My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

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"We have completed the evaluation of these proposals, dividing them into feasible and infeasible categories... however, most of them are infeasible."

"Oh! Thanks!"

Yu Sheng took the documents and began to read them.

"Now it's very clear where the problem lies."

"yes."

Need I say more? The problem is obviously that we don't have enough time or money.

"Then let's all think together about how to solve this."

"No, wait. We only have one week left; we can't afford to take our time with meetings."

"I know, so the music performances can be outsourced to external orchestras. Look, doesn't the information here say that many talent agencies offer private performance services? Just invite a few orchestras, arrange a program for them to perform, and the whole event is set up, right?"

Where will the budget come from? — I barely managed to hold back from blurting that out. Trying to reason with someone who's so opinionated is just a waste of breath.

Yu Sheng wasn't ignoring other people's opinions. He definitely listened to them, and he listened to everyone's opinions.

That is why he came to a conclusion that took into account the opinions of all parties.

"Let everyone evaluate it first, and then we'll decide at the next meeting."

I don't expect to change Yu Sheng's mind; he's almost to the point of being "stubborn." I've discussed many issues with him before, but I've never managed to change his mind. To be honest, his mentality goes beyond stubbornness; "attachment"—no, "delusion" might be a more accurate description. I really can't understand why he goes to such lengths to insist on adopting everyone's opinions.

At that moment, I remembered something—

Although Yu Sheng was quite assertive in expressing his opinions, I overlooked one fact: like Isshiki, he had only recently become the student council president.

Therefore, he listens to and seeks the opinions of others, and only takes action after obtaining the approval of the majority. The purpose of this coordination is to avoid causing problems and future disputes.

This mentality is actually quite similar to Isshiki's reliance on my instructions. I can't even properly assist Isshiki, whom I know relatively well, let alone Tamaki, whom I've only known for a few days. As for changing his mind, that's simply a pipe dream.

I no longer expect anything from the jade rope, but only remind him of one thing.

"...The next meeting must reach a conclusion, otherwise it will really be too late. Thank you for your help."

"certainly."

Yu Sheng's cheerful smile remained unchanged. But now, in my eyes, she seemed increasingly suspicious.

I abandoned the idea of ​​persuading him and went back to my seat.

This is bad, there's no other way...

Although Yu Sheng promised to finalize the event details at the next meeting, I still have some doubts about the efficiency of the previous meetings.

In any case, there's nothing more I can do at this stage. I guess I can only watch this event crumble before my eyes.

As I pondered this, I suddenly noticed Rumi Tsurumi working quietly by herself.

There were no other elementary school students around her; they must all be assembling and decorating the Christmas tree. So, what was she doing here all alone? I walked closer, curious.

"...Are you making decorative items?"

Liu Mei folded the paper in half and cut it along the drawn lines with scissors. Judging from the shape, it seemed to be snow crystals.

Judging from the scene, the work of making the decorations is not yet fully completed, and the remaining part is being handled by Liu Mei. After all, they are still elementary school students, and assembling a Christmas tree, which they have never done before, is certainly much more novel than doing the same work for a long time.

However, letting a child use sharp objects unsupervised is very dangerous, so it's best to remind her. Anyway, there's no one else around, so if I go over and talk to her, she won't get any strange looks.

Are you alone?

I crouched down slightly and approached her, speaking into her mouth. Liu Mei didn't react at all, simply continuing to cut paper with her head down.

...Okay, if she doesn't want to talk to me, I can only accept it.

As I gave up talking to Liu Mei and got up to leave, she glanced in my direction, then picked up a piece of paper and turned her face away.

"...You'll see when you get there."

Liu Mei responded curtly, as if she thought my question was stupid. "You're way behind the times! Even satellite channel delays aren't this bad lately. This kid is really not cute at all."

Despite these complaints in my heart, I still felt a sense of goodwill towards those who work quietly and alone in the United States, while also reflecting on the reasons behind this situation.

Rumi Tsurumi's current situation is one of the consequences of my actions at the time. Therefore, I must take responsibility for her.

I plopped down next to her, pulled out a piece of work paper, and picked up the scissors that had been left on the ground nearby.

Let me see… Oh, I see. The snowflake crystal pattern is already drawn on this paper, so you just cut along the lines… Wait, no, it seems you have to fold it first, and then use paper-cutting techniques to cut it into crystals… I didn’t expect what they made to be so complicated. I watched Rumi’s movements and copied her by folding the paper in half first, and then cutting along the lines.

I had just made the first cut when the noise from next door stopped. I looked at Rumi and saw that she had stopped what she was doing and was staring at me in surprise.

"……What are you doing?"

"You'll see when you see it."

I retorted with the same words I had said not long ago when I was in the US. She understood my meaning and glared at me unhappily.

"...Isn't there anything else to do?"

"Yes, that's all."

In fact, there's a mountain of work to be done, but there's not much left to do at this stage. And, until the next meeting, we can only waste time like this.

When Liu Mei heard this, she rolled her eyes at me.

"...So much free time."

"Mind your own business."

We shut our mouths and continued working on the remaining decorations.

I don't know who suggested making snowflake crystals in the first place. These things made of craft paper are far more delicate than I imagined, and require a lot of concentration when cutting them.

I was so engrossed that I completely forgot about the noise in the lecture room.

Just then, someone suddenly ran over quickly.

I looked up and saw that it was all one color.

"Hey, could I borrow your utility knife?"

The Christmas tree probably needed some, so after giving a brief report, she picked up a few utility knives from the table.

