Am I being simulated by their love affair.

Chapter 750 Concessions and Investigations

The noise from the audience quickly subsided, and Natsumi Imokawa, her cheeks flushed, held the microphone in front of her and opened her notebook.

"Stay calm..." Her forehead, which had hit the microphone, still stung a little, she told herself.

"Just like Songzhi said, just read the script from the notebook."

The girl's index finger touched the first paragraph of the manuscript, her pink nails reflecting the light from above.

She coughed softly and lowered her head to face the microphone.

"I am very honored to have been invited by Principal Ueda to present my work to everyone on this occasion..."

As Natsumi Imokawa read aloud the words she had written on the paper, one by one, her voice gradually calmed down.

As the heat on her cheeks gradually subsided, the girl mustered the courage to lift her eyelids and look at the audience below the stage.

"I've always believed that film, or rather, lenses, cameras, and all tools of artistic creation, are ways to observe and record the world around us. I hope to use my own hands to continuously film and capture those special moments..."

"During the filming of 'White Line Flow,' we received support from many people both on and off campus. I would especially like to thank several actors..."

Her gaze swept across the rows of seats, and soon met that of Jun Matsue in the crowd.

Natsumi Imokawa's eyes lit up, but when she noticed Tomatsu Yuka sitting next to the boy, they flickered like an unstable light bulb.

"..." The girl paused for a moment, then puffed out her cheeks.

"As for my thoughts and the content expressed in the work, the screening is about to begin, so what I say here seems rather pointless—"

She changed the content of her speech at the last minute, and the boys in the audience blinked in surprise, while a few lighthearted laughs floated around them.

"Please experience those things that are hard to say in words through 'White Line Flow'."

Natsumi Imokawa bent down and lowered her head. Having learned from her experience, she didn't bump into the microphone this time, and the audience erupted in applause once again.

As the lights dimmed, Jun Matsue breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the proud young woman walk steadily off the stage.

Despite a minor mishap, Imokawa's speech concluded successfully.

"I feel that she has changed a lot since I first met her."

"Imokawa is no ordinary person."

The boy's tone was filled with pride, like a gardener boasting about the trees he had personally nurtured.

“It’s really something special~” Tomatsu Yuka smiled.

She noticed the strange pause in the girl on stage—

It seems that Natsumi Imokawa's affection for Tsunku is quite unusual...

The screening officially began, and on the large screen on the stage, Jun Matsueda and Tomoka Tomatsu, holding their graduation certificates, once again walked out of the cherry blossom-scented school gate.

The breathing in the audience quieted down a bit, as everyone seemed to be focused on appreciating the beautiful scene before them.

A soft rustling sound came from beside Jun Matsue, and Yuka Tomatsu leaned gently against his shoulder.

"I have to admit, Imokawa-kun is really amazing..." The girl's soft, delicate breath brushed against his earlobe.

"I feel like I look even prettier in front of the camera than in real life."

"No, not at all." The boy's gaze shifted from the screen to her in the darkness.

"Yuka, who is right in front of me, is definitely more beautiful and charming."

A girl's faint laughter came from a corner of the dark audience seats. They stood quietly together, watching the changing lights and shadows on the stage.

Soon, the pure white, slender title font reappeared on the river surface, and Jun Matsue blinked—there was a slight movement coming from the empty seat on the other side.

Before the boy could turn his head, the girl, who was walking slowly with her back bent, sat down next to him.

"..." Tomatsu Yuka sat up from her snuggling position and looked at the uninvited guest on the other side.

Suppressing her unease, Natsumi Imokawa sat down in her seat, put down her notebook, and let out a relaxed breath.

"Why is Imokawa here?" Jun Matsue asked in a low voice.

"Can't I come?" The girl puffed out her cheeks in the darkness, her round eyes sparkling.

"Can't I even come to chat with Songzhi?"

The boy looked to the other side, and Tomatsu Yuka smiled at him; their arms remained linked.

“Of course.” Jun Matsueda adjusted his posture to avoid bumping into Imokawa’s arm in the dark.

"...Hello, Tomatsu-san." Natsumi Imokawa first cautiously greeted the girl on the other side.

"Did I disturb you?"

Although she wasn't a scheming woman, her words still sounded somewhat tactless, and Tomatsu Yuka smiled inwardly.

"I came here to watch Imokawa's screening, so there's no question of disturbing anyone."

"That's good." Natsumi Imokawa felt a little relieved.

