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

As for that person...it's definitely useless to persuade him with words.

If I had to say it, it's something like antibodies...

"You're the one causing trouble."

"..."

The guy who suddenly appeared in front of me...I am not unfamiliar with him.

"What did you say?"

But according to convention, playing dumb is an essential part.

"Okay, stop pretending. That's not the look you give someone who's seeing a stranger, but I've never seen you before. This means you already knew my information through some channel."

"..."

This statement...felt like something the protagonist of a mystery novel would say. But...he was right.

"how did you do it?"

"Do you want to learn it? To use it to pursue the girl you like? If you tell me your purpose, I can teach you." I looked at him with interest.

"Hmph, if you don't want to talk about it, forget it." He didn't seem to want to pay attention to me.

"So serious?... Well, forget it."

Although I had expected that he would find out.

"You're too impatient. Even an ordinary person would vaguely sense something's amiss when something like this happens... In my opinion, this is already a pretty big move. And if you ask those people why, even if they don't know you or your full name, it's still pretty easy for them to describe your appearance."

...Because of painting...? Come to think of it, those guys do have some talent.

"Oh... I can't help it. After all, there's a guy who keeps pushing me. Otherwise, I could just slow down a bit." Her mentality was messed up by that noisy girl. "Besides, I can't imagine what you guys will do next. Since you care about her, it's only natural to speed up."

“…”

"To have a group of people against a weak girl... As a man," I said slowly, staring into his eyes, "you're quite shameless."

"........"

透翳

“…”

His gaze unconsciously turned to the person in front of him.

As usual, his attention wasn't on the class... How many times had he had to repeat this before looking out the window felt like a given? It was like he wasn't just daydreaming, but something he was supposed to do.

"what..."

A tiny sigh was drowned out by the noise of the classroom, but she heard it clearly.

What was he thinking right now? No matter how much I asked, he would only smile in response. But that smile wasn't like his usual one... It wasn't bright or cheerful at all, but it wasn't forced either; it felt unnatural.

"What happened?" Even though I always ask this question.

"...not yet."

He gave such an incomprehensible answer.

"...Troubled..."

Is he worried about something? Is he, like me, hiding his worries deep down inside, unable to express them to those closest to him... or is he himself deeply troubled?

“…”

Sure enough, it was very strange.

Not only him, but also those around him.

Chapter 14: Translucent

"...stare..."

During class, Ye Hui accidentally noticed someone staring at her. She turned around, trying to find the source of the gaze. She then confirmed that it was Lin Chenru, with whom she had a good relationship. Just as she was about to wave and smile, Lin, realizing she had been discovered, immediately averted her gaze, raising the textbook spread out on the table to cover her face.

"...?"

Is there something strange about this? Ye Hui couldn't help but wonder. However, because she was still in class, she had to look at the blackboard again with a hint of doubt.

It's really strange.

Not only Sheji, whom he knew, but even Xiaolin started behaving strangely. Moreover, by the time he realized what was happening, a large number of empty seats had appeared in the classroom.

This is definitely not normal...

"Ah, well... after what we said, quite a few students privately expressed their unwillingness to stay. After I reported this to the principal, I allowed them to leave.

After all, even though it's a bit like a classroom atmosphere... it's still a club after all. We have to respect their choices... right?"

Even though the teacher gave such an explanation...I still feel that some parts are very strange, but it feels like there is no reason for it and I can't explain why.

"So, all of you who stayed here sincerely want to study hard, right?

In that case, don't worry about those who gave up here. They have already seen what they don't like and are looking for things that are truly suitable for them... There is no need to feel sorry for them or feel suspicious.

We should understand their choice.”

Yes, I realized what I was wondering about.

Well, is that really their choice?

"You've seen how they behave, haven't you? They do nothing in class and never do their homework. Their drawing skills aren't as good as yours, and some of them don't even have any talent at all.

Staying here is truly a waste of time, and learning something they don't like is incredibly painful... So why force them to learn something they don't like?"

"...I don't like..."

Looking back, once I get distracted, no matter what pen I hold in my hand, as long as it can leave marks on paper, I will unconsciously leave some marks on the paper.

Eyes that haven't been carefully outlined, lines that seem clear and crisp, hand movements that don't make any sense... Would you develop this habit if you didn't like it?

"..."

There is no doubt that I like painting.

but...

However, she did not have any feelings of liking the painting techniques mentioned by the teacher...it would be better to say that she was quite disgusted by them.

That's not right.

She believed this from the bottom of her heart.

