Zongman: Unknowingly trapped in the hatchet

"Xiaoqing isn't going back?"

In the family restaurant, the waiters chatted for a while after finishing their meal. As it was getting late, even though it was not yet summer evening, if the time to go home was taken into account, it was almost the same. So, several of them prepared to leave, intending to put an end to this wonderful gathering today.

At this time, Hachiman and Ayaka had already left first, leaving only Yui, Yukinoshita and Su Qing in the seats. However, Su Qing did not seem to have any intention of leaving at this time, which made Yui a little curious.

"Well, I just ate a lot, so I'll sit for a while before going back."

Su Qing touched her belly and explained.

"Well, I'll stay with you then! (*^▽^*)"

"No, it's getting late. I'll sit for a while and then go back. You go first."

"That's it, okay then."

Yui turned her gaze and looked at Yukinoshita who was standing beside her.

"Xiaoxue, why don't you leave?"

"I still have something to do. You go back first."

Yukinoshita hesitated for a moment and then spoke.

"Oh, so that's it. All right then. See you tomorrow, Xiaoxue and Xiaoqing~"

"Well, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

As Yui's figure slowly disappeared behind the door, it seemed that she also took away the surrounding noise. The originally bustling seats suddenly became empty and quiet after her departure. Only Yukinoshita and Su Qing were left sitting opposite each other, and a subtle chill filled the air.

On the table, only the dishes and leftovers that the waiter had not yet cleaned up were left, quietly telling of the warmth and joy of the previous gathering.

But under that light, it looked a bit lonely.

"What a bad taste."

Yukinoshita spoke suddenly, with an unmistakable chill in her tone.

"What exactly does it mean?"

"Su Qing did not respond to her gaze directly, but picked up a napkin from his hand in an almost nonchalant manner and wiped the corners of his mouth elegantly, as if everything around him had nothing to do with him.

"You were there from the moment Orimoto showed up, right? And after you saw Hikigaya fall into some kind of predicament, you chose to observe quietly until you were sure that Orimoto was about to leave, and then you showed up leisurely.

If this behavior is not called bad taste, I can't think of a more appropriate word. Transfer student, can you explain it to me? "

As Yukinoshita finished speaking, Su Qing felt an inexplicable tingling sensation on his cheek, as if even the air had frozen. He slowly turned his head and met Yukinoshita's eyes that were as cold as ice and piercing straight into one's heart.

For a moment, the atmosphere at the table became extremely tense.

"What do you want me to answer?"

Su Qing also put down the napkin, but the puzzled look on his face remained, and it seemed that he really didn't understand Yukinoshita's question.

"Aren't you friends?"

Yukinoshita's heart was wavering. It was clear that just a while ago, Su Qing had told her, "I wanted to do this, so I did it," and just now at the dinner table, he had hinted to her with his eyes that he wanted to help Hikigaya.

Even though Hikigaya's personality was indeed a bit twisted, he wouldn't do anything that would cause too much trouble to others, and she must have seen the loud noise that Totsuka made.

It was obvious that Hikigaya didn't want to see the girl named Orimoto. Although he arrived a little late and didn't know what happened, he thought there must have been some unpleasant conflict, otherwise Ayaka wouldn't have been so excited, and Su Qing wouldn't have to go out of his way to speak for Hikigaya and save his face.

But, even if that was the case, why did Su Qing choose to remain silent at the beginning?

"Friends, of course they are friends."

Su Qing let out a deep breath, as if he was feeling a little emotional.

"Then why didn't you choose to go back to your seat directly at the beginning, but chose to remain silent?"

Su Qing did not reply immediately, but looked at Yukinoshita with interest. Facing Su Qing's look, Yukinoshita did not choose to dodge, and her eyes were still staring at Su Qing. The gazes of the two seemed to be conducting an invisible contest in the air.

“You should have noticed that Hachiman showed something wrong when he was facing Oreki, right? He looked much more distorted than usual.”

"In that case..."

"Have you forgotten? Hiratsuka-sensei's request to correct Hachiman's twisted personality."

"Of course I haven't forgotten it. After all, that was the first commission of the Ministry, and it's obviously not completed yet."

"Then why do you think Hachiman's personality is like that?"

Su Qing stretched out his right hand, bent his fingers slightly, and then tapped the table lightly. His movements were light, but with a sense of rhythm, as if he was playing a soft piece of music.

"I don't know much about his past, and there are many factors that determine one's personality, such as family environment, personal experience, interpersonal relationships and even genetic factors. These are all possible."

Seeing that Su Qing didn't reply, Yukinoshita seemed to be waiting for her next words. After a long silence, she said uncertainly.

"Do you think that girl is the source of Hikigaya's twisted personality?"

"The root? That's a fascinating statement."

Su Qing seemed to be amused by Yukinoshita's words and chuckled a few times. He only stopped smiling when he saw Yukinoshita's brows deepened.

"As you just said, the factors that determine personality are very complex and often cannot be determined by one party alone. Hikigaya's twisted personality is more likely to be shaped by multiple factors."

"So, the root cause is actually him?"

Yukinoshita thought about Su Qing's words, pondered, and then saw that Su Qing was obviously stunned for a moment.

"What, did I say something wrong?"

"No, rather you said exactly what I wanted to say."

Su Qing shook his head, but there was a hint of inexplicable emotion in the look he gave Yukinoshita.

[Yukinoshita Yukino... huh? This is incredible...]

“As I just said, family, environment, experience and even genes are just part of the composition of personality and they don’t explain anything.

Some people are born into wealth, but choose to indulge in comfort and pleasure, allowing their potential and talent to disappear in vain;

And in the same situation, there are also people who can transcend the constraints of material things and pursue spiritual enrichment and heights of growth;

Some people were born in poverty, but they overcame the difficulties on the road bit by bit with their indomitable courage;

But there are also people who, in similar adversities, perhaps for various reasons, fail to show the same tenacity and courage.”

“Among countless choices, people...are heading towards themselves.”

Yukinoshita murmured subconsciously.

And when Su Qing looked at Xueshita, there was a hint of inexplicable emotion in his eyes.

"You still remember."

"I think my memory is not that bad."

"That's true. I just said that not long ago."

At this time, Su Qing also stopped the movement of his right hand fingers and looked into the distance, so far away that his originally deep and charming black eyes seemed to have lost focus and became a little empty.

"Whether it's family, environment, or experience, no matter how big or small the proportion of these factors is in a person's life, they cannot and should not be called the most fundamental reasons."

Su Qing's voice became increasingly low, as if he was speaking to Xueshita, but also as if he was speaking to himself.

“Life is a journey woven by countless choices. Even when faced with the same situation, everyone will have their own unique order of choices. It is these different choices that shape the millions of different lives in the world.”

"It's just that, precisely because the choice is your own, even if someone else makes the decision for you for a while due to various reasons, you must remember that the life called "Individual" is destined to be completed by "Individual" only."

"So, the root is the self, and it can only be - [self]"

At this moment, even though she had not known Su Qing for long, Yukinoshita felt as if she was meeting him for the first time, with complex emotions surging in her heart.

At the same time, an absurd idea suddenly occurred to me:

Has Su Qing always been immersed in this sadness called loneliness?

[Sorrow is like drizzle, and also like silk]

[When you peel away the layers and see the sorrowful heart inside]

【You will find out】

【turn out to be】

[The feeling of grief is endless]

This is a sentence that Yukinoshita had seen on the Internet. For some reason, when she looked at Su Qing at this moment, these sentences suddenly emerged in her mind.

……