Uneasy daily life

Bai Ying casually put the phone back, turned around and looked at the figure who was trying to slip away into the mist, a smile appearing on her face—it was a new inspiration!

The figure froze abruptly, then strode away from the hot spring water, attempting to escape into the distance.

Although I enjoy watching the conflicts within small circles, I definitely don't want to become part of that fun myself!

Hachiman Hikigaya strode across the water, struggling desperately even though he felt hopeless. Suddenly, he heard splashing sounds behind him. He turned his head and saw a white figure attacking in a swimming motion, its arms scooping water with incredible speed!

"Minister! Don't do strenuous exercise in the hot spring, or you might faint!"

"Hahahaha—this is nothing! Hachiman, let me ask you a few questions!"

No! Walking would create too much resistance!

Just as Hachiman Hikigaya was about to sink his body and escape in a swimming motion, a pair of hands suddenly slapped down on his shoulders.

send.

"..."

Houtarou Oreki silently watched as Hachiman Hikigaya was grabbed by the white figure and about to be transported away as a pendant. He adjusted his angle, used the decorative stones to cover himself, silently mourned for a moment, and then continued to quietly enjoy the hot spring.

Hachiman Hikigaya didn't know if Chief White had seen it, but he had—Oreki! Why was he just watching? Since that's the case…

"Minister, what are you up to today?"

"I'd like to discuss loneliness with you."

"what?"

"Oh dear, it's mainly a problem with Brother Guan Gu's script."

"Sekiya...Chitanda's uncle?"

"Of course, an event that directly affected Brother Guan Gu and indirectly affected my niece Airu's upbringing..."

Sekiya...Chitanda...Growing up?

The incident that led to Chitanda's uncle being fired, leaving Japan, being kidnapped, and being rescued by Hakuei? Chitanda did say that she had a very good relationship with her uncle when she was a child.

……

……

"I see. No wonder the minister went to observe Hayama Hayato and his group."

Hachiman Hikigaya had given up on physical resistance and focused on mental preparation: "So why don't we just continue to observe them? We still have many friends in Hayama."

"No, no, no, the script framework and theme are set. Now it's time to fill in the details. To achieve better expression, the details must be perfected."

Bai Ying leaned against him, affectionately putting her arm around Hachiman Hikigaya, and analyzed logically, "We can extract some characteristics of a student leader from Hayama. Hayama is gentle but not too weak, has a certain say and control over his circle of friends, and will take the initiative to coordinate the atmosphere. These aspects are unnecessary. Considering the issue of dramatic expression, constructing too many characters will only make the expression chaotic. Therefore, it is more appropriate to extract different elements to form a typical image."

"I have roughly identified four characters: a lonely lord, a foolish minister who joins the chorus, a blindly obedient traitor, and an incompetent loyal minister."

Hachiman Hikigaya retorted, "Are you sure you're writing a youth-themed script, and not some ancient political intrigue story?"

However, these comments are quite positive: a social butterfly who blindly follows the crowd, a social butterfly who goes with the flow, a social butterfly who lacks independent thought—basically, all of them are social butterflies that can explode.

Hehehe, after the minister's outburst, Hayama's inner circle is probably going to get interesting. It seems the wicked always have to be dealt with by the wicked...

“So…” the white figure leaned closer with affection, “let’s talk about loneliness.”

...I'm going to be worn down.

Hachiman Hikigaya rubbed his forehead and said, "Loneliness? What's so interesting about that? I've never thought about it..."

"A lone wolf, a free spirit, I'm not like you teenage sardines..."

"No, no, no, I never thought about those things. I'm just an ordinary high school student."

"No, no, no, Hachiman's observation skills and resilience, honed in solitude, are still very strong. He is a lonely genius who will not indulge in the temporary pleasures brought by interpersonal relationships."

"No, no, no, there's no such thing as a lonely genius. I'm just a guy with an excessive sense of self."

Bai Ying suddenly asked, "Huo—why do you feel that you have an excessive sense of self?"

Hachiman Hikigaya was taken aback for a moment, then resolutely said, "I'm just simply overly self-conscious!"

Bai Ying looked at him and said, "To understand your loneliness, we naturally need a cause... I talked to Komachi about some things. It seems that because your parents were not at home when you were young, you had to go home to take care of your younger sister, so you became a lonely person who neither joined any clubs nor had any free time to communicate with your classmates."

puff--!

Just how much does Komachi like the department head? How many times have she talked to him behind my back, and what did they talk about?!

Hachiman Hikigaya, feeling the pain of being betrayed, mumbled, "Ah... well, there's nothing I can do about it..."

“External factors set a bad precedent, but Hachiman didn’t give up. Back then, you weren’t averse to groups and others, and you still tried to integrate to some extent,” Hakukage continued, “For example, the experiences of Hachiman’s friends, like mistakenly thinking someone was talking to them, only to find out after responding that the person was talking to someone else…”

puff--!

