pertwk Page 180
Page 180
"The presentation... is surprisingly good."
Upon seeing the actual object, he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
It's not just about appearance.
The moment the door was opened, Hachiman, who was closest to it, could smell the faint fragrance most.
After gently picking up a piece of pastry, Hachiman's throat involuntarily twitched.
[This is bad, it looks really delicious...]
honestly.
He was feeling down this weekend because of Su Qing's situation.
Last night, I tossed and turned until one or two in the morning before finally falling asleep.
Today, for some unknown reason, I arrived at school much earlier than usual, and I didn't even feel like eating breakfast.
I am indeed a bit hungry now.
"It's not a pretty but useless item."
After eating a piece of pastry, Hachiman praised it once again.
Many businesses nowadays ignore the taste of the food itself and blindly pursue fancy appearance or plating, which is simply treating consumers like fools!
To understand why Hachiman knew so much, it all started when he bought a cake for his sister...
"Okay."
As Su Qing said, there is still room for improvement.
"Come on... I'm not praising you. Don't you know what kind of mess you've made?"
Just thinking about the first time he teamed up with Su Qing in cooking class made Hachiman grit his teeth in anger.
I originally wanted to find a powerful patron to rely on, but I never expected to almost face a major crisis of failing my home economics class.
If it weren't for the lovely Caijia... they probably would have ended up doing what Su Qing suggested, sneaking a spoonful of food from each group as their own cooking assignment.
It's amazing that Su Qing came up with this method...
"So what? I didn't ask you to eat it."
Su Qing shrugged, clearly displaying an indifferent attitude.
"Tsk...even a dog wouldn't eat the stuff you made." Hachiman sneered twice. "Speaking of which... Yui's cooking skills have really improved a lot..."
After saying that, he took out a piece of pastry from the paper bag and put it in his mouth.
Anyway, it was Su Qing who asked him if he wanted to eat, but whether the other person actually got to eat or not?
What business is it of his!
He knew the relationship between Yuihama and Su Qing better than anyone else.
Based on his experience, he judged that Yuihama was probably improving her cooking skills for the sake of this guy in front of her.
Speaking of which, why aren't those two together yet?
Is it because of the differences between students from the mainland and those from small islands?
For some reason, the thought of this...
Hachiman suddenly realized that eating a few more pieces of Su Qing's pastries wouldn't seem to cause him any real harm...
"Hmm...that child is really hardworking."
[Child? Strange... Is it a confusion of the meaning of the island's language words?]
Why would friends use such strange terms of address?
[Could this be the reason they haven't gotten together yet? It shouldn't be... right?]
Upon noticing Su Qing's choice of words, Hachiman inevitably frowned, and a flood of doubts welled up in his mind, but at this moment, no one was destined to answer his questions.
Upon hearing Yui's name, Su Qing inexplicably turned to look at her seat.
All that could be seen was the girl's straight back and a pen that kept swaying—she seemed to be writing something.
Perhaps it was something they felt in their hearts.
Yui also turned her head to look over.
Upon discovering it was Su Qing, Yui's face instantly lit up with a sweet smile, and she proudly picked up a book from her desk—an English vocabulary book.
So she must be memorizing words.
Su Qing smiled helplessly at Yui, then turned her head back and added softly:
"An unexpected...effort."
"Well, I think I understand."
He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding.
Hikigaya's hands still retain the warmth of the pastries—so Yuihama must have made them this morning, right?
In short, he felt obligated to say something on behalf of the pastry's owner.
"Understand what?" Su Qing asked.
"Um... I guess it's just that I feel inferior." Observing Su Qing's changing expression, Hachiman continued.
"Look, you and Yukinoshita are both so outstanding, right? From what I've observed, in the second year of university, Yuihama's closest friends are actually you and Yukinoshita, even surpassing Ebina and Miura. Anyway... influenced by you two, it's only natural that she wants to improve to some extent."
