Hikigaya Hachiman is still in the dark

"However, there are so many righteous theories in the world, but how many people can really put them into practice? The righteous theory says that we should be honest with others, but the real world is full of lies; the righteous theory says that we should treat others fairly, but the real world is full of injustice; the righteous theory says that we should be faithful to one person, but the world is full of betrayal."

"What people expect is often not available in reality. It is precisely because people expect honesty, fairness, and loyalty that all of this becomes a legitimate theory. However, conversely, it is also because these things are very lacking in real life that people expect them. Only when something is not available or lacking will people expect it. I feel a little annoyed. For Yukinoshita and for myself, I have done nothing wrong. Why should I be subjected to such unreasonable accusations here?

"You're so long-winded." I whispered. Even though I spoke softly, Komachi quickly noticed that something was wrong with me. A panicked expression quickly appeared on her face. She nervously grabbed my hand and pulled my body down. Then she leaned close to my ear and said in a voice that Yukinoshita couldn't hear: "Brother, can you understand the current situation? It's very bad now. If you can, can you be patient? Don't make the situation more complicated!"

"But in fact, I did nothing wrong!" I said a little stubbornly. According to common sense, there was nothing wrong with me saving my students. Why did I have to endure Yukinoshita's sarcasm and ridicule for no reason? Even though I was wrong, wouldn't it be too annoying to keep doing this? Looking up, Yukinoshita seemed to have noticed the abnormality between Komachi and me, and was looking at us with a puzzled look.

"Um, Sister Yukino, I'll talk to my brother about the shopping list later. Don't worry about us." Komachi changed her tone first, and after explaining with a flustered wave of her hands, she turned around and roughly pulled my body down close to my ear with her hands.

"Brother, you are an idiot and a loser, Hachiman. Is this the time for you to complain?"

"But..." Although I knew that Komachi was right, I still felt uncomfortable. "Anyway, listen to Komachi here." Komachi interrupted me very firmly and said in a very imposing manner. She stood up again and ignored me, and instead smiled at Yukinoshita very energetically.

"Senior Yukinoshita, we've finished talking. Let's go!" After saying this, Komachi and Yukinoshita walked towards the convenience store. This person still looked away unnaturally. He really couldn't let it go. However, it seemed that it was better to face it in silence at this stage.

Anyway, I have been misunderstood a lot since I was a child, and now it is just a replay of the past. Thinking this, I took a step forward and followed Komachi and Yukinoshita.

Although it was my first time going out, I didn't get lost because the neighborhood signs were very well-placed, and I walked to the convenience store smoothly. When I walked to the door of the store, I saw a building that looked like a department store and thought I had found the wrong place for a moment. After carefully checking the house number, I finally confirmed that I had found the right place...

It is indeed a high-end apartment enjoyed by the rich. Even the convenience store can be seen as different from ordinary residential areas. Such a scale can be regarded as a department store by outsiders. It feels that even if the end of the world comes, the supplies here should be able to sustain for a long time. What's the reason for the inexplicable sense of security?

Looking at Yukinoshita and Komachi standing aside, Komachi was looking at the store in surprise just like me. In comparison, Yukinoshita seemed much calmer. After all, Yukinoshita had lived in a similar high-end apartment before, so she should be used to it.

“This is so huge, it’s more like a shopping mall than a convenience store!”

"If we use a common definition, it should indeed be closer to a shopping mall." Yukinoshita nodded in response to Komachi, who was now wide-eyed and sighing.

"It's really big. It feels a bit inappropriate to go in just to buy ingredients." Komachi said while looking around. Could it be that this guy is checking the contents of the shopping bags of the people around him? Thinking of this, I also cast my eyes on the people who were returning from shopping in the surrounding area. Indeed, few people looked like they were here to buy ingredients.

"This apartment has a special food delivery agency, so generally speaking, few people come here to buy ingredients." Noticing Komachi's confusion, Yukinoshita explained.

"Oh, I see." Komachi nodded. "But compared to ordering takeout, it's better to cook your own food when you get together."

