Hikigaya Hachiman is still in the dark

So this person is not what Mr. Hiratsuka said, that she is inflexible and doesn't know how to get along with others. On the contrary, she understands everything.

But in her heart, there is someone she wants to protect.

Someone who makes her want to change things around her for her.

"I'm sorry." I said softly, with deep tenderness.

"What kind of tone is that? It's so disgusting. Hikigaya-sensei, please stop talking."

There is no doubt that it is not cute.

"Teacher Hikigaya, do you think an apology can heal my heart? My lovely Yu is lying in the hospital bed because of Teacher Hikigaya."

Hai Zhixing smiled at me, although there was no smile in her eyes. Also, please don't use such misleading words, what should I do if I am investigated by the RB Teaching Commission!

I remained silent and did not answer.

"If Mr. Hiratsuka knew about this, he would be so sad. I would also be so sad about what would happen to you in the future."

This person is definitely a queen, with a dark side that knows no bounds. Do you really think I will give in when you mention that woman named Shizuka Hiratsuka? How naive! You know, I am a very principled person!

Chapter 20: Animals that Live in the Present

But for now, let's listen to her request first. It's not what an adult should do to reject her without understanding her request.

"Mr. Hai Zhixing? Do you have any unsolvable study problems? Tell me, and the teacher will tell you everything you know."

"Thank you, teacher." Sea Star smiled again.

"I really want to know what the result of the bet between Sensei and Yukinoshita-senpai is?"

Eh? What's going on? I was ready to reveal my unparalleled love for MAX Coffee, why did she suddenly bring it up with Yukinoshita?

"After all, as a legendary senior who had all-around good grades and elegant manners at Sobu High School and eventually went abroad to study, I am very interested in her, especially since such a senior is actually related to the rotten Hikigaya-sensei..."

It seems like there are some disrespectful words about teachers mixed into your words. Please correct them quickly!

"Do you really want to know? That's not a story worth reading." I tried to divert Sea Star's interest.

"Hearing what Hikigaya-sensei said, I'm even more interested."

Tsk, failed.

"Didn't Hiratsuka-sensei tell you?"

"Hiratsuka-sensei only mentioned the bet between you two, and didn't say much else."

That person must have expected that Hai Zhixing would ask me this. It would be very uncomfortable to think like this: "If you want to know, just tell me. If you think it's boring, I won't care."

"Ah."

I tried hard to find the fragments of memory, and recalled the time when I graduated. It seemed to be in spring, when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom...

Graduation is probably a word worth reminiscing about in the eyes of many people. After all, many people always have such thoughts as "it's still early", "graduation is still a long way off", "graduation will take a long time" before graduation. Then, before they can react, they graduate suddenly, and the short time makes them feel very incredible.

When you come to your senses, you suddenly feel that everything on campus seems to have turned into memories. The crowd on the playground always seems to be busy with sports, the small groups of three or two chatting gossip in the corridor, and the classrooms that were finally cleaned up and become brand new, are all looked at deeply, captured and put into your mind, as if this way you will never forget your life as a high school student.

People always want to leave a footprint in the places where they have lived, experienced, and encountered people. Conversely, people also always want to seal the places where they have memories in their minds forever, and miss their youth forever.

But there is nothing in the world that can be remembered forever. As time goes by, things we want to forget and things we don’t want to forget will slowly settle in our minds and be sealed away. Gradually, they will no longer be mentioned by us, no longer be remembered by us, and no longer be regarded by us as things that cannot be given up...

Even the closest friends will gradually become distant due to distance and lack of common topics, and in the end they will probably just be acquaintances who nod once when they meet.

After all, humans are animals that live in the present. How can they be trapped by people and things from the past? Remembering something forever is nothing but self-deception and satisfaction.

