Hikigaya Hachiman is still in the dark

"Is there any other factor that I don't know about?" Yukinoshita looked at Yuigahama with curiosity.

"Yes." Yuigahama answered us loudly. She grabbed Yukinoshita with one hand and held me with the other hand and said, "Of course it's because the three of us are watching the fireworks together." Yuigahama's cheerful voice resounded throughout the club room.

"It's really irrefutable when you put it that way." Yukinoshita said a little helplessly, and then she laughed happily like Yuigahama.

"Indeed." I also smiled happily.

"By the way, Yuigahama, can you tell us the final result?"

"Eh? Is this a bet?"

"Apart from this, there is nothing else?"

"That." Yuigahama seemed a little conflicted, but she soon looked at me with eyes full of apology. My heart skipped a beat and the uneasiness in my heart grew stronger and stronger.

"I guess Yukino-chan wins."

"Look, Hikigaya-kun." Yukinoshita said proudly as if boasting about her victory.

"No, wait, why is it Yukinoshita? I thought there was nothing wrong with my performance that day. Didn't you act very happy too?"

"Although I am indeed very happy..." Yuigahama looked at me a little guilty, "But the content of Yukino's service is that the three of us work together all day."

I see. Is this the Isshiki you just agreed to this morning?

"Isn't that sneaky? It includes me too."

"I've also told Yukino-chan the same thing." Yuigahama answered me with a wry smile. Indeed, she seemed to have responded to Yukinoshita in the same way this morning.

"Isn't this a foul?"

"There are no such things as rules." Yukinoshita looked straight at me.

"There's no rule that says we can't get help from others." Yukinoshita said as if to add something.

Damn, I was tricked.

"But I'm really happy that the three of us are working hard together! So, I'm sorry, Xiaoqi..." Looking at me apologetically, Yuigahama put his hands together and made an apology gesture.

How can I be angry when you are like this?

"Have you accepted your fate?" came Yukinoshita's joyful voice.

"Damn it." I gritted my teeth. I actually thought about taking advantage of loopholes in the rules. What on earth did this person want me to do?

"Then I'll state my request."

Just as I was thinking about how to escape from the Pacific Ocean, Yukinoshita's voice came clearly over the sound of fireworks.

“Don’t work hard alone anymore, learn to rely on others; don’t help others in a way that hurts yourself anymore, learn to use other ways that make people feel at ease; most importantly, don’t use such twisted tenderness anymore, use a warmer tenderness that can be noticed by others.”

There was a reassuring smile in her low voice.

"We don't require you to show that you're hungry anytime soon. How about setting the time frame to four years in college?"

"If it's a bet, then I can't do anything about it."

"Yes, if it's a bet, there's nothing we can do." Yukinoshita laughed, as if she was infected, and Yuigahama and I couldn't help but laugh too.

Just like that, amid the fireworks, I got the last request of youth and the expectations of others.

My youth has come to an end just like that...

Chapter 44 I lost

"In short, I lost." I sorted out my memories, pieced together all the clues in my memory, and finally came to this fact that I was unwilling to admit.

"Teacher, you don't need to deliberately emphasize the fact that you lost. This is a matter of course."

"I was just wondering why you took it for granted that I would lose?" Although I lost in the end, and if I had placed a bet on this bet, I would definitely have the highest odds. However, according to Mr. Hiratsuka's arbitrary decision, I was the winner, and Yukinoshita's way of winning was completely cheating!

"Eh?" Hai Zhixing tilted his head and looked at me in confusion, as if I had asked a stupid question like what is one plus one equals.

"Apart from this, what other results could there be?"

I tried to look confused very seriously. Damn it, there was absolutely no way I could refute this person.

"Compared to this, Mr. Hikigaya, you should talk about your experiences in detail." Hai Zhixing narrowed his eyes and looked at me with a bright smile.

Girls of this age are very gossipy. After all, this is an effective way to eliminate their excess hormones. In boring campus life, what else is interesting besides love? This is probably what most girls think at this age. However, Hai Zhixing is obviously not such a girl. To be precise, Hai Zhixing is similar to me and Yukinoshita in the past. It is impossible to measure them only by the indicator of peers.

