Am I being simulated by their love affair?

Page 140

"Because Mochizuki is coming back next week, we need to prepare her textbooks."

As Yamami Maki walked to the left of her junior, she suddenly felt the girl's arm tighten around hers.

Tomatsu Yuka sighed inwardly.

It's impossible for things to go smoothly like this...

Chapter 232 From Underground to Top of the Tower

The last class on Saturday morning was Classical Studies B. When the bell rang, it marked the official end of the first week of school.

The school bell at Haneoka High School is a melodious and slow chime, a very classic sound.

"The original song is called Westminster Bells, right..."

Jun Matsue tidied his desk as the bell rang, while the girl sitting to his right was still calmly organizing her notes.

"Isn't Tomatsu working part-time at the literature museum today?"

Tomatsu Yuka shook her head, the cherry blossom hair clip in her hair swaying. "Because the brass band has to practice recruitment songs after school these past few days, I asked the manager to adjust the schedule."

The girl suddenly remembered something, looked up at the boy, and asked, "By the way, what happened to that girl after we called the police?"

Jun Matsueda paused for a moment, glancing in the direction of Toriyama Hospital. "Anyway, she definitely won't appear in front of us."

Mochizuki Haruka didn't tell him any further news, but in this kind of situation, no news is actually good news, meaning that she should be able to resolve the issue without any problems.

"Does the wind band have to perform during the recruitment?" He chose to change the subject.

"Yes~" The girl took out a saxophone from her instrument case and wiped it with a cleaning cloth. "It's a piece that everyone chose together. Would you like to come and listen to it, Pine-e?"

It seemed like it had been a long time since he had heard Tomatsu Yuka play. Matsueda Jun watched the girl's graceful hands move up and down, the midday sun shining on the surface of the gorgeous instrument, which shimmered and swayed with the girl's movements.

"If the news department isn't too busy, I'll come and take a look."

Tomatsu Yuka watched him walk out of the classroom. Starting next week, it might not be so easy for the two of them to be alone after school.

Her gaze shifted back into the classroom, landing on the seat to Matsueda Jun's left. The once empty desk now held neatly stacked textbooks, hinting at someone's return.

The girl wiped the saxophone with a bit too much force, as if she were wiping a gun barrel.

Just as Jun Matsue stepped out of the teaching building, Yosei Kuraki called, "Matsue! Are you done with get out of class yet!"

"I just got out of class." He walked toward the bike shed, a few crows flying overhead.

"Lunch is ready, come back quickly! We'll leave after we eat!"

"Yes~"

As he hopped on his bicycle, the wind picked up, and the scent of pollen intensified. While waiting at a red light, Jun Matsueda spotted several glossy crows perched on the telephone poles again. With the arrival of spring in Tokyo, it seemed the crows were appearing in greater numbers.

As soon as he returned to 507, Jun Matsue smelled the strong aroma of cheese. Yosei Kurusu had already changed out of his pajamas and was sitting at the dining table, waiting for him to come back and start the meal.

"Is today's lunch black pepper cheese bacon pasta?" He put down his schoolbag and sat down at the table. The girl had already picked up her fork and started eating.

"Because pasta is quick to make and quick to eat." A few drops of milky-white sauce clung to the corner of Kurusu Yosei's mouth, which she licked off with her tongue. "The day after the album's release, I'm a little excited~"

The girl was eating spaghetti, her long legs moving around under the table. Her bare feet occasionally kicked Matsueda Jun's shin, as if urging him to eat faster.

"Don't wash the bowls yet, let them soak in the sink." Yosuke Kurusu stood up from his chair and carried two plates and cutlery into the kitchen.

"I don't like washing dishes that are soaking in water."

"It's okay! I'll wash the dishes when I get back." The girl only had one thing on her mind: "Can we leave now?"

"Okay, okay." Jun Matsue originally wanted to change out of his school uniform, but seeing how anxious Yosuke was, he decided to just leave like this.

The girl put on a large mask and watched the boy behind her lock the security door. "Matsue, hurry up!"

"No matter how much you rush, the album won't sell two more copies just because of this."

Jun Matsue put the key in his pocket, passed by the door of room 506, and followed Yosei Kurusu.

When they arrived at the apartment building, the taxi the girl had called was already parked on the side of the road. The two of them got into the back seat together, and Jun Matsueda loosened his tie.

"Taking a taxi can be very expensive."

Jun Matsueda had specifically looked it up before. The starting fare for taxis in Tokyo is 500 yen for the first kilometer, and about 400 yen for each kilometer thereafter, plus a waiting fee, which is quite exorbitant.

