My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As Expected

Page 796

I glared at Ye Shan through the fingers covering my face.

I thought my gaze was fierce enough to kill him, but Ye Shan remained unfazed, a cheerful smile playing on his lips. Only his eyes were dull and lifeless.

"It's just revenge. It's meaningless."

"What?"

This time, my tone was definitely angry. If I were from the Showa era, I might have just punched him. However, as a modern kid, I'm not good at communicating with people physically. Nor am I good at communicating with people verbally. Not just bad, I'm terribly bad at it.

Perhaps it's because my communication skills are so poor, but I couldn't understand what Hayama was trying to say at all.

Hayama took a sip of coffee, sighed, and said:

"Her eyes light up the moment she sees you, and she smiles like crazy. You two even went shopping together happily. Of course, I had to say a few sarcastic things to you."

"Huh...uh, what are you talking about?"

"A man's jealousy is ugly."

Why? His voice was gentle, his tone calm, and his manner steady, yet it felt icy cold to me. The sentence was primarily self-deprecating, but it made me feel like he was subtly mocking me.

"Don't you have anything else to say?"

"Ah...no, it's just that I'm thinking about how to deal with that rumor."

I managed to squeeze out a sentence. Ye Shan nodded and listened, and I burst out laughing as soon as I finished speaking.

That's enough.

He asserted as if to end the topic, rising from the bench.

"...It's not really a problem. It's been like this before."

Ye Shan looked down at me, and perhaps because of the backlighting, his expression carried a faint sadness.

"Thank you for the coffee."

He gently shook the tin can, stood up, and walked away. It seems this gesture signified goodbye.

I watched Yeshan disappear into the night, and a while later...

I couldn't muster the energy to stand up, so I sat on the bench, staring blankly at the sky.

It's not really a problem. That's certainly true.

That rumor is ultimately temporary. Valentine's Day is approaching, and the characters involved are high-profile and diverse, making it easier to create a buzz and providing a topic for casual conversation—nothing more. Confessions are purely personal acts. Therefore, it's not a serious issue.

That is to say, this is.

—My personal problem.

× × ×

After Hayama left, I stood outside in the cold for a while.

I finally had the urge to get some exercise, but my legs wouldn't cooperate, and it took me twice as long as usual to get back.

When I got home, I was completely frozen.

Stepping into the living room, a wave of fatigue washed over me instantly. No, I'm always this tired, aren't I? It's just that I haven't had the energy to notice it before.

I'm so tired today...

I threw my backpack on the floor, staggered to the sofa, and collapsed onto it. I didn't even have the strength to take off my coat and scarf.

Thanks to the heating, my frozen limbs gradually began to regain feeling, but my heart remained cold.

So, Komachi, who was curled up in the kotatsu reading, just stared at me blankly, and I didn't react at all.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

"oh……"

I responded with a sound, but I didn't have the strength to do anything more. Lying here staring blankly at the ceiling, my pathetic state must resemble that of a dying cicada.

"The bathwater is ready!"

"oh."

Want to take a bath? Yes, a bath. Bathing is wonderful. Soaking in the tub, most things can be forgotten. Then, the moment you get out of the tub, bad memories come back. But at least the moment you're soaking in is blissful. Should I take a bath...? My mind is thinking this, but my body is too tired to move.

Just then, a dark shadow appeared between me and the ceiling. I turned my eyes to look, and Komachi observed my expression with concern.

"……How are you?"

She touched my forehead as she spoke, probably thinking I had a fever. But you can't tell if someone has a fever just by touching them. My forehead was as cold as ice from the winter night wind.

Komachi's hands were warm. Probably because she had been in the warm kotatsu (heated table) just a moment ago.

The warmth from her palms slowly helped me relax my tense body. Thanks to her, I finally regained my ability to speak.

"Oh, I'm fine... I'm just a little tired..."

"Oh, shall we go in at the kotatsu?"

Komachi took my hand and helped me up. She even took off my scarf and coat. Receiving such meticulous care from my younger sister, I didn't know whether to be grateful or feel useless…

"Sorry, thanks..."

"Hmm, it's okay."

I took Komachi's hand and we crawled into the kotatsu. My frozen emotions slowly melted, and a corner of them turned into words that came out of my mouth.

"...Komachi, I might not make it."

Why bring this up all of a sudden...?

"In my life, I have left many shameful footprints, but I have never felt as ashamed of myself as I do today. My cowardly pride is mixed with my arrogant shame... I feel like I am utterly pathetic."

The wording in the first and second halves of the sentence is so different...

Ignoring Komachi's strange sentiments, her emotions began to peel away piece by piece. Because she had only ever covered it up with a meager amount of self-esteem, the rate of deterioration was alarmingly fast.

Perhaps now is the perfect time to read a deluxe set of books for adolescence, like "No Longer Human" and "The Moon Over the Mountain." You'll likely find yourself deeply resonating with their experiences.

Hiratsuka-sensei gently guided me, and Isshiki gave me a push, yet I ended up in this state. And then Hayama Hayato saw right through the ugliest part of my heart, forcing me to realize just how shallow I am.

As a human being, as a man, there is nothing more shameful than this.

