Uneasy daily life

Snap out of it! Snap out of it! I can't let the captain lead me around anymore, there's a growing crowd of onlookers! I could already predict it, I could already foresee the gossip about 'Hachiman being confessed to by a mysterious beautiful girl' spreading—then the discussions, then the inexplicable atmosphere turning against me, then the captain…

But I can't be too direct in refusing... To be honest, I can't quite see the other person's true feelings, but since they've gone to such lengths for me, I have to consider how they might be treated afterward—I have to use a sensational topic to completely destroy the current situation!

Without a doubt! The most direct method is...

"I'm sorry, I'm not as outstanding as you say, and I've already fallen for someone else..."

Hachiman Hikigaya thought for a moment, then his gaze suddenly fell on the furious Yumiko Miura.

Then kneel down and apologize!

"I……"

My gaze fell upon Yui Yuigahama behind Yumiko Miura.

In that instant of eye contact, a variable was quickly inserted into the still-imperfect logic—regarding the relationship between girls, such a ridiculous confession of his, even if it was fake, couldn't prevent the falsehood from causing genuine emotions to surface, potentially making Miura and Yui's relationship strange and distant. He had to find someone else… Damn it! Yui has friends everywhere!!

"Oh, oh, oh! The silent debater seems to want to say something? What could it be—"

Got it!

"Minister! I like you! Please go out with me!"

Silence descended, punctuated by crisp sounds.

Hachiman Hikigaya felt something shattered within him, perhaps his reason or his integrity.

Bai Ying blinked, clenched her fists and placed them on her waist, and uttered in a childish, rustic way: "Oh dear~ Brother is such a worry, in the end you can only rely on Komachi? That won't do~ Little sister can't get involved in a love triangle!"

puff!

Is it really not allowed? Well, that makes sense, after all, Dad would kill me...

"It's a lie." The girl said softly, unable to hide her sadness. "I know Hachiman is a kind person. Even if he confessed to a boy, he wouldn't want me to become a laughingstock, but I don't care about those things..."

It's okay, I'm just that kind of cold-hearted person. I don't care if you care, as long as—

"Please don't make things difficult for Xiaoqi, student."

Yui Yuigahama took a firm step forward and pleaded, "No matter what you think, I'm feeling really bad right now. If you have anything to say or discuss, you can come to the activity room later—"

"Oh my god! The opposing debater, Yui Yuigahama, has joined the fray! She's gone straight to the point right from the start, gentle yet firm—a soft but deadly tactic!"

Yui Yuigahama: "#!"

Suddenly, I had an urge to yell at Xiaobai.

"I don't care, he doesn't care," the girl retorted directly. "You don't understand us at all. Go play house with other friends..."

"But I care."

Yui Yuigahama blurted out instinctively, then froze—Ahhhhh! We're still in the classroom!!

Calm down! This isn't a second confession; it's just a simple expression of dissatisfaction!

Yui Yuigahama wanted to look away, but with a sudden surge of courage, she met the girl's cold gaze directly.

There was a moment of quiet.

Hachiman Hikigaya felt an urge to vomit blood—don't make things worse, you idiot! I'm not afraid of becoming a laughingstock, shouldn't you be terrified of that?!

"The decisive stage has begun..."

Bai Ying sighed contentedly, turned to Angelina, and uttered the girl's voice: "In this bloodless battle, we seem to have become friends who have known each other for many years. You know who you are, you know who I am, the passion to maintain our grudges has long been worn away in the battle, and the reason we were arguing has become blurred... I think I have seen my true self, and all I see is your image."

Angelina shuddered, memories of yesterday flooding back, and she said in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry! You're a good person!"

Silence descended for the third time.

"puff……"

A soft, suppressed chuckle escaped the mysterious girl, followed by a gentle sigh: "If this emotional battlefield becomes a story you've added, then it's not such an intriguing outcome after all..."

Ok?

A thought flashed through Hachiman Hikigaya's mind, but before he could grasp it, he was interrupted by the sound.