"It's okay! I still have plenty of commuting expense reimbursement left this month. I'm someone who creates value for the company, so taking a taxi on my day off is definitely within the allowed limits~"

With the hood of her sweatshirt on and a mask covering her face, all Jun Matsueda could see were the girl's excessively beautiful eyes.

At 1:30 p.m., Jun Matsue, wearing a school uniform and with a sunny disposition, and Yosuke Kurusu, wearing a hat and mask and acting suspiciously, stood on the streets of Shibuya.

"Is that where we're going?" Jun Matsuoka squinted in the sunlight and pointed to the roof of a building not far away, where a large, bright yellow sign was displayed with red English letters.

"TOWER RECORDS".

“That’s right!” The girl wearing the hat nodded vigorously. “The Shibuya Tower, the largest record store in all of Asia.”

"My album is right there in there, sister~"

On Saturday afternoon, the streets of Shibuya Shinan 1-chome were bustling with people. Jun Matsueda followed the girl as they approached the building that resembled a yellow iron tower.

"By the way, wasn't the place where I first saw your performance around here?"

Jun Matsueda looked at the domed building at the other end of the street. The Shibuya Idol Theater was on the basement floor there. He remembered having dinner at Yoshinoya across the street and seeing a girl light up the stage in the dark.

"Matsue's memory is really good." Kurusu Yosei's smile brightened even more behind her mask. "I was still in the troupe back then. Thinking about it now, it feels like such a long, long time ago~"

"Back then, I was just a member of an idol group that could only perform in underground theaters." The girl walked to the entrance of the nine-story record store, turned around and gave him a victory sign.

"Now that I've debuted as a solo artist, I can release my album in the nine-story building next door!"

"Keep your voice down." Jun Matsue walked up to Yosei Kurusu, pretending to cover her mouth. "Are you afraid others won't find out about you?"

The girl lowered her head and obediently hid behind him, the two of them looking up at the building in front of them.

"No wonder it's a record store, the decoration is so unique." The girl murmured to herself. The exterior of the building was decorated in a bright yellow tower shape, like a miniature Tokyo Tower in a different color.

"It seems like every time I go out with you, we have to go through this process: craning our necks and looking up before entering the building." Jun Matsueda twisted his neck; he had been keeping his head down all the time at school, so looking up like this made him feel much more relaxed.

"This is called 'look up first, then conquer'," the girl said with a grin, looking at the huge slogan at the store entrance.

"No music, no life."

Yosei Kurusu compared his finger to a gun and shot it at Jun Matsueda's chest.

"I want my songs to invade your lives!"

Chapter 233 Confidence, Cute Yet Arrogant

“NO MUSIC, NO LIFE…” Jun Matsueda murmured the slogan at the store entrance. After passing the “base of the tower”, you can see the large LED screen at the entrance.

The screen shows a recently popular action anime, and it seems that the original soundtrack is currently on sale.

“I thought I’d see you on screen,” Jun Matsueda whispered to Yosei Kurusu beside him.

“How could that be!” the girl with the hoodie hoodie retorted in a low voice. “Advertising on the big screen at the store entrance costs a ton of money.”

"You could use that money to produce an album instead."

Since starting to produce her debut album, Yosei Kurusu has come to realize that making music is a very expensive thing. Many of her ideas about the album have not been realized because of funding issues.

Upon entering the record store on the first floor, you'll immediately see the new album from a well-known Japanese group, prominently displayed on the counter near the entrance.

"I think I ran into them the day before yesterday." Jun Matsueda looked at the big YOASOBI sign. Each counter in front had a small screen playing the corresponding promotional video, and the song playing on the first floor was also by this group.

"Really? When? Where?" the girl asked with great interest.

"Uh, at the airport." He shouldn't have brought this up; now Xiaxi would start nagging again.

"Airport? Isn't it in the city?" At first, Yosuke Kurusu didn't react. She took two steps forward, then suddenly turned around and glared at him with bright eyes.

"When you went to pick up Wangyue?"

Jun Matsueda nodded. "I saw the fans who came to greet us at the airport."

"Hmph..." The girl walked over with a "thump thump thump" sound, stared at him for two seconds, and then walked back with a "thump thump thump" sound.

"As punishment, you'll have to buy an extra album later!"

Using the price of an album to appease her anger seems like a good deal, doesn't it? Jun Matsueda followed the girl toward the counter further inside.

“Fujii Kaze, ONE OK ROCK, LiSA…” He looked at the names he often saw on TV next to the screen.

Further in, there are also many vinyl records of anime soundtracks, such as Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion, Akira...

"Is this whole floor full of popular records? Are your records in there too?"

