reply after the flamboyant female guest on TV had only laughed for fifteen seconds.

"Food allergies aren't like a cold or fever, so what's the good explanation?"

The boy stared at his phone, a victorious smile on his face. He thought for a moment, then typed another line.

"It developed an allergic reaction for no apparent reason, so I thought maybe it would just get better for no apparent reason too?"

Normally, Jun Matsueda would never say such things, but appearing a little clumsy or ignorant when communicating with others can actually stimulate their desire to respond.

"How can it be……"

Seemingly finding words insufficient to express her speechless feelings, Mochizuki Haruka sent another emoji of a cat rolling its eyes.

Very well, Jun Matsue tilted his head back and took a big gulp of cantaloupe soda.

Keep enticing her to reply, let's chat for five minutes first.

However, before he could type, the girl sent him a message first.

Is Lai Qiyang by your side right now?

The direct question carried a distinct chill, without even a question mark. The boy frowned slightly and thought for a second.

Mochizuki and her aunt must know about the agency's publicity plan. Given their personalities, they would definitely be by her side at this time, so there's no point in hiding it.

Moreover, one should not lie in a relationship, Jun Matsue told himself, as he pressed his finger on the screen again.

"She went to take a shower, and I'm watching TV by myself."

Before it could show as read, the boy sent a new message—

"So, has Jinzhi's allergy been confirmed? Will feeding her be difficult in the future?"

He wanted to quickly steer the conversation back on track, but after waiting a minute, a voice message popped up in the chat box.

The boy blinked in surprise and opened the voice message.

"What does this have to do with Guan Songzhi? It doesn't need you to feed it now." The mature voice of Auntie came from the loudspeaker, with a hint of sarcasm.

"Instead of caring about a cat, you should care more about Xiaoyao!"

This is troublesome... Jun Matsue shook his head, not expecting that Mochizuki's phone had ended up in his aunt's hands.

The boy tried sending a few more messages, but this time they weren't even read.

Unbeknownst to him, his aunt in the manor had already placed Mochizuki Haruka's phone under her thigh to prevent her niece from being disarmed by the hateful and cunning Matsugi.

Reluctantly putting down his phone, Jun Matsueda got up, took a few steps, and threw the empty melon soda can into the trash can.

The sound drifting down the hallway stopped the boy from returning to the sofa. "Songzhi—are you free? I forgot to bring my change of clothes!"

Matsueda Jun took two steps closer to the corridor. "Shall I get it for you?"

"Hurry up—" the girl replied without room for argument, "the clothes are on my bed."

The boy had no choice but to push open her bedroom door. There was indeed a loose, pure white T-shirt on the bed, but there was no trace of underwear.

No way... He even lifted the blanket to take a look, and indeed, this was the only short-sleeved shirt he had.

"Pine branch?" A girl's puzzled voice came in.

"There's no underwear!" Jun Matsueda shouted, turning his head.

“Then just pick any set you like~” Miss Idol replied matter-of-factly. “Of course, you can also choose if you don’t want to pick one.”

"Anyway, there are no outsiders here~"

“…This guy.” The boy turned around and opened the bottom drawer of her wardrobe, quickly finding the neatly stored underwear.

Skipping over those delicate, brightly colored, and narrowly covered alluring fabrics, Jun Matsue picked out a gray sports bra and walked out of the girl's bedroom.

"I'll leave the clothes by the door; you can take them yourself."

He quickly returned to the living room, hearing the sound of a sliding door opening in the hallway behind him. Kurusu Yosei quickly dried himself, dressed, and walked over with his wet hair down.

She stood behind the boy with a frown, tapping the back of his head in dissatisfaction.

"I bought so many lingeries that I thought Songzhi would like, and you picked this one?"

Jun Matsue glanced back at her. "It's alright, I quite like this outfit."

"You like it even though you can't see it!"

The girl rolled her eyes, walked around the sofa, and sat down next to him. Feeling the faint lemon scent drifting down beside him, Matsueda Jun glanced sideways at their arms pressed together.

They've become accustomed to this level of physical contact—in the romantic games of teenagers, it's just the most basic exchange.

Compared to a month ago, Jun Matsueda and Yosei Kurusu's relationship has become much closer. However, their obvious ambiguity remains tacitly on the verge of becoming lovers, as they test each other's attitudes.

Jun Matsue wants Kurusu to accept her womanizing ways and become her third love interest. Kurusu, however, wants to use her charm to captivate boys and become more dazzling than other girls.

Like fishing, they stare at each other's tempting bait, taking some and avoiding some, hoping the other will fall for it first—this situation only arises when greedy and ambitious people meet.

What time is it now?

The girl on the sofa didn't look at her phone. Instead, she moved her arms and deliberately rubbed her freshly bathed, supple skin against the boy's body.

Jun Matsueda glanced at his phone. "There's still half an hour until eight o'clock."

"It's still early~" Relieved, Yosei Kurusu picked up the towel draped over her shoulders and dried her hair. "Matsue, change the channel for me."

The boy picked up the remote control, and after the girl shook her head and nodded, the TV program changed to a music variety show that had just started airing—since deciding to become a singer, she rarely watched comedy shows.

Listening to the music coming from the television, Jun Matsueda turned to look at the girl drying her hair beside him.

"The water splashed all over my face."

The boy implied that the distance was too close, so Yosei puffed out his cheeks and glared at him.

