Judgment

The girl nodded gently, then held out her hand.

"Hold my hand."

Seeing the anticipation in Mashiro's eyes, Luo Yu smiled and gave his answer.

"Okay."

Taking Mashiro's hand, Luo Yu walked home with her.

"Mashiro, how is the club? Are you having fun?"

"With Eiri there, it's fun."

"Have you made any other friends besides Eiri?"

"I don't know why, but after they talked to me for a few sentences, they stopped talking to me."

"I see..."

The boy and girl walked down the street hand in hand, chatting away. To passersby, they probably looked like a very loving couple.

That night, in front of his computer desk.

Luo Yu's keyboard clattered nonstop. That was right, he was writing. As for Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's novel, Luo Yu had finished reading that thing ages ago.

After reading it, Luo Yu could only give it one assessment: it was a steaming pile of crap.

It made Luo Yu hurry to write more, distracting himself so that the dark emotions rising within him would not take control and make him do something irrational. Such as tearing up Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's novel.

"So why did you two come over here?" Looking at Chocolate and Vanilla curled up asleep on his lap, Luo Yu could not figure out the answer.

Still, the two little ones had indeed become increasingly clingy lately. They even climbed onto his bed at night. They had barely used the room he had prepared for them.

"If you keep this up, Mashiro will get jealous." Luo Yu stroked Chocolate and Vanilla on his lap.

Though he did not know who exactly Mashiro was jealous of. After all, sometimes Mashiro's jealous gaze was directed at the two kittens.

But were his legs really that comfortable? Both of them had come to sleep on his lap. Forget it, back to work.

Luo Yu visibly reduced the range of his movements.

"Good afternoon."

After entering the clubroom, Luo Yu greeted everyone. Yet no one responded. Looking around, everyone in the clubroom seemed half-asleep.

"Yawn... It's Luo Yu. You're here."

Noticing Luo Yu's arrival, Ritsu Tainaka yawned and barely managed a response.

Seeing how sleepy the girls were, Luo Yu understood what had happened.

"You didn't actually read that light novel last night, did you?"

"Don't say any more! Don't make me remember it!" Ritsu Tainaka clutched her head in both hands. "Ah! My brain is trembling!"

Yui Hirasawa also looked pitifully at Luo Yu. "Luo Luo, bad!"

Mio Akiyama said, "Luo Yu, why did you make us read something like that?!"

Faced with the girls' barrage of criticism, Luo Yu simply dealt with it all with a smile.

"So, judging by this, you're the only one who didn't read it?" Luo Yu looked at the only energetic person in the clubroom—Yui Yuigahama.

"Ah!... Um... Well..." Yui Yuigahama's eyes darted around. Unable to come up with an excuse, she apologized, "Sorry. I fell asleep as soon as I started reading it last night."

"Then read it now." Luo Yu stuffed the manuscript into Yui Yuigahama's hands. "It's the bare minimum of respect for Zaimokuza."

As if I'd let you escape this torture alone.

Chapter 36: Judgment

Not long after, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza also arrived at the clubroom, and everyone began his final judgment.

"Could you tell me how you felt after reading my light novel?"

Under everyone's oppressive stares, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's voice weakened. Even the way he spoke was no longer chuuni.

"Zaimokuza, you don't need to be too nervous. No matter what the result is today, I guarantee you'll walk out of this classroom standing." Luo Yu smiled as he spoke in a gentle tone.

Don't say something that terrifying with a smile on your face! Hachiman Hikigaya grumbled inwardly.

"Then, Yukinoshita-senpai." Luo Yu looked at Yukino Yukinoshita. "I think it's about time to begin."

"Come on. I'm ready!"

Yoshiteru Zaimokuza had already prepared himself for the execution ground.

Then came a blast of bitter winter cold.

"It was incredibly boring. Honestly, even reading it became a form of torture."

Yukino Yukinoshita's icy words turned into blades that pierced Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's chest.

The girls nodded in agreement one after another.

"The sentences are incoherent, and the grammar is wrong. Why do you always use inverted sentences? The words don't even convey the intended meanings, and many of them don't fit the context of the dialogue at all. Some plot points also appear completely out of nowhere..."

Contestant Yukinoshita was still going strong. She had not fallen yet. She was still carrying.

Struck hard, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza clutched his heart and raised his head to look at Luo Yu expectantly, hoping to receive a different evaluation from him.

Naturally, Luo Yu responded to Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's expectant gaze with a gentle smile.

"Zaimokuza, your grammar is wrong, your sentences are inverted, your wording fails to convey meaning, and your plot is abrupt. Not a single part of it is correct." Luo Yu's tone turned cold, and his face became expressionless. "With an attitude like yours, you think you're worthy of competing on the same stage as light novel writers like us? Let me give you one sentence—keep dreaming!"

"Pfft!"

Yoshiteru Zaimokuza looked as though he had coughed up blood. It was obvious that Luo Yu's evaluation had wiped out at least half his health bar.

