My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 704

*Ding dong dong ding* (Note)

Note: Sound effects of Ikkyu thinking about problems in "Ikkyu the Clever".

After a period of seemingly endless contemplation, the mother opened her eyes.

"...Alright, there's always a way."

"What's the meaning?"

I couldn't help but ask, but my mother just smiled slightly.

I wanted to ask her what she meant, but I held back. Only the eldest son could hold back; if I were the second son, I definitely wouldn't have.

Note: This is a reference to a line spoken by Tanjiro Kamado in episode 12 of Demon Slayer.

But even if I asked, it would be useless. Her elegant smile implied that continuing to ask would be a waste of effort.

The mother then put the fan to her lips and asked again with her unchanging smile:

What do your parents do for a living?

"Both of them work in publishing and advertising...wait, what's this, an interview?"

"It was just casual conversation. So you're interested in this industry too?"

"No, I plan to think about this after I go to university... Eh, so this is an interview after all?"

"It's just a character check. So, have you decided which university you want to go to? And your major?"

"No, we don't know yet. Haha, you yourself said it was a character investigation."

The tumultuous question-and-answer session, the continuous verbal sparring, continued. Yukinoshita and Haruno, like tennis spectators, shifted their gazes back and forth between me and my mother. I, on the other hand, felt breathless and utterly exhausted, as if I were being relentlessly interrogated during a stressful interview.

Only Mother remained calm, or rather, excessively calm. She opened her fan, covered her mouth, and quietly closed her eyes, seemingly deep in thought.

"Oh, I see. You haven't decided yet..."

"Yes, yes."

She didn't say anything more after that, and they remained silent for a while.

Knock knock knock knock, ding.

After a period of seemingly endless contemplation, the mother opened her eyes.

"...Alright, there's always a way."

"So what exactly does it mean?"

Although I knew it was pointless to ask, I still fought back desperately.

However, Yukinoshita's mother avoided my question with a smile, rested her chin on her closed fan, and cast an eager look at me.

"...By the way, do you know what my family does?"

"It's a credit investigation agency, isn't it?"

Faced with repeated probing questions, I answered sarcastically, lifting one cheek to relieve my boredom. Suddenly, Yukinoshita's mother narrowed her eyes, staring intently at me with sharp eyes, but there was no anger in them; she seemed to simply want to see through my true intentions.

After a while, she smiled slightly, and then Yang Nai also burst out laughing as if in agreement.

The tense atmosphere that had lasted for a brief moment immediately eased, and then I was suddenly slapped on the thigh.

Upon closer inspection, I saw Yukinoshita looking at me with a reproachful gaze, her face puffed out in anger.

Just like before, even though it didn't hurt at all, since I'd been patted on the shoulder, I should have acted like I was in pain as a sign of politeness. I shifted my body slightly and gave her an apologetic look. Yukinoshita shook her head slightly, indicating that it wasn't a big deal.

Oh dear, I'm so sorry.

In this kind of situation, I should normally try to be as proper and polite as possible to make the other person like me. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at this kind of thing. I can spout those stiff, official phrases with ease, but the other person doesn't buy into that.

The reason I didn't behave properly and politely was because I came to a brainless conclusion: since I would eventually be exposed, I might as well just go all out from the start, which would seem more honest.

I know this is me being temperamental towards Yuki, who is willing to tolerate me, but this is the only thing I need to spend more time on.

I guess I'll just have to get used to it little by little...

I realized that I had once again postponed many things, causing my future debts to continue to grow, but I was still relieved that I had finally made it through the crisis.

No, to be precise, it was carelessness.

That's why she didn't notice that Yang Nai, who was sitting opposite her, was trying to suppress her laughter.

"Ah—this is so interesting."

She let out a long breath, sat up as if stretching, and wiped her eyes with her fingertips. Then, as if to moisten her throat, she took a sip of red wine, rested her chin on her hand, and said:

"...So can I assume you two are dating?"

She casually raised a question that no one had ever touched before, as casually as asking about tomorrow's weather.

In an instant, both Yukinoshita and I stopped what we were doing.

I knew someone would ask this sooner or later. Isshiki and Hobe had asked similar questions before, and even if I hadn't said it, I'm sure others would have wanted to ask similar questions.

But why ask at this time, in this situation? As expected of you, Yukinoshita Haruno. I was so focused on being wary of Yukinoshita's mother that I completely let my guard down.

I was rendered speechless by the sudden question and fell into a long silence.

I know I can't remain silent at this point. There's no way I can brush it off or deny it outright now.

I didn't know what to say, so I glanced to the side and found that Yukinoshita was also secretly watching me.

Her lips trembled in confusion, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and her gaze darted back and forth, unsure how to answer. I probably look a lot like her now.

After our eyes met, she immediately lowered her head and tightly closed her mouth as if pouting.

Then I should be the one to answer this question.