"That, that's all because of me... cough cough, my friend was young and ignorant, and that's how this tragedy happened. That's why I say I'm an overly self-conscious person!"

"When faced with exclusion and collective rejection, resulting in physical loneliness, Hachiman at some point gave up on the possibility of actively interacting with others, but still harbored some expectations and hopes—that someone would talk to him, someone would befriend him, someone would reach out to him..."

"Wait, wait! I definitely didn't—"

Hachiman Hikigaya opened his eyes wide and hurriedly tried to struggle.

"You have!"

The white figure pressed down on Hachiman Hikigaya with great force, grinning maliciously: "Hachiman! Why do you like to emphasize and admonish yourself with the phrase 'excessive self-awareness'? Why did you often encounter awkward social misunderstandings before high school? Why did you go from being passively lonely to actively being lonely? Why would you rather belittle yourself by a thousand meters than elevate yourself by a millimeter?"

"Minister, calm down! Let's discuss the philosophy of loneliness!"

Hachiman Hikigaya leaps wildly through the water, like a dying frog kicking its legs.

Hey! Stop talking! Minister, shut up!

"Because you used to be overly self-conscious! You wanted to escape the predicament of being forced into loneliness—when someone spoke to you, you mistook it for being spoken to, so you immediately started talking back! When someone treated you kindly, you immediately wanted to grab onto a lifeline! Who wants to be ostracized and become a lonely little thing? You didn't want to, so you held onto any possibility of escaping loneliness. But your past circumstances have made you unable to take the initiative, so you can only reach out and wait for someone to pull you out, which is why you seem exceptionally sensitive and overly self-conscious!"

puff--!

"The unfortunate thing is that every hand that seems to be reaching out to you is a misunderstanding, and every time you feel you are about to be saved, it's just another black mark on your past! Until you are no longer willing to reach out to any possibility, you move from forced loneliness to active loneliness—this is the lonely path of Hachiman Hikigaya!"

puff--!

"That's right, this is loneliness, loneliness in different states, a gradual progression! Using accidents and coincidences to sever initiative, using misunderstandings to sever passivity, ultimately leaving behind Hachiman, calm, lonely, and never self-aggrandizing!"

puff--!

Bai Ying released her grip, and the image of the weak leader in her mind gradually became more complete. She murmured with delight, "Yes... the main stage is high school... he should be a passive and lonely figure... because of his passivity and loneliness, he is unable to resist external friendships... that's why he appears weak... so why is he passive and lonely? To become a leader, he must have an excellent side, so where does that excellent side come from? Ah... it's longing, it's Hayama Hayato, it's Miura Yumiko!"

A white shadowy figure scurried out of the hot spring, babbling and clattering. Inspiration! I've got an inspiration!

Houtarou Oreki silently moved over, facing the motionless, gray-white Hachiman Hikigaya leaning against the edge, clasped his hands together, and bowed his head solemnly with a calm expression.

"Namo".

Chapter 134 The Gatekeeper of the Women's Bath

Strange, why haven't they come out yet?

Hayato Hayama stood next to the vending machine, feeling like he'd been stood up, but not quite. To be precise, he'd been stood up by his own thoughts.

Perhaps I guessed wrong... Maybe I was already off track in trying to predict what the other person was thinking.

Hayato Hayama sighed, inserted coins to buy four bottles of cola, and squatted down to pick them up.

"Yayama, I have some questions."

"..."

Hayato Hayama picked up the cola and stood up, gesturing to the wooden chair over there: "Actually, I've also had some questions. How about we swap?"

"Oh, that would be perfect."

Bai Ying nodded in agreement, saying, "After all, it's quite a lot of work to always filter someone's thoughts."

So the two sat on the wooden chairs and fell silent for a second.

Bai Ying asked curiously, "Didn't you have a question for me?"

"Hmm..." Hayama Hayato reached out and opened a can of cola, taking a gulp. He was somewhat envious of the other's courage to say anything... or rather, his madness. He exhaled and said, "Yukinoshita has changed a bit. Is it because of you?"

"Changed?" Bai Ying stroked her chin and shook her head. "I think your judgment needs improvement. She has never changed."

“My family and Yukinoshita’s family had a long-standing relationship in the previous generation, so I often interacted with Yukinoshita when I was a child.” Hayama Hayato paused slightly before continuing, “When I was in elementary school, Yukinoshita was a very assertive and serious person who would never back down. Due to some events, she went abroad to study in junior high school… When I met her again in high school, she was still the same as in elementary school—assertive, serious, and strict with others, unable to fit into the class atmosphere. But recently, she has changed a lot.”

"Being friends with Yuihama makes me less extreme in my speech and actions, and I become a bit more gentle..."

"Hmm—and then?"

"What then?"

"Your question? Didn't you say you wanted to ask me something? These sentiments don't really count as questions."

