Years of Quiet Peace

Dongfang Yi was still working and had no idea about the little episodes occurring at the gymnasium.

He was also unaware that he had been added to the deep-level watchlist of Kushida Kikyo.

If he had known... well, he would have just known.

That would be all.

He wouldn't care; after all, he was currently in the state of striving to learn the ropes of the cafe, with no time to spare for other matters.

However, this mere hour of time had already seen his hourly wage raised to 1000 points.

The cause was Fujimoto Itsuki, who, having witnessed the capabilities of Dongfang Yi, felt a sudden surge of professional excitement.

He promoted him from a waiter to an in-house barista, primarily responsible for coffee preparation, and increased his wages accordingly.

Of course, according to Manager Fujimoto, this was a rule set by the school; there was naturally a massive wage gap between skilled personnel and ordinary waiters.

For instance, a waiter's wage was 300 to 450 points per hour, while a mature barista's wage was 650 to 750 points per hour.

As for Dongfang Yi, he was simply too outstanding, so he was worth an exception.

But the capped wage was only 1000 points, because the school would not allow students from lower-ranked classes to climb the social ladder through collective part-time work.

If the wages for working students were too high, then everyone would just go work and stop studying.

Would the school allow that?

Obviously not.

If that were really the case, how could the school continue to produce outstanding talent?

Without outstanding talent, how could they swindle—pardon me—reasonably obtain funding from the Japanese government?

Therefore, the school not only placed restrictions on wages but also limited the duration of part-time work—

Class A students get one month per year, Class B students get two months per year, Class C students get four months per year, and Class D students get eight months per year.

However, in reality, students from Class A and Class B never use these, as they generally do not choose to work in the school's retail facilities; the monthly class points distributed are already enough for their food and expenses.

Dongfang Yi believed that the wage disparity also reflected the school's attitude to some extent—

a slight tolerance for skilled talent, and a ruthless suppression of the living environment for the incompetent.

However, in this stage where growth is desperately needed, is it really okay to suppress ordinary students like this?

He didn't understand.

If the lower-ranked classes really lived on grass (vegetable sets) for half a year, they would theoretically lose all ability to graduate from Class A.

Eating grass for half a year, with protein, vitamin, and fat intake completely failing to meet standards, would be akin to undergoing an incredibly impoverished survival challenge in the wilderness.

By then, the overall physical fitness of the class would definitely drop by one to several levels, and the students' mental states might also suffer.

Not to mention other exams, just looking at the three Sports Festivals, they would definitely not win a single one and would certainly be crushed by the other classes.

Even the most outstanding athletic talent couldn't withstand a life without nutritional intake; without points coming in, even daily training would result in a deficit.

It would be better not to train at all.

After all, not everyone is a cheat like him, Dongfang Yi, who defies the law of conservation of energy.

However, this was a matter between the Japanese and the Japanese, and it had nothing to do with him, Dongfang Yi.

So, he straightened his uniform, put an elegant smile on his face, and faced the man and woman who had just arrived:

"Welcome, you two. May I ask what you would like to order?"

Four hours passed in the blink of an eye.

"It was truly an eye-opener, Dongfang-kun."

Manager Fujimoto looked at the surging numbers in the sales report and felt as if he had had a dream.

His life's career had suddenly ascended to a new level.

He felt wonderful.

Although the performance was not the manager's main source of income, the positive performance of the cafe would also bring him a handsome commission.

"It was indeed an eye-opener for me as well. I really didn't expect so many upperclassmen to enjoy drinking coffee at night."

Having escaped from a flock of chattering girls, Dongfang Yi was currently massaging the shoulders and neck of Sakura, who was exhausted into a heap, so he didn't catch the subtext in the manager's words: "Aren't they afraid of not being able to sleep at night?"

He felt that those who drank cup after cup were destined to be sleepless tonight.

This stuff wasn't alcohol, after all; it really wasn't suitable for nighttime consumption.

"..."

Are you truly unaware of why they were downing so much coffee?

Manager Fujimoto felt that the sincerity of those poor girls had all been fed to the dogs.

However, he realized a bit too late that the situation might not be looking good.

There is a limit to how much caffeine a person should consume in a day; too much is bad for the body, and it causes insomnia as well.

Dongfang Yi's shift was from 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM, and today's customer traffic had been concentrated mostly in the latter half.

The girls who wanted to talk to the boy would purchase a cup of coffee to bridge the distance, even if they hadn't originally intended to buy anything when they walked through the door.

But if this continued in the long run, it was clearly...

Detrimental to the students' physical and mental health.

The manager pondered for a moment: "Dongfang-kun, do you know how to make pastries?"

