Ding-a-ling-ling——
The crisp sound of the class bell suddenly cut through the noise in the hallway.
The rustling conversations inside the classroom stopped abruptly.
The students quickly and orderly returned to their seats.
The air was filled with the solemn quiet and anticipation of a new semester.
After a brief moment of silence.
The classroom door was gently pushed open.
A beautiful woman with long hair, wearing a well-tailored women’s suit and black high heels, her legs wrapped in sheer black stockings, walked in at a steady pace.
The sound of her high heels striking the floor was crisp and rhythmic, especially clear in the quiet classroom.
Her expression was serious and strict.
She walked straight to the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, and turned to face the blackboard.
Her slender yet strong wrist moved, and the chalk made a soft “scratch” sound against the blackboard.
Soon, clear and elegant handwriting appeared on the blackboard.
“My name is Sakai Shion.
From now on, I will be your Japanese language homeroom teacher.”
Sakai Shion extended her slender fingers and lightly tapped the number written on the blackboard.
“This is my contact information.
If you encounter any problems in the future, you can call me.”
“Also, according to school regulations,”
“every student must join at least one club within this week.”
“Otherwise, credits will be deducted.”
As soon as she finished speaking, quite a few boys in the class had their eyes glued to her.
They had never expected their new homeroom teacher to be this beautiful.
Nishizonoji Nanase instinctively covered her slightly open mouth in surprise.
Her long eyelashes fluttered as her eyes sparkled with delight.
She leaned slightly to the side and lowered her voice toward Natsume Chikei beside her, speaking with a hint of excitement.
“Natsume-kun, our homeroom teacher… is actually a total beauty…”
Natsume Chikei had been observing the new teacher and hadn’t expected Nishizonoji Nanase to suddenly share her thoughts with him.
He nodded, his tone carrying a trace of genuine agreement.
“She really is.”
This response wasn’t perfunctory.
Ever since he stepped onto campus that morning, he had noticed that the overall appearance of the female teachers at this school was far above that of most other schools.
As for their academic backgrounds, there was almost no need to doubt them—anyone who could teach at Private Gekko Academy would have top-tier institutions like the University of Tokyo or Waseda University stamped on their resumes.
This top private high school, renowned throughout Japan, had long been known for its strict standards when it came to selecting faculty.
“Well then—”
Sakai Shion’s cool voice rang out again, cutting through the students’ subtle commotion.
She picked up the student list from the podium and turned her gaze toward the leftmost seat in the front row.
“Next, we’ll begin self-introductions starting from the first student in the leftmost front row, going in order.”
With that, she quietly sat down in the teacher’s chair.
Her eyes seemed to be on each student who stood up to introduce themselves, but from time to time she would lower her gaze to the detailed student list in her hands.
The paper made a faint rustling sound under her fingertips.
The list recorded each student’s grades, family situation, special skills and hobbies, home address, and other personal information.
Time passed slowly amid the self-introductions, some smooth and some nervous.
Finally, it was Nishizonoji Nanase’s turn.
When her name was called, quite a few boys’ gazes, as if pulled by invisible strings, instantly shifted away from the cool and elegant homeroom teacher on the podium and locked onto this equally eye-catching girl.
There was no other reason—Nishizonoji Nanase’s beautiful and cute appearance and noble aura were in no way inferior to the teacher’s.
“Hello everyone, my name is Nishizonoji Nanase.”
“My hobbies are collecting all kinds of interesting things.”
“Whether it’s strangely shaped stones, antiques steeped in time, or novel and unique little gadgets…”
“As long as it’s interesting, I really like it!”
Listening to Nishizonoji Nanase’s honest and unique self-introduction, Natsume Chikei hadn’t expected this girl who looked so cute and natural on the outside to have such a special collecting hobby.
On the podium, Sakai Shion’s gaze also landed on Nishizonoji Nanase’s name on the list.
Her slender fingers lightly traced a certain line on the paper, and a trace of understanding flashed through her eyes.
The records showed that this girl’s family background was far from ordinary—her father was a renowned figure in Japan’s collecting world and also one of the big shots in the auction house industry.
She had probably been deeply influenced by her father and, through what she saw and heard, had developed this refined hobby of collecting.
After that.
The self-introductions continued in an orderly fashion.
Soon, it was Yukimura Suzune’s turn.
Natsume Chikei was paying quite a bit of attention to this girl.
After all, she possessed the special piece of equipment he needed.
Moreover, he had just vaguely heard his classmates discussing that Yukimura Suzune seemed to have won some kind of literary award?
Although he wasn’t sure exactly what award it was, he knew very well that in Japan, writers were admired by many people.
Among all the professions in society, only a few—writers, lawyers, doctors, and the like—were respectfully addressed as “sensei.”
