Chapter 198: Game

“Hello, I found the book you were looking for. Can I bring it over for you?”

“Thank you.”

After paying, the young man with glasses turned to Kazumi, who was arranging the bookshelf, and said goodbye. Kazumi nodded politely in return.

After the young man left the bookstore, Takeshima Shinobu, who was also dressed in a blue uniform, walked over to her friend and said, “That guy came again. He really does have a thing for you, doesn’t he?”

Kazumi continued to tidy up without looking up. “Don’t say silly things. He’s just here to buy books, nothing more.”

“But every time he comes, he only asks you to help him find books. The strangest thing is, every book he wants is always in stock, and the way he looks at you is unusual. I’m sure he’s just trying to find an excuse to get close to you.”

Kazumi frowned. “Please, Miss, you should watch fewer romance dramas, or just find a boyfriend so you don’t have to overthink everything.”

Takeshima Shinobu pouted. “Why do you always pick on me? It’s not my fault you’re so oblivious.”

At that moment, she suddenly grabbed her friend’s arm. “Ah, the handsome guy is back.”

Kazumi looked up and, sure enough, saw Ogata Yasuda strolling out of the red sports car parked by the bookstore’s entrance.

Seeing him walk toward the bookstore, Kazumi’s expression darkened. “I need to get back to work.” She walked to the far end of the store.

“Kazumi…” Takeshima Shinobu watched Kazumi walk away, feeling uncertain as Ogata Yasuda approached the entrance.

As Ogata Yasuda entered the bookstore, his tall, handsome figure immediately caught the attention of the young women sitting and reading inside.

Ogata smiled and glanced around before walking up to Takeshima Shinobu. “Shinobu, you’re as cute as ever today. Has anyone told you that you look good in a uniform?”

Avoiding his gaze, Takeshima Shinobu lowered her head, blushing. “N-no one’s ever said that to me.”

“Tsk, it seems there are really a lot of people with no taste.”

Takeshima Shinobu’s face turned even redder. “Y-you’re here to see Kazumi, aren’t you? She’s… she’s inside.”

“You’re really smart. It’s rare to find a girl who’s both smart and cute these days.”

Feeling his fingers brush lightly against her cheek, Takeshima Shinobu’s heart pounded wildly.

After a moment, when she looked up, she saw him heading toward Kazumi, and a hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.

Yasuda watched the girl quietly arranging the bookshelf, a strange smile forming on his face.

He was becoming more and more interested in her.

Two weeks ago, after seeing her for the first time and getting scolded by her in a way that embarrassed him, he decided to teach this arrogant girl a lesson.

For someone like him, a privileged playboy, teaching a lesson certainly wasn’t going to be through crude methods like violence.

After researching her background, he started his game.

However, after over a week of playing his game, he discovered that the tactics that usually worked on other girls didn’t seem to affect her at all.

He personally witnessed her throw away the flowers he sent her without a second thought. And when he appeared in front of her, she would completely ignore him, treating him as if he were invisible, not even giving him the chance to speak.

It’s been a long time since I’ve met such an interesting opponent.

Walking over slowly, Yasuda deliberately stepped closer to her and said, “Good afternoon, Kazumi.”

Kazumi furrowed her brows and, after stepping two feet away from him, looked at him coldly. “Is there something you need?”

Yasuda smiled and said, “Nothing, just wanted to see you.”

“How thoughtful of you. I’m neither sick nor in pain, so I don’t need anyone’s deliberate concern,” she said, and immediately walked away.

Yasuda followed her, step by step. After a while, he suddenly sighed and said, “Why are you so cold to me, Kazumi?”

Kazumi didn’t look back and said, “Not everyone deserves respect. Some people only waste the Earth’s resources by existing. So, from an environmental standpoint, those people should be humanely eliminated.”

A flash of anger passed through Yasuda’s eyes. This woman was as sharp-tongued as ever.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said, “I want to buy a book and would like your help finding it.”

“If you want to find a book, please go to the front desk and ask the staff for help,” Kazumi said.

“But I’d prefer if you helped me. I’m sure the manager wouldn’t refuse such a small request from a customer like me,” he said, looking at her with some satisfaction.

Kazumi paused at his words.

Yasuda looked at her smugly, wanting to see her angry. Unexpectedly, when Kazumi turned her head toward him, she said, “You’re right, the customer is king. Please tell me the title of the book, and I’ll look it up for you.”

