Uneasy daily life

Hachiman Hikigaya hesitated instinctively for a moment, then, remembering it was his sister's request, he reluctantly nodded and said, "Okay, okay."

"Hehe! This answer got a super high score from Bai Ying!"

"Yes... um?"

Hachiman Hikigaya looked up in astonishment.

Bai Ying flipped the phone over—it didn't show any ongoing call at all.

The phone was moved aside, revealing a white figure with a satisfied and joyful smile, a silent smile that was gradually becoming more unrestrained.

"No, this is impossible! The voice just now clearly had that feeling you get when you're on a cell phone call—!"

Hachiman Hikigaya refuses to accept reality.

“Hikigaya-kun,” Yukino Yukinoshita said with pity, “Have you forgotten the play you just acted in today? The sounds of the torrential rain, thunder, and even the clash of weapons in the play were all dubbed by Haku-kun all by himself…”

It's so easy to just slightly change the voice to sound like 'someone making a phone call'.

Hachiman Hikigaya was turned into a stiff stone statue.

Yui Yuigahama suddenly realized, "Oh right, we could have asked Komachi for her opinion on this, since I have her phone number..."

The stone statue cracked open, and Hachiman Hikigaya turned into pale ash.

"Hachiman Hikigaya, sent off with a red card."

Bai Ying casually said, "Then let's welcome our second debater, Yukino Yukinoshita, and see what kind of sparks these two contestants will create—"

“I have no problem with the dinner party, it’s just not suitable to have it at home for the time being.” Yukino Yukinoshita put her hands in her pockets. “On the contrary, I have a lot of complaints about you, Mr. Referee—you’re not a very fair referee, are you? Since you’re the referee, you shouldn’t be speaking and interfering with the proceedings.”

“Okay, I understand.” The white figure turned her head and said, “Yui Yuigahama, what are your thoughts on the location for the gathering?”

Yui Yuigahama shook her head honestly and said, "We can get together anywhere. If Yuki's house isn't suitable, we can come to my house too. Although my mom is home, she's very kind, so everyone shouldn't feel uncomfortable..."

Yukino Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes: "Mr. Referee, I didn't say I needed your off-field assistance. You've completely failed as a referee."

"Hmph, superficial! There are nine types of referees in total!"

The white figure paused slightly, and Chitanda Eru immediately followed up curiously, "Nine types? Aren't referees just referees? There are different types? What nine types?"

In fact, there was a contestant here who had no complaints about the referee and was completely detached from the situation, unaffected by the referee's interference. This contestant was Chitanda Eru.

She simply wanted to thank everyone who had helped her.

She truly is my good niece; unlike others, she doesn't judge people with prejudice!

Bai Ying immediately began to speak eloquently: "The so-called nine types of referees are the following nine categories based on personal morality and social order. Let's take referees in football matches as an example to illustrate this!"

"Lawful Good Referee: I will officiate the game fairly and will not favor any team!"

"Neutral and kind referee: If it's a foul committed by the team I support and nobody saw it, can that be considered a foul?"

"Chaotic but kind referee: I will fall into darkness and bring light back to the team!"

"Orderly neutral referee: I am the referee, I only follow the rules, I have no feelings."

"Absolutely neutral referee: Behave yourself, play faster, cause less trouble, and go home early."

"In the chaos, the neutral referee exclaims: Dribble! Get past your opponent! Drive straight in—Shoot! Woohoo! The referee has scored!"

"Lawful Evil Referee: When are we going to have a mass brawl? I want to see a mass brawl. Kicking people is more fun than playing football."

"Neutral evil referee: Give me a controversial red card that will ignite the whole stadium, start a battle for the best leg and spark a heated debate among the audience. I think that's so cool!"

"Chaotic and evil referee: Red card! Red card! KO! KO! One against twenty-two! This will be my massacre show!"

The activity room was a bit quiet. Chitanda Eru couldn't find a word to say, wondering what kind of referee Uncle Bai was...

Yukino Yukinoshita said coldly, "Clearly, Shiraki's sense of order and moral standards are not very high."

"After all, as a creator, all I need is technical skill. In the face of the highest aesthetics, mental state and personal qualities are insignificant." Bai Ying waved his hand and said casually, "I'm just temporarily staying across from you, so why are you making such a fuss about friends visiting your home? You're making a mountain out of a molehill."

