How can my simulation be a real love?

"...It seems nothing can be hidden from you."

Kazami Mei, whose thoughts had been seen through at a glance, did not show any surprise. He simply spoke in a low voice, "You should have heard about the Haneoka Cultural Festival before, right?"

"Because of my decision, the band's performance on stage had some minor issues, but Shiina completely took the blame upon herself. She didn't reply to my messages yesterday."

Anyone could see how severe Lixi's mental distress was. She didn't blame anyone but took all the responsibility and blame upon herself.

If this continues, she may suffer a considerable burden both physically and mentally.

So, Kazami Mei immediately came over and waited at the school gate to catch her.

"..."

Yawata Kairin simply nodded thoughtfully.

Just as she was about to say something, her calm, dark green eyes suddenly trembled, and her usually expressionless face changed slightly as her sharp gaze focused on Kazami's neck.

"Hachiman?"

Seeing that his good brother hadn't said a word for a long time, Kazami Mei raised an eyebrow, feeling a little strange.

"...It's nothing, Lixi is still in the classroom and hasn't come out yet."

“I still have work to do with the band, so I have to go now. Kazami, you should be able to run into her if you just wait here.”

In just a moment, Hachiman Kairin had already returned to her original indifferent state.

After saying that, she nodded slightly to Kazami Naruto, picked up her instrument case, and turned to walk past him. This colder demeanor than usual was naturally noticed by Kazami Naruto.

Her good friend seemed to be in a bad mood today, but even so, she was still willing to tell him about Lixi.

He truly is a close friend; I will definitely repay Hailing's favor later.

Kazami Mei watched Hachiman Kairin's figure gradually disappear and chose to continue leaning against the wall to wait, but Shiina Riki seemed to come out later than he had expected.

As the golden rays of the setting sun shone on the rough asphalt road, and the silken light reflected off the glass, the laughter of the surrounding high school girls gradually faded away.

At this time, fewer and fewer students left Hanasaki River, but Kazami Mei still couldn't see Shiina Riki's figure.

"Could they have climbed over the wall and escaped?"

Suddenly realizing this possibility, Kazami Mei couldn't help but glance towards the school gate.

In that instant he turned his head, he coincidentally met the gaze of a woman with long, straight black hair carrying a bag. Shiina Riki, who hadn't expected to run into Kazami Naruto here, slightly contracted his pupils and instinctively began to back away in his round-toed leather shoes.

Fortunately, Kazami Mei reacted quickly and grabbed her wrist, immediately thwarting Shiina Tatsuki's attempt to escape.

"Let go, let go!"

"This is an all-girls school, Kazami, what are you planning to do...?!"

Shiina Riki, her face flushed, looked at her wrist, which was being held by the other person, and her tone instantly became somewhat flustered and at a loss.

Despite the possibility of being accused of 'sexual harassment,' Kazami Mei still held on to the other person. He frowned and responded in the calmest of words: "As long as you don't run away, Shiina, I'll let go now."

"I'm not going to run away, let me go right now!"

Upon hearing this, Kazami Mei gently released Riki's hand. Even now, Riki's delicate and beautiful face still had a faint blush, but she gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at Kazami Mei.

Shiina Tatsuki immediately retorted, somewhat annoyed, "Kazami, what exactly are you doing coming all the way to Hanasaki River?"

"On the contrary, I want to ask Shiina, why don't you reply to my messages if you have nothing to do? Do you think you can carry your phone with you 24 hours a day?"

"If I hadn't been worried about you, I wouldn't have gone to wait at the girls' school gate. You have no idea how many people were staring at me with strange looks as I stood here."

Kazami Mei's words were clearly filled with resentment, which made Shiina Tatsuki feel a little guilty, since the other party had chosen to squat at the entrance of the girls' school because of her.

He wasn't arrested as a pervert simply because his handsome face was highly deceptive.

"...So, can you talk about it now? Why aren't you replying to my messages or planning to come to practice?"

Standing before her, Kazami Naru questioned her in the most direct way. Shiina Tatsuki, who was already feeling guilty and guilty and dared not meet his gaze, subconsciously looked away, and her cherry lips, painted with lip gloss, trembled slightly.