As I searched for the most correct, appropriate, and accurate answer, I slowly opened my mouth.

I made meaningless sounds like "Ah—" and "Uh—" one after another. Finally, I managed to squeeze out a sentence, but it was so soft that even I felt pathetic.

"It should... be okay, right?"

"No, why are you asking me?"

I spent so much time on this, yet my final answer lacked any real confidence, which made Yang Nai give a speechless and confused smile. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

The conversation ended abruptly, punctuated only by sighs of laughter. At that moment, Yukinoshita's mother, who had been drinking and observing from the sidelines, smiled gracefully and said:

"Yono, asking such a question is really tactless, isn't it?"

"yes……"

I nodded with a sigh and a smile, responding in a barely audible muffled voice. Yukinoshita also looked troubled and smiled at her mother.

"Alright. It's about time for dessert."

Yang shrugged, downed the drink in his glass, and then greeted the waiter.

The last dish of the set meal was served: a fruit syrup ice cream platter made with seasonal fruits. Although I felt like I was about to eat no more, the cool fruit syrup ice cream was just what I needed to cool down my burning cheeks, so I scooped a spoonful and put it in my mouth.

"Ah, delicious."

"Right? Everything here is delicious, but this fruit sorbet ice cream is especially good. It's so good that you'd want to skip the set meal and order it separately."

In response to my unintentional, candid remarks, Haruno said while waving a spoon.

"Really? How much does the fruit syrup ice cream cost? Or rather, how many tens of thousands of yuan does this meal cost? I'm so sorry, I didn't bring that much money with me to thank you for your hospitality today."

"You're thanking me way too early... we haven't even finished eating yet. Besides, at least pretend to take out your wallet."

After Yukino said this with a shocked expression, Yukinoshita chuckled softly. Yukinoshita's mother also sighed speechlessly, but her eyes were exceptionally gentle.

"You don't need to worry about these things. How about we finish with some black tea or coffee?"

"Excuse me, then I won't stand on ceremony. Ah, I'd like some coffee."

"I'd like black tea."

We chatted while eating fruit syrup ice cream, and soon the aroma of black tea filled the entire table, bringing the meal to a harmonious end.

Time flows quietly and peacefully.

"It's almost time..."

At Yukinoshita's mother's words, we stood up from our seats.

As I left, I looked back at the dining table. The plates and cutlery had been removed, and candlelight illuminated the four teacups.

However, only one plate remained.

The fruit ice cream she hadn't tried on the seat next to her melted away with her sigh.

DB Bonus: High School Grade 3 New Chapter 2 Interlude

I didn't turn on the light in my room and just lay down on the bed. I knew my school uniform would get wrinkled, but I wasn't in the mood to change it.

Just to let out a big sigh.

That's why I took off my bow tie.

I held it tightly in my hand and realized that the texture was somewhat similar to his tie, which made me feel very embarrassed.

It’s over.

Messed up.

Got it wrong.

“Ahh…”

I never imagined I would make such a pathetic sound. Even though I knew my family couldn't hear me, I still buried my face in the pillow.

Would shouting it out make me feel better? So I tried swinging my legs and burying my face in the pillow and shouting a few times, but the feeling of frustration stuck in my heart showed no signs of dissipating.

Therefore, I kept repeating the same few sentences that had been lingering in my mind.

It’s over.

Messed up.

Got it wrong.

I've failed many times and made many mistakes, but today's incident is the most outrageous.

I got everything wrong, most importantly, I got the concept of distance wrong, both physically and mentally.

In the club activity room, I'm okay; I'm confident I can keep things in line. But on the monorail, it's a different story, and in a coffee shop, it's even worse.

The more I recall today's events, the clearer the fact becomes that I was quite a handful.

Although I've felt self-loathing several times before, this is the first time I've felt this ashamed. Just thinking about what happened today makes my face burn.

Then she couldn't help but let out a soft cry and covered her forehead with her hand.

"I got too excited..."

I looked up at the pitch-black ceiling, and those words just slipped out of my mouth without me even realizing it.

Only by putting it into words and giving it shape will it eventually become a fact.

This is me, this is who I am.

When asked what happened, he couldn't answer a single word.

Even though she was the one who gave him the answer, she felt disappointed because she didn't hear the answer she wanted.

After that, he couldn't even speak, he just kept smiling awkwardly.

Ultimately, I'm afraid to put it into words, afraid to turn it into reality.

Summarizing it in one sentence is not difficult. Anyone can name this relationship.

But I'm really afraid to do these things.

There's a fear of applying flawless, complete truth to flawed statements, thus overlooking the emotions that flow from them. Because once neglected, once a mistake is made and things fail, they can never be undone.

I think that's why we haven't resorted to words.

We've come this far without any verbal confirmation.

He would definitely say that it's completely unnecessary.

I also think it's completely unnecessary.

but.