Uneasy daily life

Such a strong presence!

Ooka: "..."

Yamato:"……"

Ministry of Revenue: "..."

Hayama Hayato: "..."

Bai Ying frowned and asked in confusion, "Why did you stop talking? People live in this world to express themselves."

Hobu really wanted to stand up and shout that it was because of this weirdo who was watching him, and kick the other person out... But as a roommate who had slept in the same room for a night and whose interest in girls had been noticed, Hobu didn't really want to stand up for him.

Hayato Hayama rubbed his forehead, trying to filter out the words that Bai Ying had said earlier. He stood up and said, "Ahem, I'll go get some drinks. What do you want?"

The Ministry of Revenue immediately said, "I'll go get it..."

"No need, I'll go."

Hayato Hayama shook his head, guessing that the white shadow was coming for him, and that if he went out a little further, he should be able to lure the white shadow out.

Ministry of Revenue: "Then I'll have a Coke."

Ooka: "Um, let me think..."

Yamato: "I want a Coke too."

Hayato Hayama: "Then, Ooka, can I bring you some cola too?"

Ooka: "Yeah, bring me a Coke too."

Hayato Hayama stepped out of the men's onsen and sat down by the vending machine to wait. "The white shadow will definitely follow me out..." After thinking about it carefully, the slight loneliness that had been stirred up by the other person vanished. "I don't feel that lonely at all."

Even if making friends is something I do out of habit and my family's advice, and I have a purpose and initiative that I don't have with other people my age, those friends are still my friends.

At most, you might occasionally laugh at yourself for being hypocritical, when others genuinely want to be your friend, but you have ulterior motives in your heart.

I guess the white-clad figure will bring this up once it comes out.

Hayato Hayama was mentally rehearsing and preparing himself.

To be honest, predicting someone's moves is really difficult.

……

……

Bai Ying had no intention of going out; she simply observed the three people who had quieted down.

After Hayato Hayama left, the three of them fell silent, creating a very subtle atmosphere.

Bai Ying said knowingly, "You're not friends."

"What strange thing are you talking about, Shiro?" the rather thin Yamato said immediately. "Of course we are friends with Hayato."

"No, no, no, what I mean is, you are not friends with each other."

The atmosphere among the three of them became tense again.

"Haha, making friends is easy, just chat a bit more and you'll make friends, no problem at all—oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself, my name is Bai Ying, I'm in Class A, and I'm currently gathering material for my script."

Your name is renowned throughout the entire Soubu High School. But... what about the source material for your script?

"You've probably heard, right? Mai Sakurajima is going to make a movie in Jinde. I have some connection with the author of that movie, so I took on this job of revising and improving the script."

The white-clad figure spoke eloquently, while the three exchanged bewildered glances.

Celebrities are a familiar category for high school students, not to mention that Mai Sakurajima is currently basically a representative of youth stars.

Screenwriting, a task for working adults, is clearly beyond the syllabus for high school students, and for a moment everyone thought Bai Ying was talking nonsense.

"Huh? It seems you don't quite believe it."

Bai Ying picked up the phone that was placed next to the hot spring.

The three men's eyes twitched, utterly bewildered—"Hey! Even though we're all men, isn't it a bit rude of you to bring your phone in here?" Wait, criticizing this high-ranking military officer for lacking common sense makes you seem rude yourself!

Bai Ying dialed the phone: "Hello—is this Ms. Sakurajima? We're discussing the script for now. If it's convenient for you, let's have a video call. There are a few of your fans here... The script for the performance? You've seen the rehearsals and know the general story, right? That's enough. Your role is 'a kind and beautiful young woman who runs a flower shop and is full of youthful energy.' Just fit that character into the story. Anyway, you're best at playing these kinds of roles..."

Kebu, Ooka, and Yamato exchanged glances—how good is this guy at bragging?

They claimed to know big stars and were even talking about working on movie scripts; there was even some pointing and whispering during their supposed phone calls…

That's impressive; it sounds so real.

"Oh, by the way, I'm soaking in a hot spring here, so I'll be careful about the camera angle and make sure you don't see anything inappropriate..."

[Bringing your phone to a hot spring... Mr. Bai—! Which do you prefer, the police station or the courthouse?!]

"You have to trust my expertise. Beep beep, initiate a video call."

【I refuse! Can't I at least send you some photos I took recently? What are the names of my fans?】

"Tobe, Ooka and Yamato."

Bai Ying waited a while, then opened a picture that had been sent to her and showed it to the three of them.

The picture shows Mai Sakurajima with a celebrity-like smile, holding a piece of paper that reads, "Hello, Tobe, Ooka, Yamato, I am Mai Sakurajima."

The selfie technique was clearly very skillful, greatly increasing the effectiveness of the decoy.

