Yukinoshita's Correction Method

"I thought..." Komachi Hikigaya recalled her earlier guess, her expression complicated.

Yukino Yukinoshita said meaningfully, "I shouldn't need to repeat the difference between misunderstanding and reality, should I?"

"Hehe..." Komachi Hikigaya chuckled and changed the subject. "Then what's the third piece of evidence?"

"This concerns Dong Yunshan's biggest mistake." Yukino Yukinoshita slightly tilted her head toward Dong Yunshan. "Will you explain it, or shall I?"

Even though she knew there was nothing between them, hearing Yukino Yukinoshita say that and seeing her demeanor, Komachi Hikigaya still felt... it really looked like a wife scolding her husband for making a mistake.

It was that kind of feeling: Do you know what you did wrong?

The overwhelming sense of déjà vu made Komachi Hikigaya's heart itch.

She wanted to say it, but she did not dare speak.

If she really said it, Yukino Yukinoshita would probably repeat the difference between misunderstanding and reality again.

Something so funny, yet she could not share it with anyone... Just as Komachi Hikigaya was thinking that, her gaze met Yui Yuigahama's.

With just that exchange of looks, Komachi Hikigaya knew Yui Yuigahama felt the same way.

Their hearts were in perfect sync; everything went without saying.

"Let me start from the beginning." Dong Yunshan lightly tapped his temple as he organized his thoughts. "After Sasaki and Tanaka first went downstairs carrying the Blue Demon model, Miki and Hojo asked you to help fetch a model from the prop room as a reference for him. When you entered the prop room, you saw a strange model—right?"

"How did you know..." Miki's eyes widened in surprise. "Komachi... no, Komachi didn't know either. Did Sasaki tell you?"

"It was a deduction based on the available information." Dong Yunshan continued. "Connecting it with a few clues from the past, you realized that model was the girlfriend Sasaki had mentioned. You didn't want to expose him and embarrass him, so after Sasaki went upstairs, you told him that his girlfriend had left first, hinting that you would keep his secret."

"You could guess that much..." Miki let out a long breath of relief. "I knocked, but no one answered. Yet when I went in, I saw a silhouette behind the curtain. I apologized to it, but there was still no response. I thought it was strange, so I walked over and then saw..."

Miki's face turned pale, with a trace of fear in her expression. "Behind the curtain was a foam model. It was wearing clothes, a wig, lipstick, and its eyes were painted on. It looked like it was staring at me... and smiling. I got startled and accidentally snagged the cloth under it, knocking the model over. Then those eyes... they were still staring at me. I didn't dare move around, so I could only cover it with a cloth nearby."

Just hearing Miki describe it made Yui Yuigahama feel a chill run through her body.

Among all those bizarre Blue Demon models, there was a conspicuous human-shaped model staring straight at you... It was perfectly normal to get scared.

"After Sasaki and Tanaka went downstairs, Sasaki kept absentmindedly playing with his phone." Dong Yunshan continued. "He was talking to you about that model."

"After hearing him explain it, I wasn't as scared anymore." Miki uneasily brushed at her hair. "Though I still had nightmares afterward."

"Next comes the mistake I made." Dong Yunshan adjusted the video's progress bar. "Sasaki did want to take the model home, but he never intended to scare Tanaka."

"He didn't intend to scare Tanaka?" Yui Yuigahama asked in confusion. "Then how was he going to keep Tanaka from noticing?"

"The perfect height..." Dong Yunshan showed Yui Yuigahama the paused frame. "And the right color."

On the handheld console's screen, the blue bundle hanging outside the Special Building looked like a twisted blue smiling face amid branches full of green leaves.

"At first, I thought Sasaki had hung the bundle outside the second-floor window to clear himself of suspicion. But in fact, only by hanging it outside the second-floor window would it be positioned right among the treetops rather than above them." Dong Yunshan tapped the area outside the third-floor window, where there were no dense branches to conceal it. "Blue stood out among the branches, but if it were green, it would basically go unnoticed. Komachi mentioned earlier that they used green screens during filming, so there had to be green cloth in the prop room."

"Yeah, there's a lot of it. So why didn't Sasaki use green cloth..." Komachi Hikigaya paused, then gave a small cry. "It wasn't Sasaki!"

"That's right. When Tanaka came upstairs looking for Sasaki, Sasaki had not yet hung the bundle outside. More precisely, he had not yet wrapped up that special model." Dong Yunshan put down the handheld console. "But Tanaka insisted on waiting to leave with Sasaki, so Sasaki could only ask the sole person who knew—Miki—to help him finish it."

After leaving with Tanaka, Sasaki kept fiddling with his phone because he was communicating with Miki, asking her to wrap the model in green cloth and hang it outside the second-floor window, using the green treetops to conceal the green bundle.