Yukino Yukinoshita froze, her expression one of disbelief. "What are you saying?! I'm kicking you out the door today—"

"Oh!" Yui Yuigahama exclaimed in realization.

Yukino Yukinoshita's thoughts raced like lightning as she began to devise an explanation...

"No wonder I haven't seen Shiro's blanket in the activity room these past few days. So it turns out that Yuki helped him find a place near his home?" Yui Yuigahama understood everything. "I didn't expect that Yuki and Shiro would still be neighbors across the hall... Hehe."

"..."

Yukinoshita Yukino was silent.

The doors are indeed opposite each other, but they don't face each other's front doors; they face each other's bedroom doors.

It seems that a normal person would definitely think about neighbors, not cohabitation...

On the contrary, because of his own shirking of responsibility, his neighbors became even more suspicious than when he was living with them.

"Yuihama, don't make that weird laugh." Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at Shirokage, her blood pressure calming down and she was almost indifferent. "It's fine to have a meal at my house, but it's not really convenient if there are adults at other people's houses."

Anyway, if the white figure is exposed, just throw him under the bridge to fend for himself.

Yukino under the snow was prepared to perish together with the enemy.

"Very well, then debater number two surrenders and concedes defeat!"

The white figure looked at the last person and solemnly introduced, "Now! The last hope of the entire village converges on Oreki Houtarou. Our shared prayers have transformed into stars, and these stars connect to a hopeful future. Let us summon Oreki Houtarou—"

"I think having a get-together is a good idea; it doesn't take much time and is quite convenient."

Oreki Houtarou answered calmly.

The others... seemed perfectly normal.

Bai Ying was shocked: "Oreki-kun! You're just giving up like that? How could you just give up like that! This isn't a game of strategy like Tian Ji's horse racing! This is the final decisive game—I haven't even seen you get completely annihilated by Eru's niece yet!"

That's why I chose to surrender immediately.

Avoidance can also be a way to save energy.

Houtarou Oreki thought to himself with relief.

Chapter Seventy-Six: Don't Look Back

Today is a beautiful, sunny day. It's a holiday, perfect for lounging on the sofa, taking out my phone, opening a game, and finishing with a score of 0-21...

Why isn't it raining?

Hachiman Hikigaya looked up at the sky.

"What nonsense are you talking about, brother?"

Komachi Hikigaya gave a boost from behind, pushing the limp Hachiman Hikigaya forward: "Hurry up! If you keep slacking off like this, I'm going to give you a quick kick on the butt!"

"Ah-ah-ah-"

Hachiman Hikigaya tried his best to show his lack of interest: "The agreed time is 12 o'clock, it's only 8 o'clock, why are we going so early?"

"Since it's a family gathering, we definitely need to prepare a proper meal for eight people. I talked to Yukinoshita-neechan last night, and I'll go help prepare lunch this morning," Komachi Hikigaya said with a hint of disdain. "Does my brother just plan to take a mouthful of food with him and come back with a big belly?"

Hachiman Hikigaya pondered, "I can buy some fruit on the way."

Komachi Hikigaya smiled sweetly and said, "Garbage-chan."

"It doesn't have to be so complicated, why bother preparing everything yourself..." Hachiman Hikigaya sighed. "Just go downstairs to the restaurant to make a reservation, and they'll deliver the food when it's ready. After you're done eating, just wait for someone to collect it. You don't even have to wash the dishes. It's that simple."

Komachi Hachiman crossed her arms and nudged her older brother with her shoulder: "Then you'll have to live off takeout from now on, bro! Humph!"

"Lord Komachi, please spare my life. I spoke recklessly."

As someone whose status in the family is second only to the floor, Hachiman Hikigaya is very self-aware.

"Good to know." Komachi Hikigaya put on a serious face and nodded like a company president, then couldn't help but laugh out loud, saying cheerfully, "Brother has made quite a few friends at school too—speaking of which, I only have Yukinoshita-neechan's and Yui-hama-neechan's phone numbers, so this is a good opportunity to collect the phone numbers of your other friends..."

Are you collecting some weird stuff? Wait!