Therefore, I have only one conclusion. What Hai Zhixing wants is not just gossip. She probably just wants a handle on me, or something that can shorten the natural identity gap between teacher and student. In this case, I will never let you succeed.

"Just as the word means, I have told you very clearly the outcome of the bet you are interested in." I said this with a slight smile.

"Teacher Hikigaya, generally speaking, normal people would never understand what I said just now in this way." Hai Zhixing's voice was a little angry, and it seemed that she was indeed very interested in the process of the bet.

"It's better not to delve too much into other people's past." I straightened my face and tried to appear serious.

"Mr. Hikigaya, such deliberate actions will only disgust others."

Have you been discovered? It turns out that teaching by example is not effective at all. Speaking of which, my high school life was also a mess, so I have no position to educate high school students with the same problems. So, Huqiu is more suitable for me to impart unnecessary knowledge in the classroom.

Recently, it seems that teachers are constantly complaining that they are completely unable to enter the inner world of contemporary high school students. In this open era of knowledge explosion, students are always exposed to some strange knowledge. Coupled with the unique comprehension ability and vigorous energy of this age group, they always form a worldview and code of conduct that makes people speechless.

The so-called high school second disease is probably this kind of disease.

Inexplicably, we were given such an unexpected work intensity by the teacher. Ordinary people are fine. Those who are seriously ill always say things like "Oregairu fights for another 500 years", "Buy isshiki stocks", "It's not me who is wrong, it's the world" and other meaningless lines. However, Umi no Hoshi does not have such a disease as high school second disease. On the contrary, if you look at it normally, she is just a normal high school teenager, studying normally, caring about friends normally, and working hard normally. If there is anything different from ordinary people, it is probably that she is the first in the academic performance of the school year, and her only friend is the simple Tamasaka. In addition, this person works so hard that I decided to abandon my prejudice against her. I seriously think she is a very capable assistant.

Ordinary yet special, giving people such a feeling.

However, there's a subtle sense of dissonance when getting along with her, which makes people feel a little uncomfortable. If I have to make a metaphor, it's the awkward Yukinoshita.

Because of perfection, I became stubborn; because of stubbornness, I explored alone; because of loneliness, I went astray.

"However, teacher, you are right. Some memories of the past cannot be explored, cannot be picked up, and cannot be recalled. They can only be buried deep in the deepest part of one's heart..."

The voice was filled with a painful calmness, just as I deliberately put on a serious expression to teach Hai Zhixing a lesson, Hai Zhixing also deliberately put on a calm look.

"That's it. Everyone is so selfish, arrogant, and self-centered. This is probably what the so-called world is like..."

Hai Zhixing's gaze was no longer focused on me. She turned her head towards the window, as if looking at the sky. I couldn't see Hai Zhixing's expression at the moment. The wind blew up the white curtains of the health room and Hai Zhixing's brown hair, fluttering in the air. The sun shone in from the window, making the whole room black and white. Hai Zhixing was on the dividing line between sunlight and shadow, as beautiful as a postmodern painting.

However, the feeling given by the painting is not joyful or happy, but confused, as if it is a feeling of despair. I opened my mouth slightly, wanting to say something but nothing came out.

Perhaps I have also experienced such confusion and despair, not knowing what to do next.

But I was redeemed by others, so what about the sea star? Can Tamasaka redeem her? Or in other words, can Tamasaka redeem her alone?

What the Sea Star was hiding was definitely something I wanted to hide just like I did before.

It's like Pandora's box, full of the dark things in this world, but there is something like hope.

If I leave it alone, I can live without any guilt, just like what teacher Shizuka Hiratsuka said to me when I was lost.

"I think, maybe it doesn't matter even if it's not you. Maybe at some point in the future, Yukinoshita will change herself. Maybe one day, someone who can understand her will appear, and maybe someone will step into her heart. The same is true for Yuigahama..."

One day in the future, there will definitely be such a person who will enter the heart of Sea Star and make Sea Star change. Or, Sea Star can also mature and understand and make changes on his own.

