I refuse to be a plagiarist

【Hasegawa?】

The boy standing in the corner seemed a little out of place with everyone under the lights.

However, the girl who was the leader of the team and was gathered in the center of the crowd was different from the others. She would cast her eyes towards this inconspicuous corner from time to time.

That's why, when Hasegawa had some movement in his mind, she was the first to notice the change in the other person's expression.

Walk gently to Hasegawa's side.

Seeing the other person suddenly stunned after noticing her, the girl smiled slightly, sat down on the seat beside her, and spoke gently:

"Are you thinking about something?"

"........Um."

He nodded slightly.

It was clearly time for everyone to celebrate together, but I was unable to join in due to various reasons. It was such a disappointing thing that was really hard to talk about.

But he finally said it.

After all, countless experiences have told him that compared to staying where he is and hesitating because of boring reasons like face, this hesitation and indecision is often more likely to cause something that makes him regret.

“…So that’s how it is.

That is to say...Hasegawa, you have already made an appointment with your friends to have an event together tomorrow, so you can't celebrate with us, right?"

"Ok.

Feel sorry......"

There was a rare hint of embarrassment in his tone.

In front of others, especially in front of this girl, except for the initial period of time when they met, when he was rather naive and made a few jokes, he had never shown such a "weak" attitude again.

Seeing his expression, Yukinoshita Haruno was slightly stunned, then smiled and suggested:

“It’s better this way.

I'd like to discuss with you all now and change the time of the celebration to tonight. What do you think?

This way, it won't spoil everyone's fun, and it won't delay your plans with your friends tomorrow."

“…I’ll leave it to you then.”

He stared intently at the girl in front of him.

The direct gaze made Yukinoshita Haruno, who was the first to bear the brunt of it, couldn't help but lean back, and her face could no longer maintain the previous perfect smile:

"What, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

The head is tilted slightly at a perfect angle.

This casual posture makes Yukinoshita look less sharp and more girlishly fragile, making people more likely to want to protect her.

".......nothing.

I just suddenly thought of something."

He shook his head and put those messy thoughts behind him.

He didn't know if it was his illusion, but Hasegawa Hide always had the feeling that Yukinoshita was a little too gentle to him just now.

Although he didn't want to admit it, when he saw the thoughtfulness and gentleness the girl had just shown, the first thing he thought of was some couples in TV dramas who had a very happy married life.

Happy married life...

Me and Yukinoshita?!

"what!"

[MD! I must have gone crazy just now! ]

He slapped himself on the forehead.

Hasegawa Hide's sudden action even scared Yukinoshita who was standing next to him.

Although he didn't slap himself to death like Ji Wuming in "Wulin Wai Zhuan", the sudden stimulation still made his mind much clearer.

"Are you okay?"

“Oh, sorry.

Did I scare you just now?"

He smiled apologetically at the girl.

As for this little episode, Yukinoshita Haruno didn't mind it too much, thinking that the other party was just imagining some strange things.

After all, she had long been accustomed to it. When the two of them were in class in the classroom, the boy would occasionally behave in this cutely stupid way.

Although it's not very common.

But then again...

[It is this immaturity that is inadvertently revealed in his steadiness that makes it impossible for others to take their eyes off him. ]

Clapping hands attracted everyone's attention.

Then, the girl turned around with a smile and cast her gaze towards Hasegawa in the corner.

In this way, everyone realized that this talented young man who had been silent all this time seemed to have something to announce to them and others.

“Cough, cough…”

He coughed twice awkwardly.

Facing the expectant eyes of his "teammates", Hasegawa Hide couldn't help but feel a little numb at this moment.

But so what?

“Well…Actually, I want to discuss something with you all.

Can we...adjust the time of our celebration party for this performance?"

Briefly explain your appointment for tomorrow to the people in front of you.

However, unlike what he expected, after he made his opening statement, some members of the team who had originally supported tomorrow's party also expressed their approval.

The school festival only lasts for three days, and within this limited time, everyone has already made full plans.

Now that Hasegawa has come forward, they naturally seize the opportunity to back off, as they originally did not want to offend their partners, and take this opportunity to say "it's okay" and "it doesn't matter", thus achieving their own goals while also doing Hasegawa a favor.

[Good fellow, you are all holding back here...]

His eyes lingered on several teammates.

In fact, he had guessed it before, but for the sake of tomorrow's schedule, he could only take the initiative to step forward and bring up the matter.

