Hikigaya Hachiman is still in the dark

"I can do this myself."

"It's okay. Sister Yukino just returned home, right? Let me take care of this little thing. It's okay, Komachi."

"Well, thank you." Yukinoshita nodded with a slight blush.

I remember that Yukinoshita looked like this when we wished her a happy birthday. Is it possible that Yukinoshita is actually very shy?

Maybe I'm still not used to facing other people's pure kindness? After all, something like that happened in elementary school, and since then I seem to have been working hard alone, so maybe even now when I face other people's frank kindness, I still feel a little shy and at a loss.

However, Yukinoshita is worthy of being Yukinoshita. The dishes on the table today are basically traditional RB dishes. Although Yukinoshita has studied abroad for a long time, the food she cooked is still very delicious. Even though I was in a very bad mood just now, seeing such food made my appetite open, as if the haze was swept away at once. Food can affect people's mood, and I learned such insignificant knowledge.

"How is it, brother? Sister Yukino's cooking skills are really great. I saw that her knife skills are really great. By the way, Komachi helped a lot. The stewed meat with potatoes was made entirely by me, Komachi." Seeing me take a bite of the food, Komachi puffed out her chest with a little pride, looked at me confidently and said.

I don't know why, but Yukinoshita looked towards me. Although she was still angry, it seemed that she cared a lot about other people's comments on her cooking. This person is really competitive. It was the same when we first met. She knew that it was Hiratsuka teacher's provocation, but she still agreed to Hiratsuka teacher's request.

If that's the case, then surely Yukinoshita's stubbornness was the beginning of my youth romance, and also the first reason for me to sigh.

At that time, Yukinoshita was a girl who was so proud that she was troublesome. She thought I liked her, and after chatting with me for a few sentences, she said that my problem had been solved, and she was very confident that she was a beautiful girl or something.

Although it is true, it still feels a bit strange when I say it myself. It's like that, you like someone, even though others more or less know your feelings through speculation, but when you really confess your feelings to them, you will inevitably have a different experience.

After that, a lot of things happened. Looking back now, I was so naive that it made people laugh. I wonder if the photos from that time are still there.

This was probably the best thing I did. Although it seems very childish now, I put the electronic data of all the photos in a USB drive and carefully kept it in my original house. If I have time, I will go home and look for that USB drive.

The food in my mouth became even more delicious. It was like I had opened my heart and I said things that I would never say normally.

“It’s really delicious, I like it very much, thank you.”

After I finished speaking, Komachi put down her chopsticks as if she was hit by something, and then turned her eyes away shyly: "Brother, you always come up with such direct answers suddenly, and it's just a Hachiman!" Although your body is still twisting and turning, why do I always feel that the last sentence doesn't sound like a compliment to me at all.

Yukinoshita closed her eyes, lowered her head and smoothed her hair as if it was a matter of course: "Really? I just did it according to my memory."

It seems that I am still the same as before. When I receive compliments from others, I always think about turning them down.

"Xue-no, don't be so modest. You are still as outstanding as before." Saying this, Yang-no picked up a piece of sushi. She didn't know why she was staring at the sushi, as if she was thinking about something. Finally, she put down the sushi and looked at Yukinoshita thoughtfully: "Xue-no, she will definitely become a good wife."

Then she took a small bite of the sushi and nodded slightly as if relieved: "Sure enough, compared with the sushi made by Yukino in the past, it is subtly sweeter. It shouldn't be caused by accident, right?" As she said this, Yangno looked at me meaningfully.

"As expected, Yukino-chan, you will make a very good bride."

She emphasized it deliberately, but for some reason, Yang No's words that sounded like praise made the atmosphere cold. Yukinoshita looked at Yang No with sharp eyes, "Can you be a little quiet when eating?"

It's so scary. Now Yukinoshita has made the room as hot as the South Pole. Yukinoshita used field magic - Frozen Polar Region, which caused tons of damage to Hachiman.

"Hi!" Yang No responded with a tone that made it hard to tell whether she agreed or not. It felt like she hadn't listened at all. I don't know why, after Yang No agreed, she looked at me and blinked proudly. Komachi beside her also looked at Yukinoshita with interest.

