How can my simulation be a real love?

Her emerald-green, cold eyes seemed to hold an indescribable glint as the clouds drifted lazily across the azure sky. The icy punk girl finally spoke again—

“I happened to see him these past two days, and it seems he’s already dating ‘someone else’.”

"Is that so?"

Shiina Riki, holding a milkshake and taking a sip, gave a casual reply with a slightly subtle tone.

As the 'person involved', she was naturally very aware of the matter, so even when Hachiman Kairin said such things, she did not react. On the contrary, Riki, who was able to remain calm enough, vaguely sensed something was amiss.

I don't know if Shiina Tatsuki was imagining things, but the instant Hachiman Kairin said those words...

She sensed a hint of dissatisfaction flashing in the other person's eyes.

Shiina Riki's lukewarm reaction as she fell into thought caused Hachiman Kairin beside her to frown, becoming as tense as a rubber band that had been cut in mid-air.

The words, which had been somewhat bland just moments before, now carried a hint of coldness—

"Lixi, you like Fengjianming, right?"

27

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Such a strong offensive capability!

"Lixi, you like Fengjianming, right?"

Yawata Kairin's sharp, emotionless, and cold questioning was like a flash of light thrown from afar, making one's heart clench.

The mercenary, who had never truly revealed her thoughts before, suddenly and forcefully pulled out all of Shiina Tatsuki's hidden thoughts.

Seeing the girl's furrowed brows, Shiina Ritsuki was also somewhat taken aback, and fell into a brief silence while holding the chocolate milkshake.

"...How could I possibly like a guy like that?"

The girl seemed to be gritting her teeth as if she were forcibly suppressing her chaotic thoughts.

Recalling when Kazami Mei confessed to her in a way that was completely different from his usual self, her uncontrollable heartbeat seemed to have turned into a net of emotions that trapped her thoughts, and a few blushes gradually appeared on her charming, fair cheeks.

Realizing what had happened, Shiina Tatsuki immediately turned her head away, lowering it slightly as if trying to hide her change.

"..."

Yawata Kairin stared expressionlessly at her friend, the words she was about to utter for some reason being swallowed back down.

The two girls' casual conversation did not disturb the noisy classroom, but only the blonde girl sitting at the back looked ahead with a strange expression.

Originally, Mitsumi Hatsuka had no intention of eavesdropping, but she never expected to overhear such shocking 'information' by accident.

Did Naruto confess his feelings to Shiina?

Misaka Chuka felt extremely conflicted. She slowly closed her eyes, trying to calm her emotional turmoil.

But she couldn't do it.

A sharp, tearing pain shot through her chest. If Misaki tried to remain calm by clutching her skirt, her emotions would show on her face.

Perhaps she was thinking of something, a wave of disappointment flashed in her eyes, and wisps of mist clung to her pale purple eyes like a mirror.

So painful, so painful, so jealous—

She confessed her feelings to Kazami Mei from the bottom of her heart, but was only rejected by him. On the contrary, Shiina Tatsuki, who was confessed to, seemed to 'disdain' her. Such a huge contrast made Mika's mood change rapidly like a roller coaster.

The delicate face, forced to maintain a smile, is losing its color at a visible rate.

"...Can't I do it?"

The blonde girl's murmured words contained a deep-seated bitterness, an emotion that seemed to solidify and was keenly perceived by Hachiman Kairin.

Originally focused on Shiina Tatsuki, Hachiman Kairin raised an eyebrow slightly. Always composed, she looked with complex emotions at the smiling, seemingly flawless "perfect idol" not far away.

I always feel a strange sense of 'resonance' with her.

Coming to her senses, Hachiman Kairin slowly closed her eyes and focused her attention back on her friend.

"If you really like him, then don't hesitate any longer."

"Otherwise, you will definitely regret it in the end."

After saying that, Hachiman Kairin reached out and picked up the music box that was leaning against the table.

