Uneasy daily life

Could it be that he's also involved in some strange incident?

As Azusagawa Sakuta pondered, recalling his junior high school days, he asked, "Shiro, is Ms. Shoko really a student at Hachihara High School?"

Bai Ying pondered, "You want to pursue her? You're in heat."

Sakuta Azusagawa said calmly, "Yes, I was in heat—if I hadn't run into you by chance while working part-time, I would have thought I was having a strange dream and getting courage from a figment of my imagination."

"Hmph hmph hmph..." The white figure laughed a few times, "Then let's wait for our reunion with hope."

So Ms. Shoko wasn't lying to me? She really is a student at Hachihara High School? Could it be that when I entered high school, she had already gone to university? But after searching through the past student lists, there was no name Makinohara Shoko on them...

Azusagawa Sakuta was about to ask——

"Brother, are you back?"

A soft sound came from outside the door.

"came back."

Sakuta Azusagawa responded, then quickly covered his phone and whispered something.

"I'll hang up first—"

Bai Ying hung up the phone first, humming a little tune with the joy of victory, and continued to fill the vast ocean of questions that could drown Hachiman.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Cycle Never Ends

Today is Monday.

Is today Monday?

Today is Monday!

The night has passed, and dawn is breaking.

Since when did dawn gradually become a whip, lashing at those lying in bed? On weekdays, this whip can ignore the armor and magic resistance of bedding, dealing true damage and inflicting the mental anguish of 'How can you sleep at such a young age?!'

Bai Ying was fearless. Even if he stayed up half the night to brainstorm, as a tough guy who had drunk inferior Meng Po soup on the Bridge of Helplessness, he only needed four hours or even less to fully recover from mental exhaustion compared to the average person's eight hours of sleep a day.

This is equivalent to having four extra hours of life each day, which is equivalent to spending a full one-sixth more time working overtime than others...

Ha, you're so wrong if you think I'd think that way!

As someone who has broken through the illusions of being a corporate slave and been reincarnated after reaching the pinnacle, only needing to sleep four hours a day means I have four hours of freedom. I can lie in bed in a state of high spirits and squander them for comfort. I can let my soul travel around the universe, traversing the past and present and imagining the future. If I'm really worried about how to spend my time, then I'll just let time slip away in my worries!

I've already made a fortune.

Bai Ying was in a good mood and started slurping down a bowl of noodles, but her good mood lasted until the last sentence.

"It's a bit like a metamorphosis, taking the difference and mutual influence between subjective consciousness and objective facts as the starting point. The first half unfolds from the male protagonist's perspective, while the female protagonist is the subplot. When the two reunite, the perspective shifts to the female protagonist, the subplot becomes the main plot, and the main plot becomes the subplot. It's a bit of a show-off, but it's harmless. It's expected that your vision is a bit limited, but by incorporating some social elements, it can see the big picture from the small and resonate with the audience."

Over the phone, the client kept pointing and giving feedback.

With each piece of feedback he heard, Bai Ying's mood decreased by 1. He had already lost his composure and even had demonic thoughts rising up in an instant. He said, "You once talked to me about the five tribulations of creators. Every creator must go through the trials of the five tribulations. If they cannot pass them, they will be plagued by inner demons and will not have a good end."

"Heh." The client seemed to understand, then smiled knowingly. "You mean the first tribulation?"

The white figure slowly said, "When I wrote this book, I was stubborn and did not understand. Knowing the difference between right and wrong and suffering from the same path, what is the error? This is the first tribulation of creation: stubbornness."

I'm so tired, so alone

“Obsession, obsession, ego, and unenlightened obsession are calamities.” The client said earnestly and nostalgically, “Every creator has the desire to express themselves. If their expression conflicts with others, criticism, questioning, and correction will follow. They will be denied, misunderstood, distorted, and corrected.”

"As long as there are people appreciating the work, this matter will never stop; this is the fate of creators. Creators cannot be omniscient and omnipotent, and subjective expression is inherently difficult to judge as right or wrong. If one clings to the idea of ​​selflessness, the ignorant self will inevitably lead to a dead end, trapped in it, unable to make any progress. If one does not cling to the idea of ​​selflessness, the unintentional self cannot judge what is right and what is wrong. Without selflessness, there is no knowledge, which is also a dead end."

"To be stubborn and not know is death; to be without attachment is to have no self to know is also death—my disciple, how did you answer the question of attachment back then?"

Inside the rented room, Bai Ying's gaze drifted into the distance, as if she had returned to that summer in the theater troupe.

At that time, I was an apprentice playwright, an apprentice actor, an apprentice lighting technician... In short, I did odd jobs, I could do anything.

The client, formerly a playwright, could be considered my mentor to some extent. One day, he proposed the Five Tribulations of Creators, which I dismissed as absurd. A few days later, the playwright handed me a script outline and asked me to refine it into a full-fledged script.

I personally experienced what it means to be bound by fate.

The playwright's kind words from that time still seem to linger in my ears.

