Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 712 Sophistry and Test
After watching an episode of "Chainsaw Man" in the midnight slot and then watching the trending topics and comments with the girl for a while, it was almost one o'clock, and Jun Matsueda couldn't help but yawn.

"Shouldn't you go to sleep?" he asked, looking at the girl beside him.

The living room lights had been turned off halfway through watching the cartoon. Yosuke Kurusu sat on the sofa, his cheeks reflecting the cold, glowing light of his phone screen.

"Going to sleep already?" The girl looked up, her bright eyes still sparkling.

"It's almost one o'clock." The boy tapped the time on the top of her phone.

"How come it's so fast?" Miss Idol blinked.

"I feel perfectly energetic and don't want to sleep at all!"

The girl's eyes were bright, as if she were looking for an accomplice. Jun Matsue pretended not to notice her gaze and turned his face to look at the balcony on the other side.

However, Yosei Kurusu quickly straightened up and knelt on the sofa. She pressed down on the boy's shoulders and stretched her neck forward to get herself into Matsue's field of vision.

Jun Matsue soon felt the girl's softness press against his back.

Her soft cheek pressed closer, almost touching his, and the light, refreshing scent of lemon, carrying an ambiguous warmth, wafted into his nostrils—

"Stop, stop, stop." The boy pulled away and stopped her.

“…How about this?” He turned to look at the tranquil night outside the balcony.

“Let’s go downstairs together to eat oden—after eating something warm and comforting, you should feel sleepy.”

"Let's go downstairs first!" Kurusu Yosei stood up from the sofa, looking smug and triumphant.

She grabbed the boy and strode towards the entrance. Matsueda Jun casually grabbed the coat hanging by the door and tucked it under his arm.

"It gets quite chilly at night, remember to wear a jacket."

The sudden footsteps of a boy and girl echoed in the dark stairwell.

Yosei Kurusu moved nimbly, landing first on the landing at the top of the stairs, and patiently waited for the boy who was slowly coming down.

"By the way, how's the progress of Songzhi going?"

Matsueda Jun is like a player who is halfway through a quest, with a lot of progress stuck, but he knows exactly what the girl is talking about.

"I think I have a better idea now." He walked to the girl's side, and only then did Miss Idol continue walking downhill.

"So fast?" Kurusu Yosei exclaimed with delight. "Matsueda truly lives up to his genius! His efficiency is definitely higher than that of the production department!"

The boy watched her carefree figure disappear into the distance. "It just took a little longer."

He has been wearing headphones almost constantly while studying lately, even during his lunch break at school.

Thanks to this, Mochizuki, who was sitting next door, cast a few surprised glances at me, which was quite an unexpected surprise.

"Hooray~" Miss Idol ran to the next platform and turned around to look at him.

She put her hands behind her back, leaned forward, and tilted her face up, looking both smug and adorable.

"So Songzhi cares about me this much~~"

“After all, aren’t you quite impatient?” Jun Matsue walked past her unmoved.

"Your first song since your comeback has already been released. If I hadn't written it sooner, wouldn't your solo single have had to settle for one of the company's tracks?"

"There's no need to rush~" the girl said with a smile, following behind him and quickly overtaking him.

"Let's wait for this ending theme song to gain traction and climb the singles charts, then we'll do some promotion on variety shows, and after that, we'll do the publicity for the next phase of our plans..."

"If that's the case, the new song won't be released until the end of November at the earliest, right?"

"Then there's no problem." The boy breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll try to get the sheet music and lyrics to you by the end of this month."

"So fast?" It seems that Yosuke Kurusu said this sentence several times tonight.

"I'm not in that rush; quality is more important."

“I know.” Jun Matsue watched the girl walk into the building and push open the unit door with both hands.

"The sooner you write it down, the more time you'll have to get familiar with it."

Stepping out of the apartment, the light drizzle had stopped without them noticing. The two walked to the intersection, where puddles on the road reflected the dim light of the midnight streetlights.

The yellow glow emanating from the oden stall across the street was particularly hazy, like some kind of mirage or urban legend.

Jun Matsue lowered his head, his slippers stepping on the edge of a puddle. The night breeze blew across the water, and their reflections were wrinkled under the streetlights.

"You dragged me out in such a hurry that we didn't even change our shoes."

“Let’s walk around the puddles.” Yosei Kurusu lightly jumped out and stepped onto the damp road surface where there was no standing water.