Did the boast come true?!

The three were startled and stunned. Bai Ying raised her hand to hang up the call, skillfully turned on the Do Not Disturb mode on her phone, and put it aside, cutting off the other party's calls to inquire about the script and performance matters, highlighting her act of discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose.

"You...you really know Mai Sakurajima..."

Bai Ying said generously, "Of course I know her. Do you want autographs? I'll ask her to make you a few custom-made ones later. Don't be shy... Actually, I also want to ask you for a few favors. Recently, I've encountered some problems with the script conception. In order to meet the filming schedule, I'm currently gathering material."

"The new film is a youth school film, and it just so happens that I've met three real high school students. So I want to ask you some questions to find some creative inspiration."

The three readily agreed, even feeling a thrilled sense of honor. Movies, celebrities, scriptwriting, and filming—things that seem quite distant from high school students—were actually happening right next to them?!

"Is it a youth school type of movie? Sakurajima-san would definitely be the female lead."

"Uh-huh."

"Of course! Sakurajima is still the star of Hachihara High School. It's a pity that Hachihara High School is too far from my home, otherwise I would have gone to Hachihara High School for my high school entrance exam."

"So you've fallen for it, haven't you? Sakurajima-san is always out filming and rushing around for gigs, she probably won't even be at school for exams, and you probably won't see her even if you go to Hachihara High School." Shiro said with a chuckle, "Anyway, I'm starting to ask now, which of you three is closest to Hayama-san?"

The heated discussion about the celebrities came to an abrupt end, falling into a subtle awkward silence. The three of them subconsciously looked at each other.

Before they could sort out the question and answer, Bai Ying said knowingly, "It seems like everyone thinks they are closest to Hayama-kun? Hmm, that's normal, don't worry about it so much. You can ask Hayama-kun about this, let's start with Hobe-kun."

Hubu barely snapped out of his excitement at meeting the celebrity. As someone who had been caught in the crossfire once before, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

"I'm currently researching characters, so you might see yourselves in the show!"

The Ministry of Revenue disregarded the warning and excitedly exclaimed, "Great! What will my image be?"

"It depends on the situation. Why do you think you have the best relationship with Hayama?" Bai Ying asked, then quickly answered herself, "Hmm... You are the first to respond to Hayama's decisions and actions, and you lead the group to respond as well. You have a very cheerful and outgoing personality. You will also actively and enthusiastically help promote things that are beneficial to Hayama, and you firmly recognize Hayama's status. It can be said that you have excellent initiative."

The Ministry of Revenue couldn't help but say proudly, "Hahaha, Hayato and I are best buddies..."

"In other words, they are blindly enthusiastic and foolish, unilaterally believing that 'the other person is their closest friend,' thus ignoring the other person's thoughts. They often engage in disruptive behavior, seemingly supporting the other person, but may unknowingly put them in a difficult situation. Due to their strong initiative and tendency to 'do what's best for their friends,' they may make rash decisions for the other person without consulting them, becoming the instigator of disaster..."

Splash! Hubu lost his balance and slipped into the hot spring, splashing a large amount of water.

"Ah, don't misunderstand. This is a script character created by borrowing your image and making some minor modifications. After all, creation is a way of expressing oneself that is based on reality but transcends it. There are absolutely no metaphors or satires mixed in. This is just basic artistic processing, my classmate."

A white figure approached the next target with a beaming smile: "Yamato-kun..."

Yamato sensed something was wrong: "Um, excuse me..."

"From what I've gathered about you, you seem to be someone who is open to advice, gets along very well with others, and always creates a relaxed atmosphere for conversation, so you have good interpersonal relationships. The reason you think you have a good relationship with Hayama is probably because Hayama can create a very pleasant social atmosphere without too many sharp conflicts, which makes you feel at ease. Is that right?" The white figure suddenly moved closer again, staring intently at the somewhat thin Yamato, who involuntarily leaned back.

"Forget it, guess it."

"I see—in other words, they're like weather vanes, swaying whichever direction the group leans towards. They believe that all choices within the group are meaningless, so they tend to follow the majority's opinion. It's not because they want to choose or have any strong reasons; it's just easier that way. Therefore, they're uncomfortable with a rigid group atmosphere and can't stand arguments and conflicts. Yes, this is the majority following the majority, unconsciously forming the image of the majority. They believe their choices are meaningless, so they choose randomly, and even if the choice causes serious consequences, they don't feel it has anything to do with them..."

Splash! Yamato fell backward and landed in the hot spring water with a splash.

"Of course, this is also an artistic creation, so please don't take it personally."

The white figure looked at the last person, Ooka.

Ooka, the most muscular of the group, was the most flustered at the moment. He watched the white figure approach with a trembling smile—this person was very strange!

