What does it have to do with me if they hate vests?

Haruta Masaki felt the tenderness and firmness of the little girl pressed against his cheek, and chuckled and said, "Although it's a bit sudden, Xia Shi, have you heard of kiln change?"

"It's really quite sudden..." The girl was stunned for a moment and tried to ask: "Kiln change? Is it the one about porcelain?"

"That's right. Although not all kiln changes are of this type, when firing porcelain, cracks will appear on some porcelain. After being fired at high temperatures, they eventually form gorgeous colors and patterns, which are loved by countless people."

Haruta Masaki said in a clear voice: "The same is true for the sufferings in life. Every crack in life will eventually become a pattern in life. In this way, when you look back on the sufferings you have experienced, will it become less painful?"

Chapter 240 Dad's Bride

Before coming to this world, Chishou Natsuyo had heard similar sayings, such as "Looking back on the past from the future, all the sufferings will become medals of life." This seems to be a very lofty motto.

Whenever this happens, the girl will only feel that the person who said such words is extremely hypocritical.

Everyone's life is different and cannot be generalized - at least for these cursed children, there is no future.

She was one of the luckiest children among her compatriots to have survived to the age of ten. Before that, countless children like her had died halfway.

The cursed children who failed to join IISO live in the suburbs and are almost completely exposed to the danger of invasion by the gastrula creatures. Even so, they still suffer from the malice of ordinary people.

Torture and beatings were just minor matters. After all, they all had excellent recovery abilities due to the gastrointestinal virus in their bodies. But even worse, some would dig out the eyes of the cursed children and pour lead water into them to prevent regeneration. Those with weak constitutions would die on the spot, and even those with good constitutions could not escape the fate of blindness. As for those who were directly killed after those people vented their anger, there were countless of them - the police in that world would not regard the cursed children as human beings at all, and would not care about such things, just like they would not care about a rat in the gutter that was crushed to death on the road.

If these are just external factors, then the curse that makes the children of the curse unable to escape, like a cancer attached to their bones, comes more from within the body.

Even if they don't use their own strength, the enterovirus will still continue to erode their bodies over time. The so-called specific drugs are just ordinary inhibitors that can only delay the erosion. They cannot prevent the virus from slowly increasing the erosion rate day by day.

Cursed children like them, who have a relatively good life, are almost all initiators of IISO. They are responsible for fighting against the gastrula creatures, and it is almost impossible for them not to use their strength. In other words, the erosion rate of cursed children like her who have relatively poor abilities and rely more on firearms and other hot weapons to fight will not be that high. The erosion rate of those initiators who are ranked very high is estimated to be quite dangerous, and it is not surprising that they will turn into gastrula creatures at any time.

Therefore, these initiators almost all have the same characteristics: if they want to eat something, they work hard to earn money and find a way to eat it; if they want to play something, they play it as much as possible; if they like someone, they will want to become the other person's bride immediately even if they are only ten years old...

Because almost no Cursed Children are interested in the so-called "future", all their attention is only focused on the present.

But this situation was broken in my own case.

If the protozoan virus really disappeared, then it seemed that he was really allowed to possess the "future", a treasure that all the children of the curse desired but dared not ask for.

"It's just a cool remark, but when Mr. Haruta said this, it felt like it was really the case." Chiju Natsuyo said softly.

"Some things are better left unsaid."

Haruta Masaki, who was caught trying to show off, said this with some embarrassment.

"It's okay. I really like when Mr. Haruta tries to be cool. And when he looks embarrassed, it's also weird and very cute."

"Fooling the adults will bring retribution. Take this! The emerald will rotate with a radius of 1.2 meters!"

As Haruta Masaki performed his acrobatic moves, Chiju Natsuyo was not frightened at all. Instead, she couldn't help but smile.

After playing for a while, Haruta Masaki put her down, and the two walked side by side towards the villa.

"You're still holding this balloon?" Haruta Masaki looked at the balloon in the girl's hand. It was a children's anime character balloon. Perhaps due to the passage of time, a lot of helium inside had been lost, and it looked a little wilted.

“Because it feels fun.”

Chishou Natsuyo smoothed her pigtails. Although it couldn't be seen on her little face, her gray-black eyes were full of smiles: "I've never played with it before. It feels like a child playing with it."

"really……"

Haruta Masaki had to agree with her.

Originally, Xia Shi always had an intellectual feeling. Even though her face looked silly on weekdays, she had a maturity that did not belong to her age.

But after she held a cartoon character balloon in her hand, this intellectual and mature feeling disappeared, and she looked childish, which was very suitable for her age. In fact, because the girl's body is smaller than her peers, this childish feeling is even stronger.

Simply put, if Qiu Ling Fumio and Chishou Natsuyo, who originally looked the most mature among all the vests of Shiki, walked together, people would only think that they were brother and sister. But if they walked together now, people would probably think that they were father and daughter...

So Haruta Masaki said very seriously: "So it's okay to call me dad, Xia Shi."

"Sometimes I get annoyed that I can't understand Mr. Haruta's train of thought."

