Uneasy daily life

"This..." Azusagawa Kaede only half understood.

"We should have as few people as possible, keep it quiet, preferably indoors, and the lighting can be dim," Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly said. "How about a place like that?"

Azusagawa Kaede's eyes lit up: "Great!"

“A place like this…” Yui Yuigahama exclaimed, “Oh right, we can go see a movie! We can watch it on our TVs at home, but the feeling of sitting in a movie theater is completely different… Hachiman, it hasn’t been ten minutes yet, has it?”

She noticed that Hachiman Hikigaya had suddenly pulled out his phone and was sending a message.

"Well..." Hachiman Hikigaya said briefly, "I feel that my acting skills are not good enough, and it is difficult for me to give Azusagawa a natural assist, so I am seeking help from professionals—as expected of the kind-hearted department head, he agreed immediately, which is really great."

Yuigahama Yui: "..."

Yukinoshita Yukino: "..."

Azusagawa Kaede: "?"

……

……

"Yes, this is my boyfriend, Sakuta Azusagawa!"

Koga Tomoe put her arm around Azusagawa Sakuta's arm, showing their intimacy, and introduced him to her friends with a big smile: "Sakuta-senpai is also from our school, he's a second-year student."

"Hello, senior."

Several girls nodded and greeted him, looking somewhat bewildered. Could it be that Sakuta Azusagawa?

"Hello."

Sakuta Azusagawa nodded in response, wondering when Hachiman would call. His old cell phone didn't have a speakerphone function, so he could easily let others hear the conversation and then run away with a clear conscience.

The reason for preparing is simple: you're a worker, they don't allow you to take leave, and if you don't come to work soon, they'll fire you.

Several girls had already started chatting excitedly, preparing to head to the amusement park they had booked.

Ding Ding Ding-!

The ringing of the cell phone instantly drew everyone's attention. Sakuta Azusagawa calmly reached into his pocket, pressed the answer button, and then, under their strange gazes, pulled out his old-fashioned cell phone.

Sakuta, aren't you home today? I was planning to surprise you.

A gentle and pleasant voice came out.

Caught off guard, Sakuta Azusagawa's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Shoko-san?"

"Yes." The other person chuckled softly, and before Azusagawa Sakuta could reply, their gentle tone tinged with a hint of bitterness, "I didn't expect Sakuta to have a new girlfriend so quickly. He's really popular... Now I can rest assured."

Koga Tomoe suddenly received intense attention from her friends regarding the top of her head.

She couldn't help but twitch her lips, unsure of how to respond—should she start a fight?

But what would the senior say?

Koga Tomoe couldn't help but become curious, and she looked forward to Azusagawa Sakuta's answer.

"Miss Shoko, I may not be able to put your mind at ease! Koga and I are just pretending to be a couple!"

Sakuta Azusagawa answered instantly without hesitation, afraid that if he was too slow, the other party would hang up the phone without any worries—if Ms. Shoko could choose to die with peace of mind because of a lie, I would never be able to forgive myself for the rest of my life.

"what……"

Koga Tomoe's cheek twitched slightly as she looked guiltily at her friends.

They cast pitying glances at him, while simultaneously glaring at Azusagawa Sakuta with the same look they'd given a scumbag.

[A fake couple? Sakuta, I'd rather you've truly moved on from this relationship...]

Shoko Makinohara said gently, "It was never going to be possible for us to be together. Can you put my mind at ease?"

“No.” Sakuta Azusagawa said decisively, “I would make a scene, cry and throw a tantrum, and live a life of sadness and pain, regretting that I couldn’t do anything! To avoid hurting me, Ms. Shoko, please meet with me. No matter the outcome, at least let us have a serious talk!”

[...Should I pester them relentlessly?]

"Relentless pursuit".

I'm with Hikigaya-kun.

"I'm coming right away!"

Communication hang up.

Sakuta Azusagawa calmly put away his phone, reached out and took Tomoe Koga's hand, and said earnestly, "Tomoe, I'm sincere towards you too!"

Tomoe Koga: "?"

"Hey! Senior, you're clearly two-timing me!" A girl bravely stood up and righteously accused him.

Sakuta Azusagawa looked at her.

