The female teacher crossed her legs, pressed a hand to her shoulder, and forcibly turned her gaze away.
"You're a good teacher. I'll definitely study hard from now on."
Luo Zhen nodded, then suddenly leaned in close.
Shizuka Hiratsuka wanted to look away, but he insisted on meeting her eyes.
He caught the panic in the older single teacher's eyes.
"Then I'm going to find Hitori. I need to keep an eye on her. She can't write nonsense in this essay."
With a casual wave, Luo Zhen left behind only his retreating figure.
Shizuka Hiratsuka was a woman as unyielding as steel. She had long since stopped having any thoughts about men.
Her personality was already rather strong, and she had seen far too many Little Immortal Men. She had been completely disappointed in those people.
But Luo Zhen...
Shizuka Hiratsuka frowned, her fingers holding the cigarette tightening slightly.
The accumulated ash fell to the ground, and a trace of confusion appeared in her eyes.
She stubbed out the cigarette, feeling uncomfortable all over. She only wanted to get home sooner, take a cold shower, and go straight to sleep.
"Calm down. I have to calm down."
"Tch, this is so irritating. Maybe I should go work out."
She would hit the weights hard and completely empty out the restless feeling in her heart.
Meanwhile, Luo Zhen returned to the classroom, where Hitori was bent over her essay.
"Waaah, I'll finish it soon. I really was wrong this time. Little Zhen, don't hate me."
Hitori spoke tearfully. Her mind had truly short-circuited for a moment, which was why she had done something so bizarre.
"Don't worry. The teacher said it was only a small problem."
Luo Zhen rubbed Hitori's head.
"I'll never hate you."
But He Didn't Care
After accompanying Hitori until she finished her essay, the two naturally headed to the Starry Performance Hall. The band needed to practice together.
Hitori had already made up her mind to work hard for a bright future.
However, the way Luo Zhen looked at her seemed somewhat strange.
"Hitori, the names of those two characters in your little essay were really strange. Why would you imagine something like that?"
Those were clearly his and Yamada Ryo's names.
Nothing had happened between him and Yamada Ryo. What happened in the dream was only a bit of amusement.
So this was entirely Hitori's personal fantasy. She had imagined the boy she liked and the band's senior... doing that sort of thing?
Luo Zhen's gaze became even stranger.
Yet after hearing that, Hitori's expression became unusually steady.
"My mind was muddled for a moment, so I just wrote some nonsense."
Hitori explained herself. Seeing how calm her reaction was, perhaps it really was only a small matter.
But based on Luo Zhen's understanding of her, this definitely was not simple.
With Hitori's personality, if something like this happened and she was questioned about it—
She would definitely panic, then melt into a puddle, becoming a lump of cyberpsychotic sludge and unable to say a word.
But now, she had calmly explained the matter with a casual excuse and even managed to brush it off.
Luo Zhen did not say anything else and merely rubbed her head.
"Hitori, after you finish practicing with the seniors later, go home by yourself."
"I'm going to meet Miss Yuanzi and finalize my new book. I might even get home before you."
Luo Zhen said with a smile. Hitori nodded. This was just normal procedure.
Inside the performance hall, Luo Zhen saw Yamada Ryo.
He had no issues at all and faced everything calmly, but Yamada Ryo looked distinctly uncomfortable.
Senior Liang's gaze kept darting away. She had clearly remembered the sweet dream she had last night.
Luo Zhen casually greeted her, then left.
He hurried to the arranged café and met Miss Yuanzi. Kasumigaoka Shi Yu was also beside her.
"She's also here to submit a new book proposal. I looked it over, and there aren't any major issues. She should keep writing and see how it turns out."
"Now it's your turn. I'm really looking forward to it."
Miss Yuanzi smiled at Luo Zhen.
"And please, do reconsider the beautiful-boy author plan."
Yuanzi clasped her hands together, practically pleading with Luo Zhen.
"No."
Luo Zhen refused, then placed the new book he had written before her.
Yuanzi revealed a troubled expression. She had expected this outcome already, but it was truly a pity.
Then she picked up the manuscript and began reading. Although he had only written a small portion, its overall quality was already clear.
The outline had also been laid out. How the story would develop later was completely displayed.
Yuanzi swallowed a few times. After quickly finishing it, she read it again from the beginning.
That action made Shi Yu, sitting beside them, narrow her eyes.
"This is very well written. Your writing has improved tremendously. If I didn't know you well enough, I'd think you hired a ghostwriter."
