Yukinoshita's Correction Method

If Yukino Yukinoshita were allowed to speak her mind...

"Alright." Yukino Yukinoshita took a light breath. "It was incredibly boring. Reading it was even painful. This work was far more boring than I imagined."

Yoshiteru Zaimokuza looked as though he had suffered a heavy blow and nearly fell from his chair.

Dong Yunshan sighed.

Of course this was how it would go.

"C-Could you tell me what was boring about it, so I can use it as a reference?" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza no longer had the strength to keep acting.

"First, your grammar was a complete mess." Yukino Yukinoshita flipped through the manuscript. "Why did you keep using inverted sentences? Did you not even understand how prepositions worked? Didn't you learn that in elementary school?"

"W-Writing like that flows better..." Yoshiteru Zaimokuza struggled weakly. "It makes readers feel closer to it..."

"The prerequisite for familiarity is correctness. Sentences that cannot be understood only confuse people." Yukino Yukinoshita turned two pages. "Second, all the furigana was wrong too. Why was [Phantom Crimson Blade Flash] labeled [Bloody Nightmare Slasher]? Where did [Nightmare] even come from?"

"Th-That is a special style. The readings in recent superpower battle stories are all very unique..."

"The prerequisite is that someone can understand them." Yukino Yukinoshita struck straight at the heart of the matter. "Did you actually want people to understand this work? Oh, and speaking of the work itself, the plot was far too predictable. There was no enjoyment at all. Also, why did the heroine take off her clothes here? There was absolutely no logical need..."

"Hold on, there was a scene like that?" Dong Yunshan opened his copy of the manuscript. "Why didn't you mention something that exciting earlier?"

Everyone's eyes turned toward Dong Yunshan.

"Why are you all looking at me?" Dong Yunshan looked utterly innocent. "Look at it critically. How am I supposed to criticize it if I don't read it?"

"The narrative sentences are also too long, and there are too many obscure words." Yukino Yukinoshita shot Dong Yunshan a look. "And do not show people a story that has not even been finished. Before showing off your literary talent, first acquire some common sense..."

Every word landed on Yoshiteru Zaimokuza like an iceberg, making him howl in agony and tremble without end.

"Little Yukino..." Yui Yuigahama was afraid Yoshiteru Zaimokuza might pass away on the spot, so she timidly spoke up to interrupt.

"I wasn't finished." Yukino Yukinoshita set down the manuscript. "But if you have something to say, then you can go next."

"Huh? I-I have to say something too?" Yui Yuigahama panicked as she picked up the manuscript and flipped through it with a rustle. "Um... well..."

Alright, Dong Yunshan had figured it out.

It was not that Yui Yuigahama had only read a few pages. She had not read it at all.

"Um, I-I think..." Yui Yuigahama felt terribly guilty under Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's pleading gaze and managed to squeeze out a sentence. "You know so many difficult words!"

"Pfft!" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza spat out a mouthful of old blood—not really—and slid off his chair onto the floor.

He had burned out, turning into pure white ash.

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama did not understand. "Why? I tried really hard to praise him."

"Light novels are novels meant to be read easily. Their prose often uses the everyday language readers are accustomed to, making them simpler and easier for boys and girls to read." Dong Yunshan answered Yui Yuigahama's question. "Using difficult words is the greatest possible denial of that kind of work."

"That's it! I knew you would understand me..." Yoshiteru Zaimokuza struggled back to his feet. "Brother Dong, if it is you, then you will surely understand the world I have depicted—all that exists within that world!"

"Although I only read part of it," Dong Yunshan gave him a look that said, Trust me, "I found some other ways and finally managed to understand it."

"Good brother!" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza attempted a kip-up, failed to get up, and instead looked as though he had used Splash. "At last, someone understands my heart and soul!"

"I saw it all and remembered it in my heart." Dong Yunshan thumped his chest, then took out a notebook from his bag. "And wrote it down on paper."

Yui Yuigahama: "Huh?"

"The school sections came from Full Metal Panic!, the villain organization was based on Overlord, the monster designs were taken from Sword Art Online, the ability system came from A Certain Magical Index, the male and female leads' relationship development resembled My Sister's Life, the family background was close to Book Girl, and the male supporting character was from The Case Files of Jeweler Richard..." Dong Yunshan put down his notebook. "I did not miss anything, right?"

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza clutched his head and rolled wildly around on the floor.

Splash, Splash, Splash, Splash, Splash~

Yui Yuigahama hid behind Yukino Yukinoshita in fright. "It feels like you dealt more damage than the two of us combined."

