My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 523

However, in the minds of some nagging parents at Soubu High School, only this year's prom is on their minds. So when it comes to plans for a new prom, they will naturally consider the two together.

They already disliked the ball, and if someone wanted to make it even more extravagant, they would definitely try their best to sabotage the plan.

In fact, neither Zheben nor Yusheng seemed particularly concerned about the timing issue I mentioned. It appears they had assumed from the beginning that it would be a matter for next year or later.

“Oh—”

Zheben picked up the proposal and made a lazy sound.

"Ah—this one."

The cover of this proposal was printed with cryptic text in an incredibly stylish font. But as long as it's Yu Sheng, he'll definitely understand it! I held a sliver of hope for Yu Sheng and secretly peeked at it.

Yu Sheng focused intently on reading the proposal page by page, occasionally pausing with a serious expression and letting out a sigh, perhaps because she had discovered something she was interested in.

Shortly after, he carefully closed the proposal, raised his face, and stared straight at me.

"...I've finished reading the proposal."

As he spoke, he tapped the table slowly with his fingers and blew on his bangs.

"It's good that it considers diversity. However, aren't the other parts too abstract? There are too many unnecessary parts, and the focus of the project is completely off-target."

The moment those words reached my ears, I was so shocked that my mouth dropped open in astonishment.

"What...did you say...?" [Note 45: A common line from the manga "Bleach".]

This trick didn't work on Yu Sheng... That sounds like trendy English...? While I was still in shock, Yu Sheng continued:

"I think you should improve your communication skills and focus on making your plans more visual. Of course, I agree that you anticipated the possibility of experiential activities, but the execution method is not reasonable."

He used slow, exaggerated gestures reminiscent of Tai Chi to point out each flaw, as if he were educating someone, and finally brushed his bangs aside with his right hand.

"Therefore, your plan is not feasible."

Yu Sheng's eyes seemed to pity me: "You're still stuck at that stage?"

How could this be... I couldn't help but cast a questioning look at Yui Hama, wondering, "Is this the kind of person she is...?" Yui Hama gently shook her head and replied, "I don't know, I've never been interested in her in the first place."

After agonizing over it, I glanced discreetly at Zheben. Zheben wore a wry smile, scratching his cheek. It seemed Yusheng was in this mood lately.

Well, those so-called elites have been ridiculed by the world for a long time, and perhaps even Yu Sheng himself has noticed and is trying to make changes.

In a sense, it could be called growth. As the saying goes, "A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of separation"... This guy is exactly like that... But if I were to be led around by the jade rope like this, I would be defeated with a hearty "Ughhhhhhh" scream.

No, now is not the time to admire him. If the jade rope doesn't bite, my whole plan will be ruined.

What should I do...? I was so anxious that I unconsciously started shaking my leg. Yu Sheng slowly tapped the table with her fingers, as if waiting for my response. Yui looked at me uneasily, then at Yu Sheng, sighing softly incessantly, while Zhe Ben was secretly laughing.

The noises from each individual overlapped, forming a discordant audio track. The rhythm and beat made me increasingly anxious, and I thought, "I have to say something," so I started rambling on.

I say whatever comes to mind; I have a very freestyle. Elite vocabulary and Japanese rap are remarkably compatible.

"You're worried about the budget? But we're used to budget constraints. In that case, we should use gadgets and adjust according to the scale. What I'm trying to do is suggest."

I didn't care about rhyme or rhythm at all, and just rattled off a string of words. Yu Sheng nodded rhythmically, and after I finished, she drew a circle in the air in response:

"Your topic is utterly random, and the content is almost absurd. If the plan isn't comprehensive enough, we'll be implicated. Can't you see a clear direction? If you don't come up with solutions, the plan is scrapped. We all need to face these problems together."

He calmly presented his views, leaving me speechless, but I still struggled to find the words.

"I've also evaluated the draft plan, and what's needed is a local brand. Although the exact strategy hasn't been finalized yet, the main concept is to personally see graduates off, but without a start, it will just remain stagnant. As for the budget, it's simple as long as crowdfunding is taken into account."

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, raised my eyebrows, and calmly began to listen.

After confirming that I had finished speaking, he paused for a moment, opened the proposal, and patted the part that I had specially added with a strong elite flavor to hook him.

"I am indeed interested in this event, but I have reservations about these parts. Only a few paragraphs in the proposal are truly important; the rest can be cut. Since collaboration is essential, team spirit must be fostered. The current situation will only make it impossible for the meeting to continue."

His hand swung faster and faster, until it was like a pistol, pointing arrogantly at me.

The gesture was certainly funny, but Yu Sheng's sharp gaze left me speechless. He was right; I had underestimated Yu Sheng when I wrote the proposal. I had assumed that simply stuffing him with a bunch of trendy business terms would attract his attention, so I hadn't thought much of it at the time.

