My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 396

"Yes, it's here."

Those were insulated bags given to me by the store when I bought groceries in the basement of the department store. Professor Hiratsuka took the silver-glowing insulated bag, thanked them, and examined its contents again.

"what is that?"

"Hmm? Ah, perfect timing. Go get your things over there."

When I asked her, she took the bag and walked to the window where she had been standing, pulled up a nearby chair and sat down. Then she happily hummed a song and took out the contents of the cooler bag.

"Let's try some chocolate together later. I was planning to bring some things for you to consider, but I accidentally bought too much. Luckily, I ran into them when I came out, so I asked them to run it for me."

"Uh... I see."

Whether it's a fruit and vegetable store, a department store, or mail order, you can buy chocolates from famous brands during this period. Hiratsuka-sensei probably used these services to order the goods and then asked Zaimokuza and Totsuka to pick them up.

But Ms. Hiratsuka didn't just order one or two items; she opened several insulated bags with the store's name printed on them and took everything out.

These premium chocolates were laid out one by one on the work surface. Because of their striking appearance, I could feel the constant stares coming from all around.

Yang Nai was the most interested among them. She walked over quickly with her senior classmate Xun and examined the chocolates one by one with great interest.

"Wow, Shizuka, you really went all out. GODIVA goes without saying, and there's also Pierre Herme, Jean-Paul Hevin, the Imperial Hotel and the New Otani Hotel... oh, even Aoki Sadaharu is included."

"Heh, it's alright."

Seeing that someone recognized its value, Hiratsuka-sensei was happy and proudly puffed out her chest.

To be honest, these chocolates look the same to me, but to an expert, it's definitely not that simple. While "GODIVA" is so famous I've even heard of it, the others seem to be well-known brands as well. Yang Nai was probably speaking French just now… right?

What did she just say? Pi...Pierre Taki? Jean-Pierre...Polnareff (Note 25: the two are a Japanese actor and a character from the manga "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," respectively.)? I don't really understand, but it seems to be a very famous chocolate brand.

Upon opening the beautiful packaging, the chocolates shone like jewels in a shop window. Senior student Xun couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Wow...it looks delicious..."

"Ah, you could tell too, Xun? This is really delicious! I highly recommend it."

"Wait a minute, why is Haruno the one who's smug? I chose her, you know."

Haruno proudly puffed out her large breasts, prompting Hiratsuka-sensei to make a rather displeased comment.

As expected of Teacher Xiaojing, she puts all her skills into her interests... and the car she drives looks super high-end too... to completely invest money and passion in the things she loves, that kind of masculinity is so cool.

Boys just appreciate this kind of cool, single-point luxury. I couldn't help but look at him with respect, and Totsuka kept staring at Hiratsuka-sensei.

"Teacher, are you eating sweets?"

Under Totsuka's bright, shining eyes, Hiratsuka-sensei was momentarily speechless.

"...Yes...yes...is this not suitable for me?"

"Oh, that's not what I meant... I think it suits you perfectly!"

Totsuka quickly comforted the dejected Hiratsuka-sensei. Seeing this, Haruno chuckled happily.

"Xiaojing must be using the chocolate to go with the bar. How wonderful! I'd love to enjoy this delicious chocolate while drinking too."

"I do drink chocolate with alcohol... but not today."

After being glared at by Hiratsuka-sensei, Haruno pouted in dissatisfaction.

Their interaction surprised me a little.

In reality, Yukinoshita Haruno sometimes does things that seem very deliberate and often teases others, but her current interaction with Hiratsuka-sensei feels quite natural to me. Of course, this could just be the effect of her mask.

I know absolutely nothing about Yukino Yukinoshita. Yukinoshita's older sister, Hayama's childhood friend, Megumi's senior, Hiratsuka-sensei's former student, a perfect devil superhuman with impeccable appearances... Despite knowing these superficial details, her true nature is like a bottomless swamp filled with filth, making it impossible for me to uncover her true nature.

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that this is the first time I've seen Yang Nai have a long conversation with someone older than her.

As I stared blankly at Yang Nai in astonishment, ripples appeared once more on the surface of the bottomless swamp.