But I always feel that I don’t want to give up just like that. Although I am not a savior, I also have things that I want to save, my students. This reason is enough for me to work hard for it.

"If it's Hikigaya-kun, you will definitely become an excellent teacher. You must work hard and teach our children well in the future."

For no reason, a fragment of memory suddenly broke into my mind. It was a sunny afternoon, with unknown but fragrant flowers blooming on the path of the campus. The shade of the trees and the light were playing on the ground. People were happily lying or sitting on the lawn, or couples were happily cuddling together. She and I were studying in the library. Suddenly, as if she had discovered something, she put her pen aside, looked up at me, and said something that shocked me.

"It's based on the premise that I'm going to marry you, right? That's a really incredible assumption!"

"Really? Hikigaya-kun is like this again..." Her tone sounded like a complaint, but her expression showed genuine happiness from the bottom of her heart.

I am really upset. What Hai Zhixing said is right. Everyone has a memory that cannot be explored, picked up, or recalled. It can only be buried deep in the heart...

"Star of the Sea..."

"Teacher, you still have work to do, right? I'll take care of Tamasaka, so you just go to work."

"but……"

"I don't want the teacher to miss the deadline. If that happens, I will be derelict in my duty as an assistant."

Why is there such unexpected common sense and sense of responsibility in a place like this?

"Don't worry, Mr. Hikigaya, I can take good care of Tamae... Ah cut!"

This person sneezed subtly while saying those cool words, which made me feel completely uneasy to leave. The atmosphere was so awkward and I had no idea how to start a conversation.

"As a teacher, it's better for me to stay. Also, Hai Zhixing, you'd better take a rest." Then Hai Zhixing gave me a dark look. After seeing this person's dark expression, my body couldn't help but tremble, and cold sweat naturally flowed out.

"What are you talking about? Hikigaya-sensei? Why should I be reduced to the point where you have to worry about me?"

She actually used the word "fallen". Doesn't this person understand that I am her teacher? Don't think that adding the word "teacher" to your name is respectful enough. Please pay more attention to your words!

Hey, why did I suddenly recall my attitude towards Mr. Hiratsuka?

"Anyway, Mr. Hikigaya, please leave immediately. Your presence here is not conducive to Tamasaka-san's recovery. The air makes me feel uncomfortable."

"I don't remember being transformed into such a powerful biological weapon by some strange doctor."

Umi no Hoshi showed an expression of looking down on me, just like when Komachi looked down on me.

"It's so annoying. I'm so fed up with this. Hikigaya-sensei, are you the kind of man who will keep pestering me? If you keep doing this, I'll have to call the police!"

This guy really thinks I'm a nuisance! His language is full of violence that makes me sigh, worthy of today's high school students!

"I know, can't I just leave?" I had no choice but to compromise and left the health room with a hurt look on my face. Why did I not have the dignity of a teacher in front of Hai Zhixing? Was there something wrong with my approach to people?

I locked the door, adjusted my breathing and took a deep breath. My brain became clearer and some things gradually became clear. The Star of the Sea was concerned about my past, probably not for the reason of finding something to hold against me, because I had been completely defeated by her in the current situation, and there was no need for her to do these unnecessary things. So, there was only one conclusion. She probably wanted to find the answers to her doubts through my coming in.

Come to think of it, this was also the reason why she became my assistant. What an unlovable child.

Someone who is working so hard to find the answer is definitely not someone who needs to be taught as Hiratsuka-sensei said.

After learning the unnecessary information, I left the health room feeling relaxed. Next, I still had several departments to interview.

I didn't know that soon after I left the health room, I heard a burst of rapid coughing...

After I finished my work, it was around six or seven in the evening. Most of the students had already left the campus, so the campus seemed empty at this time.

I returned to my office, took out the newly prepared scarf and put it around my neck. I adjusted the position of the scarf with my hands, and after feeling comfortable, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Chapter 45: Unbearable Cold

In the afternoon, the temperature suddenly dropped for some reason. I was still working outside and thought, "It should be fine if I just hold on a little longer," so I worked hard. But in the end, the weather taught me what naivety is... It was too cold to bear in the middle of the work, so I had to go back to the office, get out my coat, and then continue working.

