【Da da da--】

[“Let me stay on the edge of reincarnation and wait for a ray of light~”]

[Zaimokuza, who woke up early in the morning, sang a song enthusiastically while climbing a ladder to nail a bookshelf to the wall. The crisp sound of the mason's hammer hitting the end of the nail echoed in the restaurant, which seemed a little deserted because no one was around, as if gently awakening a sleeping soul.]

[After nailing the bookshelf, Zaimokuza continued to do other things, sweeping the floor, mopping the floor, moving chairs, wiping the table, and then cutting vegetables and cooking. He, who always liked to slack off, worked hard, contrary to his usual behavior. His smiling face and his good looks were enough to be included in a fashion magazine. The title would probably be "The morning light in a corner of the capital, a handsome waiter once in a thousand years!". ]

【When Zaimokuza threw the cut ingredients into the pot and boiled them, the raw and cold ingredients were cooked by the boiling hot water and soaked in the hot water to become the soup base. The rich aroma of miso soup drifted throughout the restaurant. The sky outside, which was a little gloomy before, was completely bright. The sun's rays shone through the windows that were wiped clean enough to reflect light, shining on his tall back, casting a slender black shadow on the wall.】

[“Hah~ Good morning…”]

Saki Kawasaki walked down from the second floor, yawning sleepily, her hands buttoning the last button of her blouse. The black waiter's coat accentuated her curvaceous figure, making her look like a high-end model walking down a runway. The heels of her black high heels made a pleasant sound as they stomped on the stairs. The tears in the corners of her eyes and her laziness made this silver-haired woman look like a Persian cat that had just woken up. As she walked and looked up, she exuded the captivating aura of a cat master patrolling her territory.

"Good morning, Miss Saki-Saki!"

[Zaimokuza, who was cooking, smiled and waved the spoon he was using to stir the miso soup at Kawasaki Saki. Seeing this, she rolled her eyes and said speechlessly.]

[“Don’t call me that name! Call me boss! How many times do I have to tell you before you understand?”]

“Okay, SakiSaki! Got it, SakiSaki!”

[Zaimokuza gave her a thumbs up, and his smiling teeth sparkled in the sun. It was obvious that he often brushed his teeth with black toothpaste.]

[…Has this kid become more and more outrageous recently?]

[Saki Kawasaki's mouth twitched as she was touched by this smile. The veins on the surface of her right palm bulged, and her five fingers twitched irregularly. She looked as if she was forcibly suppressing the urge to beat someone up.]

【"call--"】

[Since Zaimokuza had an important appointment today, Miss Capitalist resisted the urge to turn the rabbit into a panda and took a deep breath. The air she inhaled caused her already full breasts to instantly increase by a cup size, reaching a staggering F, before returning to their original E the next second.]

[The capitalist lady secretly made up her mind that after today, she would teach this rabbit a lesson. She must teach him a lesson about cruelty. How could a mere worker want to ride on the boss and bully him? This is simply outrageous! ]

[Slaves want to overthrow the farmers and liberate the serfs to sing? Of course, but I have to send you to heaven to learn from the great man surnamed Ma first, and then we can talk about it after reincarnation! ]

[“You got up really early today and finished the work so quickly. Are you so excited to be able to fulfill this agreement?”]

【Kawasaki Saki looked around the store that Zaimokuza had cleaned up neatly. Still feeling sleepy, she laid down on the table with her hands on her chin and watched with boredom as Zaimokuza excitedly took off his apron and walked past her.】

[“Yeah! After all, I haven’t seen her for a long time, so of course I’m very happy!”]

【Zaimokuza hung his untied apron on the wall hanger and turned around to say with a smile. Half of his face was soaked by the sunshine outside the window. Part of him was assimilated with the light, and the other half of his face was wearing a brilliant smile that was no less brilliant than that light. That smile was like a sunflower blooming in the light. It made people completely unable to associate any negative emotions or bad feelings. It was as if he would always smile like this since he was born and even when he was about to die.】

[No matter how dark a person's heart is, when they see this smile with a full healing value, they will feel the repression and distortion deep in their hearts loosen a little. ]

[Kawasaki Saki was also a little stunned when she saw this smile, and she felt that the fatigue of her body and mind seemed to be gradually fading away, as if the sun was shining on her body and mind in the most intuitive way through that smile.]

