My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 134

"...I don't really want people to see the side of me that I dislike."

She turned her gaze to a corner of the corridor.

"fool."

This statement is so naive that I couldn't help but laugh. Fool, do you think seeing this now will change anything?

"I'm not very good at dealing with that guy either."

"Hmm... I'm a little different from you. It doesn't feel right to say I'm bad at dealing with people, maybe I don't actually like models. But, we're friends..."

"I see... You don't like her, but you're still friends?"

"Yes, at least that's what I think."

In the end, I still don't understand how girls define "friends".

"But she might not think that way... Actually, I think she might dislike me."

"Oh, yes, you can tell at a glance."

Although Sagami's attitude was not quite the same as "dislike," I could still see her hostility towards Yui, or rather, her desire to confront her. I gestured for Yui to continue, but she froze in a strange posture.

"Huh...you...you saw it all?"

"Okay, pause. What I just said doesn't count at all. I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything at all, it was just my feeling."

"Actually, it's okay if you saw it..."

Yuihama scratched her head and said this. "Uh... I'm very sorry, actually I saw it quite clearly. I apologize for lying."

I apologized to Yui in my heart and repented for my behavior, while Yui looked into the distance.

"In first grade, Xiaomo and I were in the same class."

"Oh, so you two get along really well?"

"Hmm... barely passable."

She was probably deep in thought, or unsure how to answer, and a complex expression appeared on her face.

"...So that's not a good thing?"

"Wait a minute, your conclusion is jumping too fast!"

"So your relationship was originally quite good?"

"Hmm... okay, sort of."

She then wore a complicated expression.

"That's not a good thing."

Hearing me say that, Yui finally couldn't take it anymore and sighed.

"...Okay, that's enough."

That's clearly how it is, yet you say it's over? Things between girls are just too complicated.

"Back then, Xiaomo and I were one of the more active groups in the class, and she seemed quite confident about it."

Besides Sagami and Yuihama, there must be many other people like that; I can easily imagine them being at the center of the class.

Yuihama not only has a good appearance, but she is also good at interacting with people and cooperating with others, so it is not difficult for her to integrate into the bright and lively classmates.

As for Sagami, I believe that if she finds the right companions, she has the ability to stand out. This was evident in the school anniversary executive committee meeting; Sagami quickly found companions and formed a group with them, demonstrating her excellent interpersonal skills and self-presentation abilities.

But after entering second grade, their positions changed. What caused this widening gap between them? Pride and complacency? Environmental differences?

The biggest factor, I suppose, lies with Miura.

After entering Class 2-F, Miura firmly sits at the top of the school hierarchy; then, when she enters the stage of choosing her initial partners, she uses an extremely cruel standard, namely the degree of "cuteness," to decide which friends she wants to make.

That person was indeed extraordinary; she managed to disregard the relationships between girls and decide who she wanted to be with based solely on her own will. Regardless of whether you agree with her approach, she was undoubtedly a true queen.

Next, Miura and Sagami got along badly—I'm not sure if this is accurate, but anyone with eyes can easily see that Sagami was the head of the second largest conglomerate.

For Sagami, a school with a strong sense of class consciousness, this must have been quite humiliating.

If she couldn't reach the top of the social ladder, she could only accept it, but Yui, who used to be in the same position as her, had climbed up. No matter how she thought about it, she certainly couldn't accept it calmly.

Thinking about it this way, Sagami's every move to this day can be explained.

"So, I don't really like what Komo is doing now... and that also includes Yukino accepting her requests and getting along well with her..."

Yuihama paused here, then questioned her own words, before nodding slightly as if she understood something.

"I... might like Yukino even more than I thought."

"What did you suddenly say?"

If it's lighthearted yuri (Note 36: *Lighthearted Yuri* is an anime/manga series featuring a group of middle school girls), then it's not a problem; but if they become serious about yuri (Note 37: "Yuri" in ACG represents romantic love between girls. Here, "serious" means they've entered the second stage, hugging and kissing each other, and no longer having any interest in boys), then it's beyond my tolerance.

"I... I didn't mean that! I guess... it's because I felt unhappy seeing her being close to other girls... I always feel like a child."

Yuihama blushed with embarrassment and fiddled with the buns coiled on her head.

That possessiveness is indeed a bit childish, and it's not uncommon among young girls. My younger sister, Komachi, probably went through that phase as well.

Human nature doesn't change easily; we just learn to suppress those emotions through training, but they will still mischievously peek out unexpectedly.

"Girls are troublesome; there are countless things you have to be careful about."

Yuihama suddenly switched to a serious tone, which seemed a bit comical, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey, boys are troublesome too. We have our own factions and cliques, don't think those are only for girls."

"Yeah?"

"Um."

"I see... Humans are really troublesome."

Yuihama laughed "Ahahaha".

Indeed, humans are very troublesome animals.

I loathe those troublesome things, so I gave up on them long ago and made up my mind not to get involved. Those who try their best to maintain their appearance are definitely not sincere.

"As agreed before..."

Yuihama's sudden remark left me completely bewildered. I didn't say anything, just looked at her in confusion; she stopped and looked straight at me.

"If Yukino encounters any difficulties, you must help her."

This is a conversation we had on our way back from a fireworks display during summer vacation.