"I thought you did not read light novels?" Yukino Yukinoshita had barely asked before answering herself. "You have a friend?"

"He works in a doujin circle and is an expert in this area, so I consulted him." Dong Yunshan rubbed his chin as he recalled it. "He also asked me to give the author a sincere piece of advice."

"Advice from a professional? That sounds impressive." Afraid Yoshiteru Zaimokuza would die here, Yui Yuigahama hurriedly asked, "What was it?"

Dong Yunshan said, "Get a job."

"Guh!" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza made a horrifying sound and stopped using Splash.

"Oh no, oh no!" Yui Yuigahama jumped. "I think he stopped breathing!"

"You put so much effort into this," Yukino Yukinoshita noticed Dong Yunshan's increasingly radiant smile, "just to see him look so miserable?"

Dong Yunshan shook his head. "Of course not."

Yukino Yukinoshita was quite surprised. "No?"

"Mm." Dong Yunshan nodded. "It was only a phone call. It did not take much effort."

"Anyway..." Yukino Yukinoshita helplessly rubbed her forehead. "This request has been successfully completed."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama could hardly believe it. "This counts as completed?"

"If he could survive this sort of blow, he should be capable of facing criticism online." Yukino Yukinoshita tapped the manuscript with her fingertip. "This is what it truly means to teach a man to fish."

"So you stayed up all night reading it in order to strike him from every direction?" Dong Yunshan remembered their original argument. "It was not to help him discover every mistake, but to temper his mind until he could face criticism?"

"Your ability to see through to the essence of things has improved." Yukino Yukinoshita covered her slightly open mouth and yawned. "Although you still have not seen all of it, at least you have improved."

"Wait." Something stirred in Dong Yunshan's heart as their recent quarrels flashed through his mind. "Then the things you said before were also..."

"If I deny your methods, you will think about the meaning behind them. When you are trying your hardest to refute me, your convictions are at their firmest. Over time, before acting, you will first think about the meaning behind it and prepare to refute me." Yukino Yukinoshita revealed a rare smile. "It seems this correction method was very effective on you. Your reaction was still half a beat slow, but at least you caught on."

"You..." Dong Yunshan opened his mouth. "I..."

"Refute me. Use your refutation to express your agreement with me." Yukino Yukinoshita clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward slightly in a completely defenseless pose. She raised her adorably unfair face, her large eyes curving into happy crescents. "I said it before: whether a person succeeds is not determined by external traits—and now, the difference between us is obvious."

Messy black hair fell down, casting a blurry shadow over Dong Yunshan's face.

Why had the atmosphere suddenly become so serious?

The bewildered Yui Yuigahama looked from left to right, not quite daring to speak.

"Ha..." Dong Yunshan raised a hand to cover his face, then could not help laughing. "Hahahahaha!"

All this time, Dong Yunshan had been looking down on Yukino Yukinoshita from the lofty position of an adult.

He had regarded her persistence as a child's stubbornness, her sharp tongue as a child's rebellion, and her goal as a child's fantasy...

But he had forgotten the words he himself had spoken.

["I find the green mountains lovely; the green mountains must see me the same way."]

"So the things Little Yukino said were all meant to correct Dong Yunshan?" Yui Yuigahama muttered softly. "That does not seem quite right..."

"For you, of course it is not right." Having laughed enough, Dong Yunshan let out a long breath. "But in my eyes, Yukinoshita has special privileges."

Yui Yuigahama did not understand. "Special privileges?"

Because Yukino Yukinoshita was cute?

Was being scolded by a beautiful girl also enjoyable?

Yui Yuigahama silently moved a little farther away from Dong Yunshan.

"Are you seriously taking half a step back?" Dong Yunshan practically wanted to sing. "Such a tiny movement, yet it hurt so much."

"Um... I understand..." Yui Yuigahama hurriedly waved her hands. "Do people not often say that everyone is free to do that?"

"You say you understand, but your body honestly moved away from me. You misunderstood. It is not just Yukinoshita—you too." Dong Yunshan pointed at Yoshiteru Zaimokuza, who was lying on the floor like a corpse. "Zaimokuza is the same."

"Me?" Yui Yuigahama pointed at herself blankly. "I have them too?"

She did not feel as though she had ever had any special privileges before Dong Yunshan.

"Children speak without restraint." Yukino Yukinoshita snorted coldly. "Having spent so long in society, he treats students like us as children. So long as principles are not involved, a mature adult will not lower himself to a child's level."

Children had limited abilities and could only gain the upper hand with words.

Adults had countless methods and did not care about verbal disputes.