"Anyway, it's getting cooler, so I can change into my slippers when I get home~"

The boy followed behind her, crossing the intersection along her path. The girl pulled up the collar of her coat, and the wind at the intersection blew her long hair.

Miss Idol walked past the bright yellow car and sat down at a dimly lit small square table. Jun Matsue, who was taking the order, exchanged a few pleasantries with the owner and soon brought over two bowls of steaming oden.

As Yosuke Kurusu watched as the large black plastic bowl was pushed in front of him, the lucky bags, radishes, seaweed, and eggs soaking in the broth glistened and steamed, looking exceptionally tempting.

She took the disposable chopsticks the boy offered and tilted her head to look behind him.

"Business is still pretty good at this hour?"

A young couple stood in front of the cart, took the packaged oden, and drove away.

"The fact that the owner can keep setting up a stall here means he must be doing business."

Jun Matsue easily split the large, soft radish chunk in half, picked it up, and took a bite.

The girl also started eating the radish first, and the two of them opened their mouths to breathe in the cool air at the same time.

The street was quiet. Apart from the occasional passing car and the noise of the owner guarding the stall, the two people eating oden sat in the dim, yellowish light, like two leaves on a roadside bush, unnoticed by anyone.

After a few bites of hot food, a sense of satisfaction rose from his stomach. Matsueda Jun put down his chopsticks to rest for a while and looked at the girl in front of him.

Laixi Youse lowered her head, slurping the hot soup with small mouthfuls, and seemed to notice the boy's gaze as she smoothed a strand of pink hair that had fallen down her temple.

Miss Idol raised her head, exhaled a refreshing breath, and looked up at the undulating gray clouds overhead.

"Why don't you eat?"

"Let's take it slow," she said, tilting her head back.

As he continued to devour the remaining eggs and lucky bags in the bowl, and bit into the fried tofu wrapping the sukiyaki, releasing the overflowing beef broth, Jun Matsueda suddenly heard the girl in front of him ask a question.

"Matsue, have you and Tomatsu Tomoka already done it?"

As if choked by the scalding soup in his mouth, the boy couldn't help but cough twice.

"..." He put down his chopsticks, picked up a tissue, and wiped his mouth somewhat awkwardly.

"Why do you ask so suddenly?"

"Because I just watched Chainsaw Man." Yosei Kurusu looked at him while holding the bowl.

"Didn't that Denji ask Himeno if he wanted to do it as soon as he arrived at Himeno's house?"

"You said before that you would go to Tomatsu's house on Sunday, right?"

"You've been there several times already, you must have slept with her by now, right?"

With things having come to this point, Jun Matsuoka had no choice but to nod honestly.

"..." The girl hurriedly finished the rest of the oden in a few bites, puffed out her cheeks, and glared at him.

The idol girl's eyes were fierce, and her chewing motions looked like she was tearing at someone's flesh. The boy met her gaze awkwardly. "Tomatsu and I are in a relationship, isn't it normal to do this kind of thing..."

"But you kept this from me!"

Yosuke Kurusu slapped the thin tabletop hard, causing the soup in their bowls to slosh around.

Jun Matsue turned his head and glanced at the oden cart; the owner was undisturbed.

"What do you mean by 'hiding'? Do I have to tell everyone around me every time I sleep with someone?"

He lightened the mood with a relaxed tone, "Besides, I wasn't obligated to report my relationship progress to you, was I?"

"..." The girl swallowed the food in her mouth, her angry gaze now tinged with resentment.

"I don't care! I'm just really annoyed right now!"

It was one thing to be caught off guard by Mochizuki Haruka's announcement, but now Tomatsu Yuka has also gotten ahead of her... Kurusu Yosei felt so angry that even the oden she had just swallowed didn't taste good anymore.

“…If you’re unhappy with Kurusu, then hurry up and be with me.” Jun Matsue said, carefully choosing his words.

"You knew all along that I was a despicable womanizer, didn't you?"

"If we had been together sooner, I could have loved you, supported you, and cared for you without any reservations, instead of testing each other like this now."

The girl turned her face away in a huff, staring at the lonely streetlamp without saying a word.

“Actually, you’re already the sun in my heart,” the boy couldn’t help but say.

Yosei Kurusu turned around and looked at him.

"Radiant and vibrant, with a unique energy that makes me unable to look away and become completely captivated by you."

Matsueda Jun looked into her eyes, and the girl's eyelashes trembled, as if she was not satisfied.

