My stepmother's burden is my ex-girlfriend.

Page 335

More than work efficiency, she values ​​getting along well with everyone.

If you've already entered the workforce, my work performance might be considered flawless. However, that was just a school, just a cultural festival.

—I think Hong always thinks she's right.

I've heard that some people are saying bad things about me behind my back.

It's as if she can't be bothered to listen to anything we say.

—Yeah, yeah, why not just let her do it all?

—I feel like this cultural festival was pretty boring…

These are probably not the sentiments of a small minority.

The evidence is that the number of people around him is decreasing day by day.

I shouldn't have done anything wrong.

But nobody... is pursuing right or wrong.

I believe my decision was the most correct one.

I believe I am more capable than anyone else.

This confidence remained unshaken. I have never met anyone who could shake this confidence.

But there's only one thing—I know I'm not perfect.

That is, I lack the ability to appreciate others.

They lack the ability to deny themselves and respect certain qualities in others.

—Just then, I found it.

Find a guy who does odd jobs for others without anyone knowing, who is alone and has no presence.

—Haba-kun.

That was the last corner of Mi Ping Xiaosheng's missing piece.

There is one thing that only you can do.

The young man arrogantly forced him to accept the role, but unknowingly, he was no longer just that kind of person.

—Ah Zhang.

It's not because he can do things that I can't.

—I like you, please go out with me.

It is because of your existence that you appear so dazzling and radiant.

You're willing to follow someone like me. You admire everyone else, but refuse to accept your own worth. Your blushing admiration and your troubling, twisted mentality—everything about you—becomes dazzling.

Your decision is not as correct as mine.

Your abilities are not as strong as mine.

Even so, you are still more dazzling than me.

Yes, I must have lost my mind. Because no one else noticed it. Objectively speaking, it doesn't exist. Yet I was so blinded by that light, I must be hallucinating.

But isn't this what love is all about?

The references don't mention it. No matter how I search online, I can't find it.

The young man who is more correct than anyone else—believes that this is more correct than anything else.

This is the answer.

This is something only you could do.

The folding chairs and green floor tiles have been removed, and the stadium has been completely restored to its original state.

The young man sat on the edge of the podium, gazing into the empty space.

I felt a sense of accomplishment. Although there was still the entrance ceremony to come—and six months left in my term—the work to mark the end of the year was finally over, and it felt like I had achieved something as president.

...Many senior students cried.

Graduation ceremonies, by their very nature, don't reveal the personalities of those behind the scenes—even so, just seeing such a scene made me feel that I've made some progress since junior high.

Next year, if I were in their position, would I be able to cry like that too?

Did the three years I spent in high school bring me to tears of regret?

"...The hope is slim."

I muttered to myself, trying to make light of the situation.

I know my own personality best. I'm actually quite cold and ruthless. Unlike Aisha, who says she won't cry but actually cries anyway…

At that moment, the entrance near the podium opened with a clattering sound.

The sound of footsteps slowly traversed the gymnasium where only the young man was present.

"Red-kun... Irito-kun and Asuha-in-kun have already gone back."

Ah Zhang's voice was as restrained as ever, but it echoed loudly in the empty stadium.

"That's it."

While giving a brief response, the student remained seated by the podium.

The old man stopped about three meters away from the young man and looked up at his face.

"This is the last event of the year."

"Yes, and then there's the entrance ceremony in April."

"........."

Ah-zhang fell silent, as if waiting for something.

No... that might not be the right way to put it.

Although I am not as skilled as you are, I have learned a little about how to observe others. Since you have been by my side for so long, I can sometimes tell what you are thinking from subtle changes in your expression.

He... is probably hesitating.

Hesitating whether or not to take a step—but then taking one step.

I know that even this is already a huge step forward for him. He's unwilling to even confront the choice of whether or not to muster the courage. His life path is already set without him needing to deliberately face or confront challenges. His life is already fulfilling and complete without him needing to accomplish any grand undertaking called decisive action.

If he...

Becoming wanting more—maybe wanting even more...

The fact that he could be so bewildered by me... is an achievement greater than anything else for me.

I smiled slightly, exhaled in the cold gymnasium, and began the conversation calmly.

"It's the same as at the beginning."

"what?"

The young man jumped down from the edge of the podium.

The light, resonant sound of the ball landing gave the young man a sense of satisfaction, as if he had the entire stadium to himself.

"Just like when I called out to you in front of that junkyard where no one else was around—at that time, Aisa, Yui, Ran, the president, and the senior student manager were all gone; it was just the two of us."

As he stroked the edge of the podium where he had just been sitting, he continued.

"It felt like I had found a foot. Not just an arm, but something more important, a foot for walking. At that moment, I felt that as long as you were there, I could go infinitely far."

The young man smiled self-deprecatingly at his father-in-law.

"At the beginning—that's all there was to it."

You said that this evaluation is an overstatement.

But for me, that was a gross underestimation.

"You taught me how to understand others. You corrected my arrogance and taught me how to make friends properly. But more importantly—you made me anxious with your low self-esteem, touched me with your thoughtfulness and consideration for others, and made me furious with your chastity-preserving principles."

I looked directly at you, Elder, and said:

"These are all my first times."

You might say it's a coincidence.

If someone more suitable for me met me before you—perhaps you would use that argument to refute me.

but.

In reality, you are the one I met.

Even if it's just a coincidence, it's the only fact.

Even so, this fact may not be the best option.

But I dare say with my head held high that the one I actually met is a better choice than the best.

"how?"

step.

"This is the last time I'll confess my feelings."

Two steps.

"So you're finally willing to believe me, aren't you?"

Three steps.

The young man took the initiative to approach the old man.

This is probably the biggest offensive I can launch.

The remaining three steps must be taken by him... otherwise it would be meaningless.

"…………I……"

After a moment's pause, the old man spoke hesitantly.

"I've never felt that I have any value. There's no particular reason... I've just felt it since I was little... that's just how it is."

Stuttering, as if trying to retrieve what had been delayed until now, Ah Zhang began to explain in detail.

"But... I guess everyone is like that. No one knows their own worth from the beginning... Being loved as a child creates a false sense of value, and only later do we gradually discover our true worth... Regarding this, Hong... you must be like that too."

Ah Zhang's tone sounded like a helpless sigh.

"I used to think that I was different from the start... that what I had was different from what they had from the beginning... but, yes—it's actually what's different that comes later. Like Asou-san, or Irito-san... Hoshibe-senpai, and you, Kurenai-san—watching you all change has forced me to realize this..."

Finally, Ah Zhang said:

"I'd rather be in the background."

His tone was firm and unwavering.

"This answer will not change, and I am proud of who I am. I know better than anyone how wonderful it is to be someone's background—it's just that I've discovered it. This is not a position given to me by others, but one that I earned through my own efforts."

Haba Takeji.

The man who was more invisible in the student council of Los Angeles High School—no, more invisible than anyone else in the school.

At this moment, he is like this...

In an empty stadium—overwhelmingly, undeniably, and unequivocally!

He asserted his presence.

"Hong...you and I are not a match made in heaven."

Despite hearing words that sent a chill down his spine, the young man's body reacted in the opposite way.

My heart is surging with emotion, and I cannot contain it.

"But... putting that aside, what I have obtained is different from what I thought it was."

Every gesture, every step, every movement of the old man's lips captivated the young man's gaze.

"You possess everything I lack... like the star of the show, dazzling and radiant—but..."

step.