How could she possibly dare to reply to his messages?

This performance was a complete disaster because of her. Both bands used pieces that were Kazami Naruto's hard work, yet she squandered his trust and effort...

"I'll talk to you about this tomorrow. I need to get home today."

This perfunctory explanation made Kazami Mei raise an eyebrow, a subtle glint in her deep black eyes.

Isn't this just a perfunctory excuse to run away?

If we let you get away today, you'll never see us again tomorrow!

Standing still, Kazami Mei simply shrugged, showing no sign of yielding to Shiina Tatsuki's words. Instead, under the other's anxious gaze, she casually spoke—

"Shiina... do you remember our [bet]? You still owe me a reasonable 'request' back then, right?"

"Kazami, what are you trying to do?!"

Shiina Riki's purple eyes, which seemed to possess rhythm and style, widened instantly. Amidst the chaos in her mind, she looked at Kazami Mei with a bewildered expression.

She had made a bet with Kazami Naru because of Takamatsu Akari. At that time, she had misunderstood Kazami Naru and lost a 'request' to him. As long as the request wasn't too unreasonable, she had to agree to whatever it was.

I never expected Kazami Mei would bring this up at a time like this.

Something's not right, what's with that expression on my good buddy's face?

Without commenting on Shiina Tatsuki's adorable expression of embarrassment and annoyance, Kazami Mei, with a meaningful smile, spoke slowly and deliberately—

"In that case, I'd like to go to your house, Shiina."

"……ha?!"

……

In the blink of an eye, Kazami Mei had returned to the familiar Shiina residence. Although it was a bit of a pity to use the precious "bet" here, at least Kazami Mei had found an opportunity to have a proper talk with Shiina Tatsuki.

After all, once someone is a guest at her house, there's nowhere for Ms. Shiina to escape to, right?

Unfortunately, Shiina Maki was also home today. When she saw Kazami Mei arrive, she warmly offered her snacks and drinks, and even asked her why it had taken her so long to come over.

This infuriated Ms. Riki, who grabbed Kazami Naruto and dragged him into the room under her sister's teasing gaze.

boom!

Looking at the room door that slammed shut in front of her, Shiina Maki, who was locked out, couldn't help but shake her head.

"The pressure in rock bands is really high, Li Xi is always so impatient... Ah—could it be because Ming Jun keeps watching me, so the kid is jealous?"

Kazami Mei, of course, had no idea what Shiina Maki was thinking outside the door.

After being pulled into the room, he subconsciously began to look around. Compared to the last time he came, Lixi's room hadn't changed much, and he still couldn't sense any trace of a girl's presence.

But thinking about it carefully, this was already the third time he had entered Lixi's room.

Even though she's already officially dating Su Shi Mutsu and Kodama, Kazami Mei has never been to their rooms.

Shiina Ritsuki, whose pretty face was still slightly flushed from being teased by her older sister, looked at Kazami Mei, who she had pulled in, who was still standing there, and spoke coldly as if trying to hide her emotions—

"What are you still standing there for, Kazami? Sit down."

"You'd better promise you won't turn into a giant and hammer me later."

He couldn't transform into the Armored Titan, otherwise his bag would be crushed by a single punch.

"what?"

Shiina Riki frowned, staring at the black-haired boy in front of her as if he were an idiot.

She always felt that this guy would say some meaningless lines every time he came to her room, but fortunately, Shiina Tatsuki was already used to this kind of 'weirdo', and just said slowly with a cold face—

"So you came all the way to my house just to talk about the last live performance?"

"Or did I come here to flirt with you, Shiina... to talk about love?"

Kazami Mei blurted out this sarcastic remark almost made Shiina Tatsuki jump out of her skin. Seeing her glaring at her with her beautiful eyes, almost bursting with anger, Kazami Mei reacted quickly, speaking in a very serious and earnest tone—

"Actually, regarding the last live performance... I don't think the problem was entirely my fault, since I wasn't on stage at that time?"

"Kazemi, you bastard..."

"However, it's not your fault either, Shiina."

