How can my simulation be a real love?

Chapter 51 Why Lie?

As dawn breaks and the sun rises in the east, the first light of day is revealed.

As the buzzing of message notifications came from the phone, a slender right hand slowly reached out from the bedside, and after temporarily turning off the message notification sound, Kazami Mei closed her eyes again.

After a brief five-minute preparation for getting up, he finally sat up, his head still heavy with sleep.

The soft, hazy sunlight streamed into the room through the thin curtains, casting a shimmering glow on the lint and dust floating in the air. Two different styles of oil paintbrushes rested gently on the corner of the table, their wood gleaming warmly in the morning light.

"Is it morning already?"

Kazami Mei narrowed her eyes and stared at the screen on her phone.

Eight twenty.

Generally speaking, he is considered lazy for getting up at this time, but on a leisurely Sunday, he often sleeps until 11 a.m., especially since yesterday's date has taken a lot of his energy and strength.

If he hadn't heard the message notification on his phone, he probably would have slept a little longer.

The first thing that catches the eye is a good morning message from Kita-san, filled with playful emoticons and bright red hearts, as if Kazami could see her adorable face blushing slightly behind the screen.

Kita Ikuyo, who has just confirmed her relationship, is showing off her energy and vitality to the fullest.

After a whole day of dating, she would still walk and chat with Kazami Naruto after the confession, occasionally pulling him aside to kiss him while blushing, and sometimes even brazenly sniffing his scent while lying on his neck.

This is probably the perfect example of the so-called "taste that grows on you"?

The incredibly romantic and ambiguous atmosphere, coupled with the fact that they were alone outside at night, meant that if Kazami Mei wasn't careful, Kita Ikuyo might have taken her to a hotel. Fortunately, after he kissed the cheeky high school girl until she was weak all over, he took the opportunity to forcefully send her home.

"Ok?"

Kazami raised an eyebrow slightly, a subtle glint in her eyes.

[Miss Lixi: Are you there?]

[Miss Lixi: I need to talk to you. Please reply when you have time.]

Besides Kita Ikuyo, there were also a lot of messages from Shiina Tatsuki. Clicking into the chat interface revealed a message box that covered half the screen. Even just staring at the screen, Kazami Mei could roughly feel Tatsuki's anxiety.

Given her personality of not wanting to cause trouble for others, she would probably only be so anxious if something really happened.

Without hesitation, Kazami Mei dialed the number directly.

"You finally decided to answer?"

The moment the call connected, a girl's cold yet anxious voice came from the other end.

Even just by hearing her voice, Kazami could roughly imagine the frosty expression on Ritsuki's face on the other end of the phone. At that moment, his brain started working at high speed, constantly recalling whether he had done anything to wrong her.

Wait a minute, he didn't do anything, did he?

At most, she went from secretly looking at Riki's legs to openly staring at them. Apart from that, Kazami Mei didn't do anything to upset her.

Feeling clueless, Kazami Mei let out a breath and tentatively asked in a soft voice, "I just woke up. Is there something you need to talk to me about, Miss Ritsuki?"

After a strange pause of one second, Ms. Shiina on the other end of the line spoke in a low voice: "...There is something I need to tell you this time, but I can't explain it clearly over the phone. Why don't you come out and we can talk face to face?"

A look of understanding appeared on Kazami Mei's face.

If it's something related to band work, Riki usually talks about it directly on Line. But if it's something that requires Riki to talk to him in person, it's definitely not as simple as just band work.

This time, it's most likely a relationship issue between the members, or even a problem between Shiina Tatsuki and Kazami Mei.

Thinking this through, Kazami Mei shook her head, suppressing her thoughts for the time being, and tentatively asked—

"To RiNG?"

"No, come to my house."

The girl's calm and confident words caused a strange glint to flash in Kazami Mei's eyes.

No, man.

……

If a girl chooses to invite a guy she's flirting with to her home alone, she's generally planning to directly confirm whether or not they have a relationship.