[I have to admit that this guy's smile does have a kind of almost demonic charm. No wonder every time he smiles, he can bewitch the girls who come to the store to consume. If this guy chooses to be a gigolo, he might really be able to make a name for himself. It is not impossible for him to become the "God of Cowherds" worshipped in the temple by the gigolo community. Every time he receives a customer, the gigolos will respectfully light up three cigarettes for him in order to attract customers and make money. His treatment is comparable to that of Guan Gong, who has been worshipped for many years by the community in Hong Kong next door. ]

[“Cough, cough, cough!”]

【Looking at Zaimokuza's smiling face that was pure and joyful without a trace of the magazine, Kawasaki Saki suddenly felt her face getting hot, and her heart seemed to have skipped a few beats at this moment. She quickly turned her red cheeks away and pretended to cough to hide her embarrassment.】

[“Yes, that’s right! Did you say “she” just now? You are going to meet a woman? Is she your girlfriend?”]

[Kawasaki Saki suddenly realized the gender of the person Zaimokuza was referring to, and immediately turned around and asked curiously.]

[The pronunciations of "she" and "he" in Japanese are completely different. Unless you have a local accent, you will hardly mishear them. ]

[This rabbit is actually going on a date with a woman? This is big news! Kawasaki Saki's curiosity was aroused, and the fire of gossip was burning in her eyes. ]

"...Ms. Saki, do I look like someone with a girlfriend now?"

【Zaimokuza pointed to his own face without saying a word, and Kawasaki Saki pinched her chin and thought seriously after hearing this.】

[“Well… you have no house and no job. I don’t think you have even 100,000 yen in savings. You are still an illegal resident. You don’t work hard and you always like to slack off. You are so old but your personality is like a child. You are even suspected of being a homosexual. Apart from being handsome, you have nothing good to offer. You are flawed all over. It’s really hard for you to get a girlfriend.”]

[Every word from the capitalist lady was like a sword sharpened to an extreme, piercing Zai Mokuza's heart. With every word, his face turned a little paler and he kept retreating, holding his chest. The last sentence made him spit out a mouthful of blood, and he covered his heart with both hands on his left chest. He slowly fell backwards, and the sound he made when he fell to the ground was as shocking as the sudden collapse of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which had been motionless for thousands of years.]

[“No matter what, you don’t have to say it so harshly!”]

[Zaimokuza reached out his hand tremblingly to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, raised his head with a look of grief and anger, and shouted at Kawasaki Saki who looked indifferent. ]

[“Huh? I’m just telling the truth. Tell me, which of the things I said above is not true?”]

[The capitalist lady showed no sympathy for Zaimokuza's angry look and words, and ruthlessly gave him the final blow.]

【"Well!?"】

【This sentence completely devastated Mr. Zaimokuza. He raised his head and fell backwards powerlessly. Blood continued to flow from the corners of his trembling mouth. He lay on the ground with his hands covering his chest, his body twitching and convulsing.】

[The most hurtful weapon in the world is never the magic weapon or sharp blade that exists in reality, but the words of everyone, among which the blade of words forged by facts is the most hurtful. ]

[So Zaimokuza was completely powerless to refute what Kawasaki Saki said, because everything she said was true, and his fragile heart was pierced by countless sharp blades. ]

[…No, why do I feel like there’s something wrong with what Miss Capitalist said? ]

[“If it’s not your girlfriend, then who are you going to meet?”]

[Before Zaimokuza could figure out what was wrong with those words, Kawasaki Saki's words reached his ears again.]

[“Hey~”]

[After hearing this, Zaimokuza changed his dead look from before, saying "This world is not worth it, I will go back home", and jumped up from the ground with both hands, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth and saying with a smile.]

"The person I'm going to meet, Ms. Saki, you know. It's Mr. Hiratsuka."

【"Hiratsuka-sensei? Who is that?"】

[Unexpectedly, after hearing his words, Kawasaki Saki frowned and looked confused, "Who are you talking about?"

"Hey, hey, hey... Miss Saki, you haven't really forgotten who Hiratsuka-sensei is, have you?"

[Zaimokuza's smile froze, and he looked at Kawasaki Saki in disbelief.]

[“I did forget. Since you said you and I knew each other, it should be someone we met when we were studying at Sobu High School. Many people I knew back then have long lost contact with me, and there are countless people who have forgotten. So can you give me a hint?”]

[In response, Kawasaki Saki just spread her hands, indicating that she had indeed forgotten. Seeing this, Zaimokuza sighed helplessly and patiently spoke.]

