Uneasy daily life

……

Could Bai Ying please stop using such similar material?!

Yumiko Miura felt the chair was a bit hot.

Chapter 100 Them (Part 2)

Looking out the window, I folded the exam paper into a paper airplane and threw it out to express my frustration.

I want to draw a colorful turtle on the face of a classmate I dislike.

Time slipped away like a mantra being chanted by the teacher. I wanted to become a boxer, to open the ring, and to face off against all the teachers who possessed unique skills.

First up are the Four Heavenly Kings of Teachers!

The math teacher will bang his head against the wall; word problems, equations, geometry problems, and so on will wipe out all the hair from his opponent's head.

A Mandarin teacher might say, "One word from me will surely make you surrender," making those familiar words seem unfamiliar and difficult to think about.

The science teacher would use scientific calculations to deliver a perfect boxing routine, with every move conforming to biology and physics.

Your history teacher will make you memorize many names, and then forget yourself.

The physical education teacher is the weakest member of the teacher food chain; their presence depends on when they announce free time.

Among these four kings, the history teacher may seem unremarkable at first glance, but he actually has hidden strength and is at the top of the teacher food chain. He is the head of the four kings and is the homeroom teacher. He has the ultimate killing move of summoning his parents.

I, Guan Gu Shenqi, will embark on a journey starting as a physical education teacher, to become the King of Boxing...

"Correct answer, please sit down."

The homeroom teacher adjusted his glasses and gave a brief nod.

Guan Gu sat down obediently.

The cicadas chirped incessantly outside the window, the teacher lectured, and the students read aloud; all these sounds intertwined and echoed until the school bell rang, silencing the noise. The students' boisterous revelry during the break drowned out everything else.

"The great writer is writing again?"

The Ministry of Revenue officials chimed in, "Let me see! Let me see!"

"Stop fooling around." Guan Gu Shenqi closed the notebook.

"Tch." The Minister of Revenue clicked his tongue regretfully, and asked as usual, "Have you finished your math homework?"

Guan Gu Shenqi imagined spy rendezvous, intelligence warfare, and many other things, and shook his head, saying, "If you were in World War II, you definitely couldn't be a spy."

In history class just now, they were talking about World War II. Our homeroom teacher got really into it and humorously introduced some interesting stories about intelligence warfare during World War II—like Garcia, who relied entirely on fabricated intelligence; Cicero, who didn't understand English but still managed to gather a lot of British intelligence; and how the German intelligence chief adhered to the excellent principle of 'no real intelligence, but all false intelligence'. With the help of these brilliant spies, the German army fought tenaciously against the Allies but was ultimately defeated.

The teacher summarized it this way: sometimes the greatest help in defeating the enemy is not your own strength, but the enemy itself.

The Ministry of Revenue took the assignment, glanced around furtively, stuffed the notebook into his clothes, hunched over and returned to his seat, giving him a look that seemed to say, "Do I look like a spy?"

Guan Gu Shenqi smiled and continued flipping through the book.

High school life went smoothly. I started my own club, made a lot of friends, and even mustered up the courage to invite Nobuko Okita to join the Classic Literature Club. Everything went very well. It turns out that if I put in the effort, I can achieve a lot of things...

Although I was a little tired, I was happy enough.

I heard that Nobuko Okita hasn't joined the club yet. Maybe I should try to get her to join my Classic Literature Club next time.

Guan Gu returned home in high spirits.

He felt his home was very standardized. He had no say in family matters, nor any right to know. Occasionally, he could hear his parents talking in their room, but the specific content was always vague. His parents were like NPCs in a game's starting area, only providing basic equipment and consumer goods for survival. Every time he talked to them, the conversations revolved around a few fixed themes.

Today, the brave warriors who went out to fight have returned home and are ready to start completing daily tasks with NPCs.

"How's your study going lately?"

"Fortunately."

Parents don't ask how they've been feeling lately.

"We must strive to maintain this level; learning is like rowing against the current—if you don't move forward, you fall behind."

"Ah."

Parents like to use self-encouraging words to pressure others.