[Idiot, how could you possibly want to improve over something like this?]
[That guy is most likely doing it for you... just like the cliché plot of a melodramatic light novel where a "bad boy" strives to win over a top girl.]
Even if you don't read light novels, you're smart enough to know what I'm talking about, right?
This time, it's not just me placing certain expectations on you!
"Actually... I know all of that. But there's one thing you're wrong about," Su Qing said calmly.
"Which point?"
“She’s not insecure. At least, I didn’t smell that kind of scent.” Su Qing’s smile faded, and she spoke with a serious expression.
[Are you a dog...? Why use "smell"? Shouldn't you say "sense" in this situation?]
Recalling that Su Qing had used the word "child" not long ago, Hikigaya assumed it was because the other party had misremembered the meaning of the local word and had no intention of pointing it out.
Anyway, maybe he just wasn't fully awake today.
But for some reason, when Su Qing didn't show that usual faint smile, Hachiman always had a feeling—even though they were very close, the distance between them was still far.
Just like that day, Su Qing said everything would become clear during the school trip.
It seems that Su Qing is hiding something from him, or rather, not only from him, but also from Yuihama, Yukinoshita, and the others.
Even the closest people have things they don't want to talk about.
How could Hachiman not understand?
just.
Even when it happened to him, he still couldn't help it...
"sorry."
The familiar yet unfamiliar voice completely pulled Hachiman back to reality.
[Hey, this voice doesn't sound like mine.]
[By the way, did I move my mouth just now?]
"That day, it was indeed my fault. I shouldn't have only discussed it with Caijia; I should have discussed it with you beforehand."
With each word Su Qing uttered, Hachiman's heart felt as if it were being shaken.
"Why...do you need to apologize?"
Hikigaya was startled, his body trembling slightly.
"If you do something wrong, you should apologize, shouldn't you?"
Who said that...?
"Shouldn't I be the one apologizing? I spoke to you in that tone that day, even though everyone knew it was just a joke, and we were all guys..."
Hachiman clenched his fists and tried his best to organize his thoughts to quickly refute Su Qing, but Su Qing suddenly made a shushing gesture.
"Jokes or whatever, I just hope we can still be friends."
"friend?"
……
Chapter 237 Boys Always Grow Through Injuries
?
Those voices in my memory are destined to be unforgettable.
It may not have been a beautiful experience, but it gradually made the boy stronger.
?
"How pitiful, being confessed to by Hachiman is just too tragic, isn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah! I only exchanged contact information with him out of sympathy, and people are misunderstanding it as if I'm interested in him? Ugh, that's disgusting!"
"Stop talking, stop talking, he's coming..."
[Tsk... You said it so loudly, and now you're pretending you never said it? Aren't you ashamed?]
?
Woman 1: "Don't you feel hot?"
Hachiman: "It's more like it's muggy!"
Woman 2: "Ah... haha, that's true."
[So, you weren't talking to me after all...]
?
"Snap! We've run into Hachiman Hikigaya! Deploy defense!"
"Defense against the Qigu bacteria is ineffective, run! Run!"
"That's right!"
Don't add "bacteria" to the end of someone else's name without permission...
?
After finally mustering the courage to confess, the girl in his memory only looked awkward, her gaze unfocused. After a long while...
"Um...can't we just be friends?"
[Let alone being friends, we haven't spoken a single word to each other since then.]
?
friend?
Lover?
collective?
It's nothing more than a relationship that weak people deliberately and meticulously maintain in order to achieve their own interests.
That's incredibly stupid.
This kind of hypocritical product, where people would meet on the street ten years later and wouldn't even exchange a superficial greeting, is nothing more than a lie and a deception called youth.
It's laughable that countless people still sing praises to this detestable relationship.
In this small island where bullying is rampant, class distinctions are rigid, superiors and subordinates exploit each other, and the social atmosphere is oppressive, only by becoming strong can one survive.
The world is neither gentle nor right.
It's ok.