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

"Nothing... just a rather unappealing headline popped up on my phone. It suddenly feels like the news these days is pretty cheap."

"Ah, so that's what it's about." Rinquanchuan seemed to have some opinions on this question. "Those people who write news are probably just as bad at thinking as you are. So if you put your own experiences into their stories, you'll probably understand their thoughts."

"..."

I think this topic is still untenable.

"So, Yehui, what do you think—"

"Me?" Only then did Ye Hui put away his paintbrush and thought for a moment. "I don't really pay attention to this... After all, no matter what is reported... I always feel a sense of distance."

“…I see.”

“I also feel like there are a lot of things that haven’t been addressed. Maybe I haven’t explained them clearly enough…”

"Well, I can understand it to some extent."

Perhaps this feeling stems from my own experience. After all, only a small portion of the things that qualify as news are reported. People's attention these days is solely focused on entertainment-oriented news, while little effort is put into substantive issues like rights protection, food safety, and school violence.

Could it be that this is a common occurrence? This is clearly quite abnormal.

Oh no... my way of thinking is starting to shift towards that guy.

"Hmm... What's your purpose in asking this?" Rinquanchuan seemed to have noticed something. "Raising a question like this will definitely not lead to good things."

"...Is that so?" I don't think my behavior is so simple that it would be remembered so easily, right?

"Now that you mention it, I think that's the case." Ye Hui became confused after being reminded of this. "If you have any plans, please tell me if it's convenient."

"...Yeah...it's nothing, actually."

Wait a minute, it seems...

"No, wait a minute—our club hasn't done any decent club activities yet, right?"

I said this and turned my gaze towards the Rinsen River.

"Eh? You...what are you talking about?" Lin Quanchuan's face suddenly showed embarrassment. "Who said...aren't we drinking tea together?"

“So this is a club activity…”

This is the first time I've heard of it. But since it's a tea ceremony club... I guess you could call it an activity.

"Why, are you dissatisfied?"

"...Of course not."

Seeing her expression like this, I felt inexplicably nervous.

"Sheji, what do you want to say?" Because I was dealing with Linquanchuan's question, I seemed to have put the topic aside again. It was only after Yehui reminded me that I suddenly realized it.

"Hmm... well, what I want to say is...why don't you take my suggestion and do some meaningful club activities—like investigating something or something. I happen to have something I want to find out, so I'm going to go to the city library or something to look up some local news. Maybe I can find some clues."

"...Investigation...Hey, this is totally incompatible with this club." Rinquanchuan was the first to raise an objection.

"...Having said that, it would be too boring to keep doing this forever." I looked at Ye Hui who was standing beside me. "I think Ye Hui would think this is feasible, right?"

"Me? I think anything is fine, as long as the government thinks it's feasible."

Just as I thought, Ye Hui is still so easy to talk to.

"Oh, that's decided." I said as I stood up and looked at the sky which was not yet dark. "Then Yehui and I will go together. If you don't want to go, President Lin... you can stay here and go home when the time is up."

"You really can't remember what you said?"

"Well...."

Although I had expected her to be angry... I didn't expect it to be so... strong.

"Well, just kidding. Two people alone is definitely not enough. To be honest... I really need your help."

I've already said I won't leave her alone in the club again, and I've never forgotten that. I was just wondering how she'd react...but I didn't expect her to actually care.

"Don't think that just because you say that I will..."

"Alright, alright—since Sheji has asked us for this, let's help him for the sake of our classmates." Ye Hui said as he walked over to her and pulled her up. "If you feel unwilling, you can ask him for a reward later."

"....." Although I know she is helping me...I always feel that something is a little bit off.

"I...I understand." Lin Quanchuan was still the same as before, inexplicably unable to resist Ye Hui. "First, tell me what exactly you want to investigate."

I felt bad before it even started.

If you look back a bit, you'll suddenly realize that the development of online information hasn't taken a long time. On the contrary, it seems to have spread very quickly. In other words, the level of online coverage that seems quite widespread today would have been unimaginable five or even ten years ago.

Not to mention search engines. Many things require going to the library to look up relevant books... and sometimes, you can't even find them. And what I'm interested in right now is information about what happened in this town a few years ago... what you could call news.

While searching for keywords isn't difficult with search engines these days, rather than sifting through the vast amount of information available on the internet, it's better to look for local newspapers and similar sources that still have archived information about events that happened there... Well, I'm not sure if those events will be recorded as news, but if I don't try, I'll ultimately get no answers. If this investigation plan still doesn't work, I'll try something else.

That being said, if this really doesn't work, I'm completely helpless. So, of course, I'm praying this method can yield some useful clues...even just a little bit. It'd be much better than being helpless right now.

"Well, to put it simply, I'm looking for some past news. However, because the keywords are a bit vague, the amount of information I'm getting might be a bit overwhelming... I'd like some help sorting it out."

It should be enough to reveal this much to two people.

"...But you didn't mention anything you wanted to investigate."

However, this didn't satisfy Rinquanchuan's curiosity. So she kept asking, "If you just said you wanted to look up information... I still don't understand what you're planning."

“…Yeah, that’s right.”

However, considering that it would be inappropriate to tell her "It's useless even if you know" at this time, I temporarily thought about how to explain it to her.

"...There's not much to explain." I thought about it and it seemed there was nothing to explain. "You might understand it then."

