Uneasy daily life

Difficulties, a cloud of confusion.

The other side was like Zhuge Liang, sitting on the city wall playing the zither and singing, displaying a posture of exhaustion and despair, going with the flow. The city gates were wide open on all sides, with no soldiers guarding them, as if they had given up the struggle and chosen to lie down.

He felt like Sima Yi, standing beneath the city walls, his expression grave, unable to understand what the other side was up to.

etc--!

Lightning flashed through Zhongda's mind beneath the snow. She seemed to understand something, and suddenly realized, revealing a subtle, cold smile to Bai Kongming that said there was only one truth.

Bai Ying: "The way you look at me makes it seem like you know something, but I don't know what you know."

Hmph, still singing your empty city ruse.

"That's because Bai Jun has something to hide."

Yukino Yukinoshita swept away her nested thoughts, straightened her mind, and began to introduce the next club's overview to Angelina Anshinin.

The four left amidst a strange atmosphere of intrigue and backstabbing.

"Hmm... Suddenly, out of nowhere, I have an elder of the same age?"

Chitanda Eru stroked her chin, suddenly calming down from the barrage of information. Only then did she realize the strangeness of the situation and turned to ask, "Oreki-kun, what do you think?"

"Being able to recount so many details and personal reflections, he must indeed be the Chinese friend your uncle was talking about."

"A child bravely fights off human traffickers... Does such a thing really exist in the world?"

"The world is so big that it is full of wonders."

"Hmm... why do you think Anshinin doesn't want to join the Classic Literature Club? It feels so strange to have a club with only two people."

"do not know."

"Mmm-hmm—let me think..."

Houtarou Oreki ate cookies, flipped through a book, and chatted idly. He looked up with slightly listless eyes and glanced at Eru Chitanda, who was walking around the table with her arms crossed. He was also thinking about things in a daze.

Let me introduce myself.

My name is Houtarou Oreki, and I'm seventeen years old. I currently live at Sobu High School.

He goes to bed early and gets up early every day, has good sleep habits, never breaks class rules, has no bad habits that would make him a problem student, his grades are average, and his physical strength is about the level of walking a kilometer. He is an ordinary student who is unremarkable, whose classmates might not remember him after graduation, who doesn't have a strong presence in the eyes of teachers, and who is neither good at causing trouble nor getting into trouble.

I have absolutely no interest in anything that can be considered unnecessary, such as club activities, sports, study groups with friends, and so on.

My interests are saving energy and electricity, my hobbies are slacking off and passing the time, and my dream is to lie down and steal a paycheck.

My motto in life is to avoid unnecessary things and do the necessary things simply. For example, don't join any clubs or organizations, and if you are invited to join one, you must immediately, decisively, concisely, and firmly refuse.

I want to avoid any unnecessary trouble, to walk a path whose end I can foresee without feeling resentful, to burn steadily and quietly until the day I extinguish. Neither to be dimmed by setbacks nor to be overwhelmed by unexpected surprises. The gray that lies between black and white is my philosophy of energy conservation.

I know this is my happiness, and I have never doubted it nor felt dissatisfied with it.

So... where did my energy-saving lifestyle go wrong?

Houtarou Oreki propped his chin on his hand, questioning the stupid thing he had done—getting into Soubu High School was stupid, it was a top-tier high school.

The parents had placed unnecessary expectations on her. If it weren't for their strong persuasion and the help of her older sister to find a roundabout way, her mother probably would have already come to Chiba to accompany her to school.

Half of my free time, including weekends and holidays, has been allocated to private tutoring. In the end, I couldn't stop my family from spending money on this, and maintaining a stable but mediocre grade in a top high school requires even more effort... I can only wait for my parents' enthusiasm to wane and then slowly lower their expectations of 'my son seems capable'.

That's so wasteful of energy.

To trace the origin of everything...

"Uncle Bai seems like a very mysterious person. He's got all the elements of a detective's deduction that he loves. So, why did Anxin-kun refuse? Hmm—"

The sound leaped along with the footsteps, ticking crisply like the hands of a clock, and then grew closer and closer.

Houtarou Oreki subconsciously counted.

one two Three……

"Oreki-kun, I'm very curious!"

Chitanda Eru slammed her hands on the table, leaning forward to support herself. Her burst of passion, like a clock striking precisely on time, radiated excitement and joy. Her beautiful face, so close to hers, seemed to glow, possessing a unique magic. Her flowing, jet-black hair seemed to sprout vines, climbing and spreading throughout the classroom, trapping the ordinary high school students in a world of beauty.

The melodious voices are from the Jade Bottle, the Purple Gold Gourd, and the Golden Horn and Silver Horn, calling out to me. Would you dare to answer?

Oreki Houtaro: "..."

