Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 144

Chapter 240 The So-Called News Department

Wednesday morning flew by, and before we knew it, it was the end of the third period.

Jun Matsue stood in front of a vending machine on the first floor as a can of black coffee fell from the shelf with a heavy thud.

He bent down to take out the coffee, his palm wet with the water droplets on the can, and pulled the tab, the icy bitterness spreading in his mouth.

I'll be facing new students this afternoon, so I need to perk myself up.

Matsueda Jun looked down the corridor and was greeted by excited shouts. The first-year students' jubilation was like a tightly compressed spring, almost unable to hold out until the lunch break.

Before the girls in the hallway could cast curious glances at him, he took his coffee and went up the stairs.

"I'm going to be facing a huge group of energetic and curious creatures this afternoon..."

After finishing his coffee on the way, Jun Matsueda walked through the back door, and the girl by the door glanced back at him.

"Did Songzhi go downstairs to buy coffee?"

Tomatsu Tomoka's features were already delicate, and today she had an extra layer of light makeup to enhance them. Even though the sun was shrouded in clouds, Matsueda Jun could still feel the brightness of the sunlight when he looked at her.

"Do you want some too?" He shook the empty can in his hand. "I should have asked you before I came downstairs."

The girl shook her head. "My throat feels dry after drinking coffee. I have to be careful since I have a performance this afternoon."

Matsueda Jun returned to his seat and sat down. The seat to his left was empty. It seemed that Mochizuki Haruka had been called out by the girls from Class 2. He could hear the girls' laughter as he passed by the second floor.

"So what piece is the brass band planning to play this afternoon?" He was a little curious, as there weren't many occasions that would make Tomatsu Tomoka put on special makeup.

"It's a secret for now," the girl said with a smile. "But I can tell Matsueda-kun that we're doing a marching concert this time!"

"A marching performance?" Mimi Mizushima, sitting in front of her, turned her head. "Playing while walking?"

Tomatsu Tomori nodded. "There will also be some dance moves."

"I feel like it would require a lot of physical strength," Jun Matsueda thought for a moment. "What about people like Tayo who play the tuba?"

The girl shook her head, a hint of pity in her smile, meaning she wished herself good luck.

The two girls chatted for a few more minutes before the class bell rang. Mochizuki Haruka passed behind Matsueda Jun and returned to her seat. The girl had changed her hair tie again, and her face was slightly flushed, indicating she was in a good mood.

As the fourth period ended and the teacher left the classroom, the classroom immediately became as noisy as the first-floor corridor that Jun Matsuoka had seen before.

"See you this afternoon, Matsu-kun~" Tomatsu Yuka waved to him and left the classroom first.

Before the first-year students could have lunch, he stretched and realized that his lunch break and lunch time were gone again.

Natsumi Imokawa sat on the side of the school avenue, munching on a chocolate bread. This was the newspaper club's booth, and not far away was the plaza where club performances were taking place.

"Minister, you arrived very quickly." Jun Matsueda walked up to the girl and placed a carton of milk on the table. There were three sets of tables and chairs at the news club's location, all of which had been brought in by the student council.

"Because we need to set up the stall..." Natsumi Imokawa was still chewing on her bread, her mouth bulging, and her voice was a little muffled.

Jun Matsue looked around at the News Club's booth. Three desks were put together and covered with a large tablecloth. The words "News Club" were written in large characters hanging in front of the desks.

On the table were several instant cameras, rolls of film, and some carefully arranged landscape photos, while on the other side were the latest issues of the school newspaper and forms that freshmen needed to fill out upon enrollment.

"Have you finished setting things up?"

"Mmm." The girl nodded vigorously, opened the milk, took a big gulp, and let out a contented sigh.

"There's not much to set up. Our class has PE in the fourth period, so I'll start by setting it up."

"You've worked hard, Minister." Jun Matsue sat down next to the girl. In front of them was a stall on the other side of the school avenue. A girl from the tea ceremony club was holding a teacup. She stared blankly at the milk carton that Natsumi Imokawa had placed on her chest, and then looked down at her own flat chest.

"Don't call me Minister!" Natsumi Imokawa blushed. "It sounds so weird..."

“From now on, all the first-year students in the journalism club will call you that.” Jun Matsueda called him that twice more. The girl gave him a weak glare, then clenched her fist and punched him.

"I just find it strange that Songzhi calls me that."

The tables and chairs set up along both sides of the school avenue gradually filled with people. Jun Matsue spotted the basketball club's booth near the school gate.

The recruitment officially begins after lunch break, but there are already many first-year students walking on the main road after lunch, and quite a few eyes are being cast toward the news club. Natsumi Imokawa's breathing begins to quicken.