"Hmm... Hiratsuka-sensei, that's the one we used to have back when we were at Sobu High School. He always wore a white coat over his clothes, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and loved watching Shonen Jump in the teacher's office while making those weird laughs! You should still remember me, right?"

【As Zaimokuza explained, Kawasaki Saki's eyes became brighter and brighter, and the image of Hiratsuka Shizuka in her mind became more and more complete. Finally, she suddenly realized something and used her clenched right fist to hit her left palm.】

"Oh! Now that you mention it, I remember. Is that the teacher in Class F, Shizuka Hiratsuka, who's nearly thirty, doesn't act like a woman at all, is said to be desperate to get married, has scared off countless men at social gatherings, and has all the students betting behind her back on whether she can pull off a hundred consecutive wins at social gatherings. She's as rigid and stubborn as an old man?"

"Yes, yes, yes! It's the F-class teacher you're talking about, Mr. Hiratsuka, who's nearly thirty, has no womanly demeanor, is always dreaming of getting married, has scared off countless men at social gatherings, and has every student betting behind his back on whether he can pull off the feat of winning the social gathering a hundred times in a row. His personality is as rigid and stubborn as an elderly man!"

【Seeing that Kawasaki Saki finally remembered Hiratsuka Shizuka, Zaimokuza raised his fingers in surprise and snapped them, his face full of joy. 】

[“Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!”]

[Then the two of them laughed at the same time. The smiles on their faces were very happy, as if they were thinking of something happy. The atmosphere was very harmonious and joyful.]

Chiba Prefecture, Sobu High School, health room.

"Alas!?"

In the sudden drop in temperature and the spreading black aura, Yuigahama Yui shivered and buried her face in Yukinoshita Yukino's smooth chest. Yukinoshita Yukino also rationally hugged Yuigahama Yui, Hayama Hayato and others and moved at least three meters away from the original bed, looking at the white-haired fat otaku who was still sitting in the same place with eyes full of pity.

Da da da da da——

Feeling the ferocious aura behind him that was as cold as a predator, Zaimokuza swallowed hard, his upper and lower rows of teeth chattering like a high-speed sewing machine, and when that slender, fair-skinned hand touched his windbreaker-clad shoulder, the edges of his body fluctuated like an electrocardiogram.

"Zaimokuza, do you have anything else to say?"

Listening to the gentle and almost kind female voice behind him, Zaimokuza didn't dare to turn his head at all. The corners of his fat face, which was covered with cold sweat, twitched, revealing a smile that perfectly interpreted the phrase "laughing is uglier than crying".

"...Hiratsuka-sensei, it's not just my future self who's saying this, it's also future Saki-san."

Knowing that he was doomed, Zaimokuza's heart was filled with evil, and holding on to the humanistic spirit of "If my friend dies, I will die as a scapegoat", he whispered the names of his accomplices, with a hint of guilt and hesitation in his words.

Hiratsuka Shizuka's other hand was gently placed on his other shoulder, and there was an indescribable tenderness in her eyes as she looked at Zaimokuza, as if she was visiting a terminally ill patient who was about to die, or a body that was about to be buried at a funeral. There was even an indescribable sadness in her eyes, which was particularly appropriate for what she said next.

"Don't worry, she will go with you."

"In that case... I will have no regrets."

Sobu High School, Class F, Year 2.

"Alas!???"

Saki Kawasaki, who was concentrating on watching a video on her mobile phone, suddenly felt a chill on her back, as if someone had poured ice into the back of her collar. She was so scared that she stood up, covering the back of her neck, and looked around vigilantly under the strange gazes of her classmates, like a cat who has noticed that his owner has ill intentions towards him.

【At the same time, in Saitama Prefecture, a luxury apartment. 】

[Wearing only a short vest and thigh-length shorts, Shizuka Hiratsuka sat cross-legged on a cushion near the table, exposing her fair and delicate hands and feet to the living room of the apartment where no one else was except herself. With a lit cigarette in her mouth, she tidied up the cardboard boxes stacked on the table in front of her that almost filled up the entire tabletop.]

[Beside Shizuka Hiratsuka were several iron buckets and a small bottle of high-concentration vodka. As she looked through each document, she put aside what she needed and threw what she didn't need into the iron bucket.]

[After a whole night of mental struggle, Hiratsuka Shizuka has made her choice. ]

[——She decided to submit her resignation to the principal soon, leaving the teaching position where she had worked for many years and returning to the stage where she truly belonged.]

[Unlike children, adults rarely regret their choices, especially people like Shizuka Hiratsuka who do what they think and never hesitate.]

