Uneasy daily life

"What's wrong with my outfit? White on top and black on the bottom, classic style, relaxed and timeless." Bai Ying waved her hand and said excitedly, "More than buying clothes, I'm curious about what happened to Brave Pro. I tried asking her yesterday, but she hasn't replied—the tram's here, let's go!"

A white figure ran towards the tram, and Toyohama and Hana quickly followed.

The snow falls gently and steadily.

Um... we just agreed to go check out the situation at Fanxing together, it wasn't really a date...

If there's one more Fengbin, then there's one more.

Chapter 71 Do you want me to rock and roll?

Smack smack...

On the relatively quiet tram on their day off, the three of them managed to find empty seats and sat down in a row.

Inside the carriage, some people were dozing off with their eyes closed and heads tilted back, some were looking down at their phones, some were idly looking out the window, and some were so bored that they were staring at the advertisements hanging on the ceiling. In the dull silence, only the hum of the tram passing over the tracks echoed.

Yukino Yukinoshita pressed down her skirt, her knees naturally leaning to the left of the white figure. Holding her phone, she hesitated, wondering whether to text her sister and ask what had happened to Goto. Her sister should know, right... or perhaps she could tell her that she and Shiro had gone there? But her sister might not be on the stars.

Smack smack...

Informing someone gives you a subtle sense of asserting your sovereignty, while not saying anything gives you a strange, secretive feeling. Both seem odd.

Smack smack...

"..."

It wasn't very big, but because it was quite close, some noisy sounds kept coming from the side.

Yukino Yukinoshita coldly turned her head: "Shiraki, don't make any noises of your rampant growth."

The white figure chewed a few times, its cheeks puffing out slightly—a bubble emerged from its mouth, growing larger at a visible speed, its brown surface rapidly becoming thin and transparent, poised to crash into Yukino Yukinoshita's nose.

Yukino Yukinoshita subconsciously leaned back slightly.

Snapped.

A small cracking sound rang out sharply. The white figure stuck out its tongue, curled it against its lips, and chewed twice with a smacking sound, while raising its eyebrows provocatively: "Hmph, can a hero do that?"

Yukino Yukinoshita merely gave a faint look of disdain: "I often overestimate Shiro-kun's mental age, I'm truly sorry."

"Bubble gum?" Toyohama Kazuka leaned over from the other side of Yukino Yukinoshita, her small white hand outstretched, and said with interest, "You bastard, give me a few."

The white figure patted his pocket, shaking his head: "Is it too much? Not at all."

Feng Bin and Hua glanced at each other and said, "I'll definitely make it bigger than yours!"

"It was such a shallow provocation, but I took it."

A white figure uttered words that made Yukino Yukinoshita's eyebrows twitch, and pulled out several pieces of bubble gum wrapped in light brown paper.

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced calmly at the two hands in front of her, one hand offering the candy and the other preparing to receive it, and said leisurely, "If you're just chewing bubble gum in your mouth, that's fine, but if you blow bubbles out of it... given the stickiness of bubble soup, it'll definitely pick up a lot of dirt when exposed to the air, right? Other people's sneezes, breaths, bacteria, and dust, and so on."

"I do not want it!"

Kazuha Toyohama withdrew her small hand as if she had been electrocuted, and the bubble gum landed on Yukino's skirt, which was covered in snow.

"You have destroyed the stick figure's childlike innocence."

The white-robed figure said with a pained expression, "Brave warrior, doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Hehe."

"But it doesn't matter..."

Bai Ying chewed her gum with a cold smile, then her smile suddenly brightened: "Hero, hold your breath."

"?"

In the instant Yukino Yukinoshita pondered, the white figure puffed out her cheeks and blew out a breath that kept growing at a constant speed, expanding in just two or three seconds.

The bubble drew closer in her vision. Yukino Yukinoshita paused for a moment, then understood in a flash. The bubble grew enormous in her mind, filling the distance between them, making them seem so close, so close that it felt as if if she breathed a little faster, her breath would mingle with the bubble, and then…

Hold your breath? Or quietly exhale?

Strange thoughts were swirling in her mind when Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly felt a tightness on her shoulder and her upper body was pulled back a little.

"You bastard, you're not allowed to act like a hooligan."

