Uneasy daily life

Rumi Tsurumi: "Boring, the friends you're talking about are just doing stupid things together..."

Bai Ying retorted, "Huh? Do you even know what a friend is? You have no friends."

"Hmm—" Tsurumi Rumi tilted her head back, her small hands unconsciously clenching into fists, "Let's talk about what friends are first—"

Bai Ying blinked: "You mean—before saying you have no friends, let's define what a friend is?"

"Correct!"

Rumi Tsurumi nodded vigorously: "First, let's define what a friend is!"

"That's it! That's the snow flavor!"

The white figure suddenly looked up, closed its eyes, took a deep breath, and shivered in one smooth motion, as satisfied as taking the first bite of ice-cold watermelon on a hot summer day.

"?" Tsurumi Rumi was full of questions. Was this high school student disabled? Should she leave quickly, or try to find someone to ask for help? Hmm... she should wait and see.

Bai Ying slowly exhaled, her expression becoming solemn, her voice serious and earnest: "Little friend, tell me your thoughts. If what you say makes sense, then I apologize to you."

"..."

Rumi Tsurumi was taken aback, momentarily unaccustomed to the change in the other person's attitude—is this guy a TV? He can switch from anime to variety shows with a single press.

"Friends..." Tsurumi Rumi felt a little awkward, but seeing the white figure looking at her with serious eyes, instead of the usual casual and lecturing attitude of teachers and parents, she couldn't help but speak up, "I don't think that kind of casual relationship is what friends are. It can be formed so easily, and it can be destroyed so easily. Just because you're in the same class you can become friends, and just because you don't think you're friends you're not friends..."

"How can this kind of relationship be considered friendship?"

Bai Ying listened quietly, then immediately agreed, saying, "That's right. Making friends is as childish as playing house. Because it's a game of playing house, one can lie, deceive, and show indifference and hostility towards a name without any burden, without even realizing how excessive they are—how foolish! Race evolution has finally given them brains, and they've chosen to entrust them to others."

Rumi Tsurumi's eyes lit up, and she chimed in, "That's right! They become so-called 'friends' because they want to get along well, and they stop being friends because they don't want to get along with each other. In these relationships that are forged and destroyed like this, you can't see their own thoughts at all. They're just idiots who can't think straight."

"So, making friends is nothing but a game for idiots."

“That’s not wrong.” Bai Ying smiled in agreement, patting the little girl’s shoulder. “Making friends is indeed a silly game, but people sometimes want to be silly, don’t they?”

To be an idiot? How could that be...?

Rumi Tsurumi opened her mouth to retort, but a strange emotion welled up inside her, as if blocking her vocal cords, preventing her from speaking—she had never shared these feelings with anyone before.

Before, no one would listen to me seriously. My teachers and parents would only think that this was a wrong idea and would just repeat the same things over and over again in different ways... What could I say besides nodding and indicating that I understood? Or rather, besides nodding, anything I said would be inappropriate.

Rumi Tsurumi pursed her lips and subconsciously asked, "What's your name?"

"Bai Ying, the student council president of Soubu High School, might be an idiot."

The white figure smiled smugly, patted Tsurumi Rumi on the shoulder, and walked past her.

“…Um—” Tsurumi Rumi paused for a moment, instinctively turning her head. She suddenly wanted to speak loudly, but couldn’t help but whisper, “Can we be friends?”

Hmm—the other person probably didn't hear me, right?

Phew... thankfully the other person didn't hear it.

Uh, why didn't I hear that?

As Tsurumi Rumi's heart surged with emotion, the white figure suddenly turned around and met her gaze.

"No."

Rumi Tsurumi froze.

"Little friend, when your hair grows long enough to reach your waist, I will tell you what you just said."

The white figure waved a phone in its other hand, and Tsurumi Rumi then realized that the other person had been recording with a phone in the hand behind their back!

Ah...uh...

Ugh? !

Chapter Seventy-Four: Sharing happiness is worse than enjoying it alone

Rumi Tsurumi, carrying her craft materials with a blank expression, slowly moved to an empty bench, like a robot with malfunctioning gears, halting as she crafted. Her small body seemed to exude a gloomy and cold aura, making one want to stay away.

"Although he has the bearing of an emperor, he has not been tempered by the world and is far too immature."

Bai Ying sat at one end, shaking her head and commenting, "Even the old version of the hero has more sharpness and aggression than her—she doesn't even have a single sarcastic remark. It's too low, the purity is too low."

Hayato Hayama's expression was subtle. Although he hadn't heard the entire conversation between the two, he could roughly deduce what had happened from Rumi Tsurumi's changing demeanor and his understanding of the white shadow...

Initiate the conversation with a forceful surprise, subtly drawing the conversation into the hidden corners of your mind, naturally arousing the emotions of the person you are talking to, and digging out their thoughts like a snake coming out of its hole—then, with lightning speed, ruthlessly stabbing them in!

"In the end, he was just a poor and weak primary school student, full of flaws."

Bai Ying sighed as she concluded, seemingly still feeling a sense of incompleteness.

