My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 328

"I hope the meeting will go smoothly."

Yui wrapped the scarf around her neck.

"Don't worry. Even if they don't agree, we have to force them to agree. Right now, I just want to end this farce as soon as possible."

This was just a thoughtless remark, but Yui suddenly stopped. I turned around and saw that she had a serious expression on her face.

"What...are you planning to do now?"

Yukino didn't continue walking. I couldn't read her expression from her lowered gaze.

"...We'll see when the time comes. To be honest, I can't say for sure until I get there in person."

I answered honestly to the best of my knowledge. That said, I didn't know many methods either. Yuihama probably understood this, and, gently stroking the bun on her head, looked at the ground and asked:

"Don't you... find it annoying?"

"Of course I have things I dislike too."

"That--"

She looked up as if to say something. However, before I could hear what she was about to say, I gave my answer first.

"...What I hate most is settling for superficial discussions."

I scratched my head and looked away. Until recently, I was only concerned with maintaining appearances, and now I have the nerve to say such things.

However, I can no longer accept these fakes.

There was a brief silence at the scene.

The next moment, someone sighed softly. I turned my gaze back and saw a smile spreading across the snow.

"Do it the way you like."

This statement was gentler, more direct, and without any hesitation than usual.

"...Okay, I understand."

Yuihama didn't seem to have fully accepted it yet, but she nodded silently.

I'm afraid I still haven't been understood; they probably just can't think of anything else to say.

I said those words to myself and nodded to Yukinoshita and Yuihama.

Then, we walked out of the building and didn't speak to each other again.

The winter sea breeze howled by, and the setting sun cast its rays on the paths between the school buildings, giving me a sense of warmth.

× × ×

The meeting with the Seaside Comprehensive High School started on time, but as time went by, everyone's enthusiasm gradually faded.

Yu Sheng sighed with a troubled smile.

Isshiki, on the other hand, had a big smile on his face and clicked his tongue in a sound that only I could hear.

From the start of the meeting until now, the two have not had any interaction.

"Yes, your proposal is indeed good. However, I believe it only makes sense for both sides to cooperate. Working separately could not only weaken the synergy effect but also create double the risk."

"Your point is very valid. However, I'd also like to give this proposal a try. With both musical performances and theatrical acts, the audience will definitely find it worthwhile!"

I have no idea how long they've been going around in circles like this.

Yu Sheng uttered one English word here and another there, turning her neck and eyes to different angles to put on an endearing look, speaking in a coquettish voice.

At the start of today's meeting, Yu Sheng immediately proposed that everyone share the additional budget. At that moment, Isshiki raised his hand and said, "Ah, I have an idea," introducing their earlier draft of a theatrical performance, a response to Haibin Comprehensive High School's proposal. However, the other side was no pushover and immediately proposed a compromise of using short plays to connect the segments. Isshiki, of course, cited insufficient budget in the current plan as the reason, suggesting reducing the concert portion and adding a theatrical performance instead.

So far, the situation has developed as I expected. In a way, it's like a pre-written script, and Yukinoshita, Yui, and I are all sitting on the sidelines watching with peace of mind.

However, their discussion later became deadlocked, and then, as we had seen before, Isshiki and Tamazuki just kept repeating their own ideas.

She exhaled a breath from under the snow next door. Oh dear, what a coincidence, I feel like sighing too. She whispered to me, in a voice not loud enough to disturb the meeting:

"Is Isshiki okay? I heard her click her tongue..."

"Yeah, she looks like she's losing patience."

"I can totally understand that feeling..."

She sighed wearily again.

Yukinoshita and I planned to hand the briefing to Isshiki and then provide appropriate assistance if needed. However, if the meeting wasn't progressing like this, we had no say in the matter. Just as I was pondering what to do, Yui, sitting to my right, nudged my shoulder.

Why did they argue?

"...If someone you've been working with for a while suddenly asks you to go your separate ways, how would you feel?"

She thought for a moment and answered:

"Hmm—I don't feel very good..."

"Division and rupture do indeed leave a bad impression."

Yukinoshita nodded in agreement. I think this is exactly what Tamayori cares about most.

I looked at Yu Sheng to confirm his reaction. He tapped on the keyboard of his MacBook Air, then nodded with an "uh-huh".

"The idea of ​​acting is really great. We're revising the concept, focusing on collaboration between music and drama, which is one approach."

Yu Sheng then proposed a compromise, and Yi Se smiled gently:

"Hehe, that is indeed one method. However, you may have misunderstood me! Besides, there would be budgetary difficulties, wouldn't there? I'm a little worried that your suggestion might not be feasible."

She flashed a mischievous smile, as if to hide her shyness. However, there was no hint of a smile in her eyes.

"We can work together to find solutions to the budget issue. That's the purpose of our meeting."

Yu Sheng resorted to his tired, overused excuse again. At this rate, the meeting will truly fall into an endless loop.

Just then, someone unexpectedly stood up in the corner of my vision. That person was our vice president.

"Excuse me, I'd like to ask your reasons for opposing the two programs running concurrently?"

"Well... I'm not against it, but I feel that if everyone shares the same vision, it will better demonstrate overall consistency. From an image strategy perspective, I also think it's best not to remove the 'joint activities' framework."

This offensive surprised Yu Sheng. He thought for a moment and continued speaking.

"I have a flash idea. If we're preparing two performances, we could mix people from both schools and then divide them into two groups..."

"In that case, we might not have enough time. We've already started preparing."

Isshiki also sided with the vice president. Even though they hadn't even started construction yet, they couldn't break the deadlock unless they said something like this.

At Haibin Comprehensive High School, one student saw that Yu Sheng was at a disadvantage and raised his hand to speak up for him.