"What kind of nonsense did you write? A stagnant pool stretching from west to north? Make the plot move! Don't you understand what plot twists and turns are?! There are no twists and turns in the outline? Can't you just make them up in the writing? A three-sentence outline is too short, can't you make it up? Four men and a horse journeying to the West, in the chaotic Three Kingdoms period, the survivors win, vast fortunes vanish, rebellion or amnesty—I gave you a three-times-long outline, did Cao Xueqin have three heads, or did Shi Nai'an have six arms?"

"There are ups and downs, but too few, and the rhythm is off—too chaotic! Rising is releasing, falling is holding back; these rises and falls are the heartbeat of the story. A person without a heartbeat dies, and a book without ups and downs is also dead! Keep writing!"

"Well, it's barely watchable, probably comparable to the cat I trained for three days. But the plot is weak, and I don't like the male lead's behavior. Let's remove him. But what happens to the story if the protagonist is removed? Of course, we rewrite the story without him. You even need to ask that? Can't you use your brain?"

'The female lead's appearance can be summed up with just "pretty"? Write it more beautifully, don't just define it with abstract concepts. Rewrite it; this description needs to be beautiful, but I can't see a single word like "beautiful."'

"The romance scenes are too mediocre. Let me teach you a trick: get on the bus first, then buy the ticket, understand? How do you write it? Of course, you write it. Do you expect me to?"

'I'm getting more and more annoyed with this new male lead; I'd rather switch back to the old one.'

'The male lead isn't tragic enough; let his sister and father die too.'

'The female lead is too pitiful; don't let her whole family die.'

'Fine, since we're going for a happy ending, let's not make the male lead's whole family die.'

"No! A happy ending is too cliché. Give me a tragic ending with some depth, that kind of unspoken, suggestive effect, like... for example, the male lead is dying, the female lead is pregnant, and what seems like a beautiful moment hides a sorrowful future."

'Fine, if it's going to be tragic, why bother with a happy ending? Let's make it a total annihilation ending.'

'The male lead's tragedy should be epic and dramatic, the female lead's tragedy should be tragically unpredictable, and the ending should be tragically desolate and silent. Give me a good taste of the four ways to write the word "tragedy"!'

I don't think this will work; let's rewrite it.

After a month of back and forth, the former overworked employee's instincts were triggered, and he suddenly realized that he saw through the other party's constant feedback and explanations.

It's you, boss.

It's you, Party A.

It's you, the good person who reads...reading.

This is an inevitable ordeal that creators must face.

All creative works that express oneself will inevitably be met with opposition, misinterpretation, denial, and misunderstanding.

The most terrifying thing is that it's hard to say which feedback is correct and which insights are wrong. Eventually, inner demons arise, distracting thoughts arise, and one sinks into despair and cannot have a good end.

When standards are ambiguous, praise and criticism are both acceptable, both can lead to change and correct mistakes, and anyone can offer their opinion.

To overcome this predicament, one must clearly define a standard and have specific conditions before one can begin to think, filter, and make directional changes, so as not to get lost or trapped.

Although she didn't work as a creator in her previous life, the difficulties she faced were not much different. Realizing that the difficulties were due to her boss's dissatisfaction, Bai Ying had an epiphany and transcended the mortal world, thus overcoming her tribulations.

Minor tribulations and hardships are nothing compared to the great power of reincarnation and rebirth!

"Whoever pays the money, we'll listen to them."

"Great! I admire your carefree attitude!" The client was very satisfied and continued to give pointers, "So, for this story framework, you need to broaden the scope a bit. Do you know Romeo and Juliet? There needs to be a major conflict in the environment so that we can uncover more about the characters through sharp clashes..."

Bai Ying scoffed: "No."

The client remained silent, then coldly asked, "Where are your creative principles?"

"I have money. I won't have to worry about rent next month, and I have enough food. I can even give myself an extra portion of beef."

The white figure said arrogantly, "I will write it the way I say it."

“You’re rich, you want to be on par with literary giants, you’re just going through a rebellious phase.” The client said earnestly, “Have you thought about your future plans? Have you thought about how much money you’ll need in the future? Marriage, children, education, old age, burial, funeral—if you’re this rebellious now, be careful you don’t regret it later.”

"Outrageous! You dare to use money from the future to fool people now?!" Bai Ying pointed back and said, "Times have changed. What kind of grand narratives and macro-level stories are you writing? They're detached from reality, vague and unrealistic, stirring up emotions and plotting something sinister, selling sentimentality while harboring malicious intentions, fabricating the future to entice radicalism, and abstractly describing empty promises. You should eat a few more peanuts, or you'll be heading straight for the universe to start the Age of Exploration."

The client dropped their pretense and said menacingly, "Then don't come begging to me again. If it doesn't pass the review, it just doesn't pass!"

Do you think I'm afraid of a piece of trash like you? I'll just submit my work to the group leader!

Bai Ying smiled disdainfully, proudly hung up the phone first, her mood already soaring to the height of euphoria.