The girl resolutely took a step back.

This is the legendary Minehara Slash King!

"Sorry, something urgent has come up, so Tomoe and I will have to go now. Have fun!"

Sakuta Azusagawa said something without much apology, pulled up the bewildered Tomoe Koga, and quickly walked to the other side, leaving the girls standing there, looking at each other in confusion.

……

……

"Senior! What are you doing?!"

“It’s your cooperation that’s the problem.” Sakuta Azusagawa said without changing his expression as he walked quickly. “I’m laying the groundwork for a breakup later, since a jerk is the biggest reason for a breakup.”

"But we've only just begun!"

Koga Tomoe said in a frenzy.

“It’s okay. You can create a persona of a devoted girl who says, ‘Even though he’s a jerk, he’s still my boyfriend, and I will never give up on him.’ That way, when we break up, you won’t have any stain on your reputation.” Sakuta Azusagawa said seriously, “Your acting is terrible. You just stand there in a daze! There’s not a trace of shock, sadness, pain, or anger at discovering that your boyfriend is a jerk, nor any panic, struggle, fighting spirit, or pleading that your boyfriend will leave you.”

"?" Koga Tomoe's eyes widened. "Senpai! I'm not an actress!"

"From the moment we started pretending to be a couple, we were both actors."

Sakuta Azusagawa said calmly, "Anyway, it's not a big problem. Your friends will only pity you and sympathize with you. It won't affect your relationship. They might even give you some earnest advice, which will actually make the relationship more stable."

"Then wouldn't I be a fool who got deceived by a scumbag?" Tomoe Koga couldn't help but ask loudly.

"But I've become a scumbag."

Oh, that seems to be true... huh?

That's good. Occasionally learning from Bai's solution can be a good strategy.

The two discussed it as they returned to the corner.

Sakuta Azusagawa quickly glanced around but didn't see anyone else. He then looked at Hachiman Hikigaya and asked, "Where's Shoko-san?"

Hachiman Hikigaya casually replied, "You mean Shoko Shirogane?"

"?"

Sakuta Azusagawa froze, then took out his phone to check the call log again.

Damn it! I fell for Bai's trick so easily again! And that Hachiman guy... I'll remember him.

Koga Tomoe raised her hand to rub her temples, and surprisingly, she didn't find it strange at all.

Miss Xiangzi, is she the girl that the senior has been longing for and liking? The clever senior was completely fooled just by hearing her voice, he's such a fool.

I'm a little curious about that Miss Xiangzi, and also a bit annoyed and resentful—humph! Is she as cute as me?

Chapter 84 White...Shadow Scene?

The movie theater was crowded but unusually quiet. The dim lighting blurred the other guests, leaving only their vague outlines. Looking up, you could see the ceiling and walls, making you feel like you were in a closed environment. The only source of light was the movie playing on the big screen.

This environment is so reassuring!

Azusagawa Kaede's heart stopped trembling, her hands stopped shaking, and she stared intently at the big screen, holding Azusagawa Sakuta's left hand with her left hand and Yuigahama Yui's right hand with her right hand, her legs dangling under the chair swinging gently back and forth.

I watched TV, but the movie theater is definitely different from the TV; the screen is so big and clear.

"Here you go, when you come to the movie theater, you should eat popcorn and drink Coke."

Yui Yuigahama stuffed snacks into Kaede Azusagawa's hands: "This movie is pretty good, it's about a cat's adventure..."

No spoilers allowed!

Azusagawa Kaede's voice involuntarily rose, but she quickly lowered it after realizing what she had said: "I...I want to see it myself..."

"It's okay, it's okay, I accidentally said too much." Yui Yuigahama smiled and patted the other's head, then excitedly gestured towards the big screen, "Look, look!"

Sakuta Azusagawa found it rather strange; why did it seem like the other person cared about his younger sister even more than he did?

Sakuta Azusagawa's neighbor, Tomoe Koga, also felt something was off. Logically speaking, she should be sitting in Yui Yuigahama's seat to make her and her senior look like a couple, right? No, no, no, she should be sitting next to her senior to make them look like a couple, shouldn't she?

