Chapter 30: A Warm and Gentle Conversation
"Sorry, sorry. My hands were busy just now, so I used my foot instead."
Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hand without an ounce of sincerity, pushing the two boys clutching their heads inside like dumping garbage.
"By the way, Yukinoshita, sensei brought you two new club members. These guys have somewhat twisted personalities, but I think placing them with you is just right."
"Members?"
Yukinoshita Yukino raised an eyebrow slightly.
"If you're here to inspect club activities, sensei, please go ahead. But if you're trying to stuff these inexplicable creatures into my clubroom, I can only refuse."
"Don't be like that, Yukinoshita."
Hiratsuka Shizuka walked in casually, as if she hadn't heard that sarcasm.
"These two are new club members. Though they look a bit problematic, they're rare specimens. Just consider it charity work."
"Charity?"
Yukino raised her eyebrows. "I must decline."
"The Service Club's mission is indeed to extend help to those in need. But that doesn't include recycling non-burnable garbage."
She extended her slender finger and pointed unhesitatingly at Kazama Chiba.
"Especially this person. Absolutely not."
Hiratsuka Shizuka paused. "Why? Though this guy's mouth is a bit sharp, his brain works fine. And I haven't heard that you two have any grudges."
Kazama Chiba stood up, still clutching his throbbing head.
He glanced at that girl sitting by the window, still maintaining her lofty posture.
That familiar coldness that kept people at a thousand-meter distance.
Really hadn't changed at all.
"Sensei, no need to ask."
Kazama Chiba brushed the dust off his knees and seized the conversation.
"It's probably because she overheard what I said at the door about the Service Club just now. After all, this kind of young lady hates nothing more than commoners with filthy thoughts."
"Exactly."
Yukino nodded in cooperation. The two moved in such perfect sync, like executing a combo technique.
"Someone who can make such vulgar associations about a proper club name in broad daylight—this person's brain structure is already beyond saving. Letting him stay here would only pollute this classroom's air."
"See, sensei?" Kazama Chiba spread his hands.
"Since she despises me to this extent, I should just go to the Go-Home Club. The air's better there."
Hiratsuka Shizuka rubbed her temples with some frustration.
"Tsk."
She'd hoped these two high-intelligence problem children might create some sparks. Instead, it was Mars crashing into Earth right from the start.
"Looks like it's not happening. Though Yukinoshita is stubborn, what she said makes sense. Since you were rejected, Hikigaya definitely won't work either—he was the one agreeing with you just now."
She reached out to grab Hikigaya's collar.
"Let's go, we'll find another place. Maybe attending a Zen meditation session or waterfall training would benefit you both."
Hearing this, Hikigaya actually breathed a sigh of relief.
Getting rejected was actually wonderful.
However, Yukino's gaze fell on him.
It didn't carry the obvious emotional disgust she'd shown when looking at Kazama Chiba.
Instead, it was the calm of looking at a roadside stone.
Yukino said: "He can stay."
"Huh?"
This time, even Hiratsuka Shizuka was shocked.
"Why? Yukinoshita, isn't this standard a bit hypocritical? Didn't he also say those things just now? Even worse than Kazama, actually. Something about maid outfits and whips."
"Because the premises are different."
Yukino said coolly.
"That Kazama-kun, though his personality is terrible, at least retains basic human thinking ability. So his statements carry offensive intent."
"As for this Hikigaya-kun, he clearly doesn't fall within that category."
"From both biological structure and sociological definition, he's obviously departed from the category of humanity."
"For an arthropod that can mimic human speech, we don't need to hold it to human moral standards."
"We just need to place it in the corner and prevent it from crawling around."
"..."
*Crack.*
Something seemed to shatter.
Hikigaya Hachiman clutched his chest and staggered back a step, those dead fish eyes wide open.
Not just his self-esteem.
Even his basic dignity as a primate seemed to have been crushed to powder by that girl sitting by the window, in that casual, breezy manner.
This hurts way more than direct rejection!
After leaving Hikigaya Hachiman alone in the Service Club to fend for himself, Hiratsuka Shizuka walked down the hallway with Kazama Chiba.
"Sigh..."
She suddenly stopped, turned around, crossed her arms, and looked with an expression of disappointment at the boy behind her who still maintained that carefree demeanor.
"I'm saying, Kazama. Don't you need to reflect on yourself?"
"Reflect on what?"
Kazama Chiba stopped at a safe distance of three steps away.
"Reflect on why, despite that face of yours being decent enough to trick a few girls, whether it's Yukinoshita just now or the other people in class, everyone's evaluation of you is so... hard to describe?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka frowned, that expression carrying the disappointment of a parent wondering how their child went so wrong.
Kazama Chiba shrugged, not caring at all as he casually spouted nonsense.
"Probably because excellent people always attract jealousy."
"After all, clear-minded individuals like me who see through worldly matters and refuse to follow the crowd are like wolves mixed into a flock of sheep in this society full of hypocritical pleasantries. We're always ostracized."
"..."
Hiratsuka Shizuka's hand started itching. She suppressed the urge to punch this narcissistic maniac.
"Is that the point?"
"The point is, what do you plan to do next? School regulations are strict. Since Yukinoshita rejected you, I doubt other proper clubs would appeal to you—or rather, they wouldn't want you. You can't seriously stay in the Go-Home Club forever, right?"
After hearing this, Kazama Chiba suddenly looked at her with surprise.
"Hiratsuka-sensei, may I ask presumptuously—if I stayed in the Go-Home Club for all three years and absolutely refused to participate in any club activities, would it dock your salary?"
"Huh?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka froze, clearly not following this jump in logic.
"What does this have to do with my salary?"
"It matters greatly."
Kazama Chiba's expression turned serious.
"If it docks your pay, then for the sake of your quality of life, sensei, I'd join even if it meant washing brushes in the calligraphy club. After all, you're still single. Saving up dowry money isn't easy."
"You little..."
The vein on Hiratsuka Shizuka's forehead jumped twice, but she didn't hit him. Maybe she was tired of hitting people today.
"Docking salary isn't quite it! But it will seriously affect my 'Annual Outstanding Teacher' evaluation metrics."
"You know how it is. Schools now are all about data-driven assessments. If my class's club participation rate doesn't meet standards, that bald teaching director will call me in for another talk. Saying things like 'Hiratsuka-sensei, though your teaching ability is strong, you still have deficiencies in cultivating students' comprehensive qualities' and other nonsense."
Kazama Chiba wore an "I knew it" expression.
He scratched his head with troubled frustration.
"For the sake of your future, sensei, I suppose I can't be too selfish as a student."
"Fine. I'll handle the club matter myself. Give me two days. I'll give you a satisfactory answer the day after tomorrow."
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