Uneasy daily life

Ah—! Why bring this up all of a sudden?! Anyway, I need to figure out a way to brush this off for now…

"That's right, I must be overthinking it." Bai Ying crossed her arms and lowered her head, deeply reflecting on herself. "How could anyone like this frog-like creature with dead fish eyes that almost reek of decay, and that only moves when someone pokes its ass?"

The white figure peeked out and asked, "You're right, aren't you, Yuihama?"

"Ah...uh..."

Small businesses may give the initial impression of being quiet and aloof, but that's just a facade...

Bai Ying's eyes showed suspicion: "Hmm? You don't mean..."

Yui Yuigahama nodded hurriedly, affirming forcefully, "Yes!"

Don't get caught up in Shiro's tricks, Yuihama, where did you get this tsundere attitude from? Yukino Yukinoshita frowned slightly and continued to carefully draw on the blank sticker.

"I sincerely apologize for the fact that I was born with dead fish eyes," Hachiman Hikigaya retorted.

"Actually, having dead fish eyes is quite normal, isn't it?!" Yui Yuigahama said. "In the end, judging a person solely by their appearance is just too much..."

"That's right!"

Bai Ying slammed her hand on the table, deeply agreeing, "What's most annoying is definitely Hachiman's awkward personality! He'll sit if he can, and lie down if he can, resolutely adhering to a gloomy and aloof social policy. How can that work? He doesn't make friends, doesn't engage in social activities, and unless forced, he'd rather rot in a corner... It's so awkward! You have to be sunny and positive. Everyone else is just copying and pasting, so why are you the only one who's cut and pasted?"

After her sharp commentary, Bai Ying turned back to her and asked with certainty, "You agree, right, Yuihama?"

"Um, um, I mean..."

Yui Yuigahama gestured haphazardly back and forth, subconsciously sensing that something was amiss, but her mind was too busy to ponder what was strange.

"Right? Yuihama?" The white-clad figure asked expectantly, her eyes sparkling. "You think so too, right?"

Yui Yuigahama closed her eyes briefly—in short! Let's brush aside the little white rabbit and this explosive problem for now...

"Yuhihama, calm down."

Yukino put down her pen and said calmly, "Sometimes, the best way to deal with Haku is to neither affirm nor deny, and not to answer. Remaining silent is also a very good coping strategy."

"Yeah! I can still stay silent!" Yui Yuigahama managed to calm herself down, sat up straight, and stared blankly with her mouth shut, as if she had zipped up her mouth.

Bai Ying straightened up and seized the opportunity to point and criticize, saying, "You deadly chef, I advise you to throw away all ingredients unrelated to the dish when you cook in the future. Even seasonings should be weighed out in the correct quantities, so you don't lose control of your unrestrained free spirit. Other people cook by killing the ingredients, but you cook by killing the diners. Experienced chefs are obsessed with experience, bookish chefs are obsessed with recipes, and intuitive chefs are obsessed with intuition. All of these will become reasons for cooking failures."

"You're experienced, knowledgeable, and intuitive; you're so unpredictable you could kick someone to death with a single, unexpected move..."

Yui Yuigahama couldn't help but retort, "I've been practicing cooking lately!"

Bai Ying was taken aback, then exclaimed in shock, "You don't mean you're planning to make cookies as a birthday present for Hachiman, do you?!"

"—!" Yui Yuigahama couldn't hold back and subconsciously looked at Hachiman Hikigaya.

Hachiman Hikigaya froze, gasped, and instinctively looked at Yukino Yukinoshita—Hey! Yukinoshita, can you control those two?!

"cough……"

Yukino Yukinoshita coughed lightly and said, "I believe that sincerity can move mountains."

The activity room was a bit quiet. Hachiman Hikigaya's gaze wandered, and he tentatively looked at the white figure.

Bai Ying patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "You'd better wait until you get fired."

"Minister, there's an idiom called 'the rabbit dies, the fox grieves.'"

"It's okay, I'll be happy for a second and then I'll make you sad for a second."

The two teased each other, and Yui Yuigahama couldn't help but exclaim loudly, "My mom says I work really hard!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Ying gazed at Hachiman Hikigaya before him and asked calmly, "First of all, thank you for choosing our company. Regarding the position you are applying for, do you have relevant work experience? What technical achievements do you have? What past experience do you have? Do you meet the age requirements? Compared to other competitors, what special advantages do you have?"

