Anime Crossover: My Part-Time Job as a Giant of Light While Studying Abroad in Chiba

As the president, Shirogane Miyuki was completely unable to retaliate in this confrontation. He could only watch the two women in front of him talk, and then look at Duan Zilian in the corner with an awkward smile.

Duan Zilian also looked at the president and responded with an awkward smile, as if to say, "We ordinary people shouldn't disturb the confrontation between the queens in this kind of situation."

………………

"...Let's settle on this for now."

After an hour of heated debate (mainly a "friendly" exchange between Yukinoshita and Kaguya), Miyuki Shirogane and Iroha Isshiki finally finalized their plan.

Shirogane Miyuki rubbed his temples, his fierce eyes filled with exhaustion.

"The Service Department will be responsible for planning the specific format of the psychological counseling; the Shuchiin Student Council will be responsible for the allocation of resources and the venue. Does everyone have any objections?"

"No." Yukinoshita closed the folder and stood up gracefully. "In that case, today's meeting is over. Hikigaya-kun, Dan-kun, goodbye."

"finally……"

Duan Zilian stretched with a sigh of relief, her back bones cracking with a crisp sound. "If I sit any longer, my back will break."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Shirogane Miyuki smiled slightly as he looked at Duan Zilian, probably realizing that she was a miserable person oppressed by a strong woman.

"I'll treat you to coffee next time."

"That's great! Let's go to my place then, it'll boost our revenue." Duan Zilian joked, then followed Xue Zhizhi out of the conference room.

The sun had already set, and the corridor was dimly lit.

"I need to go to the faculty office to submit a report."

Yukinoshita stopped and said to the two behind her, "Hachigaya-kun, you can go back now. Dan-kun... you still have to go to work, right? Don't be late."

"Know it."

Duan Zilian waved her hand, "Then I'll be going now, see you tomorrow."

"Well, be careful on the road."

"Goodbye." Hachiman rolled his dead fish eyes and slowly walked towards the school gate with his schoolbag on his back.

Duan Zilian walked alone in the empty corridor. He glanced at the time and realized he still had some time before his shift. He had worked up a sweat moving things earlier, so he decided to buy a bottle of water from the vending machine.

As he reached the corner of the stairs, he heard a strange sound.

—Thump. Thump.

It sounded like someone was kicking something hard.

Duan Zilian peeked out. She saw a petite figure standing in front of the vending machine at the end of the corridor.

Long black hair, red hairband, that's... Kaguya Shinomiya?

At this moment, this usually aloof young lady is now utterly humiliated by assaulting the vending machine.

"Why...why aren't you shipping the goods?!"

Kaguya gritted her teeth and kicked the bottom edge of the vending machine hard with her small feet clad in expensive leather shoes.

"I've already put in 500 yen! That's a coin! Not scrap metal!"

"Um... Vice President Shinomiya?" Duan Zilian couldn't help but ask.

Kaguya froze instantly. She turned around abruptly, her expression switching from "anger" to "coldness" in a flash, a speed that was astonishing. However, the blush that had not yet faded betrayed her embarrassment.

“…It’s you.” Kaguya straightened her skirt, took a deep breath, and resumed her superior demeanor. “Is there something you need?”

Looking at the girl in front of him, who was more than a head shorter than him, yet whose aura was so much stronger, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

"Uh, nothing, just passing by." Duan Zilian pointed to the vending machine. "Did it swallow money?"

“...Obviously.” Kaguya said coldly.

"The system of this machine is probably a product of the last century. I have already inserted coins, but it neither dispenses the drink nor refunds the coins."

"This kind of old machine often does this."

Duan Zilian walked over and said, "At times like this, just kicking won't work. You need to use some skill."

"Technique?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow. "You mean brute force? If so, I can ask Hayasaka to bring a crowbar."

"No, no, no! That's vandalizing public property!"

Duan Zilian quickly waved his hand. He walked to the vending machine, half-squatted down, put his ear to the machine to listen, and then reached under the dispensing slot to feel around.

"There's a sensor here, and sometimes it gets stuck," Duan Zilian said, while lightly tapping a specific spot on the side of the device with her palm.

When he encountered this situation last time, he went home and searched for relevant information online. He never expected to use it now.

— Clang.

With a crisp sound, the oolong tea rolled out.

"All done." Duan Zilian stood up, dusted off her hands, and handed the oolong tea to Kaguya.

"Here you go. Your spoils."

Kaguya stared blankly at him. From childhood to adulthood, the problems she encountered were either solved with money or with power. This was the first time she had ever seen someone squatting on the ground and solving a problem in such a "wise" way.

“…Thank you.” Kaguya took the things, her tone still a little stiff, but less sharp than before.

"It seems you are indeed very experienced in this kind of...life skill."

"It's always good to have more skills," Duan Zilian chuckled. "In this world full of surprises, it's never a bad thing to have more of these skills, after all..."

He pointed to the sky outside the window, which was gradually darkening.

"...Who knows when the power and internet will go out again, or what kind of unreasonable machine we'll encounter?"

Kaguya looked at his smile.

That smile was clean, with a touch of roguishness that wasn't off-putting, and... she noticed it again.

When Duan Zilian squatted down and stood up, her movements paused for a moment, and her brows furrowed slightly.

"Your back..." Kaguya suddenly spoke, "Is it still not ready?"

"Huh?" Duan Zilian was taken aback for a moment, and subconsciously touched her back. "Oh, this. It's an old problem. I strained myself while moving things the other day, and it's still not fully healed."

This is a lie.