She hadn't thought too much about it; she just felt a bit annoyed when she saw Matsue with other girls on stage, so she came over—now that she was facing the "big boss" Tomatsu Yuka, she was belatedly at a loss for what to do.

“We were just saying how amazing Imokawa-kun is,” Tomatsu Yuka said with a smile, taking over the conversation.

"You haven't even officially entered the Tokyo University of the Arts yet, and your short films have already received so much recognition. Who knows, in a few years we might see news online that you've become a famous director."

"Famous director or something, I didn't think that much about it..." The girl waved her hand and looked at the boy sandwiched in the middle.

"Um, in 'White Line Flow,' which part is Matsue's favorite?"

Rather than listening to Tomatsu praise her, she would rather talk to Matsu about the movie they made together.

Jun Matsue thought for a moment, "If it were me... it would be the scene where Hikaru Kashiwabara returns to the 'White Line Stream' riverbank at the end."

"The scenes shot earlier in the film are very detailed and vivid, but they feel very restrained, without expressing too much emotion."

"At the end, with the cut-out flashback shots and naturally inserted background music, the emotions accumulated from watching the movie are naturally stirred up—but facing the river surface that has left nothing behind and has not changed anything, there is a feeling of having nowhere to express it."

"This sense of loss left a deep impression on me."

“Matsueda is right! That’s exactly the effect I wanted!” Even though she lowered her voice, Natsumi Imokawa’s excitement was still clearly visible in the sound of the projection.

She leaned closer to the boy's shoulder, wanting to continue talking, but then a girl's voice drifted over from the other side—

"Personally, my favorite scene is probably the one in the first act where Kashiwabara and An confess their feelings to each other."

Tomatsu Yuka stared at the screen at herself, her smile both sweet and sad.

"Knowing that they would soon be separated, he still expressed his love firmly and recklessly—it is this purest and most innocent kind of love, which ended abruptly, that has allowed it to remain in Hikaru Kashiwabara's heart for so long."

As she spoke, she affectionately nuzzled against the boy's shoulder.

"Having witnessed such a beautiful yet tragic love story makes me cherish relationships in real life all the more."

Natsumi Imokawa blinked, her lively and cheerful eyes becoming dull again.

The girl's gaze wavered nervously before finally settling on the large screen on the stage in the distance.

Although she was somewhat afraid of Tomatsu Tomoka, who always wore a smile, she knew how precious Tomatsu's feelings were—after all, the creation of "Hakusen Nagashi" was inseparable from the stories she had heard from Matsue.

So after hearing the girl's thoughts, even though she harbored feelings for Matsueda Jun, she was still too embarrassed to "steal" him from Tomatsu's face.

Staring at the screen—a scene she'd seen countless times before—Natsumi Imokawa's fingers repeatedly traced the cover of the notebook on her lap—she didn't know what to do there. "..."

Noticing the girl's absent-minded silence, Jun Matsue's gaze shifted slightly, and he took the initiative to speak.

"Speaking of which, wasn't 'White Line Flow' trending on YouTube a while ago?"

"It made it onto the category's trending list," Natsumi Imokawa said, snapping out of her daze. "But it only lasted two days."

"That's still pretty impressive." The boy raised his arms, encompassing the audience seats in front of him.

"Look at all the audience members at the screening, and the enthusiastic response online. Mr. Imokawa must be quite happy to know this, right?"

The atmosphere at the three-person seating area was brought back to normal, and the girl nodded, making a cheerful nasal sound.

"Yes! Dad said I'm better than he was back then!"

Looking at those bright, natural eyes that had rekindled in her peripheral vision, Tomatsu Yuka felt somewhat helpless.

Good friends are indeed a complicated relationship.

Even if she tries to steer the conversation and subtly dampen the girl's enthusiasm, the boys around her end up paying more attention to this naturally ditzy, big-breasted girl because they care about Natsumi Imokawa's feelings...

Looking at the boys and girls parting ways on the screen, Tomatsu Yuka smoothed the strands of hair that had fallen over her shoulder.

Ultimately, whether Tsunku likes Imokawa Natsumi or not, his interference is pointless.

Because she wasn't a "judge"—the girl recalled what Yami Maki had said last month.

Even though her own love life is a mess, what she says to others is so accurate... Tomatsu Yuka smiled again.

As the scene on the screen transitioned to the second act, and 'Konno An' made her final exit, Matsueda Jun felt the girl to his right gently squeeze his arm.

