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

On the other hand, she didn't have any special reaction after hearing what I said, but just made an expression of "I understand".

"If someone is simply worried about their lack of talent, then I think they're just making excuses," she said casually. "Initially, people know nothing. Then, parents and teachers gradually teach them how to speak, eat, walk, run, and think. Yet, among these seemingly ordinary people, some do things better than others. They're just talking, but their words can create a sense of superiority or inferiority. They're just running, but they still differentiate between fast and slow. Even when they're good at thinking, after reaching a conclusion, they find that their content is inferior to others'. They think others can do what they can do, and even better, so they conclude... 'I'm just ordinary.' Am I right?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"But don't forget, you're not the only one who thinks this way. Including me, of course."

"....Eh?"

Would she have the same idea...?

"I admit that talent does exist. If you say I have so-called talent, I won't refuse and will admit it openly. But in the same circumstances, there are many people who are more capable than me. Ultimately, I'm just good at making up stories, but when it comes to sentences, character descriptions, and story pacing, there are many people who are better than me... But do I have such a lame excuse to do nothing?"

“…”

"Ordinary people? I don't have any superpowers, nor am I a genetic mutant. Am I not also an ordinary person in structure? Ah, I know, there is a big gap between you and me, right? You have this idea because you read the outlines I wrote and the comics drawn by Jiumuting, right? Yes, these are facts. We are much better than you. But you have to know that this does not mean that we don't have to pay anything. The results you see are all achieved by us sacrificing a lot of time."

I know... Of course I know...

"so..."

I can do that, too.

Whether it's staying up late or working hard...if I had a talent that allowed me to devote all my energy as expected, I wouldn't have such complaints.

"So, I don't think you have no talent."

She said something very calmly that was very important to me.

"What?"

The revelation of the foreshadowing

"..."

Everything seemed normal, but I felt something was off. For some reason, I woke up before ten o'clock, a rare occurrence. Before I could even rub my sore eyes, I focused my entire body, listening for any sounds downstairs... perhaps the doorbell.

"Hmmmm..."

However, after nearly ten minutes of leaning against the headboard, I still didn't hear the sound I was expecting...whether it could be called an expectation remains to be determined... Instead, I heard chaotic yet energetic footsteps approaching my room.

"..."

I know who that guy is.

"Hey, bro, it's time to get up!" The door to my room opened in response. "Oh, so you're already up? Not bad, that's worth praising."

At this time, Ye Jin rushed into my room with great energy. After greeting me, he began to browse through the books on my bookshelf without any restraint.

When I went upstairs yesterday, she was still lying on the sofa watching TV. I wonder if she's gone to bed properly. However, judging by her current state of mind, she doesn't seem sleep deprived.

"...How did yesterday end...I mean the movie."

He scratched his hair and prepared to get up.

"As for the ending...of course the protagonist and heroine live happily ever after," she responded nonchalantly. "As a film of that era, that's the inevitable ending. Plus, in that country's culture, happy endings are more easily accepted by audiences. For a commercial film, being able to include content exploring human nature is already good enough. It's not good to ask for too much."

"...Is that so...I thought of the sequel in my dream, but the result is not what I expected."

"That's really interesting... What ending do you want?" She closed the book in her hand with interest and turned around.

"Uh-oh~" When his eyes fell on me, he let out a sigh that didn't make me happy.

"...What, what's wrong? What are you looking at..."

Although only my upper body is exposed now.

"Yeah, I thought you might be a little thinner on the outside, but you'd have some belly fat. But it turns out that's not the case. I'm a little surprised."

"Come to think of it... I don't know why..."

"If I had abdominal muscles, I would definitely be more attractive."

"No, and I don't exercise." This is a matter of principle.

"If you could become a vampire like Araragi, you'd have beautiful muscles without any training."

"No, that's impossible..."

"Why not? All you have to do is find a dying blond vampire in the subway station and donate all your blood."

"Don't tell me this as if you're introducing some simple method..." This kind of thing is simply a plot in a novel, how could it happen in real life? "And you've obviously gone off topic. Besides, is a man's charm necessarily in his muscles?"

"Hmm, that's about right." She suddenly thought of something. "Besides appearance, what you men value in women is also the difference in breast and hip development, right?"

"No, no, there are other factors too, like legs, black and white stockings, and so on." You never know what will turn a man on, a glance, a smile...even something under a skirt...What huge changes have taken place in men's aesthetic tastes over the years?

“You don’t have to explain it this way!”

She threw the comic book in her hand towards me with a look of disgust.

The book flew towards me, struggling against the air resistance, and kept spinning and turning pages, making a rustling sound.

"It's very expensive." I quickly took the book in my hands and then checked whether the pages were damaged or bent. For books I like, I absolutely don't want them to be damaged in any way.

Fortunately, it's okay.

"If you treat my books like this again, you'll never touch them again." I warned her fiercely.

"...I'm sorry." Ye Jin, still very sensible, bowed deeply to me, "I shouldn't have thrown you to that pervert just because of his perverted remarks. Please forgive me, Monthly Shonen, which is released once a month."

"Is the person I'm apologizing to wrong?!"

"No, what are you talking about?" She raised her head and cast a look of contempt at me again. "You pervert don't deserve my apology."

"No, I just corrected you. You figured out the rest on your own." A little hint and I could figure it out. This guy clearly knows everything, right? "I don't recall teaching you anything. Before you criticize others, I think you should reflect on yourself."