There was nothing wrong with that plan, and Miki had done her best to carry it out.

The problem was...

Miki was blue-yellow color-blind. She saw yellow as red and blue as green.

"I thought I was using green cloth..." Miki lowered her head. "It wasn't until Sasaki asked why I had used blue cloth that I realized I'd taken the wrong one."

Sasaki reacted quickly. Although he did not know the exact reason, the moment he saw the blue bundle, he dragged Tanaka away.

"When I heard Tanaka had been scared, I kept wondering what I should do..." Miki twisted her fingers together uneasily. "I didn't want Tanaka to keep being afraid, and I didn't want to reveal Sasaki's secret either... Sasaki asked me to wait two days, and other than waiting, I didn't know what else I could do."

Komachi Hikigaya took Miki's hand. "This isn't your fault..."

Yui Yuigahama softly comforted her. "You only wanted to help. You didn't mean to scare Tanaka."

Dong Yunshan mimed making a phone call. "Hasn't it already been two days? Contact Sasaki and see whether you can work out a solution together."

Yukino Yukinoshita's expression was calm, and her voice was even calmer. "That is the third piece of evidence."

The air in the Service Club's activity room fell silent.

"What?" Seeing everyone look at her, Yukino Yukinoshita tilted her head in confusion. "Weren't we discussing this?"

The truth was clear..." Yui Yuigahama tugged on Yukino Yukinoshita's sleeve. "But how to get rid of Tanaka's fear has become a new problem."

"Just tell him the truth," Yukino Yukinoshita answered as though it were obvious. "Once he knows what that blue object was, and who hung it there and why, Tanaka's fear will disappear—this was certain from the start."

Komachi Hikigaya looked hesitant. "But if we do that, Sasaki's situation..."

"Are there really that few people who know now?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked. "What difference does one more person make?"

Yui Yuigahama and Komachi Hikigaya looked at each other... That did seem right.

"You have a reliable truth, yet you want to place your hopes in a false lie..." Yukino Yukinoshita fixed Dong Yunshan with narrowed, icy eyes. "Especially you."

Based on his past experience, Dong Yunshan had been the first to guess that Sasaki's girlfriend was fake.

But Dong Yunshan thought the truth was too sad, so he wanted to conceal it for Sasaki.

By fabricating a plausible lie.

It was only after Yukino Yukinoshita repeatedly pierced through the falsehood that he had no choice but to reveal his guess.

And precisely because he wanted to hide the truth, Dong Yunshan lost the chance to investigate it further.

He wanted to help Sasaki conceal his secret, yet he had nearly wronged Sasaki.

In his theory, Sasaki had wanted to take the model away without anyone noticing, while incidentally giving Tanaka a scare.

But the truth was that Sasaki had never intended to scare Tanaka at all.

"Ah... I've got it." Dong Yunshan's eyes shifted. "Sasaki's girlfriend really exists."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama's big eyes were filled with confusion. "But you just said..."

"I just said it was all my guess." Dong Yunshan waved a hand. "A guess can be right, and naturally, it can also be wrong."

Komachi Hikigaya shook Miki's hand. "Sasaki, he..."

Miki gently shook her head. "He told me there wasn't..."

"People can lie. Just because someone says something doesn't mean it's true." Dong Yunshan raised his head. "Let me think... He originally had a girlfriend, but they broke up a while ago. Out of nostalgia, he couldn't bear to let go of what his girlfriend had left behind, so he made a model and pretended she was still by his side."

"If it were like that..." Yui Yuigahama murmured distractedly, "it seems... a little better?"

Compared with pretending to have a girlfriend, missing an ex-girlfriend was easier to accept.

Yukino Yukinoshita's cold gaze was like a tangible ice spike. "Dong Yunshan!"

"Yukino Yukinoshita." Dong Yunshan met her gaze without backing down. "Do you have any way to disprove my guess?"

Yukino Yukinoshita's expression was icy. "You are indulging an error. You are running away from what is right."

Dong Yunshan raised his little finger. "First, you cannot determine whether my guess is right or wrong."

Then he raised his ring finger. "Second, as long as Tanaka's fear can be eliminated, Sasaki has the right to choose whichever explanation he wants."

"Finally..." Dong Yunshan made an OK gesture. "Only children worry about right and wrong. Adults just muddle through."

The Service Club fell silent once more.

"I..." Miki weakly raised her phone. "I'm going outside to take a call."

Komachi Hikigaya stood up after her. "I-I'll go eavesdrop a little..."

Yui Yuigahama silently followed them out and shut the Service Club door. "I'll go e-eavesdrop on Komachi eavesdropping..."

Only Yukino Yukinoshita and Dong Yunshan remained in the activity room.

