Uneasy daily life

Feng Bin and Hua turned over in bed and sighed in annoyance.

Wait a minute! The point is, this guy tricked me and made me lose face in front of my sister!

She immediately stood up and pressed hard on her phone screen, trying to hold someone accountable, only to find that she had already been blacklisted by Bai Ying.

Ah—! That bastard!

……

……

Memory should be fine, personality is perfectly normal. The reason for the memory lapses is an external factor, probably some kind of phenomenon beyond common sense... Hmm, it shouldn't be the stand-in deliberately causing trouble, but rather the cage has loosened a little, and it instinctively tries to struggle and break free.

So what exactly causes memory flickering?

Bai Ying pondered for a moment and realized that this seemed to be a paradox—I just forgot something, but I forgot what I forgot. How can I know what it was?

If the stand-in hadn't inexplicably appeared, he might not have even realized that he had 'forgotten' himself.

Bai Ying couldn't figure out the problem, so he simply put it aside. Anyway, he had his strongest killing move, so he didn't need to worry about his Stand appearing and wreaking havoc.

Ding Ding Ding-!

Why are there so many phone calls tonight? Bai Ying glanced at her phone, then answered, "Sakuta, what's wrong?"

[Bai! I have a very serious question!]

Bai Ying said seriously, "How serious? Is it enough to make you, a brother who dotes on his sister, lose your sister, or will it cause you to suffer a huge financial loss?"

[This might get me locked up...]

"Have you gotten into trouble?"

That's not quite right either. I should say I've been plotting something criminal...

In Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Sakuta Azusagawa sat cross-legged on his bed, his expression unusually strange, and said, "To be specific, when people discover that something they have been pursuing and searching for does not conform to moral or even legal requirements, they will feel the pain of self-contradiction within this framework..."

If this kind of thing is difficult to say, you can start by saying, "I have a friend who..."

"Okay, I have a friend, and that friend is myself."

Sakuta Azusagawa said in a deep voice, "I think I ran into Shoko... today."

【Huh? Isn't that a good thing?】

She is 11 years old.

Sakuta Azusagawa propped his cheek on his hand, speaking in a tone that even he himself couldn't understand. While he had encountered many things beyond the realm of reason by now, this… this was just too beyond reason!

Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?

"I asked, and her name is indeed Makinohara Shoko. She doesn't have an older sister or any distant relatives with the same name, and she does look remarkably like Miss Shoko... Oh, right, she's currently in sixth grade, and I heard she recently moved with her parents..."

【…】

Listening to the strange silence, Sakuta Azusagawa subconsciously asked, "You're not recording this, are you? Are you planning to call the police and have me taken in?"

Yes, officer, that's the person!

"Since I haven't committed any crimes, at most I'll receive criticism and education."

Sakuta Azusagawa remarked, puzzled, "Doesn't Haku know what's going on either?"

[Shoko Makinohara and I belong to a mysterious supernatural organization dedicated to maintaining the balance of the underworld and helping those harmed by supernatural phenomena. We are righteous and cool mysterious characters—Sakuta Azusagawa! Join us and let's make the world a more interesting place!]

"I believed half of what you said when I was in the third year of junior high school. Guess how much I believe now?"

Sakuta Azusagawa asked, "So, what are the specifics?"

【I have no idea. 】

The answer was given with confidence and conviction.

"Then I'll go ask my other friends."

I'm just checking in, so I thought I'd stay at your place.

"I feel that what follows is your main objective..."

Oh well, it's better to see through it than to say it.

"welcome any time."

Sakuta Azusagawa readily agreed.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Yukino: Open the window!

There are indeed quite a few vacant rooms in this apartment building that haven't been sold yet, such as the one across from mine.

Some properties are rented to internal employees, some have been purchased by internal employees at slightly lower prices, and some are rented or sold to external parties. The company currently has a number of properties that have not yet been dealt with, and the rental and purchase criteria have been made available to employees on the intranet, with the intention of absorbing them internally.

