How can my simulation be a real love?

nonsense!

Don't even mention that you're Miss Chuhua from [Sumimi], even if the adorable Xiaoxiang and Xiaomu came, they'd still have to obediently pay for his meals!

However, this excludes the Blue-Eyes White Dragon coming to eat.

"I understand~ I'll definitely pay my food expenses honestly next time."

Without waiting for Kazami Mei's reply, Misaka Hatsuka spoke again, somewhat impatiently.

An elegant and mature smile gradually appeared on the girl's fair and pretty face. Even with a baseball cap and sunglasses, her great charm could not be concealed. Under the dim light, she looked like a beautiful elf in the night.

There was a reason she didn't refuse.

It's just that Kazami's cooking is so delicious that she can't forget it for the time being.

Furthermore, Misaka Hatsuka couldn't completely let her guard down around him. She felt that such a short period of contact wasn't enough to fully understand Kazami Mei. She needed to continue getting to know him better over time and become completely familiar with his character before making any further plans...

and so--

She can come and eat here a few more times, it shouldn't be a problem, right?

"Chuhua, is this enough?"

"Are you here already?"

Before she knew it, Kazami Mei had led her to the street near the apartment.

Hatsuka, who thought there was still a long way to go, felt inexplicably disappointed, but she quickly adjusted herself, slightly lowered her sunglasses to reveal her crystal clear purple eyes, and looked at the boy beside her with a smile.

"Well then, Naruto-kun, see you next time."

After saying this, she gently waved goodbye to the other person. Only when Kazami Naruto's figure completely disappeared into the corner of the street did the look of disappointment in her eyes turn into a smile, and she couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

As a result, she was so focused on other things today that she completely forgot about writing lyrics and composing music.

Misaka Hatsuka walked briskly towards her apartment when her phone suddenly started vibrating. She glanced at it casually and saw that it was a call from fellow idol 'Junka Mana'. After only a moment's hesitation, she answered immediately.

"Hello? Is this Mana?"

【Waaah, Hatsuka-chan~ I sent you so many messages, why haven't you replied?】

A lively and cheerful familiar voice came from the phone speaker, and a faint smile appeared on Misaka Hatsuka's face. At this moment, she seemed to have immediately returned to her usual state as the idol 'Hatsuka'.

With a mature and elegant gesture, she brushed aside her golden hair, speaking softly in a gentle tone, "I'm so sorry, I was eating dinner and didn't notice..."

Oh, I see! I was so worried about you, Chuhua!

[By the way, Hatsuka, it seems like they're adding another live performance for us at the last minute, which will increase my workload and I'm already exhausted QWQ. I was planning to use this break to catch up on the shoujo manga I hadn't finished reading before, but now I don't even have time...]

The lively Junta Mana quickly started chattering away, and Hatsuka listened to her complaints with a smile as usual, but today Hatsuka had a slightly different feeling.

A figure with black hair and black eyes flashed through Misaka Hatsuka's mind, and she suddenly spoke, almost as if possessed—

"Mana, what does it feel like to be in love?"

At that moment, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

Even the lively and adorable Junta Mana was strangely silent for a few seconds. After Misaki Hatsuka said those words, she regretted it a little, but now there was no time for her to regret it.

Ms. Mana across from her took a deep breath, like the calm before a storm—

【Hatsuka-chan?! Are you saying you're already in a relationship? Or do you already have a boy you like?!】

[Is he a classmate or an upperclassman from a different grade...? Oh wait, Hatsuka, isn't this an all-girls school? No, no! Which jerk stole Hatsuka's heart? Damn it, I've never even been in a relationship before, and Hatsuka beat me to it...]

In an instant, Chu Hua heard the girl's incoherent words. She hadn't expected that her casual question would be misunderstood like this. Chu Hua rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.

A hint of helplessness flickered in Misaka Chuka's beautiful, deep purple eyes. She then calmly picked up her phone and tried to explain in the most composed tone possible: "No, it's just that a friend of mine..."

Ah, my friend, I understand, I understand!

Mana Junda, who had been speaking in a flustered tone, suddenly opened her mouth in a meaningful and cryptic voice. Her strange tone made Hatsuka Mikako blush for no reason, and she even became a little unsteady on her feet while holding her phone.

