Chapter 211

"What a sin!" Sakurakoji Talent closed his eyes, tapped his body with his hand, and said, "Amen."

It's worth mentioning that although she is naturally gentle and will agree to most things asked of her by others (Relatives), she will be even happier if he makes éclairs for her, and she will even ask for things that are beyond what is expected.

That's about it.

[Note: Rumin's mother's name is Okura Merusa. Information is scarce, so it's unclear if she's Japanese. All that's known is that she was a stunningly beautiful woman over 18 when she was pregnant. Also, Okura Nikkin's ex-wife's name is Okura Temat, a name I suspect is also foreign...]

"Talent-kun, so even you are...?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha clenched her fists, her teeth grinding.

Unexpectedly, Sakurakoji Talent, whom she considered her ally, was actually a Bloodline Traitor in secret!

Damn it! When did you outsiders take over all of Japan?! Are purebloods the only minority?!

Ironically, here, the four Half-blood individuals possess the strongest natural talents and family backgrounds, far surpassing the three native-born locals, and their average appearance is also...

"I'm not surprised that you're mixed-race, but I didn't expect you to be Ireland. I thought you were from Nordic," Eriri, looking at his silver hair.

While the world has all kinds of hair colors, silver hair is a rare existence comparable to pure blonde hair, and it is definitely at the very top of the hair color hierarchy.

Their light blonde hair, which is inherited, is mostly not actually a brilliant gold; it's more of a pale yellow.

Unless there is a mutation, the most common cause of congenital white hair is having Nordic ancestry, where white hair is relatively more prevalent.

"My hair color is inherited from my mother, it has nothing to do with my grandmother's side." He was a little annoyed when he said this.

If it weren't for this wretched, Afflicted Body, he would also be confined to his room every day, only able to go out on cloudy days or at night, unable to walk freely in the sunlight.

But because he was unaware of the underlying principles of their interaction, he unexpectedly escaped this trouble, which was the only good thing—sometimes it's really hard to tell whether this is a blessing or a curse.

Does absolute suffering bring absolute freedom?

That's too extreme. Deep down, he's still just an ordinary person who likes moderation.

"Oh, I see. We have another thing in common!" Ouka Mai looked at him tenderly, inexplicably happy.

"..." It seems that's really true. Damn, aren't their character traits too similar?

Is this what they call a Genderbent Version?

To show that she was genuinely interested in this place, Ouka Mai spent quite a bit of time there.

After reviewing the script and artwork, she even played Gal Game with Kato Megumi for two hours...

It wasn't until almost time for him to go to work that Sakurakoji Talent explained that he had other things to do and couldn't stay with her any longer, but that he could call his sister if needed.

He didn't intend to reveal his part-time job, and to prevent Aoyama Nanami and the others from telling anyone, he put a gag order on them in advance.

It wouldn't be a problem if it were someone else, but if she found out, it was hard to guarantee she wouldn't ask to visit his workplace again—he really didn't want to complicate things further.

Fortunately, Ouka Mai's emotional intelligence was just as high as her IQ. She didn't ask him what he was going to do next, but simply exchanged contact information with him.

He then made an excuse, saying that he also had modeling work that evening and that his driver would be arriving soon, so he didn't need to worry.

Although he was grateful for her personality, upon closer reflection, wasn't it also because of this personality that she was subjected to so many hats by the Scummy Pink-haired Girl?

A "faithful" pink-haired wife, an incompetent blond-haired husband... (Just kidding!)

"As expected of you, you've become quite skilled today."

Under the evening Starry, Sakurakoji Talent praised his bright and capable student, Yukino Shita Yukino.

"It seems your official start date isn't far off."

"Don't force yourself to praise me. Compared to you, I still have a lot of immature aspects." Yukino Shita Yukino wiped the sweat from her forehead and stared intently at the parfait in front of her.

For those who are not skilled, making a proper Sakurakoji Talent Edition Matcha Parfait is not easy; the timing and ingredients need to be quite precise.

The recipe is easy enough; once she memorizes it, she can make it. But the step of putting it into the cup and letting it set requires a lot of practice.

In order not to waste ingredients, if a dish fails, she has to either fix it herself or ask someone else to fix it. Fortunately, there are many people in Starry, so it's not a problem. The problem is that she can't bring herself to ask people to be her dumping ground.

And because it's quite expensive, she feels a lot of pressure when practicing it.

It's not that anyone would make her pay, and she doesn't lack the money; it's just her narrow-minded perception of how others see things.

Even though others didn't mean it that way, after you fail, you always feel like their gaze has a certain ulterior motive.

"Okay! Done!"

After finishing the last step, she looked at the finished product that she had finally succeeded in, breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and felt relieved.

While not perfect, it's at least to the point where you can't immediately spot the problems.

It's perfectly fine to serve it to guests.

Chapter 267 That's not how it is in the Corner Game!

"What about you? Didn't you say you were having dinner with your family today?"

Admiring her masterpiece with a sense of accomplishment, she casually asked...

"That was at noon. We had already finished eating, and the guests had left."

"Yeah."

She didn't ask too many questions, because she wasn't particularly interested and didn't have the habit of prying into other people's private affairs.

"What are you going to do about what happened with Bocchi-chan?"

"I'm still thinking about it. After I got back yesterday, I watched all the videos she posted. I really couldn't believe they were the same person."

Yukino Shita Yukino took a picture of her work with her phone and sighed.

"His lying skills are just not very good. He's clearly a Social Anxiety Disorder person, but he deliberately pretends to Normie and outgoing one. A real Normie would easily see through his act."

"For example, the outdated and unfashionable clothing, the friends who have never appeared, all stereotypical descriptions of daily life, the dark and cramped room background... or is that a closet?"