Let's stick with the beginning for Chapter 41.

"This is the Literature Department. In terms of size, it is the largest literature club in Zongwu High School. It has a history of 23 years and has won numerous awards and achievements in various fields. It has both research and study of traditional literature and popular culture. Compared with other clubs, it is more professional."

Yukino Yukinoshita acted as a well-prepared intermediary.

"...Doesn't this sound too serious? It doesn't feel appropriate to join in halfway through in such a serious atmosphere."

"No matter how many members a club has, only a few will produce results. Most people join because they are interested in the subject. It's not that you have to win an award to be eligible to join the Literature Department. This is just a student club, not an award ceremony or an academic group."

"But there are too many people, I might not be able to adapt..."

"Then let's rule that out for now. Also, what number of members do you think constitutes too many for a club, Anxinyuan students?"

"Ten, fifteen?"

Angelina from Anxin Hospital seemed like a picky customer. She looked dissatisfied, her brows furrowed, and she hesitated, showing no intention of signing the contract. She only gave one negative feedback after another.

If we're talking about the size of the club, the Classical Literature Club would be a good fit... but considering that it might be used as a guise for personal matters, joining rashly would indeed be inappropriate.

Yukino Yukinoshita deleted some of the candidate clubs again and finalized the content with the client. Her gaze swept over a white figure wandering around the Literature Club activity room, flipping through some collections of literature.

The other party, unaware of what was happening, was having an enthusiastic conversation with the head of the Literature Department.

Being people involved in literature, they were somewhat eccentric; the two even experimented with applying modern aesthetic frameworks to ancient literature.

Light novels should be popular literature. With so many female protagonists and gentle male protagonists, a novel like Dream of the Red Chamber with a strong sense of love triangle is a light novel. The latter half is just a case of artsy people having a bad day.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is categorized as a historical fiction. Due to the author's limited thinking and insufficient fan fiction elements, it follows the historical trajectory, which is why it has the power to confuse truth and falsehood, making popular understanding different from official history.

Analyzing the rebellious thrills of Water Margin from the perspective of Chinese online literature.

What outrageous things are these two discussing?!

"Most classic works in history are related to their time but also transcend it, which is a very special quality. Unlike tools that are updated and iterated, and technology that accumulates and progresses, people's exploration of the objective world always deepens with time, but literature is not like that. Even across the past and present, we can find places that corroborate each other."

The white-clad figure, looking quite respectable, held a copy of Xun Ge'er's "My Old Home" and said with some emotion, "If I were to give an example, I wonder if you have ever read Kong Yiji?"

“I’ve dabbled in it,” the Minister of Literature pondered. “On the surface, it’s nothing more than a pedantic and unlucky scholar dying amidst the ridicule of others. But going deeper, it’s about the rigid and inflexible imperial examination system and the persecution of people by societal conditions…”

Bai Ying picked up a pastry, ate it, and greeted, "Oh, Kong Yiji."

Minister of Literature: "?"

Bai Ying picked up her teacup, took a sip, sampled the Literature Department's pastries, and found them acceptable. She continued, "Strip away the veneer of the era and environment, and do your own reading comprehension. Perhaps even the author himself couldn't have imagined that later generations, traversing time, would be able to appreciate the mellow fragrance that time has brewed in the story. A mere few thousand years is but a brief high note in the long evolution of life. Humans haven't undergone mechanical modifications, haven't ascended to spiritual power, and haven't transformed into orange juice and merged into one, so in many ways, things are the same."

The Minister of Literature, seemingly lost in thought, joked, "Oh, Kong Yiji?"

"No." Bai Ying grabbed another handful of pastries. "I'm here to freeload and earn a few plates of fennel beans from you. If I can fool you, I'll earn it."

The Minister of Literature: "Then I feel like I've gotten a good deal... Are the fennel beans delicious?"

This person is quite interesting; he can eat a lot.

The head of the Literature Department only realized, after snapping out of the discussion, that half of the club's snacks had disappeared.

There is reason to suspect that the other party is trying to scam a free meal.

"generally."

Bai Ying said regretfully, "Your pastries have the flavor of industrial assembly line. In terms of quality, they are far inferior to my niece's, and even Yukinoshita is not up to par. My suggestion is to sign up for a class immediately."

"For customers who eat and drink for free, the boss will just kick them out, and maybe a few days later he'll lament that the white fungus is probably dead."

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced coldly at the white figure and said, "Go to the next club. Sorry to bother you."

After enjoying some tea and snacks, Shiro and Hachiman Hikigaya continued to follow Yukino Yukinoshita and Angelina Anshinin, observing the struggle between a difficult client and an elite real estate agent.

"The Western Literature Research Club mainly studies Western literary works and popular culture. It should be relatively easy for Anshinin, who just transferred from abroad to Japan, to adapt, right?"