Toyohama and Hana pulled Yukinoshita towards them, baring their teeth at the white figure: "You can call the police on the train."

Snapped.

The bubbles burst, sticking to my lips, and then were wiped clean by my tongue.

The white figure licked its lips and let out two strange laughs: "Bacteria? Breath? Dirty stuff?"

"..."

Yukino Yukinoshita closed her eyes, raised her hand to press her throbbing temples, and tried to calm herself down. She opened her eyes, took a breath, lowered her gaze, raised her hand to grab the bubble gum that had fallen on her skirt, and snorted, "Confiscated."

The white figure laughed silently with an exaggerated expression, pointing out her index fingers as if casting a wave of energy from afar at Yukino Yukinoshita, looking smug as if she believed that the loser was destined to be humiliated and mocked.

Yukino Yukinoshita shifted her gaze somewhat uncomfortably. She was truly impressed by this guy. She was talking about bacteria and dirty things, and he could turn around and overturn her words and opinions in the blink of an eye. Just a moment ago, she even felt that blowing bubbles was particularly romantic... Well, a romantic tragedy neurotic.

The tram hummed forward, and Toyohama and Hana finally couldn't resist their curiosity and asked Yukino Yukinoshita for a piece of bubble gum.

"Ugh...it's so bitter!"

Feng Bin and Hua chewed bubble gum, their little faces contorted into a vortex mask.

"Impressive, right? I found it online when I was looking for extra strong black coffee."

"This is definitely a prank prop, isn't it?!"

"Really? I don't feel like I've been pranked."

"Ha... Is Fengbin a fish? He's been caught by white fungus so many times."

What kind of fish are you?

"?"

The short journey came to an end, and the three arrived at Shimokitazawa, strolling through the streets as they continued their journey.

Shimokitazawa targets young people, emphasizing fashion and trends, and therefore has many performance halls and band events...

“Look at this dress, which is covered in chains and metal cross decorations.”

Bai Ying pointed to a mannequin outside a clothing store: "This style is so rock and roll."

"A zipper with no pockets and no clear purpose, decorations that look like they're overly heavy metal, and a dark color that's hard to match." Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at it. "It might be too advanced for a high school student, but it should be just right for Shiro-kun who dropped out of junior high."

“Only heavy metal rockers would wear clothes like this, right?” Toyohama Kazuka mocked. “It suits bastards quite well though.”

"Okay—I'll buy it! Today I'm a rock 'n' roll man!"

A white figure rushed into the shop like a whirlwind.

Yukino Yukinoshita and Toyohama Kazuhana were stunned for a moment. What strange thing was this guy up to now?

The two walked into the clothing store at a leisurely pace.

A white figure, jingling all over, came out carrying a bag, strode out, and whistled.

Feng Bin and Hua's eyes widened: "You bought it... and even exchanged it?!"

Yukino Yukinoshita didn't say anything, but her expression showed a hint of unbearable discomfort.

“I know you’re surprised, but that’s normal. That’s how men shop—precise, efficient, and quiet.” Bai Ying released his mouth, and the metal whistle with the thin chain hanging from it dangled from his chest. “I must say, this outfit is indeed a bit heavy.”

"Please do not presume to categorize yourself as a human male."

Yukino rubbed her temples.

As they stepped back onto the street, the white figure attracted a lot of attention. Yukino Yukinoshita, Toyohama, and Hana, showing their disdain, lagged slightly behind.

The dark color scheme, the inexplicable zippers on the hem, abdomen, and back, the chain pendant on the hem, and the silver metal whistle hanging on the chest of the garment all highlight a seemingly multifunctional but actually meaningless piece of clothing, making it an aesthetic disaster second only to the green bodysuit.

The strange thing is, it doesn't actually look that bad!

Kazuka Toyohama scratched her head in horror—when did her sense of aesthetics become so poor, as an idol who chases fashion and trends?!

She couldn't help but raise her elbow and nudge Yukino Yukinoshita next to her: "Hey, Yukinoshita... what do you think of that outfit?"

Yukino Yukinoshita pondered, "It's like buying a Swiss Army knife just to cut your nails."

“…Precise,” Feng Bin and Hua Guai said strangely. “It’s obviously flashy, yet it feels surprisingly good?”