It's awesome to encounter something like this so early in the morning!

Only cowards want to be keyboard warriors; true heroes should be bosses!

Bai Ying tidied herself up, took out bread and yogurt from the refrigerator, happily picked up her schoolbag, checked the time, and waited a while.

A short while later, a man with a beer belly and a smile like that of Maitreya Buddha entered through the door.

Bai Ying said in a deep voice, "You've come."

The man, who had read martial arts novels in his younger days, replied in agreement, "I'm here."

Bai Ying changed to a sorrowful tone: "You shouldn't have come."

"I'm the landlord, why can't I come?" The man lost his patience and stopped cooperating.

"Because I've already anticipated your actions—next month's rent."

Bai Ying confidently showed an envelope, thinking to herself that when money is about to be spent, there is always a sense of security and loneliness, a feeling of satisfaction amidst emptiness.

The landlord smiled and waved his hand, "That won't be necessary."

"Oh." Bai Ying nodded. "First, let's rule out the possibility that someone might waive a month's rent for a happy occasion."

"When good things happen, it's true; I'd even waive a month's rent for you."

The landlord transformed into Maitreya Buddha, always smiling, filling the world with warmth.

The wise white figure, however, saw the shadow beneath the light and cautiously asked, "Then, what is the price?"

“This area is slated for demolition next month, so you’ll have to find a new place to live.”

The landlord, now middle-aged and facing numerous crises, has finally waited for this day.

Starting today, he will lose his sadness and worries, regain his youth, be full of vigor, take revenge, resign on the spot, and sarcasticly criticize the stupid boss's parachuted-in nephew, escaping the endless cycle of being a corporate slave, and taking his family on a cruise to enjoy life.

Bai Ying watched the landlord, brimming with strength, leave. His back was so agile and powerful. She could still vaguely recall the first time they met. He was rubbing his hands together, trying hard to sell this remote and cramped rental room. Before she could even speak, he took the initiative to lower the rent again and again. He was clearly upright and steady, but life had taken away half of his strength.

He endured hardship and bided his time, all for the sake of achieving great things one day. What a true hero!

Bai Ying sighed deeply.

As the saying goes.

After getting up early and combing my hair, I'm carefree and happy.

Little did I know that the world is ever-changing; he ascended to a high platform while I descended to a low one.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Profound Darkness of Human Nature

Department of Aid/Service.

Today, the classroom was filled with the atmosphere of battle and warfare. Exam papers and reference books were laid out, and the words of the sages flowed through the ages. Some lamented the passing of spring flowers and autumn moons, some calculated the movement of stars and the celestial orbits, some reviewed the rise and fall of dynasties, and some silently counted the myriad aspects of people's lives...

The pioneers left behind a wealth of invaluable treasures, much like the divine manuals of martial arts in the world of martial arts.

Those who have just entered the realm of cultivation often find it difficult to face the writings imbued with their essence, energy, and spirit. The profound and weighty sword intent within them, even after a thousand years, can still make people dizzy, have their ears ring, feel chest tightness, and cough up blood.

In our youth, we all dreamed of being chivalrous heroes, galloping across the land, wielding swords, and admiring flowers. But upon reflection, even with the most powerful martial arts in the world, we probably wouldn't understand it, and we might even suffer from qi deviation, ruptured meridians, and death.

Hachiman Hikigaya sighed. If it were humanities content, no matter how difficult it was, he could still figure out the theme and make up a few vague remarks. After all, the great scholars of humanities had already been buried in the ground and could not possibly crawl out to grade his papers. As long as he could fool the grader, it would not be difficult to get some points. Even the strictest standards were nothing more than rote memorization.

If we switch to science—

On the table lay a printed sheet of paper, the first page of which read: "[White Shadow Edition Final Exam Crash Course - Hachiman Special Edition]".

Turning to the first page, it is so simple and unpretentious, as easy to understand as the preface, seemingly nothing more than that.

I casually flipped to a page in the middle and was immediately struck by its profound meaning.

As the saying goes, one begets two, two begets three, and three begets all things.

On a blank sheet of paper, the superficial world of mathematics, physics, and chemistry is carved and sculpted. To break through these appearances, one must accurately arrive at that one.

The process of breaking down a complex problem into its steps to arrive at the answer must be meticulous, without adding or omitting a single number or symbol, and without revealing any personal touches whatsoever.

Hachiman Hikigaya feels like he's prematurely become a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man. His life's specialty is peanuts and sake; he can talk about aliens from the Galactic Alliance, explain the changing world order, and contemplate the profound truths of life. When his adorable, frowning daughter hands him a math problem from her homework, the man freezes like a broken old radio, stammering, sweating profusely, and dodging the question. Faced with his daughter's innocent, puzzled gaze, the man sobers up, his back aches, his already thinning hair turns even more gray, and he realizes he's already deeply mired in a midlife crisis.

I've seen this question before.

I just can't do it!

Hachiman Hikigaya turned a few pages forward.