Uneasy daily life

Yukinoshita took a bite of a grilled skewer, her bangs obscuring her eyes, and said with a smile, "I was fooled by Haku-kun once because my thoughts were seen through... Haku-kun is truly a monster who can see into people's hearts."

I don't like your smile, but if it's something you use to protect yourself, then there's no reason to criticize it.

These two sisters are so similar yet so different. I wish Yukinoshita could smile more, and I wish you could stop smiling so much.

Hiratsuka Shizuka finished the last skewer, casually grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth, lit a cigarette, and mumbled, "A monster that can see into people's hearts? I don't think that's a good description. Haruno, what do you think that kid's true feelings are?"

"Haku-kun's true feelings?" Yukino Yukinoshita exhaled and scoffed, "He can have true feelings?"

That's no longer about wearing a mask to adapt to society and others; it's about becoming a monster who can play any role.

"Yes."

Hiratsuka Shizuka lit a cigarette, took a shallow drag, and turned her head to exhale the smoke into the night sky. Gazing at the twinkling stars, she said softly, "A person without sincerity cannot love life. They will only be confused, aimless, and lost. They cannot find their place, nor can they see the direction forward. No matter what they do, they feel that they are wasting their life, yet they feel that wasting life is just wasting it. Even things that should be painful only feel like a slight itch. Even things that should be valued are willing to drift along indifferently."

"If you don't truly invest your emotions, how can you be moved by things and events? That kid might really be a genius actor, able to touch people's hearts and evoke their joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness."

Yukinoshita Haruno stopped laughing: "Oh? Shizuka saw through Haku-kun's true feelings?"

“I just think…” Hiratsuka Shizuka pondered for a moment, scratched her head and laughed, “He’s a lot like my grandfather, he’s practically a childlike old man.”

Yukinoshita burst out laughing: "What nonsense!"

"Hey, let's not talk about that guy who raises blood pressure anymore—cheers!"

"Hahaha, cheers!"

Yukinoshita downed half a can of beer with gusto, exhaled, and said, "Shizuka, I'll stay at your place tonight."

Oh... Yukino and Shirakage live together. It seems that Haruno has been through a lot today and subconsciously wants to avoid running into that kid.

"Row."

Hiratsuka Shizuka readily agreed.

I didn't expect that kid to be so capable. Maybe I can find an opportunity to let Yang Nai get to know him better... Since the beginning of my senior year of high school, I've almost never seen Yang Nai without a smile, but today I've seen her many times.

"Haha, Xiaojing, you don't have cockroaches in your house, right?"

"...What kind of image do I have in your eyes?!"

"Hmm—a single, unmarried man living alone in his thirties?"

With that grinning face, what an unlovable old student!

Hiratsuka Shizuka's mind started working: "Speaking of which, aren't you planning to get revenge?"

"Ok?"

“Next Friday is the school trip,” Hiratsuka Shizuka said thoughtfully. “I have a feeling that with that kid’s temper, he might pull off something big—throw you in there, maybe that will help keep things in check? Hmm… but can you handle it?”

Yukinoshita Haruno chuckled and said, "It's just that I was caught off guard and got outmaneuvered. Why is Shizuka suddenly bringing this up? Have you been tricked before?"

“I wasn’t fooled, but he did manage to see through some of my thoughts—since you’re so confident, why don’t you ask for leave from university and come on a study trip as an unofficial member?”

Hiratsuka Shizuka smiled.

Yukino Yukinoshita felt something was strange. How could she still be smiling after being stabbed in the back by that guy?

However, the matter of finding someone to retaliate against... is something we can do.

……

……

"Sometimes we are afraid to face our true selves, afraid to dissect our true selves, because we feel they are ugly."

"We are jealous of others' success, greedy for more things, angry at rebuttals, and scornful of others' stupidity. We have thoughts of escaping difficulties—many dark things lurk in our hearts, sometimes showing a little bit. We insist on their correctness and try to arm ourselves with various things until our malice attracts the malice of others. In the end, we either fall into absurd prejudice and become a laughing stock, or we awaken to our own ugliness and learn to observe in silence."

More often than not, we choose not to.

"Only by facing, understanding, accepting, and transcending these challenges can we complete ourselves."

A handsome young man leaned against the window, basking in the sunlight, his expression serene, contemplating life.

Could these words be referring to me?

Hachiman Hikigaya, Yui Yuigahama, and Yukino Yukinoshita subconsciously thought to themselves.

In short, when this white figure/little white guy/minister seems a bit off, someone else should investigate beforehand.