As the girl left the classroom, her calm, dark green eyes seemed to momentarily meet Mitsumi Hatsuka's gaze in mid-air, but the exchange of glances between the two girls was merely a fleeting illusion.

In the blink of an eye, the two brushed past each other as if nothing had happened.

"Hey! Hailing—"

Hearing this, Shiina Ritsuki, who had just frowned slightly, was also taken aback. She turned around and found that the other person had already turned and left the classroom.

Holding a chocolate milkshake, Shiina Riki seemed a little lost, and her feelings were extremely complicated by Hachiman Kairin's blunt and undisguised words.

If asked whether he liked that guy who talked nonsense, even Shiina Tatsuki, with his awkward personality, would sincerely admit that he did. He still vividly remembers every moment he spent with him.

She tried desperately to forget him, but ultimately failed.

That guy dragged her out of the abyss of self-blame and inferiority time and time again. No matter how many times she said she was lying to her friend, Shiina Tatsuki could never truly deceive herself.

"Ugh, my head is killing me..."

The girl's delicate eyebrows were now furrowed into an inverted V-shape.

She tried to calm herself down by constantly adjusting her breathing, but no matter how many times she tried to calm herself down, her mind would immediately become a mess again whenever she thought of the image of that guy confessing his love.

Why would he fall in love with so many people at the same time?

If Kazami only likes Akari, then she can cleanly and decisively give up her hopes!

The result was that everyone liked it. How can she accept this statement that implied she was juggling multiple relationships?

"Hailing too! She said she liked him..."

She was secretly harboring feelings for him too, yet she was scolding herself instead!

Unlike Shiina Ritsuki, who was in a state of distress, Mikasa Hatsuka, sitting not far behind, stared at the girl's back with complicated eyes. She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something to the black-haired girl in front of her.

But those words, which he wanted to say but couldn't, were ultimately swallowed back down.

……

3 PM, RiNG—

Having weathered numerous setbacks and difficulties, the band is perhaps more resilient than one might imagine.

Even though the band had just experienced an explosion recently, they were able to reunite seamlessly after resolving the issues, because everyone had shown their worst side without reservation.

It is precisely because they can accept each other's 'truest selves' that the band members can support each other as they move forward through confusion.

However, there will inevitably be mutual sabotage along the way.

"..."

Silence is Cambridge tonight.

The expressions on the faces of the girls who were resuming their band meeting were somewhat subtle.

Especially Aine, who had just recently chosen to "run away" from the band, changed her usual lively and self-centered smug expression. After shamelessly returning to the band, she looked quite uncomfortable.

Ms. Suze, engrossed in playing with her hair, seemed to have no intention of speaking. Takamatsu Akari, whose personality was like that of a small animal, was also at a loss when she saw everyone's silence. The carefree cat was only focused on licking the matcha parfait on its spoon. Ms. Shiina, who usually urged and scolded everyone, seemed to be a little absent-minded today.

Kazami Mei, surrounded by several girls, also had a somewhat complicated feeling.

No, are you here for a meeting or to go to jail?

Anyone who didn't know better would think that everyone had hit the black clay three times in a row, and that they were so angry and silent that they were sulking.

Seeing his girlfriend, Aine, casting a pleading look at him, Kazami Mei, who had been planning to slack off, could only shrug helplessly and speak up under everyone's gaze—

"Anyway... Shiina called everyone here for a meeting today, and the topic is probably to discuss the next live performance, right?"

Ms. Shiina, whose name was mentioned, seemed to snap out of her reverie.

She frowned and spoke in a somewhat cold tone: "Preparing for the next live performance is only part of the problem. The most important thing is that in order to avoid embarrassing ourselves on stage next time, we must reflect on and examine ourselves."

At this point, Shiina Tatsuki looked sharply at the pink-haired girl sitting opposite her and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "First of all, it's you... What happened when you suddenly left the band group a while ago and then disappeared without a word? You need to give us a proper explanation!"

"That was just an accident!"

Chihaya Aine was drenched in sweat.

