A newbie's anime life diary

"I don't think this sounds like a compliment, but oh well, just know that Xuehui-kun is part of our club! Also, Xuehui-kun talks to you the most, besides me and Hiki! And he even blocked that tennis ball for you that day. I saw his hands were scraped raw afterward, but he stopped me from saying anything."

"Huh? Is that so?" Yukino Yukinoshita was stunned when she heard Yuihama's words. Thinking about it, it made sense. Catching such a fast-moving, spinning ball with your bare hands was impossible, right?

Inevitably, Yukino Yukinoshita would recall that day, the moment she was pulled into someone's arms, and the feeling of security she felt brought an unnatural blush to her face.

Yui Yuigahama noticed the blush on her cheek, and instantly, with a hint of teasing, Yui looked at Yukinoshita and said, "Hey, Yukinoshita, you're blushing."

As if her thoughts had been read, Yukinoshita immediately turned Ren aside and said, "It's because you're standing too close, it's a bit hot."

Little did she know that her face turned even redder as she said this.

At this moment, Yui Yuigahama seemed to have witnessed the greatest discovery of the century.

Have you ever seen Yukino Yukinoshita blush? I have!

Have you ever seen Yukino Yukinoshita blushing more and more? I saw her today!

Leaning close to Yukino's ear, Yuigahama Yui whispered, "Yukino, you wouldn't...?"

A soft question rang in her ears, and Yukino Yukinoshita, who had been stunned for a few seconds, turned pale instantly. With an unusually fast speed, she returned to her original cold expression and said, "No, you're mistaken, Yuihama-san."

"Huh? But it's Xiaoxue..."

Yuihama found Yukinoshita's reaction a bit strange. Before she could say anything, Yuihama cut her off, saying, "He and I are just club members, not even friends, just acquaintances. Let's leave this topic here. Aren't we going to eat cake? Don't waste time."

After saying that, Yukinoshita gently broke free from Yuihama's arm and started walking forward.

Yuihama couldn't understand Yukinoshita's reaction, so she chose not to touch on the topic and went back to grab her arm, trying to warm up her expression.

Listening to Yui Yuigahama's cheerful chatter, Yukino Yukinoshita remained unusually calm.

Some things are impossible, and should not happen.

Because she is Yukino Yukinoshita, things related to youth are destined to be out of her reach.

------------

The next day, Xuehui, who was reading a novel in the clubroom, kept feeling a faint gaze fixed on him.

Unable to bear it any longer, Yukiteru closed his novel and looked at Yuigahama Yui not far away, saying, "Miss Yui, is there something on my face that you're curious about?"

"Ah...no, no...well, I still wanted to ask Yukiteru-kun, what are your plans for the upcoming vacation? And please don't call me Dango anymore! This hairstyle is actually quite cute!" Yui Yuigahama said, her hands flailing around involuntarily as she realized her little trick had been exposed, and she even remembered to complain about how the other person addressed her.

Surprisingly, she didn't panic and ignore the first few words of her own name. Miss Tuanzi has indeed improved! But even if you change your hairstyle, you can't change this nickname.

"Oh, the holidays? I'll probably stay home drawing illustrations and write a bit of the second volume of the novel. Maybe I'll take a couple of days off to go out and do some research? I've been staying home too much lately. What about you?" Xuehui didn't seem to care much and said after thinking for a moment.

"I'll probably go out with my family for a couple of days, then I'll rest at home. I'll also take Sabre to the pet grooming salon!" Yui replied with a smile, looking forward to the holiday.

"Sabre? Is he the Yuihama family's pet?"

"Oh right, oh right, it's my pet dog. It's always very disobedient when we go out." After saying that, she took out her phone and showed Xuehui a picture of her pet. Hmm, a brown dachshund, it looked very healthy and lively.

But suddenly, Yui paused, her gaze involuntarily shifting to Hachiman Hikigaya on the other side. Seeing that he didn't react, she seemed a little conflicted. She looked at Hikigaya and said, "Hiki, what are your plans for the holiday?"

"Ah, me? I'll sleep in until I naturally wake up, but I'll probably spend seven days lying on the sofa at home," Hachiman Hikigaya said after thinking for a moment. No need to go to school, no need to face the people in my class, no need to worry about anything, holidays are the best.

"Ugh~ Hachiman, you'll rot like that!" Yui Hama sighed helplessly at Hachiman's laziness, then turned to Yukino Yukinoshita, whose expression was a little off, "Hey, Yukino, what about you?"

"I usually don't go out on my days off; I'll stay home and read." Yukinoshita said, composed herself. For her, holidays were no different from regular weekends.

