Uneasy daily life

"You used to consider me a friend?" Hachiman Hikigaya said with his hands in his pockets, self-deprecatingly, "Someone as weird as me..."

“I can be friends with someone like Shiro, so Hachiman is already quite normal. Besides, Hachiman doesn’t think he’s a weirdo, right? There’s no need to test me.” Yukino Yukinoshita said casually, “Hachiman is just a recluse who likes quiet, has an extreme view of interpersonal relationships, likes to ponder the essence of others and himself, and is a twisted weirdo who makes reverse assumptions. Shiro’s occasional comments are indeed very insightful.”

Hachiman Hikigaya's eye twitched, and he said casually, "Yeah, yeah, Yukinoshita isn't some aloof and perfect character. She's just a lonely girl who longs for excitement and places extreme importance on interpersonal relationships. She seems omnipotent, but in reality, she instinctively runs away when she's in trouble. The club president's occasional comments are indeed very insightful."

After they stabbed each other in the back, the atmosphere became somewhat quiet.

The two walked silently toward the village entrance.

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Let's change the subject."

Hachiman Hikigaya: "You're right."

"Why is it that someone like Hikigaya-kun can get along so well with Haku-kun?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked curiously.

"Didn't we say we'd change the subject? And what do you mean by 'playing together'?" Hachiman Hikigaya frowned deeply. "Can't you hear Hachiman's repeated wails and screams?"

Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Acting in plays together, fooling around together, teasing each other—I don't really understand male friendships, but from what Yui and I think, you two must have a very good relationship..."

"Are you kidding me? I—"

Hachiman Hikigaya paused for a moment.

I remember boys my age laughing and running around in the hallways, bumping into each other without looking where they were going—those guys I couldn't understand what they were doing all day…

Not long ago, I was being chased around with a tree branch. Did others not understand what I was doing?

Does it seem like I subtly overlap with those annoying guys from my memories?

Wait a minute, wait a minute—something's not right! Impossible! I'm the lone wolf Hachiman!

Do others perceive the minister and I as having a very good relationship?

It's all an illusion, a delusion, a hallucination seen by fools!

Hachiman Hikigaya said, "I was just going along with the department head... If I had to say something, it's the department head who's acting strangely."

“Yes.” Yukino Yukinoshita did not deny it. “That guy is really strange. I can’t understand what he’s doing at all, but the things he does seem to have some kind of logic and order.”

Hachiman Hikigaya retorted, "I think your assessment is also true from the opposite perspective—you can trust the minister, but you can't trust what he does."

"Hachiman-kun's summary is quite accurate." Yukino Yukinoshita, in a better mood, joked, "Interested in transferring from the Support Club to the Service Club? Why not finally escape that bottomless black hole that Shiro-kun is? If we team up—"

Hachiman Hikigaya said mercilessly, "You and I teaming up to deliver a double kill and add Yuihama to the mix? Give up. I feel that if the captain gets serious, you can't win."

Yukino Yukinoshita scoffed, "It's only been one semester, and the score hasn't even widened yet. The outcome is still uncertain."

Do you even have the confidence to say that?!

"If I actually write a resignation application, I'll be dead by the afternoon if I write it in the morning...wait...that car?!"

Hachiman Hikigaya paused for a moment.

"Why are you making such a fuss? It's just a car... huh?!"

Yukino Yukinoshita followed the other person's gaze.

A familiar black sedan was parked at the village entrance, with a unique little human-shaped logo on the hood.

Was it the same car that hit Hachiman's family home before?

Could this be Mother's mode of transportation?!

Mother is here—oh? Father?

The lightning-fast thought process was abruptly interrupted.

Yukino's gaze was blank.

An older man slowly emerged from behind the black sedan.

Having said goodbye to the young man who had taken a commemorative photo, the uncle, with a kind smile, strode towards the two people in the village.

From a purely rational perspective, one should hide, wait for the right opportunity, avoid being discovered by the goddess, and then secretly resolve all difficulties, thwart the conspiracy, and protect the family's trip. After the trip, one should quietly and successfully retire without anyone knowing...

I'm being very irrational right now.

Why are you standing so close! (A normal distance of half a meter.)

Why are you all chatting and laughing? (Wouldn't it be even more abnormal if you weren't talking and laughing?)

Why are you all staring at me?! (…Wow.)

The middle-aged man asked questions with each step, his inner demons growing ever stronger.

"Should I retreat?" Hachiman Hikigaya asked softly. As someone skilled in risk management, he sensed an impending crisis.

"Don't worry," Yukino Yukinoshita smiled easily. "I didn't expect Father to come running out..."

Her demeanor was light, her tone gentle, and her body relaxed. She exuded a sense of security, as if she had found a powerful backer. Yukinoshita seemed to have a good relationship with her father, whereas she described her mother as a demon-like figure. Was this woman, then, Maitreya Buddha?

Hachiman Hikigaya understood and looked at the smiling uncle who was approaching.

Huh? Why did he stare at me with such a sinister look?

Coming to his senses, he was still all smiles, looking like a very approachable middle-aged man.

Is it an illusion?

"Hahaha—Yukino, it's been a long time!"

The father burst into hearty laughter, strode forward, and opened his arms, as if to give a domineering hug.

Yukino Yukinoshita took a half step back, put her hands in her pockets, and frowned, saying, "Father, I'm not a child anymore."

"Ah... Oh, yes, yes, hahaha."

Yukinoshita's father then did two chest-expanding exercises, took a deep breath, and looked like he was enjoying the fresh air of the countryside: "How was it? Weren't you pleasantly surprised?"

"Probably a little."

Yukino Yukinoshita gave a vague answer. At first, she was indeed pleasantly surprised, but then she remembered the various times her father was defeated in front of her mother... Sigh, it was too unrealistic to expect to rely on her father to fight against her mother.