Chishou Natsuyo complained in a very mature and intellectual way: "I won't call you that, absolutely."

Looking at Haruta Masaki who seemed to be greatly shocked, the girl sighed softly: "Mr. Haruta, you haven't eaten yet, right? If you don't mind, would you like to try my cooking skills?"

"Xia Shi, can you cook?"

"I knew some of it before I came here, and I've also learned some cooking methods here recently." The girl nodded: "It's just home cooking, which is quite simple."

"Then I'll be looking forward to it!" Si Ji, who usually cooked for others, had shining eyes.

"I think it's better to lower your expectations a bit," Xia Shi felt helpless when he saw Haruta Masaki's expression as if he was expecting a full banquet. "After all, it's just a home-cooked meal...ah, no need to go to the supermarket, I've already stocked up enough ingredients."

After returning to the villa, the girl put on an apron and started busying herself in the kitchen.

Haruta Masaki didn't have anything to do, so he simply sat at the dining table outside the kitchen, watching the girl's busy back inside: Xia Shi no longer had the loneliness and sadness she had before, it seemed that his comfort was still effective.

Moreover, this world is also very safe, allowing her to spend the rest of her life in peace and happiness - even if it is just for the girl's little happiness, no matter how high the reward given by the system mall is or how tempting it makes him, Si Ji will not buy those three boxes.

I don't know when it started to rain outside the window.

Along with the sound of rain, Si Ji felt his eyelids becoming heavier and heavier.

When the girl walked out of the kitchen carrying the casserole, she saw Haruta Masaki sleeping soundly on the table.

She gently put down the casserole, crouched over to Haruta Masaki, and looked at his sleeping face quietly for a long while.

"If Mr. Haruta becomes a father," the girl murmured softly, her dreamlike voice making Four Seasons feel vague and dazed, "then I won't be able to become your bride..."

Chapter 241: The Procuress

Because Chiju Natsuyo didn't wake him up specifically, Shiki slept until quite late, turning his original lunch into dinner. After tasting the girl's cooking, he only had time to make a few quick comments before quickly leaving the villa and returning to Washimiya Dormitory to prepare dinner for Yamada Fairy and the others.

Fortunately, the fairy didn't seem to care why Si Ji came back so late, and didn't intend to ask where Si Ji had been all day.

But that kind of pitiful expression looking at him was really destructive and too easy to make people feel guilty, so Si Ji made up his mind to not come home so late in the future.

The next day, after relaxing all day, Si Ji happily went to school but was blocked at the classroom door by the student council president.

"Shumiya-kun, I wonder if you have time to have a good chat with me." The other party greeted Si Ji with a forced smile, which made Si Ji feel a little numb.

"If I say I'm busy here--"

"Then I will just have to confess my love to you passionately in front of your class door."

"I'm not opposed to being your rumored boyfriend."

"Then how would you respond if I only confessed my love to Washimiya-kun's lower body?"

"...Okay, although I'm still quite curious about how you plan to confess only to certain parts of the body, I'd still like to hear what you have to say." Faced with someone even more shameless than himself, Si Ji had no choice but to surrender.

Although he has done a lot of things in school, Siji is generally relatively low-key when he is in his class. His favorite thing to do is to sit quietly in his window seat in the second to last row, looking out the window at those people who are struggling on the playground with their youth and sweat.

It was also because of this that Si Ji was originally quite invisible in the class.

But since Amakusa Shino caused such a scene today, it seems that I won’t be so invisible in the class anymore during this period of time.

If he was really confessed to, no matter how he reacted, he would definitely become a public opinion storm for a period of time afterwards - he didn't dislike being in the spotlight, but he would rather not become famous for such a trivial matter.

"Just for the sake of asking, if what I want to ask is for you to join the student union..."

"President, you are a good person, but we are not suitable."

Si Ji decisively returned to the previous question.

"Although I've already expected the possibility of being rejected, I'm still very hurt by being hated to this extent, Washimiya-kun."

"I just think that the student union is strong enough under your leadership, and there is no need for me to join."

The two chatted casually and arrived at the student union room.

It was still early, but in the Student Union office, Vice President Kashinagawa Chloe was already at her station dealing with the Student Union's backlog of work.

"Good morning, Senior Jia Shenchuan~" Shiki greeted her and glanced at the president's office calmly, then found that the painting that was originally used to cover the disaster prevention system operation panel had been replaced with a much lighter abstract painting.

The girl who was immersed in her work was suddenly called by her name. She looked up blankly at first, but after seeing Siji not far away, she came to her senses and nodded to him.

At first she seemed a little confused, wondering why Shiki appeared in the club room, but after seeing the student council president behind Shiki, Chloe Kagamigawa showed a look of understanding and helplessness.

Amakusa Shino is good in every way, except that her dominance without regard for other people's wishes and her love for dirty jokes are a bit troubling.

