How can my simulation be a real love?

Every time Ichika thinks about her silly little sister staring at her phone and giggling at home, and then suddenly looking disappointed and pitiful afterward, she gets a headache.

If she hadn't known in advance what kind of person Kazami Mei really was, she probably would have started worrying about whether her younger sister had been CPU-ed.

Ugh, just thinking about it makes me angry.

Kazami Mei, who is naturally sensitive to gazes, could not possibly fail to sense the displeasure in Iji Tomoka's eyes. Suddenly being stared at so intently by her, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he even began to wonder if he had offended her in some unknown way.

Could it be menopause?

"You little brat...were you thinking something rather impolite just now?"

BYD, you can read minds too, right?

"No, I was just thinking that Sister Xingge is still beautiful today."

Kazami Naru praised the other person without batting an eye, then turned around and ran directly towards the storage room while the other person wasn't paying attention.

Only Ichi Seika remained, resting her chin on her hand, clicking her tongue in exasperation.

The storage room was located deep inside the STARRY's interior passageway. Ijichi Nijika, carrying two small boxes of canned cola, was carefully taking steps forward.

Even though the pile of items in her hands was almost blocking her view, she still tried her best to peek out and observe the road conditions.

Just as she turned the corner, she suddenly noticed someone walking towards her.

"Whoa?!"

Instinctively avoiding the guests, she almost lost her balance and fell to the ground. But as soon as she lost her balance, someone immediately supported her shoulder. This action allowed her to barely hold onto what she was holding, and even her heart, which had stopped for a moment, started racing again.

Just as Ichi Nijika was about to apologize, she suddenly noticed that the hand that was supporting her had a faint orange-red stain on its cuff.

This is... oil paint?

5

Chapter Five: Now the roles of offense and defense have reversed.

"Are you okay?"

The voice beside her interrupted Ichiji Nijika's thoughts. She held the box firmly in her hands and turned her body slightly to the side, only then realizing that the person supporting her was Kazami Mei.

The blonde girl, realizing what was happening, slightly rotated the Doritos on her head and immediately apologized in a flustered tone, "Sorry, Naruto-san... I was in a little rush and didn't see where I was going!"

"It's a good thing I arrived just in time, otherwise your fall would have been terrible."

Seeing the blonde girl's panicked expression, Kazami Mei simply took the things from her hands.

The pile of aluminum canned drinks felt heavy even to him, especially for a petite girl like Hongxia to carry alone. If the pile were any higher, she wouldn't even be able to see the path in front of her.

I guess Hongxia is usually like this too; it's impossible not to feel at ease.

"I'm so sorry..."

After being 'reprimanded' by Kazami Mei, Iji Chi Nijika lowered her head as if she had been hit hard, and even the golden ahoge on her head, which looked like a Doritos cone, drooped slightly.

This seems to be quite a contrast to her usual energetic and sunny demeanor.

"But don't underestimate me, Ming-san! I'm the drummer for the band, so this level is no problem for me at all!"

Perhaps sensing Kazami Mei's worries, Iji Chi Nijika put down the goods in her hands and then gently rolled up her pure white long sleeves, revealing her fair and slender arms.

He is indeed very strong as a drummer, but you can't tell from his appearance at all.

Kazami Mei's meaningful smile made the girl puff out her cheeks, and suddenly she felt inexplicably deflated!

"Hey! Why do you look so disbelieving? I really do have muscles~ You can pinch them if you don't believe me?"

The moment she uttered those words, Ichiji Nijika regretted it. Her raised arm froze in mid-air as if she were 'frozen in place,' and a faint blush crept up the girl's neck without her realizing it.

What is she saying?

Ming, Ming-san probably wouldn't believe my casual joke, right?

"Is it really okay?"

Kazami Mei, who had just been rolling his eyes, instantly perked up and looked at the petite and adorable blonde girl in front of him with a hint of anticipation.

Judging from his expression, it was clearly not a casual joke, which made Miss Hongxia's delicate face blush.

To avoid arousing Kazami Mei's suspicion, she forced herself to maintain her composure and put on her usual lively and energetic smile, gently patting her vast, boundless chest with her free left hand.

The blonde girl spoke with considerable conviction: "...Of course! I often carry unconscious little Pochi around, I'm actually quite strong!"

