“I’m so bored!”
Yui Yuigahama, with her bountiful assets that even Yukino Yukinoshita envied, rested them on the desk, muttering.
“What’s so boring? I think this kind of daily life is pretty good,” Jiang Chen said to Yui Yuigahama.
“Eh… Xiao Chen, don’t you want to find something more interesting to do? Every day is so routine—classes, breaks, going home. I feel like life has lost all its novelty,” Yui Yuigahama tilted her head, her big, watery eyes full of expectation as she looked at Jiang Chen.
Novelty? If you encountered the “Supernatural,” I wonder if you’d still want novelty. Jiang Chen couldn't help but smile wryly at Yui Yuigahama's desire for novelty.
“Yuigahama-classmate, in a person’s life, student days are our most carefree time. Once we enter society, we’ll face all sorts of complex interpersonal relationships and immense work pressure. Where will we find this kind of ease then? So, cherish this plain and pure daily life now; you might miss it terribly later,” Jiang Chen said earnestly.
After listening, Yui Yuigahama rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. “That seems to make sense, but I still think it would be nice to have something different occasionally.”
Jiang Chen smiled and said to Yuihama, “You, you just think too much. How can life always be full of excitement and novelty? Plainness is the true essence. Besides, being able to spend time with everyone now, chatting occasionally, isn’t that good enough?”
“No, it’s not!” Yui Yuigahama puffed out her cheeks like a cute hamster.
“I agree with Jiang Chen’s idea; plainness is truly good,” Hachiman Hikigaya supported from the side.
“Eh… Xiao Qi, why are you like this too? I thought people from the same club would have the same ideas?” Yui Yuigahama blinked pitifully, looking at Hachiman Hikigaya with a wronged expression. “Xiao Qi, don’t you wish our club could have more interesting things happen? Every day, we just handle those trivial requests. Although we help others, I always feel like something is missing.”
Hachiman Hikigaya helplessly rubbed his forehead. “Yuigahama-classmate, life isn’t a TV show or a manga; there aren’t that many dramatic plots. Being able to do these small things well in an ordinary way and help those who need it is already very meaningful.”
Jiang Chen watched their interaction and couldn't help but laugh. “You two, don’t argue. Actually, Yui wanting some novelty isn’t wrong, and Hachiman’s point is also valid.”
Just as the trio was chatting, on the other side, what Hachiman Hikigaya called the “normie group” led by Hayato Hayama, also had sounds of conversation, about urban legends.
“Hey… have you heard? Recently, some people have seen a Human-faced Dog when they go home at night,” Hirona Ebina said eerily from the side.
Tobe Sho also immediately followed up, saying, “That’s right, that’s right. Many people at school are also discussing this Human-faced Dog supernatural event.”
“What supernatural event? They’re all just some insignificant urban legends. Do you really believe them?” Miura Yumiko, from the side, disdainfully rolled her eyes, reaching up to smooth her silky long hair. “Such nonsense can only fool children. Maybe someone deliberately made it up to grab attention.”
Hirona Ebina, however, was dead serious. She leaned closer to Miura Yumiko and whispered, “Yumiko, don’t take it lightly. I heard that everyone who saw the Human-faced Dog had bad luck.”
Tobe Sho also chimed in, “Yeah, yeah, I heard someone ran into it on their way home and was bedridden with illness the next day.”
Miura Yumiko couldn’t help but laugh, “You two are really funny. Getting sick is just a coincidence; maybe they were already feeling unwell. I’ve heard many of these so-called ghost stories, and in the end, they all turn out to be fake.”
Seeing the three about to argue over this so-called urban legend, Hayato Hayama quickly stood up, a gentle smile on his face, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
“Alright, alright, everyone, don’t argue,” Hayato Hayama gently advised. “Yumiko, Hirona and Tobe are discussing this legend because they find it interesting. There’s no need for us to hurt our feelings over something like this.” He looked gently at Hirona Ebina and Tobe Sho, then continued, “Hirona, Tobe, Yumiko isn’t trying to deliberately contradict you; she just doesn’t quite believe in these kinds of supernatural events.”
Hirona Ebina pouted a bit, feeling wronged. “Hayato, you don’t know, the legend of the Human-faced Dog is really spooky around here. Many people swear they’ve seen it.”
Hayato Hayama nodded, showing a serious listening expression. “I’m sure you’ve heard many related stories. However, urban legends are legends precisely because they are full of uncertainty. Maybe some facts were exaggerated in people’s retelling, or maybe some truly inexplicable phenomena were attributed to these legends.”
