Uneasy daily life

The thought that even one's own memories have become unreliable fills me with anxiety.

"I don't even know the end of the universe, so how would I know about this?"

Bai Ying shrugged and said, "Incredible things happen everywhere. There are countless things that you can never figure out in your entire life. Don't believe me? Go do some math. No matter how talented you are, there will always be a problem that will kill you."

If we take unknown factors into account...

Yukino Yukinoshita slowly opened her eyes wide: "So this is how you got the scar on Azusagawa-kun's chest?!"

“Not just the scars, but also his sister—due to cyberbullying, Azusagawa Kaede suddenly developed bruises and marks on his body. After waking up from a coma, he lost his memory, which was one of the reasons I got to know him.” Bai Ying casually mentioned the past and provided evidence. “Also because of cyberbullying, his sister instinctively resisted modern communication devices. There was no computer at home, and he didn’t use a smartphone.”

Yukino Yukinoshita rubbed her temples, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information that was clogging her brain.

Stay calm, set aside those unanswerable doubts and questions, and focus on the essential issues.

First: Why would Bai Jun know these things?

second……

"Leaving aside Shiro's willingness to have surgery and stitches done simultaneously," Yukino Yukinoshita asked casually, "So, is this matter considered resolved?"

Mai Sakurajima reassured Kazuka Toyohama and said, "It seems that a solution has indeed been found... As a thank you, it's fine for Black Fan to extend the lease for a while."

"Yes, yes!" Toyohama Kazuka nodded repeatedly. "Shouldn't that jerk move out?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, what a naive idea. Now that you've gotten involved in something extraordinary, do you think you can just get away with it normally? Don't forget Rio Futaba's guess that sleeping weakens one's observational abilities..."

Bai Ying said playfully, "After the stick figure wakes up, he finds that he doesn't have a sister. After the hero wakes up, he thinks that he is Mai Sakurajima. Don't you think that's a very interesting thing?"

Funny my foot!

All three of them were starting to lose their composure.

At a time when the fragile alliance is teetering on the brink of collapse, the possibility proposed by Bai Ying is like a bottle of superglue.

“The Brave One wants me to move out because he feels safe; the Brave One Plus wants me to stay because he feels safe; the Stickman wants me to move out because he feels safe.” Bai Ying took out her phone, turned on the camera, and urged, “Please begin your debate and leave a wonderful record of your lives—Brave One, I have a brilliant idea.”

"After you forget about Sakurajima Mai tomorrow, I'll get you to call yourself Sakurajima Mai and write it down. It'll be so cool!"

Mai Sakurajima took a deep breath: "Packing up the hater and throwing him out is a good option."

Yukino Yukinoshita gritted her teeth: "I agree."

Feng Bin and Hua stepped directly onto the edge of the bed, their urge to kick someone becoming uncontrollable.

"Wait! Don't come any closer—! If you come any closer, I'm going to reveal my last trump card!"

Bai Ying squatted down on the bed, the blanket tied around her neck wrapped around her body, and moved backward repeatedly.

"Hmph! Let's see what you're going to do..."

Feng Binhe sneered, then suddenly stepped on a shirt. She froze, instinctively looking at the white figure wrapped in the blanket.

The white figure squatted on the bed and moved to the side, leaving behind a pair of slim-fitting pants.

Toyohama Kazuka: "..."

Sakurajima Mai: "..."

Yukinoshita Yukino: "..."

Feng Bin and Hua jumped off the bed, their legs trembling, while the other two instinctively took a step back and moved away from the bedside.

Have you ever heard of the trench coat pervert?

Bai Ying asked with a serious expression, "Want to know what's under the blanket?"

"You...you...you...you..." Feng Binhe stammered, managing to utter a condemnation, "You pervert!"

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but panic, managing to maintain some composure: "Shiraki! You think you can get away with this?!"

The white figure said confidently, "I think it's entirely possible! Brave one, you gaze into the abyss, and the abyss gazes into you... I am Schrödinger's naked body right now, do you dare to pull back the covers? Hahahaha, hehehehe—!"

Sakurajima Mai suddenly rushed to the bedside, grabbed a corner of the blanket, and pulled it forcefully.

"Where is your shame? Where is your morality? You, you, you—yamete!!!"

The white figure screamed and stubbornly tried to wrap himself up tighter, but the pulled blanket revealed that he was not naked, but rather wearing trousers on his calves.

"Hey haters, if you're going to give a warning, give a normal one. Don't use a bunch of random things to embellish and disguise it."