At first, Kazami Mei was also looking forward to the date with the thought of how Shiina Tatsuki would 'respond' to his confession. However, the moment he met her, he instinctively thought, "This is probably not how it is."

After all, no girl, regardless of her personality, would act like this when preparing to 'respond' to a confession from someone she's having feelings for—this extremely suppressed, almost explosive, demeanor, like a 'living bomb' about to explode at any moment.

"..."

A handsome young man with long, black hair sat expressionlessly on the sofa in Shiina's house. A steaming cup of mocha coffee sat on the coffee table in front of him. He looked around but couldn't find Shiina Maki.

It was obvious that Miss Riki had deliberately chosen a time when he wouldn't be disturbed by Shiina Maki when she called him over.

That's a bit strange.

If Miss Lixi only intended to talk to him about his 'response' to his confession, she could have simply invited him out to a quiet coffee shop for a proper discussion. But instead, she chose to have the conversation at her own home...

If it were Ms. Suze or Ms. Ryo doing these things, Kazami Naru would immediately guess their intentions, but Shiina Ritsuki's sudden choice of this 'closed,' 'private,' and 'alone' environment is rather puzzling.

However, Kazami Mei could probably guess a little bit.

If Li Xi wasn't going to do it with him, then he probably was going to do it.

Judging from Ms. Riki's gloomy expression at this moment, Kazami Ming believes it should be the latter.

"So, Lixi, you specifically called me here this time, it wasn't just to have coffee, was it?"

"of course not."

Shiina Ritsuki sat down stiffly, her arms crossed over her chest, a hint of lingering irritation between her tightly furrowed brows.

Noticing that Shiina Riki's condition seemed somewhat unstable, Kazami Mei, lost in thought, did not rush to ask any further questions. Instead, she slowly picked up the cup of mocha made by Shiina's family and took a sip. The unexpected sweetness instantly penetrated her tongue and surged into her brain.

After a moment of silence, Shiina Tatsuki finally spoke and revealed the truth—

"Ming, there's something I want to ask you."

Do you like Hailing?

Kazami Naruto, who had only taken a sip of his coffee, almost choked. As he slowly put down his coffee cup, a knowing look flashed in his eyes.

It seems that his good friend Hailin has already told Riki about his invitation to go on a date with her. However, Hailin herself has not yet replied to his invitation. In Kazami's opinion, this is probably equivalent to tacitly 'rejecting' her.

He was still considering whether to talk to his good friend again, but Li Xi came to see him first.

"I may not be able to give you a precise answer to this question right now."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Seeing Shiina Tatsuki's furrowed brows, Kazami Mei slowly closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then seriously replied, "Asking this question means that you already know, Tatsuki, right?"

"The reason I invited Hailing out on a date was actually because I couldn't be sure what kind of feelings I had for her, so I wanted to take this opportunity to find out."

When Kazami Mei and Hachiman Kairin first met, they became close friends. The two, who were on the same wavelength, could be considered very good friends. After getting to know each other better, they also understood each other's personalities very well.

She knows everything she needs to know, and even things that Kazami Mei doesn't say, Kairin can guess.

But precisely because the two were very good friends, he was stunned when he realized that Hachiman Kairin liked him.

Before this, Kazami Naruto never imagined that the friendship between his 'good brothers' would ever turn sour, especially since Hailin, whom he had known for so long, had never shown the slightest sign of betrayal.

After learning about this, my mind was in complete chaos.

Shiina Ritsuki, who had her arms crossed, showed a hint of surprise on her face, but she quickly recovered and said in a deep voice with her lips pursed tightly, "You should have known when you came to my house last time, right?"

“I accidentally revealed that Hai-Ling actually has feelings for you.”

It wasn't just Miss Hailing; you blew up everyone who could explode that time.

If it weren't for the fact that she casually exposed herself as well, Kazami Naruto suspects that Ms. Ritsuki would have exposed Shoko as well.

"Of course I know."

Kazami Mei nodded, and Shiina Tatsuki clenched his teeth upon hearing his reply.

"But you probably don't know that Hailing is planning to reject your invitation!"

reject?

