My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 201

"Ms. Hiratsuka immediately continued. There must have been similar cases before," she said. "Perhaps something unpleasant happened; she had a long face. She probably handled similar cases before..."

"Hmm, is that so...?"

As she spoke, Senior Xun drew a line on the "Borrowing Race" section of the whiteboard. Then, after reviewing the whiteboard's content, even Senior Xun could only frown in frustration. However, she quickly perked up and deliberately spoke loudly and energetically:

"Let's cheer up and keep going! Next one!"

At this point, no one dared to raise their hand out of fear. Even so, Yuihama was different today; she once again loudly said yes and forcefully raised her hand.

"Please speak, Yuigahama-san!"

As if to respond to her imposing manner, the senior student called her name in a bright and cheerful tone.

"A bread-eating race!"

As soon as Yuihama opened her mouth, Hiratsuka-sensei started muttering again.

"Choking accidents happen all the time... and people will even protest against wasting food..."

This is called concern. It can also be called self-regulation. The result of concern is that a line is drawn on the "bread race".

Stunned, Yukinoshita looked at the whiteboard and Hiratsuka-sensei before speaking.

"I have a lot of concerns..."

"It's so annoying everywhere lately... there are so many different kinds of regulations."

Even Ms. Hiratsuka looked annoyed. Of course, if she were to approve a risky proposal here, her boss and parents would definitely complain and protest.

Being a mid-level manager is quite tough.

As the overall energy in the meeting room continued to wane, Senior Sister Xun persisted in maintaining a cheerful and positive attitude.

"Let's keep thinking about it! Please feel free to share any other opinions you may have!"

Seemingly inspired by Senior Xun, Yuihama, Yukinoshita, and the other student council members earnestly offered their opinions one after another.

However, the suggestion was immediately overturned by opposing opinions from other places. The whiteboard was in a sorry state.

"Eating Contest"

A game that conceded a goal (with profound implications)

"Live ball game (meaningful)"

'Decade

The Decameron (Note: The text contains a reference to the 24th anniversary of the Decameron series, which is not translated here.)

Sandro Botticelli (Note 25: Renaissance painter who illustrated Boccaccio's famous work, *The Decameron*.)

『Chim Chim Cher-ee (Note 26: A piece of music from the movie "Mary Poppins". Cher-ee is pronounced the same as "Cheri".)』

"Ooka is a virgin (Note 27: In Japanese, 'cherry' is used metaphorically to refer to a virgin, as it sounds similar to 'Cher-ee')."

All of the above proposals were drawn with a line.

The suggestion turned into an association game halfway through; is this some kind of magical brain teaser show? Also, please stop talking bad about the opportunistic virgin Ooka! What's wrong with being a virgin!

However, judging from this, it seems unlikely that any conclusions will be reached before the meeting ends...

Even if I were to offer any suggestions now, they would probably be overturned just like everyone else's. There's a certain trend in meetings. If the atmosphere is positive, proposals are more likely to be accepted, but if it's negative, no matter how excellent the suggestion, it will be rejected or set aside.

Humans are social animals. They are creatures that blend into the atmosphere and environment around them. Swallowed by the great waves of time, they drift with the tide, constantly changing themselves.

Therefore, no one wants to go against this trend.

If one insists on going against the current, that's truly inviting trouble. Unless one possesses an unbreakable will of steel like mine—to use a metaphor, like an isolated island with a solid concrete embankment—one cannot defy the tide.

Those who don't understand this principle will be eliminated one after another.

Please share your opinions.

"That's what Sagami said, one of the people who chaired the meeting."

The volume of her voice wasn't particularly loud. Although she was considered the chairperson, almost all the hosting duties were done by the senior student, so probably no one would focus their attention on Sagami.

However, some people still looked towards Sagami.

The voices of familiar people are more easily heard. This familiarity isn't just about sensory perception; it's etched into one's consciousness. Therefore, the more familiar someone is with Sagami, the more likely they are to hear his voice.

This is an irresponsible statement made by a lifeless person during a gradually stalling meeting.

This guy... you haven't done anything, yet you keep asking for opinions... are you a boss or a supervisor?!

But thinking about it, it seems I didn't offer any opinions at all. In other words, I was the boss.

Although I believe I will definitely achieve great things and become a high-ranking official in the future, if someone like me were to be a boss, the subordinates would be too pitiful. Therefore, I have decided that I will absolutely not work anymore. No work, absolutely no work. To work is to lose.

My resolve to absolutely not work became even stronger, and with nothing to do, I turned my gaze to the window.

× × ×

The setting sun is shining brightly outside the window.

As autumn deepens, the days grow shorter.

It seems that as the days get shorter, everyone's patience is dwindling, and the atmosphere in the meeting room has unknowingly deteriorated to an extremely bad state. The long meeting has left everyone lifeless, like a lump of mud.

Some were bored and took out their phones to play, some were staring blankly with empty eyes, and some were using photocopied documents as fans. All the members of the operations committee looked unhappy.

"Waaah... If there are any other opinions... like, how about it... no opinions at all...?"

The senior student spoke in an extremely tired tone, but the response was not enthusiastic.

No one responded to Sagami's question, "Any other opinions?" Amidst the intermittent calls from the two hosts, Hiratsuka-sensei, as the person in charge, remained silent, and incidentally, steadfast in her chastity. Her integrity is truly remarkable!

My thought of being impolite seemed to reach the other person, because Hiratsuka-sensei, who had been standing with her arms crossed and eyes closed, opened one eye and looked over. Then, she gestured with her chin, signaling me.

It seems like they want me to think of a solution.

I couldn't help but sigh.

"Sigh...we won't be able to reach a conclusion this way..."