However, people change. It was precisely because Tamaki's flaws were pointed out to her face by Yukinoshita during the Christmas event that she had room for change.

"Ah—uh, that..."

I gave up halfway through my story. Whatever, I had nothing to say. This guy is really strong. I can't take it anymore. So strong… I sighed deeply, raised the white flag in surrender, and Yu Sheng smirked triumphantly.

"Therefore, your plan is not feasible."

He repeated himself bluntly, and I was instantly speechless. The competition was an eight-section, two-round format; there was no need for a third round—I was already defeated by a critical strike. [Note 46: A parody of the Japanese rap competition show "FREESTYLE DUNGEON," which uses an eight-section, two-round format, best of three, with a clear winner when the judges unanimously agree.]

"Um... what should we do...?"

I lowered my head. Yuihama, who had been observing the situation from the side, couldn't stand it anymore. Half troubled and half helpless, she asked hesitantly. At this moment, Oribe, who had been watching me and Tamaki argue and trying her best to suppress her laughter, gently wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes, let out a big breath, and picked up the proposal.

"But it seems quite interesting, doesn't it?"

"Oh, right, right?"

When Orimoto said this to Yuihama, Yuihama's face instantly lit up with a smile. Orimoto seemed to have just said it casually out of interest, but as soon as Tamaki heard it, he instantly showed a manly smile, snapped his fingers, and gave her a flirtatious wink.

"Yes, it's good."

“Eh…”

You were just criticizing this project as worthless a second ago. Witnessing this brilliant 180-degree turn, I exclaimed in surprise, staring at Yu Sheng. He probably felt embarrassed too, coughed lightly, and shifted his gaze back to the project proposal.

"Of course we are not against this project. However, if we don't reach a consensus at the beginning, there will definitely be differences in understanding between the two sides. I want to strengthen this aspect first."

Yu Sheng glanced at me, and I nodded in response.

"Just treat this proposal as a draft; I just wanted to make the event sound more impressive. I apologize if this causes any difficulty in understanding. So, can we start discussing feasibility from the beginning?"

I placed my hands on my thighs and bowed my head in a somewhat sincere manner, pleading. Yui followed suit and bowed her head as well.

"Please, please..."

Yu Sheng watched us with great interest, while Orimoto blinked repeatedly in surprise. A mysterious silence descended, and the awkward atmosphere made me fidget. Orimoto exhaled a breath of air with a hint of a smile.

"...What does it matter, President? Let's give it a try."

Zheben poked Yusheng with his elbow. Each time Yusheng was poked, she made strange "uh-huh" and "hmm" sounds. Hmm—I understand how you feel. When I was in middle school, I also thought I would die from this kind of skin contact... Yusheng groaned for a while, and soon calmed down, touching the spot that had been poked and starting the conversation again.

"...That's true. Fortunately, we still have enough time to evaluate. We need to reach a consensus during this period with the goal of making the event a success."

"I think it's a good idea!"

She gave a thumbs-up. Yu Sheng was in a great mood, smiling as she touched her chin, interlaced her fingers, and leaned forward.

"Speaking of purpose, there's a story. Long, long ago, in a certain city, there were three bricklayers... When the first bricklayer was asked, 'What do you think you would answer?'"

Yu Sheng snapped his fingers and pointed at me. He was probably in high spirits, bringing up a business parable he'd heard somewhere, and insisting I answer it. Sadly, I'd already read a ton of these kinds of stories when I was writing my business plan.

"I am building a magnificent cathedral that will be remembered for generations to come."

With a guilty conscience, saying, "I'm sorry, I answered it right away," I gave the correct answer. Yu Sheng nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right, he said, 'I'm stacking bricks.' If you asked the second person, what do you think their answer would be?"

This time, Tamaki snapped his fingers and pointed at me. Yuihama looked puzzled when she heard him say that. I shook my head and told her not to worry about it. Taking it seriously means you lose.

Knowing full well that my voice wouldn't reach Yu Sheng's ears, I still gave the same answer.

"...I am building a magnificent cathedral that will be remembered for generations to come."

"That's right. He said 'I'm working'... As for the third one..."

Yu Sheng looked around at the three of us, and after a while, he spoke solemnly.

"...He replied: 'I am building a magnificent cathedral that will be remembered for generations to come.'"

"Whoa whoa……"

Faced with the jade rope's gleaming eyes, I was speechless with surprise. I don't know how the jade rope understood my astonishment, but it exhaled with great satisfaction.

"Now we should think carefully about what our purpose is."

He stood up, turned to the side, and looked back at us.

"Do you know how to defeat Tessini?"