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded calmly, but inwardly she was also questioning her own aesthetic judgment.

"The problem isn't the clothes, it's you." Bai Ying turned around, picked up the new clothes and shook them, making a jingling sound. "The owner of that shop just now was so happy to decide to use this as an advertising slogan."

He received two eye rolls, one barely noticeable and the other very obvious.

“…I think I understand.” Yukino Yukinoshita said in a strange tone, “Because Shiro usually wears either his school uniform or casual clothes, it’s surprising when he suddenly changes his clothes…The strange thing isn’t the clothes, but Shiro who suddenly changed his clothes.”

Bai Ying said knowingly, "The bacteria in the refrigerator actually grow to be so perfectly formed?"

"You really do have self-awareness." Feng Bin and Hua pouted, then looked at each other a couple more times, somewhat intrigued. "If you dress up properly, you're actually quite presentable."

Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't help but glance at Toyohama and Hana.

"That kind of thing is fine, whatever—let's go! Let's storm the Starlight Performance Hall! Hmm? These sunglasses are nice, whew, hair gel! Performance props acquired!"

……

……

The doors to the Starlight Performance Hall were ajar; it wasn't time for the show to start yet.

After finishing their part-time job and cleaning up, the band started working on another problem.

After throwing away the trash, Goto Ichiri wandered back like a lost soul. She reached out and took a clean plastic trash bag, shook it, put the trash bag on the trash can, then stepped into the trash can and squatted down, only a tuft of pink fur showing, and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Ah... I have no regrets in my life, having been able to finish my work before I die..."

Ichiji Niji Natsu put her hands on her hips, slowly puffed out her cheeks, her ahoge (cowlick) swaying from side to side, and stared at the smiling Yukinoshita Haruno.

"Ah~ Ah—"

A strange guitar sound came from the trash can, accompanied by Ichiri Goto's plaintive, unskilled, but purely emotional singing: "Life is like morning dew, brilliant but fleeting. Sixteen years of mistakes left behind, a guitar melody, a lifetime of regret..."

What kind of death poem is this, Goto Ichiri's poem?!

Ichiji Nijika muttered a complaint: "Yono-nee! Look at this—saying things like 'no pain, no gain' and 'wait until the work is done before you're sad'... Pochi finished the work, and it's even worse than before!"

"Hmm, it seems Haruno's method isn't working very well." Haruno Yukinoshita said with a smile, her right thumb resting on her chin. "Why don't you guys give it a try?"

The three band members looked at each other after the band ended, then gathered around the trash can.

“Um… well, Pochi-chan, isn’t this a good thing?” Ichiji Nijika described in an exaggerated tone, “You don’t know how dull and lifeless all the events are at my and Ryo’s schools. The cultural festival only has things like insect observation, investigation reports, and poetry recitations, which are really boring! Being able to go to Pochi’s school for the cultural festival is a good thing!”

The trash can wobbled slightly: "But... but I signed up under the band's name without permission..."

"It's okay, we all support Goto-san's decision!" Kita Ikuyo encouraged. "Since Goto-san submitted the application, he must want to shine at the cultural festival, right? Then let's cheer up, train hard together, and shine brightly at the cultural festival. Just thinking about that scene is exciting..."

A gloomy aura wafted from the trash can like tentacles.

That's it, there's no way to cancel the registration now, right? Besides, can it even be canceled?

The trash can began to ponder.

"What?! You want to cancel your application?!" The figure with 'Student Council President' written all over their face slammed their hand on the table. "Then why did you apply?! You think you can just sign up and cancel whenever you want? Do you think this is an online vote?! A student like you must be dealt with severely—expelled!"

Dropping out of school → becoming a shut-in → a complete failure in life!

A small patch of pink that had surfaced from the trash can silently sank back down.

"Aba aba...woo woo, hoo hoo...gu...how many ways are there to write a will?"

Hearing the strange noise coming from the trash can, Kita Ikuyo quickly stopped and turned to say, "Ryo-senpai, why don't you say something too!"

Yamada Ryo thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "It seems that Pochi-chan is beyond saving. Let's try to find a new guitarist."

"cold!"

"Senior Liang?!"

"Ugh..."

boom! !

The door was suddenly pushed open forcefully.

"Don't be afraid, everyone, because I'm here."