If I can't even face my own modesty, what do I have left?

Without realizing it, I hunched my back and slumped my shoulders. A sigh escaped my lips without my consent.

"elder brother……"

Komachi's worried voice made me look up.

She gave me a gentle and beautiful smile, as if to comfort me.

"You're not as handsome as you think?"

"Wait a minute. Uh, right, that's correct..."

I know! I know! But saying something like that at this time would upset any normal person, right? I looked at her sullenly, and Komachi added:

"Ah, Komachi wasn't saying that her brother is ugly. After all, it's not just about his appearance."

"I wasn't talking about looks..."

Don't hit my face, hit my body instead. I subtly put discussing appearances as a no-go, and Komachi nodded, hitting the nail on the head.

"What's ugly about you, brother, is your personality, or rather, your character. Most of the things you do are disgusting."

"You've made me sound completely worthless..."

Aggressive personality disorder should really be banned. Okay, it's really lame and disgusting for a brother to complain to his sister and expect her to comfort him, but there's nothing I can do about being called that. The brother is hopeless… I sank into even deeper self-loathing, Komachi cleared her throat.

"But there are also things that only someone like my brother can do... so..."

As she spoke, she reached out from under the kotatsu table, pulled her schoolbag over, took something out, and handed it to me.

"Here you go! Prezentford!"

She clapped and cheered happily, saying in her terrible English pronunciation. What Komachi gave me was a bag of cookies wrapped in cellophane.

Besides stars and hearts, there are also sugar cookies shaped like bears, cats, and pandas. They're not all perfect, some are broken, some have chips, and the shapes are uneven, but each cookie is unique, and just looking at them brightens your mood. Only the checkered pattern cookies are particularly well-made.

"Could this be...?"

I observed carefully, and Komachi raised her index finger, announcing the correct answer.

"That's right! They're handmade cookies!"

"Whoa whoa!"

My adorable little sister made these cookies, they're so wonderful... I was trembling with emotion, but Komachi casually added:

"It wasn't Komachi who did it."

"Ew... What is that? How scary! Who did that... How scary!"

The stranger's homemade cookies are terrifying... One second I thought they were the perfect gift, and now they've become a top-grade cursed item.

"Sister Saki and Jinghua. They said it was a return gift from last time. Didn't Brother hear Dazhi confide his troubles to you before?"

"what……"

Her words reminded me. Kawasaki Taishi, the younger brother of one of Kawasaki's classmates, used the excuse of needing to ask me something to come to our house… I had offered some similar advice at the time, and I never expected them to go out of their way to return the favor. While Kawasaki and I do see each other at school, it's not always convenient for them to give it to me personally. Having Taishi and Komachi deliver it was a wise choice. But I suspect she was probably just embarrassed and avoiding any interaction with me!

I looked at them again; the neatly patterned checkered cookies seemed particularly well-made, so I guessed they were made by Kawasaki. The cookies with animal designs drawn with icing were probably made by Jinghua.

My adorable little sister made these cookies, they're so delicious... Jingjing must have worked really hard... I'm so happy...

I was deeply moved, and Komachi nodded with similar sentiments.

"The advice my brother gave me seems to have inspired Dazhi a lot. Only my brother could do that."

Her praise made me a little shy, and I couldn't help but become modest.

"Oh dear, I didn't offer any useful advice either..."

"Not surprising."

"Not surprising?"

Hmm~ Why did you say that~ While I was twisting and turning, Komachi said something even more intriguing.

"Your brother is both lame and embarrassing, but you can be quite hardworking at times. That's why you're so convincing, right? Just my guess."

"Whoa whoa……"

"Those who care about you will see it."

These words sounded like earnest advice, and Komachi raised the corners of her mouth, looking at the handmade cookies with a touch of pride. It was as if they were telling her that this bag of cookies was proof and a medal she had earned through her incredibly awful efforts.

"I see. That makes sense..."

In some ways, this might also be a principle of reciprocity.

When humans receive something from others, they feel obligated to reciprocate. This applies not only to material things, but also to feelings and actions.

In that case, I should reciprocate the sentiments I have received.

I made up my mind and climbed out of the kotatsu.

"Okay, I'm going to take a shower."

"Okay—"

Komachi waved goodbye, watched me leave, and then continued to bury herself in her books.

She truly deserves to be called the world's best girl.

Thanks to her, I feel I've regained the self-restraint I almost lost. I'll spend my whole life repaying Komachi's immense kindness...

Besides her, there are others to whom she must repay.

End 2 Yui's story 8 The stage is ready, the opening horn sounds.

First and second graders, boys and girls, gathered at the starting line of the marathon—the seaside park. The boys' route was to run along the seaside path from here, turning back at the Mihama Bridge.

The journey was very long, extremely long. Little Hachiman, who's terrible at math, couldn't even do the equation where the sum is greater than three!

But for me personally, no matter how many kilometers away the distance is, what I need to do will not change.

After the teacher announced the formation of the line, everyone slowly lined up behind the white line at the starting point.

I darted in and out like a hagfish, blending into the crowd at the front. To my surprise, everyone made way for me so readily.