"I just returned home, and it's more attractive to taste the rare dishes made by Komachi than to order takeout." Wait, Yukinoshita, that's my line, right? Komachi came out to buy ingredients for me, "No, no, Komachi also wants to taste the dishes made by sister Yukino who I haven't seen for a long time. The cookies in the club room in high school were super delicious."

Komachi also happily responded to Yukinoshita. Why can't I get a word in on the conversation between these two people? Is it because the househusband's energy is not enough? And Komachi's way of calling her is too intimate. To my surprise, Yukinoshita didn't resist? Emmmmm, as expected, Komachi still felt a little guilty about this.

"Well, let's go!" Komachi shouted excitedly, and then pulled me and Yukinoshita into the mall. Since it was equipped with air conditioning, we quickly felt the heat when we walked into the mall. After all, it was autumn outside, so it was still a little cold, so we pulled the zipper down a little.

The inside of the mall is just as impressive as the outside, with bright lights and magnificently decorated shops, giving people the illusion that this is not a place to buy food.

But if you think about it carefully, this seems to be the only place in the entire apartment complex that can provide shopping services. Plus, the people who live here are generally wealthy people, so this kind of decoration is still within an acceptable range. And it's not even on the floor where you buy food. This is mainly a place that sells electronic products such as electrical appliances and mobile phones, so it's not hard to understand why the decoration is so good.

I walked to the floor plan with Komachi and found that the 2nd and 3rd floors were for clothes, and the food was on the 4th floor. There was also a direct elevator from the 4st floor to the 1th floor, probably to prevent sales from being affected on the 3st to rd floors. If people carrying food were always passing by when buying electrical appliances or clothes, many people would probably lose their enthusiasm for shopping.

Chapter 58 Repeating the Mistakes of the Past

After confirming the information, I returned to Yukinoshita's side. After Komachi explained something to Yukinoshita, we came to the escalator that went directly to the 4th floor. When getting on the elevator, for some reason Komachi suddenly took a step back. We were originally three people walking side by side, but soon it became a situation where Yukinoshita and I were on the same step.

After Komachi stepped back, Yukinoshita and I naturally moved to the sides, resulting in an unconventional-looking empty space in the middle.

About halfway through this situation, I heard Komachi sighing softly from behind me.

"Has the flag been pulled out?"

Flag? What is that?

While I was still confused, Komachi came forward quickly and pulled me and Yukinoshita with her hands respectively. Because of Komachi's sudden action, Yukinoshita and I were caught off guard and moved to the middle.

"Speaking of which, this shopping mall is really huge!" Komachi exclaimed.

"Didn't I just say that?" Complaining like this, I stood up straight again and leaned towards the escalator next to me.

I don't know if it was an illusion, but after I did this, Komachi let out a louder sigh. We soon arrived at the fourth floor, and when I looked inside, it was indeed a large food shopping area. The dazzling array of vegetables and meats made me a little stunned. For me, who only relies on instant noodles and convenient bento for meals, I was really surprised that there were so many types of food!

“It’s unexpectedly huge here!”

"In order to satisfy the tastes of the residents in the apartment as much as possible, the ingredients here are more comprehensive, so it's normal that it's a little bigger." Yukinoshita explained to Komachi.

As if she was worried about something, Komachi held her chin with her hand, "But it will take a lot of time to buy ingredients for such a big mall..." But then Komachi seemed to have thought of something, and quickly swept away her previous worries, looking at Yukinoshita with very enthusiastic eyes: "Yukinoshita-senpai, it will take too much time for us to go shopping in such a big mall together, it is better for us to act separately."

"But I don't know what ingredients to buy." Xue Zhixia said with difficulty.

"Well, this time we buy our own things separately, and then make our own things when we go home in the evening, how about that?"

"This is indeed a correct suggestion. Let's do as you say." After thinking for a while, Yukinoshita replied to Komachi.

"That's it." Komachi laughed happily, then walked to my side and pushed me next to Yukinoshita.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked in panic.

"Komachi is going to demonstrate the secret techniques she learned in college, so I can't let you follow me. I'll just go with Yukinoshita-senpai." Then Komachi looked up at Yukinoshita happily, "That's it, Yukinoshita-senpai, I'll leave my brother to you!"

