I practiced as a monk alone in Japan.

Chapter 51 Guo Lai! (Third update, please vote!)
Have any strange people come looking for you in the last few days?

"weirdo?"

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the small table and the seemingly empty and quiet room. The small dining table was filled with breakfast that was clearly intended for more than two people.

From steamed buns to porridge and expensive fruits.

Kiyono Mizuki suspected that her inability to exercise would lead to her gaining weight due to this boy's overfeeding. She remembered a British Shorthair she had seen on short videos earlier that day.

Plump and round, just like a cow turned into a ball.

She shook her head, dispelling the strange reverie.

To be honest, I can already picture myself snuggling in his arms, rubbing against his chin like a round kitten.

"There's no one here, so where would these strange people come from?"

"No phone call either?"

"Um no."

She thought for a moment and then told the truth.

Gen Tsukino nodded. "It's okay. If you do, just let me know as soon as possible."

"Is something going to happen? You seem a bit strange."

Kiyono Mizuki said with 'suspicion'.

Gen Tsukino glanced at her. "I'll definitely become stranger every day as I'm by your side."

"What kind of talk is that? Don't spout nonsense."

The girl said with dissatisfaction, the porridge around her mouth still not wiped clean, and it had a different color from her skin.

Gen Tsukino glanced at it and then said, "You have something on your lips."

Kiyono Mizuki was taken aback. "What?"

Gen Tsukino pulled out a tissue and handed it to him, saying, "Wipe it off."

Kiyono Mizuki hesitated for a moment before taking the tissue, her cheeks slightly flushed, perhaps because she felt ashamed of something that had embarrassed her in front of the boy.

But what he was thinking was something else entirely.

Generally speaking, shouldn't the guy offer to wipe the girl's mouth in this situation? Why am I supposed to wipe it myself?

This is how it's done in TV dramas.

Tsukino Gen seemed oblivious to the other person's resentful gaze and continued eating breakfast.

The girl across from me gave a noncommittal hum, then looked up and put down her chopsticks. "You seemed to have come back very late yesterday."

"What do you mean 'seems'? You must have heard me close the door. It was late then, and I thought you were resting, so I didn't come looking for you."

Gen Tsukino's straightforwardness caught Kiyono Mizuki off guard.

"I... I didn't ask you to come find me. This wasn't your obligation in the first place. Whether you come back early or late has nothing to do with me. Besides, who cares when you lock your door?"

Gen Tsukino couldn't help but laugh, "You're really meticulous; you have to refute every single thing I say."

"Because you're talking nonsense."

"How did you know I seemed to come back very late?"

Kiyono Mizuki turned her slightly flushed cheeks to one side, as if she didn't want to be kissed by the sunlight or face Tsukino Gen directly.

"Because you log on to Self very late."

"Then why didn't you message me if you weren't asleep?"

Gen Tsukino asked in return.

"Then why don't you message me? You never message me first!"

The girl instinctively retorted, but the moment she finished speaking, she realized what she had done and immediately covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes were wide open, looking extremely innocent.

Oops, I blurted out what I really wanted to say.

What's the difference between this kind of self-righteous venting of dissatisfaction and whining?
I should be aloof and proud, not arrogant and conceited.

The boy across from her, who was grinning mischievously, did not mock her at this moment, nor did he tease her in a sarcastic manner as usual.

Instead, he smiled and nodded.

"Okay, I'll message you first from now on."

"I don't care."

She lowered her head and stirred the porridge with her chopsticks, then belatedly realized that she was already full.

That's right, I was just being nosy.

She was so full and idle that she was repeatedly teased and driven to anger by this boy, only to be easily soothed by his next words. She felt that her problem wasn't just that she couldn't move her legs. She also had a mental illness.

But he, who was beyond help, encountered the only doctor.

……

I left Kiyono Mizuki's house and went to school in the morning light.

Because he often had breakfast with Kiyono Mizuki, the girl's routine couldn't be disrupted. From this point of view, Tsukino Gen felt that he had done some good.

He had no intention of making any meaningful contribution to society, whether it was helping Kiyono Mizuki or Kazama Sakura. It was all purely selfish.

He didn't even feel that it involved justice. If it were someone unrelated to him, if she wasn't particularly beautiful or a special girl, he probably wouldn't do anything, or would do very little.

From this perspective, he was purely hypocritical. He didn't deserve the gentle image they had in their minds, so when Sakuraba Yuki said that Tsukino Gen deserved a better youth, Tsukino Gen almost laughed.

It's not that I'm mocking the other person's kindness, but I just feel that people are so good at pretending that they can even deceive themselves.

"Hey, hey, hey, Kazama-kun has taken leave. Do you know what happened?"

Upon arriving at the classroom, after morning self-study had begun, Miura Akihiko, noticing the absence of the most striking figure in the room, immediately approached and asked what was wrong.

Tsukino Gen glanced at him. "How would I know about her affairs?"

Miura Akihiko said irritably, "Stop pretending. You two aren't hiding it from anyone anymore. Did you have a fight?"

"Don't talk nonsense, we are just friends."

At least for now. As for whether it's ambiguous or not, well, ambiguity can't be defined, just like with girls.

"Pure? Your relationship isn't even as pure and clean as my underwear, okay?"

"Ugh, you're so vulgar."

Gen Tsukino looked disgusted.