"Bai-kun, are you even interested in teasing little kids?" Hayama Hayato said with a wry smile. "You can speak properly, but you always end up doing things that embarrass people..."

“How am I not speaking properly?” Bai Ying said matter-of-factly. “You were sitting next to her just now, unable to utter a single word for ages, which drew attention and made her subconsciously want to move away. I only needed to make a slight move to chat enthusiastically with the child. Tell me, who is the one who isn’t speaking properly?”

"?"

Hayato Hayama's cheek twitched, and he skillfully pressed down on the painful feeling. He glanced at Rumi Tsurumi not far away, and smiled wryly, "She really doesn't resemble the current Yukinoshita at all, but she's very similar to the Yukinoshita of the past..."

Bai Ying said knowingly, "Oh, you seem aloof, cold, and introverted, but you are actually very upset about being ostracized. You have a lot of inner thoughts, so you easily confide in others and ask for help whenever you have the chance. Then you make your already overburdened interpersonal relationships even worse, successfully delivering a fatal blow—when it comes to killing someone by destroying their spirit, your skill is no less than mine."

"Ahem, that's all in the past." Hayama Hayato felt particularly awkward. "Can you please stop bringing up old grievances?"

Bai Ying flatly rejected the idea: "The enemy must be eliminated—besides, didn't you bring this up? Don't you think it's inappropriate to talk about your youthful past with the hero in front of your boyfriend?"

Hayato Hayama thought about it carefully: "Because it's Shiro-kun, I think it's very suitable, and I don't have any psychological burden about interpersonal relationships at all."

"Let's have a one-on-one fight! I'll throw the first punch—"

“Shiro-kun, that was a great opportunity,” Hayama Hayato sighed. “You two had already opened up to each other. If you had just been a little more considerate of her feelings, you could have…”

"Help her muster up the courage to reconnect with her classmates. Once she successfully integrates into the group, she'll be happy, cheerful, and no longer withdrawn."

As Bai Ying spoke, she sang a verse, then suddenly her expression changed: "Your Highness, why didn't you try to solve the problem using the methods of a 'real-life' person?"

The so-called "real-life" approach involves using one's interpersonal skills to form a social circle, naturally bringing another person into that circle, thus becoming a bridge between different people.

Hayato Hayama paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know what happened between her and her classmates, so I wanted to talk to her first, find out the reason, and then find a way to resolve her isolation situation—unfortunately, I couldn't find an opportunity at all. I always felt that if I approached her, she would leave immediately."

"Even before I could speak to her, someone came over and she left on her own."

"Bai Ying, how did you manage to talk to her?"

Hayato Hayama asked earnestly.

“People should make friends, people should not be isolated, people should connect with others…” Bai Ying took out her phone and replied casually, “Your purpose is always accompanied by value judgments, so you never question it and think it should be this way—when you do something for her good, it means you think she is bad.”

Hayato Hayama pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, "Isn't being ostracized and isolated a really bad thing?"

“If you were a parent or teacher, and you said ‘wrong, wrong, wrong, bad, bad, bad,’ she would say ‘okay, okay, right, right, right.’ Unfortunately, you’re neither a parent nor a teacher. She’ll just think you’re a nuisance and a busybody.” Bai Ying pressed her phone, then turned to look at Hayama Hayato. “Your Highness, you’re probably wondering why I don’t just ‘help’ her out of her predicament, right?”

Hayato Hayama didn't deny it: "Hmm... if it were you..."

“Because I don’t think she’s in any predicament, nor do I think she should be in any particular way to be considered good.” Bai Ying shrugged. “I just got to know her and found her very interesting.”

Hayato Hayama felt the white figure was trying to fool him: "Isn't Yukinoshita just..."

“She jumped into the river herself, I didn’t push her. She walked her own path, I didn’t carry her. She became better on her own, I didn’t help her.” Bai Ying said with interest, “Your Highness, no one wants to become worse on purpose. Everyone wants to become better—to have excellent grades, to be handsome or beautiful and attract attention, to have a wide social circle, to have a romance with someone… Maybe it’s not possible to achieve it, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking about it, so we don’t need others to guide us on how to think.”

"Value is the furthest distance from understanding."

The white figure spoke in a profound and enigmatic manner.

Hayato Hayama: "What you said is very philosophical, but why are you always on your phone?"

Bai Ying: "Because sharing happiness is worse than enjoying it alone."

……

Yukino Yukinoshita was busy in the student council office, leaving the task of helping the elementary school students who had come to visit to be looked after by others.

Because the student council president has rebelled and is frequently seen at the Seaside Comprehensive High School, plotting his counterattack every day, Yukino Yukinoshita has simply taken over the task of figuring out the event arrangements herself.

I have to say, the pressure is quite high.

The main problem is that I can't figure out what kind of activities my boyfriend is planning.

It might be a messy program that doesn't fit the Christmas dance atmosphere and makes the entire Seaside High School look bad.

It could also be an extremely stunning performance that successfully overshadows the program they prepared.

There can't be any middle term anyway.