"Speaking of the neighbors next door..."

The conversation shifted away from themselves and turned to trivial chatter among relatives and friends.

The hero has completed the daily task and gained LV+1.

After quietly finishing his dinner, Guan Gu Shenqi said he was full and went back to his room to do his homework and review his studies. Of course, he didn't forget to write down the things he had imagined that day in his notebook. His classmates jokingly called him a great writer because they often saw him writing in his notebook.

Guan Gu Shenqi disagreed, saying, "I just can't control my mind. Being a writer isn't that easy." He also didn't have any particular interest in writers—if he had to choose his favorite writer, he would pick Natsume Soseki.

The Natsume Soseki on the 1000 yen note is the most charismatic writer.

Fukuzawa Yukichi on the 10,000 yen note is also very charming, but that charm is too far removed from the students' reach.

Can they directly charge money for the use of their own image on banknotes?

Guan Gu Shenqi smiled and jotted down the fleeting, interesting thought.

Writers should probably give up; it's too shameful to write down their wild thoughts and let others read them.

"I heard you're writing a novel?"

"Ah, not really. I just write things when I'm interested. After all, I'm the head of the Classic Literature Department."

"Oh? I'd like to read your novel."

"I'm currently brainstorming ideas, the writing process is going smoothly, and I should be able to finish it after some refining... Is Okita interested in joining the Classic Literature Club?"

"I enjoy reading, but I'm not very interested in classical literature; I prefer popular novels."

"The club collects popular novels. The reason it's called the Classical Literature Department is simply because the school established a literature department, and to avoid having the same name as others, I had to use something classical."

"Okay, give me an application form."

I want to be a writer! I was born to create!

……

……

“Cages were placed in the square.”

Damian walked past cage after cage, each containing a person—at least two, and at most countless.

"His task was to observe and record, and to compile the things that the people in the cages were discussing."

Two people in one cage are arguing about whether the steamed buns taste good or not. One of them only says they taste good, and the other always replies with "Delicious my foot!" A dozen people in one cage are arguing about the meaning of life, with opinions being raised or refuted every day. Dozens of people in one cage sit on the ground every day shouting "Let us out!" even though the cage has never been closed. Hundreds of people in one cage have split into two factions, hurling insults and suppressing each other, arguing about "which one is better."

"Everything is as boring as ever, Mr. John."

Damian complained to his colleagues, "They keep arguing about the same things they argued about yesterday. I can practically recite their words by heart." Damian was quite unhappy about inspecting the cages, but Mr. John didn't think so.

“‘It’s interesting. They’re arguing about the same things, but they’re not always arguing. Haven’t you noticed some people leaving one cage and going into another? They always manage to come up with something new to argue about,’ Mr. John said. ‘You could try going into a cage and having a friendly, amicable exchange with the others. Those ridiculous and bizarre things can make people laugh out loud.’”

"Are the people in the cages boring or interesting? Damian and Mr. John argued about this until they were both red in the face and their mouths were dry."

"Inside the huge cage that covered the square, the two men's argument continued."

In the Classic Literature Clubroom, Nobuko Okita closed her notebook, smiled faintly, and said, "This story feels rather rudimentary."

"Because it's a new idea," Guan Gu Shenqi said. "The inspiration came from the recent arguments between various clubs. When applying for funding, they argued so much that it was really annoying, especially the sports clubs. Fortunately, Shirakawa-kun resolved the issue of the disputes between the clubs."

"I heard that Shirakawa-kun scolded them all?"

"Yeah... Shirakawa-kun went straight through all the sports clubs' results and number of members, and concluded that giving them funding was not as good as giving them severance pay. He successfully made all the sports clubs unhappy, and in the end, no conclusion was reached."

Guan Gu Shenqi said helplessly, "Student council matters can be quite chaotic at times."

Seeing this, Nobuko Okita smiled, revealing a few white teeth at the corners of her mouth: "Congratulations on winning the essay contest, and I wish you success in your election as student council president."