"Are you referring to egg yolk pastries, mung bean cakes, flower cakes, or rolling donkey cakes?" The man with A+ level Cooking skills thought for a moment and continued, "Or perhaps croissants, toast, pudding, mille-feuille, or Swiss rolls?"

"Of course, if you mean Japanese-style... I know a little bit about daifuku, matcha rolls, taiyaki, and the like."

"...You know a little bit about all of them?"

The manager thought back to the attitude this guy had when doing latte art—that 'I just happen to know a little' demeanor—and asked tentatively.

"I know a little bit about all of them."

"Like how you make coffee?"

"Like how I make coffee."

"You're a talent, Dongfang-kun!"

Manager Fujimoto was shocked by the capabilities of the person before him.

To be selected for Class A, possess such seasoned coffee-making skills, and even know how to bake pastries! And he was so young and handsome to boot!

Is there anything you can't do, Dongfang-kun?

"I wouldn't call myself a talent; I just happened to learn them by chance before," Dongfang Yi said with a polite nod and a smile.

Humility is a virtue, and he happened to have it.

"Then, Dongfang-kun, would you like to try making pastries tomorrow? After six o'clock."

"Are we not selling coffee tomorrow?"

"Let Nishikawa handle the night shift. If we keep up with the sales figures you generated today, the school is going to want to have a talk with me."

"..."

Although Dongfang Yi didn't quite understand what the manager meant, high-level Cooking skills were clearly much more useful than making coffee.

So, he nodded and agreed.

Before leaving, he was stuffed with a pile of leftover near-expiry food by Fujimoto Itsuki as dinner, which the manager called employee benefits.

"These benefits are truly great; the manager is really generous."

Dongfang Yi carried a large bag of finished and semi-finished food, walking back to the dormitory with Sakura Airi.

He weighed the bag in his hand, feeling that even if it were just full of rice, he had made a killing.

Getting things for free is awesome!

However, he was walking very slowly now to match the pace of the socially anxious girl.

Because she had been standing for four consecutive hours, Sakura was clearly exhausted. Her bangs, dampened by sweat, clung to her skin, and she walked with a sluggish gait.

She didn't even have the energy to respond to Dongfang Yi's words.

The school's evaluation was not wrong; compared to Dongfang Yi, Sakura Airi's D- physical ability was indeed pitifully low.

And according to the original plot, it was precisely because of her comprehensive failure in physical ability, academic prowess, and interpersonal skills that the girl's rating in the OAA System had landed at the top of the grade.

The bottom of the grade.

In the end, she was ruthlessly reduced to a sacrificial lamb in Volume 16.

Although Volume 17 mentioned she had achieved success in her career, Could this girl really stand on stage, singing and dancing as a professional idol?

Dongfang Yi held a completely negative view on this.

Becoming a professional idol is not such a simple matter; it requires long-term, grueling training, repeating some strange dance hundreds of times, and singing lyrics until one's tongue trips over itself is a common occurrence.

As she was now, Sakura Airi clearly couldn't persist.

If she kept training, she would end up with occupational diseases like lumbar muscle strain, and besides...

Whether she could even afford to eat on the meager, charity-like wages of a so-called idol trainee was another question entirely.

After all, this industry is one where the starving starve to death and the successful are flooded with wealth; there are only a handful of top-tier stars who actually make money.

Not to mention that this ditz stutters whenever she gets nervous.

For a Sakura like this to become an idol, it was clearly impossible without sacrificing something.

If even the most top-tier male celebrities can't protect their own virtue, how could a naive girl who has yet to experience the world possibly do so?

There are plenty of perverts in Neon, after all!

Thinking of this, a flash of killing intent swept through the eyes of Dongfang Yi.

Human nature is inherently greedy; he accepts that, as he, Dongfang Yi, has no desire to be a good person himself.

But to truly destroy the life of an innocent fool just for one's own selfish desires? And to lament one's own growth after sacrificing someone else?

Don't make me laugh; disgusting is just disgusting. Whose growth is paid for by the cost of someone else's life?

He scoffed at the very notion.

Dongfang Yi glanced at the girl slowly shuffling along beside him and asked softly, "Do you still have to go tomorrow? To work."

"I-I have to go!"

"It's so tiring, yet you still want to go?"

"I'm, I'm fine!" Sakura panted, yet she still insisted on her answer.

Even though she herself didn't quite understand why she said that.

Dongfang Yi smiled helplessly and reached out to ruffle the girl's hair.

Mm, it was soaked in sweat.

He said nothing more, looking up toward the distant lights.

I hope that bunch of trash in Class D knows how to read the room, otherwise...

I wouldn't mind letting you all experience...

What is known as growth.

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