Yukinoshita's Correction Method

We need to take it step by step, helping Iroha Isshiki open up little by little. We absolutely cannot start by asking questions right away...

"Confession failed? Novel Group 371" Haruno Yukinoshita, suddenly spoke up.

Shizuka Hiratsuka: "..."

"Ah... um." Iroha Isshiki trembled slightly, responding vaguely, "Did you see that, Senpai?"

"No," Haruno Yukinoshita ignored Shizuka Hiratsuka's glare in the rearview mirror. "I guessed."

Disneyland, Christmas fireworks, not wanting to meet up with friends, feeling down...

Considering Iroha Isshiki's attire and her status as a high school student, there are only a few possibilities, with a failed confession being the most likely one.

"I know it won't work..." Iroha Isshiki lowered her head, "But... I couldn't help myself."

"That's inevitable," Shizuka Hiratsuka sighed. "When I attend weddings, my desire to get married also intensifies."

Empathy.

It's rare to find true empathy in this world.

Fortunately, most people don't need exactly the same feeling.

Even a partial similarity can effectively shorten the distance between hearts.

Then guide them slowly...

"Although the teacher had those thoughts, she never actually took any action," Haruno Yukinoshita chuckled. "So you can't understand the regret that follows such an impulsive act."

Shizuka Hiratsuka gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. "Besides marriage and confessions, there are many other impulses in life and the regrets that follow. These emotions are common and a very normal phenomenon."

Acknowledging the legitimacy of emotions is the most crucial and essential step in the process of offering comfort.

Many people experience shame and self-doubt when they feel down.

Am I too fragile?

Am I wrong to think this way?

Anyone in this situation would likely feel similarly – such recognition can greatly reduce psychological burden and eliminate distractions surrounding the core issue.

Skipping this step and jumping straight into solving the problem will make the other person feel rejected and fall into a deeper state of isolation.

"There's nothing wrong with liking someone, and there's nothing wrong with bravely expressing your feelings," Shizuka Hiratsuka murmured. "Other people's answers have nothing to do with your courage."

"Yes, that's what I think too." Iroha Isshiki nodded vigorously. "It's not over yet, rather, it's just the beginning, and I've already taken a very effective step. My confession was rejected, so others won't dare to confess easily anymore. All that's left are my opportunities! Also, after being rejected, everyone will feel concerned about the person who rejected them, right? So, this expected failure is preparation for future success, so..."

Iroha Isshiki's voice grew increasingly muffled as she choked back tears. "So... I have to do my best!"

Haruno Yukinoshita lowered her eyelids slightly, and when she looked up again, her gaze was devoid of any emotion. "Actually..."

"We're here." Shizuka Hiratsuka brought the car to a stop. "Iroha, get some rest."

"Hmm." Iroha Isshiki picked up her bag, got out of the car, and walked towards her home.

He had only taken two steps when he stopped, turned around, bowed deeply, and then hurried home.

Watching Iroha Isshiki enter her house, Shizuka Hiratsuka started the car again.

"Actually, you know she's just putting on a brave face," Haruno Yukinoshita suddenly spoke up. "Because she knows she'll fail, that's why she confesses, and then tells herself... I've tried my best, to end any more meaningless efforts."

"I know, because I used to be like that too." Shizuka Hiratsuka lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "I've tried my best, but there's nothing I can do about it—I wanted to end these meaningless, random thoughts, but it didn't."

Shizuka Hiratsuka pulled over and turned to look at Haruno Yukinoshita in the back seat. "It's not over yet, rather, it's just the beginning."

"It's just a shift from one form of self-comfort to another." Haruno Yukinoshita met Shizuka Hiratsuka's gaze. "Whether everything is over or not, it's essentially an escape from an unsolvable problem."

"Well..." Shizuka Hiratsuka extinguished her cigarette, "Do you want me to take you home?"

Haruno Yukinoshita chuckled softly, "Alright~"

Chapter 644 No Time

After school on Monday, Dong Yunshan did not wait for Iroha Isshiki outside the community center, so she went into the meeting room first.