"Now it's your turn, Dumpling." Luo Yu handed the right of judgment to Yui Yuigahama.

"Um..." Yui Yuigahama tried to organize her thoughts. "You know a lot of obscure characters."

"Pfft!"

"Ah, it's Little Hachiman's turn!" Yui Yuigahama frantically tossed the right of judgment to Hachiman Hikigaya.

"Hachiman, you understand me, right?"

Yoshiteru Zaimokuza placed his final hope on Hachiman Hikigaya.

Facing Yoshiteru Zaimokuza, Hachiman Hikigaya revealed a kind smile.

Seeing Hachiman Hikigaya's smile, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza felt as though he had seen an angel. He smiled as well. The two of them simply smiled at each other.

"Tell me, which work did you plagiarize?"

Unfortunately, what came from the angel's mouth was the language of a devil. A perfect finishing blow!

That sentence directly emptied Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's remaining health. He began rolling around on the floor.

"You really don't hold back, do you?" Yukino Yukinoshita remarked.

Looking at Yoshiteru Zaimokuza rolling on the floor, Luo Yu felt something about to burst out of his DNA, and he blurted out:

"Look at Zaimokuza. Because the light novel he wrote wasn't recognized by others, he's so mad that he's having a mental breakdown, rolling around on the floor, crying and making a fuss. Boohoohoo, how pitiful..."

This guy is such trash!

Watching Luo Yu reenact that famous scene, everyone sighed inwardly.

Hachiman Hikigaya walked over to Yoshiteru Zaimokuza, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"It's fine. The illustrations are what matter anyway. The content doesn't matter at all."

"Right, that's right, there are still the illustrations!" Yoshiteru Zaimokuza seized the last ray of light. "Even if what I write is toilet paper, as long as the illustrations are pretty enough, I can still..."

"With all due respect," Luo Yu cut in, "Zaimokuza's novel does not even qualify as toilet paper. Not even illustrations can save it."

Crack!

The flame of Yoshiteru Zaimokuza's life went out.

"Keep at it, Zaimokuza. You still have plenty of room for improvement." Luo Yu patted Yoshiteru Zaimokuza on the shoulder.

"I'll be back. Can you help me look at it again next time?" Holding the manuscript of his novel, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza staggered to the clubroom door, then turned back to ask everyone inside.

"Of course. I can't speak for Yukinoshita-senpai, but you're always welcome here." Luo Yu made his promise.

Having received Luo Yu's promise, Yoshiteru Zaimokuza left the clubroom in peace.

"Luo Yu," after seeing Yoshiteru Zaimokuza leave the clubroom, Yukino Yukinoshita called out to him. "You said Zaimokuza still has plenty of room for improvement. Is that true?"

At her words, everyone pricked up their ears.

"You mean that?" Luo Yu rubbed his temples. "Hikigaya probably knows too. Ask him."

Hearing that, everyone turned their gaze toward Hachiman Hikigaya.

Seeing Luo Yu dump the responsibility on him, Hachiman Hikigaya had no choice but to explain.

"Because Zaimokuza has no room left to get worse. Doesn't that mean all he has left is room to improve?" Hachiman Hikigaya looked at Luo Yu, who had started drinking tea. "By the way, Luo Yu, that was way too mean. Zaimokuza probably thinks you were praising him."

"Wasn't I praising him?" Luo Yu put down his teacup and looked innocently at Hachiman Hikigaya.

"Let's just say you were."

This guy really is such trash!

Early in the morning, Luo Yu woke up and immediately sensed that something was off.

Throwing back the blanket, he found that aside from himself, there were three cats on the bed—one big and two small.

"Chocolate and Vanilla are one thing, but Mashiro, why did you come into my room too?"

Looking at the sleepy-eyed girl before him, Luo Yu asked helplessly.

Mashiro rubbed her eyes. "Last night, I finished drawing and went to the bathroom. I was sleepy when I went back to my room. I opened the door, got into bed, felt very warm, and fell asleep."

"So you went into the wrong room?"

"Mm. Yu went into the wrong room."

"You're the one who went into the wrong room!"

The next morning.

Luo Yu helplessly woke the girl sleeping in his bed.

"So, Miss Mashiro. Why are you here again today?"

Mashiro looked away.

"Don't look away!" Luo Yu sighed softly. "So, was it intentional today, or an accident?"

"It was intentional." Mashiro looked into Luo Yu's eyes and calmly answered.

"Don't do it on purpose. Go sleep in your own room."

"No. I want to be with Yu."

"That doesn't mean you have to sleep in the same bed as me."

"Don't look away again." Seeing Mashiro avert her gaze once more, Luo Yu said weakly.

Mashiro said, "Yu, you're so annoying."

The morning after that, Luo Yu looked at Mashiro beneath his blanket and no longer wanted to say anything.

He picked up Vanilla from beside his pillow and held her in his arms, then lay back down and went right back to sleep.