"Yukino, can I ask you to come out and play? Is that okay?" Yui grabbed Yukino's sleeve, her face full of anticipation. Yesterday, the two of them ate desserts together at a cake shop. Even though one of them is talkative and the other is not, Yui just likes to be with Yukino. It's not some weird yuri idea; she just simply wants to be friends with her.

As before, Yukino Yukinoshita wasn't very good at dealing with Yui Yuigahama. Looking into the other's bright, sparkling eyes, Yukino quickly gave in: "If there's time, I can consider it."

Yukiteru witnessed this entire scene. From the moment they started talking about pet dogs, Yuihama's inner turmoil and Yukinoshita's unusual behavior, he had seen it all. It seemed that only Hachiman Hikigaya hadn't yet realized that he was the source of it all.

He had kept in mind what Hiratsuka Shizuka had verified about the opening ceremony a year ago, and it was undeniable that Hiratsuka Shizuka's arrangement was partly due to this consideration.

Although he had forgotten everything that happened after that, Yukiteru thought about it and decided to find an opportunity to talk to Yuigahama and Yukinoshita. He would be disappointed if such a rare place to relax suddenly disappeared.

Chapter 25: Next up is Jing's lovely turn!

May is a month that brings joy to the Japanese people, because at the end of April and the beginning of May, several anniversaries and holidays come together to create a week-long Golden Week holiday.

Some people choose to travel with their families during this time, while others choose to relax and unwind at home after a busy day at work.

Yukiteru belongs to the latter category.

After coming into this world, although he bears the surname Hiratsuka, the only family member he has ever been in contact with is Hiratsuka Shizuka.

Xuehui has never been the type to travel far from home. Unless there are special circumstances, he usually chooses to stay at home.

Kick off your slippers, go barefoot, curl up on the sofa and play games. With a big-screen TV and a full sound system, playing games is definitely a pleasure.

Homework, except for Chinese, which took a little time, was all finished immediately. As for Chinese, his Chinese teacher was right next to him, dressed even more casually than him, fiddling with a controller, and the teacher didn't say anything, so Xuehui certainly didn't need to worry.

"Anyway, I can see your learning ability. Just keep going at your own pace. A good holiday is for relaxing!"

Well, those are their exact words.

Today is the first day of Golden Week. Neither of them chose to go out. After sleeping in and having a simple meal, they stayed home and played Mario Kart, a game that could end their friendship.

A tortoise shell smashed down the car of Princess Peach, controlled by Hiratsuka Shizuka, and overtook it to take first place. Yukiteru breathed a huge sigh of relief, finally winning a race in the racing game. He then realized that Hiratsuka Shizuka was not only a skilled racer in real life, but also an exceptionally good racer in the game, having only won once in ten games so far.

He put down the controller, picked up his cola, took a sip, and looked at the phone that Hiratsuka Shizuka had tossed aside. He said, "Shizuka-nee, your phone has been vibrating for a while now. Is it okay if you don't answer it?"

"Well, I guess it's that woman, Sonoko, asking me to go out again. She always calls me during long holidays. Doesn't she ever think about her own marriage? She's either busy with her career or calling me. If I didn't know she was straight, I wouldn't dare contact her." She chewed and swallowed a piece of squid in her mouth, then picked up her phone and looked at it. Hiratsuka Shizuka gave Yukiteru a "See? It was her after all" look.

Xuehui looked helpless.

Sister, is the other person the same age as you? You're about the same age, aren't you?

Xuehui dared not say these words aloud, otherwise his small body would be no match for the opponent's twisting, and a single joint lock would knock him out.

Don't ask him how he knew; it's a long story.

Finally, Hiratsuka Shizuka answered the phone, a piece of squid dangling from her mouth, and said, "Hello, it's me."

After saying that, she chewed twice, looking like a颓废 woman.

"Huh? I didn't mean to not answer! Even though it's a holiday, I'm still very busy, okay?"

Busy? Busy playing games, I guess...

Xuehui's eyelids twitched; he could already picture Machida Sonoko's tense face on the other end of the phone—a sure sign of an impending explosion.

"Huh? A party? Are those guys that free? Hmm? Oh, I see... But it seems like such a hassle. I haven't been going to any lately, it's all pointless anyway... Ahhh, okay, I know, I'll go, alright? When? Tomorrow afternoon and evening? Okay, I'll go. Send me the location later. Okay, that's all, see you tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Hiratsuka Shizuka scratched her head with a troubled expression.

"Is this an invitation to a party?" Xuehui asked, leaning back on the sofa.

Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded, crossed her legs, and her long, taut legs, accentuated by her hot pants, curved gracefully. She reached into a bag of potato chips in Yukiteru's arms, pulled out two chips, and popped them into her mouth, saying, "Hmm... It's a college reunion. One of my female classmates recently got engaged and said she was bringing her fiancé to meet us. Ugh, so what if she's just showing him off? Showing off is one thing, but she also said she'd bring a few of her fiancé's friends along to hang out and play matchmaker for the singles. Isn't that just asking for trouble? I didn't want to go, but Sonoko and he's on good terms, and she kept dragging me along, so I had no choice but to agree."

"Sure, go ahead. It's a rare day off, you don't have to think about school, it's nice to go out and relax," Xuehui suggested, completely ignoring the hints about matchmaking in the other person's words.

Nonsense, if Hiratsuka Shizuka were so easy to win over, would she still be single?

Little did he know that he had already raised Hiratsuka Shizuka's favorability rating to a very high level, but he himself was completely unaware of it.

So the old saying that "light novel male protagonists are either mentally challenged or impotent" might have included him in the description as well. Although Yukiteru's emotional intelligence isn't low, as a theorist with zero dating experience, it's unlikely to be very high.

"Well, that's true. Why think so much? As long as there's food and fun, that's enough." After hearing what Yukiteru said, Hiratsuka Shizuka also put down her wild thoughts, picked up the controller to prepare for another game, and said, "I'll be going out tomorrow afternoon and probably won't be back until evening. Take care of dinner yourself."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to starve with my current level of health. You're the one who should be drinking, Sister Jing. Don't drink too much."

"I can hold my liquor very well!"

"..."

----------

The next day, April 30th, was the last day of the month.

After dinner, Xuehui hid in his room and began drawing illustrations for the novel. He was already more than halfway done, and if he managed his time well, he could finish it all during the holiday.

Online, comments about Sword Art Online have gone viral, and based on just the first three chapters, it can be said that it became a hit even before it was released.

In response, Kadokawa immediately released the cover of the novel submitted by Yukiteru and launched a pre-sale page on their official website. Within just one hour of the pre-sale starting, pre-orders exceeded 10,000, guaranteeing strong sales. Furthermore, given the excellent content, a sales surge after release is almost guaranteed.

After browsing through the online reviews, which were all filled with anticipation, Xuehui stopped paying attention.

While drawing half of an illustration of Kirito facing off against the boss, Hiratsuka Shizuka came in and told him that she was about to go out. Yukiteru, who had absolute confidence in Hiratsuka Shizuka's fighting ability, was not too worried. Instead, he was surprised by her beautiful outfit today.

She wore light makeup, a knee-length spaghetti strap dress with a vest, and long black hair, making her look several percentage points more feminine than usual.

Seeing the fascination in Yukiteru's eyes, Hiratsuka Shizuka seemed quite satisfied: "So what if she has a fiancé? I can easily dress up and put her down. Let her bully single people all the time, hmph!"

Okay, deep down she's still a tomboy.

After changing into a pair of high heels and waving goodbye to Yukiteru, Hiratsuka Shizuka went out.

Looking at the closed door, Xuehui patted his cheeks and walked back to the bedroom.

"Alright, let's work hard before dinner."

Ugh, it's so painful not having any drafts saved up...

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Chapter 26: Why does this kind of plot appear in a novel that's clearly not an urban fantasy?!

Drawing the image in your mind with your own hands gives you a unique sense of accomplishment.

Once he started, he couldn't stop, drawing one picture after another until he reached the third one, when the hunger pangs in his stomach finally brought him back to reality.

I checked the time on my computer; it was already 7:30.

After stretching his somewhat stiff body, Xuehui left his room and went to the kitchen to make himself some noodles.

After quickly finishing her meal and washing the dishes, Xuehui took a shower and then got back to work.

More than an hour later, Xuehui finally finished all three illustrations that had been assigned for the day. After checking them and finding no problems, he saved and backed up the files. Xuehui then skillfully opened a webpage, not logging into Nico Nico Douga in Japan, but instead logging into Bilibili, the Chinese website across the sea.

Although Bilibili was founded after Nico Nico Douga, the large population base of the two countries meant that Nico Nico Douga would gradually become less active than Bilibili, which later surpassed it.

Having developed a habit from his past life, Xuehui naturally spent his leisure time on this website. Looking at the familiar Chinese website, Xuehui always felt a rare sense of peace.

Just as Xuehui was about to watch some game streams, a sudden phone call interrupted his plans.

"Huh? Machida Sonoko? Wasn't she at a party with Shizuka-nee? How come she has time to call me?"

With a hint of doubt, Xuehui answered the phone.