Yukino Yukinoshita saw the scene reflected on the screen, reached out to pet the cat on her lap, continued browsing the company intranet, checked the time, hesitated for a moment, and then took out her phone to make a call.

Why are there so many phone calls today? I beg you all to use chat apps instead! Don't you know that young people these days have a phobia of cell phones?!

Because the distance in chat software isn't close enough... of course, you can't say that out loud.

Yukino Yukinoshita said to herself, "Haku-kun, where are you staying tonight...?"

[I, Hikigaya Hachiman, the Supreme Lonely God! 】

Yukinoshita Yukino: “?”

[Minister! Don't make this up! I absolutely did not write anything like this!]

A real man takes responsibility for his actions! The truth cannot be hidden. Even if documents are erased and others have forgotten, can we ourselves truly forget?!

Minister, you make it sound so easy! I'm the one being slandered right now!

【Oh dear, why be so ashamed? In exchange, I'll give you an embarrassing moment from my past—I vaguely remember not long ago, I mistakenly thought that "Too Long to Read" was going to confess to me, so I preemptively rejected it. I was so self-conscious.】

[…Ahem, I deeply sympathize with you and offer my condolences.]

Okay! Now it's your turn!

I don't have that kind of dark history, really not.

[Wow! Want to dine and dash? No problem if you don't have a history of scandals, you'll have one soon—!]

Before Yukino Yukinoshita could react, from the other end of the noisy chaos, came the voice of Hachiman Hikigaya—well, this Hachiman Hikigaya should probably be put in quotes.

【Komachi—! My goddess!】

Time marches on, stars shift, days change, nights alter; grass grows, flowers bloom, flourishing and withering, success and failure occur. My infatuation with you will one day fade from its peak. The cold universe cannot contain fiery colors. Eternity, oh eternity, that is the lament of a fool. Time marches on, stars shift, history remains unchanged; grass grows, flowers bloom, matter does not decay. My sincerity towards you will not diminish for a single day. The silent universe can contain cold colors. Eternity, oh eternity, that is the love given by a fool.

What love poems contain the second law of thermodynamics and the law of conservation of matter?

Yukino Yukinoshita moved her phone slightly further away.

[Minister—!!]

As expected, Hachiman Hikigaya's wails echoed through the air. The situation was so chaotic that Yukino Yukinoshita had no chance to speak at all, and even if she tried to say something, the other side probably wouldn't be able to hear her clearly.

Yukino could faintly hear the bed shaking, the panting of struggling and writhing, and the rustling of clothes.

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but speak up: "You two bacteria gentlemen, put what you're doing aside for now!"

The commotion on the other side grew louder and louder, and suddenly Komachi's voice of justice appeared.

【Ahhh! Trash sauce! White trash sauce! What are you talking about?!】

Wait! Komachi, I didn't say that!

Wait! Komachi, that's the one he was talking about!

[So annoying! Komachi's pillow attack!]

The phone seemed to have been tossed aside by the white figure, and the sounds afterward were indistinct.

beep--!

Yukino Yukinoshita hung up the phone, rubbing her forehead with a headache. After rubbing it for a while and finding it useless, she rubbed the cat on her lap, and her mood gradually calmed down.

No wonder Bai-kun reacted so strongly this afternoon... Hmm? Because he was accidentally exposed, so he directly used his embarrassing past as a weapon? I didn't expect that the one Bai-kun misunderstood as wanting to confess was the student from Anxinyuan who is too long.

Yukino Yukinoshita noticed the problem while pondering. Generally speaking, when rejecting someone's confession, one usually waits until the other person has said it before rejecting them, so theoretically, there's no possibility of misunderstanding that someone is about to confess to you. The reason Haku-kun messed up was that he confidently rejected the confession first, thus creating a rare black mark on his record.

Having gone through that experience, when Bai Jun rejects a confession, he should carefully... confirm... right?

"Meow~"

Knight is somewhat dissatisfied with the intensity of his pet owner's massage.