[In order to prevent herself from wavering, she spent half a night sorting out all the things she had been carrying with her for so many years, picking out all the things related to her teaching career and putting them together and classifying them. Except for a small part that proved the honor of her teaching career, the rest of the things were all burned. Not a single thing was left, which was also a way to completely cut off her thoughts.]

【"Um?"】

[When Shizuka Hiratsuka opened a slightly old white cardboard box, her movements suddenly paused slightly. The cigarette that was about to burn to the bottom gently shook off a small section of ash as she stood still, and it fell on her short sleeves supported by her full breasts and her legs that were sitting cross-legged.]

[“What is this…?”]

[Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at the stacks of white manuscripts filled with words in the cardboard box in front of her, and the thin sketchbook under the manuscripts, and raised her eyebrows.]

[She reached out and pushed aside the manuscripts, and took out the sketchbook. The color of the sketchbook had turned yellow due to oxidation, and it was obvious that it had been in existence for quite some time since it was made.]

【Crash.】

Shizuka Hiratsuka curiously flipped open the first page of the picture book. A large, chibi-style head wearing glasses appeared before her eyes. It was a boy with two lines of drawn tears on his face. He didn't look sad at all, but rather rather funny.

[There are two lines of words written above and below this avatar. ]

[It says: "Thank you Mr. Hiratsuka for your encouragement. I promise you that I will fulfill my promise to you. These works are my guarantee to you. When we meet again as promised, I will definitely let you see a brand new me that you will be proud of!"]

[The following is written: "2018.3.25. Sobu High School, Service Club."]

[In addition, there is a small signature in the lower left corner of this page of the sketchbook, and at the end of the signature is a crooked smiley face. It is obvious that the painter of this picture is not very good.]

[Signature: Zaimokuza Yoshiki (*^▽^*). 】

[“Sobu High School… Service Club… Zaimokuza?”]

[Hiratsuka Shizuka stared blankly at this page of crude painting, muttering these words, an old memory deep in her brain gradually revived, and countless images came to her mind one after another.]

[Many people think that they have forgotten something, but in fact, they have never been forgotten. It is just buried deep in the memory. It only takes a small opportunity to open and awaken this memory again, just like opening the door to welcome a long-lost friend. ]

【And now, Hiratsuka Shizuka has found this opportunity. 】

[Finally, the scene of this memory freezes on a boy who looks a little fat and wears a brown windbreaker over the Sobu High School uniform.

[With the heavy rain tomb in the background, he was soaked from head to toe, sniffing the snot that was about to flow out of his nose, and muttering his own name in a vague voice.]

[——Hiratsuka-sensei…]

[Shizuka Hiratsuka suddenly felt as if something in her heart loosened slightly.]

[It was a strange feeling, like a dusty iron chain locking the door of an old mansion suddenly vibrating, shaking off all the dust on it, revealing the iron-blue chain underneath.]

[“March 2018, 3, isn’t that…!?”]

[Hiratsuka Shizuka suddenly realized this and quickly turned to look at the electronic clock hanging on the wall, which had a calendar and year display function.]

[And at this moment, the date displayed on the electronic clock calendar is exactly——]

【2018.3.25. 】

……

[Tear——]

【“~?”】

[Zaimokuza tore off the calendar hanging in the store, looked at the prominent Chinese characters for March 25th and laughed, then turned around and walked towards the door while holding his somewhat worn brown windbreaker.]

[“Zaimokuza, why don’t you call Hiratsuka-sensei first to check if she still remembers the promise you made? After all, so many years have passed, it’s normal for her to forget for a while. Not everyone can remember a promise as clearly as you do. You should also remember her phone number.”]

【As Zaimokuza was about to leave the store, Kawasaki Saki finished laughing and lay back on the table in the sunlight, and spoke lazily.】

【“My dear husband! There is no need for that.”】

[“Don’t worry, Ms. Hiratsuka will not forget the promise I made to her!”]

【As Zaimokuza opened the door and walked out, he turned around and gave Kawasaki Saki a thumbs-up with a gentle smile on his face.】

[The two rows of teeth he showed in this smile sparkled, and the sunlight shone through the edges of his body into the store, coating the edges of Zaimokuza's body in Kawasaki Saki's eyes with a layer of gold and a curtain of the same color. At this moment, he gave people the feeling of being like the works of Delacroix, the representative painter of French romanticism, permeating the ordinary with silent holiness.]

[“Because the person who taught me to keep my promises to others was Hiratsuka-sensei!”]

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