Uneasy daily life

"Don't overthink it, just enjoy the moment."

The white figure hummed a tune softly, shifting her feet and guiding her arms, transforming the wildfire burning within her body into dance steps, leading Hachiman Hikigaya into a more and more energetic dance.

Hachiman Hikigaya, for the moment, took the white shadow's guidance seriously. It was indeed very strong; he only needed to move in accordance with the force. However, the other party was holding his hand very tightly, probably to facilitate guidance...

bang bang.

The knocking interrupted his rhythm, and Hachiman Hikigaya, who was getting into the swing of things, tripped over his right foot with his left.

The white figure suddenly took a step in the direction the other had fallen, closing the distance. He pulled with his right hand and reached out with his left, steadily supporting Hachiman Hikigaya.

"Please come in."

Yukino Yukinoshita called out at just the right moment.

"Ya-ha...lou—?"

A vibrant voice entered as the door opened, only to be abruptly cut off in the throat.

The girl with light peach-colored hair stood at the door, looking blankly at the two boys who were half-hugging each other, her hand waving in greeting grew slower and slower.

Chapter Seven: Let's play cards, you be the card.

"Phew, the accumulated pressure has finally been relieved."

Bai Ying let out a long sigh of relief and revealed a handsome smile: "Welcome to the Aid Department and the Service Department. Do you have any difficulties?"

"that……"

The girl seeking help had her hair in a bun with a black headband, and three or four buttons on her uniform collar were undone, making her look strangely flashy.

She subconsciously took a step back, glanced at Hachiman Hikigaya, who was leaning weakly against the chair, panting and sweating profusely, swallowed hard, and asked timidly, "H-Hachiman, are you the fujoshi that Hina mentioned?"

Hachiman Hikigaya glanced at the somewhat familiar-looking girl: "Huh? Fujoshi? Wait—what does 'hikigaya' (a homophone for 'stay-at-home') mean? You bitch."

"I'm not a bitch!" The girl blushed, then stammered, "If we're talking about yaoi, it's something like...you know, the kind of thing between guys..."

Bai Ying explained, "Simply put, we're not into BL. I've hit a creative block and can't find interesting people or things to use as material, which is really frustrating."

The girl noticed the person by the window waving at her, so she nodded and walked over: "Oh, and then?"

Then we danced.

The white figure reached out and pressed on Hachiman Hikigaya's shoulder, saying cheerfully, "Don't be surprised, don't be strange. When your body moves, your blood flows, your sweat flies, and your soul leaps along with your body. This is an effective way to relieve stress. In short, just tell me what you want..."

"Minister, the person who asked for help has been scared away."

Hachiman Hikigaya looked at the girl who was already whispering to Yukino Yukinoshita.

“It’s alright, the aid department has a secret weapon,” Bai Ying said thoughtfully. “Is she here to see you? Do you know her?”

"I don't know him, and besides, he couldn't possibly be looking for me. Minister, you must have misunderstood."

Hachiman Hikigaya said earnestly in a low voice, "Having an excessive sense of self is a terrible thing. You'll be called disgusting or a pervert—I have a friend who mistakenly thought a girl liked him, and after confessing, he was brutally rejected instantly..."

Bai Ying understood and whispered, "That's right. Being hit hard when you're most confident is just like a friend of mine who tripped and fell in front of everyone on his first official stage performance."

Hachiman Hikigaya smirked, "What a coincidence, we all have an unlucky friend."

Bai Ying said, "Everyone has friends like that."

While the two boys were talking in hushed tones, Yukino Yukinoshita and the girl who had asked for help also finished their conversation.

"This is Yui Yuigahama from Class F of the first year. She wants to make handmade cookies to give to others."

Yukino Yukinoshita stood up, her gaze piercing straight at the white figure: "The Service Club is the one that communicates with the client, so I'll help Yuihama-san first. It's probably not going to be a chance for Shiro-san to step in."

That was an undeniable tone of confidence.

