I, the mastermind behind the scenes at Soubu High, refuse to be caught in a bloodbath.

"As expected, I knew it all along... those two old geezers... cough!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka coughed heavily twice. "Seriously, you were just calling your parents 'old hags,' weren't you? Your aunt and uncle will cry if they hear that, they really will!"

"At least we're a good match, aren't we? Miss Hiratsuka is from a noble family with an extraordinary background. She came to Soubu High School to teach and nurture students with great enthusiasm. I've always admired you, who are always full of passion."

"Hmph, I'm already grateful that you don't cause me any more trouble at school."

"Disrupt? Hiratsuka-san, you're accusing me of something I shouldn't! I, Himekoji, have been working tirelessly to ensure the smooth and orderly development of the school, not to mention being extremely busy. I've gone to great lengths... no, I mean, I've done my utmost. How could I possibly cause any trouble for Hiratsuka-san?"

"Phew—well, you really haven't caused me any trouble or given me any worries. Sometimes I even have to call you to handle things, so I'm sorry to trouble you...sigh—education is tough, education is tough..."

After the white wine was opened, Himekoji immediately poured a glass for Hiratsuka Shizuka. She leaned on the table, staring blankly at the crystal-clear wine, slowly swirling the glass. Her exquisitely made-up face was reflected in the glass, making her look incredibly alluring.

"Himekoji, I have a story I'd like to hear."

"Of course, I've already started imagining what this story is about."

“This is a scary ghost story…” Hiratsuka Shizuka straightened up, moved closer to the candle, and said in an extremely mysterious voice, “I hope it won’t scare you out of your wits later.”

Hey, hey, hey, Ms. Hiratsuka, how could you be so out of your mind to tell a ghost story in this situation? Fine, I'll just listen to your ghost story anyway...

Author's Note:

PS: This is the sixth update for today. It's almost impossible for an author to add an extra update the day before the book goes on sale, but it's okay. There are still many drafts in reserve, and there will be a 100,000-word update starting tomorrow!

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Chapter Xxx So, I guess I still have to post the [Author's Note on Launching the Book].

Dear readers, this book will be charging starting tomorrow. Actually, it could have been charged last Friday, but I delayed it for a week. Tomorrow is March 1st, so please vote for me!

I'm not going to play the victim or say things like I can't eat. Books are like that; if you want to continue reading, I think you will. If you don't want to read, playing the victim won't help. So please, everyone, the book will be available tomorrow. If you want to continue reading, please continue to support me as always. Thank you.

I will start updating around 11:00 AM tomorrow. I will update 40,000 words (20 chapters) tomorrow, and 20,000 words (10 chapters) each day for the next three days, for a total of 100,000 words, or 50 chapters. The quality of the chapters should be no different from the chapters I am currently posting. They are not just filler for the sake of a big update. They are all pre-written drafts. By the way, I have already saved up 410,000 words and am currently holding a cultural festival.

I'm going to be updating a lot this time, so please vote enthusiastically! I also think you should throw in some swords (a symbol of criticism), since it's the beginning of the month. Other authors might not even give you 100,000 words in four days if you throw swords at them, so you might as well throw them at me (laughs). As for rewards, I'm not asking for much. It's all up to fate. Just throw some if you enjoy reading. I'm mainly asking for swords!!

Finally, I wish all student readers a successful new semester and improved grades, and all working readers a smooth career, promotion, and raise! Please subscribe tomorrow!!!

③ The strong are busy, but they will still answer the call of the weak.

Chapter 089 (Please Subscribe): [Hiratsuka Shizuka] is going to tell you a ghost story.

"I have a very close friend named Kinoshita Haruka. However, about five years ago, Kinoshita Haruka suddenly disappeared. Before she vanished, she only left me with the words, 'I'm going now,' and I haven't seen her since. But just today, I saw a very familiar woman. Her face was full of fatigue, but she still had a faint smile on her face. This person was undoubtedly the long-lost Kinoshita Haruka. Just as I was about to call out to her, I was startled to see a smiling face appear behind her..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka's voice reached the peak of terror, and the ghost story she was telling almost made her cry!

"But that's not the scariest part!"

She took a deep breath, making sure the atmosphere she had carefully built up wasn't ruined.

"Yes, what is it?"

Although the story is a little bit scary, Himekoji felt that what Hiratsuka Shizuka was about to tell was probably not so simple.