So, the looks you give me are so embarrassing. Please don’t do that if possible. It’s super annoying.

Then they talked about Yukinoshita's experience studying abroad, Komachi's university life, and Haruno complained a little about the various grievances she had after entering politics. Of course, I didn't join in their conversation. Yukinoshita was probably still angry, and I had an instinctive fear of Haruno, so I basically tried my best to finish the food on the table. After all, I was really tired.

And so it felt a little strange to be having my first dinner in my new apartment.

After dinner, I wanted to help clean up the dishes, but Komachi quickly ran to me and took my bowl to the kitchen. Seeing that I was about to take action, Komachi, who had just run out of the kitchen, walked quickly in front of me again, and put the plate in my hand on the table with a bit of force.

"Brother, aren't you very tired? Don't be stubborn and go back to rest." She was so angry that she almost glared at me. She gave me a very tough feeling, as if the positions were reversed. Now I felt that Komachi was like an older sister.

Although it felt a bit tough and made me a little uncomfortable, what surged in my heart was more joy, joy for my sister's growth, and through her performance, I could feel her sincere and clear love that she had known since childhood. I love Komachi, and Komachi also loves me. This is a fact that we both knew very early on. Although this kind of love is not love, it is not a love that will accompany you until old age, but a simpler and purer family love, but if it is 20 years, and even continues without interruption, this kind of love may be something heavier than love.

My expression softened as this thought crossed my mind.

"Then please."

"Hey." Komachi responded to me with great energy. After smiling at me, she quickly went back to busying herself with cleaning the dishes. Speaking of which, Komachi is really a waiter who can definitely become the signature of the store...

Chapter 64 Who is it?

I originally wanted to stay and help, but since there is no need, I might as well go back.

As I walked out of Yukinoshita's apartment, I looked uneasily at Yukinoshita who was cleaning the table with Komachi. I don't know if she noticed my gaze, but I felt that after I looked at her, Yukinoshita also looked at me.

It should be an illusion, just like children often have the illusion that the person they like is looking at them. This is not good. As someone who has experienced this, I should not have such an illusion.

However, I stopped and thought that it was indeed a high-end apartment. I did not feel a bit of cold in the corridor on an autumn night. The heat from the air conditioner made me feel like I was on a refreshing summer night. I felt a little too hot and unzipped my collar. I looked along the corridor to the window at the end. Through the glass, I could see the dark night with a glow on the horizon.

No matter how warm the air conditioner is, no matter how bright the lights in the corridor are, or how thick the windows are, they cannot cover up the fact that this is a cold autumn night. No matter how much you try to escape, one day everyone will have to face this long night.

I felt inexplicably cold, and pulled my collar tightly together again with my hands. I returned to my apartment as if I was escaping.

I returned to the apartment and naturally went to the refrigerator to make a cup of coffee. I opened the refrigerator and saw that it was empty. There was no such thing. I forgot that this was my new home. It seemed that the previous furniture was perfectly handled by Yang No... That hateful woman!

Forget it, I gave up and went back to the living room and poured myself a glass of water. Although the refrigerator was empty, it looked like there was drinking water prepared. After all, it was a high-end apartment, so it was understandable.

However, the rent is relatively high.

But fortunately, I still have a way to deal with it.

I smiled with a bit of complacency, then took out my cell phone and made a call that I thought I would never make again, a call that had brought me countless nightmares.

"Hello, who is that?"

Whenever I hear such voices, I become inexplicably anxious. Is it true that occupational diseases cannot be cured? But after all, I am asking for help from others, so I can't get angry. I lower my voice to appear calm.

"Hello, Editor Kunihara." At the end, his voice became very stiff and the corners of his mouth began to twitch slightly.

Yes, the person I called was Kunihara Hino, the editor who gave me endless dark memories of college.

Originally, I had completely deleted Guoyuan's contact information after I officially graduated, and vowed never to contact this editor who brought me so many painful memories. Although from an adult's perspective, it is understandable that this is his job, but I don't think there is another person in the world who uses such a cruel method. The phone calls that follow him every day, the letters filled with all kinds of complaints are sent to school at a frequency of ten per day, and finally, they moved to the side of the apartment I rented... All these things made me averse to the profession of novelist. After officially graduating, I quickly cut off contact with Editor Guoyuan, and I didn't want to get involved in a profession like novelist at all.