I clasped my hands together and blew a breath into my palms, and my cold hands felt warm. Although I prepared a scarf, I didn't expect the temperature to drop so quickly, so I didn't prepare gloves. I had planned to bring them in a few days, but this really proves the old saying, man proposes, God disposes.

However, the occasional drastic change in weather is also part of Chiba's charm. Such sudden changes are probably like the sudden turn of events in a romantic comedy.

After packing my backpack and making sure I didn't forget anything, I said "thank you for your hard work" to the empty office and closed the door.

The corridor was indeed much colder than the office with electric heaters. I could clearly feel the cold wind taking away the heat from my body. Since my clothes were still very thin, I wrapped myself tightly in my coat. Even so, I could still feel my body gradually becoming stiff due to the cold.

The weather is so cold, I suddenly feel a little worried about Uminohoshi and Tamasaka. I just went to the health room and confirmed that they have left, but I don’t know the exact time they left. If I remember correctly, they were still wearing clothes that made people feel very youthful and summery. High school girls are really a very strange group. They are still dressed so pleasingly when winter is about to come. I really hope they leave school earlier so that they don’t have to endure the cold like me.

The distance from the office building to the playground is about five minutes. When I walked out of the door, the cold wind blowing in my face made me shiver.

I was still debating whether to ride a bike or take the train back, but it seems that I have no choice but to take the train. Riding a bike in such weather, although my apartment is not far from the school, I absolutely cannot stand the gusts of cold wind blowing towards me. In addition, without Komachi's cute "back seat heater", I will definitely catch a cold when I get home.

Wait, doesn't this mean I can take a leave from work? I unexpectedly want to give it a try. If I catch a cold, Mr. Hiratsuka won't force me to work, right? I guess...

As I thought of something happy, I walked towards the shed where my bicycle was parked with a little excitement.

"Ding." The sound of a text message alert rang at this time. Because I was a little confused about who would send me a text message at this time, I took out my mobile phone to check it out. As soon as I opened the screen, I saw the three words "Yuigahama" written on it.

Doesn't this guy have a job? Why does he have time to text me? Please work seriously and don't fall like Hachiman!

"Hello, Xiaoqi, what are you doing now? Are you counting sheep in bed after work?

Because of my busy work recently, I basically go home very late every day. Every time I go home, I feel like my body is about to fall apart, so on the way to work, I usually miss my bed.

But it's work after all, so I'll still try my best!

And we are going to pick up Yukino together tomorrow night, don't forget! We will meet at Chiba Station at 6:30, remember to come after dinner. "Who would count sheep in bed at this age? Elementary school students nowadays don't use this method to deal with insomnia, okay? Also, your emoticons are really enough. You know, I have to use my imagination every time to understand these things!

While complaining about Yuigahama, I put my phone in my pocket. It seems that my plans for today will have to be put on hold, after all, I still have to go pick up the great devil Yukinoshita tomorrow.

I turned around with a bit of disappointment. It seemed that I had been too busy recently and even forgot my promise to pick up Yukinoshita. I should go back and have a good sleep.

I wonder what Yukinoshita looks like now? Maybe through foreign food and the cultivation of work and rest habits, her figure has become similar to Yuigahama in many aspects. After all, she has a sister like Haruno, so it is not impossible from a genetic point of view.

My brain imagined that scene for a moment, and then I couldn't help laughing. It was indeed too funny.

"Hikigaya, how come you can have such rich expressions even when you're out of school? Are you working hard to become the emperor of facial expressions?"

A familiar voice woke me up from my fantasy, and I looked in the direction of the voice, and I could see a man in a white coat smoking a cigarette very handsomely, leaning against a black luxury car. At first glance, one might mistake him for a promising young man, but if you look closely, you will find that the person leaning against the car is indeed an absolute beauty. These two strange attributes combined, that is my beloved teacher Hiratsuka!