How can my simulation be a real love?

Ruo Yemu nervously handed over the small cucumber in her hand, her lips trembling slightly as she slowly pursed them.

Don't worry that your words are clumsy; those who understand will naturally comprehend them. If you're afraid your answer will have negative consequences, then simply prove it with direct actions.

This was all taught to her by Ming.

"..."

A hint of surprise flashed in Nagasaki Motoyo's eyes as she looked at the small cucumber shimmering in Wakaba Mutsu's hand.

Both its color and shape were very healthy, and even a layman like her could tell it was a 'high-quality product'. This fruit, which had finally come to fruition after countless efforts, was all thanks to the care of Wakaba Mutsu in front of her.

Perhaps truly sensing the girl's clumsiness and feelings, a faint light seemed to flicker in Nagasaki Motoyo's eyes. She slowly stepped forward, took out her handkerchief again, and wiped the mud off Wakaba Mutsumi's face, which had been covered in dirt again in her haste.

"Then I'll take it."

She didn't care that the cucumbers were freshly harvested from the garden, and despite always carrying a handkerchief, she didn't notice the dirt and debris on them. She carefully took the small cucumbers and gently held them in her palms.

Their gazes met, and nothing was said.

"..."

A faint joy flashed in Ye Mu's eyes, but she didn't know how to express this emotion. She just stood there like a child, a slight emotional fluctuation appearing on her delicate yet calm face.

“I’ve always considered Xiao Mu my best friend, but I’ve forgotten myself… I’ve been unilaterally taking from you, being so selfish that I never considered your feelings, and even taking advantage of your guilt.”

"It's ok."

Wakaba Mutsu gently shook her head, which seemed to surprise Nagasaki Motoyo.

"I... I've made many mistakes too. I don't know how to convince Su Shi... I can only clumsily keep hindering you. If I were better, I could have a proper talk with Su Shi sooner..."

"It's ok."

Nagasaki Motoyo simply closed her eyes slowly, mimicking Wakaba Mutsumi's earlier answer.

A faint smile appeared on her already gentle face. It was a genuine, unpretentious smile that Ruo Ye Mu hadn't seen in a very long time, and even her pale golden eyes gradually widened.

"Let bygones be bygones?"

As she spoke, a blush crept across Nagasaki Motoyo's cheeks. She coughed lightly, as if to ease her embarrassment, and then, extending her right hand towards the other person, continued in a gentle tone—

"From now on, we will start getting along again, and we will work hard together by Ming's side in the future."

The sudden movement seemed to overload the cucumber fairy's brain. She stood there for several seconds before suddenly reacting. Then she slowly extended her right hand towards her, and their hands were truly clasped together.

"--Um."

The usually taciturn doll girl didn't say anything special; she simply nodded her head slightly, expressing her wishes through the most ordinary 'action'.

The girl's hesitant manner seemed somewhat clumsy, but Nagasaki Motoyo closed her azure eyes with a smile, a layer of mist rising in her beautiful eyes as indescribable emotions welled up in her heart.

Perhaps it was from this simple moment that they truly achieved a connection of hearts.

"Then please take good care of me, Mumu~"

Upon hearing these words, Ruoye Mutsu's lips curved into a beautiful smile. Her right fingertip unconsciously traced the engagement ring on her left hand, while the opposite Miss Su Shi also wore a gentle smile, her already long and narrow eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

The two stared at each other for a while, then Nagasaki Motoyo looked up as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"Ah, I almost forgot about today's important matter. Ming, you probably didn't explain it to Xiao Mu in detail yesterday, did you?"

"...?"

Ruoye Mu raised her little head in confusion. She had thought she had finished speaking, but she showed an unusually cute expression, which made Su Shi, the lady opposite her, unable to help but laugh. However, she still pursed her lips and explained to her.

"It's actually about the CRYCHIC performance, in fact—"

Nagasaki Motoyo then carefully recounted the events, especially repeating what Toyokawa Shoko and Takamatsu Akari had said, which gradually brought a glimmer of light to the previously dull little wooden boy's eyes.

Mutsumi Wakaba once took the blame for CRYCHIC's disbandment and had always felt guilty about it. But she never expected that her heart, which had been struggling with this for so long, would suddenly hear such news.

