I, who advocate giving up, feel like a disqualified person

Luckily, this road is rarely used, and even if they do, it's usually downhill, so they wouldn't bother to notice my slightly ridiculous posture. It's easy to judge things you don't understand, but if you were in that situation, you might not be able to do them. It's normal for seemingly simple things to be much harder when you do them yourself. Back when I pestered my dad to help in the kitchen, chopping vegetables seemed easy enough, but after injuring my hand, I never touched a knife again. It's not because I'm lazy, really.

Come to think of it, the wound on my hand has already scabbed over, and it looks like it won't be long before it's completely healed...although it may leave a scar.

Well, it’s summer after all. Wounds heal much faster than in winter. However, relatively speaking, wounds in summer are also very easy to get infected.

"......"

"squeak----"

The only thing that accompanied me on my journey was the boring chirping of cicadas.

It's usually fine if you don't pay much attention, but once you regain your composure, you'll be greeted by this constant buzzing. Speaking of summer, besides the scorching heat and unpredictable thunderstorms, the chirping of cicadas is a prominent hallmark... though it's not particularly pleasant. Compared to fellow chirping insects like crickets and katydids, cicadas sound more like screaming at the top of their lungs, a behavior that would be quite annoying even to humans.

It would have been nice to have my phone and headphones. That way I could at least let my ears immerse in the music for a while, leaving only my eyes to see the road.

"..."

How long is this road?

I touched the tip of my nose with my free hand and could feel the sweat already forming. Then, I looked at the road ahead, but after a quick glance, I realized I was only about halfway there. However, none of this bothered me too much, because as I was estimating the distance, I suddenly realized I wasn't the only one walking this distance.

About two hundred meters ahead of me, I could see the back of a girl wearing a dark blue miniskirt and white school socks. She looked like she was heading home from some summer cram school. The reason I could only get information about her lower body wasn't because I was only interested in her legs... While the curves of her legs were certainly perfect, the fact was that the parasol she was holding seemed to be draped over her shoulders, and the umbrella was rather large, so I couldn't immediately tell what she was wearing from the top... Otherwise, at least I could have made out the style of her school uniform.

“…”

For some reason, I quickened my pace slightly. The girl's silhouette gradually widened in my view. She seemed to have changed the way she held her umbrella, finally raising it properly. Then, she seemed to place something in her shirt pocket, a cell phone, perhaps... So, she was holding the umbrella that way to free up her hands for her phone, most likely texting or sending a message.

However, I still couldn't see her clothes clearly from behind, because then I noticed that she had long black hair.

“Oh…”

I have an inexplicable fondness for girls with long hair. If I think about it, it's probably because I feel like growing long hair takes a lot of willpower, and combing that long hair is also quite a hassle.

"......"

With my efforts, for reasons unknown, the distance between her and me shortened again. She seemed to have noticed someone behind her, so she turned around and glanced at me, but due to the shadow cast by the parasol, I couldn't see her face clearly.

"—"

She stopped immediately after seeing me, as if she was waiting for me.

...Speaking of which, normally anyone who follows a girl like this would be considered a pervert... But we were just going the same way. So, it seems she wanted me to walk ahead of her just to be safe, or maybe to ask for directions or something...

In short, it is better not to let girls wait for so long.

So I hung the book in my hand on the handlebars of the bike, ignored the glaring sunlight, pushed the bike and quickened my pace again.

"...ah."

After seeing the girl's face clearly, I felt unexpected.

"Good afternoon~"

Ye Hui in front of me was greeting me.

. . . . . . . . . . .

After I realized that the person in front of me was Ye Hui, I understood why there are still girls dressed like this... After all, she just likes this style of clothing.

However, the encounter was so sudden that he had no psychological preparation at all. The words he had wanted to tell her seemed to have evaporated along with the sweat, and his mind was almost blank.

"Um...why are you here?"

No wonder she wasn't home when I went to look for her. It turned out she had gone out for something...

"Eh? You didn't bring your phone?" She looked a little surprised. "I should have texted you."

"...I just happened to forget it...What's going on?" It was then that I remembered the real reason I came out, which was to tell her about the deadline. "Oh, right, now's not the time to be wandering around. I just noticed something."