"Haha, you can say such a thing——"

She looked like she was going to start a fight with me. But I wasn't in the mood to argue with her right now...after all, this wasn't just a chance encounter during summer vacation.

"Okay, okay, it's getting late. If you want to go, then hurry up and leave."

At the critical moment, Ye Hui stepped forward to interrupt the tense atmosphere. I began to feel more and more that letting Ye Hui join was the right choice. He did a great job, my past self.

"Tsk, I'll let you go this time..." Still feeling dissatisfied, she shifted her attention to the other side, "You can ask us for help, but of course we can't help you for nothing--"

"Oh, of course. If you want to treat me to a meal, just ask." I was prepared for this.

"It's definitely not that simple... The price of asking me for help is definitely different from asking ordinary people for help."

"Uh..." Is this a deliberate attempt to draw a line between him and Ye Hui?

"Then what do you want..." I couldn't help scratching my cheek, "If it's something expensive, I can't afford it..."

"Hehe, this kind of thing—you'll understand it when the time comes."

Ah, I was wondering... you were waiting for me here.

"Please spare me..."

Although I don't know what her real purpose is, I can feel that...it is definitely not a good thing.

I feel bad before the third chapter even starts

Walk through the corridor, across the playground, and to the school gate.

The moment I stepped out of the campus, the refreshing feeling was quite refreshing to me.

Even though I didn't gain any knowledge that day, and the teacher didn't impose too much control on me...but the impression school left on me was always the same. Even if I didn't want to do anything, I felt constrained. I thought it was because of the crowds, but walking down the street didn't make that obvious.

“Ugh—Ahh—”

Regardless, it feels pretty good.

He stretched himself long and wide, quietly waiting for the two people behind him. He seemed to have gotten a little carried away... He didn't control his pace a little, and then he left them behind. But thinking about it, walking with two girls on campus would definitely cause unnecessary misunderstandings. So this behavior couldn't be considered wrong.

"Don't walk so fast..."

"What are you rushing to do in such a hurry—"

Two completely different reactions...

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't help but want to leave school quickly."

"That sounds like something a student who doesn't really like studying would say. Although, you're such a student, Sheji..." "Well, it's quite fitting coming from you."

We all agree on this point. Is my aversion to studying so obvious?

"It would be better if you don't rush to agree with me at a time like this, but instead correct my attitude towards school."

"Even if I corrected the country, you wouldn't listen, would you?" "There's a saying about dogs that perfectly describes you. So I don't want to say anything more."

"..."

Let’s put this topic aside for now.

"Go in this direction... You should know how to get there, right?" I pointed in a direction to confirm with them.

"I still know the way."

"Even if you don't know, why don't you lead the way?"

Well, finally a different response.

..........

This is not a prosperous town.

But I grew up here since I was a child. Even though I walk on the asphalt road that makes people feel inaccessible, even though I am surrounded by buildings made of concrete and steel... my emotions are still more or less spread here.

I can't say I like it or hate it; I simply don't want to leave this place easily. Every piece of land has its own story... the map Ling Can produced proved this. It's not just the people who come and go here, but also the intertwined stories.

But no matter what, if you don’t have personal experience, you can only figure out what happened in the past through the clues left by your predecessors.

Come to think of it, I used to have the illusion that I was the protagonist in a story.

This idea isn't entirely without foundation... because everyone has their own story. Regardless of who you focus on, they can be called the protagonist... Whether it's tragedy or drama, the protagonist ultimately cannot escape their own fate. And perhaps only in the final moment, looking back, can one truly define one's fate.

"Who are you looking into?"

While walking on the road, Ye Hui suddenly asked about this topic inadvertently.

"Ah... Actually, it's not about any specific person... It's more about school. The school I attended in junior high school... Because I can't remember some things clearly."

"That's it..."

"You can't even remember things from junior high..." Rinquanchuan was puzzled. "Could it be that you can only remember things from the last two years?"

"...It's not that I can't remember anything at all... Well, it's more like I forget things that didn't leave a deep impression on me. It's like not being able to remember what I ate every day."

"If it's something unimportant, why bother checking it?"

"..." After hearing my explanation...it's normal to have such doubts. "It's not important that I can't remember it. But since I can remember it, even if it's just vague fragments...it must be quite important, right? And it's because I can't remember it clearly that I want to investigate."

"...I see. Shouldn't you have said this earlier..."

"Because it's really complicated to explain...those are just some of the reasons." The reasons that drive a person to do something are actually very complex...just one simple reason is not enough.

"...What a strange guy."

It's rare for Rinsenkawa to say something like this. Honestly, it's not like her style at all...

"Am I really that weird?"

I didn't want to believe it at first, but it would have been fine if he was the only one saying it... but even Rinquanchuan said that about me, so that's what I'm a little concerned about.

"Hmm...if you ask whether it's strange or not, I personally think it's normal—" Ye Hui was the first to respond, "It's just that there are some things that you can't see on others."

"I agree with that. Although someone like you doesn't deserve praise... there's no point in constantly belittling you. I'll grudgingly admit that you do have one or two shining points."

Oh, I actually heard her praising me... Well, it seems I won’t hear such words again in this year.

"Still, it's still quite strange. To understand why, you should think carefully about your past actions."

"..."

Who understands what I'm saying?

"Even though I don't quite understand, I'll just take it as a good word."

No matter what, I won't forget what happened now. Even if decades pass, I will still try to cherish this time... This peaceful time may never appear again.

"Ahem, well... Anyway, thank you for coming to help me."