I practiced as a monk alone in Japan.

Chapter 299 Being pretentious is indeed a disease
The beer was ordered from a delivery service.

Since it's a move, it's impossible to bring everything.

Sakuraba Yuki wasn't so shameless as to bother people to bring out all the stock in the refrigerator, so she had to buy many new things.

Although he kept telling Tsukino Gen that he had plenty of savings.

But it's not actually that exaggerated. The expenses that are about to begin are quite a lot, and Tsukino Gen's 'rental discount' gives him a lot of buffer.

Oops.

It seems like he helped me again.

As I was thinking this, the beer I ordered for delivery was already in my hands.

The professional modern cold chain ensures that the delivered beer is as if it were just taken out of the refrigerator, making it extremely refreshing.

Even though it's no longer such a hot summer.

"Really drinking it?"

Gen Tsukino watched as the other person brought back the beer.

Sakuraba Yuki glared at him. "I already said it was fake, didn't I? Whatever, it's too late to stop now. It cost me a lot of money."

Tsukino Gen said with a laugh, "It's fine to put it in the refrigerator. It's not like it's some fresh draft beer with a short shelf life."

"No way! Drinking alone at home, it's just so pathetic, isn't it?"

Sakuraba Yuki walked over.

A comfortable plush rug is also provided in the room, allowing you to sit comfortably on the floor and more comfortably face the coffee table in front of you.

Just lean back against the sofa.

As Tsukino Gen watched the other person take out a beer, he said, "It's not that pitiful, is it? I actually think drinking alone is a kind of enjoyment, especially on the afternoon after school or after work. Eating something and drinking beer, it can be very comfortable even by yourself."

Sakuraba Yuki thought for a moment.

"Before I came to Zhaori, I thought I was someone who needed a lot of companionship and couldn't stand being alone. So I did a lot of mental preparation before coming here, and even set goals for myself such as how many good friends I should make."

"what about now?"

"The plan has undoubtedly failed. To this day, I don't have many good friends to bring home for meals and drinks. But the good thing is that I don't seem to be so afraid of being alone."

"Wait a minute, I'm just here having dinner and drinks with you, so what am I?"

Gen Tsukino asked, feigning anger.

But this made Sakuraba Yuki's heart tremble.

Yes, I subconsciously excluded this boy from my list of friends. So what is he? What do I think of him in my mind?

"Um... of course you're my student, I'm your teacher! What are you thinking?"

She pretended to be angry, as if only in this way could she show that she was upright and had nothing to fear, but as everyone knows, no shadow can turn red, just like her current expression that is like a blooming flower.

Gen Tsukino nodded and said, "Oh, so it's just a teacher and student."

It seems quite a pity.

Hearing this tone, Sakuraba Yuki's mood became even more complicated and chaotic, like a heart that hadn't rested well, had stayed up countless nights, and then started beating wildly after drinking a cup of coffee.

"If you're not a teacher and student, what else could you be?"

The moment she said those words, she felt like she had lost her mind.

Are you sick?
Is this the kind of question you should be asking?

Have you no shame?!
You're a teacher, Yuki Sakuraba! What are you expecting? Do you really expect him to have special feelings for you like he would for someone of the opposite sex?

Gen Tsukino looked at her and said with a smile, "Isn't there a term like 'mentor and friend'? I thought we were closer to that kind of relationship, but it turns out we're not really friends."

So this is ah
An indescribable sense of relief, then it turned into smoke, then into substance, blocking my chest and my throat.

It's hard to swallow, yet I have to get it off my chest.

There should be no regret, no anger, no feeling of being wronged.
"Don't give me that. Of course we're friends, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's nothing, let's drink up, it's getting cold."

"Wasn't it supposed to be refrigerated?"

"You talk too much! Cheers!"

"boom."

The splashing beer foam was like her increasingly full heart, which was about to overflow with emotions.

This world is full of pitiful and wretched people. They seem to have no worries, seem to handle things casually, and seem to greet everyone with a smile and a good mood every day.

In reality, the anxiety and the exhaustion from self-fighting, which are difficult to swallow and digest, have become so overwhelming that there is simply no room left to contain it.

Saying it out loud feels pretentious, but not being able to say it feels like being haunted by a nightmare.

She hates feigned illness, but she is increasingly realizing that there is more and more feigned illness in this era, and more and more people are acting as if they are sick.

It should include yourself.

So that's why you love drinking so much?
Taking a big gulp is incredibly satisfying.

It was as if all the blockages had been cleared. Taking this big gulp seemed to help suppress the pent-up emotions and make me feel lighter.

She stole a glance at Tsukino Gen, who was leisurely drinking his wine.

Compared to herself, she seemed more like a girl; she didn't make any obvious emotional sounds when drinking, but her Adam's apple bobbed as she swallowed the liquor.

With his head tilted slightly back, his eyes half-closed, and his long, curled eyelashes trembling, coupled with his sculpted features...
A prominent Adam's apple.
Unexplainable sexiness.

It's so captivating that you want to keep watching, even if it leaves you with a dry mouth.

"what happened?"

It wasn't until Tsukino Gen put down the bottle and looked at the woman that she understood.

