Uneasy daily life

The curriculum for the second year of high school is vastly different from that for the first year. Mai Sakurajima (Wahana) tries her best to listen to the lessons, but she is exhausted.

There are two main difficulties in learning this subject.

This question is too difficult, I don't know how to do it.

That question was too difficult; I didn't know the answer.

"The students are just too enthusiastic," Mai Sakurajima (Wahana) sighed. "After class, many people came to chat with me, take photos with me, and excitedly inquired about my schedule..."

Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) was puzzled: "Sakurajima-senpai is usually busy with work and rarely has time to study at school, so is she still very popular?"

Mai Sakurajima (Wahana): "I also want to know why."

Yui Yuigahama guessed, "After all, Sakurajima-senpai is a popular celebrity, so it's normal for her to be popular, right?"

"Not necessarily," Hachiman Hikigaya said casually. "Precisely because he's a popular celebrity, there's a sense of unease about it beforehand, making it difficult for others to approach him normally. Once normal contact becomes impossible, people will keep their distance, and most people will subconsciously maintain that distance. The rest will follow the crowd, creating a strange, isolated environment..."

Bai Ying nodded and said, "That's right, just like Hachiman's friends."

Hachiman Hikigaya: "That's right, just like a friend of mine."

"Did you do something?" Bai Ying asked with certainty. "You must have done something!"

Sakurajima Mai (Waka) suppressed the urge to kick someone and said helplessly, "I didn't do anything... If I had to say something, during break, my deskmate kept secretly watching me, so I said a few words to her. She wanted my autograph, so we took a picture together. That's all."

Take care of your fans.

To shape an image.

I couldn't give him my autograph because I hadn't practiced it well enough, so I took a group photo instead.

It makes sense and there are no problems.

Mai Sakurajima (Wahana) spoke with righteous indignation.

"Lord Ye loved dragons, but his attempt to draw a tiger ended up with a dog; a tiger trying to learn to climb a tree like a cat is futile..."

Bai Ying casually rattled off a few lines of poetry.

Sakurajima Mai (Wahana) glanced back at her: "Who are you talking about?"

“Haku-kun is talking to himself, of course he’s talking about himself.” Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) understood, but didn’t correct her. “Sakurajima-senpai, we might need your help with the election…”

Strange.

strangeness.

It's really strange.

Hachiman Hikigaya's expression was subtle. In the past, when they met, they would either exchange pleasantries or have a cold face, seizing every opportunity to banter. But today, they were unusually harmonious—in short, something strange had happened, and it was best not to get involved.

This is bad! The Brave Plus has resorted to such tactics. We must find a way to help our niece, or the election will be in danger!

Bai Ying got up and headed to the Classical Literature Department to discuss important matters.

……

In the evening, I went home after school.

Bai Ying carried her schoolbag and computer, walking happily home from school. Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) followed on her left and Mai Sakurajima (Wahana) followed on her right.

"Sister, all done!"

Sakurajima Mai (Wahana) looked at the post she had made on the school forum. There was no blatant call for votes for her sister; it was just a very ordinary and simple sentence: "Good luck in the election, Yukinoshita."

"Ridiculous." The white-clad figure turned around and walked backwards. "A mere celebrity vote-getting campaign, a 'brave plus' contest? You think you can beat my niece like that?"

"We'll know whether it works or not tomorrow, won't we?"

Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) said with a hint of amusement, "I don't quite understand where Hater-kun's confidence comes from."

"In short, first be confident, then be confident, and finally be confident. That's my confidence." Bai Ying pointed and said, "Your performance today had many problems. First, the hero never addresses people by their names directly. Second, your demeanor was too gentle. You didn't grasp the character's most essential characteristics; you were just playing the role superficially. This level of acting is not good enough..."

“Sister, you clearly acted very well!” Mai Sakurajima (Wahana) immediately retorted, then asked, “Sister, was my performance today alright?”

Bai Ying: "They're all problems."

Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai): "There are no problems."

Sakurajima Mai (Waka) readily believed her sister's words and threw a few smug glances at the white figure—Tch! You bastard, you think you can fool me!

