My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 239

"In terms of time, it's difficult to hold a school-wide event right now," Yukinoshita calmly replied.

There's no way around it; the deadline is next week. It's impossible to convey the message to all students and organize the event in such a short time. Even if we compress the review period and barely make it to the final submission date, an extra week won't make a big difference.

This certainly made Yui Hama feel bad, but unfortunately, due to reasons she couldn't reveal, her proposal couldn't be implemented. Okay, although I'm deliberately being mysterious, the reason I can't say is actually the "deadline." Can't we just abolish this thing called a deadline already?

"Ughhhhh~" Yuihama tried again and continued to think of other ideas, but she seemed to be unable to come up with any other ideas and spread her hands to indicate that she was giving up.

"Hmm... marriage, marriage, marriage... I really don't have any concept of it. This doesn't feel real to me right now."

"At our age, we really don't think about marriage."

Next year I will reach the legal age to get married, but I don't feel any sense of marriage yet, and I'm sure these two girls feel the same way.

However, another person present whispered sadly:

"That's true... When I was your age, I never thought about marriage either..."

Yui and I couldn't help but shut our mouths and carefully avert our gazes.

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere instantly became tense. What should we do? Now is not the time to admire the scenery outside the window, Mr. Hiratsuka.

Only Yukino remained silent for various reasons, stroking her chin as if deep in thought.

"think……"

"what?"

Yukinoshita suddenly murmured a few words indistinctly, then nodded to herself.

"Precisely because no one has considered this, conducting a questionnaire survey under these circumstances might be more valuable for reporting."

"I see. Designing a questionnaire for everyone to answer should be quite easy."

Yuihama cheered "Whoa~" and applauded Yukinoshita.

Yes, publishing survey results is a good way to fill pages, and yearbooks often have sections like "Top 3 Most ○○ People." Speaking of which, can we please stop making up such pointless rankings like "The Most Promising Future Club President" out of concern for those who didn't make the cut, and forcing me into third place? That kind of classmate affection just makes me feel uncomfortable. Also, the last page of my yearbook is completely blank; is it missing a page?

By the way, why not leave those pages of the magazine completely blank, and just put up some random title like "Dedicated to the Future ~to LOVE marriage~", letting readers fill in the blanks as they like? As long as we use the slogan "The mission to fill this blank space is in your hands", someone is sure to take the bait.

The above are the solutions I personally came up with. Of course, Yukinoshita has also seriously considered her ideas.

"If the survey is expanded to include the entire school or the entire academic year, it will take a lot of time. It might be better to narrow the scope to a single class."

"The results obtained from this kind of statistics may not be of much reference value."

Surveying only one class is essentially the same as compiling a graduation yearbook; moreover, as a questionnaire survey, the sample size is still far from the effective number. Although this is not a formal academic survey, it doesn't really matter.

Of course, Yukinoshita herself was well aware of this problem.

"This time it was really a last resort. Using questionnaires as the main method, along with some column content, we can still manage to make it look like a proper survey."

Hiratsuka-sensei, who had been observing from the sidelines without offering any opinions, finally spoke up.

"Hmm... a column? Let Hachiman handle that."

"Why me...?"

Aren't there two other people here? Yuihama's writing ability is probably... so let's start with... What about Yukinoshita? Her writing is probably also... but I dare say my writing is just as good... Besides, if we're being honest, this is supposed to be the teacher's job, right?

I condensed my torrent of emotions and complaints into the five words, "Why me?" Professor Hiratsuka listened and told me the reason very simply.

"You always manage to write essays and reports like that, so this level of column must be a piece of cake."

Who would be happy to say "I'm willing to do it" after hearing such words? ...Does a teacher not have the talent to be a boss?

I probably made my displeasure too obvious, because Hiratsuka-sensei brushed her hair back, closed one eye, and smiled at me.

Regardless of the content, I am affirming your ability in this area.

Since they've already said that, it's really hard for me to refuse.

"Hmm...it's not that I can't write it."

I looked away somewhat embarrassed, just in time to see Yukinoshita pressing her temples again.

"Revising the manuscript must be a huge undertaking..."

Hey, I didn't ask you to revise the manuscript. In fact, I didn't even want to ask you to revise it, because you would definitely turn it into a complete disaster. When working as an editor, can't you please use encouragement more often?!

After Yukino sighed, Hiratsuka-sensei immediately broke into a mischievous smile.

"What? You're willing to help me revise it? Then I can rest assured."

"...Sigh, I don't mind this little thing."

Yukino turned her face away unhappily and began adjusting her collar. Hey, didn't I say I didn't ask you to revise the manuscript...? Are you perhaps the editor-in-chief?

"So, now all that's left is designing the questionnaire, right?" Yuihama sat back down in her seat.

Now that the general direction has been decided, it's time to get right to the preparations. Professor Hiratsuka turned around and said:

"So, before we send out the questionnaire, let's try it ourselves first."

We searched around the clubroom for a while, collected enough blank paper, and started designing the questionnaire. Then, Yukinoshita compiled the questionnaires and gave them to Hiratsuka-sensei to photocopy and distribute to everyone for mock responses.

After everyone had finished answering, Professor Hiratsuka looked around at us and asked:

"So, what do you all think?"

She randomly picked one of the returned questionnaires.

Q: What annual income do you hope your marriage partner will have?

A: More than ten million yuan.

"Hikigaya-kun..."

"An autistic man..."

Yukinoshita and Yuihama spoke irritably, and even rolled their eyes at me.

"Wait a minute, how did you know it was me?"

"You can tell just by looking at the handwriting..."

Yuihama's eyes went from rolling to deadpan, and Yukinoshita brushed her hair aside and said:

"Does this person really think he's that valuable? He has no friends, is destined not to get into a science university, and will likely be unable to find a job in the future; he has almost no future. Add to that those dead fish eyes..."