Like me, Yukino sighed. She rubbed her temples and said wearily:

"Yes, everyone's ideas are even more limited than we thought."

"No matter what you say, there are more opposing opinions than constructive ones..."

Although Yuihama offered many ideas, each time she received negative responses from all sides.

The two of them had already given up on this meeting. Not in cat-ear mode, though (Note 28: The theme song from the anime *Tsukuyomi*).

When a meeting is heading in the wrong direction, no amount of enthusiastic participation will achieve the desired effect. A meeting that has gone astray should be ended immediately.

"It's difficult enough for us to come up with ideas on our own; continuing to think of ideas at this rate is just a waste of effort."

"Then what should we do?"

"Yuhi asked. I lowered my head and began to think."

It's beyond our capabilities. Therefore, it should be entrusted to someone who can. Even someone who initially couldn't do it might gradually become capable during the process. So, it's definitely best to entrust it to someone other than myself. At this point, like Shinran Shonin, I should uphold the spirit of relying on others' power and hope that someone will come to help. I am a Buddhist at heart. Although Shinran definitely didn't mean it that way.

"Well, there's a saying that everyone has their own area of ​​expertise, right?"

I used a very beautiful idiom, and Yukinoshita nodded in agreement.

"This idea is indeed very important..."

Yes, yes, this idea is important.

Whether it's a part-time job or anything else, once someone sees you do a good job, that kind of task will be constantly assigned to you. When I worked at a convenience store, a girl who knew a little bit about drawing was always being asked to draw promotional posters. The manager would just say things like, "You're pretty good at drawing, you finished it in no time, right? Here you go." Being able to do something and wanting to do it are two completely different things; everyone should take this more seriously.

Because of my past experience with this, I couldn't help but blurt it out.

"It's common for capable people to be exploited and used as slaves by companies. Not only are they exploited, but their salaries don't increase much, making hardworking people look like idiots."

"That's right! You really know it!"

Suddenly a loud voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw Hiratsuka-sensei slap his thigh and nod vigorously.

"Hiratsuka-sensei... it seems inappropriate for you to agree with this opinion..."

While all the students cast sympathetic glances at Hiratsuka-sensei, only Yukinoshita stared at him with a cold gaze. "Those who can articulate their correct views are truly great. Unlike me, I can only weep, I can barely see anything ahead... If no one takes the teacher home soon, I'll practically have to work hard to support him. Hurry! Anyone will do, just take the teacher home!"

I wiped away the tears from the corners of my eyes and mustered my spirits to continue offering my opinions.

"If you delegate something you can't do to someone who can't do it, it still won't get done. You should leave it to the experts."

"You mean we're going to abandon this commission?"

Yukinoshita stared at me with a surprised look. However, I could confidently say no.

"What I'm trying to say is work sharing, job rotation, and oursourcing."

Upon hearing a long string of English, Yuihama exclaimed "Oh!" in admiration.

"I don't really understand it, but it seems really impressive..."

Thank you for agreeing. In short, you're the type of person who's easily fooled, so you'd better be careful. It seems like you're the type to buy food products that claim to be natural or something, only to get scammed out of everything by a pyramid scheme.

On the other hand, Yukinoshita, who never worries about being scammed, is now holding her head in distress. "If you could trust people a little more, I think your life would be happier."

"It's amazing that you can utter such serious words one after another... Speaking eloquently is an art."

Yukino sighed, while the senior student next to her suddenly stood up.

"But if that solves the problem, then it's fine! It's also important to confidently delegate tasks to others!"

Receiving encouraging affirmation from Senior Xun, I nodded to her and turned to face Yukinoshita.

"Under the Snow".

"OK."

No sooner had I spoken than Yukinoshita responded. Although there was some debate along the way, I believe I successfully conveyed my thoughts to her.

Then, she raised her hand and looked at the senior student.

"Senior Cheng Hui, we'd like to recruit external consultants."

The senior student blinked.

"consultant?"

"……ask?"

Senior Xun looked puzzled, tilted her head and repeated softly, while Yuihama also tilted her head.

"It's not a good idea to continue meetings that can't reach a conclusion on our own. Perhaps it would be better to listen to the opinions of the experts."

I echoed her, and Senior Sister Xun smiled.

"That's true. It would be better if we could have the help of an expert. Right, Sagami-kun?"

Although it's just a formality, Sagami is indeed the chairperson. I should probably confirm her opinion first. Senior student's handling of this matter was quite smooth and appropriate, while Sagami seemed unprepared for the topic to be turned to her, and hurriedly said:

"Yes, yes. That's true. I really can't offer any good suggestions..."

Sagami understands the current situation; there's no reason to refuse. Everyone attending today's meeting should agree.

However, after Sagami finished speaking, there was a very quiet silence—

Like a drop of ink falling onto still water, I heard a whisper. A silent whisper, without any vibration of the vocal cords. Although there was no sound at all, it definitely reached my ears.

"teacher."

However, the whisper was immediately drowned out by Senior Sister Xun's voice. Senior Sister Xun glanced at Teacher Hiratsuka.

Ms. Hiratsuka noticed the gaze and nodded.

With the teacher's permission, I turned to face Yuihama.

"From here on the shore."

"what?"

Yuihama, whose name was called, pointed to herself and blinked in surprise.

I waved my hand to signal, and Yui moved her chair and leaned her upper body against me.

It's closer than I imagined...

The faint scents of perfume and shampoo made me feel a little dizzy. I took a deep breath to calm myself, but the subtle pauses created by the deep breaths only piqued Yui's curiosity, and she moved closer to my face. "I told you, we were too close."

Because of the shyness caused by making eye contact at close range, they both avoided looking at each other.