"Wait a minute, Komachi..."

Before Yukinoshita could finish her anxious voice, Komachi quickly fled from our sight, leaving only Yukinoshita and I there.

Eh? Why did it turn out like this? Komachi, you were so decisive in putting your dear brother in such a terrible situation, weren't you?

"Well, it seems..." Not knowing how to start the conversation, I said something very ambiguous.

"If possible, could you please stay away from me for a while?"

"Oh, um, sorry." Because Komachi pushed me hard, the distance between Yukinoshita and I was now subtly close. Yukinoshita's words made me realize this, and I quickly distanced myself from Yukinoshita.

When I retreated to about a meter away, I stood there and looked at Yukinoshita. As expected, I still don't know how to start a conversation...

"Although I really want to act separately, judging from Komachi's description, it doesn't seem possible for us to go separately." To my surprise, Yukinoshita spoke to me first.

"What do you mean?" I looked at Yukinoshita puzzledly. Although she was still angry, she seemed to be analyzing the situation seriously.

"Then let me ask you a question first, can potatoes with sprouts be eaten?"

"Well..." The unexpected question made me hesitate a little. Since I had no idea of ​​the answer, I whispered in a try-it-out manner: "I think we can eat it after removing the sprouts, right?"

"If you answer with a question, I can know what I want to know." Yukinoshita rubbed her temple with a headache on her face. What does that mean? Did I do something stupid again without realizing it?

"In order to prevent us from getting food poisoning, you'd better go with me." With a heavy sigh, Yukinoshita spoke.

"You don't have to force yourself. If you don't want to, I can go back."

Hearing what I said, Yukinoshita lowered her head slightly as if she was struck by something, and then she showed an expression as if she was enduring unbearable pain. I have seen that expression before. When the snow covered the entire city, under the weak but bright lights on the street, in the cold wind, Yukinoshita said to me:

"Actually, you don't have to force yourself. If it's destroyed just by doing this, then it means that this is all there is... right?"

"You don't have to force yourself to come anymore."

At that time, just like now, Yukinoshita had an expression that I will never forget. It was an expression of pain, as if it contained countless emotions that I could not understand.

"That's right. There's really no need to force it. In this case, we should just..."

Yukinoshita spoke slowly, and every word she said made the pain in my heart grow stronger. What was it? This pain in my heart was different from the one in college. It was like the pain of seeing the most precious thing in my heart passing away in front of me.

I clearly thought that I would never let anyone show such an expression for me again. What did I do? Did I really do something wrong? Or are there some things that I am destined not to be able to obtain?

Obviously nothing serious happened, why did things develop to this point?

"Separate here..."

"Hey, Yukinoshita and Hikigaya, why are you here?"

The unexpected sound broke the suffocating atmosphere.

Following the sound, the first thing that caught my eye was a very eye-catching blue hair in the crowd. Because she had just stopped, it was still flying in the air. The pleasant smell of shampoo instantly filled my nose. Looking carefully at the owner of the blue hair, she was wearing a very formal black business suit. The slim business suit showed off her perfect figure in front of others. The red high heels and the suit complemented each other, and the woman had a strong aura like a queen.

Kawasaki bowed slightly and looked at me and Yukinoshita with a little surprise, "Why are you here? If I remember correctly, you should not live here." Although I want to explain to you, the process is too complicated and I don't want to talk about it at all. I might as well just say hello.

"Hello, Kawasaki-san." I greeted him a little stiffly. Because it was sudden, I unconsciously said the greeting I had done in high school.

"It's been so many years since we graduated from high school. Kawasaki's greeting might be a little awkward." I don't know why after I greeted him, Kawasaki was obviously stunned, and then looked at me with a slightly cold look.

Are you not satisfied with my address? But I don't know how to address you now that I'm here! Should I just call you by your name? But I don't think our relationship is as good as it is now. Would it be a bit abrupt to call you by your name suddenly?

As if seeing through my distress, Kawasaki sighed helplessly at first, then looked at me with a blushing face: "If you want to be normal, just call me Kawasaki."

