18 Chapter 018: I Hate Gentle People

"Huh?"

Ichinose halted her steps, only to realize that the other party had already stopped without her noticing.

She turned around to look at Hikigaya, a hint of confusion in her voice, "What's wrong, Hikigaya?"

"Huh."

Hikigaya took a deep breath.

Once he spoke, there would be no turning back,

And his long-desired ordinary life would come to an end.

However. 

He still had to speak up.

He couldn't continue to take advantage of Ichinose's kindness and cause trouble for them.

Otherwise.

He would only despise himself more.

"Ichinose is really gentle."

Hikigaya's lips curled into a bitter smile, "Actually, you don't have to care about me at all. Being alone is entirely my problem."

"I'm sorry for making you worry."

"But from now on, you don't have to worry about me anymore. If you're being nice to me out of pity, then... I'd rather you didn't."

Hikigaya clenched his fist, finishing his words in one breath.

Ichinose stood in front of him, her pretty face blank, unable to speak for a long time.

"Also, there's the fact that if you save up 20 million points, you can buy the right to transfer classes and move up to Class A. The idea that points can buy anything should be similar."

Hikigaya relayed the last piece of information and walked past her in silence.

He hates gentle girls.

A simple greeting would make him care.

A few emails would make his heart race.

An occasional phone call, just looking at the call log would make him smile involuntarily.

But he knew.

This was just her gentleness.

Those who were gentle to him were also gentle to others.

If the truth was cruel, then lies must be gentle.

So gentleness is a lie.

However. 

Even though he was well aware of this, he was still moved by Ichinose and indulged in the lie called gentleness.

Causing trouble for Ichinose and Kanzaki and others.

He.

Despised himself even more for it.

What Kanzaki said was right. Being alone was his problem. He couldn't cause trouble for them anymore.

....

The next day.

After confronting Ichinose, life returned to normal again.

No more enthusiastic classmates came up to greet him. Ichinose and Shiranami and others also returned to their usual routines.

"Speaking of which, the level of this school is too high."

Hikigaya sat alone by the poolside.

His dead fish eyes silently watched Chiba and others who were competing. These people could easily rival national athletes.

Today's swimming class,

Truly made him realize the strength of his classmates.

If it weren't for cycling to school throughout middle school,

He definitely wouldn't be able to keep up.

Even so, he could only rank in the middle level. The points rewarded for swimming class were completely out of his reach.

Also,

Because his science grades were dragging him down,

His academic performance could only rank in the middle as well.

However.

There's no need to rush either way,

After all, private universities don't have high requirements. His dream is also to be a househusband. As long as he goes with the flow and does his best, it's fine.

Of course,

There's also no need to deliberately score low and cause trouble for the class either,

After swimming class was math class,

Hikigaya was the first one back in the classroom, waiting for class while lost in thought,

Although Class B had some flaws, everyone was listening attentively. The worst performer was undoubtedly him,

The people in this class are too outstanding,

Why is it that none of you ever seem to get tired?

The only thing that hasn't changed,

"Alright, alright, I get it,"

 feeling someone poking his spine again. Hikigaya bends down to pick up the pen and places it back on the Shiranami's table.

Shiranami Chihiro

you're being a bit too careless. You know, it's easy for bad people to deceive you like this.

 It's really worrisome.

....

After school,

Watching Hikigaya leave the classroom alone, Kanzaki frowns and turns back:

"Himeno, do you have a moment to spare?"

"Hmm? Sure."

The two of them head to the corridor. Himeno Yuki follows him to a deserted corner with a puzzled look on her face.

"Himeno."

Kanzaki asks with some confusion: "Did you notice anything off about Hikigaya today?"

"Why are you asking me?"

Himeno Yuki forces a smile, her face darkening slightly. 

She's somewhat speechless.

She barely spoke to that introverted guy. How could she possibly know?

"It's not for any particular reason."

Kanzaki says somewhat helplessly: "I sit in front of him and can't observe his changes. You sit next to him, so you should be able to notice something, right?"

"..."

Himeno Yuki speaks frankly: "I've spoken less to him than you have with Ichinose. How could I possibly know? Besides, isn't it bad to talk about others behind their backs?"

"I know."

Kanzaki nods solemnly: "But have you noticed that Ichinose was a bit off today? She seemed distracted."

"Indeed..."

Himeno Yuki nods. She had indeed noticed this.

Ichinose usually maintains a heartwarming smile and is always energetic and cheerful. But today, she occasionally became silent.

Not just her, others must have noticed something too.

"Does this have anything to do with Hikigaya?"

"It seems so."

Kanzaki ponders: "There was no problem when the three of us were eating at Palett Cafe yesterday. I don't know what happened between them afterwards."

"But when I left, I found out that Hikigaya had paid the bill. I feel like I might have misjudged him."

Kanzaki had initially thought that Hikigaya was someone who liked to take advantage of others and didn't understand the atmosphere. But after finding out that he had paid the bill, Kanzaki felt that something was off.

"I see."

Himeno Yuki nods thoughtfully.

Indeed, Ichinose did greet them, and she also specifically interacted with Hikigaya. She just felt that this guy was somewhat arrogant.

Once was enough for her.

No one likes to keep throwing themselves at someone who doesn't care.

But since it involves Ichinose, Himeno Yuki is also somewhat worried. After pondering for a moment, she says:

"I didn't talk to him today either, so I'm not sure. But if there's any change, I feel like he seems more natural than before? More relaxed?"

"Can you be more specific?"

Kanzaki has a bit of a headache.

This is what happens when you discuss issues with girls - it's so troublesome.

"I can't express it more specifically. It's just a feeling."

"Could you please come with me to find Hikigaya?"

No matter what.

In Kanzaki's eyes,

Ichinose has such excellent leadership skills and is the best candidate for the leader of Class B. She can't just let her continue to be depressed like this.

Even as a friend, he is worried about Ichinose.

"But he's already gone home."

Himeno Yuki tactfully refuses.

Although she is also a bit worried about Ichinose, she doesn't want to interact with that introverted guy.

"It's fine."

Kanzaki turns around and leaves, signaling her to follow: "Let's go. I can guess where he is."

"..."

Himeno Yuki drops her shoulders in disappointment.

"Although everyone in Class B is pretty nice, except for that introverted guy, why don't they listen to others?"

She has already refused like this, why don't these people understand?

---------------------------------------

You can support me and Read 10++ Chapters in advance on patreon

patr eon.com/JYouyi

Please give me your thought about this novel on reviews 

And also if gimme power stones if you have any,