Chapter 105: Chabashira Sae: Come in, and close the door
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"That's right. I just wanted to fight in the student council alongside Rin Matsuoka. I forgot that the vice president holds a grudge against him."
"Getting Rin to join the student council with me would undoubtedly give the vice president a perfect opportunity to take revenge on him."
If both Ichinose and Rin successfully joined the student council, they would be newcomers who could be ordered around at will. As the vice president, Nagumo held the authority to assign tasks and duties to these newcomers.
What if the vice president assigned Rin the task of cleaning the entire student council office?
Ichinose felt her stomach churn at the thought of the boy she liked being manipulated by the philandering and mean-spirited vice president.
[Forget it, Rin. You really shouldn't join the student council.]
[Uh-huh.]
Suddenly, Ichinose recalled Rin's earlier conversation with Akane and quickly sent him another Line message.
[Wait a minute, Rin. Didn't you tell Tachibana-senpai that you know the student council president?]
[Doesn't that mean the president will protect you and won't let the vice president bully you?]
[Well, I do know the student council president, but we haven't seen each other in two years. I don't know if our relationship is still the same as it was.]
[Besides, Horikita-san will graduate next year, and the vice president will likely take over as the president.]
[When that happens, Horikita-nii will no longer be in the council, and Nagumo will have free reign to bully me however he likes.]
[That's true. I only thought about your connection to the president, Rin, and didn't consider what might happen next year. I'm sorry.]
[Hey, Ichinose, you don't need to apologize. I know you're suggesting the student council for my sake.]
Looking at Rin's reply, Ichinose Honami felt her cheeks grow warm with embarrassment.
Encouraging Rin to join the council wasn't only about gaining experience. Deep down, Ichinose also wanted to spend more time with him.
[Rin, I've returned to my dorm. I'll stop here for now; I'm heading to take a shower.]
[Okay.]
Rin Matsuoka ended his Line conversation with Ichinose Honami, returned to his dorm room, set down his backpack, tossed his phone onto the bed, grabbed his casual clothes, and headed into the bathroom.
Night fell, and the clock struck 7 PM.
Rin Matsuoka arrived at Chabashira Sae's dorm room precisely on time. This time, he didn't run into the teacher Hoshinomiya Chie.
After hearing the soft chime of the doorbell, Rin heard footsteps approaching from inside. Moments later, the door opened, revealing Chabashira Sae.
Tonight, Chabashira wore a short-sleeved sports top, leaving her flawless, toned arms exposed. Her full, round figure created a striking and alluring curve beneath the fabric.
The slim but slightly loose sweatpants hugged her long, straight legs and accentuated her peach-like hips.
Rin's gaze lingered momentarily on Chabashira's attire, noting that her sports top lacked pockets and that her sweatpants pockets were slightly bulging.
This indicated that Chabashira hadn't brought her phone with her.
For Rin Matsuoka, this was a favorable situation.
It meant he had an excellent chance of getting his hands on Chabashira Sae's phone.
Chabashira Sae quickly noticed Rin Matsuoka's lingering gaze on her and asked coldly, "Matsuoka, what are you staring at?"
"I'm admiring you, Chabashira-sensei. You look beautiful," Rin replied sincerely.
Chabashira Sae gave him a skeptical glance. Despite Rin's praise, she didn't feel the slightest embarrassment. She turned, walked back into her dorm room, and left the door open. "Come in, little one, and close the door behind you."
"Alright."
Rin stepped into Chabashira Sae's dorm room, closed the door, and slipped on the blue slippers by the entrance.
"By the way, Chabashira-sensei, will Hoshinomiya-sensei come over later to have a drink with you?"
"I'm not sure. She stops by whenever she feels like it. She's the health teacher, after all—she doesn't need to prepare lessons, so she can arrange her time however she wants."
At the mention of Hoshinomiya Chie, Chabashira's tone took on a slightly annoyed edge. She looked over at Rin, who had settled himself in the living room, and pointed to the desk.
"The test papers are over there. Get started."
"Alright," Rin replied, but his gaze subtly drifted to the cell phone that Chabashira Sae had left on the bed. After a brief glance, he directed himself to the desk, took a seat, and started looking through the papers.
"Chabashira-sensei, have you been sitting on this stool the whole time?"
"Yes. Is that a problem?" Chabashira raised her eyebrows, intrigued by his sudden question.
"No…no problem at all," Rin replied.
Chabashira Sae realized why Rin had asked. The stool, which she had been sitting on for nearly half an hour, was still warm.
The idea of her student sitting on the seat she had just warmed was oddly unsettling, and she felt a flush of awkwardness. With a light cough, she said, "Hey, Matsuoka, come here for a moment. There's no rush with the test. I'll get you a glass of water first."
Rin looked up at her, noticing her slight discomfort. With a playful grin, he responded, "Actually, Chabashira-sensei, I don't mind sitting on a warm seat."
"…"
Chabashira's expression darkened as she processed Rin's pointed comment.
"But I care! Get up now!"
"Hmm, I thought a mature teacher like Chabashira-sensei wouldn't worry about small things like this," Rin teased, standing up with a grin.
This cheeky boy was doing it on purpose. First, he'd deliberately mentioned the warmed seat. Then he'd referred to her as "mature," suggesting she shouldn't concern herself with such trivial matters.
Chabashira glared at Rin, who had dared to tease her so boldly, and walked off to pour him a glass of water.
Rin watched her walk away, smiling to himself. For some reason, he found himself particularly enjoying teasing this cold and beautiful teacher.
Perhaps… it was because he saw a shadow of Horikita Suzune in Chabashira Sae.
Both women were cold, quiet, and had somewhat peculiar personalities.
Chabashira returned with a glass of water and saw that Rin had placed two books on the stool before sitting back down. With a stern face, she set the glass on the desk, then took a seat on her bed, waiting for him to finish the test paper.
To pass the time while Rin worked, Chabashira picked up a book from her bedside table and began reading.
The faint sound of turning pages caught Rin's attention, and he turned slightly to see Chabashira engrossed in her book, her head lowered in concentration, rather than using her phone as he had expected.