My daily life in love is too contrary to my character.

There will be 107 knocks before midnight, and the 108th knock will be after midnight.

Because it's a small village, many people know each other. Against this backdrop, everyone greeted each other with laughter and shared blessings.

Hideya Shiraishi also knows many people, but because the aura and beauty of the other three girls are too intimidating, most of them will go about their own business after greeting him and will not stay.

"That boy is Tatsuya Takahashi, the 'Huh? Um.' weirdo I told you about before. He's obviously very vengeful; he had a cold face when he greeted me just now."

As they lined up to enter the temple, Shiraishi Zexiu told them amusing stories.

The line moved forward in an orderly fashion, and soon it was their turn.

The abbot at the entrance was a middle-aged monk, but he gave off a kind and gentle, old-fashioned feeling.

The paper money and incense offerings are all placed directly on the table, with no price tag, and can be taken for free.

Because there were other people queuing behind them, the four of them each took a set of incense and a fortune slip and then went into the temple.

Before opening the fortune slip, Chiyo prayed earnestly, and the other two girls followed suit.

Only the demigods opened the divination slips without hesitation.

A minor stroke of luck.

...Isn't this inappropriate?

In today's world, where 'inauspicious' fortune slips are almost impossible to find, this is arguably the worst fortune slip ever.

Shiraishi Sawa closed the fortune slip, pretending he hadn't seen it, and made the same praying gesture as the girls.

Both Chiyo and Soga Kirei are auspicious, Takanashi Yuuko is very auspicious, and after reopening, Shiraishi Sawa Hide is still only slightly auspicious.

"Ahem, I don't believe in this." Feeling their scrutiny, Shiraishi Sawah awkwardly closed the fortune slip again and said.

Without looking at the details, he went straight to the place where tourists could tie their fortune slips and tied his own slip there. "Given how often I play games like PUBG, my life is bound to be very auspicious. What 'minor auspiciousness'? I'm not familiar with that."

There was a long queue of fortune tellers, but the group didn't plan to go over.

"What kind of poems did you draw? I'll interpret them for you; I've studied this before," Shiraishi Zexiu said, making up a story.

[A withered tree blossoms anew in spring, fragrant flowers bloom anew in the forest. The moon is seen through the clouds, and a noble person is encountered before.] One enters a thousand generations, reciting their own fortune-telling poem.

“You can trust this. We all know who this ‘benefactor’ and ‘spring’ refer to.” Shiraishi Zexiu straightened his chest.

“This is the fortune for next year,” Chiyo said with a smile, then deliberately sighed. “It seems I won’t meet my destined person until next year.”

"That makes some sense. Let's get to know each other again in ten minutes. President and Takanashi, where are your fortune slips?"

“Look, this phrase, ‘The old monk leads the auspicious road,’ must refer to me. And the president’s phrase, ‘Osmanthus blossoms and spring are coming, and noble people will be with us,’ sigh, I will take on both ‘noble people’ and ‘spring’ without hesitation.”

After interpreting all the fortune slips according to his own understanding, Shiraishi Sawah reluctantly agreed to believe in Buddhism.

Of course, they didn't argue. After listening, they tied their own fortune slips to the side of Shiraishi Sawa's fortune slip.

"Oh, by the way, you can't enjoy fireworks in Tokyo during New Year's Eve, but you can here in Hōda Village," Shiraishi Sawa said, pointing to the distant coastline with a boastful air.

Through the stained-glass windows on the wall, you can see the distant coastline, where the waves never seem to tire, crashing against the sandy shore and carrying away and melting countless snowflakes.

There weren't many people at the beach yet, and several areas were cordoned off. However, there was a high platform and many vendors scattered around it, their lights from their carts creating a beautiful pattern on the beach.

Every ten meters or so, there is a huge bonfire, and you can see the flames shooting into the sky from afar.

"We'll go over there to watch the sunrise later. After renting a few windbreaks, it won't be too cold."

"Boom~"

The bustling sounds gradually subsided, the world seemed to stand still, and everyone fell silent, listening quietly to the chimes.

Shiraishi Sawa looked at his watch; it was 11:59.

Tick-tock, the world starts turning again.

"Happy New Year!" Amidst the loud blessings from those around him, Shiraishi Sawah subconsciously took a few steps toward the girls before saying to them, "Let's get to know each other again. I'm your benefactor!"

This is their New Year's blessing.

"Happy New Year!" they replied with a smile.

Everyone's phones were ringing incessantly, but neither he nor they seemed inclined to move.

As the bell rang for the 108th time, he and the others instinctively moved closer to each other, feeling each other's presence and dreaming of a bright future.

We must stay together in the new year.

Chapter 284 Sunrise at the Seaside

"Let's go, let's go to worship. There will be a lot of people later, and it will be a waste to keep queuing." As the last bell rang, Shiraishi Zexiu led them toward the worship hall.

Hatsumode is a New Year's custom for people in island nations, who all hope to receive blessings in the new year.

However, many people still think the earlier the better, and some even started waiting here just a few minutes ago last year, so there is still a queue.

“Now is the right time to reply to my messages.” After reaching the end of the line, Shiraishi Sawa took out his phone.

The four people simultaneously took out their phones and began replying to messages one by one.

Not many people sent New Year's greetings to Shiraishizawa; most of them were group messages from classmates, and only the three people in the back row and a few people familiar with the student council sent them privately.