Home economics is a compulsory course for girls and an elective course for boys, while the corresponding craft course is a compulsory course for boys and an elective course for girls.

As a student, Yukino Yukinoshita is impeccably excellent—including her grades in home economics.

Bai Ying asked, "We'll be able to eat free cookies later. I'm going to buy some drinks. What do you want?"

Hachiman Hikigaya: "MAX Coffee".

"Um..." Yui Yuigahama noticed the white figure looking at her, thought for a moment, and said, "Juice, please."

The white figure looked at Yukino Yukinoshita: "And you?"

Yukino Yukinoshita felt like she'd bumped into a cotton ball: "...Juice, can I take that as you giving up in advance?"

"Don't worry, there will still be struggles. I'll start looking up cookie recipes online now."

Bai Ying took out her phone and waved it.

"Then let Bai struggle as much as she wants—let's go to the cooking class."

Yukino Yukinoshita moved with light steps, determined to score a point first.

The frustration I felt earlier was simply because Hachiman was too strange.

To help others solve their problems, you still need to rely on your own hard skills!

……

……

A cookie, neatly shaped, its brownish-yellow color indicating perfect baking time, and the aroma of flour wafting out even before it cools, already speaks of an excellent flavor.

Another batch of cookies...

"Is this a cookie...?"

Hachiman Hikigaya squeezed the dark, crumbly pieces between his fingers, then turned to Yui Yuigahama, whose face was flushed, and suggested, "If we're giving it as a gift, buying one wouldn't be a problem, would it?"

"Little Qi, you idiot! You have to taste the food before you're qualified to comment on it!"

Yui Yuigahama retorted loudly, picked up a piece of black shard, and suddenly stopped while looking down. She sniffed the lingering pungent smell and whispered, "It seems... I messed up."

"Why is this so?"

Wearing an apron, Yukino Yukinoshita crossed her arms and pondered for a few seconds before taking out the next batch of ingredients and starting to sift flour to do it again: "Yuigahama-san, look carefully this time."

"Um..." Yui Yuigahama looked at the non-flammable shard in her hand, and gave a somewhat dejected dry laugh, "I don't seem to have any talent, so maybe I should just forget about it..."

"Are you going to give up after just one failure? By projecting all your fear, laziness, and weakness onto your abilities, what will you gain besides temporary relief? You can run away once, but how many times can you run away?"

Yukino Yukinoshita focused intently on stirring the flour, her usual calm and direct tone still conveying: "Talent? It's like saying someone is born knowing everything, so you casually wipe away other people's sweat, thought, hard work, and perseverance. Before talking about talent, give it your all first—easily using talent as a pretext is only a way to numb yourself, excuse your mistakes, and make yourself seem less pathetic."

"Giving up is a delicious poison."

Quiet.

Click click click.

"This tastes good, but I prefer it a bit saltier. It would be even better if it were a little spicy."

"Ugh, I actually prefer it a little sweeter..."

Hachiman Hikigaya glanced at the drink in Shiro's hand... an extra strong black coffee. This guy is really cruel to himself.

Shouldn't you step in and help out? Yukinoshita is very strict.

Hachiman Hikigaya glanced sideways at the somewhat tense teaching scene.

Yukino Yukinoshita paused briefly, turned her head to look at the motionless Yui Yuigahama, and said in a gentler tone, "I might have been a little harsh..."

"How handsome!"

Yui Yuigahama looked at him with longing and admiration, and hugged him immediately: "Yuki, you're so cool! To say something like that! So incredibly cool!"

"Xiao...Xiaoxue?! Wait, Yuihama-san, let go of me first, and watch carefully as I make cookies!"

"Yes, Teacher Xiaoxue!"

Looks like I don't need to jump in and accuse Yukinoshita of shifting the blame...

Hachiman Hikigaya reached out and touched nothing.

Bai Ying popped the last cookie into her mouth and suddenly said, "It seems our aid department is going to get a point first."

