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

"...Well, how should I put it?" Jiumuting seemed to be trying hard to find the right words. The so-called right words tended to be positive. "Today really opened my eyes... Sheji-kun is so talented..."

"Please don't mention that anymore, it's all in the past." I waved my hand to stop Jiumuting who took the initiative to talk to me.

"But it's only been less than five minutes."

"Even if it's only a second in the past, it's in the past." I couldn't help but sigh, "From now on, I won't stand in front of the public and perform for a third time."

"Eh? Does that mean that was the second time? Then when was the first time?"

"Some things are better not to know so clearly." I made a serious expression.

"...It's actually pretty good."

"It's just because it makes sense that I don't want to show it. Can you try to understand my feelings for a bit?"

"Well... okay." From her eyes, I could tell she didn't understand what I meant. But as long as she didn't bring up what happened just now, it would be fine. From that point of view, she was quite well-behaved and never seemed to get angry.

"By the way, I think there's something I haven't told you."

"Really? What's going on?"

"...So, the author you can't contact is actually me."

"Um?"

Perhaps because I didn't explain it clearly, she began to look at me with confusion.

"Oh... maybe what I said was a little jumpy. I already knew from Li Qinya that you were her illustrator. And you're also in charge of the illustrations for my novels now. I kept it a secret from you before, and I never thanked you in person."

"...Eh? Are you that Shaji? Actually, when I heard your name earlier, I thought you might be the same person. But then I thought, how many people would incorporate their own name into a pen name? So I gradually gave up the idea and never confirmed it with you."

"..."

Is this a complaint about my inability to come up with a name?

"I see... It seems this world is really small. Both authors are people around me... or something."

Her reaction seemed quite calm...which was good. If she suddenly got angry, I'd have a hard time dealing with her.

"Li Qinya didn't even tell you..."

"Xiaoya? She's on good terms with you, right? Anyway, wasn't she unaware of your identity before? Does that mean she's figured it out now?"

"I guess so... I wanted to keep it a secret from her."

"It's not a big deal. There's nothing to hide." She smiled, covering her mouth. "You writers are really strange."

"...Maybe I just want to communicate with her as an ordinary reader." However, now that she knows everything, nothing seems to have changed.

"Come to think of it, she mentioned before... that she wanted me to be her personal illustrator. I'm sure you'd find that quite amusing, Mr. Shaji, right?"

"...You don't have to call me teacher...just classmate." Otherwise it would sound strange. "Regarding this...I don't really care. Light novels don't rely solely on selling illustrations. Ah, I don't mean to belittle you."

"I know, I know~ Sheji-san... I'm already quite satisfied if you didn't mention those illustrations full of bonus shots, Sheji-san. Maybe I'll be able to get used to it in a few years... but at this age, it's still really hard to accept."

She touched her cheek sheepishly.

"...Haha, I'm a serious author after all."

"Yeah, so I'm very happy to work with an author like you."

"Oh, that's good."

Although I have thought about capturing the appeal of most readers of cool novels, it turns out that I am still not good at writing that kind of content.

"Keep working on your novels, Shaji-kun."

"Same here. I wish you further improvement in your painting skills."

"Mmmmm~"

I think I understand why Li Qinya likes her. Chatting with her is very comfortable, probably because of her personality. She doesn't like to argue with others and is very quiet, so when we chat, we can unconsciously talk about many things.

"You should also get along well with Li Qinya. She doesn't seem to have many friends. Please try to accompany her if you can."

This is probably the biggest assist I can make.

"Well, I see."

But judging by her expression...I probably still only see her as a same-sex friend. Anyway, there's still a long way to go.

Chapter 8: Abnormalities

"You're here so late? It's almost time to close the stall."

"Closing up the stall or something... Is this a teahouse?" I picked up the teacup and felt that the tea was actually quite warm. Was it better to keep it warm? Or did they know I was coming and boiled some water in advance?

"Isn't it shameful that you always come here for a cup of tea just before you go home?" Miss Rin seemed dissatisfied with my behavior. "It's almost like..."

"Just like a stray cat that comes to be fed regularly." Ye Hui continued what Lin Quanchuan said.

"Stray cat..."

This statement is still quite cute.

"He doesn't even deserve to be called a cat. Calling him a dog is giving him a compliment."

"..."

Although the original intention was not to belittle me, it was just that Miss Lin's intention was to belittle me.

"That's not the case...it just happens that Sheji is quite busy these days."

"That's right...it's like that when the cultural exhibition is approaching..."

Ye Hui is very understanding of others. This always touches me deeply.

"But I still have to help the class."

"..." This topic suddenly changed... "I know, just call me when the time comes..."

"I called you at noon today, but you didn't seem to hear me."

“.....Eh...Really?” Pretending not to know.

"For someone like you, your ears are just for show. If you don't need them, you can donate them to someone who needs them."

"Who did you learn this from?"

"None of your business," she said, sticking her tongue out at me. "People without value should be discarded without hesitation."

"This kind of villain-like lines really suits you..." I couldn't help but sigh.

"Oh, so I'm a villain in your eyes?"

"...No, no." It's just not that decent.

"Come with me after school to record the prices of the materials." Ye Hui suddenly invited me, as if to change the subject. "Compare a few more stores and see if you can buy everything with a small amount of class funds."

"Oh, I have no objection."

"Then I'll go with you." This time, Lin Quanchuan acted out of character. After all, she couldn't go home late because of the curfew at home.