"The child she was carrying on her back was already three years old... sobbing, sobbing."

Hiratsuka Shizuka started chugging white wine like it was beer, her heart filled with bitterness. Himekoji saw tears welling up in her eyes. This ghost story was truly terrifying; it hadn't scared the listener to tears, but it had made the storyteller cry.

Oh, please, someone please marry her! I really beg you, please marry her! If you don't come, I'll come!

Also, this bottle of wine costs nearly 500,000 yen! Don't drink like that, okay?! This isn't how you spend money!

"Smash!" She slammed the wine glass onto the table. Perhaps because the person sitting opposite her was an acquaintance, there was no need to pretend to be well-behaved. Hiratsuka Shizuka appeared unusually "unrestrained" at the moment. Just as she was about to rest her head on her jade arm and cry for a while, the waiters began to serve the dishes, and Hiratsuka Shizuka had to straighten up again.

She hung the small handbag she had been holding for a long time on the side of the table near the window, then absentmindedly wiped her eyes, sniffed, and picked up her fork to swirl around in her spaghetti until the whole plate of pasta started spinning with her fork. She stopped, casually ate a tiny bit, and then began to repeat the process.

"Himekoji, tell me about yourself."

Because of her low alcohol tolerance and bad mood, Hiratsuka Shizuka was already a little drunk after a few glasses of wine. The dishes were cleared away and some desserts were served again. She leaned over the table and casually played with the desserts, occasionally letting out a "woo".

"What's there to say about my affairs? I want to know more about Ms. Hiratsuka, so Ms. Hiratsuka should talk more about herself."

"Let's get to know each other!" Hiratsuka Shizuka threw a cherry at Himekoji in a spoiled manner. He caught it and sighed, "Alright, then I'll just say a few words."

"What I really want to know is how you managed to achieve a score that's even scarier than my ghost story..."

"Well, as long as you study hard, that's fine."

"The score of Yukino Yukinoshita, who is first in the second year, is much lower than yours. The same goes for Kitahara Haruki and Kasumigaoka Utaha in the third year; they couldn't reach your score in the second year either."

"Tsk tsk tsk, I didn't expect you to care about me so much, Ms. Hiratsuka. I'm really flattered."

"Shut up, you bastard."

"Ahem—, it can be done by putting in many times more effort than the average person, but some people are born geniuses."

“...That’s a boastful statement, but it does seem to make some sense,” Hiratsuka Shizuka said, her eyes blurry with drunkenness. She pushed her empty glass towards him and said, “Pour me some more.”

"Yes Yes."

Himekoji obediently poured in a third of the contents, while Hiratsuka Shizuka deliberately twisted her body in a coquettish tone and said, "That's not enough, pour more."

"You're getting drunk..."

"Hurry up!"

"...Okay, okay." Ji Xiaolu poured three-quarters of the glass as requested. Satisfied, she moved the glass over, straightened up, took a few sips, and said with dissatisfaction, "Speaking of which, why is there no information about elementary school or national school in your file?"

"Because I didn't go to elementary or middle school. Why don't you understand something as simple as Hiratsuka-san?"

"ha----?!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"I really didn't go..." Himekoji shrugged and said, "I've been homeschooled since birth. Going to elementary and junior high school would have been too much of a waste of time, so I didn't go."

For Himekoji to attend elementary and middle school with all the resources he has is utterly absurd. He was a top science student at a prestigious university in his past life, after all. Time travel doesn't cause amnesia; he remembers everything he needs to remember. Besides, his university student soul simply can't connect with elementary or middle school students. Just think of Conan and Ai Haibara—being stuck in an environment that doesn't match one's true age is extremely painful. (And that doesn't count when Conan gets obsessed with being an elementary school student!)

"Waste of time... So you really are a monster?"

"I'm really sorry that I'm a monster."

"Another one, please."

Hiratsuka Shizuka handed the empty sake cup to Himekoji.

"There's only a third of a bottle left, Ms. Hiratsuka, are you really okay?"

"No problem, no problem, just pour it for me. Isn't it very impolite to refuse to refill a lady's drink? Even if I drink too much, you won't be in any trouble."

Himekoji had a growing suspicion that Hiratsuka Shizuka was constantly giving herself opportunities. She got drunk, and now she was at the Royal Cesare Hotel. Hmm, she had ulterior motives.