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

"Things always deviate from their original intentions... The more people involved, the greater the deviation. Eventually, it will escalate into a situation where even the mastermind can't control it."

Ah, even though I wanted to call him that, he actually admitted that he was the mastermind...

"Oh... Are you trying to say something like this: 'Actually, I just wanted to teach him a lesson, but I accidentally went too far.' Ahaha, that kind of excuse is just some elementary school trick, right? Please forgive me if I'm a bit off-key... Well, imagine you killed someone and you said, 'I just wanted to teach him a lesson, but I didn't expect this outcome.' Would that mitigate your punishment?"

"You seem to have made a mistake." He didn't respond directly to my question. "...I don't mean to make excuses. I'm just stating the facts."

"Oh no...the truth is..."

I always feel that my current situation is a bit strange, but I don’t know why... Logically speaking, such things have nothing to do with me, and my emotions should not fluctuate too strongly.

Even when talking one by one with people who have different experiences, different ideas, and different personalities, I have never had any emotional fluctuations.

However... maybe it's because the person I'm facing is completely different from those people, or because of the topic... I don't seem to be as calm as before.

However, whether I am calm or not, I don't need to care. What I have to do is...

"...Well, you might not believe it."

"That depends on the situation. Let me hear what you have to say first." I found a wall to lean against. "Few people pass by here, so just tell me what you have to say."

"Ok."

He pushed up his glasses.

"Actually...Yehui-san..."

"Are you worthy enough to call her classmate?"

Is this subconscious? I just thought about it, but I haven't said it out loud yet... What's going on?

"Well... after all, we studied together... Even though we haven't had much interaction, I think it's still okay to address each other like that. Besides, calling each other by name seems rude... right?"

"...random."

Although I wanted to refute many things, I chose to let him finish what he wanted to say. After all, I was also a little curious.

"So..." He paused, obviously trying to organize his words. "Yehui-san...is different from the people around her. At least that's what I think. And you probably think the same thing..."

"Yeah. Go on."

Pretending to be indifferent, I looked at my fingers and picked at my long nails as if I had nothing to do.

"...Before I explain, do you know why our club exists?"

"Ah... I'm tempted to say, 'It's just for people interested in painting,' but I'll just let it go. I understand, it's just to cultivate artists..."

There are some complex reasons for this, mostly related to the school's decision-makers. In short, the school's administrators don't particularly support pathways to university beyond the regular Gaokao. If it weren't for the impressive achievements of past art students, this club probably wouldn't exist.

"That's true... As a student like this, the pressure is naturally no greater than that of a normal student."

"So, what does this have to do with what you did? No matter how much pressure you're under, there's no reason to bully a girl who can't fight back at all," I asked with a dissatisfied yawn. "Ah - after all this talk, we're still not getting to the point. Are you just stalling for time and then finding someone to deal with me or something?"

Actually, I don't need to worry about this because from what I know about him, he simply doesn't have that ability.

"Don't worry about that. I no longer have the ability to organize others. Or rather, I simply don't have the necessary conditions to organize anyone." He said somewhat dejectedly, "I have to admit that you did a great job on this point..."

"..."

Actually, I don't need this kind of recognition... To me, knowing this is just like checking the answers to the exercises I did and finding out the degree of accuracy.

Well, never mind, let him think so.

"So? What exactly is your reason..."

This is the only thing I'm not sure about, and I have many guesses as to why.

"...it might feel weird to you to say that."

“…”

"But...call it my own assumption or nonsense, but this is what I truly think."

"..."

"Yehui-san...she's not someone who can stay in that club. It's not a question of whether she's suitable or not, she's someone who simply can't exist in that club."

. . . . . . . . . .

"Tell me quickly what happened."

"Uh..."

Facing Ye Hui's questioning, Lin Chenruo seemed calm, but in fact, her heart was as chaotic as the eight-treasure porridge she drank for breakfast. Don't worry about why the description was so strange, because this is what Lin Chenruo was thinking at the moment.

"My head is as messy as the porridge I had this morning."

"It's really strange... He's been looking at me with a worried look on his face all day. And just after school, Shaji disappeared. He didn't look like he was going to the club... Hey, do you know where he's going?"

"...have no idea."

"really?"

Although most people can't stand a girl like Ye Hui showing a questioning expression, the fact is that Lin Chenruo really doesn't know anything, and doesn't even know what Yi Sheji has done.

“It’s true…”

"Then let's forget about this question." Ye Hui didn't doubt Xiao Lin, "Then I'll change the subject."

"...Hmm."

At this time, Lin Chenru seemed to be unable to cope with it.

"You must be talking to him a lot lately, right?"