The girl's words reached his ears, causing him to take a deep breath.

I can no longer tell whether it's vulgar or elegant.

All I know is that the moon is full; if I don't take a look, I'll seem unromantic.

Kazami Mei slowly reached out and gently pinched the delicate skin of the blonde girl's biceps. The soft and tender touch made it impossible to feel any roughness, but upon closer inspection, one could indeed detect the texture of muscle. As expected, Nijika, as a drummer, had trained very hard.

Rainbow Gate.

I feel like my life is already complete.

Why is Ming-sang putting her hands together in prayer position?

"I was just expressing my feelings."

Seeing Kazami Mei's devoutly clasped hands, Ichiji Nijika could sense his teasing. Whether embarrassed or annoyed, the blonde girl could only lightly punch his shoulder with her small fist, speaking softly with a hint of coquettishness—

"Seriously~ Naruto-san, stop teasing me like that!"

……

The two, bickering and teasing each other, carried goods out of the storage room corridor. Just then, Ijichi Hoshika, who was sitting at the front desk typing on the keyboard, turned around and saw her younger sister blushing and shy.

She clicked her tongue slightly as if a sore spot had been hit, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "If you want to flirt, don't do it in the store. Do whatever you want where I can't see you."

"Sister! No, that's not true!"

Miss Hongxia, who was initially just a little shy, blushed deeply. She held the goods and tried to explain to her older sister, but at this moment, her words sounded so powerless.

Seeing the subtle look in her older sister's eyes, she could only glance at Kazami Naruto beside her with a slightly embarrassed expression.

Perhaps to hide her shyness, Ichiji Nijika cleverly changed the subject: "Naraka-san! Thank you for helping me move... Now that this is done, the shop is a bit less busy, so we should talk about our business!"

What are we going to talk about? What's the wedding date?

Ichiji Nijika was unaware of Kazami Mei's inner thoughts. She skillfully and quietly went to the front desk, took out two cans of KISS coffee, and handed them to Kazami Mei, then glanced unexpectedly in her sister's direction.

Then she sneakily leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I took this secretly~ Ming-san, don't tell your sister, okay?"

But the store manager must have seen it already, right?

Sitting directly in front of Nijigae, Kazami Mei could make eye contact with Iji Tomoka in the distance, and the other's meaningful cold smile made the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.

The usually gentle Xingge sister now looked at the scumbag who had kidnapped her precious little sister with a fierce gaze.

"Today, Kita and Pochi talked to me about the Haneoka High School Cultural Festival!"

Holding a can of coffee, Ichika Nijika gently shook her head, her light and lively tone seemingly capable of giving people an uplifting feeling.

She raised her bright red eyes to look at Kazami's face, smiling softly as if gazing at some distant past.

Kazami Mei, taking a sip of her iced coffee, seemed to sense something and looked directly at the blonde angel in front of her: "Nijika, do you think it would be better for you to participate?"

"Of course, it's better to participate! This is a stage that only high school students can perform on, in a sense it's like a 'budokan' that belongs only to you!"

"Besides, Xiao Boqi seems really eager to participate, and I don't want her to have any regrets because of this."

Miss Hongxia sat on a round chair, resting her chin on one hand, her two slender, fair legs swaying gently in the air.

A radiant smile gradually blossomed on her already angelic face.

However, it is clear that Ichiji Nijika did not finish her sentence. If she was truly prepared to take everyone to the cultural festival performance without any concerns, then there would be no need to specifically invite Kazami Mei over.

Clearly, there's something else that they can't decide on themselves, which is why they need his help.

Kazami Mei clearly sensed the other's thoughts, a hint of understanding flashing in his deep black eyes. He then calmly asked, "Is Nijika considering the Mygo issue?"

"what--"

Ijichi Nijika seemed a little surprised that Kazami Mei would suddenly speak up like that, and the cute smile on her little face turned slightly embarrassed.

The blonde angel scratched her cheek a little sheepishly, her eyes holding a hint of 'I knew it', and said softly, "It seems I couldn't hide it from Ming-san after all. I was indeed hesitant because I had to perform on stage with Mygo, but the main reason wasn't because I was afraid of competing with them..."