"Why don't you go and relax at one of the other clubs?" Jun Matsue suggested to the girl. "I'll watch the stalls here."

"Is it okay?" Natsumi Imokawa hesitated.

"Go on, go on." Jun Matsueda rocked her chair, and the girl had no choice but to get up.

"Just remember to come back before it officially starts."

Fifteen minutes later, Natsumi Imokawa returned. The first-year students on the main road were chased back into the school building by the patrolling teachers, but the girl's expression became even more tense.

"Songzhi, they've prepared so many things and even made posters. Aren't we being too hasty?"

"That's because other clubs know they're not competitive enough, so they prepare all sorts of methods. Didn't Senior Tsushima say that the News Club doesn't need these things?"

The girl's expression softened, and she returned to her seat, waiting for the lunch break to end.

Natsumi Imokawa lowered her head, staring at the paving stone in front of her toes. The girl held her A7M4 camera in her hand, which helped her relax.

The school bell rang, and the girl looked up as if startled, heading towards the school building. Footsteps echoed from the first and second floors, and the shadows of first-year students flashed across the corridor windows, causing the grass outside to sway.

The first student walked out of the teaching building and looked at the stalls on both sides of the wide avenue, which stretched all the way from the square toward the school gate.

The girls from the Culture Department waved enthusiastically, while the members of the Sports Department, who were guarding the booth, waved their handmade flags.

"The basketball club welcomes all the strong!!!" Ken Sakamuro's passionate voice rang out.

"Come to the baseball club and sweat it out together, let's aim for Koshien!" The female manager, wearing a baseball cap, retorted confidently.

"Please also check out the calligraphy club~" The bespectacled girl with a senior-sister vibe called softly to the students who walked up to the booth, her tone a little shy.

So this is club recruitment... Imokawa Natsumi watched as students poured out of the school building and quickly filled the entire avenue, turning the quiet road into a bustling hub of noise.

"Excuse me, what kind of club is the News Club?"

A few girls walked timidly to the news department's booth and asked questions; they seemed to be classmates.

News Department, News Department, how should I introduce it...?

Natsumi Imokawa subconsciously looked at the boy next to her, but Jun Matsueda just smiled and shook his head, pointing to the camera in her hand.

The girl stared blankly at the camera in her hand for a while before she smiled. The girls in front of the stall looked at the two of them in confusion.

"Our news department only does one thing." The girl, who was in charge, raised her camera and pressed the shutter on the girls in front of her.

"That is to record every meaningful moment!"

Chapter 241 An Afternoon of One-on-One Appearances

"Welcome to experience the newsroom activities later!"

Jun Matsue waved to the departing girls, and after confirming that there were no new students at his club's booth, he immediately stopped smiling.

"There's not much to experience in the news department's activities, is there?" He sat back down in his chair and sighed.

“The student council president insisted that we say it this way,” Natsumi Imokawa said seriously. “Because school regulations require all clubs to have a club activity experience process.”

"Yes, yes~" Jun Matsue took a sip of water. It was 2:20 pm, and he and the girl next to him had been talking to the first-year students for almost an hour.

"Now I can finally understand how difficult it is for teachers to teach on the podium." Natsumi Imokawa slumped wearily into her chair, her chest heaving weakly.

“We’re working much harder than some teachers. Strictly speaking, we’re now in the service industry.” Jun Matsueda’s afternoon business model is basically the same as when he worked at a convenience store.

"Thank you for your hard work~" Aya Miyamura appeared in front of the two of them and placed the two strawberry sundaes on the table.

"This is a gift for you both, please enjoy!"

Jun Matsue picked up a cup of ice cream and examined it. It looked normal, no different from the ones he bought at KFC.

"Does the school cafeteria sell sundaes?" Natsumi Imokawa's curiosity was piqued.

"This is sold at the cooking station!"

The girl pointed in the distance, where faint music could be heard. The stall map showed that the cooking department and the wind instrument department were very close together. Music and desserts were a double treat for the first-year students.

"It tastes good, the strawberry jam is really authentic." Jun Matsueda had already started eating. "Aren't you going to eat the ayaka sauce? Or have you already finished it?"

"Mine is still to come," the girl said with a grin.

Matsueda Jun looked in the direction she had come from, and Mochizuki Haruka appeared before him with two pink sundaes. The girl had her hair tied in a high ponytail, her black hair swaying, exuding youthful energy.

"Thank you, Mochizuki-nee~" Miyamura Aya called out sweetly, taking a sundae from the girl's hand and waving it in front of the two from the newspaper club.

"Ours is a cherry blossom sundae, and it's said to be made with cherry blossoms from the school!"