She thought that escaping to London would solve all her problems, so she didn't leave herself any way out. She decisively left the band group and then posted some comments that seemed to indicate she had a "jade syndrome".

Now that I've been caught and brought back, seeing this mess makes me want to die!

Miss Su Shi, who was playing with her light brown hair, seemed to have found an opportunity to kick someone when they were down, and deliberately spoke slowly—

"An accident? That's hard to imagine!"

"I thought it was some heartbroken loser who couldn't take the blow and was about to pitifully run away."

So aggressive!

"Soyorin!? Who are you calling a loser who got dumped?! I wasn't dumped—"

Chihaya Aine, getting a little impatient, anxiously wanted to refute Nagasaki Motoyo's comment, but the other party just narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "I've already told you, don't use that kind of address anymore, have you?"

"And Lixi just mentioned 'self-reflection'... You really need to reflect on the problems that happened during the last Live performance."

During the cultural festival, a series of problems disrupted the entire band's rhythm. Afterwards, they seemed to be having a tantrum and wanted to escape by plane. Not to mention, this pink-haired girl, without Su Shi's knowledge, turned into a vixen and seduced her husband.

It's already a miracle that Nagasaki Motoyo is able to sit here and have a proper conversation.

If her husband hadn't been watching her, she wouldn't have spoken so subtly.

"Sir, I did make a lot of mistakes last time, and I sincerely apologize to everyone!"

"However, I will definitely not make that mistake again during future live performances!"

Attacked by Ms. Su Shi, whose every word was as sharp as a drawn blade, Ms. Aine was at a loss for words, because even with her thick skin, she couldn't simply shirk her responsibility.

The girl let out a sob and readily lowered her head to admit her mistake.

"..."

Nagasaki Motoyo is the type of person who responds better to gentleness than force, and seeing that the stubborn pink-haired girl apologized quite readily, she didn't say much.

As soon as Ms. Suze stopped talking, Shiina Riki, who was standing next to her with his arms crossed, seamlessly followed up with a cold voice: "Making mistakes during a live performance is just the most basic problem for a band. Such technical and proficiency issues can be made up for through continuous training."

"But isn't the most important issue right now you—leaving the band's group chat without permission after the live performance? What were you thinking doing that?! Do you know how worried Deng was because of you?!"

"You're just trying to run away after one bad performance, I really don't know what to say to you!"

"Ultimately, have you really given the band a good look?"

That was a really devastating blow.

Kazami Mei looked at Aine sitting next to him, feeling somewhat dazed.

However, this time Aine really made a big mistake, and Kazami Mei couldn't possibly help her at this time.

"Yes, I'm sorry, Rikki..."

"Huh? I already told you not to use that kind of address!"

Shiina Tatsuki and Nagasaki Motoyo, who usually get along the most, are now surprisingly on the same side.

The two attacked her in turn, leaving the pink-haired girl with nothing but her head in her hands and running away. When asked why she left the group chat, she didn't know how to explain and could only tearfully show her pitiful puppy-like posture.

How do you explain this?!

You can't just tell Shiina Tatsuki that she had to leave Kazami Mei's side because of Kita's 'bet,' which is why she acted like an idiot and bought a plane ticket to escape to England that very night.

If she were to reveal this, Shiina Tatsuki would definitely scold her for being "love-struck"!

Fortunately, only Deng and Ming know the truth right now, otherwise she wouldn't know what to do!

"Woooo..."

Overwhelmed, Chihaya Aine glanced at Kazami Mei and Takamatsu Akari beside her. Her pitiful appearance touched the little penguin's heart, and after a long silence, Akari finally decided to speak—

"Hmm... I think Aine-chan probably knows she was wrong..."

"Although she really did something wrong this time..."

Ta-da! That's not comforting at all!

Kazami Mei, who had watched the whole thing unfold, rolled his eyes in exasperation. He looked at the pink-haired girl who was being tortured by the group and kept pleading with him for help with her eyes.

I feel like if I don't speak up for her soon, she'll probably start crying and making a scene.