My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 147

"It's okay. If you obediently play the villain, others will naturally develop a resistant mentality. Besides, if the enemy isn't strong, they can't grow. What drives technological progress, that's right: competition!"

Yang, with her eyes closed, playfully waved her fingers and uttered a long string of words I couldn't quite understand. Oh dear, I feel a little unwell…

However, when she opened and closed her eyes, she secretly glanced at Yukinoshita.

That look sparked a random thought in my mind.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to...?"

I was halfway through my sentence when Yang Nai's soft fingertips pressed against my lips.

"I really dislike kids who have accurate intuition."

If she believes that the existence of enemies is the fastest way for a person to grow... does that mean that everything she does now is to continue playing the role of the enemy?

Although there is no clear evidence, I have considered this possibility.

"Do you understand?" Yang Nai gently pressed her lips and smiled as she spoke.

Her smile was flawless, and I almost fell for her trick again.

I froze, unable to utter a sound, when a sharp, piercing voice came from behind me.

"Miscellaneous tasks team, get to work!"

*Slap slap*—the next moment, a new stack of documents was piled up in front of me.

I looked up and saw that Yukina was looking back at me with a very cold gaze.

"Due to the change in slogans, past documents must be discarded, as well as meeting minutes... which are being written now..."

She touched the corner of her mouth, thought for a long time, and then looked up.

"...Then, remember to send letters to all the groups to inform them of the slogan change."

"Hey, wait a minute, this is obviously a job you came up with on the spur of the moment, isn't it?"

You clearly said "so," didn't you? I heard you clearly! If you didn't say "so" on the spur of the moment because you suddenly thought of some work, were you referring to the Zojirushi electric rice cooker (Note 72: The original word for "so" here is "じゃあ," pronounced the same as "ヅャㄧ" for electric rice cooker)?

"People will inevitably have random thoughts. Wisdom is a product born from the organic combination of ideas. Oh, and by the way, could you also log in to these project application documents and upload them to the website?"

Wait a minute, did you just say something nonsensical again? Your excuse-making skills are terrible. Won't this just make my workload even heavier? The word "by the way" isn't something you use to pin on someone for work-related matters; did I learn it wrong?

I cast a doubtful glance at Xuexia, but was immediately shut down and eliminated after she glared at me.

"In short, please finish it today."

"It's impossible..."

After experiencing the power of snow, I realized how comfortable my previous work environment was. If I were in such a working environment, I might have quit, turned off my phone, and told my mother, "Don't answer any calls from home for a while."

Unfortunately, this is a school, and there's nowhere to escape to... Just as I was in despair, Haruno raised her hand and waved it loudly, attracting Yukinoshita's attention.

"How about I help out too?"

"You're just getting in the way here, go back now."

Yukino coldly uttered those words, and upon hearing them, Haruno's eyes began to well up with tears.

"That's so mean... Yukino, you're so mean... Anyway, I have nothing to do, so I might as well volunteer. Hachiman, give me half~"

Yang reached for the stack of documents, while Yukinoshita helplessly rubbed her temples and sighed deeply.

"Sigh... I need to review the budget again. If you want to volunteer, you can help me with the budget review."

"Hmm? Hehe... Okay~♪"

A strange smile flashed across Yang Nai's face, but she quickly reverted to her usual demeanor. She pushed Yukinoshita away from her seat to help check the budget.

After a period of turmoil, she also started working.

Yang Nai must have a lot on her plate; I really don't believe her frequent appearances on campus are purely for rehearsing for the school anniversary performance. She couldn't possibly have that kind of free time. If that's the case, then why is she...?

However, there's no need to worry about this right now.

Thinking carefully about how to handle the work at hand is quite constructive.

Haha, the reason why corporate slaves are corporate slaves is precisely because of their slave mentality—they can't rebel...

× × ×

As the school anniversary approaches, the temperature is dropping day by day, but the enthusiasm at Zongwu High School is growing stronger with each passing day.

Early in the morning, the classroom of Class 2F was extremely noisy with clicking and clattering.

With the anniversary celebration just around the corner, I've been busy all day making final preparations.

Everyone pieced together the tables to form the stage.

Under the squad leader's command, the guy named Oda or Tahara set up a backdrop made of thin wooden boards and cardboard boxes; the trio of Tobe, Yamato, and the virgin Ooka also shouted and brought in their carefully crafted airplane props.

Kawasaki, wearing headphones, meticulously altered his costume; Miura and Yuihama chatted while adorning their costumes with red silk flowers.

Because there weren't enough silk flowers, the girls started making their own. These artificial flowers are made by stacking five sheets of silk paper, which look like toilet paper, folding them several times, tying a rubber band in the middle, and then peeling them apart one by one. They are often seen at school anniversary celebrations.

Totsuka and Hayama were busy rehearsing their lines.

As for me, since I didn't have anything particularly important to do, I simply sat in a corner of the stage and spaced out.

"You can't come tonight."

"We've always been together."

The Little Prince's voice is ethereal and dreamlike, while "I" frankly express my feelings and offer support.

Even though I knew perfectly well that this was just acting, I couldn't help but grit my teeth... Damn it, if I had known I would regret it so much, I should have been the one to act!