She tilted her head slightly, her expression indescribable, utterly unable to understand what it took for someone to develop that kind of personality.

I heard she hasn't experienced any bullying at school, so how did she develop this personality?

"You mean yourself as Normie's person?" Sakurakoji Talent chuckled to himself.

"You can understand it that way too." She tossed her hair aside, not denying it at all.

"You don't even have any friends?"

Yukino Shita Yukino frowned. "Let me make this clear first, it's not that I don't have friends, it's that I don't have anyone worthy of being my friend..."

"Okay, okay, I was wrong, you can continue." He raised his hands in surrender.

This kind of fallacy is enough to hear once.

She glared at him, then said nothing more, steer the conversation back on track.

"But I understand now, that child is indeed a genius. His strength has visibly increased compared to when he appeared in the videos at the beginning of last year."

She paused, then added, "They definitely have a lot of value to be saved!"

As she said this, a competitive glint appeared in her eyes.

"You watched all those videos? Do you have that much free time...?"

"Let me tell you something, Sakurakoji-san. Once you've decided to do something, it's best to go all out from the start, or you'll be quickly surpassed by others."

Yukino Shita Yukino smiled at him without any apparent hostility, but that was rather unsettling.

"Of course, this is one of my many strengths."

"Today during the day, I also went to the library and looked up a lot of psychology books, and summarized some of the reasons why Gotoh-san is like this."

"Clurman's 'Socializing and Fear' says: 'Social anxiety is not a personality defect, but an overreaction to potential threats'... I think that makes a lot of sense."

In Philip's "No Longer Shy," he says, "Shyness is an epidemic in modern society; it makes us talkative in the virtual world but speechless in reality."

"This means that she might be experiencing a variant of shyness, and this isn't an isolated case; it's just that Gotoh-san is slightly more severe."

"There's also Brennie's * the Power of Vulnerability *: 'Vulnerability is not weakness, but the origin of courage.' The book suggests that emphasizing 'self-acceptance' can help heal anxiety, which is also very valuable."

"In addition, there are Micro-Social Desensitization Experiment from positive psychology, 'Sensory Filtering Technique' for highly sensitive individuals, 'Separation of Concerns' and other treatment methods..."

She went on to cite several more case studies, which impressed even Sakurakoji Talent. This earnest, hardworking, and intelligent personality was also a testament to her charm.

At the same time, he realized something else: she definitely hadn't studied for a single minute from yesterday until now.

Maybe she really can cure Gotou Hitori's Social Anxiety Disorder?

No, even so, it's still difficult, isn't it?

But as long as she can perform normally on stage, that's a victory!

Hey~ You've worked really hard, I wish you success.

"Hmph, my success is a foregone conclusion; I don't need your blessing. You should worry about yourself more than me; you might get your comeuppance for being too 'popular' someday."

"You're using the wrong Japanese, Yukino Shita. If you're popular, how could you be suffering retribution?"

"..."

The two continued their casual conversation, which sounded more like bickering than chatting.

Before finishing my work and heading to the rear to Gotou Hitori and the others, I spent a fairly good time.

But contrary to Sakurakoji Talent's expectations, retribution came swiftly.

The next morning, an unexpected visitor came to him.

Specifically, shortly after he finished getting dressed, without any prior notice, a person who was both familiar and unfamiliar— Ouka Mai— came directly to his room door.

"Um... Miss Wangzhong, is there something you need so early?"

His handsome double eyelids twitched, his expression blank and powerless, completely unexpected that the person who came would be her.

He said she was welcome to come anytime, but isn't this a bit too soon?

If I remember correctly, we just met yesterday, right, sister?

Even based on the most basic common sense, you shouldn't have come here so soon... and it's too early!

At this hour, even Aoyama Nanami hasn't come to clean yet! How come you're here before his maid!

Who understands the feeling of redemption when you see a distinguished guest who left yesterday return first thing in the morning?

Standing before him, at the doorway of the room, was none other than Ouka Mai, dressed differently from yesterday, wearing high heels and exuding a dignified and elegant aura.

Her already tall figure became even more slender in this outfit, giving the illusion that she was almost as tall as him.

Thick, flowing golden hair floated naturally behind her, always serving as a perfect backdrop.

With her looks and talent, she certainly looks good in anything.

"Ah~ Did you forget something important here? Tell me first, and I'll go ask Nanami right away." He seemed to understand why she had come here.

Unlike his discomfort with her free will, Ouka Mai covered her chin with her right hand, her eyes wandering to the side, her handsome and elegant face with a light blush on her cheeks.

If he wasn't mistaken, it was the same shyness he'd seen on countless other people... Something was wrong! Nine out of ten things were wrong!

Sakurakoji Talent's eyes widened suddenly, a chilling aura creeping down his spine.

"No, it's not like that..." Ouka Mai denied softly, turning her gaze back to meet his. The lively emotion in her eyes made him turn his eyes away, unable to look at her.

After taking a deep breath, she calmed down and frankly revealed the purpose of her visit:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Talent... it seems I've come to see you as someone I like."

"..."

His eyes instantly lost their luster, and his previously dazed mind cooled down instantly, wondering if he had damaged his ears while working at Starry.

"Um, I'm sorry, I've been spending too much time in noisy places lately, and I think I'm having some hearing problems. Could you please repeat that?"

"Ah, um! I'm a little shy, but it's okay." Ouka Mai looked over even more easily than before, a smile playing on her lips, as if she were already used to it. "I'm sorry, Mr. Talent, it seems I've already..."

"I've fallen for you as if you were someone of the opposite sex! No, it should be 'love' (aa-i)!"