Chapter 289 Shimizu Akira Enjoys Dates with Beautiful Girls, Leaves the Dirty Work to Ayanokouji
Chabashira Sae was in an exceptionally good mood today.
She had already seen the class pairing list; Karuizawa Kei had successfully paired with Shimizu Akira, which was exactly the result she wanted to see.
As for Hasabe Haruka, she had recently taken Sakura Airi along to invite Shimizu for a swim at the pool.
Chabashira only found out about this later after specifically asking Sakura Airi—after all, that girl was always well-behaved and answered whatever she was asked.
She really had to praise Hasabe Haruka for this—she did a great job, knowing how to bring a good friend along and how to seize an opportunity. It seemed that the two "gyarus" she had intentionally or unintentionally sent to approach Shimizu last month were making excellent progress.
Shimizu Akira had been holding twenty million personal points for a while now, yet over the past month, he didn't seem to have any intention of transferring classes.
When Hirata Yousuke proactively reported on the class situation a few days ago, he mentioned that the current Shimizu Akira attends class meetings on time and occasionally joins him, Horikita Suzune, and Kushida Kikyo to discuss class-related affairs.
In the past, such a thing would have been almost unthinkable.
The other students in the class were also slowly improving, and Shimizu seemed to be integrating into the collective bit by bit.
Her Class C was truly developing for the better right before her eyes; everything was moving toward the expected trajectory. And all of this, she reflected, was inseparable from her guidance and Shimizu Akira's own efforts.
'No, I can't smile yet!'
She couldn't get happy too early. She had to continue pushing the people in the class to deepen their relationships with Shimizu.
With more compatible classmates and more "girlfriends" around him, it would naturally become harder and harder for Shimizu to leave this class.
Thinking of this, Chabashira Sae picked up her phone and called Sakura Airi, asking directly, "Sakura-san, how have you been lately? Has anyone been following you? After what happened a while back, both I and the school are very concerned about your safety."
Airi's timid voice soon came from the other end.
"Um, that... no more! Ever since Shimizu-kun helped me, I haven't encountered any trouble again. Thank you for your concern, Chabashira-sensei!"
Chabashira immediately replied, "You're welcome. Actually, Shimizu Akira helped you a lot with this; he's the one you should thank the most. From a teacher's perspective, I also hope you can properly reciprocate his help."
"Um... I know!" Sakura Airi continued, "Shimizu-kun is indeed very, very good to me! Chabashira-sensei is right, I will definitely find a way to thank him properly again!"
Only after the call ended did the corners of Chabashira Sae's mouth slowly curl into a faint smile.
Sakura Airi was a sensible, good girl; since she promised to "thank" Shimizu properly, she would surely take action soon.
Moreover, she was inseparable from Hasabe Haruka; wouldn't this act be equivalent to creating another opportunity for Shimizu to have close contact with both of them?
Next was Karuizawa Kei.
Truth be told, this student was slightly difficult to handle. Chabashira Sae picked up her phone and scrolled to a message sent by the other party last month.
Karuizawa Kei: Wait! Chabashira-sensei! Are you sure you aren't bluffing me? Why are both Chiaki and I highly compatible with Shimizu Akira at the same time!
That's right, Karuizawa Kei had found a flaw in what she had said before.
Chabashira rubbed her chin; she truly hadn't considered it too much at the time, mainly because she didn't expect Karuizawa and Matsushita Chiaki weren't just "surface sisters" but real friends who actually exchanged intelligence.
However, this small situation wouldn't stump her.
Chabashira Sae: Some people are naturally easy to adapt to others, especially when the other person is Shimizu Akira, right?
After waiting only a few minutes, there was a reply.
Karuizawa Kei: Oh! Is that so? Then which girls are compatible with Shimizu Akira! Chabashira-sensei, can you tell me all of them?
'She accepted it that easily? Is she an idiot?'
Then again, her words weren't exactly a lie. Shimizu Akira had a tolerant and gentle personality; he really was compatible with the vast majority of girls. At least in her view, the several outstandingly beautiful girls in the class were all quite suitable to be Shimizu's girlfriend.
Chabashira Sae: Quite a few! For example, Horikita Suzune, Kushida Kikyo, you, Matsushita Chiaki, Sato Maya, Sakura Airi, Hasabe Haruka, and Wang Mei-Yu are all quite compatible with him.
Since Karuizawa's IQ wasn't high, she was easy to fool.
