“Who? Oh~ her. She’s just a nice person I only just met, the kind who could easily end up becoming friends with someone. I just happened to show up at exactly that moment, so naturally we started talking. If you’d been there instead, she would’ve talked to you too.”
“Hiss… here we go again… your so-called dialectics…”
“Yep, yep. Without dialectics, I’d die. I’m begging you—this one thing, I can’t live without it… okay, Iroha-chan—”
Blink. Blink.
At last, under Tadayana’s eye-based assault, Iroha Isshiki gave in.
There was nothing else for it. It was her own fault for ending up with someone like this.
“Fine, I get it. But no more talking to strange women when I’m not around.”
“So it’s okay when you are around?”
“You can take it that way… though honestly, I’d still prefer it if you didn’t use that little head of yours to interpret things.”
With indulgent affection, Iroha reached out and lightly tapped Tadayana on the head, then returned to her seat.
As for why the other girl wanted to restrict her social life, Tadayana had given it some thought. In the end, it was probably that thing again—the so-called anxiety of losing one’s place as the number one friend.
Maybe Iroha was afraid that if her friend made new friends, she’d be neglected and cast aside. But unfortunately for her, Tadayana liked to think of herself as the nostalgic sort.
Over the years, had Iroha Isshiki always ended up in the same class as her? The answer was no. It just so happened that this time, in high school, they had been placed together. So how had Iroha managed before, when they were in different classes? Tadayana couldn’t quite imagine it. Probably by becoming the kind of person who, in other people’s eyes, smiled sweetly while saying terrifying things.
Iroha Isshiki might place far more weight on the position of “friend” than Tadayana had realized.
Tadayana looked at her deeply and made a decision in her heart—she would never let Iroha Isshiki lose this friendship. Never.
Protecting a young girl’s mental and emotional well-being was one of the things she ought to do as well. It had nothing to do with the neighborly relationship between their families.
…
After school.
Watching Tadayana pack up and leave first, Iroha’s eyes seemed a little forlorn.
“Off to work again?”
“Mm.”
“All right, then. If anything comes up, remember to call me. And when you get home, text me too. Of course, if you’re calling because you’re in a hurry to confess your love to me again, then forget it.”
“Mm-hm, mm-hm, mm-hm.”
Watching her leave, Iroha Isshiki seemed momentarily lost.
The truth was, she didn’t want to be apart from her. Not even for a second. If possible, she wanted to stick to her all the time—like hanging right off her.
But sadly, Tadayana had a life of her own too. Iroha had originally wanted to help her more. Even her parents had agreed to it—more than that, they had tacitly approved. But Tadayana’s own position was that Iroha shouldn’t waste her time on her just because of some moral obligation attached to friendship. Out of respect for Tadayana’s wishes, this was about all she could do as a friend. Anything more would be crossing a line.
…
Head to the home economics room and try her luck—maybe muddle through until someone applied to use it, then pretend she was one of the students using it too, and take the opportunity to make something and bring it home. That was one of the many ways Tadayana had come up with to cut down on living expenses.
Unfortunately, her family in this life wasn’t very well off.
But fortunately, she had the determination and perseverance to overcome hardship.
Naturally, back in middle school, she couldn’t always avoid a bit of gossip. Since entering high school, though—it had been a month since the term started—she hadn’t run into much of that. Maybe it was because Sobu High had a pretty free-spirited atmosphere.
Of course, even without that tolerance, it wouldn’t have changed her. What other people thought had nothing to do with her anyway. Most people probably couldn’t bring themselves to do something like this, but she was someone who knew how to endure.
Endurance meant keeping an open mind and holding out. She had never been afraid of other people pouring cold water on her.
“Hm? There’s already someone here today? Lucky me. Heh heh heh. Sorry to intrude.”
With that, she stepped inside—and came face-to-face with someone in the middle of cooking.
“Eh—you? What are you doing here, Tadayana…-san?”
Yui Yuigahama spoke up.
“Oh, it’s you. Don’t mind me. I’m just here to wage a little guerrilla warfare. I’ll be gone soon.”
Tadayana drifted in as though pretending she didn’t exist.
But she was a high-energy life-form radiating enormous heat, and no matter how much she hypnotized herself, she was still bound to attract attention.
“I remember you’re…”
Hearing another voice, Tadayana looked up in mild surprise and met the gaze of someone who had just stood.
Was it the dead-fish-eyed boy whose face had gone a little red from following her line of sight?
No. It wasn’t him.
It was the girl over there—the one who had rejected her confession.
Yukinoshita Yukino.
“Good afternoon. I didn’t expect to run into you again so soon, Yukinoshita-senpai.”
“Senpai? So you’re a first-year? That explains it.”
Yui Yuigahama spoke up. No wonder. It had only been about a month since the first-years enrolled. If this girl had been a third-year, or even in the same year as them, someone this pretty would have spread through Yui’s circle long ago.
So it was because she had only just started school here that she still wasn’t well known?
Come to think of it, that meant she was younger than Yui too…
Yukinoshita Yukino, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised at all. She had memorized the names and faces of all the new students from the start, so naturally she already knew that.
“Yes, good afternoon. Let’s continue, Yuigahama-san.”
“Ah… right, okay.”
Though she was curious about what had happened between the two of them, Yui Yuigahama knew that she was currently asking Yukinoshita Yukino, the head of the Service Club, for help. Wasting someone else’s time like this would be rude, so naturally she didn’t dare slack off.
The dead-fish-eyed Hikigaya, however, was a different matter.
He was very free.
And he didn’t particularly want to waste his time helping Yui Yuigahama, either.
So naturally, he was extremely curious about why this beautiful girl had suddenly wandered in here—and what had happened between her and the other two people present.
He had just heard it too. Her name was Tadayana, wasn’t it?
So it had finally come—this fated encounter.
Because of her, he had been chewed out for a full hour, trapped in that hell for an hour together with a woman pushing thirty…
Even if she was a beautiful girl, he absolutely could not tolerate someone who had affected his life so much roaming free beyond the law…
Noticing the faint hostility in Hachiman Hikigaya’s gaze, Tadayana answered with a smile that was cold, but not impolite.
—
T/N: hmmmm guys i think tadayana is a bit off… but im probably just overthinking things haha
This is a fan translation of 转生白毛的我开局被雪之下拒绝告白 by 暗影之中 Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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