The recovery period for that kind of injury is definitely not that of a simple back strain; Kaguya Shinomiya could tell at a glance that this level of lying was genuine.

But she didn't expose it. Everyone has secrets, and as a member of the Shinomiya family, she knew this best.

"If you're injured, don't push yourself."

Kaguya gripped the oolong tea in her hand, feeling its icy touch: "It was the same when we were carrying water earlier. You could have let that deadpan boy carry more, why did you have to show off?"

"Because Hachiman looks even weaker than me," Duanzilian shrugged. "Besides, I'm a man. I can't let a girl carry it, can I?"

Kaguya paused for a second, seemingly lost in thought.

Then, she rummaged in her pocket, pulled something out, and handed it over.

"Give."

Duan Zilian looked down and saw a... Band-Aid? And it was one of those with a cute cat pattern printed on it.

"……This is?"

"Secretary Fujiwara just forced this on me."

Kaguya turned her head away, somewhat awkwardly saying, "I don't need such childish things. Since you're injured, even though I don't know if it'll be okay to stick it on your back, it's better than nothing."

"..." Duan Zilian looked at the band-aid and couldn't help but laugh.

Why are all the young ladies these days so arrogant?

"Thanks, Vice President Shinomiya." Duan Zilian took the band-aid and carefully put it into her shirt pocket: "I'll treat it as a lucky charm."

"Hmm... whatever you want." Kaguya snorted and left quickly without looking back, leaving only a red hair ribbon fluttering in the shadows of the corridor.

Duan Zilian stood there, touched the band-aid in his pocket, and smiled.

Chapter 22 A Tribute to This Crappy Life

In the coffee shop at night, soothing music flows gently in the air, as if it were a record that was just bought today and couldn't wait to be put on the record player and used.

Duan Zilian was wiping glasses behind the bar, arranging them neatly on the cabinet with a satisfied sound.

He was the only one in the shop today, and it looked a bit empty.

"Ring ring—"

Welcome!

Hearing the wind chimes, Duan Zilian turned around.

The guests who came in surprised him.

Golden hair, a slightly fierce look, and that meticulously worn Shuchiin uniform, even outside of school.

Shirogane no Miyuki.

He looked extremely tired, his eyes drooping, like a string that had been stretched too tight for too long and was about to snap at any moment.

"Ah, it's you."

Bai Yin paused for a moment when he saw Duan Zilian, then forced a friendly smile: "I didn't expect you to actually work here. When I heard you say it in the conference room this afternoon, I thought you were joking."

"It's for survival."

Duan Zilian chuckled: "President Baiyin, why aren't you home yet? Haven't you finished your student council work?"

"I guess so. I just finished processing the budget reports and notes for the merger of the two schools, and my mind is a bit of a mess. I want to find a place to clear my head." Bai Yin sighed and walked to the bar to sit down.

"You actually finished such a complicated task today? That's amazing!"

Duan Zilian was slightly surprised, not expecting that the president of Xiuzhiyuan would be so serious about her work.

"I still need to set aside time for part-time work, ah... never mind that, give me a cup of black coffee, the more bitter the better."

"Understood. The manager's special dark roast is guaranteed to be so bitter it'll make you question your existence." Duan Zilian skillfully operated the coffee machine.

There were no other customers in the shop, and the quiet atmosphere was perfect for two tired men to chat.

"Give."

Duan Zilian pushed the coffee over and handed over a small plate of cookies, saying, "This is a free gift. Drinking such bitter coffee on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach."

After he finished speaking, he continued with his work.

"Thanks." Bai Yin took a sip, his brows furrowing instantly, but then relaxing. "...It is indeed very bitter. However, it suits me just fine."

He put down his cup and quietly watched Duan Zilian's busy figure. His lips moved slightly, as if he had a question that he had been holding back since the afternoon.

Slowly, Bai Yin suddenly asked, "Duan Jun, are you... tired?"

"I'm exhausted." Duan Zilian answered almost instantly, saying lightly as he washed the cups, "My body aches terribly every day, I get scolded by the teacher, my deskmate is sarcastic, and I have to wash dishes here. I'm exhausted like a dog."

"Then why can you still laugh?"

Bai Yin looked at him with a complicated expression. "It was the same in the conference room this afternoon. You were carrying so much stuff and were exhausted by those tedious procedures, but you didn't seem to care at all. How did you do that?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Zilian suddenly stopped what she was doing.

Looking into Baiyin's tired, bloodshot eyes, he realized that the man in front of him might be asking a serious question, rather than just making a polite remark.

He was slightly surprised. He never expected that the student council president, who seemed perfect and omnipotent to outsiders, would shed his golden halo in front of him and reveal the soul of an ordinary boy who was anxious, insecure, and afraid of failure.

"Hmm...it's probably because...I set my goals rather low."

Duan Zilian thought for a moment, put down her work, wiped her hands, leaned against the bar and said softly.

"Placed relatively low?"

"Yeah. As long as I'm alive, that's enough. As long as I feel like I've made it through today, that's a victory." He smiled.

"So that's what they think... How naive." Baiyin smiled wryly, took another sip of coffee, and swallowed the bitterness that belonged to a man.

"Yes, as long as you think like that, your steps will be much lighter. Anyway, I'm not a superman. I won't force myself to do things I can't do. If I encounter difficulties, I'll complain a bit. If I encounter good things, I'll laugh a bit. Then I'll just do what I need to do. There's no need to be so tense."

Duan Zilian chuckled self-deprecatingly. He glanced at Bai Yin in front of him, seemingly guessing his troubles: "Besides, if you wear a mask for too long, you'll forget how to breathe."

Bai Yin was stunned.