No, I can't watch anymore... I looked away, only to find myself face-to-face with the super producer, Hina Ebina. Her smile was dazzling.

"Go for it!"

Are you the president of some male idol agency? Please, I beg you, don't ever create an agency like Ebina.

"Ah, I'm already a member of the school anniversary celebration executive committee..."

Upon hearing this, Ebina hit the rolled-up script on his shoulder.

"Oh, what a pity. Penguin-kun's 'me' and Hayama's 'Little Prince' would have been a great pairing... Right now, watching them rehearse from the corner of the stage, you're burning with jealousy... Ah! Could this be NTR (Note 73, taken from the Romanized spelling of '寝取られる', meaning someone you like has a relationship with someone else)? Ugh!"

She suddenly started bleeding from her nose, and I thought she was going to vomit blood. It really scared me to death…

"Ugh! Here we go again! Ebina, hurry up, breathe out through your nose!"

Miura noticed what was happening to us and rushed over to press a piece of paper used for making silk flowers against Ebina's nose. However, it's best not to do that when you have a nosebleed.

I glanced at my classmates one last time, then got up and left the classroom.

On the way to the meeting room, every class was full of energy.

For the lone wolf, this period is particularly difficult. If it were after school, he could tiptoe out of the classroom and no one would notice, or at least everyone would kindly pretend not to notice. But now the day has just begun, and even if he wanted to disappear, there's nowhere to go.

All a lone wolf can do is wait silently for instructions or stand by.

If nothing unexpected had happened, I would have done the same, but this year is different because I became a member of the school anniversary executive committee.

I walked down the stairs and turned the corner; this route was one I knew all too well.

Not only were the individual classes bustling with activity, but the executive committee was also abuzz with excitement.

Upon arriving at the conference room, I saw many people bustling in and out. The doors, which are usually closed, were wide open today.

Yukinoshita handled her work efficiently and quickly, while Sagami next door remained motionless like a doll. Haruno sat in a chair, turning around as she discussed something with her senior, Jun. Although it wasn't important, wasn't Haruno a little too idle?

I entered the meeting room to confirm my shift schedule for the miscellaneous tasks group for the next two days. At that moment, a group of people squeezed in one after another.

"Deputy Director, website testing complete."

"Understood... Sagami-kun, please confirm."

Yukinoshita gave this instruction, and I confirmed it as well.

"Yes, no problem."

"Now, please proceed to the official launch mode."

Solving one problem leads to another.

"Yukinoshita-san, the performance group doesn't have enough equipment!"

"The personnel coordination team communicates with the representatives of the performing groups, the management team decides the number of units to be loaned, and then reports the results to us."

After quickly issuing instructions, Yukinoshita remembered the person sitting next to her.

"Sagamami-kun, unless there are any special issues, I will handle this directly."

"Ah, um. Okay."

Some tasks went smoothly, while others encountered unexpected situations, but the executive committee was able to effectively resolve each issue.

The greatest contributor to all of this is none other than Xue Zhixia.

"The performing groups' rehearsal time is longer than expected, so I plan to move the opening ceremony rehearsal to a later date."

She breathed a slight sigh of relief after giving her instructions.

Yang sneaked up behind her and hugged her tightly.

"As expected of my sister!"

"Go away, don't come near me, go back now."

She remained indifferent under the snow, turning her head to look at the computer screen.

After letting go of her hand, Yang Nai gently patted her shoulder.

"Yukino, you really did a great job, just like when I was the chairperson."

"Yes, that's right, this is all thanks to Yukinoshita-san."

The senior student also praised it highly.

"No, it's nothing..."

Yukinoshita frantically typed on the keyboard, trying to hide her shyness.

"You don't need to be modest. Everything has gone so smoothly thanks to you."

The implementing department also nodded in agreement. They had worked together through the most difficult times, so the feeling was naturally particularly strong.

However, one person's smile was stiff—Sagami simply forced a smile.

"This is so satisfying! This is exactly how an executive committee should be!"

Everyone nodded in agreement with Yang Nai's words. As executive committee members of the school anniversary celebration, they were well aware that they had fulfilled their duties and felt quite satisfied.

Therefore, no one realized the meaning behind this statement.

This is actually a rejection of the previous executive committee, that is, a condemnation of Sagami, who led the executive committee at that time.

Only those with bad personalities and those who feel guilty realize this.

Sagami crumpled the documents into a ball under the table.

Yang Nai smiled.

"I'm really looking forward to the school anniversary celebration starting tomorrow... right?"

For a fleeting moment, she looked at me. What kind of future those somber eyes saw, I still cannot know.

There's only a little time left before the celebration, a mix of fervor, youth, deception, and hypocrisy, begins.

Tomorrow is finally the school anniversary.

On the eve of the school anniversary, the Hikigaya family

Hikigaya Komachi

Brother, what are you doing on the computer?

Hikigaya Hachiman

It's nothing. We need to decide on a slogan for our school anniversary celebration, and I'm looking for something that can be used.

Hikigaya Komachi

Oh, by the way, brother, make sure to clear all the browsing history you searched using the keyword "delete browsing history". A while ago, Mom was searching using the keyword "restore deleted browsing history".

Hikigaya Hachiman