Yuihama is just as serious now as she was back then, leaving me no choice but to give her the most definite answer I could.

"If it's within my capabilities."

"Okay, then I'm relieved."

She smiled gently.

Being trusted unconditionally to this extent leaves me at a loss for what to do.

It seems more persuasive to avoid saying everything. If the other party provides a long list of reasons, I can try to find out their intentions and contradictions, but if they just use a smile to gloss over it, I can't find any fault with them.

"Well then, I'm going back to the classroom now. Good luck to you too."

Yui waved to me and ran away. I raised my hand in response and took another step.

× × ×

After parting ways with Yuihama, I continued walking down the corridor leading to the conference room. The conference room was located at the corner of the L-shaped left bend; if I continued down, I would reach the staircase leading to the second-year classrooms on the third floor.

In the shadows in front of the stairs, a figure blocked the way.

The summer heat hadn't completely dissipated, yet the person was wearing a coat and had their hands clasped together in half-finger gloves. I recognized the person, so I ignored them and walked past.

The next moment, the person slowly took out their phone and made a call.

A few seconds later, my phone started vibrating.

We clearly know each other, yet he deliberately called to contact us, which is infuriating; what's more, he started pretending, which makes it even more infuriating.

"Hmm, can't get in touch. Could he be busy...? Haha! Haha! How could that be? He's the only one in the whole world who couldn't possibly be busy! Right, Hachiman?"

"You're the only one in the whole world who has no right to say that to me..."

I can't possibly remain silent after being described like that. If it were anyone else, I could just laugh it off; but this guy—Yoshiteru Zaimokuza—my narrow-mindedness won't tolerate his nonsense.

"What are you doing here? Climbing stairs to lose weight?"

"Ah, how nostalgic. I did do that kind of thing before, but because of fluid buildup in my knee, and... the old injury was killing me. Yes, my groin."

Oh, I see... For the sake of your health, it's best to be more careful.

Ignoring my concerns, the wood carrier produced a stack of papers from somewhere and handed them to me.

"Those things don't matter. Look at this, Hachiman. What do you think?"

"What is this? I don't read light novels."

Normally, I might be able to be a little nicer to him, but I don't have that kind of time right now. I'm rushing to a meeting, and I simply don't have the energy, the free time, the desire, or the goodwill to waste time with him.

"No! This is not a light novel!"

Zai Muza's excited denial piqued my curiosity. If this stack of papers wasn't a light novel, what could it be? Seeing my gaze fall on the papers, he immediately broke into a smug smile and loudly announced:

"Listen carefully! Look closely! Then be so scared your legs will turn to jelly! And, atone for your sins with your death... Do you know that our class is going to perform a play at the school anniversary celebration?"

"Who would know... and why I would atone for your sins with my death? Wait, stop! Don't say another word—"

"When it comes to acting, scripts are indispensable."

"Enough! Shut up! Stop it!"

However, the lumberjack completely ignored my attempts to stop him, raised his fist high, and began loudly discussing his own affairs. Honestly, it was incredibly annoying.

"Oh, it's nothing at all. Those people in the class were talking about how they didn't want to perform in ordinary plays, and wanted to write their own original scripts."

"Hey, I'm begging you, please stop talking."

I already know how things will unfold and what the outcome will be. I did the exact same thing when I was in junior high school.

The ability to create original scripts and storylines only extends to elementary school students.

In fact, this is a good choice in elementary school. You can write short play scripts for presentations and farewell parties, and people might even praise them. However, once you enter junior high school, doing so will only make you an object of scorn.

"Oh……"

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly.

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

I looked up at the sky through the window.

"It's nothing... I just thought it's a bit too early for us to become adults."

"Ha, what a weirdo... I don't understand a word you're saying. Don't you find it ridiculous? Never mind, let's not talk about you for now, let's look at my original script."

I find it very unpleasant that he took the opportunity to smuggle himself out, and we haven't even decided to use his script yet.

Such a person is truly pitiful, but I at least knew him, and silently watching him die would give me nightmares. Out of a sense of kinship, I decided to give him some advice.

"Okay, I got it. Anyway, whatever you do, don't let the girl you like play the female lead, you'll regret it for the rest of your life... Oh, and don't go down and play the lead yourself."

"Huh! Hachiman, can you read minds?"

"No way. Anyway, I've already warned you."

This wasn't mind reading; it was purely based on past experience. After that, I secretly vowed never to let anyone see those things again.

"Uh, I get it, I get it. In short, you mean—"

The woodcutter cleared his throat with a serious expression.

"These days, orthodox protagonists aren't popular; cool villains and antagonists are more favored by audiences. Right?"

"I don't think you understand at all..."

"Hmm? Is there a problem?"

"No, you're not wrong. The first generation of Pretty Cure also featured Black Angel as the protagonist (Note 38 refers to the earliest Pretty Cure series broadcast from 2004 to 2006, where the two female protagonists were represented by black and white respectively). Using representative colors to distinguish the personalities of different characters might just be targeting that specific group. The real mistake lies in your own existence."

My original intention was to emphasize the last sentence, but the wood-shaped bracket's ears were too good, automatically filtering out anything that might offend it, and it just kept nodding frantically with "hmm hmm hmm".