"what happened?"

He turned his head, and Natsumi Imokawa, who had been discussing the plot, also looked over.

"I'm leaving now." Tomatsu Yuka lit up her phone screen and waved it at the boy.

"The wind band is also preparing for a performance, and I'd like to go and take a look."

"Am I coming with you?"

Jun Matsue spoke these words so softly that only the girl in front of him could hear them.

"No need." Tomatsu Yuka shook her head. "Once the brass band is done, I should go back and prepare my accompaniment. See you in class then."

She stood up and waved to the girl on the other side.

"I'll leave first."

Imokawa Natsumi blinked hard, seemingly unaware of the unexpected joy before her.

"Oh……"

Tomatsu Yuka handed the boy a cup of jasmine tea, then crouched down and walked off the court.

"I'll leave the drinks for Tsunuki~"

Jun Matsue opened the jasmine tea and took a sip. When he turned around, Natsumi Imokawa's face was already pressed against his without him saying a word.

"Now it's just the two of us?" The girl's enthusiasm returned.

"What do you mean it's just the two of us?" Jun Matsueda distanced himself from her. "Aren't there still so many people sitting in the audience?"

"That's not what I meant." Turning back to watch Tomatsu Tomohana's departing figure, Imokawa Natsumi felt a sense of freedom returning.

She thought for a moment, "Matsue, have you told Tomatsu-san that I like you?"

"No, not at all." Jun Matsue placed the sweet jasmine tea on his lap.

"However, I wouldn't be surprised if Tomatsu knew something."

"No wonder..." The girl patted her chest. She felt that Tomatsu's gaze at her just now was a little strange.

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Natsumi Imokawa picked up the notebook on her lap and flipped through a few pages.

"Songzhi Songzhi, which of the three female protagonists in 'White Line Flow' is your favorite?"

Jun Matsueda's gaze returned to the big screen, which showed the scene of "Kaede Fujii" bumping into "Hikaru Kashiwabara" again at university.

"Fujii Kaede, I guess."

"Why?" the girl asked, her eyes wide.

"Because only Fujii Kaede never gave up on the person she liked—this kind of girl was rejected by Kashiwabara Hikaru from beginning to end, Imokawa is really a bit malicious."

“I see…” Natsumi Imokawa wrote in her notebook in the dim light, and the boy glanced at her curiously.

"what are you doing?"

"Record the pine branch's answer." The girl looked up.

"I asked my mom the other day how to pursue Songzhi, and she said to start by understanding your preferences!"

She held up her notebook, "So I prepared a lot of questions and wanted to ask them all."

"..." Matsueda Jun recalled a certain girl's strategy notes—those two notebooks should be lying in the Mochizuki family's manor right now.

"What season's sky does the pine branch prefer?" Natsumi Imokawa then asked.

"Summer?" The boy thought for a moment. "Summer clouds feel very vibrant, and the sky is especially beautiful."

"I like summer too~" The girl nodded, "Then how do you think the pine branches will cope with rainy days?"

"...It's fine to work, study, or rest, as long as I stay indoors. Going out on rainy days is too much trouble."

"I actually enjoy going out to take photos on rainy days~" Natsumi Imokawa stared at the boy's face, "Would Matsueda be willing to go out with me?"

Jun Matsue did not answer. He glanced at the girl's thirst for knowledge and silently pushed the question away.

The boy quickly realized that the list of questions from Imokawa wasn't the kind of generic "couple compatibility" survey he'd seen before.

What's your favorite song played in convenience stores?

Which basketball stance do you think looks the coolest?

What's the most memorable thing about cycling?

The girl's whimsical questions were like soft tentacles of curiosity, and Jun Matsue found himself seemingly unbothered by being overwhelmed by them.

In the quiet auditorium, the dialogue on the screen flowed slowly, while the "Imokawa-style investigation" in the corner of the audience continued quietly.

"And one last question—" Natsumi Imokawa turned another page, "Which fairy tale character does Matsueda like the most?"

"The Little Prince." The boy didn't hesitate much.

"The Little Prince?" The girl's eyelashes trembled in the light and shadow. "What about the female characters?"

“Female characters…” Jun Matsueda thought for a moment, “Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Little Red Riding Hood…” This time, Natsumi Imokawa didn’t press the matter, but instead looked thoughtful.

Can I fit into Little Red Riding Hood's costume?
(End of this chapter)