Uneasy daily life

Bai Ying raised an eyebrow and said, "Then let's have xiaolongbao for lunch. Qianye has them."

"it is good!"

Angelina readily agreed, then suddenly realized something was amiss: "So what are we going to do this morning?"

"Let's take a stroll through the library," Bai Ying said. "As a member of the Scarlet Theatre Troupe, you need to be prepared for all-round development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor."

"No, no—let's go shopping instead! I'll buy something while I'm at it..."

Angelina quickly shook her head.

After finishing her Ishikari hot pot, she casually took the tissue that Shirokage handed her, wiped her lips and the fine sweat that had just appeared on her face, and felt that something was getting increasingly strange.

"Should I treat, or should you treat?"

“Of course it’s split the bill!” Angelina couldn’t help but complain. “When treating someone to a meal or giving a gift, the worst thing you can do is to offer something expensive or force the girl to pay. That will make her feel very uncomfortable… Okay, this is too much of a concern for you.”

Bai Ying simply smiled and didn't say anything more.

Today seems to be an exceptionally happy day. Although I am occasionally provoked to complain by Bai Ying's strange words, it seems to be part of the happiness.

While strolling down the street, I saw two cats arguing, meowing loudly.

I tried the xiaolongbao for lunch, and oh dear—although it was novel, it wasn't nearly as delicious as Baiying had described. I felt cheated! Baiying said the taste wasn't authentic enough, and promised to make me authentic xiaolongbao next time. I'll look forward to it.

I went to a famous coffee shop online this afternoon and tried their newest dessert. It's okay, I'll just drive an extra ten minutes tomorrow.

In the evening, Angelina bid farewell to Bai Ying with lingering affection. With her hands behind her back, she skipped and hopped home. Suddenly, she stopped, her steps returned to normal, and she walked with a puzzled look on her face, thinking about something. Her pace gradually slowed down until she stopped in front of her house.

Something's not right! Something's seriously wrong!

Bai Ying is actually that free? Well... he always seems pretty free... no, more like the kind of free time where he's looking for trouble!

There was no sudden trickery into bringing me to the performance venue, where they shouted, "It's your turn, Ange Xuande!"

There were no sudden, hurtful, or angry words coming out as he was being chased around yelling at!

There was no sudden shout in the street, "Attention everyone, follow my lead!"

Although today was quite happy, it was too ordinary and normal, which felt strange, unlike usual...

Angelina frowned, realizing that things were not so simple.

The boy, who was usually mischievous... well, let's just say mischievous, suddenly changed his attitude towards me, becoming seemingly likable, considerate, and gentle, and his actions became very proactive... not the kind of proactive that's like an actor grabbing you and pulling you over, but rather a proactive approach...

Bridge Bean Sacks!

Angelina's eyes lit up as she realized something seemed amiss.

He likes me?!

Angelina gasped, realizing the situation was extremely serious.

He's pursuing me?!

Hahaha... It's definitely fake... But what if, what if?

What if—ugh! Yukinoshita and Sakurajima-senpai clearly like Shirokage, right? Am I about to start this legendary love triangle? Will they die from accidentally falling down the stairs? Or from some unknown falling object? No, no, no, no, that's too extreme! Calm down, calm down first. Maybe Shirokage doesn't even mean it, she just suddenly had the idea to ask me to go for a walk…

Although we are all superpowered individuals and members of the St. Elizabeth Theatre Company, we might one day be wanted by Japan and become notorious murderers, wandering the gray areas of various countries to fight crime, walking in darkness, and looking up to the light, all to atone for the sins we committed in a moment of impulse...

Angelina raised her hands to cover her head, her brain trembling, her thoughts racing, and her heart screaming.

Today's events are becoming clearer in my mind, especially when I look at them closely through tinted glasses...

This! Is! Clearly! A! Date!

"I'm back……"

Angelina walked into the living room absentmindedly.

In the semi-open kitchen, Anxin's mother, who was making sausages, looked up and teased, "Why do you look like you've been dumped? Who broke my An'an's heart?"

"Alas--!!"

Angelina snapped back to reality, shuddered, and cried out with a frown, "Don't call me by my nickname—I'm going back to do my homework!"

Angelina dashed into her room like lightning.

What to do... I guess I'll do my homework first!

Homework done—what to do? Maybe I should read a novel first!

I've finished reading the novel, what should I do? Maybe I should eat first!

……

Click.

Chew chew chew.

Gulu.

My hand touched the smooth plate, moved it left and right, but couldn't grab anything.

Angelina snapped out of her daze. The cookies were all gone? What to do?

"Anxinyuan student, what's bothering you?"

In the activity room, Chitanda Eru asked curiously.

Angelina hesitated for a moment and said, "Uh... it's not me, it's a friend of mine who's been in trouble lately."

Hmm? This sounds like something Hachiman would say.

Houtarou Oreki flipped through the pages of "Norwegian Wood," his ears slightly perked up.

Chapter Ninety-Two: You wicked beast!

"Simply put, a friend of mine discovered that her friend seems to like her and wants to pursue her, but my friend knows that other girls like that guy, and she doesn't know what to do, so she came to me asking for advice..."

Angelina made an effort to describe the interpersonal relationships.

"She doesn't know what to do?" Chitanda Eru asked, puzzled. "What do you mean she doesn't know what to do?"

“It’s just…” Angelina’s mind raced, trying to express something direct, clear, and unambiguous.

"I just don't know what to do."

Angelina sadly realized that she seemed to have short-circuited.