Hachiman Hikigaya politely declined, saying, "I don't want to get involved in the minister's drama."

But it doesn't matter. Bai Ying turned to face Yui Yuigahama, his face full of nervous unease as he tried to remain calm, and replied, "I... my mother said I work very hard!"

The interviewer nodded and waved his hand, indicating, "Okay, you have a mother who loves you very much, but the company doesn't love you."

puff!

Recalling the cookies she made most recently, Yui Yuigahama was devastated.

"Bai Jun, your preference for expressing yourself through performance is the reason you lost to me in the exam."

Yukino Yukinoshita teased, "The test paper was supposed to be a reading comprehension exercise. Haku-kun packaged his answers as a work of art. The teacher was already being lenient by only deducting points symbolically. If it had been a teacher who didn't understand the meaning, Haku-kun might not have even been able to keep his second place in the grade."

The white-clad figure waved his hand dismissively and said, "It's alright, I'm easygoing."

Yukino Yukinoshita picked up the sticker with the 100-point pattern on the table, slightly raised her chin, pursed her lips, and gave it a playful look.

Bai Ying: "It's alright, I'll just have a mental victory—I wouldn't stoop to losing points just to score. It's just a draw, the outcome is still uncertain."

"The person who can comfort you the most is yourself, and Bai Jun is good at that, but don't forget the request to investigate the wound."

Yukino Yukinoshita said casually, "When I have time during the holidays, I'll have time to ask the doctor, and I'll get the results quickly."

"doctor?"

Yui asked worriedly, "Is Yuki sick?"

"It's kind of an off-campus commission."

Yukino Yukinoshita gently shook her head, then said, "There's something else about summer vacation. Are you planning to go see the fireworks festival?"

"Of course I want to watch!" Yui Yuigahama exclaimed excitedly. "It's an annual event!"

The summer fireworks display is the perfect occasion to express your feelings...

"A fireworks display..."

Bai Ying scratched his head and said, "I've never actually attended a fireworks festival in Japan."

"Didn't the minister go to Japan in junior high school?" Hachiman Hikigaya joked to himself. "Even someone like me, who's more of a shut-in who plays games and reads novels, was forcibly dragged out by Komachi on that day."

“I was in a theater troupe during junior high school. The time of the fireworks festival was often the time of the theater troupe’s performance. On days with strong traditional cultural connotations and atmosphere, the audience would like and be more receptive to various theatrical performances.”

Bai Ying stroked her chin and said, "When I first heard about the fireworks festival, I thought it would be like celebrating the New Year back home. But when I learned that the propaganda department was rehearsing a love story, I realized that the meaning and atmosphere of the fireworks festival are more romantic. You could say it's Japan's traditional Valentine's Day."

"Do you know what kind of things are best done in the atmosphere of a fireworks display?"

Yui Yuigahama: "Of course, it's for playing!"

It's definitely not going to be a confession or a relationship—by a novice's standards!

Hachiman Hikigaya: "Watching fireworks."

Club activities are about to start, right? And the fun-filled summer vacation is just around the corner!

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Performing various dramas about couples breaking up?"

The two looked at Yukino Yukinoshita... and had reason to suspect that she had been corrupted.

"Ahem, I was just trying to guess what Haku-kun was thinking," Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly. "Given Haku-kun's thinking, he'd definitely be deliberately going against the grain, right?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, superficial."

Bai Ying raised her index finger and swung it from side to side, clicking her tongue as she said, "Combining Yuihama and Hikigaya's answers—of course it's fireworks! It was around a year ago at the fireworks festival. I came up with the idea, the mouthpiece provided funding, the prop master made it, and we completed a fireworks display for people."

"At that time, the playwright's tragic love story was being performed on stage. I stood up from the audience, holding a firework, and instantly the entire stage turned into the brightest supernova on earth... Recalling the past, those glorious years were just like fireworks and Gatling guns that never stopped making noise."

"Firing fireworks at people can now be classified as a criminal offense."

Yukino Yukinoshita commented casually, "My family has always been involved in hosting the fireworks festival in Chiba. Let's arrange a time to do it together."

Each of the three had their own thoughts, and each agreed.

As dusk approached, the group packed up their belongings and left the classroom.

Yukino Yukinoshita slapped the percentage sticker on the Service Club's signboard and looked up.

Service Department: Cat stickers, percentage stickers, book stickers, white shadow stickers.