Having already foiled Bai Ying's empty city ploy, Sakurajima Mai casually quipped, then loosened the blanket and said, "I'll remember your kindness and won't let my guard down."

"My plan failed?!"

The white-clad figure was quite bewildered: "What a terrifying fighting spirit!"

Thank goodness, I wasn't actually naked...

Sakurajima Mai suppressed her slightly rapid heartbeat and left the room with feigned ease.

"Wahana, Yukinoshita, if you would like to stay overnight, I will make arrangements for you."

Chapter Ninety Night Talk

Adhering to the principle of hospitality that guests should not be allowed to sleep on the sofa, Mai Sakurajima simply arranged for Kazuha Toyohama, Yukino Yukinoshita, and others to sleep with her.

Fortunately, the bed in the master bedroom was quite large, so it wasn't too crowded for three people to sleep in. The summer heat wasn't a problem either—the air conditioner was turned on to lower the room temperature, and the three thin blankets were spread out separately to keep their body temperature. The three of them lay on the bed very properly, with their feet together, their bodies upright, and their eyes fixed on the ceiling.

Toyohama and Hana slept on the left, struggling to suppress the urge to toss and turn. Sakurajima Mai slept in the middle, her eyes closed as she drifted off to sleep. Yukino Yukinoshita slept on the right, her eyes wide open, lost in thought for a moment before taking out her phone to look at it. A small patch of screen light shone brightly in the dim light.

"What are you looking at, Yukinoshita?"

Feng Bin and Hua finally found a chance to speak.

“The news about Ms. Sakurajima,” Yukino Yukinoshita replied with a complicated tone. “I searched for the name ‘Sakurajima Mai’ online before, but I completely ignored all the content pointing to Ms. Sakurajima. Looking back now, I simply can’t understand what I was doing or thinking back then…”

A closer look sends chills down one's spine—the truth of memory, the falsehood of memory. A false memory can negate a true memory, or it can negate another false memory... Is my current memory real or false? Once one becomes overly engrossed in this question without a clear answer, one inevitably experiences intense discomfort and anxiety, which is far beyond a simple philosophical reflection.

No wonder Bai Jun said that...

If this is the case for myself, then it goes without saying that many people act based on their feelings and intuition. When the things that constitute self-identity, such as memory and cognition, are denied, the resulting confusion and wavering can easily lead people to stubbornness and prejudice.

"Oh..." Feng Bin and Hua comforted each other, "It's okay, didn't you remember? It's alright as long as there's no problem."

“This is only a temporary result. What if you don’t remember?” Yukino Yukinoshita asked in return.

"This one……"

Feng Bin and Hana thought for a moment: "Remember it again?"

I think you completely misunderstand how I feel—after being treated like that by Bai Jun, recalling those overlooked details makes me want to dig a hole, throw Bai Jun down as a base, and then stuff myself in and bury us all together!

Yukino Yukinoshita let out a soft sigh: "Has Toyohama never experienced the destructive power of the white fungus?"

"..." Feng Bin and Hua were silent for a moment.

"My sister went to the film set?" Yukino Yukinoshita recalled this overlooked matter, mainly because the subsequent events, such as puberty syndrome, were so significant that this matter seemed insignificant in comparison.

“Yes.” Fengbin and Hua recalled the humiliation of those few days, gritting their teeth as they spoke, “That super-strong woman!”

Yukino Yukinoshita replied calmly, "It's because you lack exercise."

Feng Bin and Hua retorted directly: "You and your sister work out—you don't have abs, do you?"

"Due to hormonal influences, it's not so easy for women to build visible muscles."

Yukino Yukinoshita sighed softly: "Let's talk about that puberty syndrome. Shiro-kun mentioned two examples, the Azusagawa siblings..."

"Sakuta Azusagawa's condition is unclear. Although the scars might be a clue from the forensic examination, nothing else is known... What about Kaede Azusagawa's condition? This kind of verbal violence, like cyberbullying, has manifested as bruises on her body. Is the psychological trauma simultaneously reflected in her physical body? And then she lost her memory..."

Yukino Yukinoshita put down her phone and rubbed her temples. "It's completely unfounded, just wild speculation—Sakurajima-san, why did you encounter this situation? Do you have any guesses?"

"I don't know." Mai Sakurajima closed her eyes and said honestly, "I was indeed caught up in family and career problems before, but they weren't major issues and I've mostly resolved them. Occasionally, because of work, I did have some negative feelings that made me want to leave the crowd and the spotlight and disappear on my own, but I've long since gotten rid of them."

