Compendium of Anime: My Five Senses Connect with the Heavenly Daughters of Ten Thousand Worlds

It seemed the other person hadn't slept well, but a subtle sense of strangeness made him unconsciously associate it with Utaha Kasumigaoka at the school gate that morning.

"Teacher, didn't you rest well?"

"I've made a fool of myself," Shizuka Hiratsuka quickly composed herself, awkwardly averting her gaze. "It's not just the students who feel inexplicably tired after starting school; teachers do too."

—I really shouldn't have stayed up late last night reading the manuscript Utaha sent.

Shizuka Hiratsuka grumbled inwardly, then gave a wry smile. Because I'm still unmarried, I've started seeking solace in romance novels. My life is quite a failure.

Jiang Lianqiu's peripheral vision caught sight of a corner of a stapled printed manuscript peeking out from beneath a thick stack of lesson plans on the desk next to Shizuka Hiratsuka.

Among the scattered words, the familiar name "Sayuka" caught his attention.

"Love... Beat?"

"Eh?" Shizuka Hiratsuka's eyes widened abruptly. She frantically glanced at her desk, her lips twitching. She sighed inwardly, It's over. I've been discovered. How could I have brought this manuscript to school?

"It's Senior Kasumigaoka's work, isn't it?"

"You know... that's right. I heard about what happened this morning too." Shizuka Hiratsuka patted her forehead, recalling the small commotion at the school gate during the morning's entrance ceremony.

"Since you know, I won't hide it. Kasumigaoka is also my student. Although I'm the homeroom teacher for the first years, I also teach Japanese literature for some classes in the second year. That child gives me her novel manuscripts in advance, so please don't tell anyone about this."

Therefore, it was only natural for him to be interested in the debut work of a budding literary girl in his class.

"I'm quite interested too. Teacher Hiratsuka, could you let me take a look?"

Unexpectedly, Jiang Lianqiu made such a request, and Shizuka Hiratsuka instinctively felt like refusing.

After all, this was Utaha Kasumigaoka's work, and it was an unpublished manuscript. It wouldn't be appropriate to let someone else read it without Utaha Kasumigaoka's consent.

"It's rare for junior to be interested in someone's girlish heart. I don't mind!"

From behind the suddenly pushed-open office door, Utaha Kasumigaoka replied with a smiling face.

Shizuka Hiratsuka pretended to be annoyed and banged her desk. "Kasumigaoka, how many times have I told you to knock before coming in!"