Hikigaya Hachiman, standing next to Koga Tomoe, squinted and secretly observed her, feeling a strange and subtly uneasy feeling. Suddenly noticing someone scrutinizing him, he looked away and whispered, "Yukinoshita, why didn't you call the club president? Or... is this a movie the club president is making?"

Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at her indifferently: "Film? You mean you want to reduce Shiro-kun to a two-dimensional form and then have him film this kind of anime movie?"

"I mean, could the movie be the minister's script?"

Hachiman Hikigaya looked quite serious.

"The works that Bai Jun wrote are not suitable for Feng to see." Yukino Yukinoshita was somewhat puzzled. "What strange things are you thinking about?"

"It's mainly because you subtly recommended coming to the cinema; I thought you wanted to see the Minister's work," Hachiman Hikigaya casually remarked. "Didn't you say you're the type to relentlessly pursue things? So, this kind of thing, which might be related to the Minister..."

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at him quietly, neither denying nor affirming, with a gentle tolerance that came from someone who was already dead.

Hachiman Hikigaya silently shut up—that despicable guy! He always subtly tries to find an opportunity to pair him up with Yui, then makes a few sarcastic remarks and starts mentally intimidating you. I hope you get your defenses breached by the club president every few days and end up running away in a face-covering manner!

Let's watch a movie!

The movie is an adventure story about an anthropomorphic kitten. The plot is very childlike, with adventures, making friends, and a mouse acting as the main villain... This slightly hilarious feeling might be what the minister is talking about!

They've found the treasure together, but is the next step going to be arguing about who deserved the most credit? Internal strife?

The farewell bonfire party features a group singing together, but could it be that the voices gradually fade away, leaving only the protagonist singing alone? In reality, the companions have already left, but the protagonist is simply imagining that they are still by his side?

The main villain shouts "I will definitely be back" and gets knocked away... Is it possible that the mouse villain is actually the cat protagonist's henchman, and that everything is a story carefully orchestrated by the protagonist?

All of the above events have occurred.

This is simply a positive, innocent, and fantastical animated film, closer to a fairy tale.

Hachiman Hikigaya silently walked out of the movie theater with the others.

While the others were excitedly discussing the plot, Yui Yuigahama casually asked, "Hachi, what did you think of the movie?"

"..." Hachiman Hikigaya said slowly, "Without the twisted humanity, the use of joy to highlight sorrow, or the clash of perspectives between good and evil, the plot would be too bland and boring."

Azusagawa Kaede asked blankly, "What does this mean?"

"It means that Xiaoqi needs to be corrected!" Yui Yuigahama quickly said, turning her head to glare fiercely, "Xiaoqi, what are you thinking? Only a newbie would think about these things!"

Hachiman Hikigaya was taken aback, and said with a sense of vicissitude, "Perhaps the minister has molded his aesthetic sense into a strange shape."

"You mean that bad guy, Bai Ying?" Azusagawa Kaede grabbed her brother and peered around. "He didn't come today, did he? He really didn't come? Is he really hiding somewhere to scare people?"

“Haku-kun is filming a movie and has been staying at the film set lately,” Yukino Yukinoshita said softly. “Would Kaede like to see the filming location? He seems to be doing some research at a zoo in Yokohama today.”

Kaede Azusagawa's eyes lit up, quite intrigued. She wanted to see how that movie was made. There should be panda warriors at the zoo, right? Since it was in Yokohama, it shouldn't be too far, right? She wanted to go.

"puff."

Hachiman Hikigaya let out a suppressed laugh. After all that beating around the bush, he still wanted to 'chase' the captain...

Yukino Yukinoshita slowly narrowed her eyes, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Hachigaya-kun, why are you suddenly smiling?"

"Ah... I remembered something happy."

Hachiman Hikigaya calmly replied.

“I see. Is Hikigaya-kun so happy just thinking about meeting Haku-kun?” Yukino Yukinoshita concluded. “It’s truly a touching friendship.”

Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."

What if I suddenly want to go home? This despicable person, just because she became the minister's girlfriend, escaped the minister's firing range? She even used the minister's intimidation to rule the Aid and Service Department—what a terrifying scheme!

"Huh? That's..."

Yui Yuigahama uttered a half-sentence, then abruptly stopped, as if she had seen something incredible.