"What are you doing here, Mochizuki?" Jun Matsue looked at the girl with the high ponytail. The sea-blue hairband on her wrist was tied behind her head, and her small face looked well-behaved and aloof in the sunlight.

"I thought you had already graduated from school."

"Can't I even come and check out the club recruitment?" Mochizuki Haruka seemed to have made it a new habit to tease him every now and then. "I haven't even joined a single club yet."

Natsumi Imokawa ate her sundae with her head down, not uttering a single word since Haruka Mochizuki appeared. Like a small herbivore in the forest, avoiding danger had become second nature to her.

“It’s Mochizuki-neechan I found.” Miyamura Aya waved her phone, which showed Matsueda Jun the chat group she had shown him on the day she enrolled in school.

"I wanted to find a senior to go club activities with me, but Tomatsu-nee-san is preparing for a performance, and Yamami-nee-san is a third-year student and doesn't have much time. Luckily, Mochizuki-nee-san is willing to accompany me!"

The girl with the high ponytail tilted her chin up at Jun Matsue, her face conveying only two words.

Praise me.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mochizuki." Jun Matsueda took a picture of a stray cat from the Polaroid camera on the table and handed it to Haruka Mochizuki. "This is a thank-you gift for you."

"Ah! Me too!" Aya-chan moved closer to the two of them, and Mochizuki Haruka's sunny disposition lessened.

"So, what do you think of the club recruitment, Aya-chan?" Jun Matsue asked the girl who was picking through the pile of photos.

“Wow, this is really interesting!” Aya Miyamura picked out a Polaroid photo taken on the rooftop of the school building. “Imokawa-neechan, can I take this?”

The girl, who had been digging into the empty sundae cup, looked up in a panic. "Ah, yes, that's for first-year students."

"Thank you~" Miyamura Aya ran behind the table and hugged Imokawa Natsumi. The girl, caught off guard, did not resist.

"There are so many clubs at Haneoka High School!" Aya Miyamura ran back to Jun Matsueda. "We ran into quite a few fan clubs along the way who were promoting themselves to us."

Student clubs at Haneoka High School are generally divided into three categories: "departments", "clubs", and "hobby groups".

Club activities have relatively strict requirements, with regulations on discipline and attendance. There are more sports-related activities, which also require the most time from students, such as baseball club, brass band, etc.

Most clubs and hobby groups are places where students create their own clubs and gather people with the same interests. The former are recognized by the school and have funding and venues, while the latter are purely "non-governmental organizations".

"Is there anyone interested?" Jun Matsue once again thought of his older brother's identity.

Mochizuki Haruka stood next to Miyamura Aya, her head bowed just like Imokawa Natsumi's, admiring Matsueda Jun's right hand resting on the pile of photos.

"The art club, volleyball club, and flower arrangement club all seem pretty good!"

"Didn't you mention the light music club before?"

Matsueda Jun noticed Mochizuki Haruka's gaze. He moved his right hand from one side to the other, watching the girl's head sway with it.

Natsumi Imokawa, who was in the corner, noticed the two's little actions under Aya Miyamura's nose and quietly took out her camera.

"We're on our way to see the Light Music Club's performance!" The girl pointed to the other side of the square, where a large crowd had already gathered and the sound of a guitar solo could be heard.

"The show's about to start, we're off now, we'll be back later~"

Mochizuki Haruka, like a little black cat attracted by catnip, came to her senses in a daze and was pushed away by Miyamura Aya.

"Imokawa, why don't you go take a break too?" Jun Matsueda turned to look at the girl who was staring blankly at the plastic cup. "You must be pretty tired."

"Is it okay?" Natsumi Imokawa looked expectant. Although she was training herself to become a director, talking so much in one class period was still too much for a girl.

"Go ahead, go ahead." Jun Matsueda rocked her chair again. "Anyway, Tsushima-senpai and the others will be here to relieve us soon."

The girl, clutching her camera, obediently left her seat, turning back every few steps to disappear into the crowd.

Jun Matsue sat in his seat for a while, then dismissed a few girls who were lusting after him, and finally saw a familiar figure walking out of the teaching building.

"Is Matsueda the only one in the newspaper club?" Tsushima Kou sat down next to him. "Where did Imokawa-kun go?"

“Hello~” Yamami Maki waved in front of Matsueda Jun and picked up a Polaroid photo of a cherry blossom tree.

"The little gifts from the news department are all very pretty."

"I just sent Iogawa to rest," Jun Matsue answered the former department head's question first, before greeting the girl.

"Does the senior have some free time too?"

"I ran over during break to take a look." The girl winked at him, and Tsushima Kou, who was watching from the sidelines, glanced back and forth between the two.

"Songzhi, do you want to take a break too?" the squinty-eyed senior asked. "Yumi will be here soon."