Eh? Is this the right way to call it? This removes the word "classmates" and it doesn't seem to change anything.

"Then... Kawasaki?" Forget it, I'd better call her the way she said.

"Well, if we meet in the future, just call me Kawasaki." Kawasaki said with a gentle smile, and then he seemed to notice Yukinoshita beside him and said to her, "Yukinoshita, you can call me Kawasaki too."

The tone is subtle and a little strange. Why does it feel like a corporate slave meeting his boss?

"Yeah." Yukinoshita nodded gently, but why did she feel a little uncomfortable? Could this be the legendary "Queen One More Explosion Theorem"? Judging from her outfit, Kawasaki should be a very successful woman now. As for Yukinoshita, she has always been a person with a very strong aura.

Although Kawasaki's appearance resolved the suffocating atmosphere just now, for some reason, I felt that I was subtly falling into a bad situation again.

"Eh? Yukinoshita, are you here to buy ingredients?" Kawasaki said to me and Yukinoshita.

"I guess so, but your wording was a bit wrong. Hikigaya and I were just about to separate."

Indeed, if the atmosphere just now continued, Yukinoshita and I would definitely go buy ingredients separately. Although I feel that if I buy them alone, Komachi will definitely complain when I get back, but to be honest, I don’t know how to break the situation just now, and this feeling of powerlessness makes me a little uncomfortable.

"Eh? Why, don't you live together?"

The unexpected words made Yukinoshita and I both freeze in a daze. What was this? This person said something so dangerous right from the start. What should I do? Such words did not make people feel shy but rather super terrified. Yukinoshita was still angry. Wouldn't such words push Yukinoshita's anger level to the MAX? Wouldn't my life be in danger?

"Although it's annoying, let me confirm it for now." Yukinoshita tried her best to lower her voice. It was so scary, the current Yukinoshita, "The cohabitation you mentioned means two people in love living together temporarily, the general meaning between opposite sexes?"

"Well, that's about what it means." Kawasaki was not frightened by Yukinoshita's aura. It seemed that he was talking to Yukinoshita in a very normal way. These two people were really amazing. As another party involved, I couldn't get involved in their conversation at all. I didn't know if there was anyone selling MAX coffee nearby. Now I just wanted to drink MAX coffee quietly.

"Why would I live with Hikigaya? Kawasaki-san, you should know it's impossible!" Yukinoshita narrowed her eyes, but the cold air still came over her. Stop it, get along well. And there seems to be something wrong with your address.

Chapter 59 This joke is not funny

Kawasaki faced Yukinoshita calmly without fear of her cold gaze. "To put it simply, the only explanation for us being here together is living together, right?"

This is a very common reasoning. Two young men and women coming to a convenience store together to buy food will have that kind of association no matter how you look at it. From the perspective of ordinary people, this is indeed a correct inference.

"If possible, could you please stop speculating about other people's relationships? Hikigaya and I don't have the relationship you say we have."

I could clearly feel the anger in Yukinoshita's voice. A long time ago, Yukinoshita hated people speculating about her relationship with others. Just like when Isshiki was discussing her relationship with Hayama in the club room, Yukinoshita got angry at Isshiki for once. She did not pamper Isshiki like before. That time, she was really angry towards Isshiki.

I probably understand that, the rumors about Yukinoshita, Hayama and Haruno when she was young shattered the past that Yukinoshita cherished. From that time on, Yukinoshita hated rumors about herself. She hated others' random speculations about her relationship with others. Although Yukinoshita said that as long as the people she cared about understood her, she would still get angry when people knew about her speculations in person.

Many times, rumors are not scary. What is scary is the collapse of daily life caused by the rumors. It is very common to be dating a girl and maintaining an ordinary interpersonal relationship, but because of the rumors, you don’t know how to face her. Although the person who spreads the rumors may not have malicious intentions, the person’s daily life will still collapse. Many times, the fragile relationships between people can be broken so easily.

"Oh, I thought it was just a joke I made to ordinary friends. I don't know why you took it so seriously."

"I'm sorry, but that joke isn't funny."