Sakuraba Yuki, belatedly realizing what was happening, quickly looked away and then said.

"By the way, there are some things I probably shouldn't ask, but..."

"It's alright, ask me if you want, there's nothing about me that you can't ask."

After all, people who truly keep secrets don't say what they don't want to say; they just say it didn't happen or find other things to cover it up.

In this respect, Tsukino Gen is nothing special. His hypocrisy is quite ordinary. "You haven't been doing anything dangerous outside of school, have you? You know, that kind of thing."

"The mafia, huh?"

Gen Tsukino looked at the other person with amusement.

Sakuraba Yuki felt a little embarrassed, but more than that, she was curious as she looked at the boy.

how to say.

This boy is indeed special; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to solve so many problems that I couldn't handle. From this point of view, my so-called experience as a teacher is completely useless.

But she was stubbornly unwilling to let the boy get involved in things that would be looked down upon.

Or rather, he didn't want Tsukino Gen to become someone who would frighten people, but rather someone who would continue to make people feel good.

"It's not as scary as the teachers think. Well, I've helped them out before, so they're willing to help me out in return. It's that simple. In this society, it's probably just a matter of personal relationships and mutual benefit. There's no exchange of personal gain."

"That's too official-sounding; I can't understand it at all."

Sakuraba Yuki muttered to herself.

Tsukino Gen laughed and said, "Aren't you a teacher? Can't you even understand something like this?"

"Teachers don't know everything, otherwise why would there be different types of teachers, like math teachers, English teachers, and Chinese teachers?"

"Wow, I didn't realize you had such a good point, Sakuraba-sensei."

"Of course, people live in this world following their own set of rules, and of course they have their own reasons."

That's true.

"So what are your rules for living?"

The woman holding the wine bottle asked curiously.

Gen Tsukino took a sip of beer and shook his head. "There are no rules, or rather, I've never summarized them myself. Perhaps you only know when something happens. After all, people are fickle and hypocritical, and a set of rules can't be suitable for everyone."

"That's true, just like how I would always say to you in school..."

She stopped abruptly there, her gaze abruptly shifting away and then wandering aimlessly.

Tsukino Gen looked over with amusement. "What about me?"

"Nothing, just drinking."

He reached out his hand, as if to say something rather obvious, and then reached out to clink glasses again.

This made Tsukino Gen feel like it was the best way to reach out and try to awaken maternal love and avoid punishment when a child who has made a mistake is found at the 'crime scene'.

However, he still showed a lot of 'fatherly love' and reached out to clink glasses with the other person.

Then I looked at Sakuraba Yuki's intellectually charming face. It was a pity that she wasn't wearing her glasses, otherwise her charm would be even stronger.

"I find that you can be quite cute at times, Sakuraba-sensei."

"Cute?" Sakuraba Yuki was taken aback. This directness was a bit unexpected. Was he teasing her like a little girl?
"Yes, it's quite like a child's."

Oh, so it's the cuteness of a child.

Well, at least it's a compliment to myself for being young.

"If I'm like a child, then you're like an embryo."

She pouted, and when called a child, she subconsciously made childlike gestures.

Gen Tsukino couldn't help but laugh, "You're just being argumentative for the sake of arguing."

"Hmph, who gave you permission to say that teachers are like children? Don't you know how disrespectful you are?"

"As a teacher, how can you make a high school student drink with you? Don't you have any sense of boundaries?"

Gen Tsukino retorted.

Sakuraba Yuki doesn't care about any of that right now. People are bound to go crazy sometimes, but it can be a bit embarrassing to suddenly go crazy, so she drinks some alcohol or something to give herself an excuse to go crazy.

“What kind of sense of boundaries is this? Just like my previous neighbors, they didn’t understand me at all, but they could still criticize my life and everything about me. I don’t want any sense of boundaries anymore.”

"Teacher, let me remind you, you've only had one bottle, you're not at the point where you can drink to the point of going crazy."

"Oh, then I'll just drink some more, okay?"

So, in front of Gen Tsukino.

This woman has completely gone mad.

First, finish the bottle in your hand in one gulp, then open the next bottle and gulp it down quickly.

Gen Tsukino stared in disbelief.

"No, what do you want to do?"

Sakuraba Yuki, whose face had already turned rosy, squinted at Tsukino Gen, then stretched out her hands, leaned back, and rested against the edge of the sofa.

He looked as if he had given up on life, staring at the ceiling and sighing.

"I'm quite frustrated."

"why?"

"Because I feel that as your teacher, my experience and age not only do not help your growth at all, but I also need you to help me solve many problems. It's as if my previous life has been wasted and was a wasteland."

She thought Tsukino Gen would comfort her with his usual gentleness.

But he just took a sip of his beer and said, "I think you're sick."

Why are you cursing at me?

The woman asked, unconvinced.

Gen Tsukino looked at her.

"Because a normal woman would only be grateful to have a man like that by her side, only you are being pretentious here."

"I"

"Your first half of life was wasted, so wouldn't it be better if I brought you happiness?"

"."

He says
Do you want to make yourself happy?
……

(End of this chapter)