"Alright." Ji Xiaolu poured her another cup, resting her chin on her hand, and said, "Don't let my appearance fool you, I got in through several rigorous exams, not by connections or anything."

"Of course I understand that. Why would I need connections if I could solve the problem with my own abilities?"

That's exactly the point.

"However, I still hope that Ms. Hiratsuka will not publicize my grades or the fact that I did not attend elementary or junior high school."

"Ah, of course, I'll keep it a secret for you." Hiratsuka Shizuka smiled charmingly, picked up her wine glass and said to Himekoji, "Come on, let's drink to our fake teacher-student relationship."

"Is this to usher in a new chapter of forbidden emotions?"

Himekoji moved the wine glass closer.

"Don't, don't say things that don't make sense, you bastard!" Hiratsuka Shizuka blushed, quickly and lightly clinked her wine glass together, then drank the last part of her glass and handed it to Himekoji, saying, "Give me another glass."

Author's Note:

PS: Twenty chapters today, five chapters every few hours, repeating four times before evening.

PS2: The cover image might not be very good, but there's nothing I can do about it. After all, the price wasn't high, and it was drawn in just two days. Please forgive me.

PS3: I need a knife!

Chapter 090 Secretly, [Himekoji Haruto] got the information.

"The wine is almost gone..."

Himekoji poured half of the remaining bottle for herself and half for Hiratsuka Shizuka. The bottle contained 750 milliliters of sake, and Hiratsuka Shizuka drank at least 450 milliliters.

"Hey, Himekoji, can you still drink?"

"You idiot, do you even realize you're committing a crime?" (In Japan, inciting minors to drink alcohol is a crime, but the fact that minors drink alcohol is already a crime... The legal age for both smoking and drinking is 20, and Himekoji just turned 17 not long ago.)

"Wu Lu Sai, you yourself were drinking quite enthusiastically at first."

"...That's because I have a good man with me."

"Hmph, even if you say that, I won't be happy at all, not even a little bit."

Hiratsuka Shizuka stammered.

Let me briefly explain the current situation.

According to Himekoji's initial guess, Hiratsuka Shizuka was probably there to attend some kind of small gathering, such as a reunion with her college best friends, because she was dressed so dazzlingly that it seemed as if she was deliberately trying to outshine her friends' male companions with the attitude of "I'm pretty, I don't need any men anyway".

But later Himekoji discovered that this was not the case, because Hiratsuka Shizuka was obviously waiting for someone. She also made a sign by having the waiter put a black rose in a slender stemmed glass. Whenever a man passed by her, she would shudder. Thus, Himekoji guessed why Hiratsuka Shizuka had come here.

She came to a blind date, but the guy dumped her.

Normally, even if the man is unwilling, he should arrive first, and he should be the one to place the black rose. Then, Shizuka Hiratsuka can come and find the single man who placed the black rose on the table. Because the man stood her up, Shizuka Hiratsuka placed a black rose herself with her last hope, hoping that the man was just late.

And so Himekoji—the latecomer (provisional)—made his appearance.

The reason Hiratsuka Shizuka wanted to leave a bouquet of black roses was because she and the man had never met before, nor had they even been in contact. It was a secret matchmaking event arranged by her family. But, unfortunately, Hiratsuka Shizuka was stood up.

Himekoji apologized as soon as he appeared, then mysteriously played riddles with Hiratsuka Shizuka, acting like a big shot, which basically eliminated Hiratsuka Shizuka's wariness. He also managed to shift the blame onto Hiratsuka Shizuka's parents. Hmm, brilliant. Even Himekoji himself thought he had done a brilliant job.

Neither Himekoji nor Hiratsuka Shizuka wanted any more drinks. She was too drunk to drink anymore and said she needed to go to the restroom, walking unsteadily. Himekoji was afraid that she might accidentally break her high heels and fall, so she quickly got up and helped her to the restroom. After taking her to the restroom, Himekoji also went to take care of herself. Finally, she waited for Hiratsuka Shizuka at the door for a long time before she came out.

Himekoji casually took Hiratsuka Shizuka's hand. With his height, he and Hiratsuka Shizuka were a perfect match. Hiratsuka Shizuka is 171cm tall, a little taller than Hikigaya with shoes on, and about 177cm with heels. Himekoji is 185cm tall, and even in this situation, Hiratsuka Shizuka still looks petite.

Of course, this is just what it looks like; it's a visual effect. Don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously...

How did you get here?

"I came by car."