And a writer who had made even a small name for themselves could have multiple rumored girlfriends and no one in the public would say anything about it.
If you didn’t have a few girlfriends, the public might even look down on you, thinking you weren’t qualified enough.
In contrast, for professions like celebrities, lawyers, or doctors, even one scandal would usually get them torn apart by the media.
Japanese society’s tolerance toward authors was just that outrageous!
Thinking about this, Natsume Chikei wasn’t at all surprised that quite a few classmates had approached Yukimura Suzune during breaks to ask for autographs or talk about novels.
The cool-as-snow Yukimura Suzune slowly stood up.
Her expression was indifferent, her long eyelashes lowered, as if the noise around her had nothing to do with her.
“My name is Yukimura Suzune.
My interest is reading and writing novels.”
“My dream is to win more literary awards.
That’s all.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she sat back down, as if she had never stood up at all.
Her fair fingers reopened the hardcover book on her desk and she quickly immersed herself back into her world of words.
Sakai Shion’s gaze lingered on Yukimura Suzune’s name for a moment.
The records clearly noted her background—the prestigious literary Yukimura family.
This family had produced a literary giant in Japan’s long history.
Although no one in later generations had reached that peak, members of the family still occasionally won various literary awards.
After reviewing this literary girl’s information, Sakai Shion’s gaze finally moved to the last name on the list—Natsume Chikei.
Up until now, her attention had been more on the other students.
She had barely glanced at the corner seat by the window.
When her eyes first truly landed on Natsume Chikei as he stood up, the fingers holding the list paused almost imperceptibly.
The boy standing below the podium had delicate, almost unreal features.
The afternoon sunlight streaming through the window outlined a hazy halo around him.
A trace of indescribable surprise flashed through Sakai Shion’s heart at his overly outstanding appearance.
She quickly lowered her gaze.
Her fingertips moved rapidly across the list beside the name “Natsume Chikei,” carefully scanning the lines of small text.
Her lips moved silently:
『Grades: D-…』
『Special talents: None…』
『Hobbies: Playing games, using phone…』
『Club affiliation: After-school club…』
『Participation in class activities: Extremely rare…』
Her gaze continued downward and stopped at the family background section.
『Family situation: Previously ran an IT company…
went bankrupt due to major decision-making errors…
recently sold off nearly all assets…』
『Current status: Not taken in by wealthy relatives…
presumed to be relying on each other with younger sister…
Current residence: To be confirmed…』
Her fingertips stopped on the last few lines.
Sakai Shion was silent for several seconds.
She looked up again at the boy standing straight and calm below the podium.
A complex emotion flashed deep in her eyes—assessment, pity, and perhaps a trace of imperceptible compassion.
Natsume Chikei knew it was his turn and stood up calmly.
His tall and straight posture instantly acted like a magnet, drawing the gazes of the vast majority of people in the classroom.
Even Yukimura Suzune, who had been keeping her head down and focused on reading, although she didn’t turn around, seemed to tighten her fingers slightly on the edge of the book page.
Her small ears moved almost imperceptibly.
“My name is Natsume Chikei.
My hobbies are…”
Before he could finish, a boy started teasing:
“Natsume-kun, do you already have a girlfriend?”
“Yeah, yeah.
With looks like that, you must have someone already, right?”
“That’s right, that’s right.
Hurry up and confess honestly.”
The boys were teasing on the surface, but each of them was secretly calculating, hoping that Natsume Chikei would quickly “have someone.”
Because sitting right next to Natsume Chikei were the two class beauties—Nishizonoji Nanase and Yukimura Suzune.
As long as he had a girlfriend, they would have one less strong potential “threat.”
This straightforward question also happened to hit exactly what many girls in the class were thinking.
They had actually wanted to ask for a while, but had been holding back due to just having met and maintaining a girl’s reserve.
It hadn’t felt right to ask directly.
At this moment, their gazes instantly became heated, locking tightly onto Natsume Chikei in front of the podium.
Nishizonoji Nanase also blinked her lively big eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering as she curiously looked at Natsume Chikei.
Natsume Chikei simply shook his head lightly.
“I don’t have a girlfriend.”
A brief silence.
The boys collectively fell silent, various complex emotions flashing through their eyes—surprise, disbelief, and even a bit of small disappointment.
The girls, on the other hand, ignited like dry tinder thrown into a fire.
They became instantly excited, and the dam of their reserve was instantly broken.
“Natsume-kun!
What type of girls do you like?”
“Do you like the soft and cute type?”
“Have you had a girlfriend before?
How many have you dated?”
The classroom was suddenly filled with the girls’ chattering questions.
“Quiet!” Sakai Shion frowned.
“It’s still class time right now!”