Yukinoshita's Correction Method

Yukino Yukinoshita: "Hmm?"

"Read, read!" Yui Yuigahama lowered her head and flipped through her book. "This question's kind of interesting."

"This is bad," Komachi Hikigaya whispered. "Shinonome's reacting!"

"Is it that obvious?" Yui Yuigahama discreetly looked in Dong Yunshan's direction. "That reaction... Oh no! Shinonome's spreading his tail feathers!"

Such a strange description made even Yukino Yukinoshita instinctively glance in Dong Yunshan's direction.

Apparently, they had started talking about working out. Dong Yunshan had taken off his jacket and was showing the others the firm muscles in his arms.

Yukino Yukinoshita watched for quite a while but never saw any feathers spreading behind Dong Yunshan. "What tail feathers?"

"Showing himself off like a peacock spreading its tail," Komachi Hikigaya explained. "Talking about his achievements, displaying his talents, flexing his muscles... Suddenly doing things like that means there's someone of the opposite sex nearby who interests him. He's trying to show off his charm."

"A metaphor." Yukino Yukinoshita stared in Dong Yunshan's direction. They seemed to have reached an amusing topic and were laughing happily. "I see... No wonder."

"Little Yukino!" Yui Yuigahama tugged on Yukino Yukinoshita's sleeve in warning. "Don't stare so obviously. He'll noti—"

Before she could finish, Yui Yuigahama noticed Dong Yunshan looking their way. "Quick, hide!"

"As students, we came here to study. Meanwhile, one week before exams, he's doing something unrelated to studying." Yukino Yukinoshita had no intention of hiding. "He's the one who should hide."

Hearing that... Yui Yuigahama and Komachi Hikigaya wanted to hide even more.

When Dong Yunshan headed toward the self-service drink bar, Yukino Yukinoshita drained the rest of her drink, picked up her empty cup, and walked over.

Volume Three: Final Exams and Spring Break — The Real Target

"Woohoohoohoo!" Yui Yuigahama watched Yukino Yukinoshita's back, delight filling her eyes as she excitedly slapped Komachi Hikigaya's arm. "Little Yukino is on the move!"

"So she really was upset..." Komachi Hikigaya murmured. "What's she going to do?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yui Yuigahama made a grabbing gesture. "She'll grab Shinonome by the ear and make him behave, tell him to separate work from private life."

"Do you think that's possible?"

"...True." Yui Yuigahama propped up her chin. "Then what's she going to do?"

Komachi Hikigaya copied her pose and rested her chin on her hand. "We'll find out soon enough."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama saw Yukino Yukinoshita standing in front of the drink machine without any intention of greeting Dong Yunshan. "Is she pretending she didn't see him? But she already saw him just now."

"That's why she's pretending Shinonome doesn't exist now. Then he'll..." A smile appeared on Komachi Hikigaya's face. "Just as expected."

Dong Yunshan had already reached one drink machine, but upon seeing Yukino Yukinoshita, he picked up his cup, moved closer to her, and poured himself the drink from the machine in front of her.

Rather than returning to his seat, Dong Yunshan stood beside the drink machine—or rather, beside Yukino Yukinoshita—and drank.

"He's probably explaining himself..." Yui Yuigahama guessed. "But Little Yukino doesn't seem to be looking at him."

Yukino Yukinoshita stared fixedly at the drink machine, set down her cup, and poured herself another drink.

"Is she expressing her dissatisfaction by ignoring him?" Komachi Hikigaya saw Yukino Yukinoshita pick up her drink and say a few words to Dong Yunshan. "Letting him stew for a bit before answering him—her little temper is just right."

"Good! Keep pressing the advantage, and then... Little Yukino seems to have given Shinonome something." Yui Yuigahama's eyes widened in disbelief. "And then she just came back?"

"It looked like she gave Shinonome a napkin." Komachi Hikigaya kept her eyes on Dong Yunshan. "He crumpled it up and threw it away!"

Yui Yuigahama looked indignant. "How could he do that?!"

Most family restaurants had self-service drink bars.

This was an all-you-can-drink service for nonalcoholic beverages. Customers selected and collected their own drinks from the drink bar, usually for around two hundred to four hundred yen, and could drink as much as they wanted.

The drink selection at the self-service bar was extensive. If drinks were ordered together with a main dish, side dish, and dessert, customers could also receive a discount.

Dong Yunshan was about to pour himself a drink when his gaze shifted, and he spotted Yukino Yukinoshita nearby.

She was carefully examining the drink machine in front of her, holding an empty cup in her right hand and a coin in her left, as if searching for somewhere to insert it.

Had this young lady seriously never used a self-service bar before?