Now that senior high school students are facing the pressure of graduation exams, the position of student council president is naturally passed to junior high school students. Among the junior high school students, Guan Gu Shenqi has the strongest support - he never makes enemies, treats every classmate kindly, has excellent academic performance, and has many friends.

Shirakawa is another typical example: he has some very good friends, but he is also good at making everyone unhappy.

Although they both ran for student council president, from a generally rational perspective, Shirakawa was more like the ceiling.

When Bai Cunhe claimed he would tear down the ceiling of the house, the students were more willing to vote for Guan Gu Shenqi.

In the evening, Guan Gu Shenqi and Okita Nobuko left the school together. He temporarily put aside his worries about the student council and looked at the smiling Okita Nobuko with a slight daze. After a year of hard work, he was completely different from when he was in junior high school. He had established his own club, made friends all over the grade, and narrowed the distance between him and Nobuko...

When I become the student council president, I'll confess my feelings to Nobuko.

The two walked and talked, discussing their siblings.

"I'm an only child, what about Nobuko?"

"I have a lovely little sister."

Someone like Nobuko must get along very well with her younger sister and care about each other, right? For example, when buying things, she would always make sure to prepare a gift for her sister.

Guan Gu Jun thought to himself.

Last time I was shopping, I successfully "extorted" my sister's allowance to buy me ice cream. I'll find another opportunity to swindle her again.

Nobuko Okita thought to herself.

……

……

The cultural festival is a traditional activity, but whether it is traditional or not is irrelevant, just as for most people, the meaning of various festivals is only one thing—a holiday.

A holiday that grants a day off is a true holiday; a holiday that doesn't grant a day off is a fake holiday.

The cultural festival is like a holiday in disguise, with each class organizing activities and classes completely suspended during the period.

The school announced that the cultural festival would not be held this year, and that students should focus on preparing for exams. The seeds of restlessness and anger were sown, growing with the passage of time until they blossomed into a burning flower.

In the classroom, you could hear students' dissatisfied discussions. Occasionally, some impatient students would question the teacher, only to be scolded or simply brushed off.

Until some students from each class stormed into the student council office.

The noise inside the cage began, and they expressed their opinions and feelings more and more intensely. I didn't care whether they were right or wrong; I just felt an indescribable exhaustion.

"Stop arguing! If you want to argue, go argue with the school!" Bai Cun and his classmates said bluntly as always. "Let's hold a protest march. I'm nominating Guan Gu Shenqi as our representative. He has many friends and a good relationship with the teachers—what do you all think?"

I froze, about to express that I had no interest in it.

"Great! Shenqi will definitely have no problem!" Hubu was the first to loudly support. "Shenqi, let's lead the protest! They actually canceled the cultural festival, and everyone has been looking forward to it for so long!"

"That's right!"

Some people chimed in.

"Yes! Guan Gu! Guan Gu!"

As this voice grows louder, so do the voices of agreement.

Turning around, I became a student leader.

My friends' fervent emotions burned like flames, and I felt as if I were hanging on a cross.

"I'll go and inform the students in the other classes!"

"Let's go downstairs and protest!"

"The cultural festival cannot be cancelled!"

Amidst the clamor, a protest began. I couldn't stop it, nor did I need to push it forward. When I saw Nobuko join the protest with such fervor, I wondered if I had been too indifferent...

The protests gradually grew in size on campus, making it impossible to attend classes normally. I was forced to stand at the front of the crowd, facing my homeroom teacher who rushed over. I thought that under the persuasion and suppression of the leader of the "Four Heavenly Kings," the riot would soon end—

Someone threw a book, which hit the homeroom teacher on the head before she could even speak.

Angry protests and curses surged forth, and the homeroom teacher shouted a few times in panic before fleeing the scene.

The leader of the Four Heavenly Kings was defeated and fled without a fight.

I cannot describe the noise I heard, the emotions I felt, or the atmosphere that was building up in the crowd at that moment.

Authority has been overthrown.

They overthrew authority and began to revel.

I am a lone boat, barely managing to stay afloat amidst the raging waves.