Perhaps, for old people and things, all we can do is reminisce. At a certain moment, it may be in a dessert shop on the corner, it may be passing by a high school and seeing a boy doing his favorite high school sports, it may be seeing a few people running into the heavy rain without umbrellas and laughing when it rains, or it may be just when we are in a daze and suddenly think of someone or something. So, the dusty memory is opened, and we remember doing something that seems silly but makes our body feel warm at a certain time and place in the past.

This is the best way to respect the past. Those who always say that they can't let go of the past will either end up trapped in reality and unable to struggle out, or forget the past to the point where they can't even recall it.

A cherry blossom petal floated into the classroom with the help of the wind, and accidentally fell into my palm. The tingling feeling of the cherry blossom on my hand gently pulled me out of my thoughts of graduation. I looked out the window, and the clusters of blooming cherry blossoms were like pink clouds floating in the wind on the street. Some scattered petals could not resist the invasion of the wind and fell down, swirling in the air and floating to the ground, covering the ground with a layer of exquisite carpet.

The fragrance of cherry blossoms itself is very light, similar to the tea ceremony of the Edo period, so faint that it seems to have no fragrance. This kind of vagueness is probably related to the flowering period of cherry blossoms. In just one week of flowering period, it strives to bloom all over Chiba, the most beautiful flowers in the whole of RB, and is engraved in the hearts of everyone who has seen the cherry blossoms in RB.

Although the cherry blossoms wither normally, there is definitely a place in people's hearts that belongs exclusively to the cherry blossoms. They will bloom in the next year, the next season, and the next flowering period as the cherry blossoms bloom. When "Konohana Sakurahime" sowed the cherry blossom seeds, she must have seen what RB looked like when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom.

There are many legends about cherry blossoms. It seems that there is a samurai's body buried under each cherry tree. The more brilliant the cherry blossoms, the nobler the samurai's soul was when he was alive.

I withdrew my gaze from the cherry blossoms outside the window. Because I changed seats in my senior year of high school, I unexpectedly sat next to the window. The daily sunshine made me even more listless.

Wait, isn’t this just like what Yukinoshita said about me being some kind of fungus?

However, the window seat is not just annoying. For example, if you are distracted during class, you can look out the window conveniently, and you don’t have to face the teacher to observe Yeshan and others because it is on the side of the corridor. Especially at lunch time, drinking MAX coffee, chewing bread, and watching the busy people on the playground outside the window feels unexpectedly comfortable.

Could this be the legendary God's perspective? It's a great feeling to be unexpected.

I looked out the window for a while, then refocused my attention on the classroom. Since the exams were over, everyone seemed relaxed. Many people were chatting about where to go after graduation. Others were holding a notebook and asking others to sign messages or something. Some were giving their clothes to others to sign.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with me. I blended perfectly into the atmosphere of Class F, Grade 3, watching everyone exchange graduation gifts with ease.

The graduation ceremony was held yesterday. After the principal and the best representative among the graduates, Yukinoshita Yukino who will be going abroad, gave speeches, they sang the graduation song or something like that. Although I found it boring, it seemed that many girls cried on the spot.

I came here today to get my certificate of completion. However, three years of education just for a piece of paper like this doesn't seem like an equal exchange. Sure enough, is it true that in reality, you always pay too much and get too little? This kind of office life is really terrifying.

Just as I was lamenting the hardship of office life, the current group was exchanging autographs and messages at the back of the classroom. Hayama's was particularly exaggerated, with his uniform filled with names. It seemed that students from other classes also came to sign for Hayama. This guy is really popular. But if they continue, won't they sign on their pants? If they continue, Hayama's underwear feels a bit dangerous.

However, it seemed that having such thoughts was also very dangerous for me. I shook my head to drive away my distracting thoughts. At this time, a figure came towards me briskly, and the conspicuous pink bun hair soon appeared in my sight.

"Xiao Qi, please sign an autograph for me quickly." Yuigahama looked at me and said.

"Eh?" The unexpected request made me freeze for a moment. I remembered that I was never asked to sign when I was in junior high school and elementary school... I was still standing in the classroom with a pen in my hand, hoping that someone would come over to check on me.