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at Hachiman Hikigaya with encouraging eyes, then paused in surprise.

Hachiman Hikigaya and Yui Yuigahama were both looking at her.

Yukinoshita Yukino: “?”

Hachiman is one thing, but Yuihama, why...?

"Wait a minute." Hachiman Hikigaya lowered his voice and said in surprise, "This...this seems to confirm what the captain just said..."

The three silently averted their gazes, reflecting on their cowardly idea of ​​'letting others go first'.

"Minister!" "Xiao Bai!" "Bai Jun..."

The three stared at each other, wide-eyed—Seriously?! Why are you stealing from me again?!

Why do you call me by my name?

Bai Ying frowned and turned around: "What is it?"

"Ahem." Yukino Yukinoshita coughed lightly. "I noticed you didn't bring your notebook today. Aren't you going to write a manuscript?"

"I've received the payment and gained my freedom. Now it's time to gather inspiration and find material."

The white figure waved its hand, walked to its usual chair, and said, "Hehehe—there's nothing left to restrain me!"

Minister, you are already free enough; you are practically the freest person in the whole world.

Hachiman Hikigaya proactively brought up a safe topic: "Didn't the captain say he wanted to be that celebrity's hater?"

"Of course, haters have to keep at it day and night, relentlessly attacking. I'm trying my best to bombard them with one post every day," Bai Ying said regretfully. "Unfortunately, there are still too few places to catch them—the operator of that celebrity's account is clearly a gang, and they wield a lot of power. Fighting on the enemy's home turf is ultimately a bit overwhelming, so we can only wait for the right opportunity."

The kind of ambiguous "eye booger photo" that was used last time is rare. In recent days, I can only nitpick and find fault with things. Relying solely on my keyboard skills to compete with many fans is a tug-of-war that cannot cause effective damage or deliver a critical hit.

Yui Yuigahama whispered, "Shiro, this isn't a good idea..."

"What a joke! What you see is what you get?" Bai Ying sneered. "The strategy behind Sakurajima Mai's account is to package her as a youthful, student, and beautiful schoolgirl. As for what kind of person she actually is—do you know? You don't even know her, how would you know?"

"Did Shirojun already know?" Yukino Yukinoshita flipped through the book, calmly retorting, "Isn't this completely a personal grudge? And a personal grudge that no one else even knows about. Come to think of it, that big star actually indirectly helped you."

"No, I was helping my niece Eru, so I liked that post—but she stole my victory! As a professional hater, I have to expose her fabricated public image!"

Bai Ying vividly illustrates what it means to judge a person rather than the issue.

Yui Yuigahama had a sudden inspiration and tried to defend her favorite star: "Since Xiaobai doesn't know Mai Sakurajima, we can't say that her public image is fabricated, right?"

No, logically speaking, it would be strange if a celebrity's public image wasn't fabricated, right? Even the operation of the Twitter account itself isn't done by one person, but by a group of people strategizing how to attract more people…

Hachiman Hikigaya thought to himself that he was particularly uninterested in celebrities and found light novels more interesting.

"Ha, where in the normal world are there any school beauties who represent youth?" Bai Ying frowned. "Yui Bin, are you even thinking straight?"

That's right... well, it's not that there aren't any?

Hachiman Hikigaya glanced subconsciously towards the window; at least in terms of appearance, he looked acceptable.

Yui Yuigahama obviously thought of it too, and pointed: "Huh? Isn't that Yuki?"

Yukino Yukinoshita wasn't interested in this topic and continued flipping through her book. Bathed in the sunlight streaming in through the window, she did indeed appear to be a beautiful literary girl.

Bai Ying called out affectionately, "School Beauty Under the Snow."

"——!!!"

Yukino Yukinoshita shivered visibly, her beautiful features involuntarily wrinkling. She instinctively clutched her book to her chest and replied irritably, "Don't pollute the air in public, Mr. Shiraki. Slow down your infectious speed!"

"You've changed. You used to call yourself cute."

Bai Ying shook her head and gestured: "Look—the sharp-tongued, pretty girl you wanted, she's clearly not very interested in the title of school beauty... Hmm? Yuihama should give it a try too, cough cough—"

"I was wrong, that was definitely a carefully crafted public image! There were no teenage beauties, school belles, or big stars! It was all an illusion! Go, Xiaobai, break through!"

Yui Yuigahama immediately raised the white flag. If she insisted on continuing, she felt that Bai Ying would call her the school beauty in public.

will die.