This complex feeling made her fall silent.

"Xiao Mu, do you have any thoughts?"

Nagasaki Motoyo noticed Wakaba Mutsu's mood and asked him with some concern.

Ruoye Mutsu simply shook her head gently, speaking in a calm and earnest tone: "No, I think... it's fine."

For the former members of 'CRYCHIC', this incident might have been an insurmountable obstacle for them, but now they have a real chance to let go of it all. How could she not support it?

"Then we'll start practicing today~ Xiao Xiang has already booked a recording studio at RiNG. We'll start intensive training after school, there's not much time left before we go on stage, okay?"

"Besides, we can't let Ming down~"

Nagasaki Motoyo winked at the cucumber fairy in front of her, and Wakaba Mutsu nodded heavily upon hearing this. She naturally understood that this was an opportunity for everyone to understand and let go of each other, and that it was Naruto who had been helping from the very beginning.

Although he always says that he only "pushed" Takamatsu Akari, the former members of "CRYCHIC" all know how much effort Naruhiro put in to achieve this gentle result.

Therefore, they certainly couldn't let him down!

"Ok!"

The girl nodded, her pale golden eyes gradually hardening.

……

a few days later.

Ikebukuro Ward, LiveHouse—RiNG's performance venue.

"The ticket gates are here. Please enter in an orderly manner—"

Wearing a clean and neat staff uniform, with her long, black hair tied back in a neat low ponytail, Kazami Naruto, with her handsome and clean face, stood by the ticket checkpoint, skillfully checking tickets for guests to enter the venue.

The reason why Kazami Mei appeared here as a 'staff member' was naturally because the original 'staff member', Ms. Riki, was going on stage, and the missing work position was filled by him, the band's manager.

Fortunately, he had experience helping STARRY in Shimokitazawa many times, so this level of work was like cracking walnuts with an excavator for him. He could even control the lighting and adjust the sound equipment without any problem.

"...Judging by the time, it should be about time, right?"

Even before the performance started, audience members had already begun entering the concert hall.

Perhaps because there were only a few days to prepare from the 'booking' to the 'performance', such a sudden live performance was quite unexpected for both the audience and the girls on stage.

In addition, because they did not do any special promotion, the number of people who bought tickets to enter the venue was very small.

Even so, Kazami Mei believes that the number of audience members is not particularly important for them as they are about to perform on stage, because this performance is actually for their own benefit.

Even if only a few friends come to support them, that would be more than enough for them.

"Good evening, meow!"

A bright and sweet voice, as clear as a lark's, reached his ears in an instant.

As Kazami Mei stood at the entrance of the prosecutor's office, she subconsciously turned her head and immediately saw familiar, multicolored hair coming toward her. Compared to the bright colors of the other girls' hair, it made her feel out of place.

Kazami Mei's lips curled into a slight smile, and she simply waved to them.

The source of the sound was naturally the lovely Miss Kita at the very front. Her face always had a bright and enthusiastic smile, as if she could release scorching energy just by standing there, like a small stove releasing light and heat in winter.

In fact, she is indeed a furnace.

In every sense of the word.

"We're here to support you!"

Behind her, Ijichi Nijika greeted him in a lively tone, instantly drawing Kazami Mei's attention. He looked at Miss Nijika's outfit today and couldn't help but admire it inwardly, before speaking slowly and deliberately—

"We arrived just in time; there's still some time before the performance starts."

"Aiyin and Hailing are already waiting inside. You should be able to see them when you go in later."

With an expressionless face, Yamada Ryo raised his eyelids, a meaningful glint flashing in his pale golden eyes. He began to look back and forth between Kazami Mei and Iji Chi Niji Natsu, and then his cool and elegant words slowly came out.

"Looking at Hongxia with such a 'bastard' eye right from the start, that's so typical of you~"

The moment the words left his mouth, the air seemed to freeze.

"Hey?! Ryo, what nonsense are you talking about?!"

Miss Hongxia, who had just been smiling, was startled. Then, blushing, she secretly glanced at Feng Jianming's face. Just as he turned his head away, she pretended to be nonchalant, only blushing and whispering her rebuttal.

Kazami Mei raised an eyebrow.

"You can kiss anyone you want, but you can't say anything carelessly."