Kazami Mei nodded thoughtfully, having anticipated this statement.

The fact that Hai Ling, a decisive and assertive man, would actually give a "I'll think about it" answer when faced with her "invitation" clearly says a lot.

"She clearly likes you, she clearly likes you but chooses to reject you... she even pretends not to like you to try and fool you, it's just too strange no matter how you look at it!"

Back then, Hachiman Kairin showed an indifferent expression in front of Shiina Tatsuki, repeatedly saying that she and Kazami Mei were just 'friends', which Shiina Tatsuki still finds unacceptable.

Because she knew very well that Hachiman Kairin would never joke about something like this, and that she could never really just see Naru as a friend. Shiina Tatsuki saw all of this!

But Shiina Tatsuki didn't understand.

Why did Yawata Kairin refuse to ring?

Why lie to her?

"..."

Kazami Mei frowned deeply as he stared ahead, his heart stirred by these words.

Although he had sensed that his best friend harbored feelings for him beyond friendship, he was unable to see through the hidden thoughts in Hachiman Kairin's heart.

Although these guesses in his mind were just wishful thinking on Kazami Mei's part, he thought that Hachiman Kairin probably wouldn't be someone who particularly cared about a 'harem'.

Her reasons for doing so are rather puzzling.

"I have absolutely no idea what Hailing is thinking!"

Shiina Tatsuki clenched her fists, her voice filled with barely suppressed anger. Recalling Hachiman Kairin's eyes at that moment, she was even more furious.

Although Shiina Ritsuki threw a tantrum in front of her and even 'returned' the coffee that Hailin had brought, Shiina Ritsuki still considered her a very good friend.

No matter how angry Shiina Ritsuki was as a friend, she couldn't just let her go. On the contrary, she had to take care of her precisely because she was angry! She absolutely couldn't watch Hachiman Kairin continue like this.

This is why she sought out Kazami Mei this time—

Since she couldn't persuade that guy, she had no choice but to call Kazami Mei over!

"Is this why you came to see me this time?"

Seeing Shiina Riki's adorable, exasperated expression, Kazami Mei frowned, lowered her head as if deep in thought, and then stared at the wood grain of the ceiling in silence for a moment.

The mocha coffee on the table was still steaming hot, the creamer adding a subtle fragrance.

"What a coincidence, I don't understand it either."

"what?"

Shiina Riki's eyes widened in disbelief.

Kazami Mei, of course, wasn't going to let it end with just a few words. A slight smile played on his lips as he glanced to his side, then spoke softly and meaningfully—

"Although I don't understand it."

"But right now all I know is that Hailing has feelings for me, and I have to respond to her seriously. So I can't let Hailing just reject me like this. I also want to figure out what she's thinking."

Kazami Mei picked up her coffee and drank it all in one gulp, then stretched out her left hand toward Shiina Tatsuki.

"Then, let's not delay—"

"Let's go find her now."

……

As mercenaries for the band, they naturally can't be idle even on Sundays.

Yahata Kairin casually tossed a strand of black hair behind her ear and stood expressionless at the door of the backstage preparation room.

Before her stood the band’s old ‘employer’, a punk-style guitarist who gratefully handed over an envelope full of wages to Hachiman Kairin.

"Oh, Hachiman~ Thank you so much this time. We almost wouldn't have been able to get on stage if you hadn't come~"

"You're welcome, it's what I should do."

With an indifferent expression, Hachiman Kairin accepted her wages from the other party. Her aloof demeanor was already a habit for those who hired her, but this time the punk-style guitarist seemed a little puzzled.

Looking at Hachiman Kairin carrying her musical instrument case, she couldn't help but ask—

"Speaking of which, are you the only one here today, Miss Hachiman?"

"Didn't you have a handsome keyboardist who always worked with you the last few times? Is he unable to come recently because of illness or something? That handsome guy always performs very well when he's on stage with you~ I hope you can bring him along for the next performance, I can pay double the fee, 2+1?"

Yawata Kairin frowned slightly.

"Sorry, it depends on the situation,"