Then, Isshiki noticed Rumi, but Rumi was focused on her work and didn't pay any attention to her. She seemed a little bothered by it.

Isshiki gently beckoned to me, and I leaned closer. She whispered in my ear:

"...Could it be that senior likes girls younger than him?"

"I'm fine."

Perhaps it's because I have a younger sister, but I can handle girls a few years younger than me; girls my own age actually make me nervous. But if they're as young as Kawasaki's sister, I don't know how to treat them properly. Ah, as for younger boys, I'm generally not good at dealing with them. Those types are practically animals; they don't understand human language at all.

Upon hearing my answer, Isshiki immediately fell silent. I observed her for a while, but seeing that she didn't react at all, I wondered if she was just a corpse... Oh, she moved! She looked puzzled.

"...Senior, you're not thinking of pursuing me, are you? I'm sorry, although I like guys older than me, there's really no chance between us—"

"That doesn't seem right no matter how you look at it."

Seriously, that's enough. I actually answered her question seriously; I'm such an idiot...

I waved to Isshiki, signaling her not to get in the way. She muttered, "What does this mean..." and reluctantly left the lecture room.

After Isshiki left, the space returned to tranquility.

No one spoke again; the only sound was the scraping of paper against scissors. Snowflakes made of paper fell and gradually piled up.

As the last snowflake fell, Rumi and I exchanged a glance.

"Is it all over?"

"……Um."

Liu Mei breathed a satisfied sigh of relief, a faint smile appearing on her face. When her eyes met mine, she immediately looked away, embarrassed.

I let out a breath and stood up.

"...Then, let's go back."

"Ah, that..."

Rumi, still sitting on the ground, looked over again, seemingly wanting to say something. Before she could finish, I spoke first:

"The Christmas tree doesn't look finished yet, do you want to go take a look?"

"...Okay, sure."

She then stood up and left the lecture room, while I returned to my seat.

I didn't have the courage to listen to what she was going to say. Seeing that smile made my chest ache.

I realized I was trying to use these trivial things to atone for my past sins. But Tsurumi Rumi's smile did not at all represent approval of her actions at the time.

The old methods must have saved something.

However, using only that method is definitely not enough.

Where exactly does my responsibility lie? This question remains unanswered.

× × ×

After we sent the elementary school students back, did some simple work, and organized the remaining materials, we couldn't find anything else to do.

The student council of Soubu High School, now with some free time, simply kept checking the budget and documents to pass the time. Meanwhile, at Haibin Comprehensive High School, something was being discussed animatedly.

That concludes my work for today.

"Isshiki, we've done everything we could. Can we go back now?"

While flipping through documents, Ishiki looked up at the time, thought for a moment, and then answered:

"Well—let's call it a day."

"Okay, I'll be going now."

"Thank you for your hard work, senior!"

I turned around and left the lecture room amidst a chorus of farewells.

As I walked out of the Civic Center, the rain had already stopped.

The puddles on the ground reflected the streetlights, and the raindrops from the eaves shone with the afterglow. Looking at the beautiful scene before me, I felt a sense of desolation.

I pulled my coat collar tighter and walked to where the bicycles were parked, only to realize that I hadn't ridden my bike today. Since it had started raining early in the morning, I gave up on riding my bicycle and instead took the tram and then a bus to school.

So I turned towards the station. As I passed MARINPIA, the bright neon signs kept blinking at me, and as the automatic doors opened, warm air poured out from inside.

Oh right, there's a KFC here too... I almost forgot what my mother told me to do.

The meeting ended early today, so I might as well order a bucket of fried chicken. I'll be picking it up anyway, and I'll just bake it again in the oven when I get home, so it doesn't matter if the store is farther away. Speaking of which, having a coward like me pick up the fried chicken (Note 35: "coward" is the English word for "chicken") is perfect for me!

It's currently Marinpah's Christmas sale, and everyone is carrying shopping bags of all sizes. I casually glanced around, found the KFC, and headed in that direction.

With only a week left until Christmas, KFC was doing brisk business, with a considerable number of customers seemingly queuing to order buckets of fried chicken. For office workers, Marinpah is very close to the station, making it a convenient detour on their way home. I joined the queue and successfully placed my order.

After completing the assigned tasks, you can go straight home.

I left through the exit near KFC. The flow of people coming and going was constant, so the automatic doors remained open. The customers on the first floor and those going up and down the escalators were all mixed together, making the scene somewhat crowded.

Christmas is indeed the end of the year, and everyone is incredibly busy... I looked towards the escalator.

Among the crowd descending the stairs, I spotted Yukino Yukinoshita. I should have left immediately, but I was so surprised that my legs wouldn't obey me.

She stood out even in the crowd, even amidst the snow. I didn't deliberately look for her; she simply came into view naturally.

She was carrying a bag from the bookstore, probably because she had bought something there.

I was standing directly in front of her, beneath the snow, so of course she noticed me and looked surprised. Our eyes met; we clearly recognized each other, and it was virtually impossible to pretend we hadn't seen each other.

I nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and Yukinoshita, who stepped off the escalator, also nodded slightly.

"Hi."

"……Good night."

My feet finally regained feeling, and Yukinoshita walked gracefully toward the door. The two of us arrived outside almost at the same time.

The streets were bustling with people; some were strolling, while others were heading home.

There's a small plaza outside the KFC side exit. While it's unclear what it's like during the day on a holiday or when the weather is warm, at least on a cold night after the rain has stopped, no one wants to linger there.

However, we don't know why we stopped.

I put on my coat under the snow, adjusted the scarf at the collar, and re-tied my scarf so it wouldn't be left hanging there.