For several days in a row, the luxurious suite on the top floor of the star-rated hotel became a secluded paradise, where the two, having tasted pleasure, indulged their young bodies without restraint.
Night after night, the suite rang with their revelry. They enjoyed themselves immensely, and this continued until Thursday night.
At that moment, only a dim, warm-yellow bedside lamp was lit in the room.
Hiyori lay on Ken Kaneki's chest, looking somewhat tired. She shifted her sore, weak waist, then glanced at his still-vigorous member, feeling unable to keep up.
"Ken, are there any girls in the other classes you're close to?" Hiyori tilted her head up and looked at her man, asking curiously.
"Why ask that all of a sudden?" Ken Kaneki lowered his head and met Hiyori's incredibly dewy eyes. These past few days of intimacy had made her look even more captivating.
Hiyori's cheeks grew a little hot, and traces of shame welled up inside her. If her body had not been so frail and unable to endure it, how could she have failed to satisfy even her own man?
"My body really hasn't been able to take it these past few days. Why don't you find some more sisters to come help? I won't mind."
"What nonsense are you talking about? You're all I need." Ken Kaneki nibbled her earlobe and spoke softly.
Although he also felt somewhat unsatisfied, at a time like this, he had to make sure he soothed his little girlfriend.
He breathed warmly against Hiyori's pink earlobe and spoke in a low voice, telling her all the things he loved about her. Hiyori was moved to tears, and her eyes grew slightly red.
But she still shook her head and reached up to stroke Ken Kaneki's cheek.
"Ken, I don't mind. I've seen what your needs are like these past few days. I can't truly satisfy you on my own.
"I think, as long as there's always a place for me in your heart, I'm willing to accept you having other girls."
Shiina Hiyori spoke with a serious expression. Ken Kaneki could tell there was nothing false in her eyes; they were filled with genuine sincerity.
Ken Kaneki looked at Hiyori and understood her good intentions. A warm feeling could not help flowing through him.
This girl was far too understanding, and far too heart-wrenching.
Ken Kaneki pecked Hiyori on the cheek, then stroked her little head.
"Let's sleep for now. We can talk about the future later."
Ken Kaneki gathered her fully into his arms. Hiyori found a comfortable position and settled down, clinging to him like a kitten. Before long, her breathing became steady.
Friday of the first week of May was sunny.
Outside, the breeze was gentle and the sun shone brightly, but inside Class 1-D's classroom, the atmosphere was oppressive, as though the windows separated two different worlds.
Four days had passed since their points had been reduced to zero. The students had tried everything they could think of, but still had not found any way to earn points.
Despair spread through the air, making even the normally carefree students nervous.
Ken Sudō sat in his seat. A few days earlier, he had nearly hit someone over the points issue, and now no one dared approach him. His classmates deliberately distanced themselves from this dangerous person who might erupt at any moment. Only Ike and the others still associated with him.
Yosuke Hirata stood beside the podium, trying to organize several discussions. After the first failure, some of those who wanted to change their situation had also realized how pointless these activities were, and ultimately declined with various excuses.
After the harsh lesson of having their points reduced to zero, Class D's students had finally learned to follow the rules over the past few days and settled down.
Few people whispered during class, and few slept with their heads on their desks. Almost everyone sat properly in their seats, doing what students were supposed to do-at least on the surface.
The second period that morning was Social Studies. Sae Chabashira walked into the classroom with her high heels clicking.
Today, Chabashira-sensei wore a black business suit, her long hair pinned up and light makeup on her pretty face. She was stunningly beautiful.
She stood at the podium and swept her gaze around the room out of habit. When she spotted Ken Kaneki, she visibly paused, her eyes rather reproachful.
Ken Kaneki sat with his chin propped on one hand and happened to meet Sae Chabashira's gaze.
He rubbed his nose, feeling somewhat awkward.
He had stayed by Hiyori's side these past few days, so immersed in her tender company that he had lost all desire to leave, completely forgetting Sae Chabashira.
He had not gone to collect on their bet about the points being reduced to zero, or the promise Chabashira had made after losing.
Now, looking at his homeroom teacher's complicated gaze as she stood at the podium, Ken Kaneki felt like a scumbag who turned heartless the moment he pulled his you-know-what out, while Sae Chabashira was the resentful woman he had seduced and abandoned.
He felt he could not put it off any longer.
After class, Ken Kaneki took out his phone, typed a line, and sent it.
At the podium, Sae Chabashira had yet to leave when she noticed a message pop up. She opened it and read: Tonight at six, hotel room 1801. Sender: Ken Kaneki.
Chabashira-sensei stared at those words for a long time. Her fingers tightened slightly around her teaching materials, then relaxed.
Without betraying anything, she turned off her phone's screen and put it in her pocket, then returned to the office with her teaching materials.
Sae Chabashira pulled out her chair and sat down, picked up her phone, and opened the message again. For some reason, she let out a long breath.
These past few days, she had waited for Ken Kaneki's message every evening, but none had come.
Her initial nervousness and resistance had given way to confusion and anxious uncertainty.
She had even wondered whether Ken Kaneki was deliberately toying with her, or simply found her unappealing and no longer wanted to lead Class D up to Class A.
Now that she had seen this message, her anxious heart finally settled instead.
There was a homeroom period one afternoon each week, allowing teachers to make announcements.
During homeroom, Sae Chabashira slapped a document onto the lectern and surveyed the listless students below.
"Look at you, half dead already. What, have you given up?" Sae Chabashira asked coldly, her tone full of exasperation at their failure to do better.
Kanji Ike lay slumped over his desk and called out weakly, "Chabashira-sensei, we really do know we were wrong. Can't you forgive us?"
Haruki Yamauchi chimed in, "Yeah, can't the school give us a chance to turn over a new leaf?"
Sae Chabashira ignored them both, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote "Midterm exams" in large letters on the blackboard.
"The school's rules are absolute, but that doesn't mean there's no room to maneuver." She turned around, looked at the class, and continued slowly, "There are less than two weeks until the midterm exams. If you perform exceptionally well, you'll be assessed for a corresponding increase in class points based on your results."
At that, the classroom first fell silent, then erupted in loud cheers.
"Really? We can finally earn points!"
"Great! We're finally saved!"
Kanji Ike and Haruki Yamauchi jumped straight out of their seats. Yosuke Hirata also breathed a sigh of relief, a relieved smile appearing on his face.
The girls in the front row tightened their grips on their pens, a glimmer of fighting spirit in their eyes, silently vowing to do well on the exams.
Sae Chabashira tapped the blackboard, quelling the noise in the classroom.
"Quiet. Don't celebrate too soon. Earning points depends on getting good results. Don't forget the red line I drew before.
"If even one person fails, they'll be expelled immediately. At that point, forget earning points-the entire class will be dragged down with them."
Chabashira-sensei's words were blunt, making some students who considered their grades below the passing mark lower their heads.
Ken Kaneki glanced at Chabashira-sensei, then checked the time. His thoughts were elsewhere.
There were still three hours until six that evening. He wondered what the teacher at the podium would wear when she came to their appointment.
Before you continue