This memory is so sad that in order to prevent such accidents from happening again, I didn’t bring a pen with me today.

"Xiao Qi, what are you daydreaming about?"

"I didn't bring a pen." I answered a little stiffly.

"Oh, I see." Yuigahama said as she took out a pen from her shirt pocket: "Just use my pen." As she said that, she put the pen in my hand. Maybe accidentally, Yuigahama's hand touched mine. The delicate skin and cool touch unique to girls made me feel nervous. The pen was still a little warm when it was handed to me. When I quickly realized that this was Yuigahama's body temperature, my nervousness immediately escalated to a very obvious redness on my face.

"Um, where should I sign?" I looked at Yuigahama's uniform with a bit of confusion. Maybe because she was very popular, Yuigahama's uniform was already covered with dense signatures. I couldn't find a place to start. If I accidentally covered someone else's signature, I would always feel that it was disrespectful to others.

"Eh? Have you signed all the tickets? I was signing all the time so I didn't notice it." Yuigahama looked at her uniform and seemed to realize the problem. She thought about it in distress. Then Yuigahama seemed to remember something and took off her uniform jacket. She turned her back to me, pointed at her back and said, "Xiaoqi, just sign there."

What's going on? This shirt hasn't been signed yet, doesn't that make me look special?

"Is it okay? Are you sure you want to sign here?" I asked first. After all, shirts are relatively private clothes.

"Hurry up, this posture can easily make people shy." Yuigahama urged me a little annoyed.

I had no choice but to start writing, but as soon as the pen was placed on Yuigahama's shirt, she let out a gasp. Chiba has a temperate maritime climate, so the temperature is relatively high in March. Yuigahama didn't wear a particularly thick shirt, so the pen's touch on the shirt must have been greater than on her skin.

Although I know the reason, I am still very shy.

I signed my name quickly, and Yuigahama quickly turned her head. Maybe due to the excessive stimulation to her skin, Yuigahama's face had turned red at some point. Seeing her like that, I had the illusion that Yuigahama was like the cherry blossoms blooming outside the window. Yuigahama carefully took the pen I returned to her.

"Thank you, Xiaoqi. I will cherish it."

"It's not a big deal." It's just a signature, not a big help, so it's really not worth Yuigahama's formal thanks.

"Yui, come here." Miura called Yuigahama from the back of the classroom. She must have something to say. Yuigahama responded, then she turned to look at me and leaned close to my ear as if she was conveying a secret.

"Let's go to the club room together later. I'll give Xiaoqi her autograph when we're in the club room." After saying that, Yuigahama smiled at me, then walked to a corner of the classroom where Miura was.

Tobe probably hasn't given up on Ebina yet. He blushed when signing for Ebina. This guy is surprisingly naive.

Chapter 21 The Last Lesson

"Hachiman, if possible, please sign for me." A voice that excited me came. I don't know when Totsuka came to my side. With a smile that only belongs to an angel, he held a pen in his hand and said softly.

"Yes, sure. It's no problem how many you want to sign!" I happily picked up the pen and wrote my name on the Totsuka uniform.

"Well, this time it's my turn to sign for Hachiman." After I signed, Totsuka also wrote his name on my back.

I will treasure this uniform, Totsuka, along with your smile.

"Hi, hi, everyone, please take your seats first. I will distribute the certificates to everyone later." Teacher Hiratsuka walked into the classroom with a stack of papers.

Today is probably my last day in Sobu High School, in the service club.

It was also the time when Yukinoshita and I made a bet to solve the mystery.

I often think that humans have given different meanings to different seasons and time periods. Especially the sunset period, which seems to have a special meaning in people's hearts. Poets love sunsets because they can bring them inspiration for their melancholy; painters like sunsets because the colors of sunsets can make people think; philosophers like sunsets because they can calm people down and think about their lives; editors like sunsets because sunsets mean that it is time for hardworking authors to finish their manuscripts.