Furthermore, Chabashira was happy to see Shimizu build good relationships with more girls in the class; this served as a "preventative shot" for Karuizawa. Even if a harem situation arose, it wouldn't matter; it would only make it harder for Shimizu to part with the class.
Consequently, she simply listed all the good-looking girls in the class in one go, using the momentum to give Karuizawa a sense of crisis.
After sending the message, Karuizawa's status showed she had gone completely offline.
Having been a teacher for several years, Chabashira had seen all kinds of students and understood the principle of tailoring the remedy to the case.
Karuizawa had a bit of a "tsundere" personality; gentle guidance might not result in her taking initiative.
Only by giving her a sense of crisis could she be pushed to take bold steps.
In contrast, Sakura Airi was different; you couldn't tell her directly how popular Shimizu was. Otherwise, given her introverted nature and lack of confidence, she would likely retreat immediately. For her, one had to use gentle methods to guide her slowly so she would dare to approach proactively.
That said, Chabashira Sae never told Shimizu Akira that she was secretly arranging a harem plan for him.
However, she felt that even if Shimizu accidentally found out what she was doing behind his back, he would likely be shocked first, then ecstatic.
After all, there probably wasn't a normal boy in the world who would refuse the option of a harem.
After arranging the beautiful girls for Shimizu to build relationships with this semester, Chabashira's thoughts turned to the final special exam. Class C was challenging Class D this time, and the traitor Yamauchi Haruki was still hiding in the class.
To be honest, she was quite worried at first.
Would Ryuen Kakeru's Class D secretly instruct Yamauchi to leak an easy exam paper before the test even started? However, during the class meeting, Shimizu had already proactively raised this concern.
Subsequently, the class came up with a countermeasure, stipulating that designated personnel must be present to have the right to submit the exam paper, which effectively blocked the possibility of submitting an easy paper in advance.
She had also intentionally or unintentionally reminded the Class C students during the meeting to kick the trouble that was Yamauchi Haruki out of the game as soon as possible. Otherwise, having to deal with this kind of betrayal plot in every special exam was simply too draining.
She didn't know if her students had mentioned a solution for Yamauchi during their meeting a few days ago. But come to think of it, Chabashira had specifically checked Yamauchi's unexcused absence time—counting the day before, it was exactly twenty days.
She had initially held a cold and perfunctory attitude toward the class only because she had long since lost hope of rising to Class A.
Now, even though they were only in the second semester, the class points had already accumulated to over seven hundred, with only a forty-point gap remaining to Class B.
She had long hoped the class would achieve good results in this special exam and overtake Class B in one go, so why would she think of sabotaging the class? Now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the teacher and students were of one mind.
She glanced at the time: 7:58 AM. As long as Yamauchi was absent again today, he would hit the threshold for expulsion due to unexcused absences, and he could thoroughly disappear from this school.
But in the next second, there was a knock at the door. The male student named Yamauchi Haruki actually proactively appeared at the office door. Chabashira Sae originally wanted to scold him directly and tell him to prepare for expulsion and get out. But when she looked up and saw his appearance, she was stunned.
This guy looked miserable. His face was black and blue, clearly having been beaten by someone.
He was limping on one foot and leaning on a crutch with his right hand.
'What's the situation?' Besides the Chairman's precious daughter, when did another "cane man" pop up in this school? Seeing his pathetic state, he had clearly suffered a severe beating.
However, since it was clock-in time, she wasn't the only one in the office. Sakagami Kazuma and Mashima Tomonari were both there; only Hoshinomiya Chie was, as usual, cutting it close and hadn't arrived yet.
"Student, were you beaten by someone?" Mashima Tomonari couldn't help but look at him twice and ask.
"Yes, teacher! I was beaten!" Yamauchi Haruki completely disregarded his face, clutching his swollen cheek and shouting in a miserable tone, "I suspect it was Sudo Ken from our class!"
"Yamauchi Haruki, do you have evidence?" Chabashira Sae frowned and asked bluntly, "What do you mean 'suspect'? You aren't even sure who beat you?"
"I... I don't have direct evidence, but who else could it be?!"
Yamauchi stiffened his neck, his voice carrying a sob, his eyes—swollen into slits—filled with malice.
"Sudo Ken has always disliked me; we've had conflicts over small things before! It must have been him who cornered and beat me while I wasn't in the classroom and went out to buy things!"
Chabashira raised an eyebrow, a cold laugh in her heart.