Yukino Yukinoshita softened her movements, calmed herself down, and looked up at the screen.

The house that was being considered for rent through the intranet has disappeared from the interface.

Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated for half a second at this strange situation, then took out her phone and dialed a number. As soon as the call connected, she said coldly, "Father, the rental listings on the internal network have disappeared. Did you do that?"

【Huh? I don't know!】

Yukino Yukinoshita murmured to herself, "That's right, the people in the company definitely trust my father more than me, so it's no surprise that the person in charge reported to you. To accomplish something, the ability to unite others is very important..."

[Hahaha! Yukino is very smart, of course don't worry. This doesn't mean you necessarily need Haruno's social skills. Different leaders have different styles. With Yukino's performance, she's a capable leader who can make the company bigger and stronger, which is more promising for her subordinates. However, to do things well, you naturally need to understand what the company is doing...]

“I couldn’t get my father to tell the truth, and I couldn’t be sure if he had done anything.”

Yukino Yukinoshita asked with a gentle smile, "Would Father lie to Mother?"

[Ahem! Your mother has also said that she won't give you any material help, and might even go against your wishes—do you think that helping her like this would cross that line in your mother's mind?]

Yukino Yukinoshita's voice turned cold: "You admit it."

【I don't! 】

“Father, please think it over carefully.” Yukino Yukinoshita sighed. “If we really can’t find a suitable place, I’ll have no choice but to invite Haku-kun to continue living at home…”

[Oops, there was a bug in the program! I don't know what the company's programmers are doing! They must not have worked enough overtime!]

My father really does some inexplicable things.

I'll talk to Bai Jun about renting a place when I get to school tomorrow.

Yukino put the sleeping cat into its bed, went to bed herself, and then couldn't fall asleep.

I don't understand, I don't understand at all. Was Bai Jun implying something, or am I over-interpreting it?

Yukino under the snow flips over and over.

……

……

The following day, during the afternoon club activities.

When Yukino Yukinoshita arrived at the activity room, she found the door already open, indicating that someone had arrived ahead of time. She composed herself, stepped inside, and was immediately met with a very noticeable gaze.

The boy in his school uniform leaned back in his chair, disappointedly turning his gaze away and shaking his head to himself. Even though the time hadn't been that long, he felt a sense of relief, a feeling that things were finally returning to their familiar routine…

“A hero…” the white-robed figure sighed, “I thought someone had come to my door with a request.”

"It's a pity that no one came to ask for anything while Bai Jun was traveling."

Yukino walked to her chair by the window, put down her shoulder bag, slapped her own sticker on the conference table, and started moving her chair to put the sticker on the doorplate.

Bai Ying picked up the stickers and followed them out, casually saying, "In terms of quantity, if we each put one on, it's the same as not putting any on at all. Why not just not put any on and save ourselves some trouble?"

"The bet is just a side thing. Even if we win against Bai Jun in the end, the Service Department will still be the Service Department. Of course, we will record everything we have done."

Without turning her head, Yukino Yukinoshita stepped onto the chair, reached out and tore off the sticker of the chibi demon king Hakukage, then stuck it on the Service Club's doorplate.

"Let's put this up as well, to save manpower."

Bai Ying raised her hand and handed over the sticker.

"Hmm?" Yukino Yukinoshita gave a soft hum. "Haku-kun, what should I say when I want help?"

Bai Ying respectfully said, "Please don't breathe, leave some oxygen for the world."

"Thinking about how the extra bit of oxygen I left was enough to sustain the white fungus, I can only feel deep regret." Yukino Yukinoshita glanced meaningfully at the sticker that Shirokage handed her—holding it between her index finger and thumb, which gave off a sense of walking on thin ice. As expected, Shirokage is someone who values ​​keeping his distance from the opposite sex.

Although this doesn't stop him from using various methods to psychologically attack others.

This is quite similar to myself; I don't care about expressing closeness through physical contact, but rather about the psychological distance between us.