My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 558

"Hmm. Although it requires some preparation and is quite difficult, I will give it a try."

I gave a vague response, and Bibin's smile turned into surprise.

"Prepare?"

"There are a lot of things to deal with... We've prepared all sorts of defenses, excuses, platitudes, and concise, easy-to-understand identities, etc. We have as many escape routes as we need. We need to block them all out first."

Yuihama wore a complex expression, a mixture of unease and anger, her lips pressed tightly together in displeasure. When she finally spoke, her voice was icy cold.

I don't think so.

"I know... I can't bring myself to say it unless it goes this far. We have to be driven to a place where we have nowhere to run."

Seeing Yuihama's slight displeasure, my voice began to whine. In fact, even I could hardly bear to look at my own pathetic state. However, this Hachiman Hikigaya had been around for seventeen years, and unless I shattered every conceivable fallacy and drove myself into a corner, it would be of no use.

I let out a heavy sigh, and Yuihama gave a gentle, faint, bitter smile.

"It would have been enough to say just one sentence."

"How can one sentence convey enough?"

Under normal circumstances, one sentence might be enough.

However, formulaic language failed to convince me at all. A single sentence seemed both insufficient and excessive. I had no idea I could express myself adequately. More importantly, I couldn't stand glossing over it in a single sentence.

The same thing happened now. My brief response didn't seem to convey anything clearly, and Yui-hama stared at me blankly. It seemed that my explanation was indeed unclear. So, I spent a lot more time explaining.

"She seems smart on the surface, but she's incredibly stupid, difficult to deal with, and stubborn, always complicating things. Even when things are explained clearly, she'll deliberately misinterpret them, dodging and weaving, which is infuriating. More importantly, she never believes what others say..."

I rambled on and on, but Yuihama remained standing there, stunned. After a while, she finally let out a soft breath and turned her head to the side.

Who are you talking about?

"Me?"

Yuihama gave a helpless smile, looking like she couldn't do anything about it.

I'm at my wit's end with myself. I always end up pushing trouble onto others and getting their understanding. To this day, I still rely on her gentleness, receive her help, and stay in my comfortable little world, pretending not to see anything. Those days were irreplaceable and precious, so joyful they defy price, so blissful they inspire the most beautiful imaginings.

"...I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"what?"

This sudden remark left Yuihama completely bewildered.

"One day, I will do better. Then I won't need to spout these nonsense and fallacies to convey my meaning properly and get it accepted."

I spoke slowly, cautiously, and incoherently. If one day I become a more respectable, mature man, perhaps I can say such things without hesitation; perhaps I can use other words to clearly convey different emotions.

"...However, you don't need to wait for me."

Yuihama gripped her cup tightly, listening silently as I managed to squeeze out words to finish. Perhaps because my words were too vague, she smiled with a troubled expression.

"What? I wasn't waiting for you."

"Yeah. I think I said something disgusting."

"real."

I felt ashamed of my ignorance and chuckled softly to cover it up. Yui smiled too and stood up from the bench.

"Then... let's go."

I also stood up, picked up the bicycle parked to the side, and followed behind Yuihama.

Just a few meters from the park, we arrived at Yuihama's place.

"Thank you for helping me with my things."

She said this in front of the gate, taking the large bag from my bicycle storage basket.

See you at school.

"Well, bye."

I left, holding my bicycle, as Yui waved goodbye.

All I could hear was the sound of wheels turning and shoes crunching on the sand. After a while, the sounds stopped abruptly. In the twilight crowd, people were moving about, but I remained still.

Even so, I decided to take the plunge.

I pushed off the ground with all my might, and in the brief moment before stepping onto the bicycle, I turned my head to look behind me.

She was still waving in this direction, and when she noticed me turn around, she waved even harder.

I gently raised one hand—

Without looking back, I took a breath, stepped on the pedal, and pressed down to move forward.

Volume XIV Interlude

I didn't cry.

Because I have already shed enough tears.

So, as I watched him leave, waving goodbye, his silhouette remained clear to me, as if I wanted to imprint it on my mind.

I didn't lower my hand until I could no longer see him.

The plastic bag, which had no weight at all but was stretched out, suddenly became heavy.

As I stepped into the elevator and returned home, the bag in my arms kept rustling. His voice seemed to be mixed in with it, echoing in my mind.

I pretended not to hear, opened the door, and Crispy ran to my side, barking.

"I'm back--"

I squatted down in the entryway and stroked the shortbread. It licked my hand so much that it tickled, and I couldn't help but laugh.

A drop of water landed on my hand.

She was smiling, but tears kept streaming down her face. Crispy looked up at me, puzzled.

It's okay. Don't worry. I'm fine.

I said this, and hugged the shortbread tightly.

Then, she realized that she couldn't make a sound at all; only her breath, damp with moisture, kept coming from her clenched chest to her throat.