Although Sudo Ken had an impulsive personality and loved to fight, Yamauchi had skipped class for twenty days, hiding in the dorm the whole time; even if Sudo wanted to find trouble with him, he wouldn't have had the chance.
"A verbal statement is not proof; the school will not convict Sudo Ken based solely on your suspicion." Mashima Tomonari's tone was serious.
"You say you were beaten; specifically where, when, and by how many people? Do you have other injuries? Were there any witnesses?"
A series of questions were thrown out, and Yamauchi instantly stalled, his eyes flickering as he stammered: "I... I was beaten downstairs at the dormitory, last night... It was dark and I couldn't see how many people, and I didn't see anyone I knew..."
"Hah, who would believe that?" Chabashira Sae exposed him without mercy.
"There are surveillance cameras at the bottom of the dormitory. If you were really beaten last night, we'll know as soon as we check the footage."
"It just so happens the place I was beaten has no cameras!" Yamauchi argued through gritted teeth.
"He cursed at me then, I definitely didn't hear it wrong!"
"Fine! This matter isn't for us to handle! You should go to the Student Council! That's where student disputes are handled! However, you have no evidence at all! I'm afraid this matter will just end up being dropped!"
Mashima Tomonari replied in his usual business-like manner.
"Yamauchi Haruki, let's put aside the matter of you being beaten for a moment; we should now talk about the issue of your unexcused absences for so long."
Chabashira interrupted him, her tone cold and hard.
"According to the school regulations..."
"I... I wasn't feeling well!" Yamauchi immediately changed his face, clutching his swollen cheek with a look of agony.
"Sensei, I came today to ask for leave too! I'm injured like this; you can't expect me to attend classes and exams normally, can you? I'm applying for another two weeks of rest!"
Just as Chabashira was about to retort, Sakagami Kazuma, who was beside her, suddenly adjusted his glasses and interjected with a smile: "My, my, this student Yamauchi indeed seems quite heavily injured. This situation also fits the criteria for a leave of absence due to force majeure. Chabashira-sensei, why not just process a temporary leave for him?"
Chabashira cold-laughed in her heart.
Whether it was intentional or a coincidence, Yamauchi's appearance meant he had likely been taught a harsh lesson by Ryuen's group.
Now he was using the incident to frame Sudo Ken; when that failed, he tried to take leave to stall for time and avoid the expulsion penalty. This idiot couldn't have come up with such an idea; it was likely Ryuen who taught him.
Looking at Sakagami Kazuma's posture—whether he was knowingly cooperating or just joining in the fun—he was clearly working with Yamauchi to annoy her. But Chabashira Sae had never been a soft persimmon that others could manipulate.
"You can take leave." She stared at Yamauchi with eyes full of disgust, saying word by word, "But those twenty days of absence have absolutely nothing to do with your current injury. I called and messaged you every week, and you ignored them all as if they were wind past your ears. Therefore, according to school rules, you are recorded with a disciplinary probation penalty.
Furthermore, because you have a legitimate reason for leave this time, the leave and absences you incur over the next two weeks will not cause any loss of class points for Class C. If you dare to pull any more little tricks after that, you can pack your bags and leave this school!"
Yamauchi's face turned various shades of blue and white. Clutching his jaw, he stammered, "D-disciplinary probation? Sensei, I had no choice..."
"There is no 'no choice'." Chabashira interrupted him. "This is the school's hard rule."
Yamauchi could only grit his teeth and nod: "I understand..."
"A wise choice." Chabashira took out a form and threw it in front of him.
"Sign to confirm, then go to the infirmary to register your injuries, and then sign this disciplinary probation notice!"
Yamauchi didn't dare to talk back. He tremblingly picked up the pen to sign, his hand shaking from pain and nervousness, the handwriting crooked and messy.
Sakagami Kazuma squinted at the side and didn't say anything more, though there was a bit more intrigue in his smile.
Mashima Tomonari frowned, clearly also thinking Yamauchi's situation was suspicious, but since Chabashira had already handled it, he couldn't easily intervene.
Once Yamauchi limped out of the office, Sakagami Kazuma spoke slowly: "Chabashira-sensei, aren't you being a bit too strict with your student? He's so heavily injured..."
"Strict?" Chabashira sneered. "If Sakagami-sensei feels bad for him, why not transfer him to your class? My Class C has no room for the likes of someone who skips class without reason and tries to falsely accuse a fellow student."