Miura Akihiko, too lazy to argue with Tsukino Gen, continued to press, "What exactly happened?"

"What do you mean, 'what happened'? It's just that there are some things to take care of at home. You should worry more about yourself."

"I don't need to worry about you. You can continue to slack off in class as usual, and your grades will remain stable with no risk of improvement. I just want to ask if you're concerned about your progress." He really has a clear understanding of himself.

It made Tsukino Gen laugh.

"There's no such thing as progress or not. Okay, let's focus on the lesson."

Ignoring Miura Akihiko's ramblings, she focused on her lesson under the scrutiny of Sakuraba Yuki behind her black-rimmed glasses.

Kazama Sakura probably won't be coming today. She has some things to take care of at home, and Tsukino Gen naturally won't be offering to help; it's not worth it. Besides, Kazama Sakura got Morita Chinatsu's contact information yesterday.

Judging from Chinatsu Morita's attitude towards this matter, it should be easy to resolve.

During this time, Sakuraba Yuki summoned Tsukino Gen to her office. Tsukino Gen felt that he hadn't been to the office as many times as this woman had since she became his homeroom teacher, even though he had been there more often in his first and second years of high school.

Is this the treatment a top-three student in the grade should receive? They're being treated like problem students.

Entering the office, Tsukino Gen saw Sakuraba Yuki diligently working on her presentation slides. Dressed in a professional suit, she possessed a striking contrast to the other teachers. Many of the teachers gave Tsukino Gen the impression of being perfunctory office workers, lacking passion, or simply content with completing their assigned tasks. They left work even faster than the students.

This seems understandable, after all, people should put themselves in others' shoes. Compared to many students, adult teachers have more troubles in their lives.

But this also seems to highlight how precious this young woman is.

They have a serious attitude, professional skills, and a passion for caring about their students.

What's more, it's so beautiful.

The business suit looked like a runway model's outfit on her.

"You came?"

Sakuraba Yuki touched her neck and saw the handsome young man standing to the side.

Gen Tsukino nodded. "What does Sakuraba-sensei want to see me about?"

Sakuraba Yuki smiled. "It's nothing, just club stuff."

"I've already joined the club."

"Oh? Really? Which club is it?"

"It's the place you took me to, teacher."

Gen Tsukino told him the truth.

Sakuraba Yuki was taken aback. "Didn't you say before that you hadn't successfully joined?"

"Yes, that's right, but the other party changed their mind very quickly."

"Did you change your mind because of something you did?"

"No, I don't know why either, after all, I don't really understand girls."

He replied.

This made Sakuraba Yuki burst out laughing. After noticing that Tsukino Gen frowned, she apologized and said, "Sorry, I just remembered something funny."

Something interesting? Come on, tell me just how interesting it is.

Sakuraba Yuki, her smile fading slightly, nodded. "In that case, I'm relieved. By the way, how were things going?"

She asked.

Gen Tsukino thought for a moment, "It's alright. Although she's a strange person, I have a tolerant heart and won't hold it against her."

"You call others weird? I've never seen a student weirder than you, though of course, you mean weird in a good way."

Gen Tsukino: ? ? ?

Am I strange? Dude, you're a miracle.

"Teacher, if you have nothing to say, I'll go back."

"Why are you so temperamental? You just said you were magnanimous. By the way, did you know that Kazama-kun took the day off today?"

She asked Tsukino Gen about Kazama Sakura.

The boy looked at her strangely. "I found out after class. Why are you asking me this?"

"I'm a little worried because you and Kazama are usually close. When she asked for leave, she only said she had something to take care of at home, and I didn't have a chance to ask her what happened.

Sakuraba Yuki toned down her words a bit, using the description "close" very well; she was almost saying they were a young couple.

However, at least he was concerned about Kazama Sakura, and it wasn't anything else, so Tsukino Gen replied.

"I don't know the specifics, but I heard her parents have been arguing a lot lately, so it might be related to that. I don't know much about it."

Sakuraba Yuki did not press the matter further.

She nodded.

"Hmm, I'll ask her again later. Did her parents fight? No wonder her grades fluctuate so much. Since you're good friends, you should help her with her studies more often. That way, you'll be closer, and no one else will say anything."

Essentially, Yuki Sakuraba was worried that the rumors would cause trouble for the boy and Sakura Kazama.

But Tsukino Gen smiled and asked the other person a question in return.

What does it matter what others say?

"Eh?"

Gen Tsukino shook his head. "People can say whatever they want, I can't control them, and I don't really care. I believe Kazama won't care either. Alright, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Goodbye, teacher."

"."

Sakuraba Yuki did not try to stop her.

She simply watched the other person's figure disappear, then leaned back in her chair, gazing at the empty space ahead and letting out a long sigh.

"This child seems completely immune to injury."

I didn't see Kazama Sakura during the afternoon classes either, so it seems she really won't be coming today.

Gen Tsukino didn't think much of it, but after a moment's thought, he sent a message to another girl.

If I'm not busy today, I won't go to the activity room.

After sending the message to Tsukino Gen, I was about to put my phone away when I soon received a vibration notification.

Some surprises.

A girl named Rin Asagiri shouldn't be able to reply instantly.

And it was indeed her reply to the message; the content was very simple.

【come over. 】

……

Okay, that's all for now. I'm not feeling well, so this is all I can do for now. I'll try to increase the intensity in the future.

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(End of this chapter)