“That’s not enough!” Miss Idol’s eyes sparkled, unwavering in the slightest.

"I want to be the sun, because its light can fill people's eyes."

"My current brilliance cannot fill the heart of the pine branch, and your gaze will not be entirely on me!"

"..." The boy took a soft breath, "Even if you live another lifetime, you still can't do it."

Kurosaki Yosei pursed her lips tightly and didn't speak again, only casting a stubborn and obstinate gaze at her.

“…Kurasu, think about it, how could such a thing be possible?” Matsueda Jun said softly.

"Even your most ardent fan, do you think they only have you in their heart?"

"What about his life? What about his job? What about his family? Can you really take away all those places in your heart?"

"Even your most devoted fan, once they leave the audience and the venue, do you think they'll still have your image on stage in their mind 24/7?"

"But Pine Branch is my number one fan!" the girl said stubbornly. "Of course I want to have all of you!"

Yosei Kurusu is greedy; she hopes that Jun Matsueda can become her captive—if Matsueda can be completely captivated by her charm, then the girl wouldn't mind if he flirted with other girls.

Just as the sun never cares about the existence of stars.

The boy smiled and said, "If that's what you mean, then I can be your one and only fan."

"Can you be my idol, just one person?"

"So many people are drawn to your presence, captivated by your figure and voice—why should your brilliance enter their hearts? Can't I have it all to myself?"

"..." Miss Idol blinked, her aura weakening slightly.

"How can I do that?"

"I am the sun, my light will surely illuminate the whole world!"

“Then how can you expect me to keep my eyes on you?” Jun Matsue said without hesitation.

"If a person only sees sunlight, he is more likely to be blind."

The girl was a little embarrassed and annoyed, "Don't talk to me like I have cataracts!"

"Then come and convince me, Kurusu." The boy's expression was frank. "Put yourself in my shoes, think about it from my perspective, isn't that just how it is?"

Yosei Kurusu closed his eyes and shook his head vigorously.

"I can't argue with you, Songzhi is bullying me because I didn't finish high school!"

Jun Matsueda couldn't help but laugh out loud. "I'm not saying I'm denying you, I'm just correcting your perception."

“I told you, Kurusu has long been the sun in my heart—it’s just that there’s still the moon and other stars in my heart.”

"Stop talking!" Kurusu Yosei raised her hand to block the boy's view. "Where are you in the songwriting section?"

She would never give in to Songzhi like that!
“Well…” Jun Matsueda looked at the fair palm in front of him, “I already have some ideas for the lyrics.”

"As for the melody, adjust it based on demo24 and change the chorus."

The girl withdrew her hand and glared at him, "You make it sound so easy..."

"You'd better write it carefully, okay? If I'm not satisfied, no amount of sweet talk will work!"

"Let me double-check the requirements—" the boy smiled.

"A song with the theme of love, expressing your own feelings..."

"Are there any requirements regarding the mood of the song? Sadness and longing? Or a feeling of firmness and sweetness?"

"Think about it yourself!" Kurusu Yosei waved his hand in the air again. "Isn't this where the pine branches are truly tested?"

"What is Yosuke Kurusu thinking when she's in love? What does love mean to her...?"

The girl stood up, walked to the boy's side, squatted down, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"What exactly is my love story, our story?"

"You answer me!"

Half an hour later, Jun Matsue lay on his bed in his bedroom, looking at the faint moonlight on the ceiling.

There was no sound from the next room; Kurusu must have gone to bed. The boy took a deep breath quietly, recalling their conversation at the roadside stall.

Kurusu is showing signs of wavering, and even if he just can't find a reason to convince him, that's a good thing.

but……

Matsueda Jun frowned slightly, feeling helpless, as he recalled the idol's capricious demands regarding the song.

It was indeed a true test, he thought, pondering the girl's words.

If you can't even write a song that can move Kurusu, then winning her over is a distant dream.

As expected, some external stimulus was needed to break the deadlock. Matsueda Jun let his thoughts wander before bed—

Although Kurusu was somewhat angry about what happened between him and Tomatsu, it was precisely because of this that their daily interactions of testing each other were able to take a turn for the better.

How should he find an opportunity over there, Wangyue...? The boy pondered with the last bit of consciousness before drifting off to sleep.

Jun Matsue didn't find the answer tonight.

but it does not matter.

Because he will soon find that he no longer needs to think about this problem.

(End of this chapter)