Thanks to a good family education—his detestable "shitty old man" once said that if you see a very gentle older sister in a gallery, you must be careful. Because of the shitty old man's experiences, the family had incurred a lot of debt, nearly driving his mom crazy.
In short, better leave now!
"I'm full, so I'll be heading back first." Hikigaya stood up. The other party likely wanted to use the excuse of getting to know him to call a bunch of friends over to eat and then have him pay the bill. He wouldn't fall for that!
"Eh?" Kushida Kikyo was stunned. According to her reasoning, she believed her performance just now was perfect; an ordinary person would have instantly become her "licker dog." What's more—though it's a bit narcissistic—Kushida Kikyo knew she was very beautiful. Even a normal person would want to be on good terms with her, or at least wouldn't refuse her, right?
What was with him just turning and leaving?
"Ah..." Himeno Yuki also stood up somewhat speechlessly: "Then I won't bother you guys. Goodbye, Kushida-san." After all, one was just a friend from another class, while the other was a classmate and club mate. Although his personality was twisted, he was still a friend, so she chose Hikigaya's side.
"Wait." Kushida Kikyo quickly took a step forward and grabbed Hikigaya's wrist. This person definitely had a problem. Hikigaya turned back, somewhat speechlessly: "Eh... is there something else?"
"Actually..." Kushida Kikyo's eyes shifted, and she said sheepishly: "My dream is to become friends with everyone in the school. Hikigaya-kun, could you be my friend and exchange contact info with me?"
"Eh?" Himeno Yuki said with some surprise: "Kushida-san, so that's your dream? It sounds really nice."
"Don't tease me, Himeno." Kushida began to act embarrassed, her moist eyes slightly anxious as she stole glances at the man before her.
"That... okay." Hikigaya nodded indifferently. Kushida Kikyo secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the two took out their phones and quickly exchanged contact information.
"Hikigaya-kun, Himeno-san, goodbye! Let's eat together next time~" Kushida Kikyo smiled and waved her small hand. Even if he was a bit special, in the end, he was just an ordinary man who couldn't escape the palm of her hand!
Leaving the cafe, the two walked toward the dormitory building.
"Honestly," Himeno Yuki complained, "You really don't care at all about what others think. That's very rude, and it lowers the evaluation of the girl you're with."
"Well, how should I say... sorry." Hikigaya apologized without any sincerity.
"It's a good thing it's me," Himeno Yuki said unconcernedly: "If it were anyone else, they would hate you to death. You should learn to be smarter in the future."
"Impossible," Hikigaya said with his hands in his pockets: "If I could learn that, I would have been a normie long ago."
"True." Himeno Yuki nodded in agreement: "You're already like this, beyond saving."
"Mind your own business..." Hikigaya retorted unceremoniously.
"Anyway, speaking of which," Himeno Yuki said with some confusion: "Why did you leave so abruptly? Are you that afraid of human contact? But you didn't seem that afraid in class before. What happened?"
He indeed wasn't afraid of human contact. He just didn't like that kind of fake social interaction; it felt exhausting and troublesome. However, although Himeno Yuki was a bit much sometimes, she was indeed a decent person. He should give her a bit of a warning. Whether she listened or not was her own business.
"Well," Hikigaya said casually: "I feel that person is a bit hypocritical. You'd better have less contact with her too."
"I say," Himeno Yuki frowned: "Speaking ill of others behind their backs isn't exactly commendable behavior." After all, Kushida Kikyo was her friend, and hearing one friend badmouth another made her feel uncomfortable.
"Well, listen."
Hikigaya continued unconcernedly: "Most dreams are due to the surrounding environment. Wanting to be an astronaut because the astronauts on TV look cool; wanting to be a doctor perhaps because your father is a doctor."
"In short, dreams are basically related to the environment around you."
"But most people's dreams are just talk. Whereas that... whatever her name was..."
"Kushida."