When she spoke without any trace of anger in her eyes, Yasuda felt a pang of disappointment.

After casually mentioning a title, Kazumi walked to the front desk to check the computer.

When she returned, she said, “I found the book you wanted. Can you wait here while I get it for you?”

The more polite she was, the more frustrated Yasuda felt.

Seeing the cold, emotionless look in her eyes, he found himself reevaluating her.

After receiving the book she brought, Yasuda sat in the customer lounge, watching her work and planning his next move in his mind. He began to understand that usual methods were ineffective with this girl.

At that moment, he heard the sound of a ringtone coming from her direction.

She pulled out her phone, answered it, but didn’t speak immediately. Instead, she walked quietly to the front of the store, seemingly to avoid disturbing others.

That detail, unnoticed by most, subtly touched Yasuda’s heart.

Because he was too far away, he couldn’t hear what she said, but seeing the relaxed smile on her face made him feel a strange wave of frustration.

This woman hadn’t shown him a good face in the past two weeks. With his outstanding looks and prominent family background, this was the first time he had encountered such a difficult person.

Though he didn’t want to admit it, he had to acknowledge that her smile was actually quite nice, with an indescribable quality, completely different from her usual cold demeanor. Suddenly, he was very curious about who she was talking to, as he had an intuition that it was a man.

A few minutes later, Kazumi hung up and returned to the store.

Seeing the faint smile still lingering at the corner of her lips, Yasuda felt uneasy again.

When Lei Yin finished his call, Takeda asked, “Will Kazumi come over?”

Lei Yin shook his head. “She said she’ll be working in the bookstore until 9 PM, so she won’t be coming.”

“Is that so?” Takeda looked a bit disappointed.

“Let’s go; Yoshikawa and the others are waiting for us,” Lei Yin said, giving him a glance before heading outside.

As they reached the area outside the teaching building, a red figure walked toward them.

“Good afternoon, Gennai-kun, Takeda-kun.”

“Good afternoon, Professor Sasako,” Takeda said, immediately smiling at her.

Lei Yin also responded politely, “Hello, Professor.”

It seemed as if Sasako had never worn the same outfit twice; today, she was dressed in a pink knee-length dress that perfectly showcased her figure, with tailored craftsmanship and high-quality fabric accentuating her striking curves. Compared to her previous bold appearance, she now looked more like an elegant senior executive at a major company.

Unaware of the students’ admiring glances, Sasako said to Lei Yin, “It’s so good to see you both. I need a favor, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course, Professor Sasako. Whatever it is, we’ll help you,” Takeda agreed without a second thought.

Lei Yin cursed his friend silently for being such an idiot.

Seeing that Takeda agreed so readily, Sasako’s face brightened. “That’s wonderful. The number of students taking the economic structure elective has suddenly increased recently, so I’m swamped with their assignments and exercises. I’m a bit overwhelmed, so I was hoping you could come to my office and help grade them.”

“Oh, so it’s just a small task. No problem.” The thought of being in her office excited Takeda so much that he nearly shouted.

Lei Yin frowned and said, “Professor Sasako, we’re students too. Grading assignments for other students doesn’t seem appropriate. Besides, our grades aren’t that good.”

Hearing his friend’s words, Takeda wanted to cover his mouth, but only if he was willing to risk his life.

Sasako smiled reassuringly, “Don’t worry. I’ll provide you with the answer keys. You just need to grade according to them. Also, the ones you’ll be grading are students who took this elective, while I’ll handle grading the economics majors, who are part of the core curriculum. Since I’m only familiar with you two among all the students, if you don’t help me, there won’t be anyone else who can.”

Seeing her pitiful expression, Takeda felt as if he’d do anything for her, even if it meant going so far as to commit murder. “Don’t worry, Professor. We’ll be there on time. Should we come tonight?”

“There’s no need to rush. How about tomorrow afternoon? I remember you don’t have any classes then.”

“Okay, tomorrow afternoon it is.”

But then Sasako looked at Lei Yin with some concern and asked, “Gennai-kun, you’ll come too, right?”

Takeda, who was most worried about Lei Yin, quickly jumped in and said, “Don’t worry, Professor. I’ll bring him along tomorrow.”

“Thank you both so much. It’s settled then. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said before walking away.