Sakagami Kazuma hit a soft wall and sheepishly shut his mouth.
Chabashira Sae sat in her chair, her eyes darkening.
Ryuen Kakeru played this hand quite well—he taught the ineffective Yamauchi a lesson, then used his injury to help him avoid expulsion so he could continue staying in Class C as a spy, while even managing to stir up internal conflict within Class C. Sakagami Kazuma's attitude was also suspicious; perhaps Class D had already reached some sort of understanding with him.
She really wanted Yamauchi Haruki to get lost now.
The reason? Simple—he was an eyesore.
Since he had already been given a disciplinary probation, it meant that as long as he made one more random mistake, he could be rightfully expelled according to the rules.
Of course, she certainly wouldn't do this kind of dirty work herself. She would just leave it to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
Why not find Shimizu Akira?
Firstly, it was inappropriate.
Secondly, she didn't want Shimizu to be tainted by this kind of thing or be caught in a scandal; Shimizu wasn't the type of person to do this kind of underhanded business anyway.
Thirdly, in her heart, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka wasn't as reliable as Shimizu Akira, so it was most fitting to hand this thankless, troublesome task to the former.
Just then, a message notification popped up on her phone from a stranger's account named MeowMeowCat.
MeowMeowCat: Chabashira-sensei, I know about the fact that you are coercing Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
'What?!'
Chabashira's heart jolted, her eyes widening. This was a secret between her and Ayanokouji; logically, no third person should know.
At most, Shimizu Akira might have a vague guess, but given Shimizu's personality, he would never use this method to provoke her.
So, who exactly was this person?
She instinctively wanted to check the other person's location, but found the location function had long since been disabled by the other party; there was no way to track them. Before she could clear her thoughts, the second message arrived.
MeowMeowCat: For this Class C special exam, make Ayanokouji Kiyotaka get serious.
Chabashira Sae's brow furrowed.
She had already planned to make Ayanokouji contribute to the exam while handling the trouble that was Yamauchi Haruki; why was this person inexplicably making this request again? It was purely redundant!
Then again, as a teacher, she could technically go to the Student Council to report being threatened by a student and request a formal investigation into the identity, but on one hand, she was indeed guilty regarding the Ayanokouji matter, and on the other hand, the other party hadn't truly made a threat—they only used a conversational tone. After thinking about it, she immediately gave up on that plan.
Chabashira thought for a bit and didn't dwell on "MeowMeowCat," instead sending a few messages directly to Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
She also told him that Yamauchi had been put on disciplinary probation, hoping he would take action quickly and find a way to get Yamauchi to leave this school for good.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka replied quickly with two words: Got it.
Based on her understanding of Ayanokouji, those simple words meant he had agreed. For this special exam, she would let Shimizu Akira peacefully enjoy his dates with the beautiful girls in the class; as for the dirty work and intrigue, having Ayanokouji Kiyotaka handle it would be enough.
.
.
.
On the morning of the mock exam day, Chabashira Sae walked into the Class C classroom with a notice: "Your application has been approved; this time Class C will set the questions for Class D. Also, just to let you know, the challenge relationship between the four classes is a bit different from previous special exams; it follows a circular pattern: C→D→B→A→C."
"Class A is setting the questions for us!"
"Now we're in trouble!"
"It's really a wolf in front and a tiger behind!" The crowd immediately began whispering.
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The bell rang.
Shimizu Akira opened his mock exam paper and looked.
Huh?! The difficulty is this low?!
It was exactly as he predicted; the school likely calculated that classes would choose to manipulate their scores. By intentionally putting out easy questions, it was easy for students with poor grades to accidentally answer too many. This was when the class's coordination and tacit understanding would be tested.
As for Shimizu himself, he followed the list sent to the class group chat exactly; he only needed to answer 29 questions correctly across the eight papers.
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Because it was a mock exam, it ended in just one day. By the afternoon of the following day, Chabashira Sae quickly brought the mock exam results and the partner assignments for the final exam.
Everything was as everyone expected. Yukimura Teruhiko was paired with Sudo Ken, and Kushida Kikyo was grouped with Inogashira Kokoro.
Horikita Suzune's partner was Sato Maya. And next to the name of the 30th-ranked student, the name was indeed Karuizawa Kei.
"Great!" The boxing club manager immediately shouted happily, with a hint of pride, frequently glancing over at him.
