Extreme Individualism

The gathering soon ended, and Yi Chen walked back to the dorms with Ichinose.

The party had been pretty lively.

Ichinose was happy.

They walked back to the dorms hand in hand.

That night, Yi Chen felt something different.

Yi Chen thought:

Was this the charm of socializing?

It was actually pretty fun.

No wonder so many popular kids had never understood shut-ins.

And then there was Ichinose.

She was wonderful.

Yi Chen watched Ichinose skipping along beside him, her hand in his.

He thought:

I don't know if my relationship is right.

I don't know if I'm good enough to Ichinose.

I don't know if I'm fulfilling my responsibilities as her boyfriend.

Don't be insecure. Don't be an individualist.

But I think I'll treat her well.

Yi Chen gazed at Ichinose warmly.

Before long, Yi Chen walked Ichinose back to her dorm. They hugged, then went their separate ways.

Back in his own dorm, Yi Chen washed up and lay on his bed, savoring everything that had just happened.

He took out his phone and scrolled through his chat history with Ichinose, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turning up.

There was also the matter of how to earn private points.

By entering competitions?

How many points would I get?

Ichinose, was Chabashira-sensei serious? Could she really guarantee that Class B wouldn't be demoted?

Never mind. I'll save one place in my heart for Ichinose, the only person I can be sincere with right now.

Lying on his bed, Yi Chen's thoughts kept coming:

I'm exhausted. I still don't really understand. The world is so big.

And all that social etiquette, and having true friends?

My girlfriend, Ichinose?

What a hassle...

Yi Chen had been raised by other people since childhood, and felt he understood the world better than his peers.

He treated everyone the same. It felt like there was no need for pointless socializing.

It was hard for him to take an interest in anything.

Every day, he lived however made him happy.

As long as he didn't affect anyone else, of course.

Besides, as a shut-in, he had a broader perspective.

Right? Maybe.

When you got down to it, everyone was human, just an ordinary person.

And every person had emotions and desires.

But in reality, all kinds of constraints held people back.

People's darkest sides rarely showed themselves in the sunlight.

There had to be absolutely good people in the world.

Because the world was so big.

And, by the same token, there were absolutely bad people.

Because the world was so big.

But most people were probably ordinary.

Ordinary people had good days, when something made them happy.

But what about when they felt bad?

Some people kept it bottled up.

They ended up meeting a terrible end. People like that were often more frightening than those who let their feelings out.

Because you had no idea how much they'd endured.

Who knew when someone like that might snap?

Some people let it out.

They vented to friends, did something fun to fight off their bad mood, or took things to the extreme?

Making themselves happy by making other people suffer?

Yes, the world was vast, and everyone had their own way of surviving.

Still, everyone knew the internet was a double-edged sword.

What kind of people were out there, on the other side we couldn't see?

Shut-ins often saw more of the world's evil.

Because they didn't go outside, they couldn't feel the sweetness of reality.

But was that really true?

The internet didn't have as many rules as the real world.

The world of the internet was even bigger.

Were people on the internet not human, too?

There were still absolutely evil people in the real world, but when they acted out, they were punished.

Was this world really so beautiful?

If everyone had two sides, which side did the friends I made belong to?

Could anyone really make true friends?

Other than family, that is.

But some people didn't even have family...

Was there anyone in this world you could trust completely?

Had I ever caused someone else pain?

Of course I had. No one was born a saint.

Everyone had to grow.

As you saw more of the world on the road to adulthood,

you gradually grew quieter.

Where should I go from here?

Should I stop overthinking?

Of course, I had friends before, didn't I?

Of course I did. We'd known each other for years.

Some had been my friends since we were kids in the same village.

Some had been my friends for six years, from middle school through high school.

But did getting along well from the start immediately make you friends?

I didn't think so.

It took time.

Weren't friends the people you'd known for years,

the ones you knew inside and out, the ones you could give your all to?

Why did some people bare their hearts to you right away?

The friends I had now—honestly, wasn't it all just polite talk?

Did I have any friends at Classroom of the Elite? Did Ichinose count?

But Ichinose was my girlfriend, wasn't she?

What a hassle.

But this wasn't the real world, was it?

Maybe I could give it a try and experience something I'd never felt before.

What would happen if the sun never rose and the rain never stopped?

That night, a meteor streaked across the sky as clouds gradually gathered overhead.

The rain began to fall.