"...That was the problem."

Bai Ying scratched his head and said, "What kind of strange jealousy is this? It doesn't even seem like jealousy. It's feeling like I didn't do well, feeling resentful, feeling guilty and regretful, thinking that I did something, feeling sour and jealous—Ye Shan is a young man, I understand, I understand."

puff--!

Hayato Hayama's expression twisted as he said, "N-nothing like that..."

Bai Ying chuckled twice and replied, "I've never thought that people have to change in a certain way to be 'good,' or that they have to do certain things to be considered to have grown, or that a certain personality is correct, or that a certain thought is the truth—human beings cannot obtain the truth. If I had to say what I've influenced, at most I've helped her see more of the truth little by little."

"To truly know is to understand the unvarnished truth. When a person's knowledge changes, their inner thoughts will naturally change as well, ultimately leading to action. The brave never change; they simply learn more."

"You think she's changed, that she took the initiative to befriend Yui, but actually it's the other way around. Yui dared to approach and was attracted, which is why she became the hero's friend. You feel that she's less extreme in her words and actions, and has become more gentle... Is it possible that she was never a particularly strong person?"

Hayato Hayama paused, wasn't that right? Like Yukinoshita, who, when ostracized, immediately stood up and retorted...

Bai Ying squinted and observed for a moment, then suddenly said, "If she were truly strong-willed, she wouldn't have accepted your help."

"!" Hayama Hayato clutched his cola tightly, letting out a deep breath. Talking to this guy really tested his mental fortitude. "Go ahead and ask your question."

Bai Ying observed and deduced, "You're not inherently a cheerful person, nor are you without opinions or self-awareness. Rather, you're used to suppressing your thoughts depending on the situation. Although you're the head of a social circle, you have to suppress yourself to maintain it. You've learned to endure the hardships of a corporate slave at such a young age."

puff--!

"This reminds me of the hero's older sister. You didn't copy her, did you?"

puff--!

"Ah, I get it. It's because the hero admires his older sister, right? Around that elementary school age... um, pretty much. Plus, the elders have connections, so you know it's normal for the hero to admire his older sister, so he wants to learn her behavior, right? It's not because of admiration or longing, but rather the impulse of boys to show off in front of girls... That's the root of it. If you start learning to be a social butterfly and consciously make friends, it's not hard to gain the approval of a lot of elementary school students—just buy a few bags of snacks to share. But this approval doesn't mean you can interfere with or guide a group of elementary school students..."

puff--!

"I see. You may have had the illusion that you could get your friends to listen to your opinions and reach out to help the hero, but the elementary school students were jealous, which led to an increasingly serious situation of exclusion, until one day it all came to a head. Given the hero's personality, he probably felt that his friends had betrayed him. Even though everyone was wrong, he was the one who was hurt the most. He didn't dare to tell his mother, he didn't want to tell his sister, and he hesitated to hit someone directly. He probably went to his father crying."

puff--!

Bai Ying stroked his chin and murmured, "Whether it's a man or a boy, they all have the urge to show off in front of women... Hmm, let's use this internal factor to construct the female protagonist... The girl the lonely leader cared about in junior high, for her sake, tried to change himself during the summer vacation, and finally stepped into high school with a completely new appearance... Very good, very good..."

"However, I have another question—Hayama, did you watch the second game yesterday?"

Hayato Hayama suppressed the urge to get up and run away. What kind of question is this, asking yourself a question?

He tried to adjust his mental state, and was somewhat puzzled when he heard this: "Second round? What's wrong?"

"That's true. With the acting skills that made the brave older sister fool the aunt, it would be a miracle if you, a primary school student, could see through it—you sit still, hold on tight to the chair, and don't move."

Hayama Hayato: "?"

"The hero's sister doesn't like being a social butterfly at all. She only plays the role of a smooth talker to meet her aunt's expectations. The hero's admiration is essentially because her sister can make her aunt very satisfied, not because her sister is a social butterfly. Your social butterfly ability was learned from someone who hates socializing from the very beginning."

Hayato Hayama didn't fall; he just leaned back in his chair in shock, looking somewhat like he had turned to pale ashes.

No, no, no... that white figure must be bluffing me!

Hayato Hayama stubbornly regained his composure: "I don't believe it."

Seeing this, Bai Ying chuckled and said, "Then tell me, what kind of person do you think the Hero's sister is?"

"Someone who cherishes what they like extremely and wants to destroy what they hate."

"It seems you indirectly caused the hero to go abroad, and the hero's sister has given you a lot of trouble," Bai Ying guessed. "She probably deliberately set up some embarrassing and torture situations for you, and she was probably all smiles, right? If you don't believe me, you can go back and find the hero's sister and see what she's like."

Hayato Hayama became alert, suspecting that the white shadow was setting a trap for him, sending him to get beaten up.

Bai Ying had already gotten up and headed towards the changing room.