"You didn't actually hire one, did you?"
Yuanzi said half-jokingly. She was certain Luo Zhen's new work would sell extremely well.
"How could I? It's all thanks to Senpai Shiyu's guidance. She's given me a lot of help."
Luo Zhen pointed at the black-stockinged beauty beside him, who was drinking coffee and pretending to remain calm.
"I merely gave him a few suggestions."
She said it lightly, but inside, she was utterly shocked.
Just as she said, she had really only explained a tiny bit and sent him the materials she had compiled.
Afterward, Luo Zhen had not even asked her a single question. In other words, he had basically studied those materials deeply on his own.
In truth, this was also thanks to the Golden Finger. He had indeed studied the materials and even thoroughly mastered them.
But more importantly, it was thanks to the writing skill he had gained from Shi Yu.
"Then I need to go back and work overtime now. Write the rest as soon as possible."
"I need to tell the editor-in-chief immediately. A lot of preparations need to be arranged right away."
After finishing her coffee and paying the bill, Miss Yuanzi stood up to leave.
Only the two young people remained. They exchanged a glance, and Shi Yu raised her hand to have the waiter bring over a drink.
"No need, Senior. I should be heading home soon, so I'll pass on the drink."
Drinking coffee in the middle of the afternoon—would he still be able to sleep that night?
"Little Zhen, do you dislike me?"
"I'm very sorry about many of the things that happened before, but they were all accidents and coincidences."
Shi Yu spoke as she raised a hand and forced Luo Zhen to sit down. Then, as naturally as could be, she sat beside him.
The distance between them was very close. Only then did Luo Zhen realize that Shi Yu was extremely aggressive.
Hitori was very passive and needed to be guided little by little.
But Shi Yu would take the initiative to attack. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to obtain it.
The distance between them narrowed further. Her black-stockinged calf even moved closer and lightly brushed against him a few times.
She smelled incredibly pleasant, and the feel of her body brought tofu to mind—soft, yet slightly springy.
"I don't dislike you. As for what happened before, I never took it to heart."
"I'm even very grateful for your help."
Luo Zhen spoke naturally. That slight contact had already caused the Golden Finger to take effect.
Unfortunately, the skill did not level up.
Luo Zhen blinked, quickly realizing what was going on.
Simply put, a certain amount of experience was needed before a skill could level up.
So-called "writing" was actually a skill that encompassed many different aspects.
Like music, it might include knowledge-based aspects, technical aspects, and so on.
The techniques for different instruments could indeed level up quickly when considered separately, but if they were truly combined under the vast concept of "music," leveling up would become difficult.
Moreover, Luo Zhen realized that Shi Yu's writing skill was probably only around Level Two as well.
She herself had not reached a higher level, so naturally, Luo Zhen could not copy more advanced techniques.
Level Two already counted as being quite skilled, especially for a broad skill like "writing."
If it were divided more precisely, Shi Yu was probably at the peak of Level Two Writing, something like that?
Shi Yu Tells the Truth
Contact with girls could raise his skill level, but once the skill level was high enough, leveling up became difficult. He would need to accumulate experience bit by bit.
Or perhaps he could have extremely deep and intense contact all at once, gaining a large amount of experience.
At the same time, if the girl's skill level was high enough, he would gain more experience as well.
But then again...
Writing was a broad skill. If divided carefully, it included poetry, prose, and so on.
In other words, it was what one might call a "major skill," and it was relatively difficult to level up.
The question was, since leveling up was so difficult, why had he suddenly reached Level Two?
At that time, Luo Zhen had been in Focus Mode, and Shi Yu must have done something.
"It's good that you don't blame me, but there's something I need your help with."
"Could you be my boyfriend?"
Shi Yu asked. Her full legs were pressed tightly together, and she kept shifting as she spoke. It was obvious that she was actually very nervous deep down.
"Of course not. I have a girlfriend, and we'll get married later."
Luo Zhen shook his head. Naturally, he had to firmly refuse something like this.
"No, what I mean is... there's actually a reason for this. The novels I write are love stories between young girls and boys."
"But I've never dated anyone. I'm not really asking you to be my boyfriend."
"I just want us to pretend, so I can gain the corresponding experience and spark some inspiration."
Shi Yu hurriedly explained, revealing an awkward smile.
"So that's how it is. I understand. In simple terms, you want me to be your fake boyfriend, right?"
Before you continue