“I look at you one by one in order, don’t think I’ll stop looking at you after I’ve looked at Hongxia.”

"Ming is right... huh?"

Miss Hongxia, who was just about to agree, was suddenly stunned. She looked at Feng Jianming with a bewildered gaze. Her face, which was originally a little blushed, gradually showed a hint of surprise. Finally, she let out a helpless sigh.

—That's true, how could she have any expectations of Kazami Mei's personality?

After all, Kazami Mei's personality is exactly the same as Ryo's.

"I really envy Senior Hongxia..."

Don't be envious!

Kita Ikuyo's envious look made Nijika blush and clench her little fists. Her adorable blushing face was a mix of excitement and shyness, and she kept making sarcastic remarks, which drew strange looks from the audience around her.

The center of attention naturally brings immense pressure, which finally made the pale-faced Pochi raise his hand.

"Um... isn't everyone going in yet?"

"Oh no, won't this block the other guests?"

Ichi Nijika immediately noticed the gazes behind her. In her haste, she only had time to inform Kazami Naru before grabbing Yamada Ryo in one hand and Goto Ichiri in the other and rushing into the venue.

Only Kita-san blinked, looking bewildered. She hurriedly added, "Then I should hurry and go in with Nijika-senpai and the others. Naruto, we'll talk later!"

After saying that, Kita Ikuyo hurriedly ran into the venue, which made Kazami Mei barely suppress her strong urge to complain. She calmed her chest and suppressed her thoughts, preparing to continue the ticket checking work.

Just then, he suddenly felt someone pat him on the shoulder.

"Narita-senpai?"

"So, who exactly is this 'Narita Road'?!"

Rinko Maji, also dressed in a staff uniform, appeared behind him. She puffed out her cheeks slightly and opened her mouth, then deliberately winked at Kazami Naruto, as if conveying some message.

"Rinrinko-nee, did you get sand in your eyes?"

"No, that's not it! I was just 'simply' telling you that it's time to change shifts."

Shinji Rinko glanced behind her out of the corner of her eye. That direction was directly facing the backstage preparation room for the live performance. The meaning of this gesture couldn't be clearer.

"Leave the ticket gate to me, you can find a place to rest for a bit."

As she spoke, she slowly raised her thumb to Kazami Naruto, which made him feel both grateful and a little amused. He simply shrugged and casually said, "They are all very mature now. They can perform well on stage even without my supervision."

"That's not the problem at all."

"Stop talking nonsense and get out of here—"

Rinko Shinji just rolled her eyes, then pushed his back and squeezed him out of the ticket booth. She also waved her hand casually in his direction while muttering something under her breath.

Seeing this, Kazami Mei felt helpless and could only obediently hand over the work to her.

He really had no reason to refuse, since it was indeed a kind gesture from Narita-senpai.

As a thank you, I'll arrange for you to come late next time.

Despite saying he wasn't worried about them, Kazami Mei was a bit stubborn. Even though he knew that with Shoko and Riki there, there wouldn't be any problems, he couldn't help but quicken his pace until he reached out and pushed open the door to the preparation room.

"How are you preparing...?"

The moment Kazami Mei opened the door, her expression froze. She saw four girls gathered in a corner of the sofa in the preparation room, seemingly whispering something to each other. Takamatsu Akari, who was surrounded by the group, was blushing and muttering to herself.

No, what are they doing?

"Cough-cough-"

Kazami Mei's light cough, intended as a warning, instantly sent shivers down the spines of the girls.

They separated with lightning speed, especially Shiina Riki, whose ear tips were as red as if she had a fever. She simply crossed her arms and sat down to the side as if nothing had happened. Suze, on the other hand, kept playing with the ends of her hair at her temples with one hand and gently poked Toyokawa Shoko's waist with the other.

Xiangzi, who had initially wanted to cower in the shadows, was pushed forward. She hesitated for half a second, her face stiff, before adopting her usual dignified and elegant demeanor, and slowly spoke in a slightly trembling voice—

"We were just talking about the ensemble performance, since we're going on stage soon, right?"

"You have to be fully prepared before the performance!"

No, Lixi has already used this joke before, hasn't he?

Besides, he didn't even ask anything, so why did he bring up his own explanation?