"Stop joking around. Your sister said there's no problem, she just doesn't care about her image. You just need to focus on doing your best," Bai Ying said disdainfully. "You two sisters are equally bad at acting. You know a little bit about improvisation, and you can get the point across but never quite reach the mark..."

Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) smiled and nodded: "What the hater said makes sense. Then I'll trouble you to tell me about the play. As a thank you, I'll take care of dinner."

"no problem."

The white figure patted its chest.

"I also want!"

Mai Sakurajima (Wahana) joined in the fun.

……

night.

After dinner, Bai Ying said that in terms of cooking skills, the brave warrior and the brave warrior plus were evenly matched, with only slight differences in their respective specialties. If they were to be rated, they could both be given 99 points—a 9 out of 10 for their cooking and a 90 out of 10 for their enjoyable free meal.

Then he created a group and added the four people to it.

[Bai Ying's Acting Skills Corner]

[Under the Snow: What kind of crazy idea has Shiro-kun come up with this time?]

[Bai Ying: As a senior in the acting world, I have some opinions about the portrayal of the "Brave Plus". Considering the difficulty you two faced in portraying each other, I specially set up this group chat to give you some guidance. You didn't even say thank you, but what do you mean by "random ideas"?]

[Yukinoshita: Not needed.]

[Bai Ying: Because you discovered that 9528's interpersonal relationships are actually 0, so there's no need to worry about being exposed while impersonating someone, and no need to wear a smiling face even in your dreams.]

[Bai Ying: LOL, no audience, just act however you want—maybe the hardest thing to act out is actually studying?]

[Not Just Me and Hana: Yukino-chan, are you doing okay with your studies? Were you not called on in class? Do you know how to do your homework? Do you need some remote tutoring from your older sister?]

[Yukinoshita: I really don't understand the university lectures very well.]

[Not just Kazuha: It's okay, Yukino-chan is still cute even when she's a terrible student.]

[Yukinoshita: I wrote down everything the teacher said in my notebook, and I also made an extra copy of the assignments. Once I get back into my body, my sister should be able to catch up with the lessons if she tries hard.]

[White Shadow: Hiss! What a vicious heart! No wonder you're a hero!]

[Toyohama Kazuka: @NotKazuka, hey! You didn't do anything weird with my likeness, did you?!]

[That's not me, Kazuha: Of course not, I'm seriously playing the role of Kazuha-chan.]

[Toyohama Kazuka: Really?]

[It's not Hehua: Really, this morning at school, I chatted and laughed with my classmates, and we got along very well. This afternoon in the dance studio, I trained hard and was praised by the dance teacher three times. She said Hehua is smart and has finally figured things out.]

[Toyohama Kazuka: ???]

[Under the Snow: Where's Sakurajima?]

[Bai Ying: Her acting skills are only so-so. Her understanding of the character's core and her control of her image are not very good. She made a slip of the tongue today and was unfortunately hugged by the chef.]

[Sakurajima Mai: We're all in the living room, why do you have to use your phone to talk? This hater is really going to unnecessary trouble.]

[Sakurajima Mai: Didn't Yukinoshita say she had two friends? You usually call Yuigahama Yui, not Yui?]

[Yukinoshita: Yes.]

[Sakurajima Mai: Aren't you friends?]

[Bai Ying: Please listen to the question. Read the context and, based on the given information, describe Yukino Yukinoshita's character and personality traits, and explain why Yukino Yukinoshita never calls her friends by their names.]

[Yukinoshita: ?]

[Not at all, just a casual greeting: Hi! I know, but I prefer the feeling of understanding each other without words to words, so I don't care much about how you address me.]

[Bai Ying: Incomplete answer, -2 points.]

[Toyohama Kazuka: Because that bastard's having a fit.]

[Bai Ying: Daring to attack the question setter, 0 points.]

[Sakurajima Mai: Is it because my family taught me to use honorifics that I've always gotten used to it?]

[Bai Ying: Slightly off-topic, -3 points.]