"Oh, Kushida clearly has very strong execution. What is the reason that makes her dream of becoming friends with everyone? I really can't imagine it." Since it was all speculation and he didn't have any evidence, whether Himeno Yuki listened or not was her own business.
"For example, she was ostracized before?"
"Does she look like someone who would be ostracized?"
"She doesn't..." Himeno Yuki frowned and shook her head. No matter how you looked at it, Kushida didn't seem like someone who would be ostracized, and if she had been, it was impossible for her to turn out like this. After all, most people who have been ostracized should end up like this Hikigaya beside her.
A person's dream is basically related to their family environment, knowledge, and experience. Simply put, becoming friends with everyone is a "dream" that cannot truly be a dream. Someone who was once ostracized could not become a socially savvy person like Kushida Kikyo. If such a person really existed, at most they would probably only build a small circle around themselves. Or, that person would have to be incredibly strong and clever to the extreme, with a spirit comparable to a god. Kushida Kikyo clearly didn't look like that; her dream wasn't simple.
Of course, it could all be Hikigaya's malicious speculation.
"Speaking of which," Himeno Yuki didn't take Kushida that seriously anyway and said: "Hikigaya, were you ostracized in the past?"
"Why should I have to tell you my dark history?" Hikigaya said, somewhat displeased. Although he didn't mind exposing his dark history, he didn't like proactively offering it as a joke. He was different from Yozo (from No Longer Human) after all.
"Tell me about it." Himeno Yuki hugged Hikigaya's arm and acted spoiled.
"No way." Feeling a wave of softness from his arm, Hikigaya's face turned red; he wouldn't fall for that.
"Ah, you're blushing." Himeno Yuki mischievously poked his cheek with her finger: "You're actually quite cute when you're shy. I thought you were a more cool-headed person."
"Shut up." Hikigaya quickly slapped her hand away and hurried into the elevator. Himeno Yuki followed behind; fortunately, she seemed to have some sense of boundaries and didn't continue questioning.
"By the way, I don't have your contact info yet. Let's add each other."
"Well, okay." Hikigaya operated his phone, and the two quickly exchanged contact information. In this school, the phone was the student ID, containing personal points; it was best not to let others see it. In terms of risk management, he was quite good.
"See you tomorrow, Hikigaya."
Pfft. Never again. This girl just liked to tease him and watch him make a fool of himself. Her personality was truly too malicious.
Hikigaya walked out of the elevator, returned to his room, and lay on the bed. He quickly picked up his phone, opened his contacts, and found Kushida Kikyo's name. Upper right corner. Delete and block in one go! He couldn't afford to mess with that kind of "green tea." Bye-bye.
As for Himeno Yuki... although he had already added Ichinose's contact info, that was done by the other party. Sure enough, operating it himself and watching the contact list grow gave him a faint sense of joy. He would keep her for now; whether they would actually contact each other was another matter.
On the other side. Middle of the night.
Kushida Kikyo returned to her dorm room. After washing up, she wrapped her delicate body in a pure white bath towel and picked up her phone with a cold expression. It was no easy task to be trusted by everyone. Having a boyfriend was out of the question; that would provoke the hostility of most girls, unless the guy was some unwanted trash. Daily maintenance was also essential, requiring a vast amount of private time to maintain relationships. Otherwise, the connection would naturally fade.
Thinking this, Kushida Kikyo dialed her new "friend" Hikigaya Hachiman's number.
"The number you have dialed is busy, please redial later..." "The number you have dialed is not in service, please..."
Even if it was unbelievable, at this moment, Kushida Kikyo had no choice but to believe it—the other party had actually blocked her!
"Damn it... why?" "Hikigaya Hachiman, I will definitely make you fall head over heels for me, and then publish all your dark history, making you the laughingstock of the whole school. Chikusho (Damn it)."
Kushida Kikyo's face distorted, her fingers gripping the phone turning white. Her exquisite face became full of violence, faintly exuding a murderous aura. Refusal was one thing, but no one had ever dared to fool her like this. One way to her face, another behind her back. Did he think it would end just by blocking her? In his dreams!