Hiratsuka Shizuka's Soul is Touched!

Chapter 43: Hiratsuka Shizuka's Soul is Touched!

Annie buried her head in the soft pillow, knees supporting her body, arms hanging limply at her sides.

Luke gently pinched her fingers, rubbing them softly.

He twisted uncomfortably on his back; the tangled sheets beneath him felt uncomfortable.

Need to change the sheets again tomorrow...

Today's abstinence plan—utter failure!

Luke looked helplessly at the ceiling.

Having made up his mind, firmly resolved, today he finally felt the fear of being dominated by Annie Leonhart again.

Bad woman!

Annie breathed exhaustedly, gently turning her pretty head to face him, her moist eyes looking at him hazily.

And Luke, even more exhausted, patted the blonde girl.

"Turn off the light."

"Mm," Annie replied softly, pushing herself up with her fair arms and getting off the bed.

She gently peeled off the soiled white stockings, rubbed the indentation marks on her thighs, tossed the stockings into the trash can, and turned off the light...

Luke stared at the ceiling plunged into darkness.

...

Luke continued staring at the ceiling.

He couldn't keep letting Annie have her way.

A few more straight balls and his Constitution value might drop towards 8.

Every time he was hit by a straight ball, when he came back to his senses, it was already indulgence...

There's a saying: the heart is like a horse galloping across a plain, easy to let loose, hard to rein in.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?!"

Hiratsuka Shizuka called out, looking at the bastard who had inexplicably started spacing out after being called to the office.

"Oh oh oh, sorry, I zoned out."

Luke, whose mind had been galloping across the plain, was pulled back by Hiratsuka Shizuka.

"I didn't sleep well last night."

"Honestly, why are kids nowadays so lacking in energy?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka silently covered the cigarette pack with a book.

"I called you here because I wanted to ask you: why did you skip cooking class again?"

Luke murmured, "Cooking class..."

He wanted to find an excuse to brush it off, but looking at Hiratsuka-sensei's serious eyes...

Luke thought for a moment, then slowly asked Hiratsuka Shizuka, "Sensei, have you... ever eaten... cake-flavored pork ribs?"

"Hmm? What the heck is that?" Hiratsuka Shizuka frowned slightly, her lips moving gently, seemingly trying to imagine what strange thing that could be...

"I've made them! More than once! In this aspect, I'm very strong!"

Luke's expression was serious as he pointed a finger at himself.

"Don't channel your passion into such strange places," Hiratsuka Shizuka's mind crashed as she muttered lightly.

She really couldn't imagine what kind of taste those ribs would have...

Advice to everyone: don't try it.

Couldn't be helped.

When he cooked, he created things that might not have existed in this world before.

He really didn't want to cook.

He always managed to create bizarre, universally disliked food through normal operations, let alone...

"Besides, cooking class is usually in groups of three. So, Sensei, should I participate or not? If I participate, the best outcome is making inedible food and wasting ingredients. The worst outcome..."

Luke took a deep breath.

"The fire drill really turns into a fire incident..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka rubbed her aching head.

Looking at Luke's incredibly sincere eyes, she didn't know what to say for a moment.

"But..."

Hiratsuka Shizuka, whose own cooking skills weren't great but could at least cook things through, muttered uncertainly to herself:

"...C-can someone really reach that level even following the recipe and the teacher's instructions?"

Luke recalled a certain dango-headed idiot... and said firmly, "Yes!! Please don't overestimate us students, Sensei!"

"What's with this confidence?"

Putting aside the strange imagination, Hiratsuka Shizuka tapped the table and sighed lightly.

"Fine, I'll handle the grouping issue. Don't let it happen again, okay? Skipping class is ultimately not good..."

"Mm hmm..."

Luke, having already pocketed the cigarettes, nodded casually, temporarily agreeing to Hiratsuka-sensei's request.

Too bad, Hiratsuka-sensei, your sneaky moves were already caught by my eyes.

But... as he gently squeezed the cigarette pack, he felt the weight and texture were somewhat off.

He quickly opened the pack right in front of Hiratsuka Shizuka...

"Chalk?"

Luke looked astonished at the contents of the pack, then turned his head towards the smug, uncontrollably pleased, despicable adult.

"Haha." Hiratsuka Shizuka satisfyingly, contentedly pulled out a cigarette pack from the corner of her desk, flicked it open lightly – full of cigarettes – and took one out.

Her red lips gently held it.

Fingers gripped the lighter, slowly igniting the cigarette.

Then her index finger flicked the lighter cap shut with a 'click', extinguishing the flame.

The entire sequence was fluid, a complete show-off by the victor.

Arm propped on the desk, Hiratsuka Shizuka rested her head on the back of her hand, gently exhaled smoke, and said with a smile, "In a place full of trees, one becomes a leaf; in a place where snowflakes dance, one becomes a white fox."

"What does that mean?" Luke guessed; this must be a line from some manga again.

Hiratsuka Shizuka closed her eyes, letting the cigarette burn idly, and smiled faintly:

"That cigarette pack was just a disguise, nothing more than some ninja-like tricks. Little one~"

"Oh, okay," Luke squinted, playing along, his mind racing.

"So... you're still a little naive."

Hiratsuka Shizuka squinted, cigarette filter between her lips, speaking smugly, "Don't even think about depriving a tired adult of her few pleasures! In this aspect, my resolve—is very strong!"

This adult's smug look gave him a headache.

Luke thought about her weaknesses, firmly deciding not to let her succeed.

"Okay, okay, here you go."

Having calculated and decided on his approach, Luke returned the chalk-filled cigarette pack to Hiratsuka Shizuka, sighed, and said lightly in a helpless tone:

"If Sensei doesn't cherish herself, how can others love you?"

"Sigh!"

"I was originally planning to help Sensei ask for some matchmaking items after some time, but seeing this, forget it."

Instantly, Hiratsuka Shizuka, cigarette dangling from her mouth, felt the pleasant sensation vanish.

Her expression turned ugly, and she said dryly:

"I-is that so... others won't love me."

"Who knows? Sensei should understand this principle," Luke said nonchalantly.

"Anyway, I wouldn't like a girl who smokes, so if Sensei smokes, it will only narrow down her already limited dating pool."

And so, Hiratsuka Shizuka, desperately wanting to get married, forcefully pulled the cigarette from her mouth, crushed it into the ashtray piled high with ash, bent over, and clutched her stomach painfully, saying:

"Y-yes... The school is only full of childish brats! The rest are old men about to go bald... Even weekends are exploited..."

Teacher Tsurumi, watering flowers nearby, turned her head.

Victory secured, Luke calmly adjusted his collar and sleeves:

"I feel my words have touched your soul. I won't say more. Good luck, Sensei..."

"I'll be leaving first."

"W-wait!" Hiratsuka Shizuka called after him.

Luke turned back asking, "Is there something else? Hiratsuka-sensei, I need to get back to class."

"T-take this... away," Hiratsuka Shizuka pointed at the cigarettes on the adjacent desk.

"Can I?"

Hiratsuka Shizuka just waved her hand.

Luke satisfyingly took the real cigarette pack in his hand.

Too bad, Hiratsuka-sensei...

In places far beyond your little tricks, there are—stronger beings.

But next time I meet colleagues, I should probably ask for Hiratsuka-sensei in advance...

This is too pitiful, my god.

...

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