"Eh? What about going home? Is everything okay?" "Yeah, didn't they say there's a curfew..."

"I don't care about that kind of thing anymore."

"...Is that so?" "Since Xiaolin said so..."

I couldn't help but look at Ye Hui.

"What's wrong? Is it strange? I can't be left out of everything, right?" She looked a little unhappy.

“....” “....”

It seems like she's really upset about not being able to participate in club activities with us. And the reason she doesn't have to go home so early... could it be that she's having a fight with her family?

"It really doesn't matter?"

I checked anyway just in case.

"Of course it's true... If you don't believe me, go now." She took out her phone, "There's even a special car to pick you up."

“...Um...” “Well, thank you for your help.”

"Well, that's good~"

This abnormal appearance...I have to say, it's quite worrying.

Strange words about her

For some reason, before the annual cultural exhibition, all sorts of strange requests began to appear. Hundreds of applications were submitted by individuals, clubs, and even classes. Some of the submissions seemed completely devoid of common sense, leaving the Student Council—or, more accurately, the Student Council President—in charge of approving them, feeling a sense of annoyance.

"...Can't these people think carefully about what they can and cannot do?"

Today, Rin Hanekawa also had to complain about the application content. However, she usually kept it to herself and only said it out loud when she was really annoyed.

As the student union responsible for the school's peace and security, there are indeed many things to deal with every day. She also doesn't like to delegate too many tasks to the people around her, because in her opinion, those people are on the same level of intelligence as those who applied for this.

"Then, President, we will leave first."

After putting the organized documents aside, Li Ling, a member of the group, said goodbye to Rin Hanekawa, who was still working. Xiao Xiaoxiao, who was following behind him, wanted to say something, but in the end, she chose to say goodbye.

"President, you should also take some rest."

"Yeah, don't worry about me..." Rin Hanekawa, who was casually dealing with it, suddenly realized that the pen in his hand had run out of ink, so he took this opportunity to stretch.

"Oh, by the way, bring me a dessert." He put down his pen and rubbed his slightly sore fingers. "In the current situation, I need to consume some sweets."

"...If you really can't finish it, just put it off until tomorrow."

That being said, Li Ling knew she wasn't like that. Today's tasks had to be completed today. So, he could only pull out the cake he'd bought yesterday from the refrigerator. This refrigerator, of course, was purchased and moved here by Rin Hanekawa himself... Considering the cabinets nearby that held tea sets and tableware, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the Tea Club.

"I'll help too." Seeing this, Xiao Xiaoxiao took the initiative to prepare hot tea.

"I'm sorry to bother you all the time." As she spoke, her eyes fell on the decorations they had bought. "After all, it always feels a bit inappropriate for outsiders to see such facilities in our office." For Rin Yukawa, outsiders are people other than the two of them who do not need to report directly to them.

Of course, there was also a guy who didn't know the rules and just barged in once. However, he didn't pay much attention to the facilities here, so there was no need to pay too much attention.

That person is of course Yi Sheji.

"Actually, there's no need to worry about it. The president has such a heavy workload every day...this kind of treatment isn't unreasonable. Besides, you bought all these things with your own money, and you didn't embezzle any public funds. There's no need to worry about it."

Li Ling, a serious person, didn't care about it. Besides, the school rules didn't stipulate that it shouldn't be done. Lin Hanekawa was worried about the feeling of injustice others might feel. This feeling of injustice was similar to the feeling you get when you see others taking a car while you walk.

If students who are unaware of the truth and have prejudices against the student union knew that the president decorated the office according to his own preferences, they would definitely be dissatisfied.

"...Well, that's all."

In fact, she was just looking for topics to talk about.

At this moment, her real thought was whether Rinquanchuan had confessed his feelings. After he told her that she didn't need to worry about her future, Rinquanchuan seemed to be touched, but he hadn't made any major moves yet.

"Of course, this won't work..."

Muttering to herself, she picked up the plate, cut off a piece of cake with a fork and put it into her mouth.

"This won't work... How can we continue like this?"

Looking at Rin Yukawa with a serious face, Xiao Xiaoxiao couldn't help but ask Li Ling beside her in a low voice.

"...Well..." Li Ling, equally confused, could only guess, "Maybe he's thinking about spending too much on desserts."

"...The president's family isn't short of money, right?"

"That's probably about the weight..."

"Is that so? It's really hard to keep up appearances."

"Then next time you cut it, just cut it smaller." Looking at the dinner knife in his hand, Li Ling nodded to himself.

Today's student union was as peaceful as ever.

Chapter 9: Her Strange Words

"See you tomorrow."

Because of the route, the Rinquanchuan family's car took Yehui home first. Actually, taking a different route would have both avoided the traffic and saved some fuel. However, this isn't our driver, so it's best to keep your opinions to yourself. Otherwise, it would feel like the host is taking over, and Miss Rin's family probably doesn't need the gas money.

"See you tomorrow." "Goodbye."

After helping them record the prices of the fabrics they need, we should be able to come up with a purchasing plan tomorrow. The responsible person will then go out and buy the appropriate quantities, and then distribute them for sewing. In short, our mission is now complete. After saying goodbye to Ye Hui, it's time to go home and relax.

"Is anyone at home today?" However, it was very rare for Lin Quanchuan to ask about my family affairs, and the car stopped temporarily at an intersection where there were few pedestrians and vehicles passing by.