In a crossover anime, do you believe that a machine spirit can defeat a fake human?

Chen Yishan arrived late, carrying a guitar bag, and looked at the four people in the service department.

A female senior in black stockings, and a pink-haired girl who looked a little unfamiliar.

"Yuihama-san?" Chen Yi recalled that the female character from the original work seemed to have appeared in his class.

The other one is Kasumigaoka. It's understandable that Yui Hihama came, which is part of the original plot. So what is she doing here today?

"Chen-kun has arrived." Yukinoshita saw Chen Yi push open the door and paused for a moment on the brand-new guitar case behind him.

"Hello, President." Chen Yi placed his guitar case in the corner of the Service Department and sat down in his usual chair.

"What's this?" He looked at Hachiman beside him and asked.

“This is the new member, Kasumigaoka-senpai, and this is Yuihama-san, who came to post a request,” Yukinoshita explained.

"..." He looked up at Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was staring at him with scarlet eyes.

"Chen." Hachiman leaned closer. "Coming for you?"

"What have I done to deserve this?" Chen Yi replied irritably.

It shouldn't be like in the original work, where Kasumigaoka is an incurable love-struck fool, right? Don't be ridiculous, Chen Ge is laughing. There's no such person in the real world.

If you can't figure it out, just start setting up shop and see what they plan to do next.

"..."

Why aren't you saying anything and just staring at me?

"Oh... I'm Chen Yi, a transfer student studying abroad." Chen Yi then remembered that Japan has a tradition of self-introduction, and understood why they were waiting for him.

“I know, it’s that ‘cool and aloof international student’ that’s all the rage in the class. Hmm, he certainly seems unapproachable at first glance,” Yui Hama said enthusiastically.

P.S.: Yesterday was April Fool's Day, just kidding! So if you're angry, please shower me with your recommendation votes and monthly tickets, and leave lots of comments!

You must follow along with meows, you must care for lonely old cats, otherwise I'll go and use my energetic cat love to be like you cats (poor meows).

Service Department: Chapter Twenty-Nine - Yuihama's Request

"..." Yukinoshita glanced at Yuigahama Yui's embarrassed expression, then at the cookie that could be described as 'charcoal'.

"Um... Yuihama-san, how did you manage to bake these cookies like this while following the instructions in the baking book?"

Chen Yi and Hachiman, on the other hand, were somewhat amazed.

"Wow, this looks delicious."

"Old Chen, are you blind?" Hachiman's face darkened.

"How did you come up with the nickname 'Old Chen'? I don't remember them calling each other that in Japan," Chen Yi complained.

"That's because I spent the night browsing the Chinese internet, and they said it's a term of endearment for close friends." As he spoke, Hachiman scratched the ground with his toes.

"Whatever you want, so Hachiman, do you dare to eat it? If you dare, I'll give you 1000 yen."

"This thing looks too bizarre... I'm not doing it."

"If you won't eat it, I will," Chen Yi said, picking up a piece to savor.

"Junior?" Kasumigaoka, who was watching from the side, exclaimed in surprise.

"...Never mind those three guys, I'll teach you step by step." Yukino sighed, having completely lost count of how many times she had sighed.

"Um... I guess I really don't have any talent for cooking." Yuihama was a little downcast.

"How can you say that? This world isn't just about talent; it's also about hard work. Try a few more times, and you'll succeed eventually," Yukino said seriously. She despised those who gave up without trying.

“But Chen looks really unwell, like he’s about to die…” Yuihama said somewhat awkwardly, pointing behind Yukinoshita.

"..." Yukino finally laughed out of exasperation after enduring so much for so long. "Hey you guys, if you're not going to help us properly... could you please leave us a little space to be quiet?" She turned around, and the two who were fooling around immediately stood up straight.

"Chen-kun, you're from the University of Tokyo, right? Could you help me out?" Yukinoshita called out.

"Actually, not every student at Dongda University knows how to cook," Chen Yi said seriously.

"I was just helping out... so you mean you can't cook?"

"No, I can cook and prepare dishes, but I'm not very good at baking," Chen Yi corrected again.

"So what do you mean?"

"Just kidding." She took out pastry tools from under the table and handed them to Yukino. "It's just baking, you can try it."

"..."

"Chen Jun, have you been infected with Hachimani bacteria? You look so...unhealthy today?"

"Really?" Chen Yi paused for a moment, then thought carefully.

“You don’t usually seem that… lively.” Yukinoshita carefully chose her words.

"The doctor said that maintaining an optimistic attitude is helpful for recovery." Chen Yi raised his right hand, which was wrapped up tightly.

“...Okay, uh, maybe I should ask someone else for help…” Looking at the cast on Chen Yi’s hand, Yukinoshita suddenly realized that he was still injured.

"I can do it. I can cook with one hand." Chen Yi glanced at Kasumigaoka, who was occasionally writing in his notebook, and then at Hachiman, who was pretending to be busy but was actually just fiddling with the mysterious substance on the plate. He resolutely took on this important task.

"First of all..." Yukinoshi instructed Yui Yuigahama step by step on how to bake cookies, from the amount of ingredients, the heat, the time... the teaching was very detailed.

"Ding—" The oven is ready, and three trays of cookies with different styles are taken out.

One plate was as black as coal from a mine; another plate was as standard as finished cookies from a bakery; and the last plate was Brittany shortbread.

"......" "......" "......"

"Junior, which game is yours?" Kasumigaoka stopped what he was writing and came over to ask.

“Uh…” Yuihama looked embarrassed.

"Chen, your grilling isn't good either." The highly intelligent Hachiman put his arm around Chen Yi's shoulder, implying that he should claim the black 'masterpiece'.