But she wasn't seen in the meeting room either.

Dong Yunshan asked the vice president standing next to her, "Where's Iroha?"

"Didn't she come with you?" Vice President Kimaki Makito was taken aback. "Don't you usually come together?"

The secretary spoke up, "I just emailed her, but she hasn't replied..."

The accountant suddenly realized something. "Could it be with the clubs? Isn't she the manager of the Soccer Club?"

"Possibly." Dong Yunshan dialed Iroha Isshiki's number, but it wasn't answered. "I'll go check."

The campus was as usual. Dong Yunshan asked two classmates and found the location of the Soccer Club.

From a distance, you could see the Soccer Club members divided into two teams, seemingly engaged in scrimmage training.

I couldn't find Iroha Isshiki. The person in charge of the manager's work was another girl. She was holding a timer and blew a whistle with a beep.

Everyone stopped and took a break to replenish their water bottles.

Upon seeing Dong Yunshan, Tobe Kakeru Sho waved exaggeratedly, "Yunshan ~ Have you finally decided to join the Soccer Club?"

"No." Dong Yunshan walked over. "Have you seen Iroha?"

"Iroha? Hmm..." Tobe Kakeru thought for a moment, "I really haven't seen her. Hayato Hayama, have you seen Iroha?"

Hayama Hayato took the towel the female manager handed him, wiped his sweat, and approached. "I didn't see it either... What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just came to ask." Dong Yunshan waved his hand, "I'm leaving."

"Wait a minute." Hayama Hayato quickly caught up. "Um..."

Dong Yunshan stopped in her tracks. "What?"

Hayama Hayato folded the towel. "She's been busy with Student Council work lately, hasn't she? She even asked you guys to help her."

Dong Yunshan raised one eyebrow. "So...?"

"She's been quite busy lately, and then that happened," Hayama Hayato with a wry smile. "I hope you can help her out as much as possible."

"I was already helping." Dong Yunshan stared at Hayama Hayato. "If you really want to help...wouldn't it be better to do it yourself?"

"I'm worried she might have some unnecessary misunderstandings, and I'm also worried about her current state..." Hayama Hayato gripped the towel tightly. "The only person I can ask for help is you."

"That's one of the reasons, isn't it?" Dong Yunshan looked at the female manager in the distance. "Someone replaced her, and she felt that if she didn't seize the opportunity now, she would never have another chance."

"I just saw she was very busy, so..." Hayama Hayato sighed softly, "I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"This isn't really a problem," Dong Yunshan said, staring at Hayama Hayato. "But your condition seems a bit dangerous."

"Me?" Hayama Hayato avoided Dong Yunshan's gaze. "I'm fine..."

"Actually, you can understand Hina Ebina's thoughts, right? Hina Ebina knows it too, which is why she asked you for help," Dong Yunshan whispered. "You're both using a facade to maintain relationships with others, so you don't actually interact with anyone."

Because the people others like, and even confess to, are all disguises of Hayama Hayato and Hina Ebina, not their true selves.

Hayama Hayato opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Hayato Hayama— " Tobe Kakeru called out, "It's about to begin—"

"I'm coming right away!" Hayama Hayato shouted, as if suddenly waking up. "Sorry, I need to..."

"Go ahead and get busy." Dong Yunshan waved her hand and turned to leave.

Put Hayama Hayato aside for now; where is Iroha Isshiki now?

While he was pondering this, Dong Yunshan received Iroha Isshiki.

It turns out that Iroha Isshiki received a call from the elementary school earlier and went there to communicate with them first.

Out of politeness, I put my phone on silent during the process.

"And then the talks went very smoothly!" Iroha Isshiki grinned broadly. "I brought the elementary school students with me today!"

Inside the community center, ten elementary school students were making a lot of noise.

Given the limited space, and the presence of kindergarten children and elderly residents from nursing homes, it's impossible to have as many people as during previous camping trips. The school can only select a portion of the students.

Dong Yunshan carefully observed Iroha Isshiki and found that she was no different from before.

