Chapter 172: Taking Shizuka Down...

"Oh, I wonder how they're doing."

In her bedroom, Haruno idly picked up her phone.

As for Rei Ao and Shizuka's date, Haruno didn't have high expectations for Rei Ao.

Even though Shizuka didn't have much experience in matters of the heart, Haruno believed she had a strong sense of professionalism. As a teacher, there's no way she'd do something inappropriate.

The most likely outcome would be that Shizuka rejected him.

Still, Haruno picked up her phone and called Shizuka.

The phone rang for quite a while before it was finally answered.

Haruno immediately teased, "Shizuka, how was your date today?"

"Uh… it was… not bad."

"Hm?"

This response caught Haruno by surprise.

She thought Shizuka would say something like, "It was exhausting."

Unexpectedly, Shizuka said, "not bad"?

Haruno's interest was piqued.

"Seems like you're quite satisfied with Rei Ao, huh?"

"Uh… maybe."

"Hey, no, I said it wrong! I mean satisfied! Very satisfied! Extremely satisfied!"

"???"

The hesitations and sudden shift in tone made Haruno sense something unusual.

Frowning slightly, she asked, "Where are you right now?"

"… At home, why?"

"Oh? I feel like drinking with you and hearing all about your date. I'll come over now."

"Ah? No, no, I'm too tired. I'm already getting ready for bed!"

"Ugh, fine! Next time then!"

"Mm…"

The call ended with a series of busy tones.

"…"

Haruno stared at her phone, feeling that something was off.

But after thinking for a while, she couldn't figure it out.

"Maybe Shizuka really is just tired."

She sighed and then dialed another number.

It was Rei Ao's.

The call was quickly answered.

"What do you want?"

"First, congrats! Shizuka said she was satisfied with the date. If you keep working hard, you might have a chance!"

"Oh."

Rei Ao replied flatly.

"Huh? You don't sound very excited."

Haruno was puzzled.

"Excited? I'm quite excited right now."

"Hey, I really can't tell, you know."

Not wanting to continue with the small talk, Haruno got to the point.

"Now, can you tell me who the guy that went to Yukino's house was? Since you know him, he must be from your school, right?"

This was the real issue that Haruno had been concerned about all along.

She even threw Shizuka under the bus to figure this out.

However, Rei Ao didn't reply immediately.

As Haruno waited in silence, she heard some noise in the background.

"What's all that noise on your end?"

"Oh, nothing, maybe someone's renovating next door."

Under the shy and flustered gaze of Shizuka, Rei Ao lied.

Then he added, "As for the person you want to know about… it's me."

"…"

The other end of the call went completely silent.

"Excuse me???"

After a while, Haruno's incredulous voice came through.

"You're telling me the person at Yukino's house was you?!"

"Yeah, we're neighbors after all. We're bound to run into each other, aren't we?"

Hearing this, Haruno was about to say something when she heard more annoying creaking and clattering sounds on Rei Ao's end.

Before she could respond, Rei Ao said, "If you have more questions, let's talk next time. I'm busy."

And with that, the call was abruptly ended.

"..."

Haruno gripped her phone, her face dark with irritation.

She finally understood.

She had been played!

"To think I'd get fooled by a little brat."

Haruno rubbed her temples.

Thinking back, it was entirely her own fault for being overly concerned about Yukino, letting her emotions cloud her judgment, and falling into Rei Ao's trap.

This incident served as a reminder: she couldn't afford to lose her composure when it came to Yukino.

"Honestly..."

She let out a bitter laugh.

At least there didn't seem to be any real issues on Yukino's end.

It was like a weight that had been pressing on her chest all day had finally been lifted.

She decided to take a nice, long bath to relax.

As for Rei Ao...

"Tch, I'll have to teach that brat a lesson next time."

She stepped into the bathroom, undressing and turning on the shower.

Warm water cascaded over her smooth, delicate skin.

Haruno felt the tension leaving her body.

It was only during moments like these that she could truly unwind.

"Slap, slap."

She patted her stomach lightly with her palm.

"Hm?"

She paused suddenly, looking at her hand, then patted her stomach again.

Slap, slap, slap, slap.

The sound of her skin against the water was unmistakable.

It was familiar—not the kind of sound she noticed every time she showered, but a sound she had just heard recently.

"Where did I hear this?"

She frowned, trying to recall. Skin contact sounds... water sounds...

"Wait!"

Haruno's eyes widened.

It was during her phone calls—with both Shizuka and Rei Ao!

It wasn't just similar—it was exactly the same!

At this realization, Haruno recalled the oddities during both calls.

Shizuka's hesitations and abrupt tone shifts.

Rei Ao claiming there was renovation noise next door.

When she put the "slapping" sounds together...

"Could it be... those two?!"

A bold and absurd possibility crossed Haruno's mind.

If they were doing something, all the strange details suddenly made perfect sense.

What truly shocked Haruno was—

"Shizuka got taken down that quickly?!"

Was that even possible?

...

It was very possible.

"Shizuka, was it really necessary to react that strongly just because Haruno called?" Rei Ao smirked.

Shizuka glared at him, clearly flustered.

"Haruno… she's my friend and my student! I told you, this is unacceptable."

"And why, of all times, did you have to speed up when she called? You nearly made me lose face!" Shizuka complained.

She never expected Rei Ao to be such a speed demon.

What frustrated her even more was that he seemed utterly indifferent as his metaphorical engine roared down the freshly paved road at full throttle.

Suddenly, he hit the brakes.

Shizuka, still on her knees, looked up at him in confusion. "W-What's wrong?"

He smirked mischievously. "Didn't you say no speeding? I'm listening to you."

"Huh?"

Shizuka froze.

At this point, he had already revved the engine, so why stop now?

The wind had stilled.

The car, too, had stopped.

For no reason at all.

To her dismay, she noticed the car was veering off the main road.

Furious, Shizuka grabbed his arm and yelled, "Why are you stopping? Step on it, you idiot!!!"

"Tsk, tsk. Since you're so insistent, Shizuka, I'll slam the gas for you."

In an instant, the gas pedal was floored.

"Vroom, vroom, vroom!!!"

The engine roared furiously!

The car shot forward like a streak of lightning.

This was it—this was the feeling!

Shizuka might have been falling in love with the thrill of speeding.

~~~

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