An Unreliable Teacher

"So, this is the teachers' office... right?"

"That's right! Though, I must say, I didn't expect you to come so early, An Xiao. You must have come straight here after class ended."

An Xiao's mouth twitched slightly, but he nodded anyway, walking a few steps over to Chie Hoshinomiya's side, though his gaze kept darting toward her desk.

Cola, cookies, potato chips... a tablet still playing some variety show, and lesson plans tossed aside.

No, is this really the kind of desk a normal teacher should have?

"Hmm? An Xiao, do you want some?"

Noticing An Xiao's gaze, Chie Hoshinomiya picked up a potato chip and waved it in front of him.

"Um, can we get to the point? Also, won't you get your pay docked for acting like this?"

Perhaps because Chie Hoshinomiya acted so unprofessional in front of him, An Xiao felt none of the restraint he usually had with other teachers, even finding the mood to retort.

"Not at all, since school is already over, after all."

Chie Hoshinomiya shrugged, saying it as if it didn't matter.

But before An Xiao could continue his retort, a voice, completely opposite to Chie Hoshinomiya's and extremely cold, came from the other side of the office.

"You've been like this since way back when. At least try to maintain some teacherly decorum in front of the students."

An Xiao followed the voice and saw a female teacher sitting diagonally across from Chie Hoshinomiya, flipping through some documents.

The teacher had long black hair tied into a single ponytail, her age appearing to be in that subtle range of nearing thirty but not quite there yet. She wore a professional office suit, and her legs, wrapped in black stockings, twitched every now and then, looking exceptionally eye-catching.

However, as she continued flipping through the pages, her furrowed brows grew tighter, and the sound of the paper turning became much louder, clearly indicating she was in a bad mood.

Are all the teachers at this school this attractive?

Setting aside the one in front of him, even his own homeroom teacher beside him was a top-tier beauty, personality aside.

Could it be that this school hires people based on their looks?

Just as An Xiao was lost in thought, Chie Hoshinomiya's dissatisfied voice rang out beside him.

"Hey, hey, I'm your teacher, you know. Why do you keep looking at Sae-chan? And I was just about to give you a chip, too."

Before An Xiao could turn back, Chie Hoshinomiya, sitting in her chair, stood up and hooked her arm around An Xiao's neck, pulling him into her embrace. Immediately, An Xiao's face was buried into two water-balloon-like things; the sudden rush of fragrance and softness made his entire body stiffen, and his brain went into a complete system crash.

"I get it, okay..."

Chie Hoshinomiya wanted to say more, but feeling An Xiao frozen in her arms, the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up, as if she had discovered an interesting toy.

Pulling An Xiao even closer with her arm, Chie Hoshinomiya could clearly see the boy in front of her pursing his lips tightly. There wasn't much expression on his face, but a flush could be clearly seen creeping up his neck, appearing exceptionally vivid against his already fair skin.

This child... is so interesting!

Chie Hoshinomiya thought to herself, and the slight dissatisfaction that had just risen in her heart was instantly replaced by a sense of pleasure.

Looking at An Xiao, who hadn't yet recovered his senses, Chie Hoshinomiya's left hand suddenly felt itchy, and she couldn't help but pinch his face hard a few times.

Feeling the pain and burning sensation on his cheeks, An Xiao's brain finally recovered from its previous crash. He pushed off with his hands, hurriedly breaking free from Chie Hoshinomiya's embrace, while simultaneously pinching his own thigh hard.

"At least pay attention to the distance between teacher and student."

The cold voice came from behind An Xiao again, though this time it was clearly mixed with a bit more irritation.

The teacher named Sae Chabashira put down the thick stack of documents in her hand, which hit the desk with a dull thud. After letting out a "tsk," she left the office without looking back.

The only ones left in the office were An Xiao, who had just regained his composure, and Chie Hoshinomiya, whose face still held a lingering smile.

"So, teacher, what exactly did you want to see me for!"

An Xiao rubbed his still-stiff cheeks with both hands, his gaze lowered to the floor as he asked Chie Hoshinomiya, though in his heart, he just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"An Xiao, you looked quite interesting just now. Have you never been this close to a woman before?"

"Is your teacher's figure not great?"

But Chie Hoshinomiya seemed to see through his intentions; instead of answering his question, she teased him while looking at him.

"Teacher, can I report you for sexual harassment?"

"No way~ If you do that, I'll lose my job." Chie Hoshinomiya made a big 'X' with her hands in front of her chest.

"You really don't have much of a teacher's air about you..." An Xiao muttered under his breath. Then, he saw a hand reach out toward him, and seeing he didn't move for a long time, the fingers beckoned upward.

???

What is this for?

Seeing the confused look on An Xiao's face, Chie Hoshinomiya, sitting in her chair, put away her playful demeanor and explained to him with patience.

"Hand over your phone first. The conversation we're about to have cannot be known by others. It wouldn't be good if you recorded it."

"After all, you do have a precedent for that."

????

Is she talking about the time I secretly recorded the upperclassmen?

How did she know? Did she hear it in the classroom before? Or is it that...

Although he didn't know what Chie Hoshinomiya was up to, looking at the teacher who seemed determined not to give up until he handed over his phone...

An Xiao had no choice but to hand over his phone first.

After confirming that An Xiao's phone did not have the recording function enabled, Chie Hoshinomiya placed his phone to the side, stood up, and walked over to the desk of the female teacher named Sae Chabashira. She rummaged around for a bit, and only after confirming that she hadn't found anything did she sit back down, looking satisfied.

"Student An Xiao, you were already aware of most of our school's rules beforehand, weren't you?"

"Then, are you interested in knowing more?"

"More about the rules within this school."

In the empty office, Chie Hoshinomiya looked at An Xiao before her and said this.