Whether you're genuinely fine or just pretending, there's no need to dwell on it.

"Well done." Dong Yunshan nodded, looking in the direction of Yu Shu. "We have completed our communication task; the rest is up to them."

"Mmm-hmm." Iroha Isshiki nodded vigorously, but then looked a little worried. "That's true, but they..."

"Welcome everyone!" Yu Shu greeted the primary school students. "Let's design an activity together! Everyone is welcome to speak up!"

Dong Yunshan: "..."

"...Just as I expected." Iroha Isshiki sighed, "This was completely unprepared."

Although accompanied by elementary school teachers, the teachers exchanged a few pleasantries with Tamanawa and then moved to a slightly farther location, clearly intending to let the high school students take the lead in the process.

Then, the high school student representative, Tamanawa, approached Dong Yunshan and Iroha Isshiki: "So, may I trouble you with this next task?"

Iroha Isshiki clicked her tongue softly, her laughter almost icy.

Dong Yunshan frowned, about to speak.

The vice president Kimaki Makito, spoke up first, "No."

"That's good, then... wait, what?" Tamanawa was surprised by the answer and looked at Kimaki Makito in confusion. "What did you say?"

"I said no. According to the previous arrangement, you were responsible for the arrangements, and we were responsible for the communication." Kimaki Makito pointed out bluntly, "Now that we have completed the communication work, why are you handing over the arrangement work to us? What were you doing while we were communicating with the surrounding areas!"

"This..." Tamanawa looked at Iroha Isshiki.

"Mumu." Iroha Isshiki glared at the vice president. "Tamanawa hasn't finished speaking yet, what's your hurry?"

"Do I really need to explain..." Tamanawa blew her bangs away. "Well... it's like this, because there's a lot of work to arrange, we haven't decided on the specific activities for the elementary school students yet, but you've already brought them here. So I hope... um, you can lead them through the activities for a while first, and then we'll have a meeting to discuss it... um, that's it."

"That won't work." Iroha Isshiki shook her head. "There's no time left."

Chapter 645 Eight-tenths similar

"What?" Tamanawa seemed not to have heard clearly and cast a surprised look at Iroha Isshiki.

But in reality, the moment the question left his lips, he had already realized what Iroha Isshiki had just said.

reject.

Iroha Isshiki, who was always easy to talk to, declined his offer.

In Yu Shu's view, although it was an event jointly organized by two schools, he was the one who actually orchestrated everything.

893

As a first-year student, Iroha Isshiki is the Student Council, but she is still a junior.

In such large-scale events, Iroha Isshiki only has the role of executing instructions.

Although the vice president and accountant of Sobu High School had objections, Iroha Isshiki continued to work to mediate.

At least on the surface, Iroha Isshiki never denied it so directly.

"Elementary school students have limited activity time, and we can't keep them too late," Iroha Isshiki pointed out the key point. "The actual usable time is not much. If we hold meetings to discuss things, it will be time for them to leave before we can reach a conclusion. Even if we do reach a conclusion, there won't be enough time left for them to complete meaningful activities."

"Ah...yes, yes, that's how it is." Tamanawa responded stiffly, "Then if we're not going to discuss it...what should we make them do?"

Iroha Isshiki looked at Dong Yunshan: "Yunshan, what are your thoughts?"

"Me? There really is one." Dong Yunshan reminded him, "We really need to stick to the theme and have them do some simple Christmas-themed activities."

"Christmas atmosphere..." Iroha Isshiki's expression faltered for a moment. "You mean... decorations?"

Dong Yunshan nodded, glancing at the group of elementary school students out of the corner of her eye.

Among those elementary school students was someone I knew.

Her long, jet-black hair cascaded down her back, and she exuded a cold aura.

It was Rumi Tsurumi I had met during a summer camping trip.

Rumi Tsurumi also turned to look at them, then quickly looked away, staring at the floor beneath her feet.

The other elementary school students whispered among themselves, occasionally glancing furtively at the location of the two Student Council.

"Is nobody going to play with us?"

"It seems like they didn't come here just for fun."

"So what should we do?"