Unlike others, I do not like sunsets, because the meaning of sunsets is imposed by people, and people use their imagination to impose their imagination on sunsets. Sunsets themselves have no special connotations, they are just an ordinary natural phenomenon, just like leaves falling, autumn turning into winter, and the angels. They are just ordinary natural phenomena.

Why don't humans impose their own meaning on the sunset, on the decay of leaves, the withering of flowers, or the drought? In the final analysis, it is because of the color of the sunset. Yes, it is the appearance. If you think about it carefully, the girls who are popular are definitely those with handsome appearance. The first girl you like is definitely because the other person's appearance meets your aesthetic standards...

When a handsome person makes a mistake, there will always be someone to defend him and help him. But a person with a less attractive appearance can only try to make up for the mistake by himself. When a handsome person tries hard, people will unconsciously surround him and help him. On the contrary, many people with average appearance can only try hard alone.

After all, this is a world of impressions, and where does the first impression come from? It's your appearance.

Although there are people in the world who only care about inner qualities, they are a minority after all. The majority of people in society are ordinary people who care about appearance.

People are selfish and compulsive. They judge a person's goodness or evil based on their appearance without any contact. They have good expectations for good-looking people and are arrogant and prejudiced towards ugly people from the beginning. Therefore, the impression is unequal from the beginning, and injustice is everywhere when people first interact with each other.

I looked at my face reflected on the window glass. If I didn't exclude the pair of very annoying dead fish eyes, I was indeed the type of person whose appearance could make people feel good. Maybe I would be a more popular character than Ye Shan. Of course, that was just an assumption, based only on ifs, that is to say, it was just my beautiful expectation. On top of my good facial features, there were obvious dead fish eyes that were extremely inconsistent with the style of this face. Because of this farce that seemed to be created by God, I had been forced to endure all kinds of strange looks since I was a child. Thinking of this, I tried to make a smiling face to the window. The dead fish eyes made my face look abnormally distorted, and there was no positive energy or positive place at all.

Sure enough, my dead fish eyes are more heartbreaking than the armless Venus de Milo, but I am not a sculpture after all, and God cannot remove my eyes with a chisel, so I have to survive in this semi-finished state until now.

When I think about it this way, God is indeed a humorous villain.

I tried not to give up and smiled towards the window, but no matter what I did, I couldn't produce a smile that conformed to the aesthetic standards of the general public... It seems that I have to find a way to save these dead fish eyes, otherwise my dream of becoming a house husband will be shattered in the cradle.

Such a horrible fact is too terrifying. Don’t give up on your dream, Hikigaya Hachiman!

It seemed that Ms. Hiratsuka on the stage was reluctant to let us go because we were about to graduate, so her words always sounded a little heavy. She had a unique sadness of parting. However, I felt that she realized that she was one year older. It was really sad, Ms. Hiratsuka, if you were ten years younger, I think I would definitely fall in love with you.

Probably because this was the last class, the students in the class were very quiet. The usually restless students seemed to be infected by the atmosphere and listened quietly and looked at Mr. Hiratsuka. Especially Tobe, his sitting posture was more formal than usual, probably because he also valued his graduation.

The atmosphere gradually became depressing. After all, it was a farewell, so it was probably impossible for the atmosphere to become cheerful. Hiratsuka teacher on the stage had already finished explaining the official matters to be dealt with a long time ago, and now she was speaking about her farewell thoughts with a sad expression. Maybe she was really sad. Hiratsuka teacher's voice was always tearful, and her eyes seemed to be much wetter than usual. This person was unexpectedly sentimental.

Affected by the sad and solemn atmosphere, I also withdrew my gaze from the window and looked at Mr. Hiratsuka seriously.

"You have grown so much in the past three years that I am pleased with you." Mr. Hiratsuka looked at me tenderly. The unexpected gaze made me a little shy. "Especially some of you have almost reached the level that I hoped you would grow to."