"It's actually difficult to be negative in front of a hater."

The bedroom fell silent until Fengbin and Hana said with lingering resentment, "Yeah, I just want to kick that guy away..."

In this respect, the three clearly share a strong sense of resonance.

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but ask, "Sakurajima-san, aren't you being a little too composed?"

“Otherwise?” Mai Sakurajima opened her eyes, her cheek pressed against the pillow, and turned her head to look at him, asking with a smile, “Should we be filled with fear and anxiety, constantly worrying, pushing ourselves to the brink of despair before we are actually driven to it, and then desperately trying to solve the problem by luck? All I can do is wait for opportunities and changes, or face it directly.”

“This is different from the Azusagawa siblings.”

Yukino looked back, and their eyes met: "If this continues... won't our lives be in danger?"

"This is not something I can decide. I can only do my best to face life, even if life seems unusual."

Mai Sakurajima turned her face to the front and closed her eyes: "Go to sleep early."

I feel like I've been outdone... Hero plus... Hmph...

Yukino Yukinoshita felt flustered. Everything should have been fine before, so why did everything suddenly turn into a mess? There were these inexplicable supernatural phenomena and all sorts of strange situations—hmm? Why was Haku-kun involved in all of this? It seems he had a connection with Sakuta Azusagawa back in middle school. Could this be the reason for his puberty syndrome?

In the quiet bedroom, Toyohama Kazuka suddenly blurted out, "Yukinoshita, why did you apologize before?"

Apologize? Yukino Yukinoshita snapped out of her thoughts and figured out what it was about: "Because I was a bit confused at the time, and my father's behavior was very wrong. Since I did something wrong, I should apologize."

Feng Bin and Hua pressed further, "Then why is it considered a mistake?"

"..." Yukino Yukinoshita said subtly, "Of course I think I did something wrong. Do I need to explain myself to anyone?"

Feng Bin and Hua fell into deep thought.

"Aren't you all sleepy?" Mai Sakurajima sighed softly.

"Hehe... let's just treat it as a friendly chat," Feng Bin and Hua said with unusual enthusiasm. "I don't have any friends to stay overnight or share a bed with, so we should find topics to chat about, right?"

"I don't know," Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly. "I don't have many friends, and this is my first time visiting someone else's home."

I originally thought I would visit Yui Hama's house at some point, such as on Yui Hama's birthday, but I didn't expect to visit Mai Sakurajima's house.

"I only recently left the entertainment industry. In the first semester of my second year, I only managed to get to the very end. I have no friends, and people at school seem to be deliberately avoiding me."

Mai Sakurajima said, "You're pretty much the same as Hana, right? You have to balance idol training, work, and studies, so you don't have much time for school, and naturally you don't make many friends."

"This one……"

"It seems like we don't have any friends," Toyohama Kazuka complained dejectedly.

Yukino Yukinoshita corrected her, "I have three."

Mai Sakurajima said, "I have one."

"Ahem, I have some teammates..."

A few words of casual conversation could be heard from time to time in the room.

……

……

[Your writing is loose, your expression is abstract, your rhetoric is piling up, your theme is unclear, your pacing is chaotic, your premise is contradictory, your scope is narrow, and you even have several typos—and you think this got approved? And you're writing a screenplay?]

On his phone, the playwright was giving his comprehensive and insightful commentary.

"You brat! Is it because your father spoils you too much, or have you just entered your rebellious phase?!"

Bai Ying showed no sign of being subservient to Party B.

[How dare you! You rebellious student, watch out or I'll cut off your manuscript!]

Bai Ying sneered, "I'm sorry, I'm not short of money lately."

[Ah? You've finally strayed onto that path driven by the need to make a living? It's pitiful that you're so young, yet you have to bear the burden of being a pampered young lady. It's truly a tragedy of our times. Someone who yearns to express themselves through art ultimately becomes famous because of their face, selling their body for a price, offering their soul in return.]

The playwright sighed a few times, then revealed his true intentions: "Now that you have a little money, you dare to defy me when discussing the manuscript..."

"It's not like I only agreed with you when I was short of money," Bai Ying retorted.

What made you so unfilial? Was it money? You've lost respect once you have money, which is truly...

Bai Ying sneered again, "If I had money and still respected you, wouldn't that be despicable?"

[Hmph, anyway, you'd better revise this draft again... Oh, by the way, the prop master is about to come see you.]

That guy who does pyramid schemes?