Having said that, my current financial situation is very bad. I have to pay the rent for two high-end apartments at the same time. Although I have a lot of savings from writing novels because my novels are popular, most of them are used for university tuition and living expenses. In addition, the vacuum period when I just graduated, my savings can not support such a life very well. And from the current situation, the cost of living in a high-end community is much better than that of an ordinary community. After all, such an apartment makes me constantly sigh that it is a high-end apartment. What you get must be paid. Such an equal exchange, since I have obtained such an apartment, the rent will naturally be much higher.

To sum up, in order to maintain my life, I really need a chance to earn extra money. I still care about my current job, so I can quickly throw away the idea of ​​changing jobs. As a teacher, I can also open a cram school outside to earn some extra money through tutoring, but looking at the current situation, cram schools probably can't make up for the financial gap, so I can only go back to my old job and write novels...

It won't take a lot of time, and if it's serialized in a monthly magazine, it basically won't affect normal teaching. I just guess I'll have to sleep a little less every day. Well, but basically the work is done on the deadline. Come to think of it, I seem to have had this tradition for a long time, and it was the same when I made brochures for Isshiki.

But speaking of it, Yang No really could have anticipated my situation and really understood that I could afford the expenses of two luxury apartments like this. I always feel like I am following Yang No's pace, which makes me a little unhappy...

"Hey, isn't this Hikigaya-kun? What do you want to talk to me about?" I can completely feel the pride in his tone. After all, if someone who had previously planned not to contact you suddenly calls you, you will definitely feel this way. For example, it is like a certain region clamoring for independence, but in the end still asks to return to you for asylum... But I really didn't want to contact Kunihara. If he were normal, it would be fine, but Kunihara is a very abnormal, abnormal, abnormal editor. Although he is a very nice person, he is almost paranoid about his seriousness at work. Because of this factor, he is on the blacklist of people I least want to contact. By the way, the top of the list is the lovely sister Yangno.

Tsk... I'm disgusted by myself.

My current situation is such that I am in a dilemma. I have no choice but to turn to editor Kunihara for help. Due to my personality, I basically only know one publishing house. Of course, I can also contact Zaimokuza's editor Yukyō, but I always feel that I will lose if I do that. So, using the process of elimination, I still called editor Kunihara.

It's really fate's trick.

The phone call was still going on: "Hello, Editor Kunihara, it's been a while since we last met." I chatted with Kunihara with a very ordinary greeting. Although it was me who made the call, I didn't know how to quickly lead the topic to the new series, so I just used ordinary small talk to get by for the time being.

"Well, it's true that we haven't seen each other for a long time. But if you think about it carefully, it was you who took the initiative to cut off contact in the beginning, right?" Guo Yuan's voice came from the other end of the phone, and it seemed that he had a lot of complaints. After all, no matter why someone actively cut off contact with you, you wouldn't feel happy. It's natural to complain. Of course, I don't regret doing this. After all, such painful urging for updates has left me with memories that are more than just horror.

"Well, I started working officially after that, so I'm quite busy and can't keep in touch with you as before." I said with a tone similar to "Haha". I couldn't say the truth that I was too scared or didn't want to contact you at all, so I could only use such an ambiguous tone to get by. But according to my understanding, "I see, actually I've been busy with work recently. If possible, we can contact each other later."

Tsk, I really didn't succeed? After all, I fought for so long against the person who was praised by the previous editor as the "King of Delayed Updates" in college. By the way, this skill of delaying updates was taught to me by my predecessor, Ai Shang Shaojun, so I am very grateful to him. However, due to the difficulty of dealing with the predecessor, now it is basically the editor-in-chief level people who fight against the predecessor. Senior, you must work hard, keep delaying the update, and urge the update. Be a real man, cute big breasts.

Whoops, off topic.

"Well, actually I have something urgent to tell you. If you have time, can you please let me finish what I have to say?" After all, I was asking for help, so my tone softened unconsciously. It was better to say that I had to beg for mercy. It was still the same as before. Every time the editor and the author fought, I would be defeated perfectly...