"Ahem." Her expression was noticeably awkward, and she glanced away unnaturally. "Anyway, while there are many ways to show off one's charm, the key point we're discussing is the factors beyond appearance that determine charm. Please don't steer the conversation off track."

"Weren't we discussing movies at the beginning?"

Who is the one who diverted the topic?

Chapter 21: The Reveal of Foreshadowing

"..."

After a moment of silence, she turned around silently and then shouted as if nothing had happened.

"Oh, I'm so hungry. Why don't we go have breakfast? Eat breakfast! Brother, remember to treat me~"

"Hey!"

Is it decided so casually?

However, she acted as if she hadn't heard me, ended the topic abruptly, and quickly fled my room.

"...What the hell..." He brought up the topic without permission, and then ran away without permission. What's the difference between him and a child?

I couldn't help but complain and then started looking for a change of clothes.

“…” Speaking of which.

It seems like I haven't gone out for breakfast in ages, because I've never gotten up this early. And I haven't ordered takeout these past few days...because she's here. Speaking of which, while the food tastes strange, it's not terrible. I promised her I'd help her taste test it...

"..."

However, it seems that she will not come today.

In any case, since there was no doorbell ringing at this time, the probability of her coming here should be very low. She usually comes here at this time.

Is it because something happened suddenly, or is there some other reason...

"Ah... trouble."

Why haven't I stopped thinking about it?

...........

Even though it wasn't midday, the weather was incredibly hot. So I didn't think it was a good time to go out for a simple breakfast... and there was no way any restaurant would sell breakfast at this hour.

"...How about we go straight to lunch?" I suggested, "It's getting late now, and if we go out again at noon, we'll be exposed to the sun again...and maybe get a tan." I looked at my arm a little worriedly.

"As a boy, how can you be so pretentious like a girl?"

It's unbelievable that she could say such words.

"Why, aren't you a girl?"

I don't know what kind of mentality she had in involving herself in this.

"You see, I'm not as pretentious as you." He was still able to be so confident.

"Does this mean you're not a girl?" If she were my younger brother, I could drag her along to study... games, yes, games.

"By the same token, you are not a man."

She responded lightly.

"Well, speaking of which, you just asked me what the ending of the movie I dreamed of was, right?" This topic suddenly occurred to me, and it would allow us to skip the mutual rebuttal that happens almost every time.

"Oh, it seems so."

"Don't give me that..." I tapped her head lightly, "Because you've piqued my interest, I have to tell you now."

"Yes, yes, yes...you...you please."

She suddenly became polite. Of course, she wasn't serious, and her tone was joking. The subtext was probably "I say yes on the surface, but actually..."

It’s better not to worry about it.

"How should I put it... Isn't there a saying that goes, 'What you think about during the day, you dream about at night?' Perhaps that dream simply reflected my long-held beliefs or psychological implications... In any case, it can be understood as the troubles deep within my heart."

"Well... then what?"

"I dreamed of the protagonist... trying to make a decision." Although I'm not sure if that person can truly be called the protagonist... he's the only machine with feelings. Even after so many other machines have been turned against him, he still chooses to side with his master. But as the story nears its end, it seems he's the only robot left in the world. As a species that once threatened the world, he possesses too many unstable elements. Even though he once stood on the same side as humans and saved many people, many people still call for his destruction.

"...The movie didn't say that anyone did that at the end. They just lived together again after defeating the final boss." Ye Jin interrupted.

"...Really? Well...it's already at the final stage. No one will care even if the ending is ambiguous. After all, the happy ending is right in front of us. People just need to know that the world will not end and the protagonists can live happily together." After all, the most important thing for commercial films is that they can bring a comfortable feeling to the audience.

But normal life is probably not like this.

"In my opinion, happiness is something that is hard to come by. And I don't even know what happiness is." He slowed down his pace a little. "So, the final outcome is... he just disappeared like that. No one knows where he went."

"...Huh? I thought he was going to beat up those guys who wanted to destroy him. What a boring ending. He was bullied like that and still remained indifferent. Are you a man at all?!"

"...So, you are still too young."

I said and flicked her forehead.

"You'll probably understand later."

Not everything requires you to move forward courageously. Choosing to give up on certain things will not only benefit yourself, but also help important people avoid other troubles.

Maybe this dream is reminding me to give up something...

"What? You're obviously only a few years older than me, so stop pretending to be mature!" She said as she was about to come over and fight back.

"Hey, I'm obviously trying to reason with you..."

"You clearly didn't say anything!"

The gentleness of the way

Under a clear sky, at an intersection devoid of any vehicles, the traffic lights continue to flash. Unless there's something wrong with the relevant circuits, their colors will continue to change until something breaks or they fail. Otherwise, day after day, year after year, they will continue to flash tirelessly.

The reason they flash so tirelessly is not because they know they have the ability to change colors, nor because they are aware that their ability carries the great responsibility of guiding traffic safety, but because humans only need them to change colors.

"I don't think you have any talent."

Kurimoya, who said this to me, seemed to have completely misunderstood my point. I had already made it clear that "she and I are fundamentally different." In other words, the me she described, the me she saw and understood was fundamentally different from who I really was. My impression of her was merely a product of her observation and understanding.

"It is important for people to know themselves." Only I can understand myself. I am lucky enough to be able to see clearly that I have no talent.

“What…ah…”