She felt that if she continued talking like this, she wouldn't be able to explain herself at all.

"I only asked casually because of something that happened to a friend, Mana, please don't overthink it..."

Feeling unable to explain, Misaka Chuka simply gave a few perfunctory words and hung up the phone.

She only asked that question because she was thinking of Xiangzi. She simply wanted to know what it felt like for her childhood sweetheart to be in love. If she knew a little bit about it, she might be able to help more.

That's right, it's just for Xiangzi.

8

Chapter Eight: I saw an angel in Kitazawa.

Noon in Shimokitazawa

A light drizzle fell softly on the dry earth, and the sky on Sunday afternoon was shrouded in a gray haze due to the damp mist, despite the scorching heat of the sun this morning and at noon.

Who would have thought that the weather would change so drastically in just half a day, with such sudden rainfall catching most people completely unprepared?

Unfortunately, Kazami Mei had foreseen this all along.

He learned his lesson the hard way after catching a cold and staying home from the rain while taking his kitten out. Now, he always checks the weather forecast carefully before going out, and even just bringing an umbrella isn't enough to put his mind at ease.

He should prepare at least a spare umbrella worth 1,600 yuan when he goes out, so that he can unleash his cool Starburst Stream Slash at any time.

"The rain shows no signs of stopping..."

Logically speaking, he should go home earlier after training during this rainy season.

But today, his plan was to buy a batch of drawing supplies in Shimokitazawa to take home. After all, when he occasionally wanted to draw, he could only pull out a ballpoint pen with an Ultraman pattern. Suitable drawing supplies were quite important to him.

Even if you acquire a level 5 drawing skill from simulation, your artistic inspiration will gradually fade if you don't use it for a long time.

"No, does the entire Shimokitazawa only sell food?"

As a result, Kazami Naru searched around the shopping street in this area several times but couldn't find a suitable art supply store. He did see four ramen shops along the way and almost couldn't resist going into one to eat.

The pattering rain, like a melodious poem, fell continuously onto the umbrella in his hand.

A gentle breeze carrying a hint of warmth and a light drizzle seeped into the umbrella, causing his exposed neck to be constantly irritated by the raindrops, forcing him to hunch over slightly.

There's no other way, I guess I'll just have to give up today.

"Ok?"

Just then, a familiar golden figure not far away caught Kazami's attention.

He simply raised his dark eyes to take a closer look and found a blonde girl with a side ponytail standing in a corner of the street, carrying a lot of things. There were umbrellas that could be used next to her, but she could only stare blankly at the raindrops falling.

The girl was wearing a pure white short-sleeved dress with a bright red tie with a circle pattern under the brown collar, and her slender arms were carrying a large cloth bag.

The little triangular tuft of hair on that blond head seemed to droop slightly because of the raindrops.

Without hesitation, Kazami Naru took a step and quickly walked towards the girl.

He only spoke after the two had gotten close enough—

"Hongxia!"

"Eh?"

When her name was suddenly called, Ijichi Nijika turned her head in confusion.

She was clearly taken aback when she saw Kazami Mei walking over with an umbrella. The bag she was carrying almost completely covered half of her face, but even so, she tried her best to peek out and ask, "Mei-san?"

"Why is Narumi still staying in Shimokitazawa? Wasn't today's practice already over?"

"I just forgot to buy a few things. But Hongxia, why are you carrying so much stuff... Did you come out shopping?"

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Nijika Ichi was carrying quite a lot of things. The large cloth bag was stuffed with a lot of vegetables and frozen food, so much so that Nijika couldn't hold it steady and could only hold it in her arms with difficulty.

Hongxia probably owes her inconvenience in using an umbrella to this reason.

"Because it was so cheap on sale, I bought a lot at once, and then it started to rain when I left the supermarket..."

"I felt it was a bit inconvenient to carry so much stuff while holding an umbrella, so I thought it would be better not to run home in the rain, but to wait here until the rain stops."

Hongxia, carrying this pile of things, was a little embarrassed, and her fair face flushed slightly.