Dong Yunshan walked over with his cup and demonstrated for her. "Put the coin away. You should've paid when you ordered earlier. You can drink whatever you want."

Yukino Yukinoshita copied him, placing her cup down and adjusting its position. She solemnly pressed the button, and only after seeing the drink flow out on its own did she nod with satisfaction. "I see."

"Yuigahama got my drinks for me before," Yukino Yukinoshita explained, picking up her cup. "How much longer will you be?"

"Hard to say. I don't have any experience with this, after all." Dong Yunshan paused, then smiled and shook his head. "I didn't expect it to be this troublesome."

"Since you helped me, I'll help you too." Yukino Yukinoshita took out a napkin and handed it to him. "Come study when you're done. I don't want any failing students in my club."

The two headed off in different directions.

Dong Yunshan crumpled the napkin into a ball and casually threw it away.

Yukino Yukinoshita returned to her seat with her cup. "What's wrong with you two?"

"That napkin," Yui Yuigahama accused. "Shinonome threw it away without even looking at it!"

"So what?" Yukino Yukinoshita tilted her head. "It was meant to be thrown away."

"There must have been something important written on it." Komachi Hikigaya's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "How could he throw it away without even reading it?"

"It was just a napkin. There wasn't anything written on it." Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head. "I gave it to him so he could throw it away."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama blinked. "I should probably focus on studying logic."

Komachi Hikigaya asked bluntly, "Why did you give him a napkin just so he could throw it away?"

Yukino Yukinoshita opened her book. "To make him come over and study sooner."

Komachi Hikigaya collapsed onto the table. "I should probably focus on studying logic."

"Look over there." Yukino Yukinoshita raised a hand and pointed. "It should be starting soon."

Yui Yuigahama and Komachi Hikigaya looked up and saw Dong Yunshan accidentally spill juice on the engaged man who had arrived later. Since the color was so conspicuous, he could only go deal with it in the restroom.

The woman sitting beside Dong Yunshan took out her phone with earphones plugged in and gave one earbud to the engaged woman.

"Shinonome spills things too?" Yui Yuigahama recalled how calm Dong Yunshan had been while spinning all sorts of objects. "That doesn't seem like him..."

Had he fallen for someone?

"Just a little?" Yukino Yukinoshita raised her eyes. "There are clearly many more ways in which he's unlike his usual self."

Komachi Hikigaya thought about it and felt the biggest difference was that Yukino Yukinoshita was not by Dong Yunshan's side.

"I noticed it right away." Yui Yuigahama pointed to her head. "His hairstyle and clothes are different."

"...That counts as part of it." Yukino Yukinoshita sighed. "Think carefully. If Shinonome had accepted a request to play someone's boyfriend, what would he do?"

"Hmm..." Yui Yuigahama could not help recalling what had happened when Yoshiteru Zaimokuza came to the Service Club. "He'd definitely put on a great performance."

Yukino Yukinoshita shifted her gaze to Komachi Hikigaya. "What did you say earlier?"

Komachi Hikigaya repeated it as she recalled it. "So far, there hasn't been any feedback at all. Not only has there been no reaction like that of a boyfriend, even by the standards of ordinary friends, he's been cold."

"That's exactly the problem." Yukino Yukinoshita nodded. "That's why I found it strange."

So that earlier "Hmm?" had been because of this... Yui Yuigahama had thought Yukino Yukinoshita was reminding her to study seriously.

"So this isn't a request, but... just an ordinary date? Shinonome likes this type of woman... No." Komachi Hikigaya rejected her own theory. "Shinonome's reaction was too cold, but later he started showing off like a peacock... Could his target be that engaged woman?"

Volume Three: Final Exams and Spring Break — It's a Long Story

"Shinonome wouldn't do something like that..." Yui Yuigahama added hesitantly. "Probably."

She had originally wanted to say that, based on what she knew of Dong Yunshan, he did not seem like that kind of person.

But after listening to Yukino Yukinoshita's meticulous observations, Yui Yuigahama suddenly realized that the Dong Yunshan she knew was the Dong Yunshan who was with Yukino Yukinoshita.

Dong Yunshan when Yukino Yukinoshita was not around... today was the first time she had seen him.

Thinking about it that way, her understanding of Dong Yunshan was actually quite limited.

Compared to Yukino Yukinoshita's, it was even more limited.

"When people laugh, they habitually look toward the person they like most." Yukino Yukinoshita gave a logical answer. "When I looked over just now, they were having a great time talking. But Dong Yunshan wasn't looking at that engaged woman."

"At that time, Shinonome was looking at..." Yui Yuigahama pointed at Yukino Yukinoshita. "It seemed like he was looking at Little Yukino."

"I was the one who told him about that phenomenon, so he used it." Yukino Yukinoshita corrected her. "Before looking at me, he was looking at the engaged man."