"Our school doesn't have any weird school beauties, class beauties, or anything like that. Going to school, studying, and doing homework all day is tiring enough," Hachiman Hikigaya complained. "If we have to make a list, there's only the Seven School Monsters, which hasn't been updated in a long time. The captain is number one, and no one can shake him."

Yukino Yukinoshita barely recovered and changed the subject, saying, "The voting results are in today's results. We're going on a school trip to Jindo on Friday. We can start preparing for that in advance."

For example, prepare promotional brochures in advance, listing attractions and activities available for visitors...

"That's right! I was just thinking about that!"

Bai Ying clapped his hands excitedly and said, "After all, Zhen Chu is in the countryside, and there aren't many things to entertain you with. It can get boring after a while, so I'm going to come up with a game!"

Hachiman Hikigaya's eye twitched: "Minister, your so-called game..."

"Human Anatomy! What do you think? A pretty powerful name, right? Oh! I'm having a sudden burst of inspiration! Write it down, write it down..."

Bai Ying pulled out her phone and tapped around: "I feel like I can create a fun game! No wonder I'm born with the talent to do great things!"

No, I just think you're going to create a game that's seriously ill.

The three of them subconsciously felt that the seven-day study trip was shrouded in a gloom.

Chapter 83 I gradually understood everything

Yukino returned home—not to her university dormitory, nor to where her younger sister lived, but to the Yukino family's old house.

Although it is called the Old House, it has actually undergone many renovations and expansions, basically symbolizing the history of this prestigious family's struggle from nothing to something.

A place that makes people feel depressed and disgusted.

Yukino Yukinoshita rang the doorbell and stepped into the house, mentally preparing herself for a talk with her mother later... To be honest, even if nothing happened between Yukino and Shirakage, her mother absolutely couldn't find out about this, otherwise Yukino would face a situation even more painful than she had back then.

The domineering mother never gave in.

My younger sister is weak and prone to overthinking.

This is the real trigger; once it's lit, it makes you completely unable to stop thinking about the worst-case scenario.

Fortunately, it's only a few days—this Friday is a school trip, and after returning from the week-long trip, the scheduled two-week lease will expire, at which point Bai Ying should move out, or rather, she will have to move out!

"Hi! Mother, Father!"

Yukino Yukinoshita walked into the living room, greeting everyone with a bright smile.

"Hmm." Yukinoshita's mother smiled gently and nodded slightly. "How have you been studying lately?"

"Hehe, of course it's number one."

Yukinoshita Haruno obediently sat down.

"Yes, university is the time to learn professional knowledge, so don't slack off easily."

"Yes, yes. No one can take my first place away from me."

What has been your recent experience with company-related tasks?

"Father knows better about this, I think I did quite well, but the evaluation still needs to be left to Father."

Yukinoshita skillfully changed the subject.

This is at home, can we please stop doing this?! Sigh... If the great goddess doesn't talk about serious topics, she can't find anything to talk about, so the average goddess can only steer the conversation in this direction. It's almost become a set of 'motherly love and filial piety' assembly line AI paintings.

Yukino's father's face was almost contorted with grime, and he had goosebumps all over his body. But faced with the medium-sized goddess's request for help, he quickly composed himself, his expression serious yet kind, and commented in a reasonable manner: "To be fair, this is just a small matter. More important than what Haruno did is what Haruno saw and learned—she must have felt that company affairs were not quite what she had imagined, right?"

Yukino Yukinoshita felt a little relieved and nodded, saying, "I thought the president's work was all about handling documents in the office. Does Father also go to construction sites from time to time?"

“Of course, a president who doesn’t even know how many people are in the company or how many things are involved probably doesn’t even know if the company is running well or not.” Yukino’s father taught simply, “One person can’t support a company. From market analysis, operational strategies, bidding selection, and policy trend judgment, to construction site meals, machinery use, and so on, all of these together constitute the whole picture of a construction company. No one can learn so many things, so what a president needs is to understand these things.”

"If it's just signing documents in the office, then there's no difference in having an automatic stamping machine."

"To give an example from my past, I actually disguised myself as a worker and infiltrated other construction companies' sites. I ate the same food and was scolded for not being quick enough and having low efficiency. But because of this, I saw a lot of things and became more confident in correcting and rectifying my own company."

Yukinoshita asked curiously, "And then what happened?"

Yukinoshita's father smiled smugly: "Later, I poached their workers, which dealt a heavy blow to our competitors—now, many people in the company were poached from that time, such as your Uncle Hayama."

"...Isn't Uncle Hayama a legal advisor?"

Yukino Yukinoshita had never heard of such a thing before.