Early the next morning, Fujino got up and washed, combing his hair to look more mature, ready to embrace his 100,000 yen—no, his school life.
But just as he was about to change into his school uniform and head out—
—he froze.
Where was his uniform?
Oh right… He'd sold it to an underclassman for a few thousand yen as a spare.
Damn it!
Helpless, he could only sigh in the silence, put on his usual vest suit, mutter habitually to the empty air, "I'm heading out," and then drove his inherited Ford Taurus toward school.
"Ah! I'm going to be late!"
As he parked his car and was just about to step through the school gates, a hurried girl's voice suddenly rang out behind him.
He turned around, and looked back, BANG!
By the time Fujino regained his senses, he had already collided with a girl with short, tea-colored shoulder-length hair.
"What the hell…"
Fujino rubbed his tailbone, wincing in pain and muttering complaints.
Looking up, the girl had already stood up, bowing repeatedly to him as she apologized:
"I'm so sorry, Hiratsuka-sensei!"
"Huh?"
Fujino blinked in confusion, feeling that the girl looked vaguely familiar… Suzuki Sonoko?
"Eh? Eh, eh, eh!!"
Suzuki Sonoko finally raised her head, looked around for a bit, dazed, and then exclaimed loudly:
"You're not Hiratsuka-sensei!"
"Of course, I'm not!"
Fujino couldn't help but retort, and then added slyly, "But you can call me Fujino-san if you like!"
"Oh! Oh oh oh!"
Suzuki Sonoko nodded like a pecking chick.
But after scrutinizing Fujino's features, she felt… he was kind of handsome, and her mind immediately wandered. She quickly followed up with:
"Fujino-san, are you a new teacher?! How old are you? Where do you live? Do you have a girlfriend?!"
Honestly, Fujino's long-term exhaustion made him look older than his actual age. Even though he was only eighteen, his appearance could easily pass for someone in his twenties.
"What are you two doing here?"
Just then, a mature woman's voice came from the school gate.
Fujino turned his head to see a woman wearing a vest suit with a red tie walking toward them.
As she walked, she glanced over at Sonoko and asked sternly:
"Suzuki-san, don't tell me… you're late again?"
This woman—Hiratsuka-sensei—immediately shattered Sonoko's daydreaming.
With no choice, Sonoko gave Fujino one last reluctant look and sullenly walked away.
Once Sonoko had left, Hiratsuka Shizuka finally turned her gaze toward the boy standing before her, seemingly another colleague.
Black vest suit, red tie, glasses, with an exhausted expression on his face… Honestly, if she didn't know better, she really would've thought he was a new transfer teacher!
And to make it worse—they were wearing the same outfit!
Silently thinking well, at least this kid has good taste, she finally spoke:
"So, you must be the elusive student who hasn't shown up in half a year—Fujino-kun, right?"
Fujino nodded but didn't know what to say.
She frowned. "Where's your school uniform?"
Fujino replied calmly, "Originally, I wanted to say I lost it, but I prefer to tell the truth… I sold it."
"…What?"
Hiratsuka froze for a second, her brow twitching violently. She clenched her fist to suppress her growing fury, black lines spreading across her expression:
"I didn't expect you to be so honest. I thought you just didn't want to come to school, but I didn't think you'd gone so far as to sell your uniform… Come with me to the faculty office, Funon~."
"Yes, ma'am!"
And so, Fujino was dragged off to the faculty office by this violent beauty.
In the faculty office…
"So, this is the reason you haven't been coming to school? Running off to play detective? At your age, you should be focusing on your studies."
Hiratsuka Shizuka held a cigarette between her lips, about to light it—but she couldn't find her lighter.
Then, with a click, Fujino flicked his lighter and handed it over.
Hiratsuka stared blankly for a second before lighting her cigarette, then asked in surprise:
"…Why do you have a lighter?"
Fujino: "..."
Seeing that Fujino didn't answer, Hiratsuka gently rubbed her temples, took a deep drag of her cigarette, and then instinctively began lecturing him:
"I don't know what you're thinking. Skipping classes all the time and wandering around like some delinquent… Don't you feel guilty toward your parents, who worked hard to support your education?