"I don't know when this rain will stop, so I'll just take you back to STARRY."

Seeing her troubled expression, Kazami Mei didn't hesitate at all. He simply took the pile of things from the girl's hands and handed his umbrella to Miss Nijika.

Ichi Nijika stared blankly at the umbrella in her hand, then looked somewhat bewildered at the things that Kazami Mei had taken away.

"But those things are so heavy! This is too much trouble for Naru-san..."

I've already said it, a man can't say no!

Especially since he was in front of Ichiji Nijika, even if Kazami Mei was no good, he had to say he was good! Not to mention that the ingredients Nijika had in her hands were not much of a burden compared to what he and Hatsuka had taken yesterday.

"Then I'll trouble you, Hongxia, to hold the umbrella for me."

"Ah, okay..."

Despite seeing Kazami Mei's attitude, Ichiji Nijika was ultimately persuaded by his decisive actions.

So she stretched out her two fair little hands, held the umbrella, and raised it high above Kazami's head. The two of them walked on the streets of Shimokitazawa like this. As a result, because the umbrella was held too high, half of Nijika's body would occasionally get wet in the rain.

But she seemed to prefer getting wet herself rather than tilting the umbrella so that Kazami Naruto would get wet.

Noticing this, Kazami Mei bent down slightly to lower the height, making it easier for Nijika to lower the umbrella to cover herself more. This subtle movement was naturally noticed by Ijika Nijika.

The blonde girl slowly raised her jewel-like, dazzling red eyes, occasionally stealing glances at his profile.

Wow, Mingsang is actually quite tall...

He's probably at least 15 centimeters taller than her? It seems like with that height, she could easily reach him just by standing on her tiptoes—

Pfft!

Upon realizing this, Hongxia's face instantly burned like a furnace, and she carefully lowered her head to hide her blushing cheeks.

She didn't know why she suddenly thought of such embarrassing things. She had already decided not to think about such nonsense anymore and should calm down a bit!

The problem is that the two of them are currently in a 'connected umbrella' state, and being so close together, they occasionally bump into each other's shoulders...

Even if she didn't overthink it, it would be impossible!

"Yes, that's right..."

"What did Mingsang just say she was going to buy?"

Ichi Nijika felt her emotions and thoughts becoming chaotic, so she could only pretend to be her usual energetic self and casually start a conversation with him, trying to distract herself by chatting.

She felt that if she kept holding it in like this, her whole mind would start to go strange.

"I was just planning to buy some art supplies, but I couldn't find a suitable art supply store after searching for a long time. Now I'm thinking of just giving up and going home."

Kazami Naruto, who was carrying a large pile of things in his arms, spoke casually.

Eh?

Ichi Nijika, whose small hand was gripping the umbrella handle, visibly trembled.

A few icy raindrops accidentally landed on her fair shoulders, but she seemed completely unaware. She just stared wide-eyed at Kazami's profile as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Art supplies?

With her mind in turmoil, Ichiji Nijika immediately tried to calm herself down. Her strong rationality allowed her to maintain a faint smile on the surface, but her fingers gripping the umbrella handle had turned white from the force, and the trembling golden triangle was enough to show the intense turmoil in her heart.

Kazami Mei can actually draw?

Was that 'dream' that night not just a simple dream?

Only Kazami Naru in her dreams is left-handed, and only the Naru she imagines in her dreams can draw. But why is the real Naru so similar to the one in her dreams, even completely corresponding to the content of her dreams?

What exactly is going on?

Could it be that her 'dream' was more than just a 'dream'?

A flood of thoughts, mixed with images from her previous dream, rushed into the girl's head. Even though she was mentally mature from a young age, Iji Chikuni was momentarily at a loss. This sudden shock did indeed leave her somewhat confused.

But Hongxia was also very clear that she definitely couldn't panic right now.

"...So Mingsang can paint too?"

A casual question came from Ichiji Nijika's ear.

At this moment, Kazami Mei couldn't help but look at the energetic and cute blonde girls beside him. After all, his drawing skills were completely derived from Nijika's imitation, and he also had feelings for Nijika that he couldn't explain in words.

"I only know a little bit, I'm not that good at it."