"There is nothing I can do about this. After all, this is a request from an author I was once responsible for. Let me forgive you generously. Tell me, what is your request?"

The change in status is really hard to adapt to, but he still speaks in such an annoying tone. I feel like I could just smile and strip him down to his underwear and throw him into the Arctic Ocean. When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Hikigaya Hachiman finally compromised in humiliation.

"In fact, I recently had a new novel idea..."

"Eh? Really, you have a new idea for the novel." The voice on the other end of the phone became happy. Although he felt helpless when asking for updates, his enthusiasm for work was undeniable. Of course, with that annoying personality, all the positive scores naturally turned into negative numbers!

"Yeah, really. So I wanted to talk to you."

"I see. I think I understand. Are you free tomorrow morning? How about we go to the cafe where we talked about novels before and discuss it in detail?"

Tomorrow? It seems that the teacher's party is in the evening, so there shouldn't be anything to do during the day.

"Well, I have time tomorrow morning."

"Is that so? See you tomorrow then! I have a meeting, we'll talk in detail when we meet."

"Well, thank you."

I expressed my gratitude sincerely. Although I had bad memories, it was an indisputable fact that I had received help, and the necessary thanks still had to be conveyed.

After hanging up the phone, I finally felt relieved and sat down on the sofa. It was so peaceful. I stretched and thought about the idea of ​​the novel.

Well, although there is only a rough outline, it still requires a lot of details to be transformed into a novel. Just as I took out my notebook and prepared to write a new novel, the doorbell rang.

Maybe Komachi is back. According to the time, she should have returned from Yukinoshita's apartment. Although she is here to help, I still hope that Komachi can come back earlier. After all, I have had very little time to be with her since I went to college, so I kind of want to spend more time with her.

It doesn't seem right. In this context, it should be Komachi who accompanies me. Forget it, the meaning is almost the same.

When I walked to the entrance and opened the door, I thought it was Komachi, so I opened the door and said, "Are you back? What happened to Yukinoshita..."

Chapter 65: Completely Heartbroken

My words were interrupted by the person who appeared in front of me. She had a blue ponytail that was powerful enough to symbolize a person, and was wearing a black business suit. Because of her high heels, the height difference between her and me was not that big and she seemed more imposing. Coupled with the light makeup she put on for work, I felt that I had completely lost to the person in front of me in terms of imposingness.

Saki Kawasaki, an old classmate or old friend whom I met today while buying ingredients.

Maybe it was because I thought it was Komachi who said it just now, so she looked a little panicked now. When she first opened the door, her hand was still in the posture of knocking on the door. Her eyes were looking directly at me at first, then quickly shifted away from me, and her hand was quickly put down, shaking slightly there unnaturally.

"Um, sorry, I thought it was Komachi." I greeted Kawasaki a little awkwardly.

Waving his hands nervously, Kawasaki responded to me in an even more panicked tone than before: "It's okay, it's my fault for disturbing you so suddenly."

"You can't say that. By the way, what are you doing here?"

"Ingredients for this morning, and the key to the apartment." Kawasaki spoke hesitantly, seeming a little hurried for some reason. However, her words reminded me that this morning, Kawasaki seemed to be going to work, so I helped her get the ingredients back. I think she also gave me her key, but she forgot about it when she came back because she was too busy.

Thinking of this, I quickly apologized and said, "Well, I'm so sorry. I didn't get enough sleep these days, so I was a little confused when I got back, so I forgot."

"It doesn't matter. After all, I'm the one who asked you for help."

"I'm really sorry about that. Although there is a reason, I still feel a little guilty."

"Don't be so polite. I'm already very grateful if you can get it back for me."

"If you don't mind, come in and sit for a while. I'll help you find the ingredients and keys you need."

"Yeah, thank you." She lowered her head and didn't look at me, so I didn't know what Kawasaki's expression was now. I led Kawasaki to my living room, and after she sat on the sofa, I had some impression of the ingredients. Because we didn't come back together, when I got home, I first put the ingredients in the refrigerator in the kitchen to keep them fresh, and then I processed the other ingredients. It was really luxurious to say that there was a refrigerator specially prepared for ingredients in the kitchen, and another refrigerator for fruit snacks and drinks in the living room. But then again, this is also part of the expensive rent. I clearly know where the ingredients are. Now the most important thing is to know where I put the key. Due to lack of sleep, my brain is fuzzy and I have no idea where I put the key.