No matter how sharp Yukino Yukinoshita's tongue was, she still had to wear cat ears when required and meow like a cat when required.

That was what people called an adult's composure.

"Come to think of it..." Yui Yuigahama recalled Dong Yunshan's earlier reactions. "Dong Yunshan really does give off an old-fashioned feeling."

"As someone who considers himself mature, I would not lower myself to your level." Dong Yunshan made no effort to hide his admiration. "And if I get worked up over your sharp tongue, then I become a child arguing with another child. That means you have successfully corrected my way of thinking."

"Um... let me think." Yui Yuigahama scratched her itchy head. "So this is a correction method tailored specifically for Dong Yunshan?"

"It is a correction method tailored for adults who look down on children—or rather... for children who think they are adults." Dong Yunshan pointed at Yui Yuigahama. "You are the proof."

"Huh? Me?" Yui Yuigahama pointed at herself blankly. She had no idea how many times she had made that gesture. "Am I also part of you two flirting through bickering?"

"It is correction," Yukino Yukinoshita declared righteously.

"She only said something harsh to you once. After you showed agreement with her, she became Little Yukino." Dong Yunshan noticed that when he said "Little Yukino," Yukino Yukinoshita's shoulders visibly trembled. "And I kept refuting her, so she remained Yukinoshita. But... compared with my refutations, what you disliked more was probably my condescending attitude, right?"

"The results were even better than I expected." Yukino Yukinoshita raised her fair chin. "It is fine if you start getting angry now, Dong Yunshan."

"Then your correction will officially succeed, right?" Dong Yunshan tapped his temple with two fingers. "Let me think. When I am angry—no, when I show even the slightest sign of being hurt—the kind and righteous Yukinoshita will apologize to me, declare her victory, then use the request she makes after winning to offset the punishment she deserves."

Slow down... Yui Yuigahama clutched her head, feeling as though she could not keep up.

Were these two not simply a pair of bickering lovers flirting with each other?

How had something so simple become so complicated?

Why not just keep flirting through bickering... Even if she could not understand it, at least it would be entertaining.

"Skip those boring subjective assumptions." Yukino Yukinoshita crossed her arms over her chest. "Go ahead and start your sophistry. This is your last chance."

Did that pose help with thinking?

Yui Yuigahama tried crossing her arms like Yukino Yukinoshita, only to find that the fullness at her chest was somewhat in the way.

How strange.

Little Yukino made it seem so easy.

Yui Yuigahama could only lower her arms a little.

That would do.

When Yui Yuigahama looked up at Yukino Yukinoshita, she found that Yukino Yukinoshita had lowered her arms again.

Yui Yuigahama: "?"

"Sophistry? No, no, no. I simply discovered something very interesting." The smile on Dong Yunshan's face became increasingly obvious. "When you came up with this correction method, did you not notice the trap you had set for yourself within it?"

That smug expression... Yukino Yukinoshita felt inexplicably uneasy.

"The moment you devised this correction method for adults, you had already placed yourself in the position of a child." Dong Yunshan bent slightly, drawing close to Yukino Yukinoshita's stiff expression. "The premise for this correction method to be correct is that I truly treat you like a child, and that you accept such treatment. Little Yukinoshita, how did it feel to be spoiled by an adult?"

Yukino Yukinoshita's pupils suddenly contracted.

The problem Dong Yunshan had just faced instantly became hers.

Only if she regarded herself as a child and viewed Dong Yunshan as an adult would her correction method be correct.

But if she did not regard herself as a child, and did not view Dong Yunshan as an adult, then her correction method was wrong.

Either admit that she was a child, or admit that she was wrong.

That was the greatest flaw in the correction method she had tailored for Dong Yunshan.

"Originally, there was no problem with this method. As long as I got angry, you would win." Dong Yunshan pointed at Yoshiteru Zaimokuza. "But a little incident occurred, allowing me to discover your plan before I lost an adult's dignity."

"Huh?" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza used Splash once. "I still have a role?"

"It is not over yet..." Yukino Yukinoshita clenched her little fists. "Do not think you have won just because of this."

"Indeed. As long as you do not admit it, and I do not admit it either, there is still no winner." Dong Yunshan sat back down in his chair. "The only thing that can determine a winner now is Zaimokuza's request."

"Huh?" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza pushed up his glasses. "I really do still have a role."

Yukino Yukinoshita also sat back down. "You will reveal the result."

"That's right!" Yui Yuigahama sat down as well. "You will reveal the result... reveal what?"

PS: Thank you to [Book Guest 1588577] for the tip!

One problem had barely settled...