Hachiman Hikigaya said seriously, "Komachi, I think you should be more clear-headed and think it over again."

Komachi Hikigaya asked curiously, "What's wrong with my brother again?"

“I… I mean…” Hachiman Hikigaya said solemnly, “Anyone else is fine, but the captain… that is, the one you met the other day, let’s forget about it.”

"Oh, that handsome guy who's also a great cook?" Komachi Hikigaya found it even stranger. "He seems like a really nice person."

Minister! To protect my sister's smile, forgive me for slandering you—no! You don't need to slander me at all!

Hachiman Hikigaya coldly said, "That person is very problematic. He uses his ability to change his voice to attack others! He once used your voice to blast me! I cannot forgive him!"

Komachi Hikigaya asked curiously, "My voice? Imitation?"

“That’s right, even I couldn’t tell the difference between the real and fake voices! Yesterday he even pretended to call you and used your voice to deceive me! It’s heinous!”

Hikigaya Hachiman was determined not to let Komachi and the department head have any contact information or get involved in any other relationship!

“Hmm, doing this is indeed a bit abrupt…” Komachi Hachiman agreed, then asked, “But I think even if it’s Komachi’s voice, you wouldn’t be blown up by me, right? Unless it’s some special situation, so what exactly was said? What exactly is the situation?”

Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."

Hikigaya Komachi: "Staring—she seems guilty."

"No way!" Hachiman Hikigaya looked away.

Hmph, if you don't want to talk about it, then go ask someone else later. It's probably because my brother did something stupid again, and someone used their own voice to criticize and lecture him, which is why he got yelled at on the spot.

But that's not necessarily true... After all, the older brother has two kinds of awkwardness: one on the surface and one deep. Others can only see the surface awkwardness.

"Hmph hmph hmph~ Hmm, it's probably close by now, isn't it?"

On the street, Hikigaya Komachi looked around and saw all sorts of shops and a dense crowd of pedestrians.

"That's the upscale apartment where Yukinoshita lives." Hachiman Hikigaya looked for a landmark, raised his hand, and pointed to a tall building.

"Should we go to the supermarket and buy some groceries to take with us?"

Komachi Hikigaya looked at the nearby shops: "Today, Komachi is having a special buffet—whatever you want to eat, you can satisfy your taste today only!"

Hachiman Hikigaya replied, "Whatever."

He just wanted to finish eating quickly, go home early, and then be a freeloader!

"Whatever~ Let's just stir-fry bitter melon with green peppers and season with Sichuan peppercorn powder..."

"Spare my life!"

As Hachiman Hikigaya begged for mercy, he noticed his younger sister looking in a certain direction. Following her gaze, he immediately felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

He's a wild minister who just stepped out of the supermarket!

Pretend you didn't see anything and hurry towards Yukinoshita's house!

As soon as Hachiman Hikigaya lifted his leg, Komachi Hikigaya grabbed him by the back of his collar with one hand and waved with the other: "Yah-lo—! Yukinoshita-neechan!"

Huh? Seeing that there was no hope of escape, Hachiman Hikigaya took a closer look and found that Yukino Yukinoshita was standing five meters away from the white figure.

Why is there such a subtle sense of distance? It's as if Yukino Yukinoshita is hiding from something... What is she hiding from?

Hachiman Hikigaya subconsciously began to observe.

"Yo!"

"Good morning, Hachiman-kun, and also..."

"You can just call me Komachi."

"Okay, thank you for coming to help."

"Hehe, it's nothing, it's nothing..." Komachi Hachiman asked curiously, "Why is Yukinoshita-neechan standing so far away?"

Bai Ying replied, "She is afraid."

Fear? Even stranger to Komachi Hikigaya: "White..."

"Just call me Brother Bai—you've come at the perfect time. Brother Bai will show you the wonders of Chinese cuisine. Compared to real hearty dishes, Mapo Tofu is just a common side dish."

The white figure picked up the bag. Because it was wrapped in several layers of bags, Komachi Hikigaya couldn't tell what it was at first glance. She was about to peek out to take a closer look.

Hachiman Hikigaya quickly pulled his curious younger sister back. He noticed that while keeping her distance, Yukinoshita had been looking at the bag in the department head's hand with a complicated expression!