Why is the situation so tense? Is the relationship between the two of them so bad? Or did something happen between them in college?

Women are such scary creatures...

However, I cannot ignore the current situation. Thinking this in my mind, I looked at the people around me with a wry smile. Although I really wanted to escape from this place, looking at the current atmosphere, if I ran away, I would probably feel ridiculed to death by Komachi when I return.

The attention of the people around us also began to gather here. Judging from their very dramatic changes in expressions and their suspicious, curious and gossipy eyes, perhaps various versions of the things between me, Yukinoshita and Kawasaki have begun to take shape in their minds. This is not good. Yukinoshita and I are not good at dealing with large crowds. As expected, I had better find a reason to leave here quickly.

"Um, Kawasaki-san..." When she said this, Kawasaki looked at me with a very stern expression. She forgot that she had asked me to call her Kawasaki. Realizing this, I quickly adjusted my tone and said, "Kawasaki..." Then I paused and secretly looked at Kawasaki's expression. Seeing that Kawasaki's expression had eased, I continued, "Kawasaki, are you here to buy ingredients?"

"Well, although I have a secretary who can do it for me, I'm still used to going to the convenience store to buy ingredients myself when I'm free."

After all, Kawasaki has had to do housework all the time in order to take care of his younger siblings, so even now he probably can't change some of his old habits. But wait, if my guess is correct, Kawasaki should be successful in his career now. Coupled with his hard work, wouldn't it be an ideal goal for him to be a house husband?

“Hikigaya-kun, your gaze has become so disgusting.” Apparently noticing the malice in my gaze, Yukinoshita even walked to the side. Ah, at this distance, I could totally pass her off as a passerby…

"Hey, if we're buying ingredients, how about we go together?"

"It's okay for me, but didn't someone just say that you are about to separate?" Kawasaki raised his hand to check his watch, then looked at Yukinoshita with a slightly cold look.

"In that case..." Yukinoshita pursed her lips slightly, and finally said as if she had made up her mind: "Let's compete separately..."

Before Yukinoshita finished speaking, I realized that something was wrong with my current situation. Neither Yukinoshita, nor I, nor even Kawasaki, had done anything wrong. We should not be in this situation now, even though I didn't know what to do before. But if it were now, if I took a step forward now, then maybe the current situation would not be like this.

"If possible, Yukinoshita and I have just moved in. Kawasaki, you should have lived here for a long time, right? If possible, can you take Yukinoshita and I around? And what I said just now was just a joke from Yukinoshita, don't take it too seriously." I interrupted Yukinoshita before she could finish her words, and I said this to Kawasaki.

Then both of them looked at me in silence. Oh, did I say something really extraordinary? Kawasaki kept switching his gaze between me and Yukinoshita, which made me uncomfortable. Yukinoshita looked at me in shock at first, then quickly turned her face away. I don't know if it was an illusion, but when Yukinoshita turned around, there was a faint smile on the corner of her mouth, like a lotus in summer.

"Sure enough, it's still very suspicious..." Kawasaki's voice sounded low beside me. Because it was very quiet, I couldn't hear it clearly. Was he talking about potatoes or something like that? Indeed, potato stew is an easy and popular dish.

"That's okay. We have plenty of time today, so I don't mind. But I don't know if the person next to you is willing." Kawasaki lowered her head to check her watch again, then raised her head and said to me. She seemed to glance at Yukinoshita next to me.

"Whatever you like." Yukinoshita said this while staring at me.

Eh, she agreed so easily? Based on her previous performance, I thought it would take a lot of effort for her to agree, but I didn't expect her to agree so easily.

Although it was hard to understand, I didn't know why, so I turned my attention back to Kawasaki. After hearing Yukinoshita's answer, Kawasaki shrugged and said, "Well, how about we go now?"

"Yeah, it did take a long time." I nodded. I had already wasted a lot of time here. If I continued, Komachi might have to wait too long again, so it would be better to set off now.

"So, what kind of dishes are you going to make? If possible, I can take you directly to the store, so you don't have to go around in circles."

Kawasaki was unexpectedly reliable at this time, and I felt much more at ease. This should save a lot of time.