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

I feel uncomfortable when I see her...it's a physical aversion.

"Well, never mind... Actually, I wanted to come and inform you that our partnership is terminated."

"Hmm? Have we worked together before?"

That's the only thing about her that makes me suspicious.

"...hateful."

“…”

This kind of thing doesn't matter.

"Humph, luckily I'm in a good mood today, otherwise I would have dealt with you a long time ago."

"...." That was really scary, "So? What do you want to say?"

I don't want to stand there like this anymore, and if possible, I just want to pretend that I don't know her.

"Oh, it seems you really don't know." She said with a little pride, "Well, finally I don't have to worry about whether little Yehui will be bullied... I heard that the club recently had a layoff, laying off those who didn't want to learn or had no interest in learning painting, and many of them were the ones who bullied Yehui. In other words, it's hard for them to get together to bully her now."

"..."

Has the rumor spread reached this point... In reality, they should have withdrawn on their own initiative. Well, it doesn't matter; the result is what matters. At least this troublesome matter has been resolved.

And no one knows why.

"Oh, if I had known things would turn out this way, I wouldn't have come to ask for help from someone like you who makes me so angry. It seems that the saying 'let nature take its course' is really true."

"...Yeah, I'm really sorry for annoying you."

Perhaps this is the same kind of fool who, after eating four pancakes and feeling full, complains about why the store didn't just sell her a fourth. And simply letting things take their course will only make things worse... Only guidance can change the course of events, even if it's just a nudge with a smile.

"Haha, don't you ever reflect on your own incompetence? I clearly asked you for a favor, but all you did was make some ridiculous requests and nothing more. Now the problem doesn't even need to be solved... What use are you, anyway?"

"...Everyone has things they can't do, and the only omnipotent being could be God, but God doesn't exist. Therefore, I don't need to reflect on my own incompetence."

"..."

"Besides, you keep saying that others haven't accomplished anything, so why don't you think about looking back at yourself?" I closed the book in my hand. "It seems like you're just like me, and you haven't accomplished anything either?"

“…”

"If you think I'm incompetent just because of this... then can I also call you... incompetent?"

弃枝

"What did you say?"

“…”

shake.

After I said those words, tears flashed in her eyes. I have to say, she's a strong girl... but in just a moment, her expression returned to normal.

But what's going on in her heart...

"Actually, you're feeling lucky."

"..."

Her cherry-colored lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

"You're feeling lucky, feeling lucky that you don't have to single-handedly try to combat a situation that even you don't know how to handle, and that even the school finds difficult to address."

"..."

In an instant, the arrogance in her eyes disappeared, and she looked like she wanted to escape.

"And you don't really trust me. It's like you're taking a gamble... You want to help her, but knowing you don't have the power to change anything, you're forced to place your hopes on me. Is that right?"

"..."

"No need to explain, your eyes have already betrayed you."

And I don't want to listen to her anymore.

"Uh...um..."

"And you've been emphasizing that I'm useless. It hasn't had any effect at all. From the beginning, you've been emphasizing it all the time until now. Is it because I'm really useless? Is that what you really think?"

“…”

"If you can't come up with a reason, then I'll tell you. The reason for this is that, fundamentally, you want me to admit it myself, to admit that I'm just as incapable of helping Ye Hui who's in trouble as you are. To admit that I'm just as incompetent as you think, and then... well."

"...you..."

Before I could finish my words, she grabbed my collar and pushed my body towards the wall not far away.

[Boom!]

There was a muffled sound in the chest.

"Heh... don't you want me to say it?"

"...That's enough! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Tears that had begun to form glistened in her eyes that were filled with anger.

....This guy...

"If that's the case, then I'll say it even more. Because this isn't nonsense..."

I gripped her wrists tightly, forcing her to release her grip on her collar.

"You're just trying to escape the guilt you feel for your own incompetence. Because there's someone here who's just as incompetent as you are, unable to do anything. And as long as this person exists, you can use the excuse of, 'Ah, look, this person can't do anything either,' to avoid your guilt, and then calmly accept the fact that 'Ye Hui suffered in the past, but now he's fine.'"

"...No...That's not the case..."

Oh, trouble, I think I went a bit too far.

I still can't handle girls crying...and we're at school now, if we get caught like this, there will definitely be gossip.

"I say...if you have time, don't waste it wiping away your tears."

"I'm not crying!"

“…”

Tears streaming down my face...a completely unconvincing speech.

"Whatever." I sighed. "If you don't want to admit it, then prove it to me. Then I will naturally admit that I am a useless piece of shit."