Before I could answer, Yu Sheng started pacing back and forth in the conference room, her shoes making a loud "clack-clack-clack" sound.

"By conventional methods, we can't possibly beat Dessert. Because Dessert is almost a complete product. So, we need to think the other way around—how to create something unfinished yet entertaining."

After circling the conference room about twice, he stopped in front of the whiteboard and began drawing mysterious charts on it.

"Who is happier, someone who consistently scores above 90 or someone who used to always score zero but suddenly scores 50? Just think of it this way. What we should be doing is not finding 10,000 people, but using the power of 10,000 people to accomplish something."

Tamahana slapped the whiteboard, and Yuihama, probably influenced by his imposing manner, clapped her hands and exclaimed in admiration.

"Oh, I think I understand... I think..."

I squinted, looking at Yuihama suspiciously. She secretly looked away, muttering something in response. Meanwhile, Orimoto nodded while playing on his phone.

"I understand! I think it's a good idea!"

You weren't even listening... Although that's what I think, Yu Sheng's point isn't entirely wrong. His theory isn't without merit, and it's possible to say it... But then again, when he says things like that, he gives off a strong "who have the right to say that?" vibe... Maybe this kind of elite will eventually become an IT major. It's like trying to draw an IT company president from a gacha pool, but only getting the lowest rarity.

This guy has just stopped showing off his annoying English; his essence hasn't changed at all...

The familiar conversations I heard on the Inage Beach were nothing new to me. I guess that's proof of growing up.

While I was pondering, Yu Sheng, who had just been spouting nonsense, looked at the whiteboard and muttered to himself.

"...Let's start preparing now, with the goal of holding it next year or later. We need to gradually accumulate results."

He turned around, a somewhat bitter smile on his face.

Yu Sheng probably also realized how empty his words were. Therefore, he continued to borrow words from others, hoping that even so, they would one day come true. When his actions yielded results, those borrowed words would truly become Yu Sheng's own. We look forward to his future development!

Although he caused me a lot of trouble before, I'm really glad I was able to work with Tamaki this time. He's not only a key element of the fake ball, but he might actually become a reliable companion at the balls that Isshiki will probably be organizing from now on. As expected of the representative of the seaside community, in terms of homey who promotes neighborhood relations, you're already my man! I have to take some pictures of my man!

"...May I take pictures of the meeting? Also, if it's convenient, I'd like to put them on a website."

"Of course, no problem. Oh, then it's best to write it as simply and clearly as possible."

Yu Sheng readily agreed, then added a few lines of text to the whiteboard, accompanied by gestures resembling those of someone shaping pottery. I took a picture of this scene.

The meeting room rental period was nearing its end—even slightly overtime—when Yu Sheng's presentation finally concluded. As we left the community center, the sun was high in the sky, illuminating the streets with its midday rays.

Zheben walked towards the crowded station front, turned around and asked us:

"What are your plans after this? Going home? Having dinner?"

"Ah, we have to go back to school..."

"Oh, I see. Then let's have dinner together again next time."

Yuihama said apologetically, and Orimoto lowered his brows. Yuihama clasped her hands in apology, and I nodded in return. Tamaki, who was standing to the side, pretended to cough as if checking the condition of his throat, took a step forward, and stood next to Orimoto.

"Well then, that's all for today. That way, Orimoto and I still have some time left, so how about...?"

Yu Sheng blushed slightly, glancing frequently at Zhe Ben, and stammered. She started off quite confidently, but her voice trailed off. Zhe Ben, seemingly oblivious, nodded in response.

"Okay, let's go home."

"Yes, yes..."

Yu Sheng's lips twitched, and he managed to squeeze out a sentence. However, he immediately perked up, walked straight up to me, and blew on his bangs.

"...Could you remind me once the next meeting time is set?"

To be honest, I didn't have that plan, but I was defeated by his boldness and could only nod in agreement.

I don't know why... Keep it up, Yu Sheng!

╳ ╳ ╳

The school building was silent on the holiday, and all sounds echoed emptily.

The outdoor area, including the playground, was bustling with activity, but as soon as you stepped into the school building, you felt a cold sense of rejection.

Only inside the game club office was the atmosphere as tense as a casino.

"...Okay, all done."

"That's it, uploaded to the test environment..."

Qin Ye pressed the confirm button forcefully, then slumped onto the table. Sagami's younger brother wearily pushed the laptop towards me.

I took a look, and the official website is pretty much the same as the design draft. It has a very stylish large main visual image, plus small text descriptions, and social media sections—that's it. Even though it's still in the pilot stage, it's quite remarkable that it's reached this point in just a few days.

"For the wood base, just stick anything on it and see."

"Hmm...I'll press it!"