How can my simulation be a real love?

……

the other side.

"My good brother is really missing?"

Kazami Mei frowned as he looked at the chat box on his phone screen. Chihaya Aine, who had just recovered from a serious illness, had sent him several messages. She seemed very anxious about Riki's disappearance.

After all, everyone hadn't been able to get together and practice properly for several days, which made them extremely lax about the upcoming live performance.

"As expected, he didn't reply to the message."

Looking at the 'unread' messages in the Line chat box, Kazami Mei raised an eyebrow slightly.

Even Chihaya Aine, who had been resting for two days due to a fever, has recovered today, but Shiina Tatsuki, who said she would temporarily take over the arrangement work, did not respond.

Kazami Naruto initially thought that his good friend Riki was too engrossed in composing music, which was why he hadn't replied to messages all day.

But today is already the agreed-upon day for completing the arrangement, and Shiina Tatsuki, who had given him her "pledge," still hasn't made any move? Even with all his trust in her, Kazami Mei is starting to feel uneasy.

We can't let her continue like this.

Kazami Mei, having decided to do something, immediately came up with a plan—

"Looks like it's time to open the box."

Open the box!

Faced with Shiina Tatsuki's sudden disappearance and lack of response, if she were left unattended, who knows what would happen in the end? Taking the initiative would at least allow her to communicate with him.

Shiina Riki doesn't usually reveal any information about her family, so none of the band members know where she lives.

In that case, we just need to ask someone who 'knows'.

Kazami Mei slowly dialed Hachiman Kairin's phone number.

"Hello? Is this Hachiman-kun?"

I never expected that he would find his contact information so useful so soon after exchanging it with Hachiman Kairin just yesterday.

"Kazami-kun, is there something you need?"

On the other end of the phone, Hachiman Kairin seemed a little surprised that Kazami Naruto would call her. She hesitated for only a moment before asking in her usual calm tone.

"Sorry to bother you."

"The thing is like this..."

Kazami Mei roughly explained the events that had happened to Hachiman Kairin, including how her illness and temporary absence led Shiina Tatsuki to decide to temporarily take over the composing responsibility, and how she had been unable to contact her since then.

In just a few words, Hai Ling understood what had happened.

"That's roughly the situation. I'd like to ask if you know Shiina's home address, Hachiman?"

On the other end of the phone, Hachiman Kairin held up her phone expressionlessly, but a strange light seemed to flash in her calm, clear green eyes, as if she were recalling something important.

After hesitating for a moment, she spoke softly, "Kazami-kun, are you worried about Ritsuki-kun?"

Upon hearing this, Kazami Mei paused slightly, then raised her eyebrows gently.

Are you very worried?

It would be a lie to say that Kazami Mei wasn't worried about Shiina Tatsuki.

Although Riki is sensitive and always puts a lot of pressure on people, she is the one that Kazami Ming trusts and is most reliable in the band. If it weren't for the gender factor, he would want to become sworn brothers with Riki.

If the other party gets into any trouble, Kazami Mei naturally can't ignore it.

"I am indeed very worried about her right now."

He answered without hesitation.

"...No wonder."

Hachiman Kairin made a meaningful, casual remark, and then slowly began to speak again—

"Kazami-kun, I'll tell you Riki-kun's address."

"Thanks, Hachiman. I'll treat you to chocolate panna cotta next time."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Kazami Mei hung up the phone with Hachiman Kairin. Although she felt that Kairin seemed to have something to say but was holding back, she still managed to get Shiina Tatsuki's home address from her.

As expected of the handsome Hai Ling, she's always reliable when it matters.

I really want to become sworn brothers with her in front of Guan Yu and be good brothers for life.

"Now it's really time to activate the box weapon."

As she gradually relaxed, Kazami Mei slowly turned off her phone.

If he knew where Lixi's house was, he wouldn't be running around like a headless fly.

Even if Shiina Tatsuki says that he is a sports student and needs to mature, as his coach, he certainly won't let him get away with it. If he continues to let him get away with it, let alone "meeting at the top", given the nature of these girls, they might actually end up meeting on the rooftop.

……

Without hesitation, Kazami Mei, having received the box information, immediately went to Shiina Tatsuki's doorstep.

However, once he arrived, he discovered the first problem he had encountered.

How to get in?

"This is bad."

"What if Lixi pretends he's not home?"

Kazami Mei, who was already standing at the door of the Shiina family's house, gently pinched his chin, staring at the door in front of him with a strange look in his eyes.

If she's a sensitive girl in a band who likes to avoid things, she might just play dead if her teammates come over to open the box.

Since that's the case, Kazami Mei definitely can't knock on the door in the usual way. If she directly tells Shiina Tatsuki, who is sensitive and has a strong sense of self-respect, she probably won't open the door.

Therefore, some strange and unconventional methods are needed to trick Lixi into opening the door.

For example, checking the water meter?

Or perhaps he could simply cry out at the door that Shiina Ritsuki is a heartless woman who's playing with his feelings, forcing her to open the door out of intense shame?

"Allah?"

Just as Kazami Mei was pondering how to break down the door, a soft and gentle voice suddenly came from beside him.

The moment he turned his head, his eyes met those of a woman holding a parasol. She looked in his direction with a soft, purplish-red gaze, which startled Kazami Naruto, who quickly looked around to see if there were any sunflowers.

"...Excuse me, what brings you to my doorstep?"

Only when the other person spoke and he raised the parasol slightly was Kazami Mei able to carefully observe the other person's appearance.

