Chapter 196: Start of School

The long summer vacation had ended, and students of all levels—elementary, middle, high school, and university—were returning to their schools.

After such a lengthy break, most people still hadn’t shaken off the lingering effects of summer. Many excitedly gathered to chat about their vacation experiences, while others simply lay on their desks, dozing off.

Scanning the lethargic atmosphere around him, Takeda sighed wearily and asked, “Masashi, has Amy left?”

Lei Yin, engrossed in his book, replied, “She left last week.”

“Did she cry when she left?”

Remembering the scene at the airport where Amy clung to him tightly, Lei Yin instinctively set his book aside, lost in thought.

Seeing his contemplative expression, Takeda decided not to press further.

After a while, as if making a solemn declaration, Takeda said, “I’ve decided. This semester, I’m definitely getting a girlfriend.”

Lei Yin chuckled. “What an ambitious goal.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing, I just admire your courage in aiming for the impossible.”

“Pfft, don’t act all superior just because you have a girlfriend. Just watch—I’ll get a girlfriend before Yoshikawa does.”

At that moment, the crisp sound of high heels echoed from outside the classroom. Shortly after, the door opened, and someone stepped in.

The first students to notice the newcomer immediately perked up, their eyes fixed on her.

The rhythmic clicking of high heels continued as the person walked deeper into the classroom. Instead of sitting at a nearby empty seat, she made her way to the podium at the front of the room.

“Who is she?”

“She’s stunning!”

“Is she a teacher? But why haven’t I seen her before?”

“Me neither. Maybe she’s new?”

“She doesn’t look like a teacher. Look at how she’s dressed.”

“She’s so sexy. Oh my god, I think I’m dying.”

Amid the murmurs, the woman reached the podium and spoke in a clear, melodious voice. “Hello, everyone. I’m your new instructor for Economic Structures. My name is Myojin Sasako. Please take care of me from now on.”

She was a striking woman with delicate features, a radiant smile, and an air of elegance. But what caught everyone’s attention most was her outfit: a light red, body-hugging mini skirt. The skirt was so short that even a slight bend would risk exposing too much. Beneath it, her flawless, shapely legs exuded a kind of allure that could make most men’s eyes widen and jaws drop.

Though Teikyo University didn’t have a strict dress code, it was rare for female students to dress this provocatively, let alone a teacher.

After hearing her introduction, the male students finally believed she was indeed their new instructor. Overwhelmed with excitement, they burst into applause.

“Thank you,” Sasako said with a gentle smile.

The female students, however, were much less enthusiastic. Some even muttered insults under their breath.

A male student suddenly stood up and asked, “Professor Sasako, do you have a boyfriend?”

His question was met with uproarious laughter.

Sasako smiled and replied, “I just started working, so I don’t have a boyfriend yet.”

The male students erupted in cheers.

The same student followed up, “What kind of men do you like?” The others fell silent, eagerly awaiting her response.

After a brief pause, Sasako said, “I like strong men because they make me feel secure.”

A female student couldn’t help but mutter, “What a flirt.”

The male students continued bombarding her with questions, asking about her age, blood type, zodiac sign, and even her phone number and measurements.

While Sasako answered some of the less intrusive questions, she skillfully deflected those about her phone number and measurements.

Eventually, a bespectacled female student could no longer hold back and stood up. “Professor, don’t you think your outfit is inappropriate?”

Sasako looked at her curiously. “Do you think there’s something wrong with my attire?”

“Of course. You’re a teacher. Is it really necessary to dress like this during class?”

After some thought, Sasako replied, “I just returned from abroad, and I’m used to dressing like this. But since you feel it’s inappropriate, I’ll make sure to adjust next time.”

The male students immediately protested. “No, Professor! You look perfect like this. We don’t think there’s any problem at all. Don’t listen to her!”

“Yeah, Professor, just ignore them!”

A male student shouted at the girl, “You damn busybody, shut up! You’re just jealous that Professor Sasako is prettier than you!”

Other male students quickly joined in, voicing their agreement loudly.

The girl, furious and with eyes red, looked as though she might cry. A few other girls, seeing this, stood up and began yelling back at the boys, unwilling to lose face.

The classroom erupted into a chaotic noise, so loud that even those outside could hear the commotion.

Myojin Sasako, seeing what was happening, quickly stepped in to mediate, “Please don’t fight. It’s true that I may have been in the wrong this time. Can everyone calm down?”

A male student shouted, “Professor, no matter what, we’ll support you!”

As soon as he finished, a few other boys also expressed their support.

“Thank you, but please don’t argue anymore,” Sasako said, looking vulnerable.

The boys, seeing her fragile and pleading demeanor, felt a surge of protectiveness and wanted to hold and comfort her.

Lei Yin, sitting at the back of the room, watched the spectacle unfold on the first day of class and couldn’t help but laugh.

So it’s true what they say—trouble follows beauty. This woman managed to stir up such a storm within ten minutes of arriving. Who knows what will happen in the future? Turning to Takeda, he noticed that Takeda, like the other male students, was staring at Sasako’s captivating figure with flushed cheeks, unable to tear his eyes away.

Finding the noise unbearable, Lei Yin stood up, took a book, and walked past the oblivious Takeda toward the door.

As he walked, Sasako noticed someone moving and looked up to see a male student opening the door and heading out. He was walking so fast that she only caught a glimpse of his profile.

