I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

When she sang "Goodbye" to me on stage with me, she must have been incredibly upset. After all, it looked the same... but as a responsibility to the audience and the show, I couldn't let my personal emotions enter the stage.

Now it seems that she simply didn't want me to see her cry, so she used the show to suppress her emotions... If I saw her crying, if I knew that she didn't want to leave, I would definitely say something to make her waver, and then find ways to stop her from leaving.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing for her is no longer known.

"..."

It was already completely dark. Walking down the deserted street, looking at the streetlights overhead, I suddenly felt like I was on stage.

No matter what was going on, if she stayed, she would be able to see the band I formed in high school, and that was enough to make her happy.

"Well, anyway..."

There's no real use in reminiscing about things like this; it only adds to the sadness. Since the melody in my head can't be shaken off, I might as well sing it out now that no one's around.

"I'm afraid I won't have the chance to say goodbye to you..."

A glimpse into the future

"Ding Dong..."

There was a faint voice in my ear.

"..."

If you don't pay attention to it, it will disappear on its own... It should only appear occasionally...

"Ding Dong..."

Hmm... why is it ringing again? What's that sound... it's familiar, but it's not an alarm clock... my mind is blank, I can't think of any answer...

"Ding Dong..."

It sounds like it's coming from far away. If that's the case... where am I? My body feels so heavy... can I open my eyes now, or can I...

"Ding Dong..."

...My body feels incredibly heavy, as if something is restraining me and I can't move at all. I just feel so tired...

"........."

Just as I was trying to struggle, the voice suddenly disappeared. Which meant... I could rest easy again...

"what..."

The cell phone rang.

Only then did I realize that I had just fallen asleep. When I forced my sore eyes open, I suddenly realized that I was not in bed at all, but had slept on the table all night.

"...Ah, who is..."

The voice was muffled as the phone was connected.

"Sheji, where are you now? Aren't you at home?"

"...I'm home... Um, who are you?" I didn't carefully distinguish the voice coming from the receiver. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and responded instinctively, "As for investing in real estate, I'm a minor and don't have that much money..."

"What nonsense! How could I possibly let you invest in real estate?"

"Um...you don't need a data plan either."

“No… I’m not applying for a data plan…”

“So what exactly are you trying to sell?”

I'm so confused...are salespeople this persistent these days? Why hasn't he hung up yet?

"I'm not a salesman, I'm Ye Hui... Don't you recognize my voice?"

"Um...it's you...what's going on...hmm? Eh?!"

Chapter 11: A Brief Look into the Future

Anyway, after some hurried tidying up, I went downstairs and opened the door for Yehui who had been waiting for a long time.

"...Sleeping in is not a good habit. I've been standing here for a long time and I'm very tired." She didn't seem angry, she just complained a little and walked in.

Then I noticed that besides her own bag, she was also holding a plastic bag from the supermarket. Judging by the slightly visible vegetable leaves... she must have gone shopping before coming. So... was she cooking here today too?

"Well... maybe it's because I was too excited last night... after all, inspiration is something you can't control once it strikes."

At least I finished it successfully yesterday... No, to be more precise, I finished it in the early hours of this morning. After that, I lost the energy to go to bed and just slumped over the nearest table.

"Thank you for your hard work... Having said that, it looks like you didn't have breakfast, did you? It's almost noon now. Skipping breakfast like this will cause problems for your body." She touched her chin. "I think you might get gallstones."

"...It's just an accident, don't worry."

"And staying up late seems to be bad for your health."

"Well..." This point cannot be refuted.

"Anyway, let's make some dishes today that can replenish nutrition and have a refreshing taste." Ye Hui said as he walked towards my kitchen. Then he looked back at me and said, "Well, I have to borrow your kitchen again today~"

"...Well...please do as you please."

I turned sideways to let Yehui pass by. She smiled and thanked me before heading to the kitchen.

...She was cooking for me, but she still thanked me...which means she was most likely going to try to make a "new dish" that came to her mind on a "flash of inspiration".

From this point of view, I should have stopped her.

But after all, a girl came to cook for me personally, so there was no reason for me to stop such a good thing. Besides, she seemed to be enjoying it, so there was even less reason for me to stop her.

...provided she doesn't make any weird combinations of dishes again.

"Sheji, you don't have to wait for me. I'll go see what you've done after I prepare the ingredients." As if noticing that I was still standing there, Ye Hui's voice came from the kitchen.

"...good."

After a brief response, I turned around and prepared to go upstairs.

"Ah, I still feel a little worried..."

..............

How can we take a long-term view? After talking with Mo Xiaozhi, I suddenly realized that I had never thought about what my future life would be like.

So, besides thinking about the plot, I also thought about how to spend the rest of my time. But I still had no idea.

For me, life is like a game of cards... Whether it is Gwent or Hearthstone, you have to play your own cards according to your own ability and the cards played by your opponent.

But how many cards can I play? And how many opponents do I have... In other words, what is the maximum number of cards I can play?