Tobe Sho scratched his head, “But Hayato, what if it’s true? Just like that abandoned hospital legend before, everyone didn’t believe it at first, but then someone found strange things there.”
Miura Yumiko raised an eyebrow, about to retort, but Hayato Hayama quickly interjected, “Yumiko, don’t be so quick to deny it. Tobe has a point; the world is so big, and there are indeed many things we don’t yet understand. But we also can’t blindly believe just based on some legends. How about this: we treat it as an interesting topic to discuss, rather than arguing endlessly about it, what do you say?”
Hearing Hayato Hayama’s suggestion, Miura Yumiko snorted, but her expression softened considerably. “Fine, for Hayato’s sake, I won’t argue with you guys.”
Hirona Ebina and Tobe Sho exchanged glances and both smiled. “Okay, we’ll listen to Hayato.”
Hayato Hayama, seeing the atmosphere finally harmonious, breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in his chair. “Then how about we think, if the Human-faced Dog really exists, why would it appear, and what kind of story would be behind it? Discussing it like that might be even more interesting.”
So, the four of them, gathered around this topic, began to imagine, one after another, and laughter echoed in the classroom.
“Do you think urban legends really exist?” Yui Yuigahama, who had also heard the normie group’s conversation, asked Jiang Chen and Hachiman Hikigaya.
“You must believe in science, Yuigahama-classmate,” Jiang Chen pushed his non-existent glasses, saying seriously, “Urban legends are mostly stories without scientific basis, often passed down by word of mouth, constantly embellished during transmission. Essentially, they are just a cultural phenomenon or something people talk about in their leisure time.”
Hachiman Hikigaya shrugged indifferently, “Who knows? Maybe those so-called urban legends are concocted by some bored people to scare others, or perhaps they are fantasies of some mentally unstable individuals, then spread around as if they were real. But then again, if there really were those magical things from urban legends, life would certainly have more excitement.”
Yui Yuigahama tilted her head, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “But I’ve heard some urban legends that feel especially real, like that little girl in red who appears in mirrors at midnight; many people say they’ve seen her with their own eyes. And there’s that mysterious driver who drives a black car on rainy days, specifically picking up lone pedestrians and taking them to strange places. It sounds so scary, it makes you wonder if it’s true.”
Jiang Chen smiled and patiently explained, “If you analyze these stories carefully, you can find logical flaws. For example, that little girl in red is likely someone exploiting people’s fear in specific environments, combined with factors like light and visual illusions, leading them to mistakenly believe they saw something strange. As for the mysterious driver legend, it might just be that some people, anxious while traveling in the rain, become overly sensitive to their surroundings, thus imagining an ordinary driver as very eerie.”
Hachiman Hikigaya pouted, “Jiang Chen, you really are a rational guy. But it’s true, if we easily believe these urban legends, we’d feel like those elementary school students who are easily fooled. But then again, occasionally talking about these things can also add some fun to a dull life. Maybe one day we’ll really encounter an inexplicable phenomenon and can attribute it to urban legends.”
Yui Yuigahama crinkled her nose. “Hearing you two talk, it does seem that way. But sometimes, I still hope some extraordinary things will happen, so life won’t be so boring. What do you think, if you really encountered a scene from an urban legend, what would you do?”
Jiang Chen pondered for a moment and said, “If I really encountered it, I would probably first remain calm and try to analyze and find the cause from a scientific perspective. Perhaps in the end, I would discover that the so-called urban legend phenomenon is just some natural law I haven’t understood yet, or a human prank.”
Hachiman Hikigaya, hands in his pockets, said nonchalantly, “Me? I’d probably run first and talk later. Whatever the reason, before figuring out the situation, saving my life is paramount. If I really got caught up in some strange urban legend event, it would be troublesome. I might be dealt with by those unknown things before I even figure out what’s going on.”
Yui Yuigahama listened to their two completely different answers and couldn’t help but laugh. “You two are really interesting, one so rational, the other so timid. But if we really encounter something, I hope we can face it together.”
Jiang Chen, on the side, wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead. “I finally managed to bluff my way through.”
Regardless of whether others believed in urban legends, Jiang Chen certainly did, because the supernatural truly existed in this world.
As the class bell rang, the math teacher, Tsukishima Kyoko, walked into the classroom with light and brisk steps.