After all, someone has to take the lead.

Facing Hasegawa Hide's gaze that seemed to see through everything, those guys who were originally planning to fool him felt a little embarrassed about being caught, but in the end they all smiled with gratitude at the teammate who stepped forward to help them out of trouble.

At the same time, several of the seniors who have graduated from high school and are currently attending college couldn’t help but feel a sense of “the young are formidable” in their hearts.

In their opinion, the young man in front of them not only possessed amazing talents, but also seemed to have extremely sharp intuition when it came to understanding people's hearts.

I originally wanted to take this opportunity to give the other party some face, but now it seems that I and others have made things worse...

————————————

However, these things will never be made public by the parties involved.

They tacitly turned the page on this chapter, and as compensation to his teammates for changing the plan, Hasegawa Hide took the opportunity to propose that he treat everyone to a barbecue in the evening.

"It's really okay to spend so much money like this?"

On the way to the destination, Yukinoshita Haruno whispered her concern to the boy beside her.

In the face of the girl's concern, Hasegawa was slightly choked, and then gave his own reply in a free and easy manner:

"Don't worry.

You know I won't do anything stupid beyond my ability."

"......That's good."

Following behind the team, the boy and girl walked together, chatting about the performance tonight.

The crescent moon in the sky emits a hazy glow.

It was clearly late autumn, but for them, it was like the joy of early spring.

Chapter 82: Unexpected Path

Everyone had a great time at the celebratory banquet that night.

Although no one said it explicitly, everyone had already realized that for them who had gathered together because of a collaboration, this celebration party might be the last chance for them to get together.

But precisely because of this, at this moment, most of them threw aside their usual rules and regulations and devoted themselves to the banquet.

Except for two people...

Compared to other classmates who were running wild at the party, Hasegawa and Yukinoshita just sat quietly in the corner, chatting from time to time and then sipping the drinks in their cups, just like the elderly people basking in the sun downstairs in the community.

“Thank you so much this time.

Without you, this performance probably wouldn't have achieved such a perfect result.

In fact, those classmates have already told me quietly about the efforts you made behind the scenes. "

A slight blush appeared on the fair face.

Under the dim light, the girl's dangerous and seductive posture made people unable to help but imagine.

It’s a pity that the guy in front of me is Hasegawa Hide.

Perhaps because they had been together for too long, he had become almost numb to the changing emotions on Yukinoshita's face.

Perhaps the girl's current expression is indeed very attractive.

But for Hasegawa Hide, compared to this, he was more concerned about why the other party said such words to him.

It is true that the two of them would set traps for each other on a daily basis and maintain their daily high school life with a gaming mentality, but at the same time, when they encounter any troubles, they will do their best to lend a helping hand to each other.

So when faced with the other party's thanks this time, his first reaction was: Is this woman going to play some weird joke on me again?

"...Between you and me, there's no need."

He replied indifferently.

Perhaps in order to stop the other party from delving further into the issue, he suddenly had an idea and changed the topic to a previous assumption he had made:

"Actually, I think... we can have a better plan for the performance we prepared for this school festival."

"Oh?"

There was a glimmer of interest in his eyes.

To be honest, she was very satisfied with the results of tonight's performance.

The huge concert hall was packed, and even the audience's reactions were very positive and enthusiastic.

In the school festivals held by Sobu High School over the years, which are events organized by individual groups, their achievement can be regarded as breaking the record and creating a new historical high.

It is for this reason that Yukinoshita Haruno's words of gratitude just now were truly a genuine expression of emotion, and not a "prank" as Hasegawa Hide imagined.

But even with such a "complete victory" result, the boy in front of him said to himself after the performance that there is a better setting plan...

"Hasegawa, you...are you teasing me on purpose?"

"How can it be......."

Facing the girl's doubt, Hasegawa raised his right index finger, his eyes flashing with seriousness: "Yukinoshita, think carefully first, how long did you spend preparing for this performance in advance?"

“Ah, this…”

The slender eyebrows were slightly wrinkled.

As this was her first time participating in a school festival after entering high school, Yukinoshita Haruno spent a lot of time and energy on this performance.

The final program alone took Hasegawa over a month to prepare. Even with factors such as deciding the repertoire and practicing for the first time, this long practice period was not something that could be easily dismissed.

As for the remaining pieces, they had already started preparing them at the beginning of the second semester.

"If you calculate carefully, it's probably... about three months in total."