“Take care, Professor.”

As she walked farther and farther away, Takeda stared after her, lost in thought.

Lei Yin slapped him lightly on the head, “The person’s gone; why are you still staring?”

Takeda licked his lips and said, “Aside from your girlfriend, I’ve never seen such a sexy woman. No, she’s even sexier than your girlfriend because, while your girlfriend is great in every way, she dresses too conservatively. If Yoshikawa knew about this, he’d probably be green with envy.” Pleased with his thought, he couldn’t help but laugh.

At this moment, Lei Yin looked at him and said, “I didn’t know you became my spokesperson.”

Seeing the dangerous glint in his friend’s eyes, Takeda quickly put on a smile and said, “You saw it yourself just now. If you hadn’t gone, I probably wouldn’t have been able to go either. Just think of it as accompanying me.”

After retracting his gaze, Lei Yin said indifferently, “Takeda, I suggest you don’t get too close to that woman.”

“Dammit, do you think I have no chance at all?” Takeda said, clearly frustrated.

Lei Yin knew his friend was already too infatuated to listen to reason.

“Let’s go. Yoshikawa must be waiting and ready to strangle someone.”

“Right, let’s hurry,” Takeda said, already imagining his friend’s reaction when he found out.

The next afternoon, when Lei Yin saw Takeda looking as if he would commit seppuku if he didn’t agree to go, he reluctantly followed.

After knocking a few times on the door to Sasako’s office, it quickly swung open.

Seeing Sasako standing there, Takeda felt blood rush to his head.

This time, Sasako was dressed completely differently from her morning class appearance; she wasn’t in an elegant long dress. Instead, she wore a tight, short skirt like the one she had on the first day of school. Although the color was different, it was just as short, revealing enough that a slight bend would expose more than intended.

The thin fabric hugged her body, showcasing curves that could drive most men wild. Takeda’s response was primal, but he managed to hide it quickly, sparing himself embarrassment.

“You’re here. Please come in,” Sasako said, smiling warmly as if she hadn’t noticed Takeda’s discomfort.

Once inside, Takeda became restless, while Lei Yin carefully observed the office.

The office had good lighting, and the neat and tidy arrangement indicated that Sasako was a clean and organized person. On the desk was a laptop, and beside it was a thick stack of papers, probably the students’ assignments.

“I’m sorry, but all I have are some sodas,” Sasako said as she opened the fridge.

“I’m fine with anything,” Takeda said quickly.

Handing them each a can, Sasako placed the stack of papers in front of them. “These are the students’ assignments. There are quite a few, aren’t there?”

“Not many, not at all,” Takeda thought to himself, feeling grateful for the troublesome students who had chosen the elective.

After sitting for a moment, Lei Yin, not wanting to waste time, suggested starting right away.

Sasako then handed them each an answer key and had them sit on opposite sides of the desk while she sat down on the other side.

After explaining some grading guidelines, Lei Yin immediately picked up an assignment and began to read it.

Takeda, who had originally planned to chat more with Sasako, had no choice but to start grading as well.

Smiling at them, Sasako began working as well.

After a while, the room fell silent as all three focused, the only sound being the faint rustle of pens against paper.

While Lei Yin worked intently, Takeda’s mind was a whirlwind of distractions.

Even sitting on the other side of the desk, he could smell the faint scent of Sasako’s perfume drifting through the air.

Stealing glances at the deep cleavage revealed between her high, curvaceous breasts, Takeda felt blood rush to his lower body. 

It was torture—how could he focus in such an environment? Just trying to control his heavy breathing was difficult enough. He glanced at Lei Yin, who was sitting closer to Sasako and working with complete focus, a stack of graded papers already piled high in front of him. If it weren’t for Lei Yin having a stunningly beautiful girlfriend, Takeda would be questioning whether he had some kind of strange ailment, unable to react at all to such a gorgeous woman.

To suppress the burning sensation in his throat, Takeda kept drinking soda.

Before he realized it, the small can was empty. He didn’t even notice as he instinctively poured more into his mouth.

Sasako was the first to notice and said, “Takeda, wait a moment, I’ll get you another one.”

“No, it’s fine.” His voice was barely audible, even to himself.

“Don’t be shy,” Sasako said with a smile, walking over to the fridge to get another can.