"Sigh...it seems I didn't control the heat well enough." Chen Yi readily lied through his teeth.

"You shut-in, Chen... you don't need to comfort me... I know I'm not doing well." Yui turned her face away.

"Junior's shortbread is pretty good." Kasumigaoka was already sneaking a bite.

"...Indeed, this is the person from the University of Tokyo. He truly has an innate talent for cooking..." Hachiman couldn't resist picking up a piece and taking a bite.

I feel like I've met a formidable rival in my career as a stay-at-home dad. Maybe I should just give up.

Hachiman thought to himself.

"I only know a little bit about it." Chen Yi put his hands behind his back, pretending to be an expert.

"Here comes the typical self-deprecation of a Tokyo University student," Hachiman remarked.

"...Why don't you give it a try?" Chen Yi pushed the plate towards them.

"..." After tasting one piece, Yuihama's eyes widened. She couldn't help but take another piece, but then felt that it was a bit impolite to do so. She didn't know whether to put it down or not, so she pretended to eat another piece casually.

"Truly amazing." Yukinoshita reluctantly admitted that Chen Yi was better than her at cooking.

......

"Ugh... I'm going to die! Why did you poison me...?"

After being persuaded by Chen Yi to eat a cookie made by Yuihama, Hachiman's expression turned sour.

"Chen, do you have any more shortbread? I'd like to..." With a bitter taste in his throat, Hachiman looked to Chen Yi for help.

Chen Yi looked at Kasumigaoka Utaha.

This guy can eat so much! He finished the whole plate. I was planning to pack a few to take home for a late-night snack.

“I’m sorry.” He then turned his gaze to Hachiman Hikigaya and shook his head.

"Um... so, if it's just a gift, it's enough to show your feelings, right? It doesn't have to be baked cookies, does it?" Hachiman said, taking a big gulp of mineral water from Chen Yi to rinse his mouth and regroup his thoughts.

That's true, but...

"When it comes to gifts, handmade items are probably the best way to express your feelings, right?"

"It's a matter of opinion. Not everyone cares about how much effort and cost others put in when giving gifts. Sometimes, simply giving a gift already shows one's stance and intentions," Chen Yi replied.

"Is that so...?" Yuihama seemed to have taken it to heart.

"Is that so? Boys are such simple creatures. I have a friend..." Hachiman naturally transitioned to the story of 'Hachiman's childhood'.

"..."

"What's wrong?" Hachiman's lips twitched, and he looked like he was about to break down.

"It's nothing, I was just remarking on how vibrant and fulfilling your campus life is," Chen Yi said, patting his shoulder.

"I told you he's my friend... Besides, can that be called a colorful campus life? Isn't that just a bleak life experience?"

"Since you've shared your story, then I'll share my story of doing 300 sets of physics and chemistry practice papers in the 100 days leading up to my high school entrance exam..."

"......" "......"

"Truly worthy of being from the University of Tokyo." Hachiman felt relieved. Compared to their lives, his own dark history was indeed insignificant.

Service Club: Chapter 30 Kasumigaoka-senpai

The so-called "Yasashii" male protagonist doesn't mean that "Yasashii" is a virtue, but rather that this guy is almost useless except for being "Yasashii".

Moreover, many so-called "gentle" male protagonists are actually just "cowardly" guys who only know how to avoid problems and are losers who do nothing to solve them.

For a long time, Kasumigaoka Utaha was unaware of this.

However, she now realizes that what follows is a thorny problem.

She couldn't bring herself to meticulously depict a somewhat useless male protagonist; in other words, she "lost her passion" for the male protagonist she created.

"Looking at it this way, the Naoto I wrote before was completely unacceptable..." Kasumigaoka said somewhat dejectedly.

Whenever she creates a cliffhanger in a book, she always thinks about what a straight person would do.

Then, seamlessly transition to what Chen Yi will do.

The international student who saved her life and with whom she formed a deep friendship left a profound impression on her.

Sitting in front of his laptop, Kasumigaoka was at a loss.

"What's wrong? Are you having any trouble?" Kasumigaoka's mother pushed open the door and came in, carrying a plate of fruit.

"I feel like the male protagonist I wrote before was a bit lousy..." Kasumigaoka grumbled softly.

"Why do you think that?" Kasumigaoka's mother sat next to her, listening with great interest.

"Hmm, I feel like the male lead's gentleness is pretty useless. How should I put it? It just doesn't feel surprising. I met a boy like that before..."

Thinking of my junior's mockery of my delayed updates, I felt a surge of indignation.

The deadline hasn't even arrived yet, why are you rushing me?

Besides, this book is about to be canceled... so what's there to look forward to?

She didn't want to disappoint the other person, and she wanted to prove herself to them... That's why she's been secluded and writing these past few days.

"Hearing what Shiyu said, the other party is indeed a very hateful boy." Kasumigaoka's mother nodded, looking like she shared his indignation.

"No, Mom..." Kasumigaoka defended Chen Yi again.

“Oh…” Kasumigaoka’s mother said meaningfully. “If you like a boy, you should go and get him. What’s the point of hiding it?”

"No, it's just... it's just..." Kasumigaoka subconsciously wanted to refute, but couldn't come up with a reason.

Ugh, am I really one of those hopelessly love-struck characters from light novels?

Kasumigaoka lamented in its heart.

"Think it over carefully. Whatever decision you make, I will support you." Kasumigaoka's mother patted Kasumigaoka on the shoulder and left the room without disturbing her any longer.

......

"..."

"So that's why you joined the Service Club?" After school, Chen Yi was stopped by Kasumigaoka Utaha, who explained it this way.

"Yes, junior, come and be the male lead in my novel!"

...I have a feeling there's something hidden in your words.