"If you're worried about not having enough time, it's more efficient and cost-effective to focus your efforts on the original plan rather than creating new content now."

Thus, the discussion returned to square one.

When I wrote everyone's letters into the minutes, I suddenly had a strange feeling that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Yu Sheng didn't oppose the proposal to run two programs concurrently, yet he insisted on a format where everyone participated together. What were his reasons? To find out what was wrong, I asked:

"...Is it necessary to do it together?"

"If everyone works together, we can create group synergy and make the event even bigger!"

"I haven't seen any of your so-called synergy effects from beginning to end. And even if you say you want to make it grand, you won't be able to achieve anything substantial at this pace. So why are you so fixated on the form?"

Without realizing it, my tone became a bit aggressive. The people around me started whispering, seemingly criticizing my rudeness.

The biggest shortcoming of this meeting was that no one immediately stepped forward to refute it. Therefore, even though everyone knew that this approach was wrong, they couldn't steer it back on the right track.

I myself couldn't voice any objections. At the time, I did think that their method might be feasible.

Everyone was polite and considerate of each other, deceiving themselves with those words.

However, this is wrong. Being rejected is by no means a bad thing.

Some things you only understand after someone else points them out to you. Blind and empty affirmation is the cruelest form of denial and rejection.

Yu Sheng panicked and blurted out in rapid succession:

"This deviates from our original project objectives. Furthermore, everyone has already reached a consensus and completed the grand design..."

He's right. We have indeed reached a consensus and established an overall plan.

Where did these consensuses and overall concepts come from? They came from self-hypnotizing themselves "so that everyone could accept it," demanding everyone's patience, distributing the harm equally among everyone, making them accept lies, and suppressing their own will—

Using "this is an established fact" to silence others and subtly threatening that "those who oppose it are heretics"—this is how the consensus he keeps mentioning comes about.

Then, if the event fails, he'll use the excuse that "it was a decision everyone made together" to deflect responsibility, shifting the blame to some unknown person to ease his own psychological burden. Finally, he'll use "everyone" as leverage to establish accomplices—ah, just like an empty box.

Therefore, while I dare not claim to be entirely correct, I must reject this prevailing trend. In the past, it was only because others criticized me that I realized my mistakes. Given this, I cannot accept this conclusion. I am well aware that I am wrong, but the world's errors are far more outrageous.

I looked at the jade rope, raised the corners of my mouth, and said to him:

"...You're wrong. You just think you're capable and can make the event a success, so you're unwilling to admit mistakes. You're just trying to cover up your errors by using tricks, saying high-sounding things, and getting promises from others to reassure yourself. It's always easier to just shift the blame to someone when you make a mistake, isn't it?"

I seem to see a figure from the past, which makes these words tinged with self-mockery.

A harmonious and open space where everyone agrees to cooperate must be very comfortable. The minutes only record vague discussions, serving as a testament to the meeting's existence. We can use this to deceive ourselves forever.

However, this can only be called a "fake".

A commotion immediately arose around me. Faint sounds spread out like ripples, forming a vortex around me.

Then, I felt pairs of cold gazes.

"It's not what you think. I think it's simply a matter of insufficient communication—"

"Let's both calm down for now and try to communicate properly later..."

Someone from the Seaside Comprehensive High School spoke up again, but their voice was cold, as if they wouldn't back down. It seemed they had no intention of changing their attitude, nor did they deny our opinions; they insisted on demanding that we compromise.

At that moment, another voice broke the silence.

"If we want to play house, are there other places we can go?"

The voice wasn't loud, but it silenced everyone else, plunging the entire room into complete silence.

That person wasn't finished speaking.

"From what I've heard so far, your discussion has been utterly meaningless; it's just showing off some learned vocabulary. Is it really that fun to pretend you're having a meeting?"

Yukino Yukinoshita's tone was forceful, and no one else dared to speak. Then, she slowly said:

"Exchanging a few ambiguous words and thinking that you have achieved communication and that you have understood each other, but without taking any practical action, how can you move forward... This will not produce anything, gain anything, or give anything... It is just a fake."

Yukino clenched her fists, her eyes fixed on the ground below.

When she raised her head again, her expression turned stern, and she stared straight ahead with intense eyes.

"Can we please stop wasting our time?"

The entire lecture hall seemed to have lost all sound; everyone was awestruck by the aura emanating from beneath the snow, unable to utter a single word. The long, fruitless discussion suddenly fell silent.

"Hmm—it seems quite difficult to co-host, so why not not force it and let the audience enjoy two programs at once? This way, the individuality of each school can be highlighted."

Yuihama broke the silence with a cheerful voice, seeking opinions from the other attendees who were still in shock.

"Iroha, how is it?"

"Ah, yes. I think it's very, very good..."

She then shifted her gaze to the opposite side, looking at Orimoto Kaori.

"So, what do you think?"

"Huh? Hmm... It's pretty good."

Faced with the sudden question, Oremoto reflexively gave an affirmative answer. But she wasn't sure about her answer, so she looked at the person next to her, who also nodded in agreement.

In a meeting where no one voices objections, if the discussion leans towards the affirmative side, a domino effect will immediately follow.

And so, the long meeting finally came to an end.

× × ×

After the meeting, the lecture hall returned to its usual noisy state. Soubu High School had finally reached a conclusion and could officially begin preparations for their Christmas activities. Student council members spread books and materials on the table and began discussing the relevant content.

I glanced at them sideways, and Yukinoshita stood beside me listening to Isshiki complain, while Yuihama watched with a wry smile.

"Why did you say those things? The atmosphere got really tense—I almost thought the event was going to fall apart!"

She stood in front of the whiteboard with her arms crossed, puffing out her cheeks in a huff. Her expression, though deliberate, was quite adorable.