Half an hour later, the three continued working. Technically, only Sasako and Lei Yin were still focused, but Takeda felt like he was in a state of torment.

The longer he stayed with this sexy teacher, the more his self-control seemed to erode, especially when he caught glimpses of that white, deep cleavage and the small bumps visible beneath the thin fabric.

Bumps? Was Sasako not wearing that? The realization almost made Takeda spit blood.

Rationally, he was glad he had forced Lei Yin to come along; he wasn’t sure what he might have done otherwise. But subjectively, he regretted it deeply. He kept wishing Masashi weren’t there—this thought had crossed his mind more than once.

Now holding his third can of soda, even if he’s thick-skinned, he couldn’t drink the last bit and ask for a fourth. 

He felt like there was a beast inside him, in the throes of heat, smashing against its iron cage, desperate to break free. And what he was doing now was holding it tightly, making sure no one else knew.

Finally, Takeda felt like he was going to go crazy if he stayed any longer. He looked at the source of his torment and said, “Professor Sasako, I just remembered I have something to take care of. I’ll be right back.”

“If you have something to do, that’s fine. It’s no problem if you can’t make it back soon.”

“I-I’ll be back soon.” With that, Takeda stood up, quickly turned, and hurried to the door.

After closing the door behind him, Takeda let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, he had turned quickly earlier; if Sasako had seen him, it would have been beyond embarrassing.

With Takeda’s departure, only Sasako and Lei Yin remained in the office.

“Gennai-kun, do you know what Takeda-kun’s business is?” 

A strange, almost imperceptible smile appeared on Lei Yin’s face. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s something urgent.”

Sasako did not press the question further but glanced at the soda can in front of her. “You’ve finished your soda, haven’t you? Let me get you another one.”

“Thank you.”

After placing a new can in front of him, Sasako quietly moved to his side and walked behind him before stopping.

“How’s the grading going?” she said, bending over to look at the papers in front of him.

As she leaned over, Lei Yin immediately felt something soft pressing against his shoulder, and a delicate, pleasant fragrance drifted into his nose.

Sasako suddenly said, with a hint of surprise, “Masashi, your handwriting is so beautiful. I thought all boys’ writing would be similar, but yours is so well done.” She had unconsciously changed how she addressed him.

“You flatter me.” Besides the feeling on his shoulder, he felt another soft pressure slowly pressing into the middle of his back.

“It’s a good thing you’re here to help me, or I wouldn’t know when I’d finish grading all of this.”

He felt her move even closer, and this time, he could feel her breath near his ear, the soft pressure on his shoulder blades gently shifting.

Lei Yin knew that this situation was becoming intolerable, and as he was about to stand up, Sasako leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Can you smell it?”

“What?”

“My perfume. This one is called ‘Lorelai,’ also known as ‘One Thousand and One Nights.’ It was his favorite perfume when he was alive. Even when he was with me… doing those things, he would always have me wear this perfume, and he would apply it himself. Masashi, do you like it?”

Lei Yin felt the soft pressure on his back moving against him, and he heard a soft moan escape her lips.

“Professor, this seems unrelated to the assignment.”

“Masashi, from the first moment I saw you, I liked you. Don’t you feel anything for me at all? Hmm…” Sasako increased the pressure, and her moaning grew louder.

For a moment, the room was filled with an undeniably suggestive atmosphere.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, interrupting the scene.

“I’m sorry for making you wait. I just finished my task and rushed back. I also picked up some juice and snacks on the way. Professor, would you like to try some?” Takeda said as he walked into the office with a large bag of items.

“No, thank you.”

“Sensei, why is your face so red? Is it hot in here?”

“It’s probably because of the weather. I was just thinking of turning up the air conditioning.”

“It is pretty hot today,” Takeda agreed and placed the bag on the table.

With a chance to release his tension, Takeda seemed more at ease now and was no longer fidgeting like before. However, he dared not look at Sasako, fearing he would need to make another excuse to leave.

After a while, the three resumed working, with Takeda now focused and diligent. It seemed he was trying to make up for lost time, quickly flipping through assignments and judging them at a glance.

However, Lei Yin’s efficiency dropped slightly, as he felt a foot under the table lightly rubbing against his calf.

Looking up at the owner of the foot, he found Sasako engrossed in grading, appearing oblivious to anything else, but he caught a slight, knowing smile at the corner of her lips.