"Hachiman, I truly don't understand you. I presumptuously placed you into the illusion I constructed." The mysterious girl cast an exceptionally sorrowful glance. "Yes, you are no longer the one passively waiting, no longer the one repelled by the atmosphere, no longer the one observing others. You no longer need a wandering soul's encounter, nor will you linger for it... You already have friends who care about you, and you unconsciously care about your friends. When I mustered the courage to approach you, stepping into the atmosphere, you only wanted to lower your head and eat your bread, feeling no resonance with me whatsoever, not even willing to ask if I wanted to be friends—"

The girl described her sadness so calmly, yet between the lines was a bittersweet feeling of her true feelings being squeezed out. It was as if one could see a lonely figure observing from afar, pondering, and finally trying to get closer through those emotionally charged words.

A lonely shadow wants to get closer to another lonely shadow, but suddenly finds that other shadows are already surrounding that shadow.

Everything dimmed, leaving only a lingering regret that I had arrived too late.

Hachiman Hikigaya hesitated, asking himself—Have I changed? Hahaha, how could that be? I'm still that aloof lone wolf…

Huh? It seems like I've been forced to do a lot of stupid things these past few months, haven't I?

Is it really... all forced?

The mysterious girl seemed to have confirmed the answer. She withdrew her gaze, which was filled with unspoken thoughts, and turned around to create some distance between them.

Hachiman Hikigaya felt a pang of pain in his heart, as if he were seeing his former self—how foolish, how clumsy, how self-satisfied, and how pathetically stubborn he was.

At that time, I couldn't help but yearn for...

"Hey, wanna be friends?"

I no longer have the energy, the mood, or the willpower to take the initiative.

"Don't get me wrong, we're just ordinary friends."

This isn't pity, it's not sympathy, it's just a stupid, self-righteous, and idiotic tone.

"No."

A crisp, decisive, and unhesitating answer.

puff!

HP-999!

Huh? Huh! Huh?! Is Hachiman under some kind of curse? Every initiative he takes is rejected?! Hahahaha! That makes sense. I already said it was a foolish, self-righteous act; it's normal to be rejected. Besides, the other person is probably heartbroken. It would be strange if they didn't misunderstand what I said, right? Hahahaha…

"I can happily enjoy solitude on my own, and I don't want to become a teenage idiot like you." The mysterious girl turned her head, pulled her eyelid with her right index finger, and her indifferent voice revealed a hint of liveliness. Her beautiful features wrinkled, and she stuck out her pink tongue.

"Explode! You social butterfly!"

Leaving behind a remark that sounded like a complaint, a rant, or annoyance, she floated lightly out of the classroom door as if in a dream, leaving behind a hazy, dreamlike state that lingered in her mind's eye for a long time.

puff……

HP+1000!

Ugh, when I make that expression occasionally, I'm only considered to be making an ugly face, but when a pretty girl makes it, it's considered cute.

Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but think to himself, "What do you mean?"

Huh? But this is so weird, isn't it? A beautiful girl suddenly falls from the sky and subtly confesses her feelings to you? What kind of light novel development is this? And what kind of light novel protagonist am I? Something feels off...

Snapped!

Bai Ying clapped his hands and solemnly said, "Explode! You social butterfly!"

Hachiman Hikigaya returns to reality and finds himself facing a rather dire situation.

Look, the students in the class have different expressions; they've clearly already remembered the name Hachiman Hikigaya.

Look, Yui Yuigahama's expression is stiff; she has clearly noticed the strange atmosphere and the unpredictable chaos in interpersonal relationships.

Look, Hachiman seems to be dead.

The seemingly ordinary classmate is suddenly confessed to by a mysterious and beautiful girl, which sparks a love triangle. He appears unremarkable, but in reality, he is liked by multiple beautiful girls. In the end, after rejecting the confessions of others, he shamelessly tries to befriend them, showing the characteristics of a scumbag!

……

……

"Hachigaya-kun has become a complete celebrity, his fame might even surpass that of Haku-kun?"

In the activity room, Yukino Yukinoshita was learning about the specifics, her expression somewhat subtle.

Hachiman Hikigaya lay sprawled on the table, sprawling like a corpse, and uttered a heartfelt prayer: "Captain... look, the weather outside is beautiful, isn't it?"

"It's alright." Bai Ying typed on the keyboard.

Hachiman Hikigaya, unusually proactive, coaxed, "Isn't this a great opportunity to perform on stage? To make the grand opening of the performance a resounding success, let's just set the school ablaze!"