"...What do you mean?"

"Heh... I'll give you a tip. Go back and spend more time with Ye Hui."

That's the only hint I can give.

"...Hmm?"

"She's not in as good a condition as you expected."

And I am considering whether to solve this problem.

"You...what do you mean..."

"That's what I meant."

Pushing her aside as she was distracted, I responded by straightening the collar of my clothes that she had just messed up.

"Don't take things so lightly. Many of the things you see are just appearances... If you still consider yourself her best friend, then quickly disappear from my sight and appear where you belong."

"..."

"Why, are you already like this just because of a few words from me? Could it be that your determination is not enough to withstand a few words from me? Oh, then I am so sorry, the task I gave you is too difficult..."

"Shut up!"

The instep of my foot was trampled on again unexpectedly.

"Everything you said is wrong... It's all wrong. I won't admit it."

After saying this, she left quickly.

"....ah."

That's it.

Now she must hate me so much that she will naturally cut off all contact with me.

And because of my reminder, she will approach Ye Hui as usual... If I don't make it clear, she will probably always feel guilty about it...

After all, she is a fool who can't think. If she keeps suppressing this thought in her heart, there might be some problems.

But now you don't have to worry about these.

"call..."

How many times will this process be repeated...

Having said that, he stepped on it with quite a lot of force.

Chapter 13: Abandoned Branch

Get rid of most unnecessary things.

Such as strong branches that spread out in all directions, such as straight and tall trunks, such as flowers for people to appreciate, such as branches that come out to welcome spring.

The branches look weak, the leaves are narrow and small, and they look frail, but in order to protect themselves, they have sharp thorns all over their bodies... It seems that if blood is drawn from the thorns, it will be absorbed by them.

It makes all living things avoid it.

To me, this is true beauty.

Only in such plants can we see traces of life.

High temperatures, sandstorms, a lack of water, herbivores seeking survival, and poor soil—it is these factors that have created those hideous, greedy plants.

"..."

His gaze turned to his hands.

In the black and white image, those strange yet familiar limbs seemed covered in black spikes. I knew it wasn't just here... those spikes extended all the way, covering this body.

You can’t touch yourself, because plants don’t know how to touch themselves, nor do they need to. You can’t touch others, because plants don’t know how to touch others, nor do they need to touch others.

It's so strange... I'm a human, not an animal. But I always wish I could live like a plant.

It's natural to blend into the background and be treated as an insignificant scenery by others; it's natural to be considered emotionless, and no one will care even if you can't express your feelings; it's natural to be treated as feelingless, and even if you are hurt, you will pretend to be strong.

"Why..."

Even though I have already achieved this, I still cannot give up completely and want to give up those things.

"..."

Could it be that it's all that guy's fault... Such a coward.

. . . . . . . . . .

Some things seem impossible to accomplish...but when you actually try to do them, you will find that it will be very simple if you find the key to the problem and do it step by step.

As long as I know the list, I can figure out who needs to be investigated... and then I can contact and influence them one by one according to the situation.

Ultimately, a collective isn't something unbreakable. A group of people who appear united but are actually divided, each minding their own business, is nothing more than a pile of loose sand held together by a classroom.

Even teachers who teach and educate are living people who get tired, get bored, and have emotions.

The reason for this was to "improve the efficiency of admissions" and "help students understand their place and do what they want to do," but in reality, it was to make things easier. Seeing this clearly, I just had to come up with a reasonable excuse.

Knowing how to persuade is simple... all you need to do is reach out to them more often. The fact that I was able to reach out to a teacher who had nothing to do with me was, of course, thanks to my current position and the teacher who had initially bothered me.

If it weren't for these accidental conditions, I might have been able to achieve my goal later.

As for the remaining guys, you only need to use the information you got before and pretend to get the address accidentally to get a chance to talk to them... After all, you have chosen the path of art, so you still have the patience to listen to others.

By gathering a wealth of information about their lives, it's not impossible to break down their psychological defenses. However, simply convincing them to abandon their artistic careers doesn't require much information. After all, they don't truly love it. Even if they feel resentful about the emergence of someone stronger than themselves, ultimately... that's just a means to satisfy their inner vanity.

The inability to satisfy his vanity turned into jealousy... and then the thoughts that had been suppressed in his heart finally came into practice because of an opportunity, and he indulged his thoughts step by step...

But, in the final analysis, the reason this group of people came together wasn't simply because of their class... There must be someone who was stirring up everyone's thoughts.