"Yes, I am." Kurusu Yosei quickened his pace, walked past two more counters, and then suddenly opened his arms wide, facing the counter on the right.

"Ta-da! It's right here!"

Jun Matsue clapped silently, matching the girl's performance, and walked to the counter on the right.

This is a counter themed around the "Theory of Idol Birth" program, displaying four or five different albums. He finally saw the complete collection of Yosuke Kurusu's albums.

Her album cover is very simple: a black background with simple lines outlining the whites of her eyes, and brown pupils in the center, with the pupils replaced by gold stars.

The album title, "Visible Light," is written vertically on the whites of his eyes.

"It's really beautiful, this album cover." Although Jun Matsueda had listened to the songs on the record at home, he had never seen the album packaging.

He picked up an album and examined it closely. The black parts had no reflection at all, probably because light-absorbing materials were used. They were so black that he was almost afraid to touch them. The pupil stars, on the other hand, were not only very bright, but also had fine colored powder. They shimmered with the changing angle of the light, and even the size of the stars changed accordingly, as if they were really glowing.

Holding it in your hand is like seeing the eye of a god emerging from the dark universe, drawing the gaze of all living beings.

"I came up with the design idea, isn't that amazing~" The girl stood next to Jun Matsueda, patting his back excitedly.

"Would you like to listen to this?" Kurusu Yosei picked up the headphones from the shelf and handed them to him.

Jun Matsue reached out and took it, examining the machine on the counter. Each display counter in the tower had a demo unit attached to it, connected to the headphones in his hand. It looked like a large portable music player, with many buttons on it.

Putting on his headphones, Jun Matsueda glanced at the albums on the shelf. Yosei Kurusu's albums were labeled "DISC2".

He pressed the number two button on the listening device, and the girl's voice, which he could usually hear at home, was performed in a completely unfamiliar way in his ears.

Clear and bright, with a penetrating magnetism, all emotions and will burst forth through the song. It was a song he had heard before, "Shining Moment," which blossomed on the stage of "Idol."

"Shine brightly as you are, true to your nature!"

Jun Matsue opened his eyes and looked at the girl who had appeared in front of him at some point. It was a very strange experience to have the owner of the song in his headphones right in front of him.

“Kurasu is already a very remarkable person.” He took off his headphones and put them back on the demo unit.

"Hehe." Kurusu Yosei pulled down his mask, smiling to reveal his white teeth, and gave him a victory sign.

"win~"

Two girls walked over and stopped behind her. The girl quickly pulled up her mask and stood behind Jun Matsueda.

"The contestants from last season of 'Idol' have all released albums!" A girl with long, red-streaked hair chatted with her companion. "I applied for the live audition but wasn't selected, which is such a shame!"

"Is this the music variety show you're watching?" Another girl with several earrings walked up to the counter, looking at the albums, her gaze lingering on "DISC2".

"This album looks a bit scary at first glance, but it actually has a surprisingly good feel to it."

"Which one?" The girl with the highlights leaned closer. "Ah! I really like this contestant, Yang Shi-chan! She's the one who sang 'Shining Time' in that really popular YouTube video!"

"..." The girl with the earring tried hard to recall the video she had watched with her friend, and finally remembered something, "The one who sang barefoot? Her feet were really pretty, I want feet like that too~"

Yosei Kurusu, who was leaning against Jun Matsueda, noticed that the boy's body was trembling—he was trying not to laugh.

Damn it... what's so funny? She stretched her right hand out from the wide sleeve of her hoodie and pinched Matsueda Jun through the jacket in embarrassment and indignation.

Jun Matsue reached behind his back with his right hand and swatted away the girl's mischievous fingers, watching as the girl with dyed hair put headphones on the girl with the earring.

"...It sounds so nice!" the girl with the earring exclaimed with her eyes closed.

Right? Right? I think so too! Yosuke Kurusu chuckled behind Jun Matsueda's back.

"Want to buy one of her albums?" The girl with highlights picked up an album titled "Visible Light." "I'm definitely going to buy it."

“Then I’ll buy one too~” The girl with the earring took off her headphones, picked up an album, and the two walked toward other counters.

Yosei Kurusu excitedly pounded on Jun Matsueda's back; her fists, through the sleeve of his hoodie and his jacket, served no purpose other than conveying the girl's excitement.

"Pine branches! Sold! Sold to a passerby!!" Her voice trembled slightly, as lively as a primary school student on a school trip.

"Yoshi-chan's popularity is rising at a visible rate~" Matsueda Jun mimicked the tone of the girl with dyed hair.

"Isn't that obvious?" The girl jumped from behind him to the counter, pointing to the recommendation next to her album.