"Hmm? Although I do look a bit idle right now, I'm not just wandering around."

"That's not that important..." I was quite surprised by Ye Hui's reaction. "Anyway, if the comics haven't been finished yet, then you have to hurry up... because the end date is just a few days away, and this kind of manuscript must be sent by email, which will definitely take a lot of time, so..."

"Oh, so that's what you're worried about."

She didn't seem nervous about what I said, and she even smiled comfortably.

"It seems that you, Sheji, are also very concerned about this entry."

....What are you talking about.

"Of course I care, that's for sure. It was you who proposed it, and it was something I promised. How could I not care?"

But even though I should have paid attention to something, I temporarily forgot about it because of other things. These contradictory words must be ridiculous, and they also sound like perfunctory words...

"...Although a lot of things have been delayed due to certain things, I still want this work to achieve a certain level of ranking as I promised before. Having said that, looking back, I haven't achieved anything, and even if I wanted to help, I couldn't do it."

"..."

"I don't want your hard work to go to waste because of me, Yehui... Yes, I don't really know how to draw comics, but I would feel bad if you were the only one working on it. And if you were to shoulder such a heavy workload all by yourself... You would definitely have to stay up late and put in a lot of effort... And for some reason, you still refused my help..."

"Eh?... Um, about that..."

She seemed to want to explain something, but if it was what she said now, it must be just to perfunctorily appease me. To me...that kind of words are not important at all.

"I'm worried..."

"Eh?"

"There are many things I'm worried about. After that, I felt that you hated me because of me... Although you didn't show it, I knew it, because Ye Hui, you are very gentle and would never say anything that could hurt others, even to someone like me..."

"After that, I actually wanted to feel lucky that I didn't have to maintain complicated interpersonal relationships. Because I've always been like this, so it should be no problem to return to the past, right? But I found that I couldn't do this at all. I don't know why, every time I want to have such thoughts, people who are close to me will appear in front of me. Even if it's just a simple conversation, I can't help but think, "It's not bad to continue like this"... Then I can't accept being hated by any of you... How should I put it... Even though it's just a seemingly unreasonable request, at least let me help, even if it's to alleviate my guilt, I want to help you, Ye Hui. So... just a little help, please let me help!"

"..."

She stared at me blankly, as if she couldn't react for a moment. Then, she opened the umbrella in her hand and covered my head.

"I have no reason to hate you."

"..."

"I'm so glad you said that. Ah, it's not just a perfunctory feeling of happiness, but I'm genuinely, truly happy... Because no one has ever said this to me before. To be honest, I was kind of shocked, and my heart was beating really hard..."

"...Sorry to scare you..."

Huh? Why did I blurt out this sentence?

"Hey?! No, I wasn't really scared... I don't know what happened..." She looked a little embarrassed. "Anyway... Anyway, I can understand your desire to help Sheji. And I didn't hate you for coming to help me at the time. It's just that some things... weren't handled very well, and I had to force myself not to be distracted... So I may have inadvertently felt a little... But it's definitely not because I hate you or anything. I promise, with... Hey, what should I promise with? How are your grades? Will this show my sincerity?"

"......"

It was so...

"No need to promise anything, I believe it."

I feel much better.

"That's good... And I was really touched when you said you wanted to cherish the people around you, Sheji. After all, you've never really revealed your true feelings to others... So I feel very lucky that you were able to tell me so much from your heart this time~"

"...It's not like that...lucky or anything..." I felt a little embarrassed. "Well, if that's the case, let me go to your house and help you right away."

"Hmm? What can I help you with?"

"What kind of help... Of course it's the comics. If it's not finished yet, I have to hurry up..."

"About this... Although I know you really want to help, Sheji, I'm afraid I can't do what you wish this time."

"...What? What happened?"

"...It's not that serious. I just mailed it as requested." She explained to me with a smile, "That's why I'm walking on this road now. I just went to the post office."

"Ah? Is it finished..." He clearly wanted to help.

"After all, the end is almost here, so I'd better send it out as soon as possible. And I clearly sent you a message, but it seems that you didn't receive it..."