As I tried to wipe away my tears to clear my blurred vision, my hand was gripped tightly. I looked up and saw it was my mother.

"Don't rub your eyes, they'll swell up."

Warm arms, exuding a faint fragrance, pulled me into a embrace, and I finally made a sound. Tears, which I no longer needed to hold back, streamed down my face.

However, I still couldn't speak.

He was completely speechless.

I can't just say "I like you" in short sentences.

That's not the time to say that yet; the real feelings aren't about that.

For the first time, I truly fell in love with my partner.

Volume XIV Interlude

The dance has ended, and the final exams are over; the papers will be returned in the next two days. After the holiday, there will be the graduation ceremony. A long vacation awaits me.

After Senior Sister Xun graduated, the student council office officially became my castle. I was scrolling through my phone thinking about my spring break plans while directing the vice president and the secretary to work.

After that, I need to organize the documents that need to be handled by Yukino-senpai, make the vice president work himself to death, and then ask the secretary sister to revive him. Although there are many things to do, it's quite fulfilling.

Logically speaking, my first year of high school should have ended like this.

"I'm coming in."

Until the moment Hiratsuka-sensei suddenly walked in... This person never knocks. Oh well, that's just how she is, so it's okay.

"What can I do for you?"

I prayed silently that it wouldn't be anything troublesome, and got up to walk towards Ms. Hiratsuka. She took out her phone and held it up to my face.

Do you know what this is?

I stared intently at Hiratsuka-sensei's phone.

What's displayed on the screen looks like a blog.

Oh, I see—I glanced at it casually, and it was all information I'd never heard of before, all inexplicable and meaningless. Especially the words "Sobu High School Seaside Comprehensive High School Regional Joint Dance, to be held this spring!"—even if I didn't want to look, they would definitely catch my eye.

"……what?"

I was so surprised I couldn't close my mouth. What is this thing?

With trembling fingers, I pointed at Hiratsuka-sensei's phone, my voice shaking and my lips quivering, yet glistening with tears.

"What, what is this? I've never heard of it before..."

"Really? You didn't know... In that case, it really is Hachiman."

Ms. Hiratsuka loosened her crossed arms and said with a hint of excitement. Why does she look so happy...? I became slightly more wary, while Ms. Hiratsuka hummed a cheerful tune and prepared to turn and leave.

"I'll ask him directly. Sorry to bother you."

She waved her hand coolly, and I immediately stepped forward to grab her, forcibly pulling her arm to stay with her.

"Wait, wait a minute! What's going on? What is my senior doing?! This is giving me a headache, it's definitely going to get me into big trouble!"

"Oh, you didn't know?"

Professor Hiratsuka explained it to me with an attitude that it was nothing special and unremarkable.

According to her, when the dance, which was halfway through its planning, was almost canceled due to criticism, her senior proposed an even more disastrous plan to ensure the smooth running of their relatively normal dance. In short, he was essentially using her as a pawn and cannon fodder.

"...I don't understand."

"Right?"

I muttered unconsciously, and Hiratsuka-sensei smiled smugly. So that's why she was so happy…

"Huh, it's all over now, right? The ball went smoothly..."

"That's what I thought too... It seems like it was suddenly updated in the last couple of days."

"like……"

"There's nothing I can do; I just heard about it from the parents."

I squinted at Ms. Hiratsuka, who was scratching her cheek, looking troubled.

Ah—I see. Same situation as before. Yukino-senpai's family has probably come again.

The only ones who still don't understand are the senior students.

"But why would you do something like this at a time like this, senior..."

"...He must have his own ideas too."

Ms. Hiratsuka, like a gentle older sister, still wore a happy expression.

It's really inexplicable.

Is that person out of their mind? Would a normal person go to such lengths? Or rather, even try to hide it from me? Okay, last time it was for us, so I can understand. But it probably wasn't for me. I really don't get it.

Without realizing it, I pouted. When Hiratsuka-sensei saw this, she patted me on the shoulder.

"In short, I will find out from the person involved and then let you know."

With a gentle smile, Ms. Hiratsuka left the office with light, almost carefree steps, as if she were going on a date.

Those of me who stayed put had a terrible headache.

However, there's no use in being anxious here. Regardless, I must handle this matter as the student council president. I'm not happy that I'm still being sidelined.

In that case, we need to gather intelligence first.

I immediately searched the blog I'd just read and examined it closely. Judging from the design, it must have been created by a girl. Besides me, there's only one other person around my senior who would help with something like this.

I copied this URL and sent it to the other person via LINE.

Do you know what happened?

The other party replied very quickly.

"!?!?!?!"

She was probably in a state of confusion and looked quite lost. Then came a crying puppy sticker saying "I don't know!" It seems she wasn't clear on the details either.