"I want to create! Performing is just getting in the way!" Bai Ying coldly refused.

"Suddenly, a cute girl who has admired me for a long time and can resonate with me deeply confessed her love to me in public..." Yukino Yukinoshita's tone was particularly strange, and she couldn't help but steal a glance at the white figure who was focused on creating.

The white figure turned at lightning speed, giving her an encouraging yet scrutinizing look, before turning back to continue creating.

Ugh—bad guy!

Knowing full well that I hate lies, they deliberately kept quiet and dumped the truth on me?

Rationally speaking, this kind of superpower-related matter is an unusually serious one...

serious?

Yukino Yukinoshita felt extremely complicated, her scalp tingled, and she even began to feel embarrassed for her two friends. "You superpowered people don't save or destroy the world. What you like to do most is to harm people's hearts everywhere?"

Wait a minute, it seems that Bai Yinghua wasn't pretending this time... or maybe she was? There's no need to reveal those overly exaggerated superpower settings.

Ugh! Has this inexplicable situation dragged down my IQ? I'll just memorize pi and tell them the truth later.

Yui Yuigahama drawled, "Yeah! Hachiman is really lovable! He's always talking about how great it is to be a 'normal person,' but he's the one who should be exploding the most!"

"Please stop..." Hachiman Hikigaya sighed, propping his chin up, looking extremely haggard. "Damn it, I feel like saying 'Explode, you popular guys' is going to give me PTSD... Do you know how many guys in my class, people I barely know, have said that to me?"

Huh? I'm a social butterfly? Are you kidding me? Look at me, my real life is very fulfilling...

Ah, I can't refute it! I absolutely can't refute that girl's last words!

Am I really that much of a social butterfly?

"I don't even know that girl's name."

Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but remark, "Is she some kind of magical little spirit?"

Hmm, there's always this unsettling feeling of something flashing around and eluding me, something I've missed so many times. What is this...? Ah, thinking is so tiring. I really want to take my brain off the shelf and clear my head.

Yuigahama Yui couldn't help but feel uneasy. It seemed that girl had really touched Hachiman's heart? Well, she felt that girl did resemble Hachiman, only she wasn't as fond of witty banter or mischievousness, nor as gentle, but she was braver and...more poetic?

Hmm! Do all boys like literature-loving girls?!

"Ahem! I have something to say, but don't be too surprised..."

Yukino Yukinoshita stared at the white figure for a moment, then spoke with great difficulty.

Yui Yuigahama slumped onto the table in a deflated manner: "No matter what happens today, I won't be surprised."

"Really? I don't believe it." The white figure peeked out. "Unless you're surprised and then go outside and shout 'I'm an idiot' three times."

"Go away, Xiaobai, stop causing trouble."

Yui Yuigahama tilted her head, giving Bai Ying the back of her head.

"Surprised?" Hachiman Hikigaya wearily muttered to himself, "Hachiman's mental energy for today is completely exhausted, I can't extract any more chakra..."

"Cough cough... um..."

Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly made a sound, causing the two to look over in confusion, only to find their friend looking hesitant and reluctant to speak.

Hachiman Hikigaya was already mentally exhausted from the day, and he complained wearily, "Yukinoshita, if you want to be alone with the club president, just say so. I was planning to go home early anyway... Ah, Komachi, I suddenly really want to see Komachi..."

Yui Yuigahama swallowed hard as she watched Yukino Yukinoshita's expression turn cold before transforming into a gentle, spring-like smile.

What are you saying, Xiaoqi?!

“The Crimson Troupe—yes, the troupe that Bai Jun used to be in. Phantom and Mouth Tongue were both members, each with their own messy artistic pursuits.”

Yukino Yukinoshita states this clearly, her gaze gently fixed on the dying man.

"One of the members is named Bai Yinghua..."

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Hachiman Hikigaya, aged...

"The essence of any acting is a lie; performance is a process of deception; art is the lie itself. This is the philosophy held by that member of the Scarlet Theatre Company."

Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly, "To put it simply, the girl who came to confess to you was Shiro Eika in disguise. It was a fake, a scam."

Hachiman Hikigaya and Yui Yuigahama were a bit stunned, thinking that this statement was simply outrageous; who would make such a fuss over nothing...