Before the black-haired girl in front of him could react, Kazami Naruto had already finished a combo attack. He lightly rested his chin on his right knuckles, a helpless smile on his face, and continued speaking—

"To be honest, the failure last time was not due to any one person's mistake. The main reason was that everyone failed to 'trust' each other."

trust?

Shiina Riki slowly furrowed her delicate eyebrows, her hands, which had been holding drumsticks for a long time, now gripping the hem of Hanasaki River's school uniform tightly.

"Didn't I say before that I trust you completely, Shiina?"

"Just as you, Shiina, completely trusted me and cooperated with me on stage, Aine, who was not well-adjusted at first, was unable to fully trust the 'support' of others, and Shiina, you were also unable to trust Motoyo and Rakuna beside you."

You also need to have enough trust in your teammates.

Upon hearing Kazami Mei's words, Shiina Tatsuki's eyes flickered with a hint of daze. She suddenly recalled the conversation Kazami Mei had with her privately before going on stage, and realized that she hadn't been paying attention to what he said.

Once on stage, all she thought about was how to adjust everyone's mood on her own.

She didn't notice Lena, who was also helping out.

"A band is a group of people who form a band; it's impossible to succeed by relying on just one person."

"Whether it's you or me."

Kazami Mei gradually emphasized his words, clearly implying that 'it's not just one person's fault.'

Shiina Tatsuki, who is sensitive and insecure, is well aware of her own inadequacy and mistakenly believes that as long as Kazami Mei is around, this problem will never occur.

In reality, Kazami Mei's success on stage was simply because everyone around him trusted him enough, and he also trusted everyone around him enough.

The same goes for the band; Kita Nijika, Pochi, and Ryo all have enough trust in them.

Trust is the foundation of cooperation.

"Shiina, you said you can't do anything without me, right?"

“But I don’t think so. Even now, without me in the band, Shiina, you can complete all the composing work on your own. You also handle the management work that I might not be able to do well, and you do it all very well on your own. In my eyes, Shiina, you have always been the person I can trust the most.”

Kazami Mei calmly met Shiina Ritsuki's gaze from a short distance away, and after a moment's hesitation, continued speaking—

“But I don’t want my ‘trust’ in you to become a ‘burden’ for you. At least in my opinion… you also need to learn to rely on others more.”

It's just Kazami Mei, yet he dares to say such cool things...!

The feelings hidden in her heart were constantly being drawn out when they were alone. Shiina Riki, who was somewhat unwilling to be 'taught a lesson' by him, couldn't help but purse her thin lips.

Now that this annoying guy has 'praised' her like this without her consent, how can she possibly maintain her previous attitude?

Seeing Shiina Riki's head bowed and silent, Kazami Mei, who had already realized her success, couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

"Well, that's all I can say. If it really doesn't work out... then we'll just have to honestly admit that we should end the band and from now on, we'll run away with our tails between our legs whenever we see them?"

"Who would do that?!"

Shiina Ritsuki, who had just felt a strange feeling in her heart, couldn't help but retort. She now realized that Kazami's mouth was just as venomous as Hailin's!

"If you don't want to 'escape,' then win it back for me next time."

Kazami Mei slowly stood up and stretched. His nonchalant attitude made Shiina Tatsuki inwardly complain, "What a childish way to provoke someone."

But she just happens to be very susceptible to Kazami Naruto's childish tactics.

"Even without you saying it, we will definitely win back."

Sure enough, it had to be this guy.

No wonder both Xiaodeng and Hailing fell in love with him, and no wonder I had such a hard time controlling my feelings for him. But Shiina Ritsuki knew very well that he could not reveal even a trace of these feelings.

Because for Hailing and Deng, this would be...

Shiina Riki shook his head violently, suppressing all the thoughts and emotions in his heart.

She skillfully took out two energy shake jelly packets she usually used when staying up late from the drawer, and casually asked him with a deliberately nonchalant expression, "Kazemi, want some?"

What should we eat?

"I don't like strawberry flavor, I want the one you're holding."

"Tsk, you actually got to pick one?"

Shiina Riki glared at the guy with displeasure, then handed the chocolate-flavored drink in her hand to Kazami Naruto.

Just as the two were getting closer, she suddenly frowned slightly, and then, to Kazami's astonishment, abruptly closed the distance between them.