From childhood to adulthood, all I ever saw of my father was a punching bag in my mother's hands.

To get through this, we still need to find a way to fool our mother.

After a brief moment of thought, Yukino Yukinoshita concluded that this backer was fake, unreliable, and might even turn against her.

The father's heart had already turned cold under the snow—why was the response so indifferent? Why the unspoken disdain?

"Father is also here for tourism..." Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated for a moment before asking tactfully, "How many days will your trip last?"

"Haha, of course I'll drive you back together after your school trip."

"That's it..."

If the parents form a united front, things will be even more complicated for me.

Yukino Yukinoshita became increasingly pessimistic as she pondered the matter, and shook her head, saying, "Since it's a school trip, I'd rather go back with everyone and not trouble Father."

"Y-that's good too, haha..."

Yukinoshita's father felt utterly dejected. When he first returned to the country, she was so warm and welcoming, hugging and smiling naturally. Now, the little goddess has already taken a step back, and he doesn't even dare to think about how many steps she will take back in the future. He is even being disliked and being hinted at when to leave... Is this what happens when a character is abandoned or becomes unpopular in the current meta?

Is it...is it time for me to start retiring from the meta?

No! I, the dignified son-in-law of Yukinoshita, will today suppress this ominous force and live a second life!

A cold heart, a cold fire, a cold resentment—!

Yukinoshita's father turned to the outsider he had been deliberately ignoring and asked with a kind expression, "Who is this young man?"

Quietly enjoying being ignored, Hachiman Hikigaya introduced himself: "My name is Hachiman Hikigaya."

This middle-aged man looks familiar, but he's probably forgotten about me, since it happened two or three months ago.

“Hachiman… Oh! The one who got hit last time?” Yukinoshita’s father said suddenly, “I’m so sorry about that, our family is so sorry…”

"The matter is over, why bring it up again?"

Yukino Yukinoshita, remembering her own awkward 'dark history,' interrupted, 'That matter has already been discussed, Father, let's not bring it up again.'

It makes them seem to lack emotional intelligence.

Hachiman Hikigaya nodded and said, "Uncle, you're too kind. We've already been taken care of before."

Hmm? Why does the other party seem to be radiating murderous intent? And within Maitreya Buddha's gentle smile, there's a faint glimpse of a demonic presence?!

Yukino Yukinoshita succinctly stated, "Although Hachiman is a bit awkward and strange, he's not a bad person. I'll assume he's a friend for now. The car accident was just a rather unpleasant first encounter."

Dangerous!

Hachiman Hikigaya sensed something was amiss and took a step forward: "Um, I'll be going now..."

"slow."

A large hand slammed down from behind, pressing down on Hachiman Hikigaya's shoulder.

"Young man, do you have important business to attend to? If not, why not stroll around and chat with me?"

His words were gentle, yet a strange murderous intent could be detected in them.

Yukino Yukinoshita sensed something was wrong and asked curiously, "Father, did you come here to see me or Hachiman?"

"Hahaha, of course I'm here to see Yukino..."

"So you're not here for tourism?"

Yukino Yukinoshita frowned deeply, looking at her father suspiciously... "You wouldn't happen to be a spy sent by Mother, would you?"

“Oh dear, visiting you and traveling don’t conflict. It’s been so many years since we last met. You came back and then this happened. You moved out to live elsewhere. How could I, as your father, not worry?”

Yukino's father sighed, "I feel like Yukino and I have become distant; we don't talk on the phone much anymore..."

While trying to clear his name, Yukinoshita's father held down Hachiman Hikigaya, who was trying to escape, with his hand like a vise. He laughed and said, "It's good that Yukinoshita can make friends. Hikigaya-kun, don't be shy. Just treat him as an older peer. Don't be nervous. Come on, come on."

Hikigaya Hachiman: "..."

Something's not right, something's really not right!

Wait a minute! Everything that seems off can have a perfectly valid explanation.

Could it be that the minister did something?!

The white figure strolling on another street seemed to sense something, looked up at the gradually darkening sky, and exclaimed in surprise, 'Hachiman Hachiman?'

No, Hachiman should be being harassed by the older man right now; the two should be all lovey-dovey and brimming with murderous intent.

Bai Ying snapped out of her thoughts and pressed the button on her phone to send the photo.

In the photo, the middle-aged man smiles modestly, bearing the dust of a tour group and the weariness of pushing a cart, exuding the demeanor of a mature person. Next to him is a smiling white figure making a peace sign.

[Bai Liang Bai Ying: Auntie, I met an interesting uncle. Image.jpg]

Chapter Ninety-Three: Seen through, but not completely.

"Name."

"...Hikigaya Hachiman."

"age."

"16 years old……"

"gender."

"male?"

"Why is it a question mark? Why are you being vague? Why is your gaze wandering? Why are your movements so strange? Why are you fidgeting? Why are you stammering? Are you plotting something? Are you planning something?"

"?"

"You're trying to deceive me! You're trying to fool me! This young man is being a bit unethical. You're only in your first year of high school and you've already learned to lie and cheat? Is this how you treat an elder when they're talking to you?"

"..."

Hachiman Hikigaya felt the ministerial influence in the air was very strong, and he was now more vigilant about the ministers who he didn't know were there, but who seemed ready to appear at any moment.

Yukinoshita's father smiled kindly and said gently, "Why are you suddenly silent again? Could it be that your thoughts have been exposed? Hehe, don't be so stubborn at such a young age..."

"What are you doing? You're acting weird." Yukino Yukinoshita said, walking beside him. "Don't act so familiar. Although Hachiman's speech and actions seem suspicious and he's unnatural in everything he does, he's actually a pretty good person..."