This must be an illusion. The person she was talking about was definitely not me, absolutely...

"From now on you will face a new life, a new environment, and new successes. Of course, you will also encounter new difficulties, new setbacks, and new failures." Teacher Hiratsuka's voice was more gentle than ever before, and contained a power that belonged only to her.

"But don't give up. You are all students that the teacher is proud of. You definitely have the ability to overcome all difficulties, so please don't give up. Face your new life with hope. Make your life without regrets, and make your parents, the people around you, and me, your teacher, even more proud of you!"

When Mr. Hiratsuka heard the encouraging words, the students did not get excited as expected. Instead, they looked at Mr. Hiratsuka with moist eyes. Some of the usually shy girls even cried.

“So, congratulations on your graduation.”

After saying this, Hiratsuka-sensei gave her warm smile that no one would dislike.

After hearing these words, the students could no longer control their emotions. Many of the students who had been holding back before burst into tears. They probably couldn't bear to leave Mr. Hiratsuka. The classroom was filled with words like "We will definitely do our best, teacher", "Goodbye, teacher", and "Teacher, you have to work hard too".

I am not as sad as they are, because the moment we met, we were destined to part. Forever is the most hypocritical lie in the world. Think about it carefully. Before the 19th century, the Newtonian mechanics that people generally knew was eventually overturned by Einstein. The theory of relativity, which is now regarded as the truth, may also be overturned one day.

If even the truth is not eternal, then what in this world can be said to be eternal?

I stared at my certificate in a daze. Its name was written in neat handwriting: Hikigaya Hachiman, and below it was the official seal of Sobu High School.

Come to think of it, Isshiki had said before that the official seal was stamped by their student union. That guy was definitely trying to take credit, and he even said something like he was going to give her a reward. Who would be fooled? How could he possibly give it to you? This is your job. I have never heard of a social animal asking for a reward after completing their job. If there is such a job, please take me with you if possible!

"Okay, we're all adults now, so don't be so sentimental." Teacher Hiratsuka tried hard to hold back her tears, her shoulders trembling slightly as she comforted the crying girl.

What this guy said was completely different from his body's performance. It was really not convincing at all.

"Well, school is over, congratulations on your graduation." Mr. Hiratsuka shouted with all his might.

"Thank you for your hard work, teacher." The whole class stood up and bowed to the teacher. Teacher Hiratsuka could no longer hold back her tears and burst into tears. Then the students came forward to comfort the teacher and asked Teacher Hiratsuka to leave a message or something.

Although I am very grateful for Mr. Hiratsuka's teaching over the past three years, I feel it is difficult for him to squeeze in among the crowd. I lowered my head to pack my things, carefully put the certificate of completion into my schoolbag, then stood up and left the classroom quietly like a ninja, disappearing into the air as usual.

Not long after I walked out of the door, I heard hurried footsteps behind me. Then, someone pulled me back forcefully. Then I heard the sound of Yuigahama panting after running.

"Xiao Qi, I clearly told you to wait for me." Maybe due to being angry and exercising, Yuigahama's face seemed to be more rosy than usual. Because her face was too close to mine, I could feel her rapid breathing.

I'm a little shy, so please let go of my hand quickly.

“Well, I thought you would need a little more time.

"As for the message for Mr. Hiratsuka, I've already asked Yumiko to leave it. I knew Xiaoqi would definitely not wait for me, so I made arrangements in advance."

Is this a prediction of what will happen after I take action? Although my actions are like those of a company worker who works a regular job every day, they are not difficult to predict.

There was probably nothing to talk about, so Yuigahama and I didn't say much, just chatting as usual. Because of graduation, each class had a different time to finish school, so some classes finished earlier than us. The corridor didn't feel as deserted as before, on the contrary, it felt a little lively. Everyone was talking about where to go for the next vacation, and some people even confessed to the girls they had liked for a long time.

Chapter 22 The moment of farewell