Haruno exaggeratedly slumped her shoulders, leaned over the preparation table, and looked at Hiratsuka-sensei with a coquettish gaze.

"What a pity! How about we grab a drink together next time? I bet we all have a lot to say to each other, right?"

This might just be a casual, polite remark.

However, Hiratsuka-sensei looked back with sincere eyes.

She stopped opening the chocolate, quietly intertwined her fingers, gazed into Yang Nai's eyes, and said softly in a gentle voice:

"Yono. If... you really have a lot to say, I'm always ready to talk to you."

Upon hearing this, Yang Nai's shoulders twitched.

She remained leaning over the preparation table, her eyes, devoid of any color, as transparent as glass. But I could vaguely see a fleeting blue flame flicker in her pupils.

Our eyes met for less than a second, but that moment felt incredibly long; I even forgot to breathe.

Finally, Yang Nai raised the corners of her mouth and broke the silence with a soft laugh.

"Really? Then I'd better hurry and match your schedule! Oh, Hachiman is coming too? Let's go for drinks with the older girls."

Yang deliberately leaned his body towards me, looking up at me, and said this half-jokingly. I quickly created distance and dodged.

"I'm not an adult yet, so I can't drink alcohol. Could you please give me some orange juice? (Note 26: From Yu Yu Hakusho, a line spoken by Toguro's younger brother.)"

Zai Muza couldn't help but burst out laughing, and Hiratsuka-sensei's serious expression vanished, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Since these two people can understand it, it means that others definitely cannot.

Totsuka tilted his head in confusion, Megumi smiled knowingly, while Haruno frowned.

"It's no fun if you can't drink. Oh well, you're not an adult yet. Want to go on the tour?"

"Yono-senpai, I'm not an adult yet either~ Tea is fine though..."

"Oh, I see. Hmm—who should I ask? Maybe I should ask my classmates."

Hiratsuka-sensei watched Haruno tapping away on her phone and sighed deeply.

"Anyway, contact me again when the time comes."

After ending the conversation with that, Ms. Hiratsuka pushed those boxes of high-end chocolates in front of me.

"Hachiman, Shiro, divide these chocolates among yourselves and let everyone take a few to eat."

"Okay. Hmm—how many should each person take?"

After answering, Senior Meguri began dividing the chocolates onto the paper plates beside her. Even though Hiratsuka-sensei said it was fine to just divide them randomly, Senior Meguri stared at the chocolates with a troubled expression for quite some time before finally looking up.

"That's settled then. Here, Hachiman, thank you for your help."

She pushed several paper plates in front of me. So this was the result of Senior Xun's careful distribution; I see, the chocolates from each brand were indeed evenly distributed across the plates. Senior Xun puffed out her chest with a hint of pride, making me feel like I was being showered with her "energy ☆".

"As commanded."

I nodded, took the paper plate, and stood up. Totsuka and Zaimokuza also got up from their chairs.

"Ah, I'll help."

"Me too."

"Okay, let's all go together!"

After the senior student handed out paper plates to them, everyone went to their respective preparation stations. That being said, the preparation stations weren't too spread out; they could be roughly divided into three sections.

The Seaside Comprehensive High School and the Student Council were handled by Senior Xun, while the Kawasaki Sisters, Yukinoshita, and Yuihama were handled by Totsuka. Zaimokuza followed closely behind Totsuka like a shadow.

Alright, now all that's left is the cooking station where Miura and Isshiki are locked in a fierce battle.

From my observation from a distance, Miura glared sharply at Isshiki, who brushed it off with a calm smile. Caught in the middle, Hayama maintained a cheerful smile throughout. Hobe, worried about Hayama, kept trying to talk to him, leaving him no time to launch an offensive against Ebina.

Hmm... things seem pretty bad. I really don't want to get involved in that mess.

I managed to walk to the counter, but didn't know how to hand them the chocolates. While I was worrying about this, Hayama noticed me first.

"Excuse me, I'll be there for a moment."

After saying that, Hayama gracefully slipped away from Miura and Isshiki and walked over to me.

"Is there a problem?"

"Ah...it's nothing, it's just that Hiratsuka-sensei brought a gift."