After replying to each message, Shiraishi Sawah put down his phone and sent New Year's greetings to elders such as Grandma Ueno.

Soga Kirei and Takanashi Yuuko were still replying, while Ichiyo was on the phone.

"Okay, okay, I'll go back tomorrow. Okay, I misspoke, it was today..." The impatient tone and expression on the other end of the phone must have been from Yumi Ichiru.

Seeing everyone so busy, while no one is replying to my messages anymore, it turns out I'm the least popular one!?

"Alas, I have very few friends," Shiraishi Sawah sighed.

"Hello, is this Sakura?" Takanashi Yuuko answered a phone call and spoke into the phone.

Chiyo put away her phone and asked, "Takanashi, if it's not too much trouble, could you put it on speakerphone? I'd like to talk to Sakura too."

After obtaining Sakuragi Kuramochi's consent, Yuuko Takanashi turned on speakerphone.

“Kuramochi-san, Happy New Year! I just said it on Line, but it’s more appropriate to say it in person,” Shiraishi Sawa immediately said.

"As expected, it's all your fault that Yuko didn't reply to me immediately when you were around!"

"I was wrong, but I'll do it again next time."

"Hey? Where's the bad woman? Is she here?"

"Dear Winter Melon Sauce, I'm here! How was your New Year's Eve party without me around?"

"How dare you say that? You didn't even tell me you were coming over, and you took me with you!" Kuramochi Sakura's voice was extremely angry, clearly indicating that she hadn't had a pleasant evening.

"I'll definitely do it next time."

"Your good days are coming to an end. Mother and sister are discussing setting up a project just for us to test the waters. Didn't you always refuse to take over family affairs? Have you changed your mind now?"

"...I suppose so." With a long sigh, Shiraishi Sawah felt her resentful gaze.

At the end of the world—you are the scapegoat.

"This is so boring. Next year, you bad woman... never mind, just go there as a member of Yuko's family. You don't need to stay here. You've missed your chance, you bad woman."

"whispering sound."

"Yuuko, Yuuko, I've prepared your New Year's gift. I'll give you a New Year's surprise in a few days..."

It turned into a chat between Kuramochi Sakura and Takanashi Yuuko.

--

The line moved forward slowly, and because they arrived early, it wasn't long before it was the turn of the four people.

There were no prayer cushions, and to reduce queuing time, only simple worship was offered today. Shiraishi Sawa took out four specially prepared 1,000 yen bills from his pocket and distributed them to four people as offerings.

What should one wish for? When he bowed for the first time, Shiraishi Sawa looked at the clean ground, the texture of the gravel clearly visible, and after thinking for a long time, he found that he had no wish at all.

If that's the case, then I hope my journey as a scumbag goes smoothly.

Having completed their pilgrimage, the four returned to the entrance of the main courthouse via the same route, and then went to the restroom—because there were no restrooms by the sea.

Because of his unique physique, Shiraishi Sawah came out of the restroom earlier than usual, while the girls' line had already stretched outside the restroom.

Leaning idly against the wall, Shiraishi Zexiu looked around. The hanging red lanterns cast a red glow over the temple, and the night breeze gently blew, making the lantern shadows flicker.

Beside the fortune-telling stand, several women tied their fortune slips to the stand and then bowed devoutly a few times—it was unclear whether the fortunes were good or bad.

Suddenly feeling a bit concerned about his own Sueko-kichi, Shiraishi Sawah strode forward.

As he stood still and began searching for the tag he had just tied, he heard the sound of a girl's heart breaking beside him—perhaps she thought he was asking for their contact information.

[Uprightness leads to enlightenment, while wickedness may bring transgression. A pot holds wondrous medicine, but its simmering will soon be tiring.] This is a fortune-telling poem; lacking the keywords 'noble person' and 'spring,' it is incomprehensible to Shiraishi Zexiu.

[Wish: It's difficult, but I hope it can be achieved.]

[The one I'm hoping for: Though it's difficult, I hope we can be together.]

【disease:......】

.......

Isn't this a true reflection of himself? Other omens like illness, moving, and lost items are all bad, but what does it matter? Shiraishi Sawa doesn't care. With a system, why would he be afraid of this?

What do you mean by "minor good fortune"? Just the keywords "achieve" and "together" alone are absolutely auspicious!

I, Shiraishi Zexiu, have always been a staunch Buddhist! Amitabha! Well done, well done.

When the three girls came out, they saw Shiraishi Sawashu take all the money out of his pocket and throw it into the donation box.

--

"If you arrive early, you can get a good spot in front of the campfire."

There weren't many people at the beach at this moment. The soft sand was covered with an even softer layer of snow. When you stepped on it, it made a relaxing rustling sound and left a footprint.

Under the moonlight, the sea breeze blew, and the rippling sea shimmered with a cool, eerie light; everything carried a slight chill.

A small yacht, seemingly celebrating the New Year, sails on the vast, boundless sea, its stern spray resembling a long white dress, quite elegant.

After receiving a free blanket provided by the town, Shiraishizawa Hide spread it out in a spot by the campfire.

The campfire illuminated the silhouettes of the four people, and a feeling of warmth slowly arose with the crackling sound, making one want to reach out their hand to the fire.

"It's a bit cold. Why don't you stay home first and then come to watch the sunrise at 10 o'clock?" Chiyo asked.