"It's so noisy. There are a lot of people with low IQs in this world who will give the same answer as me."

Evening variety shows often air matchmaking specials, don't think I don't know that. When women over thirty are asked about their ideal partner's criteria, nine times out of ten they'll quote this price. However, men who meet their criteria are highly sought after and would never appear at such matchmaking events. It's not so much that these women are dreaming too much, but rather that they simply haven't grasped reality.

"Okay, okay, how should I put it... the higher the goal, the better. Yes, that's right."

It's rare for Professor Hiratsuka to stand on my side. Thank you, Professor! And what answers were given to that questionnaire hidden behind your back?

"In short! The questionnaire is now complete, let's start looking for respondents!"

The teacher noticed where my deadpan gaze was looking and quickly stood up from my seat.

× × ×

Yuihama volunteered to find respondents to fill out the questionnaires, and since I had nothing else to do, I simply sat there waiting for her to return. Hiratsuka-sensei looked at the questionnaire she had written, muttering to herself, re-examining her work.

As usual, Yukinoshita was reading a paperback book.

She was halfway through reading when she suddenly moved her shoulder and closed the book.

At the same time, the office door opened.

"There were still people in the classroom, so I asked them to answer!"

Yuigahama proudly showed off the questionnaire in her hand. Strange, does Yukinoshita possess some special ability? It's very similar to my cat's reaction when Komachi came back…

"Thank you. I'm really sorry to have entrusted this task to you alone."

"No, don't worry about it. Anyway, it seems like only a few of us from our class are left in the school now."

Yuihama sat down in her designated spot and answered Yukinoshita in this way.

As Yuihama said, not many of the questionnaires she brought back had been completed. But among us, she was the only one who had a way of getting people to fill out the questionnaires.

"It's okay. If I were to ask, no one would be willing to answer."

"Yes. If Hachiman were to do it, people would just think it's proselytizing or some kind of despicable sales tactic."

"You're absolutely right, I am the complete Rebellious Leader (Note 5 is a nickname for Japanese fighting star Masato Masato (real name Masato Kobayashi), and I'm incredibly strong."

It seemed like Yukinoshita was targeting me, so I retaliated in kind. She looked defeated again, sighed, and the other two women echoed her with "Ah..."

"You really could become a cult leader someday, that's terrifying..."

"Ms. Hiratsuka said earnestly. Wait a minute, don't be so serious, okay? Even if Yukinoshita were to conduct the survey, people would be wary of her and politely decline."

Even I wanted to sigh, but thankfully Yui Hama stepped in to smooth things over.

"Alright, enough of that. Let's quickly look at the survey results!"

We spread the completed questionnaires out on the table and studied them carefully. Yuihime then drew one of the questionnaires—

Q: What kind of profession do you hope your marriage partner will have?

A: I want to marry a voice actor!

I knew instantly who wrote the questionnaire without even thinking.

"Okay, okay, next one~ Besides, this guy isn't in our class, is he...?"

I quickly tossed the questionnaire for the timber seat aside and continued looking at the other questionnaires.

Q: Do you have any anxieties about getting married?

A: I'm really bad at cooking, and I'm also terrible at cleaning.

A: Mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships, cohabitation/separation, inheritance, etc. I have many siblings in my family.

A: I feel uneasy about the future of Hayama x Hachiman.

Seeing the next few answers, I started to feel a little bored, especially the last one. Although the questionnaire was anonymous, I could still tell at a glance who filled it out; it was practically an easy question.

"It's almost impossible to guess who wrote these questionnaires..."

"After all, they're all classmates."

As Yuihama stated, these questionnaires were undoubtedly answered by classmates. If my guess is correct, the three individuals mentioned above are Miura, Kawa (something), and Ebina.

Speaking of Miura, the way she's able to stick to her principles to this extent actually makes me like her. She truly deserves the title of queen.

And that woman named Chuan seems to be having a tough time... She's probably just destined to be unhappy. I hope she can work hard and try to find her own happiness.

As for Ebina... well, let's not talk about it.

"I wonder if there's anything wrong with publishing this kind of content..."

Yukinoshita seemed somewhat hesitant. But honestly, there was no need to consider this kind of question; even a fool could tell it wouldn't work. Hiratsuka-sensei seemed to agree; after reviewing the questionnaire, she let out a soft "Hmm..."

"These answers really don't feel real."

"Teacher, is it really okay for you to say something like that...?"

I couldn't help but widen my eyes and stare intently at Professor Hiratsuka. Yuihama, standing to the side, ignored what I was saying and crossed her arms, lost in thought.

"However, we don't yet understand the advantages and disadvantages of married life, so of course we can't answer that. Unless we have relevant experience, there are still many things we don't know..."

Unfortunately, the only role models we can refer to are our parents, and we've never consciously observed them. If we were to observe them more closely now, we might find some differences. However, the so-called "putting oneself in another's shoes" is very difficult to practice, especially during adolescence when self-awareness is high.

No matter how hard we try, we can never become someone else.

Since we have difficulty even imagining our own parents, it must be even more difficult than we can imagine living with someone after marriage.

Just as I was lost in my own thoughts, Yukinoshita offered another idea.

"I do know young people with similar experiences."

"Huh, really?"

Upon hearing this, Yuihama seemed very interested, and Yukinoshita smiled at her and said:

"That's right. She has been taking care of people who are not good at what they do for a long time, so she knows very well how hard it is. She should have a deeper understanding of this than we do."

Hearing such a specific answer from Yukinoshita, my eyes lit up.

What? You actually know that kind of person? Are you kidding me? That person might be willing to support me for life. Please, introduce me to them right now. That way, I'll be part of the "winners in life" club!