I couldn't figure out these factors, and when I realized this, I developed an inexplicable fear of my future life.

"..."

Perhaps I'm just afraid of heights in this regard. When I look out into the distance, I only see the unknown abyss below me, and I have no idea what the scenery beyond is.

"...ah."

Even with all that, I actually told someone to "look forward." Back then, I was probably just jumping to conclusions without thinking carefully... If I had thought about it as carefully as I do now, I might have said something different.

Looking back at the current situation, it’s a good thing that what I said back then wasn’t too rigid.

Seeing Ye Hui carefully reading the story I provided, I felt a little more at ease. Although I didn't know what I would be like in two, five, or even ten years, at least I could participate in something with her at her suggestion... This way, I could temporarily forget that I was just a goalless person.

"...Have you finished reading it?"

I noticed that she had put down the manuscript in her hand, so I asked her immediately.

"Well, I've finished reading it for now." She responded hesitantly, "I think..."

"Then..." It's time to express your opinion, "I've thought about it carefully, and I think..."

"Sheji, I think it's still..."

“The original plan was better.”

"Original... huh?" After hearing my conclusion, Ye Hui's face showed a surprised expression as expected, "Huh? Didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to... why?"

"...Nothing, I just suddenly realized that the space is not enough." I then gave a detailed explanation, "After all, the story I have in mind is probably not as simple as a short story... At least it should be medium-length."

"...What...If that's the case, you should have thought about it carefully at the beginning. You made me think about it for half a day." After breathing a sigh of relief, Ye Hui finally showed a happy smile.

Actually, I didn’t think so before. Of course, I thought about the plot that could be adapted to a short story... But after listening to Mo Xiaozhi’s story, I suddenly felt that the charm of this kind of story lies in the connection between the characters through little things. This kind of feeling brought by the real events cannot be expressed in a short story... So, it’s better not to change it.

"Psychological activities... don't take them so seriously, right? I'm not like Rinsenkawa, who won't listen to anyone else's opinions once he's made up his mind."

Although this persuasion is a bit exaggerated, it's probably difficult for ordinary people other than me to change her mind... After all, even Rin Hanekawa and her parents couldn't make her change anything. This is enough to show how stubborn she is.

"...It's not nice to say bad things about someone behind their back. Xiaolin is obviously a very nice person." However, Yehui seemed to disagree with what I said. "She took care of me when we went to the beach before. How could you treat her like this?"

"...Is that so? Then I take it back."

Come to think of it, what is that guy busy with now... A grown-up girl can't just stay at home and play games all day.

"Anyway... now that we've decided what to do next, let's work towards that goal."

"Oh..."

I didn't have much of a reaction to it.

"You don't seem to have much energy... Could it be that you're still not awake because you stayed up all night?" She leaned towards me with concern. "If you're not feeling well, take some rest. I can take the comics home to draw today."

"Oh... then thank you for your help."

I can take it home today...but does that mean I still have to come tomorrow? Should I feel happy or sad about this reality?

"But before that."

"What?"

"Let's have lunch first." Her smile grew even brighter, and her tone revealed a strong sense of pride. "I've already figured out what I want to do~"

“…”

This may be a corner of the unknown abyss that I fear.

............

"Speaking of which, Sheji, you should be interested in animation and other things, right?"

Forced to sit at the dining table and wait, I had to chat with Ye Hui about something...even though the topics were almost all brought up by her.

"Yes, I occasionally look at it to find inspiration... although inspiration is of no use to me."

Very good, it naturally concealed the problem that was almost exposed.

"What have you been watching lately?"

"...Ah, recently..." Thinking about it carefully, it didn't seem like a big deal. "Well...the one known as the Bible of mankind..."

"What?" She seemed not to hear and asked again, "Did you answer me just now?"

"No... I haven't watched anything recently." I changed the subject and pushed the topic back to her, "So, Yehui, what interesting anime have you watched recently?"

"Well, what I'm most concerned about is..."

I don't know if it was intentional, but from her tone, it seemed like she'd been waiting for this question for a long time. Could it be that she hadn't just ignored me, but was actually guiding me to ask this question...

"No way..."

"I'm looking for delicious ramen everywhere. I'm very interested in the soup base and ramen flavors mentioned in the article."

"..."

Looking at her like this, I’m afraid I can’t let her know about the existence of Food Wars!, otherwise the meal I eat may not just be food.

"I just watched the latest episode yesterday, and I'm very interested in a type of ramen mentioned in it, but I don't know how to make ramen by hand..."

"...So what?"

A bad premonition emerged.

"I bought it from the supermarket. Although it's not handmade, the texture might be compromised, but the flavor will definitely make up for it."

“…”

"And at least all the ingredients are gathered, it won't be difficult to make." Then the sound of cutting vegetables was heard from the kitchen.

"Excuse me... What kind of ramen did you see?"

Pork bone soup? Chicken oil? Or the extremely spicy kind?... These should be normal, and I can accept them.