"I see, does Washimiya-kun like Chloe's type? I feel quite unwilling, but if it's Chloe, then there's nothing I can do." Amakusa Shino patted her shoulder with regret at first glance, but then she showed a strange smile that Shiki found very familiar and asked, "How about this, as long as Washimiya-kun joins the student union, I will let Chloe wear a bunny girl for you to see!"

"President!" Chloe Kashinagawa shouted in shame and annoyance, "Please don't always bring your bad taste into work!"

After a moment's silence, Shiki answered seriously.

"...I want to see the purple furry beast girl costume."

"Swashimiya-kun, don't agree with the president!" Chloe Kashinagawa looked at Shiki helplessly and sighed.

She suddenly understood why Amakusa Shino insisted on inviting Washimiya Shiki to join the student council - because the two of them seemed quite similar in some ways.

"The cosplay costumes confiscated by the student union don't have anything that high-end. How about we both take a step back and let Chloe wear a magical girl costume? I remember there's a well-made Alpha Omega cosplay costume in the warehouse..."

The student council president said enthusiastically, "And they saved fabric in key places. Although we confiscated it for this reason, I personally admire their aesthetics."

"Isn't that a character from 'Stardust Witch Meruru'? The president has quite a wide range of interests." Shiki finally remembered where the familiarity of the expression on the other person's face came from.

——Isn’t this the common business smile of the brothel owner characters that often appeared in old Hong Kong movies?

"I think Washimiya-kun is more powerful for knowing such things..." Alpha Omega... No, it was Kagamigawa Chloe who complained helplessly, and then she looked at Amakusa Shino: "If the president is not going to talk nicely, then I can only take my leave first, and I'll trouble you to do these tasks yourself."

"Well, if we don't get serious, Chloe will explode, so let's get down to business, Washimiya-kun."

Amakusa Shino, who didn't want to do any serious work at all, immediately became serious.

"Of course no problem—" Si Ji was about to throw out a question, but then he realized something: "So what is the serious matter you are talking about, President?"

He still doesn't know why Amakusa Shino is looking for him.

After all, after the Fengyin Festival, he had almost no contact with the student union.

"Actually, the dean has some ideas about what will happen in the future of the Fengyin Festival."

When talking about serious matters, Amakusa Shino seemed to have lost all her frivolous look and looked quite smart and capable.

After briefly summarizing and refining what the dean had talked about with her yesterday, she told Washimiya Shiki all at once, wanting to hear his opinion as the initiator of the Toyoin Festival.

After listening to the other party's narration, Shiki thought for a moment and then asked, "Have you heard of the cultural festival?"

Chapter 242 Birds of a Feather

"Isn't that the school festival?" Amakusa Shino asked in confusion, and then said: "By the way, our school festival is in June."

"No, the Cultural Festival and the School Festival are not the same thing."

The one who answered her was not Shiki, but Kagamigawa Chloe.

The girl said to her president seriously, "Although the forms of expression are similar, in some schools, the two are different. The school festival is mainly for classes to open shops and stalls, while the cultural festival is for clubs to show their research results, with performances, exhibitions and speeches as the main features."

After hearing what she said, Amakusa Shino suddenly realized: "Washimiya-kun means that the Toyotsu Festival can be made into a cultural festival to continue?"

"In fact, other schools also have festivals such as 'Founder's Festival' and 'Birth Festival', so what I want to say is that the issue of whether or not to continue holding the Toyotsu Festival itself is not very meaningful. If school life is boring and everyone wants to have fun and make a fuss, just come up with a random name and hold a festival."

Si Ji said calmly, "Of course, because of the success of this Fengyin Festival, if you want to do something interesting, it should be easier to apply for funding from the school using the name of Fengyin Festival."

After saying this, Shiki found that Amakusa Shino and Kagamigawa Chloe were looking at him with incredible eyes.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Si Ji, who felt uneasy when they looked at him, couldn't help but ask.

"The Toyoin Festival was successfully launched after Washimiya-kun had a lot of hard work and effort to get sponsorship, right? What if the student council just uses it casually in the future and fails?" Chloe Kagamigawa couldn't help asking, "Wouldn't you be dissatisfied with this?"

Amakusa Shino also nodded: "After all, it is someone else's flesh and blood. We can't treat it roughly. If there is a miscarriage, it will be too unfair to the original owner."

Although he felt that Amakusa Shino's way of speaking was a bit subtle, Shiki still answered frankly: "If you fail, just try again. Do you really need to bring up this kind of thing?"

"...You're right. If you fail, you can just try again." Kroy Kagamikawa was silent for a moment, then smiled and said, "I suddenly understand why the president wants Washimiya-kun to join the student council."

"Right! This guy is super funny!"

Amakusa Shino responded immediately.

"I can't understand your thoughts. I just think," Si Ji said casually, "if you do nothing because you are afraid of failure, then regret not doing anything in the future, isn't that the worst thing?"

"It's a pity that I will graduate next year, otherwise I could have held a festival that would make everyone happy," Amakusa Shinobu said regretfully after getting rid of the grudge in her heart, "It's called - the Great ○○ Festival!"

Chloe Kagamikawa immediately showed a tired expression as if "this guy has come again".