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama's eyes widened. "Wait... That..."

"Looking at that man... Shinonome did it on purpose!" Komachi Hikigaya had hidden with Yui Yuigahama earlier, so she had not seen the situation then, but she had already formed a guess. "That man was looking at him."

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded.

"That engaged man... likes men?!" Yui Yuigahama worriedly glanced toward the restroom. "So Shinonome really did accept a request, but not to pretend to be a boyfriend—it was to expose a marriage scam?"

"Now everything makes sense." Komachi Hikigaya organized her thoughts. "The off-shoulder woman discovered that her best friend's fiancé was gay, but she couldn't say something like that directly, so she sought Shinonome's help."

"Then Shinonome planned this dinner. The off-shoulder woman's combo wasn't aimed at Shinonome, but at the engaged man." Following Komachi Hikigaya's reasoning, Yui Yuigahama reached even more conclusions. "That's why Shinonome acted so cold. He wanted to pretend to be gay. No wonder he started showing off like a peacock after the engaged man arrived."

"A man and a woman both displaying their charm at once—by seeing which one the engaged man was more interested in, they could determine his orientation." Remembering the interaction between Yukino Yukinoshita and Dong Yunshan just now, Komachi Hikigaya finally understood. "Just as Yui Yuigahama and I thought something had been written on that napkin, the engaged man would think something was written on it too—like contact information."

"But Shinonome threw it away without even looking!" Yui Yuigahama suddenly understood. "Rejecting even such a cute girl's contact information made Shinonome seem like he really was..."

"With his physical ability, even if he spilled a drink, he could have caught it in time." Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the two women sharing an earbud. "Since he didn't catch it, he did it on purpose."

"To create a chance to be alone!" Komachi Hikigaya finally understood why the two women were wearing earphones. "They're listening to what's happening on Shinonome's side!"

"That woman took off her engagement ring..." Yui Yuigahama sighed softly. "She must have already heard something."

"It's good enough that they can resolve it this way." Komachi Hikigaya had lost her earlier excitement over the gossip. "At least they're only engaged..."

As they spoke, Dong Yunshan and the engaged man had already emerged from the restroom.

After sitting back down, Dong Yunshan took out his phone and placed it on the table.

The moment he looked at the screen, the engaged man's expression turned ugly.

The engaged woman returned the engagement ring to the man.

Tears streamed endlessly down her face.

The engaged man frantically tried to explain something, but the engaged woman no longer wanted to listen. She raised her hand and slapped him.

Smack!

"Huh?" Yui Yuigahama wrinkled her nose. "Why did Shinonome stop her?"

His reaction really was fast... Komachi Hikigaya saw it clearly. Almost the instant the engaged woman moved, Dong Yunshan raised his hand and precisely grabbed her wrist.

Yukino Yukinoshita's delicate brows furrowed. "This is bad."

"Hm?" Just as Komachi Hikigaya was about to ask for details, she saw the answer.

Dong Yunshan stopped the engaged woman with one hand, while his other hand grabbed the marriage scammer by the hair and slammed his face into a plate on the table with a bang.

Under the astonished gazes of the surrounding customers, Dong Yunshan flexed his arm and dragged the marriage scammer right out of his seat.

The marriage scammer reached out to grab Dong Yunshan's arm, but Dong Yunshan had already released his hair. He raised his leg and kicked him.

Yui Yuigahama sucked in a breath. "He really can kick someone into the air!"

It had only been for a very brief instant, but Yui Yuigahama saw it clearly.

The marriage scammer's feet had definitely left the ground.

"Sir..." A restaurant server carefully approached. "You..."

"It's fine, we're just playing around." Dong Yunshan stepped on the marriage scammer, who had just started pushing himself up, and forced him flat against the floor again. "Hey! Bastard, we're just playing around, right? Say something!"

"What professional tongue rolling..." Komachi Hikigaya could not help remarking. "If I didn't know him, I'd think he was genuinely a delinquent."

"This is Shinonome at his proper level~" Yui Yuigahama nodded approvingly. "Professional and dedicated."

Yukino Yukinoshita looked at the uproarious restaurant and shook her head helplessly.

When the marriage scammer did not answer, Dong Yunshan gave him two more heavy kicks. "Did you leave your vocal cords at home?"

"Yes..." The marriage scammer spoke with difficulty. "W-we're just playing around..."

"Um..." the server timidly reminded them, "P-please don't roughhouse in the restaurant..."

The marriage scammer stared at the server so hard his eyes nearly bled.

Dong Yunshan kicked the marriage scammer, sending him skidding sideways along the floor for quite a distance. "Get lost!"

The marriage scammer scrambled to his feet and fled in a panic.