"Ooka-kun, you trust Hayama a lot, don't you?"

"This... of course I trust him, Hayato is my friend."

"Hmm, so Ooka-kun is someone who is thoughtful and likes to plan before acting? That doesn't quite match your physique, but as the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving. Ooka-kun has a calm and composed mind, is a good listener, and likes to make judgments after careful consideration. Hayama is very excellent; the abilities he has developed can solve almost all the difficulties faced by high school students, whether it's studying, group activities, or sports competitions... Hmm, Ooka-kun is quite the opposite of Tobe-kun. It's precisely because he trusts Hayama that he considers himself Hayama's best friend."

"This, this..."

Ooka was clearly out of his mind.

"In other words, they are the indecisive silent type. Because they are too indecisive, they tend to collect other people's opinions, but different people have different opinions, which makes it even more difficult to judge. They often do not like to make decisions or speak out. When faced with some very important issues, they rely heavily on the judgment of trusted people, but they cannot provide assistance to trusted people. They seem to be blindly loyal, but in reality, they are just bystanders. Therefore, they can do nothing and cannot stop anything."

Pfft!

Dagang enters the water.

"In artistic creation, the three of you should not be attached to appearances."

Bai Ying pieced together and memorized the flashes of inspiration that crossed her mind, and one after another, reprocessed images flickered in her mind.

Luring the enemy deep into our territory, setting up an ambush from all sides, and then annihilating them in one fell swoop—truly befitting a minister, he effortlessly and directly blew up those pretentious social butterflies, draining their souls and turning them into puppets.

After having enjoyed the show, Hachiman Hikigaya cautiously turned to leave.

"Hikigaya."

Chapter 133 Loneliness! Loneliness!

Still no one answered.

In the hotel, Mai Sakurajima angrily gave up on making the call. This hater was just too outrageous. He wanted her to make a video call while she was in the hot spring... Wait a minute, he said that on purpose. He said he was in the hot spring first, and then sent her a video call. He was just deliberately teasing her!

He really is a hater!

Mai Sakurajima crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the trash can, immediately creating a stalemate.

A kind and beautiful young woman working at a sunny flower shop? Is that all? How am I supposed to act this? I do know the general storyline, since I've seen the rehearsals, but what about the specific details? Is this all the details my character has?

Mai Sakurajima rubbed her temples and searched online for information on how plays are performed.

Making movies and TV series relies on shooting and editing. From the start of filming to the final product, there are many behind-the-scenes steps involved.

Based on what I found online, theater works in a similar way—all the preparation is done offstage, with countless rehearsals for a play, so that you can naturally give a perfect performance when you step onto the stage. Although the performance time on stage is relatively short, the effort put in offstage is no less than that of film production.

In other words, from a generally rational perspective, a play should be the result of a group of actors rehearsing for a long time, internalizing the rhythm and flow. It should then be performed formally when it is at a very high level of completion. A single play often needs to be performed repeatedly in many places; otherwise, it would be a waste of the time and effort invested.

Something's not right... Where's the script? Where are the lines? Where are the rehearsals?

The way these people perform seems to be quite different from traditional drama.

Mai Sakurajima calmly pondered Bai Ying's words and gradually began to understand—"Since you've already seen one rehearsal, you understand what kind of story and process this is. So, take the role of the [youthful, sunny, beautiful flower shop girl, kind and lovely girl] and get ready to perform!"

Are you crazy? An impromptu stage performance? No, no, there must be a script or something...

Ding!

A message came through her phone. Mai Sakurajima quickly picked it up and saw that Bai Ying had sent a document and a message.

[The script is just a reference; you, Miss Star, probably don't understand that. If you have the ability to improve your role, then you're qualified to dance. If you can only perform according to the script, that's just the minimum acceptable level, destined to have your spotlight stolen by the more outstanding performers on stage. Every performance is a battle fought with dignity; only the victor can celebrate their own aesthetics.]

As Mai Sakurajima read the script, her expression gradually became serious, noting that some details differed from what she had seen in the rehearsals.

Inside the house, the mouthpiece prepares puppets that better fit the script's intent, while the puppeteers make a racket in the grove. They are sharpening their swords, ready to smash the original puppets for a better idea, and frantically singing incessantly to find a more fitting voice, striving for a better, better, and better expression than anyone else, to make their performance the unshakeable king of the stage.

This is the backstage area, where a group of people are sharpening their swords. They are companions in the play, but also enemies beyond the play, vying for the crown of performance.

I imagine Bai Ying is also putting in just as much effort into preparing for the performance...

Mai Sakurajima took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and carefully studied the script, as well as her minor supporting role that was originally supposed to be played by Shiro.

……

……

"Hikigaya."