Speaking somewhat haltingly, Ijiji Nijika raised her eyes to look into Kazami Mei's eyes. Perhaps because she had mentally prepared herself for the time, the girl, holding a can of coffee in her small hands, mustered her courage and spoke—

"Ming-san, for this cultural festival... could you not perform on stage?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Kazami Mei's face; he hadn't expected that Nijika would have the same idea as him.

"Ming-san, please don't misunderstand! I was just thinking that you'll be performing at two different venues simultaneously for this live show, and the audience might not have a very good impression of you..."

"Also, I noticed that Kita seems to be taking this live performance very seriously, so I guessed that Kita might be competing with Aine and the others..."

As if worried that Kazami Mei would misunderstand her, Iji Chi Nijika, who had only mustered up the courage to speak, waved her little hands repeatedly to explain.

Her flustered and disorganized demeanor clearly showed that she cared a lot about Kazami's feelings and didn't want him to feel disappointed.

Kazami Mei was initially amazed by Nijika's telepathic connection with him, but seeing her adorably flustered expression, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and feign disappointment as he spoke—

"It's such a shame I can't play, I've been preparing for quite some time..."

"I'm so sorry! I'm really so sorry!!"

Ichi Nijika immediately put her hands together to express her apology, and Kazami Mei couldn't help but chuckle when she saw her cute expression that looked like she was about to cry.

Just as he was about to reveal the 'joke' topic, the Archangel Shimokitazawa across from him suddenly reached out and tugged at his sleeve.

"I really didn't mean anything by it! I just wanted to apologize... Ming, can you please not be angry with me?"

The petite girl's golden ahoge (cowlick) drooped slightly in disappointment, and her pouting lips made her look like an abandoned puppy.

This made Kazami Mei feel a strong sense of guilt, so she immediately reached out and gently touched her head, and hurriedly explained, "Of course I'm not angry with you. I was just joking."

"Eh?"

Seeing Ijichi Nijika's bewildered and adorable expression, Kazami Mei simply gave a brief explanation of the Mygo meeting's content.

Upon learning that he actually shared the exact same thoughts as her, Iji Chikuni Natsumi, who was initially quite at a loss, suddenly realized that she had been teased. So, blushing, she reached out her little fist and gently tapped Kazami Naruto's chest like raindrops.

She only reluctantly stopped when Kazami Mei begged for mercy.

"...Ming is an idiot."

"I'm so sorry, how can I make Hongxia stop being angry with me?"

This truly turned the tide of battle in an instant.

Upon hearing this, Ijichi Nijika, whose eyes were squinted like a cat's, seemed to shudder. If this were a manga, perhaps fluffy cat ears would immediately sprout from her head. After hearing Kazami Mei's 'apology,' she simply tilted her head slightly.

Her smooth, bright golden ponytail shimmered under the warm lights of STARR.

"I remember that before, Ming... bought paints and painting tools, right?"

"If... if Ming draws me a picture just once, then I'll forgive you."

It took her a great deal of courage to finally say those words.

Back in the storage room, Ijichi Nijika had already noticed the paint stains on the other person's sleeve, which meant that Kazami Mei must have been painting in secret recently, making it impossible for Nijika to ignore it.

An uncontrollable flutter in her heart seemed to be driving her to ask the other person—

Did he also have the same 'dream'?

"Drawing?"

Upon hearing this, Kazami Mei couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.

As expected, whether in simulation or reality, it was still the same Hongxia. In the simulation, he finally managed to draw the only portrait of Hongxia until the very end. In reality, he naturally wanted her to see the painting he had completed for her.

"Of course, but don't have too high expectations for my skills, okay?"

"As long as it's Ming's painting, I have absolutely no problem with it!"

Ichi Nijika reached out and gently grasped Kazami Mei's left hand that was holding the pen. As she stared at the hand, she couldn't help but exert a little force. When she looked up, she revealed the most tender and trusting look in her eyes.

But that fleeting glance and the pure warmth of the sun seemed to make Kazami Mei suddenly feel a little dazed.

Realizing what she had done, Ichiji Nijika felt the temperature of her cheeks rising.

"You two! You said you wanted to flirt, so get out of the store!"

The sour voice of the older single woman, Ms. Xingge, instantly froze me in place.