Shimizu Akira felt a bit of a headache.
'What is the manager so proud of?'
According to the rules, she only needed to get ten questions right to pass; there was no difficulty at all. Looking at her expression, one would think she had taken first place.
He specifically glanced at Koenji Rokusuke's results and found that he scored exactly 90 points in every subject, ranking 9th overall. He had indeed suppressed his score on purpose. Koenji's partner was Ike Kanji.
"Ike-boy! You are my Partner?" Koenji Rokusuke folded his arms, his face wearing his usual arrogant smile.
"Well then, for this month, serve me well!"
"Huh? I know the first one means boy, but what's the second word?"
Ike Kanji scratched his head, looking bewildered.
"Why do you always speak English? I really don't understand! But, for November, I'll try to listen to you!"
His tone shifted as he nodded bluntly.
"Just say what you want to eat or drink, my treat! After all, you could say you saved me this time; this little thing is nothing."
Others in the classroom who had just confirmed their partners also gathered to chat.
In this special exam, those with good grades had to carry those with poor grades; the latter would inevitably drag the former down.
Owing such a favor, treating them to meals or covering their breakfast for a month was a perfectly normal form of reciprocation.
By the way, after school ended yesterday, a new notice was posted on the school's bulletin board—Yamauchi Haruki of Class 1-C was given a disciplinary probation by the school for excessive unexcused absences.
And for this mock exam, he once again failed to show up.
For a midterm or final exam, if the rules were met, the average would be calculated based on previous exam results. But a mock exam wasn't that complicated—an absence just meant a zero.
Precisely because of this zero on the mock exam, Hirata Yousuke, who took first place, was naturally paired with him.
"Now you can start considering setting the questions for Class D, and also think carefully about what questions Class A will prepare for us. For the next month, immerse yourselves fully in preparing for the finals."
Chabashira Sae left those words and turned to leave the classroom.
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work preparing for the mock exam!" Hirata Yousuke stood up and said gently, "Next Monday I will confirm the specific meeting time and synchronize the follow-up arrangements with everyone."
Since the mock exam had just ended and today was the Friday at the end of October, some things couldn't be rushed; it was better to let everyone relax first.
The students also began packing their bags, preparing to leave one after another. Just then, a small voice suddenly asked from beside him: "Shimizu-kun... are you free this weekend?"
The person speaking wasn't his desk mate on the right, but Sakura Airi on his left. She lowered her head, her cheeks flushed with a faint blush, her voice very soft.
"It's... it's about what happened before... Haruka and I wanted to ask you to accompany us to the pool again. This time isn't to teach us to swim, but... we want to ask you to help us take some swimsuit photos. Some of them will be used as headshots for my idol activities."
'Taking photos, huh.'
Shimizu Akira suddenly remembered that he had indeed promised them last month that he would be their photographer once. Images of the two of them in swimsuits from last time instinctively flashed through his mind.
Those figures were truly "illegal"; even across all three grade levels, they were highly competitive.
He checked his schedule; Horikita Manabu had scheduled him for chess on Saturday afternoon, and he was free on Saturday morning, so he nodded and replied, "Is Saturday morning okay?"
Sakura Airi suddenly looked up, happily saying, "R-really? That's great! Thank you, Shimizu!" She quickly took out her phone and sent a message to Hasabe Haruka.
Two seconds later, the phone vibrated.
After reading it, she looked at Shimizu and said, "Haruka also says it's no problem! We'll wait for you at the pool entrance at 9:00 AM on Saturday, is that okay?"
"That's fine," Shimizu Akira agreed readily.
Hearing this, Sakura Airi hesitated for a moment, then suddenly pulled a digital camera from her bag and handed it to him, her voice as faint as a mosquito's hum: "Shimizu-kun, this is my camera, you take it first. Inside... inside are some photos I took before. Because I was too shy, I didn't post them online. You can look at them first to get a reference for the photography style I want..."
Shimizu nodded and reached out to take it.
He thought for a moment and simply opened the camera to browse a few photos to get familiar with the operations. But as soon as he saw the first photo, he froze.
In the photo, Sakura Airi was wearing pink lingerie, intentionally pulling down one shoulder strap to reveal her fair cleavage, her posture carrying a hint of innocent flirtatiousness.
He instinctively looked up at the person beside him, only to see Sakura Airi's earlobes turn so red they looked like they might bleed, her head buried even lower.
'The first photo is already testing him like this?'
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