I brought the paper plate to Ye Shan, and his expression darkened slightly.

"It's chocolate again..."

"I heard it's delicious."

"……Yeah?"

He gave a brief reply, took the paper plate, and quickly returned to the preparation counter.

My mission was successfully completed. As I was about to head back, I heard a faint metallic clanging sound behind me.

I turned around to look at the source of the unfamiliar sound and found that it was Hayama tapping cans of coffee with his fingers. He shook the two cans of coffee in his hands and gave me a silent invitation with a smiling look in his eyes.

Even Hayama, constantly caught between Miura and Isshiki, must be getting tired. He might be using me as an excuse to catch his breath. Anyway, I'm free, so I'll keep him company.

After I nodded slightly, Hayama picked a chair and sat down at the preparation table not far from Miura and the others, then gestured for me to sit down as well.

As soon as I sat down, Hayama placed the coffee in front of me. It wasn't MAX coffee, but black coffee. Seeing me staring intently at the jar, he couldn't help but smile wryly.

Would you prefer something sweet?

"No."

Even though I have a sweet tooth, I don't want anything sweet right now. After all, I'm going to eat chocolate later. I pulled the tab out of my coffee and gulped it down.

Ye Shan also took a sip, then sighed softly.

We didn't talk about anything in particular; the sounds of putting down the jar and the occasional exhales served as our conversation.

Judging from the change in the weight of the can, I knew the coffee was almost finished. Just then, Hayama suddenly spoke up.

"Seriously, it's amazing you guys came up with that idea."

"What?"

I didn't understand what that meant, so I asked back seriously. Ye Shan gave me that gentle smile that everyone knew.

"That way... everyone can act naturally."

Hayama slowly surveyed the entire cooking room. I followed his gaze and saw all sorts of sights.

Miura stared intently at the scale, while Isshiki whistled as he operated the oven. Yuihama's face was covered in flour, and Yukinoshita looked at Yuihama as if she was about to surrender.

Finally, when Hayama turned his gaze back to me, the lonely, bitter smile on his face was the one I knew so well.

The "everyone" that Hayama mentioned —

Who exactly are they referring to? And who is it that brought this concept of "everyone" to fruition? Despite vaguely sensing the answer, I still looked away from Hayama and finished my bitter coffee.

I hesitated to answer Ye Shan's mutterings until he chuckled first.

"Thanks to this, the Ministry of Revenue also managed to get to eat the chocolate, and they were overjoyed."

"Hayama said this half-jokingly. I turned around and saw that Keibu seemed to have successfully tasted the half-finished chocolate for Ebina, excitedly shouting that it was so sweet and delicious, and he was about to ascend to heaven. Wow, that guy is really hardworking... However, if he wants to win Ebina's heart, the road ahead is probably very long. That kind of person has to go through countless stages before he's willing to open his heart. I know someone with a similar mindset, and thinking about this, I couldn't help but smile bitterly."

But... well, let's just acknowledge the Ministry of Revenue's efforts for now. Only, in my own style.

"Neither chocolate nor the Ministry of Revenue is important... especially the Ministry of Revenue."

"Haha, you're so mean."

Hayama smiled and downed his black coffee in one gulp, gently shaking the can for a final check before getting up to throw it away. Miura noticed his actions and called out to Hayama in a coquettish, pleading voice.

"Hayato~~"

"I'm coming right now."

After responding, Hayama turned around, said a brief goodbye to me, and walked straight to the preparation table where Miura and the others were.

I watched his departing figure, then brought the empty coffee can to my lips.

× × ×

The dessert class was gradually getting into its best.

Those who are quick have already put the semi-finished products into the oven or into the refrigerator to cool, entering the final stage.

Although Yang Nai had been chatting the whole time, she had unknowingly completed most of the steps. Not only that, the senior students she was in charge of guiding and the former student council members had also almost finished making the desserts, with only the shaping and decorating steps remaining.

Just how powerful is her multitasking ability...? This person is still the same as ever, effortlessly doing things that ordinary people can't understand... in every sense of the word...

However, she seemed to be getting tired of teaching and instead spent her time teasing Yukinoshita.