"Yukinoshita-san is really amazing, maybe..."

"You're really good at playing dumb."

Bai Ying suddenly gave a wicked smile: "How about I punish you by making you eat all of Yuihama's cookies later? As long as you eat all her cookies and express your gratitude, this method will guarantee you a point."

Wow, this person is serious... It's terrifying. It's beyond just being number one on the "absolutely unforgivable" list. When I get home, I'm going to put you, Minister, at number 0.

Hachiman Hikigaya's gaze shifted for a moment before he whispered the problem: "Yukinoshita-san, you certainly followed the correct and gentle approach..."

On the cooking counter, Yukino Yukinoshita, having just finished a demonstration, stood with her arms crossed, watching Yui Yuigahama's actions.

"Hey ya ya—!!"

Yui Yuigahama gritted her teeth and stirred the batter, looking full of fighting spirit and enthusiasm.

There was no doubt that this level of stirring was wrong, but Yukino Yukinoshita did not point it out, but simply observed with a serious expression.

After demonstrating the correct cookie-making method, let the learner make the cookies on their own. Do not interfere too much until they are finished. After they are finished, tell the learner what went wrong and how to fix it, and then demonstrate the correct method again.

In other words, learners are encouraged to think more, explore their own potential, and grow spontaneously, thereby truly learning how to make cookies.

Yukino Yukinoshita herself is responsible for the recipe and correcting mistakes afterwards. Her goal is not to teach Yui Yuigahama how to make "Yukino Yukinoshita Cookies" step by step, but to let Yui Yuigahama learn how to make "Yui Yuigahama Cookies" through repeated practice, so that she can repeat the process countless times in the future.

This is a gentle teaching method.

Unfortunately, Yui Yuigahama is an overly individualistic student.

They are extremely good at adding unnecessary details and have absolutely no self-control.

Yukino Yukinoshita could either change her teaching methods, or accumulate experience through time and repeated failures... or change her approach to solve the problem, bypassing the steps of baking cookies and starting from the client's original intention.

However, Yukinoshita had already tried twice, and the club president was about to step in and intercept her, leaving her speechless...

Ultimately, it has nothing to do with me, right?

As long as there are free cookies to eat, that's fine.

Freebies are the best.

"Jie Jie Jie..."

I heard a strange laugh.

Hachiman Hikigaya turned his head and saw the white figure writing furiously. After a few glances, he could tell it was a recipe for baked cookies, just copied from the internet, and the phone was still lit up.

"Minister, what's with that strange laugh..."

The white figure stopped laughing and said in a deep voice, "Hachiman, your body is truly amazing."

"……so what?"

Hachiman Hikigaya wondered to himself, "Is this guy going to give Yuihama a devilish training program to develop her muscle memory for baking cookies?"

"But human emotions are even more amazing."

The white figure's gaze deepened, like the setting sun gradually sinking into the sea. His words grew heavier with each sentence, striking Hachiman Hikigaya's heart like a heavy hammer, exuding absolute authority: "Hikigaya-kun, I will don the crown, wield the king's sword, stain the city rivers with blood, and become the tyrant of the story—Tionez!"

Bai Ying straightened his back, his voice like the hoarse cawing of a crow. He raised an eyebrow, his gaze darkening, and a mocking smile curved his lips.

The setting sun shifted at that moment, casting a backlit shadow that enveloped Hachiman Hikigaya, giving his expression an ominous aura.

A bead of sweat slowly trickled down Hachiman Hikigaya's forehead: "Your Majesty... I am very good at running away and begging for mercy, and I also have a younger sister at home, so the role of Mellors is perfect for me."

"Hahaha, you're really good at joking—"

The tyrannical king shook the recipe in his hand.

That wasn't a recipe; it was a death sentence.

The culinary classroom, shrouded in dark clouds, is now an execution ground.

He pronounced the name in a deliberately gentle voice.

It was as if lightning brought a deafening roar.

"Serinudius, I choose you!"