Yukino Yukinoshita was staring at her phone, not quite realizing what was happening, when she suddenly became the subject of a group chat... Not to mention Toyohama and Sakurajima, her older sister and Shirakawa were clearly just stirring things up!

Those two guys are awful.

As for why we don't use names when addressing friends...

[White Shadow: The correct answer is because the hero has no friends, so addressing others by their surname has become a habit.]

[Under the Snow: White! Fungus!]

Inside the rented room, Yukino Yukinoshita tapped on someone's profile picture on her phone screen. This kind of poisonous fungus can even spread and grow on the internet!

'Yukinoshita-kun—you don't have a single friend, do you?'

First, let's define what a friend is...

*Gurgle!* The memories of death are starting to attack me!

Yukino Yukinoshita raised her hand to her forehead, feeling her face getting hot... Anyway, there was no one around, so it wasn't embarrassing.

[Bai Ying: So, in order to play the role well, the Hero Plus needs to carefully study the character. Although the current Hero is an evolved version, traces of the previous version are still present. You need to grasp the core issues, use logical reasoning, and improve the depth and breadth of your research to make your acting skills even more superb.]

[Bai Ying: Of course, if you want to run for executive committee chairman, forget it. That's my niece's opportunity.]

When I get back to Chiba, I'll give you a piece of my mind.

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at the group chat, silently lurked, and after learning about Mai Sakurajima's situation, sent a private message before continuing to study her university textbooks.

……

The following day, in the executive committee's temporary meeting room.

After a fierce election, the voting results were written on the blackboard.

Yumiko Miura crossed her arms, gritted her teeth slightly, and her face was full of the resentment of a loser.

Chitanda Eru felt a little regretful, reflecting on her shortcomings.

Yukino Yukinoshita (Mai) walked onto the podium. Although she maintained a cold expression, she did not have much of an aura that kept people at a distance. Instead, she seemed rather gentle.

"Thank you for your trust and support. I will prove myself with my actions."

It's not surprising that Miura Yumiko failed. Unlike Hayama Hayato, who has friends all over the grade, her social circle is mostly limited to Class F. It only extends to other classes through Hayama Hayato's connections—of course, she can't ask Hayama Hayato for help right now, plus there's the executive committee member from Class F...

Hachiman Hikigaya, Yui Yuigahama.

The former voted for Chitanda Eru under pressure from an invitation from someone with a two-character name.

After much deliberation and hesitation, the latter, upon hearing Yukino's words, cast her vote for Yumiko Miura.

Unable to overcome Mai Sakurajima's effective campaigning, Yumiko Miura suffered a bitter defeat, but thankfully she didn't come in last place.

Chitanda Eru came in last place.

"I don't agree!"

Bai Ying was indignant: "My beloved niece, Ru, is hardworking and has a good reputation. Her speech just now was absolutely brilliant. How can she not be the executive committee chairperson?"

"Stop messing around." Hiratsuka Shizuka rolled her eyes, then realized something was wrong. "Wait a minute, what are you doing here again..."

"This is not important."

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Meaning of Traveling Together

"Hello everyone, students and teachers, I am Chitanda Eru, and I would like to run for the position of executive committee chairperson."

"With the Sports Festival just around the corner, the executive committee members bear a heavy responsibility in order to ensure its smooth and successful execution and to foster teamwork and a spirit of hard work. Although I am not particularly talented, I have a sincere passion and a desire to improve myself. Therefore, I stand on this platform to run for the position of executive committee chairman."

"Everyone sitting here has a positive and enthusiastic spirit of dedication, and is willing to work tirelessly as an executive committee member. Your burning passion is admirable. I promise that after becoming the chairman of the executive committee, I will not let you down, and will listen carefully to your opinions, actively discuss, and improve the procedures for organizing the sports festival..."

On the stage, Chitanda Eru was giving a very serious campaign speech.

His pronunciation was clear and articulate, his words were full of emotion, and he held a speech manuscript in his hand, only glancing at it occasionally. Most of the time, his bright eyes were fixed on the audience.

The content of the speech was not too shocking or outrageous; it was quite serious.