Support Department: Cookie stickers, tennis racket stickers, fox stickers, Yukinoshita stickers.

"The first semester is over..."

A sigh of emotion unconsciously escaped from the bottom of my heart.

Summer vacation is here!

The white figure cheered and darted away.

Hachiman Hikigaya followed listlessly.

"Little Snow!"

Yui Yuigahama waved and called out from the top of the stairs.

"coming."

Yukino Yukinoshita closed the door to the activity room, slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, and walked over, a gentle smile unconsciously appearing on her face.

Chapter Sixty-One: Letting Go of the Emotion to Help Others

The master bedroom of Mai Sakurajima's home in Fujisawa City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on Earth in the solar system.

Mai Sakurajima opened her eyes on time, sat up in bed, and subconsciously considered what she needed to do that day.

Lie back down.

I'm so bored, there's nothing to do.

I've retired from the entertainment industry, so I don't need to work or practice acting; school is on holiday, so I don't need to go to school; I don't know how to deal with puberty syndrome, so I can't take any action... All I need to do is eat, shower, and sleep.

If I had to say, trying to maintain a positive attitude might help resolve adolescent syndrome?

Mai Sakurajima decided to stay in bed, even if she was awake. If she got too bored, she would pick up her phone and aimlessly scroll through the news, not even knowing what she was doing.

Huh? There are so many unread messages in the group. Are these guys talking about something vulgar?

Mai Sakurajima pointed.

Mai Sakurajima Fan Club

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: @All members of the group, from today onwards, this group will revolve around Mai Sakurajima, with praising Mai Sakurajima as its highest mission. Anyone who speaks well of Mai Sakurajima deserves praise and encouragement; anyone who speaks ill of Mai Sakurajima will be subjected to verbal torture and unconditionally opposed.]

【crow:?】

[Puppet: Has Prime Minister Dong come back to life?]

[Insomnia: Seems like he's gone mad.]

[Little Pockmarked Guy: Nonsense, is he ever normal? Of course, I strongly support this demand!]

[Crow: @LittlePockmarkedOne, your idol has retired from the entertainment industry.]

[Little Pockmarked Girl: Get out of here! Are you crazy?! Waaaaah! Sakurajima-san!]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: The entertainment industry is rife with petty people and far too few virtuous ones. They hype themselves up without taking responsibility, seeking fame and fortune; they adorn themselves with fine clothes but lack talent, all show and no substance; they sift powder into chaff without benevolence, a mob. Like ants in a swarm, they use honey to wrap poison; they conspire treacherously, letting filth flood the halls of power; flattery and slander gain them power, calling a unicorn a wolf. Alas! In times without heroes to rise to fame, only petty scoundrels hold sway!]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: There is one person, Mai Sakurajima. With a sincere heart, she treats people with truth and accomplishes things with integrity—this is virtue! With the fierce spirit of a woman, she forges ahead fearlessly, undaunted by obstacles—this is courage! With lofty ambitions, she establishes herself at a young age, possessing extraordinary talent—this is talent! With a beauty surpassing even the most beautiful woman, her charm eclipsing the clouds and flowers, her gaze radiant—this is beauty! Only someone possessing such virtue, courage, talent, and beauty can sweep away the chaos and restore order! We, her fans, respond and follow her like clouds, united in purpose to build a great fortress!]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: Sakurajima Mai, by the mandate of heaven, possessing both virtue and talent, is entrusted with a swift and glorious mission!]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying: Eliminate the parasites of the entertainment industry, glory belongs to Mai Sakurajima!]

[Crow: Hiss! This is going a little too far!]

[Puppet: Wait a minute! You were actually the two-faced Lu Bu?!]

[Insomnia: Hey! Mai Sakurajima has retired from the entertainment industry, how come this guy went from hating to liking? Is the network latency too high?]

[Little Pockmarked: Well said! But you've realized it too late, Ms. Sakurajima has already retired... Ah, my life is devoid of joy and sorrow...]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying have muted Xiao Ma Zi for 30 minutes.]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: But your life still includes anger and my fucking.]

[Insomnia: ...Hmm, he was very energetic while chatting privately.]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: Anyway—everyone, Mai asked me to pass on a message: if you shut up and surrender, you can be appointed as dogs of the Sakurajima Dynasty, and the benefits will be enormous!]

[Crow: Wishful thinking!]

[Bai Liang and Bai Ying have muted Crow for 30 minutes.]