"Wait a minute, I forgot where I put your key." I said very awkwardly. It is a sign of absolute trust when someone gives you the key, and it would be embarrassing if you lost it. Although Kawasaki would not be able to return to his apartment if he couldn't find the key, this apartment has a master bedroom and two small bedrooms. Excluding Komachi and I, there is also a room for Kawasaki. However, I always feel that something is wrong if this is the case.

"It's okay, I'm a little tired from work, and it's okay to take a rest on the sofa." Kawasaki responded to me. I took a glass of water and gave it to Kawasaki, then searched the room anxiously.

I spent a few minutes carefully checking where I slept, the kitchen, and the places I walked during the day. Unfortunately, I didn't find the key. Due to time constraints, I became a little anxious. After a careful search, I returned to the living room. It seemed that it had been dropped here. I tried hard to recall the memory of coming back today. It seemed that after I came back, I was tired, so I lay on the sofa for a while, and then I was soon called by Komachi to Yukinoshita's apartment. So the most likely possibility is the sofa, otherwise it should have been left in Yukinoshita's apartment.

So I started searching for the sofa. Originally, the sofa was arranged very well, but when Komachi came in the afternoon, she made a fuss on the sofa, so now the sofa looks very messy.

Seeing me coming to the sofa in the living room, Kawasaki opened her squinting eyes. It seemed that the work must be very hard, so Kawasaki also wanted to take a break. Seeing Kawasaki open her eyes, I looked at her a little embarrassedly.

"I'm sorry, maybe the key fell into the sofa."

"I see." Kawasaki nodded to me, then she looked around the sofa and said, "The sofa is a little messy."

"I'm so sorry, Komachi, when she came to my apartment today."

"I understand. Jinghua does the same thing when he comes to my apartment."

It seems that all sisters in the world are the same, but conversely, brothers and sisters are also the same, but there seem to be some weird ones who go to Germany for orthopedics.

"I'll help you tidy up the other side, so you can find the key quickly."

I originally wanted to refuse, but Kawasaki got up and started to tidy up the sofa on the other side of me without waiting for my response. Maybe it was because he had been busy with housework since he was a child, so Kawasaki tidyed up the sofa very quickly and the effect was very good. I sighed for a moment, and I didn't say anything, and quickly tidyed up the sofa myself.

The sofa in the living room is much larger than an ordinary sofa, so I also tried to tidy it up. When I got to the middle of the tidying, I lifted the sofa cushion and put it away, and then I saw the key in the middle of the sofa cushion. It seems that the key on my body accidentally fell here when I was resting. I reached out my hand, but because I didn't pay attention to the surroundings, I didn't know that Kawasaki also reached out to take the key at the same time. Naturally, our hands touched each other, and then we quickly separated our hands like we were electrocuted. Although it was short, the girl's skin felt really soft. I touched Yuigahama's hand before when I was in Kamogawa.

"Um, sorry."

"I was. I didn't pay much attention."

Kawasaki responded to me quickly. I looked at Kawasaki. His face turned a little red because of shyness, and his eyes looked much more moist than usual.

"I didn't expect the key to be here. Keep it and prepare to go back."

"Yeah, that's true." Kawasaki said as she took the key, but her voice sounded a little lost.

I quickly took out all the ingredients: "Let me carry these back for you."

"No need for that. It's okay for me to do it myself." Kawasaki quickly waved his hand to reject me: "I've troubled you enough today."

"Hey, it's okay. I just took a break. You must be very tired after getting off work. It's okay for me to help you."

"Is that so? Thank you for your hard work." Kawasaki said to me gratefully without refusing, and then we walked to Kawasaki's apartment together.

Kawasaki's apartment is similar in structure to mine, and the basic decoration is similar. There is no other difference except for some special ornaments and bonsai. I put the ingredients in the refrigerator and turned around to leave Kawasaki's apartment.

"Well, as a thank you, could you stay and try my cooking?" Seeing that I was about to leave, Kawasaki spoke quickly.