"Just swing it!"

She shook her hair violently, like a wet golden retriever, and Jun Matsueda could only raise his arms to defend himself.

After the girl dried her hair, the boy also took a tissue and wiped his arm. "By the way, why did you choose to announce it on Wednesday? Wouldn't there be more attention on the weekend?"

"It was arranged by the company," Miss Idol shrugged.

Her neckline was damp, and the semi-transparent fabric revealed the outline of her gray underwear—although no flesh color could be seen, this semi-revealing effect was actually quite eye-catching.

"It's said that the industry schedules all the big news for Wednesdays, which is perfect for following the new issues of various entertainment magazines on Thursdays and expanding the exposure."

“I’ll be in an entertainment magazine tomorrow too~” The girl made a horizontal “V” sign on her cheek. “The photos you took with me before will be used in the magazine.”

“Speaking of which, Songzhi has a good eye!” She turned to the side and placed her hands on the boy’s thighs.

"Of all the photoshoot materials, the 'Platinum Saintess' outfit was used the most. The stylist also said your suggestion was very helpful!"

The girl leaned against Jun Matsue, her slightly damp pink hair hanging down from both sides of her collarbone, and the neckline of her loose T-shirt also floated up, allowing the boy, who was half a head taller than her, to glimpse the gray underwear he had personally chosen underneath—the casualness of home and the allure were perfectly displayed.

However, Jun Matsue showed no signs of stage fright this time. Instead, he lowered his head and pressed his cheek against the girl's, feeling the warm, moist air emanating from her body.

The boy smiled and said, "After all, I'm Miss Yangshi's number one fan, so of course I have to be the one who understands your charm the most."

Yosei blinked, and despite taking the initiative, she pulled back a little and picked up her phone from the table.

"Let me see how much time we have."

The boy looked at her profile with a smile, but the girl pretended not to notice.

Damn it... This level of attack is no longer effective against Matsueda. Miss Idol puffed out her cheeks in front of her phone screen.

She certainly wouldn't mind using bolder moves to attack, but such tactics shouldn't be used lightly—if used too often, wouldn't the pine branches become even more greedy?

"You big pervert!" The girl glared at the boy next to her.

And what if you accidentally end up in bed with Songzhi and get completely taken advantage of, but in his eyes you're still no different from any other girl? Wouldn't that be a complete failure?
Why does it feel like conquering the pine branch is even harder than reaching the pinnacle of the entertainment industry? Kuryu Yosei is having a bit of a headache.

"How much time is left?" Jun Matsue pressed his advantage, getting closer to her.

But when the girl was about to snuggle into his arms, the boy pulled back a little.

Before confirming that Kurusu was willing to accept his plan, he didn't want to take too much advantage of the girl—after all, if you take too much advantage, you have to take responsibility. That's what happened to him; he almost got into the Mochizuki family's collar.

They were like dancers performing the tango, maintaining an ambiguous and fragile balance just a step away from each other.

"Eight minutes left." Looking at the boy who had widened the distance, Kurusu Yosei put on a smug look and picked up his melon soda from the table.

"Just a casual chat, it'll pass quickly!"

The girl deftly pulled open the soda bottle, making a crisp "click" sound.

She tilted her head back with a flourish, gulped down a large mouthful of soda while listening to the soprano voice on TV, and opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"This tastes pretty good!"

"So you've never bought it before?" Jun Matsue asked, looking at her.

"I was thinking of buying some before," Kurusu Yosei chuckled, "but then I thought, what if it doesn't taste good? I'd be the only one who suffers, so I have to drag Matsugi down with me!"

The boy glanced at her helplessly and changed the TV channel.

Eight minutes passed in the blink of an eye. At 7:59, Yosei Kurusu pressed the mute button on the remote control and moved closer to the boy who had picked up his phone.

"Which account released the news first?" Jun Matsue tapped the blue bird icon on his phone.

"First it was my own official account, then it was the agency's account."

Yosei Kurusu's profile picture is still a girl's bright smiling face. Her update frequency has decreased a lot since the activity was suspended, but her latest post has received many replies.

That was her post from yesterday, just a short sentence—

"Everyone! I have some incredibly exciting news to announce tomorrow!"

The time on the top of the phone reached the hour, and the girl rested her chin on the boy's shoulder, looking at the newly popped-up timed message on her account.

"Come to the world of the living, and be resurrected in glory!"

This was the caption she chose herself, accompanied by an image of herself dressed in white and gold, lying on an ivory-white ground. Brilliant light fell on the girl's face, and her half-open eyes radiated a long-accumulated starlight of vitality.

"It feels really good," Jun Matsue whispered in her ear.

"Let's take a look at the agency's announcements, promotional videos, and official photos!"

Yosei Kurusu took out her phone; her account had already shared the latest update from "H&M Agency".

"I am pleased to announce that starting September 11th, Yosei Kurusu will be joining H&M agency to continue his activities as a singer."

"Please look forward to a brand new Kurusu Yosei!"

Along with the announcement came a two-minute video and official photos. Before the boy could even open them on his phone, Natsumi Imokawa's message popped up at the top of the screen.

"Songzhi! Songzhi! Tokyo University of the Arts has accepted my application!!"

Matsueda Jun looked at the girl's joyful news, then picked up the melon soda that belonged to Kurusu Yosei on the table and took a big gulp with a smile.

"Today is a double celebration!"

(End of this chapter)