"Actually, I'm more interested in Japanese literature. Foreign content is quite ordinary and not fresh or interesting enough."

"What about the haiku club? It recruits students who are interested in haiku, but the club doesn't have many members."

"Haiku? Uh, um—I'm past the age of writing poetry!"

"Hmm? What do you mean by that, Anxinyuan?"

"In short, I have a phobia of writing poetry!"

"I see. How about the reading club? It's called a reading club, but it's actually a light novel club. You can think of it as a popular novel or mainstream novel club, which should suit your taste, right?"

"Hmm, hmm... Ah! Didn't we say before that discussing light novels at school makes it easy to be seen as an otaku and isolated? I'm somewhat interested, but making friends is more important."

What a difficult client! What a challenging case!

It's impossible to complete the task today.

Yukino glanced at the dusk, the sky signaling the end of school, and she was already experiencing the hardships and troubles of work.

After visiting so many clubs, every carefully selected club was ultimately rejected by Anxinyuan Angelina for various reasons. Those reasons weren't unreasonable, and at first glance, it seemed normal for the other party to refuse. However, being rejected repeatedly made one wonder if the other party was deliberately picking on them...

On the contrary, the white shadow and Hachiman Hikigaya, who followed along, took full advantage of the free tea and snacks in each club.

Just as sports clubs might allocate some of their funds to sports drinks, literature clubs that receive funding will often prepare some tea or snacks. In addition, someone with a thick skin, an exceptional ability to talk a good game, and a touch of social anxiety will always manage to join in and freeload off the food and drinks.

After visiting one club after another, she was a little thirsty and hungry, while the other person was full and comfortable.

"Anxinyuan student, it's quite late today. Try the remaining clubs tomorrow."

Yukino Yukinoshita crossed her arms and said helplessly, "However, I hope your standards can be clearer."

One minute they say the Classic Literature Club has too few members and the relationships are too close, so I don't dare to disturb them; the next minute they say the Literature Club has too many members and the relationships are too complicated, so I have reservations about it. They think traditional literature is too profound and heavy, and light novels are not convenient to integrate into the environment...

If the standards are vague and unclear, it becomes quite troublesome to set which clubs as targets.

That being said, there's always a subtle feeling that Yukino Yukinoshita is being nitpicked... or maybe it's just my imagination?

"Hmm... I'll think about it carefully and come back tomorrow."

Anxinyuan Angelina felt a little ashamed and apologetic.

Yukinoshita tried hard to help him, but it was just a lie that wasn't really a lie. He hadn't been able to integrate into the class or make friends with others because he spent most of his time and energy exploring the supernatural world. Naturally, he couldn't make progress in social life. This request was just a pretext to test him.

Although I feel sorry for Yukinoshita, in this cruel underworld, one cannot survive without lies!

This is a dark forest where everyone is both hunter and prey. You must carefully disguise your appearance and make your footsteps sound furtive. Before you can distinguish friend from foe, you must be extremely cautious!

"Student Anxin, what's your email address?"

Bai Ying took out her phone to ask, and casually gave her email address.

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but glance at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" the white-clad figure said. "Could it be that you knew you were going to lose the moment I made a move, and are now trying to struggle?"

"Student from Anxin Academy, could you please also give me your email address? Also, this is my email address..."

Yukino Yukinoshita remained calm and indifferent, ignoring someone's provocation.

Hachiman Hikigaya is very quiet and keeps his true intentions hidden—today is inauspicious, it is best to remain silent, and be careful not to be provoked or stirred up.

……

……

Tonight I can ask Ms. Hiratsuka about the various clubs, and then chat with Anshinin on my phone. The reason I wasted half an afternoon might not be the clubs themselves, but rather what Anshinin herself is hesitant about. Perhaps it would be more effective to find out Anshinin's questions than to look for clubs.

Also, there's the matter concerning Yuigahama tomorrow...

In the aftermath of the car accident, shouldn't Hachiman be the key figure?

Hikigaya doesn't want to be friends with Yui, and Yui must feel embarrassed about this, which is why she doesn't come to the activity room and wants to quietly leave the club.

Now that he's revealed his identity as the 'murderer,' Hachiman probably won't come to the activity room tomorrow—no problem, Shirokage will catch him.

Looking back now, Yuihama initially commissioned the cookies because she wanted to apologize and express her gratitude to Hikigaya, and it was also for Hikigaya's sake.

In other words, fulfilling Yuihama's wishes and entrustment is my task and responsibility.

The solution is obvious: Hachiman's resentment, dissatisfaction, and hostility should be directed at himself, the perpetrator.

By placing Yuihama and Hikigaya in the same position as victims and eliminating the barrier between them, Yuihama's wish is fulfilled.