Recently, Bai Jun even sneaked over to Sakurajima-senpai's house, and it seems he even invited Toyohama along... It must be a performance he's been seriously preparing for. He hasn't been coming home to sleep at night lately, and he looks like he's determined to reclaim his sovereignty.

Yukino Yukinoshita also got serious, even going so far as to unleash a powerful summoning technique.

“Christmas…” Yukinoshita Haruno sat in the former student council president’s seat, waving her hands as she said, “When it comes to Christmas, it’s all about couples going on dates, love hotels, adult stairs, and being shy, oh dear~ What do you think of this idea, Yukino-chan?”

Yukino Yukinoshita said coldly, "Spring hasn't arrived yet, but you're already thinking about it all the time."

"Hey hey~ I think this is pretty good." Yukino Yukinoshita spread her hands and said, "We can't just keep singing about youth, right? That would be too boring—hehe, if we want to fight against a jerk, we have to use some unexpected tricks."

Yukino Yukinoshita said calmly, "Then I'll trouble you to seriously consider the plan, instead of offering some far-fetched suggestions."

"OK! Leave everything to me!" Yukinoshita Haruno patted her chest and declared solemnly, "Those bastards actually chose Sakurajima and Hana-chan, they're totally disregarding us! At this Christmas ball, we sisters will face off against them, and we'll definitely win big!"

Yukino Yukinoshita suddenly asked, "Didn't Haku ask you to help him?"

"If I go to help that jerk, wouldn't that be like forgetting my girl for a pretty face?" Yukinoshita Haruno confidently pumped her fist. "At a crucial moment like this, of course I'll stand up for Yukino-chan!"

Yukino Yukinoshita was slightly suspicious, but before she could ask any further questions, her phone suddenly vibrated and emitted three beeps.

Bai Jun?

Yukino Yukinoshita took out her phone.

[White Waves and White Scenery: The night is deep, my lonely dream is shallow, the moon is still, and past events are noisy. At dawn, we just met, and I remember you at that very age. .wav]

Read and understand Yukino Yukinoshita in a flash: When a person sleeps alone, the night becomes exceptionally deep, and even dreams become shallow. When I wake up, the moon hangs quietly in the sky, and memories suddenly start to clamor in my mind. When dawn breaks, I happen to recall the first time I met you.

Hmm... really.

Can't you just say "I miss you"? You're always showing off your writing skills in weird places. No wonder you're always struggling with writer's block like Tarzan, wasting all your brainpower on strange things.

Yukino Yukinoshita muttered a few complaints to herself before quickly raising her phone to avoid Yukino Yukinoshita Haruno, who was peeking and trying to see through her.

"Hmm?" Yukinoshita Haruno raised a meaningful nasal tone, "Is it something embarrassing?"

Yukino glanced at her older sister indifferently, then casually took out her earphones, plugged them into her phone, and put them on—let her sister tease her all she wanted, she'd listen to the audio sent by Haku-kun first.

Hmph~ (feigning indifference and anticipation)

Hmm? (Confused upon discovering the problem)

...(Remembering you is the right age...Remembering you is the right age for overseas Chinese? Remembering you is the right age!)

#! (White-kun!)

Yukino Yukinoshita's expressions change very little; those unfamiliar with her might think she doesn't show any emotion, but...

"I poke."

Yukino suddenly reached out and poked her younger sister's cheek, leaving a small indentation with her fingertip. The next moment, she burst into a bright laugh: "Hahaha—grinding your teeth! Grinding your teeth! Yukino-chan, are you itching to bite? Did that rascal come up with something new for you again? Little Yukino is very curious, let me hear it~"

Yukino Yukinoshita slapped her sister's finger away, flipped her hand to put the phone away, took a deep breath, and said in a seemingly calm tone, "It's nothing, it's just that the white fungus is multiplying wildly again... It's such a persistent and harmful fungus."

"Oh?"

Yukinoshita stroked her chin, carefully observing her sister's expression. Her eyes narrowed into slits, revealing a glint of wisdom: "There's a hint of embarrassment in Yukino-chan's anger, so it's half-real, half-feigned, an awkward and helpless kind of anger... Combining this with what we've read before, we know that Yukino-chan is always easily provoked by that jerk. Back then, Yukino-chan was quite awkward and found herself in embarrassing situations several times in front of him..."

"..."

Yukino Yukinoshita gave Haruno Yukinoshita a disgruntled look, then calmed down a bit: "Stop pretending and making deductions here, hurry up and confirm the performance at the Christmas ball..."

"I understand! There's only one truth—!"

Yukino snapped her fingers, got up, went around to the front of the desk, bent forward and brought her face close to Yukino's, her eyes gleaming as if she were performing facial recognition.

Yukino Yukinoshita responded with a cold, speechless look: "Alright, let's get down to business..."

"Then, let our friends define what we are."

Yukino suddenly blurted out a sentence that was quick, accurate, witty, ironic, and humorous.

Yukino Yukinoshita's mind went blank for a moment, her thoughts began to race, her composure crumbled, and her blood pressure surged rapidly with shame and anger.

"elder sister--!!"

……

"Ah...ah...does student council work include babysitting?"