Chitanda Eru involuntarily started gesturing with both hands, waving her left hand and then her right, trying to make sense of it all: "Uh, her, him? Doesn't know what to do? So what exactly do you want to do? Angelina, I don't quite understand what you're trying to say?"

What a coincidence! I don't really understand what I'm saying either...

Angelina, finding a bittersweet moment, made a self-deprecating remark, then noticed Oreki Houtarou, who had lowered his aura, and her eyes lit up: "Chitanda-san, if you had a friend who liked Oreki-san, and that friend became a little strange because of it, very... well, very strange, what would you think?"

"?!"

Wait, is it a crime for me to read a book? Why did the topic suddenly shift to me? And the way you gave that example...

Houtarou Oreki was speechless.

"Huh?" Chitanda Eru's eyes widened.

Angelina waited for a reply, then suddenly noticed Chitanda Eru staring at her: "Huh?"

"This one……"

Chitanda Eru frowned her long, delicate eyebrows and said hesitantly, "It is indeed a difficult matter..."

Angelina quickly waved her hands: "It wasn't me!"

"Who is that?"

"Ask Oreki-kun!"

Chitanda Eru looked at Oreki Houtarou.

"?!"

Houtarou Oreki raised his head slightly and said in a remarkably emotional tone, "A tribute to the over-charged youth—please don't let hypothetical statements turn into something that seems plausible..."

“Oh, right, hehe…” Chitanda Eru couldn’t help but straighten her expression and start thinking seriously. “Hmm, when I first encountered this kind of thing, I really didn’t know what to do.”

Here it comes, here it comes, I'm so curious, it's on its way.

Houtarou Oreki glanced casually at the book in his hand, thinking he'd just pick a passage to brush off this question later.

What? An improper attitude?

One person is a philosopher, two people are debaters, and three people are politicians.

Where is the standard answer to interpersonal problems? Superficial relationships, each person's true inner thoughts, their acceptance of different things, what they like, dislike, need, and don't need—all these things come together to try and give a correct answer…

Let's talk about global nuclear peace instead; that would be more energy-efficient.

"Then let's refuse!"

Chitanda Eru said.

Houtarou Oreki glanced at Eru Chitanda with surprise, then after a few seconds of thought, he wasn't surprised at all.

"Hmm? Should we just refuse outright?" Angelina hesitated. "Wouldn't that be a bad idea?"

"Ahem." Oreki Houtarou coughed. "So... is your friend going to just agree?"

Angelina shook her head and said, "It doesn't feel right either."

Houtarou Oreki asked again, "So, you neither refuse nor agree, keeping them hanging on?"

"That sounds even worse!"

“Since I don’t know what to do, I should think about the consequences of each approach,” Houtarou Oreki pondered. “When I don’t even know what to do, agreeing is obviously not a good answer. It’s like when my parents ask for my opinion, I always find it hard to resist the difference in status, so I answer according to the idea that ‘my parents will like it’ instead of expressing my own feelings…”

Angelina scratched her head and said, "This seems different, doesn't it?"

"It's the same, both are pressure from the outside world, just different types," said Houtarou Oreki. "Since you don't know what to do, it means you absolutely cannot agree, and there is some hesitation and concern in your heart—as for whether to refuse directly, refuse by letter, express it tactfully, or let the other party understand through your usual words and deeds, it mainly depends on your relationship with the other party, the other party's personality and other factors."

"That's right!"

Chitanda Eru nodded repeatedly.

Angelina pondered for a moment and then said, "But in that case, my... friend might have a bad relationship with the other person, right?"

Houtarou Oreki said calmly, "So you need to choose a way to refuse, provided that your friend is actually able to refuse."

"Uh……"

Angelina's eyes widened. Hadn't that just brought the problem back to the point where she didn't know what to do?!

Ugh—what is that white figure doing? How annoying! How awful! Waaaaah!

Is it some new type of large-scale reality show?!

Mai Sakurajima Fan Club

[Moyu: @Bailiangbaiying! Admin, are you there?]

[Wooden Fish: @Bai Liang Bai Ying! Lu Bu, open the door! It's me, Diao Chan! Hehehe!]

[Wooden Fish: @Bai Liang Bai Ying! Prime Minister, take this path, there's a big surprise waiting for you!]

[Crow: What's going on? Why is Lao Mu submitting so many memorials?]

[Little Pockmarked Boy: Didn't you notice? He had a seizure last night until he went to sleep, and it started again this afternoon.]

[Insomnia: There's a TV drama starring Mai Sakurajima, and I think the admin wrote one episode. Momo has been raving about it in the group chat ever since.]

[Little Mako: Oh! You mean the taste of that wanderer from yesterday? Miss Mai's acting is still on point, and her cooking is so skillful. She really is a high-quality actress with excellent culinary skills. I'm planning to have Ishikari nabe tonight; I've already bought the salmon.]

[Little Pockmarked: Huh? How did Wooden Fish go crazy during a food-themed episode?]

[Mokuyu: @Xiaomazi, you're a worthless scoundrel, not worth discussing things with! Sakurajima Mai is just a supporting character in this drama; the real leads are clearly guests who change every episode!]

[Little Pockmarked: Huh? You dare attack my single-push? Do you even know the benefits my father brings?!]

[Wooden Fish: tui.jpg!]

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: What happened? Why is the group chat so chaotic and a mess?]

[Little Pockmarked Boy: Godfather! This scoundrel slanders your work!]

[Insomnia: To accept a thief as one's father for more autographed photos is truly unbearable to watch. When did you become a pervert?]

[Wooden Fish: Alright! The culprit has finally been revealed! Today I am Lu Bu, and I will set you on fire! I am Cao Cao, and I will hang you from the top of a building!]