※※※

A week later, the students had gradually settled down, getting back into their usual routines of attending classes or passing the time.

The economics department, which had always felt dull, gained unprecedented popularity. However, this only applied to the course on Economic Structures. Other economics classes remained as unpopular as ever, attracting little attention.

Many students from different majors and even upperclassmen closely watched the schedule for this class, eager to claim a spot as soon as possible.

Their motives were the same—not to study seriously but to see the so-called sexy goddess they had heard about.

After the commotion on the first day, Sasako didn’t dress as provocatively again, but she still had a preference for skirts. Whether wearing a suit or a knee-length skirt, her alluring figure still made many male students’ adrenaline spike.

Within a week, her classes were packed to capacity. Her popularity soared, and soon, almost everyone knew about the sexy female professor in the economics department.

It was just too noisy. Lei Yin rarely attended Sasako’s class. One afternoon, as he walked out of the library, someone approached him.

“Can I talk to you?”

Lei Yin looked at her face, which could look playful or serious, and frowned slightly before nodding.

Seimura Haruko didn’t speak and simply led the way.

Lei Yin felt there was little to say to her, so he remained silent, following her.

As they walked, the attention of students was drawn to the beauty of the new campus queen, and many also noticed the young man following behind her.

Haruko led him to a café outside the school.

Lei Yin didn’t order anything for himself but looked at her and asked, “What do you need?”

Haruko looked up at him, then took a stack of checkbooks from her bag. She wrote on the top page, tore it off, and handed it to Lei Yin.

“I don’t want to owe anyone. Consider this check as repaying you.”

Lei Yin took the check, looked at it, and then said lightly, “Surprising, isn’t it? I didn’t know your life was worth so little.”

A flicker of anger flashed in Haruko’s eyes. “How much do you want?”

Lei Yin looked at her with an amused expression and after a moment said, “The price I’d ask for is more than you could pay. Never mind, let’s just say you owe me.”

“How much do you want?” Haruko asked coldly.

“I prefer being a creditor. In other words, as long as I don’t ask you for anything, you’ll be in my debt for the rest of your life.”

“You…” Seimura Haruko ground her silver teeth in anger.

Lei Yin ignored her, stood up, and walked toward the café door.

Watching him walk further away, Seimura Haruko’s eyes showed a complicated expression.

After he had left the café completely, Seimura Haruko stared at the check in her hand, lost in thought.

※※※

“Masashi, what do you think of Professor Sasako? I never expected our school to have such a sexy professor. Now I realize that choosing to major in economics was a genius decision,” Takeda said, animatedly talking as they walked home one day.

“I heard that your father was the one who decided for you to major in economics.”

“Well, that was only after I was accepted into the university. But never mind that. Back to Professor Sasako, do you think she would like a guy like me?”

“How would I know?”

Before Takeda could continue, he suddenly recognized the car in front of them. Looking more closely, he exclaimed, “Isn’t that Professor Sasako’s car? Why is it stopped here?”

Seeing the car door open, Takeda grew more puzzled.

“Strange, where did she go?”

At this point, Lei Yin spoke up, “I think I heard someone calling for help.”

“What? Where?”

“Let’s go check. It might be Professor Sasako.” With that, he grabbed Takeda and ran toward the sound. With the “human weapon” by his side, Takeda felt more reassured.

They crossed the narrow alley and arrived at a small park in the residential area.

Under Lei Yin’s guidance, Takeda walked to a quiet patch of grass. There, he finally saw the sexy Professor Sasako.

But she was being pinned down by a man. Her mouth was tied with cloth, muffling her cries, and her skirt had been undone, exposing her fair skin.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Takeda shouted as he charged at the man.

“Get lost!” The man kicked at him with great speed. Takeda couldn’t dodge in time and was struck in the stomach, doubling over in pain and rolling on the ground.

The man seemed unwilling to continue kicking, and suddenly a sharp pain surged through his back. Before he could react, a powerful force sent him flying.

Turning to look at Lei Yin as he stood up, the man immediately scrambled to his feet and ran away.

Lei Yin couldn’t be bothered to chase him. He walked over and pulled Takeda up.

“Are you still alive?”

“You bastard! If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you,” Takeda yelled at the direction the man had fled, clutching his stomach.

“He’s gone now, so why keep shouting.”

“You say it so easily, but it really hurts!”

A soft and timid voice interrupted them from nearby, “Thank you so much for helping me just now.”

Takeda turned and saw Professor Sasako standing in front of them, holding her torn skirt together with her hands.

Looking at her exposed, fair skin, Takeda almost dropped his jaw.

“Don’t mention it. It was our honor to help Professor Sasako. By the way, how did you run into that man?” Takeda asked.

Sasako’s eyes reddened, and she said, “My car broke down, and when I didn’t know what to do, that man suddenly approached and offered to help. I initially thought he was a good person, but when I let my guard down, he dragged me here.”

“Professor Sasako, you’re so beautiful, you really need to be more careful in the future.”

Sasako blushed at Takeda’s compliment. “You’re flattering me.”

Then she turned to Lei Yin and said, “Thank you for chasing him away just now.”

Lei Yin responded indifferently, “It’s nothing. He was just afraid of us ganging up on him.”

Sasako bowed to both of them. “Regardless, I’m truly grateful.”

Takeda scratched his head and said, “It’s nothing.”