"I misjudged you..." Yukino Yukinoshita closed her eyes and slowly adjusted her somewhat hurried breathing. "With the earlier doll request, I thought you sought the truth and had the courage to act on it. But in reality, you only wanted a solution that required no effort and avoided conflict... didn't you?"

"It is a more mature and appropriate solution." Dong Yunshan corrected her with clear logic. "It is a balance between subjective and objective factors, rather than attributing every problem to the parties' insufficient ability."

"Personal ability is limited, but that is not a reason to limit one's own ability." Yukino Yukinoshita stood straight as a reef facing the waves. "Sasaki can confront his problem and grow and transform through it, but you want to lead him into avoidance."

"To move a chair, you first have to stand up. Trying to move it while seated is not only harder, but also makes it easy to fall." Dong Yunshan stood and pulled his chair aside. "You eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. Growth and transformation both need time. Why rush?"

"What can be done now should be done now, so that more can be done later." Yukino Yukinoshita's ice-blue eyes reflected Dong Yunshan's face. "If you do not do what can be done now, then later there will be even more things you cannot do, including what you can do now."

"If you work yourself to death when you should be resting, then by the time you want to rest, you may not even have a life left to rest with." Dong Yunshan looked at his young face reflected in Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes. "Being kinder to yourself is not a sin. There's no need to drive yourself so hard."

Outside the Service Club activity room, Yui Yuigahama and Komachi Hikigaya were eavesdropping on—

The commotion inside the activity room.

"It's a kind father and a strict mother," Yui Yuigahama sighed in a low voice.

"It's a clash between idealism and realism," Komachi Hikigaya murmured.

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama looked at Komachi Hikigaya in surprise, feeling betrayed.

They had clearly been eavesdropping on flirtatious banter together, so why had they suddenly started discussing lofty principles?

"I was right after all..." Komachi Hikigaya's eyes flickered. "These two should be combined."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama's eyes widened, feeling deeply shaken.

They had clearly been discussing lofty principles, so why had it suddenly turned dirty?

"Idealism emphasizes pursuing ideal goals and values, believing humanity can achieve perfection and fulfillment. Realism, on the other hand, pays more attention to actual conditions and practical feasibility, valuing utility and tangible results." Komachi Hikigaya elaborated. "When facing different problems and challenges, each way of thinking has its own advantages and limitations. Therefore, depending on the specific circumstances, we need to combine the strengths of idealism and realism while avoiding the limitations of both, in order to achieve better results."

Yui Yuigahama blinked her big eyes, then suddenly understood.

To sum it up...

Put color into values, and put value into color.

The two inside argued passionately, clashing head-on.

The two outside watched with relish, having a delightful time.

When Miki returned after taking her call, that was the scene she saw.

"Um..." Miki patted Komachi Hikigaya on the shoulder. "Just now, I—"

"Wah!" That was Komachi Hikigaya, startled by Miki.

"Ah!" That was Yui Yuigahama, startled by Komachi Hikigaya.

"Hmm?" That was Dong Yunshan and Yukino Yukinoshita, hearing the noise.

Knock, knock, knock!

Komachi Hikigaya reacted quickly and raised a hand to knock on the door. "Miki's back."

She said it as though she had just left with Miki.

Yui Yuigahama secretly admired her. As expected of an older sister with a younger brother at home.

An only child like Yui Yuigahama had absolutely no experience like that.

Huh? Something seemed a little off.

"Come in." Yukino Yukinoshita brushed back her hair and sat down again.

Dong Yunshan also pulled back the chair he had moved aside earlier.

"I just got a call from Sasaki. He told me he'd spent two days thinking and still didn't know what to do, and since he had no one to discuss it with, he could only ask whether I had any ideas." Miki's expression was complicated. "So I told him Dong's guess, and then... he went to find Tanaka."

"...That is fine." Yukino Yukinoshita closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Although you have already conceded, this time... you won."

"From the moment I conceded, I had already lost." Dong Yunshan shook his head. "A win is a win, and a loss is a loss. The important thing is..."

Yukino Yukinoshita opened her eyes and looked at Dong Yunshan, waiting for him to continue.

"Although I gave him a way out," Dong Yunshan said with a slight tug at the corner of his mouth, "I hope even more that he can move forward as you hoped."

"Even when moving forward, one must take it step by step." Yukino Yukinoshita lowered her eyes. "There is no need to rush."

"Wow~~~" Yui Yuigahama excitedly grabbed Komachi Hikigaya's hand. "They really combined!"

Dong Yunshan and Yukino Yukinoshita: "???"

"I meant their ideals! She meant their ideals!" Komachi Hikigaya hurriedly explained, then asked under Yukino Yukinoshita and Dong Yunshan's stares, "What did you think she meant?"

Dong Yunshan and Yukino Yukinoshita silently looked away.