"Well, I don't usually look at my phone during the holidays..."

I couldn't help but sigh. It was a mixture of relief and regret for not catching up.

"Really... I wanted to help, but in the end I let you do it all by yourself..."

“I’m not alone.”

"What? Not alone? Did anyone help you? If that's the case, why didn't you come to me..." I suddenly felt my tears about to fall.

"Hahaha, it's not what you think~" Ye Hui couldn't help but laugh when he saw me like this, "Actually, I'm still alone."

“…”

"However, when I thought about the fact that this was a story you wrote, I felt that since this work is full of your hopes, there is no reason for me to slack off and reduce the quality of the pictures.

You said it too, didn't you? This is condensed from your thoughts and ideas... So when I'm thinking about the storyboards and whether to change any lines, I can't help but think of you... "What would the government do if this was the land?" and so on... Thinking like this, it seems that I don't feel like I'm alone anymore."

"......"

She is indeed a gentle person.

No matter what, this is the only thing that remains unwavering in my heart. How should I put it... I'm truly lucky to have met her, no matter when.

Misjudgment

I have let others down more than once.

But it wasn't that I wanted to see others struggling to support me for fun, it was simply because I wasn't capable enough. I'd long known that I was just an ordinary person, no... maybe there were some areas where I couldn't even reach the level of an ordinary person.

Even so, I still have some hope, thinking that I just haven't discovered my talents, and then I promise others things that I find difficult to do.

Because of his own misjudgment of himself, coupled with his inherent lack of ability, he was bound to disappoint those who trusted him. This was how the disparity arose.

Expectations are at a high level, but what I can do is always beyond my reach. This is eroding the little trust I have with others, and it is really hard to forgive.

Even so, someone like me shamelessly hopes not to be disliked by those around me. It's truly too greedy... Why should I accept favors from others when I haven't given anything to them?

"Ah...really...this is outrageous."

Chapter 33: Wrong Judgment

Although there are still many things that are not understood.

"Well, stop frowning. You should be happy now." Ye Hui raised his voice and spoke to me who was in a daze.

But as long as I have this sentence "I won't hate you", I feel a sense of peace in my heart. At this stage, this is probably enough...

"Since you said so, Yehui, I'll try to be happy."

Looking at her cheerful smile, I no longer have any reason to be depressed in front of her.

I'm not sure if I smiled after saying this, but judging from Ye Hui's reaction, I should have been smiling.

"Come to think of it, you don't have to hold an umbrella for me...it's okay for a guy to be exposed to the sun for a bit." I said, glancing at the parasol above my head. "Besides, it will be a little inconvenient to walk later, since I'm pushing a bike."

Actually, I'm still a little... shy about this kind of situation where we're holding two umbrellas together. And because Ye Hui wants to keep me covered by the umbrella, he's now quite close to me. If I take another step forward, our bodies will probably touch.

"Are you sure it's okay?"

Her eyes seemed to fall on my forehead.

"But your forehead is covered in sweat..."

"...Well, sweating in the summer is nothing." I declined. "Besides, out of courtesy, I can't bother you to hold an umbrella for me."

"Okay then..." She had no choice but to listen to my advice and move the umbrella away from my head, and we were finally able to embark on our journey home.

"Speaking of Sheji, this seems to be the first time I've seen you riding a bike." Ye Hui's eyes suddenly fell on the racing car I was pushing. "I don't think I've seen you use it before."

"...Well, there are various reasons..."

The car was 100% going to fall over, and I was helpless. Because of this, my right brake was not very effective.

"...There's a back seat."

Ye Hui suddenly realized this.

"Ah... My dad insisted on installing it for me. He also took Ye Jin to school before."

"So you can lead people..."

“…This should be easy…” Although it requires some skills, it is a simple matter as long as you can ride a bike.

"...It's a pity it's uphill." Ye Hui looked at the road ahead and couldn't help but sigh... It felt like she... seemed to have a feeling of regret? Wait, no way...

"...Um, Yehui..." I felt it necessary to confirm.

"Huh? What?" She turned around after hearing my call.

"Do you want me to take you?"