The mature woman in front of me had long, jet-black hair, and her demeanor and appearance were somewhat similar to Shiina Ritsuki. Upon closer inspection, she looked like an enlarged version of Ritsuki.

However, the difference is that the other person seems to exude a gentle and intimate feeling from the bottom of their heart, and even their tone of voice is somewhat soft, which is completely opposite to the stiff and cold personality of Shiina Ritsuki.

"Excuse me for bothering you, my name is Kazami Mei."

“I’m a friend of Shiina’s from the same band. I just hadn’t been able to contact her for the past two days, so I thought I’d come and check on her.”

Upon hearing Kazami Naru's very polite self-introduction, the gentle black-haired older sister first showed a somewhat surprised expression, and then blinked curiously.

The black-haired older sister asked with a hint of curiosity, "Eh? Little Lixi actually has male friends?"

No wonder this older sister thought that way.

After all, Shiina Ritsuki's attitude was very cold and tough when they first met. If he hadn't gotten to know her later and found that she was actually a reliable and good person, most people would have wanted to stay far away from her just because of her prickly appearance.

"Hmmmm~"

The older sister with black hair began to carefully examine Kazami Naruto's appearance from head to toe. After thinking for a moment, she nodded in satisfaction.

"Oh dear, I almost forgot to introduce myself."

"My name is Shiina Maki, and I'm Riki's older sister~"

Is that really how it is?

Kazami Mei stared at the gentle older sister in front of her with an "I see" expression.

Just by looking at their appearance, one could roughly guess the relationship between the other party and Shiina Ritsuki. However, he really didn't expect that Shiina Ritsuki's older sister would look like this, which was completely opposite to the personality of her younger sister, Ritsuki.

"Since you're Li Xi's friend, then come in quickly~"

Shiina Maki looked at Kazami Naru with great curiosity in her eyes, quickly took out her key, opened the door to the Shiina family's house, and waved slightly to Kazami Naru, signaling him to come in quickly.

His overly friendly manner made him more likable.

Although she looks like a gentle and beautiful older sister, Shiina Tatsuki's older sister, Shiina Maki, was once the captain of the brass band and led the club to win the national championship.

He is a true genius.

It is also the source of Li Xi's sensitive and extremely proud personality.

“Is black tea the only option?”

Before Kazami Naruto could even speak after entering, Shiina Maki pulled him to the living room. At the same time, the older sister quickly took out senbei candies as a snack and gently placed them in front of him along with a cup of fragrant black tea.

Having just finished this set of silky smooth moves, Maki Shiina naturally brought up the topic—

"This is the first time I've met Xiaolixi's friend. After all, she usually doesn't like to talk to me about her own things."

"Hey~ Tell me quickly, Kazami-kun, where did you meet my little Riki?"

Shiina Maki's curiosity was almost overflowing. Her pale purple eyes, similar to Shiina Tatsuki's, carefully examined Kazami Mei's face, trying to find some clues from his expression.

"It was just a friend's introduction, and we happened to form a band together."

"Huh—is that all?"

Shiina Maki's face clearly showed disappointment, obviously dissatisfied with Kazami Mei's answer.

What else do you want?

Kazami Mei maintained a polite smile on the surface, but inwardly she was making sarcastic remarks.

Does he really have to say that the two of them actually met while collecting Clow Cards under the moonlight, or that he was being chased by a blue-suited monster in the middle of the night and happened to summon Shiina Ritsuki in a warehouse under the moonlight, or that he was just walking down the street and picked up Ritsuki who fell from the sky and took him home?

Faced with Shiina Maki's enthusiasm, Kazami Mei found it somewhat difficult to refuse.

However, he did not forget his main purpose for coming here—

"Shiina-senpai, is Shiina-kun home right now?"

"Aren't you Xiaolixi's boyfriend? You can just call me sister."

Kazami Naru: ?

No, when did he become Li Xige's boyfriend?

They're practically sworn brothers, so I advise you not to ruin our brotherhood.

"...Of course not, we are just very ordinary friends."

Kazami Mei picked up the black tea and took a small sip. As the hot water added more amino acids to the tea, a sweet, honey-like aroma lingered around his nose. It was unexpectedly delicious.

"Eh? Really?"

Shiina Maki stared wide-eyed with a suspicious look, she didn't believe that Kazami Mei really had a casual relationship with her younger sister.

With her younger sister's personality, she has very few friends, let alone boyfriends. At least before this, Shiina Maki had never had any friends come to visit Riki at home.

Not to mention that Kazami Mei is a boy, yet he actually came to our house looking for Shiina Tatsuki?

In Shiina Maki's opinion, even if the two of them weren't really in a romantic relationship—

They are definitely not just ordinary friends.

"I'm sorry, I misunderstood."

However, it seems there's no way to get any gossip from Kazami Mei for the time being, so Shiina Maki has to compromise for now.

“Xiao Lixi has been staying at home for the past two days. Except for meals, she basically stays in her room and refuses to come out. Occasionally when I see her, she seems to be very listless. I am very worried about her current condition.”

Shiina Maki's helpless sigh gave Kazami Mei a few more thoughts.

"Her room is over here, come with me first."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Shiina-senpai."

With a smile, Shiina Maki led Kazami Naru towards Shiina Tatsuki's room. After a while, the two arrived at the wooden door of a room, and she stepped forward first and gently knocked on the door—

"Lixi~ Hurry up and open the door."