Chapter 093: I Have a Girl I Like 

Shizuka Hiratsuka is a good teacher, responsible and dedicated. Even when dealing with underperforming students, she does not choose to ignore them, which is different from many other teachers at Sobu High.

In this fast-paced era, a teacher who cares about and takes the time to help her students is truly rare.

Yukino Yukinoshita also understands that Shizuka Hiratsuka brought Lin Ye to the Servant Club today to make a request, and this decision was based on the fact that Shizuka had already spoken with Lin Ye multiple times. In the end, she chose to send Lin Ye to the Servant Club, hoping that Yukino could help change him.

As a classmate of Lin Ye, Yukino Yukinoshita knew quite a bit about his performance over the past six months. He had been frequently late, skipped school, and his attendance rate was one of the worst in Class J. His grades were also poor, ranking at the bottom of both his class and the entire second year.

If it weren't for Lin Ye not engaging in violent behaviors like fighting, he probably would have already been expelled by Sobu High.

Yukino Yukinoshita suspected that Lin Ye hadn't been expelled because Shizuka Hiratsuka had intervened multiple times with the school. Despite her sincere efforts, Lin Ye had been constantly letting her down.

To be honest, Yukino Yukinoshita had no good feelings towards this boy.

"Since the teacher has requested so earnestly, I'll accept," the cold, black-haired girl replied somewhat reluctantly.

This decision had taken a lot of resolve.

Having a naked male member in her Service Club made her feel constantly in danger of losing her chastity.

She hoped that tomorrow things would return to normal.

She couldn't help but think.

"I knew you'd agree, Yukino," Shizuka Hiratsuka sighed in relief.

Yukino had already rejected twice, and if she rejected again, Shizuka would really feel embarrassed to ask any further.

"Then I'll leave him in your care. Teach him well and help him become a student who loves learning."

She patted Lin Ye on the shoulder and gently pushed him toward Yukino.

The distance between them shortened.

Yukino sat on her chair, suppressing the urge to escape.

"I can't guarantee that."

"I believe you can do it. After all, you're Yukino."

"Teacher, I feel like you've attached some special meaning to the name 'Yukino'."

"Haha."

Shizuka Hiratsuka smiled, her gaze landing on Lin Ye.

"Kid, remember this: I let you join the Service Club to help you change your current life situation. Integrate into the group, study hard, and improve your grades. Don't think about anything else."

She warned him.

"I promised Yukino. If you dare to harass or bother her, don't blame me for not being polite."

Whoosh…

Shizuka Hiratsuka swung her right fist, and the air rushed by.

"The righteous iron fist's judgment."

"Teacher," Lin Ye raised his hand.

"You said..."

"With such violence, you'll have a hard time finding a man in the future..."

Whoosh…

The wind from her fist rushed toward him, and Lin Ye tilted his head to avoid it.

"Nice reaction. Next time, it won't be so easy."

Shizuka Hiratsuka retracted her fist and whispered in Lin Ye's ear.

"If you attract Yukino is attention, then this won't be an issue."

Shocked, Lin Ye thought, Isn't she practically hinting at him?

Moreover, at this distance, Lin Ye was sure Yukino could hear it too.

Their eyes met for a brief moment before quickly shifting away.

As expected of Shizuka Hiratsuka, hitting two birds with one stone—getting Lin Ye to behave well in the Service Club while also making Yukino stay alert.

"Teacher, you don't need to worry about that. I've already liked someone else, a new girl, not Yukino."

Shizuka Hiratsuka is memory was triggered.

"Mai Sakurajima, or Ai Hoshino?"

"Can it be both?"

"Hehe."

Hearing this from Lin Ye did indeed put Shizuka Hiratsuka at ease. If he could openly say in front of Yukino that he liked Mai Sakurajima and Ai Hoshino, it meant Lin Ye had truly let go of Yukino.

Otherwise, who would mention liking other girls in front of the one they liked?

"Good luck! The teacher will be waiting for your good news."

With that, Shizuka Hiratsuka waved and left, turning her back as she walked away.

"I'm leaving. Yukino, I'm leaving him in your hands."

Click!

The door to the Service Club closed.

The large room was now left with only Lin Ye and Yukino.

At this moment, unaware of each other's thoughts, the two saw through each other's bodies.

After Shizuka Hiratsuka left, Lin Ye felt the stillness of the atmosphere, especially since the black-haired girl's situation made him think more.

Calm down, don't overthink it.

"Sit down first."

The cold voice broke the silence in the Service Club. The girl turned and picked up a literary anthology from the desk, continuing to read.

Lin Ye walked over to a large table made from six desks and pulled over a wooden chair to sit down.

Yukino sat upright, her expression calm, her eyes focused on the book in her hands. Her slender fingers occasionally turned the pages, which made a soft rustling sound.

Lin Ye glanced at her, then took out his phone and pretended to casually browse.

This week's superpower was X-ray vision.

The superpower lasted for seven days and would be replaced with another ability next Monday. If we analyze this from the perspective of the "Time Stop" ability, his game character panel would also show "X-ray vision," but the ability would definitely have limitations in terms of usage, time, or other aspects, unlike the "superpower X-ray vision."

Therefore, if he wanted to use X-ray vision to improve himself, this week was the best time.

Knowing the regularity of his own powers, Lin Ye now felt a sense of urgency. He wanted to make use of the weekly limited superpower to improve his overall abilities.

And money was, of course, one of the key aspects.

Without money, many things were difficult to do.

The fastest ways to make money were gambling, drugs, and other illicit activities.

X-ray vision was a powerful tool in gambling.

With X-ray vision, he could claim to be the next gambling god.

However, gambling was illegal in Japan, and while underground casinos existed, he currently had no connections to get in. Even if he found a way, the winnings wouldn't be high enough to avoid attracting the attention of criminal organizations.

He had weapons and the Time Stop ability, which could help him handle some dangerous situations, but the risk was still high.

If things went badly, it could easily lead to conflicts and investigations by the Japanese police.

So…

He couldn't choose Japan for gambling.

"Las Vegas casinos are world-renowned…"

But being an Asian, going to the Atlantic Federation to gamble and win big money would still mean dealing with breaches of contract from the casino side. They'd let him go, but the money would stay, or worse, he wouldn't be allowed to leave because of 'maintaining the casino's reputation.'

There was also the important factor that Japan was too far from the Atlantic Federation, and a visa was required.

He couldn't possibly get a visa in a short time.

Thus, there was only one choice.

"Australia."

It was close, and a weekend would be enough to go there and back.

"In the future, I'll repay the country tenfold, a hundredfold."

Right now, he was just temporarily borrowing money, much like borrowing arms from the Atlantic Federation. He would definitely pay it back in the future.

Lin Ye carefully examined each item in the game panel, making himself familiar with every ability and item. Finally, his gaze landed on the Time Stop LV1 skill.

Currently, aside from using the game points to upgrade skills, he had no other use for them. Lin Ye guessed that as his game level increased, more permissions would unlock, and the scope for using game points would expand.

But for now, he decided to use them to upgrade his skills.

He currently had two skills: Persuasion LV3, which didn't need further upgrading for now.

Time Stop LV1 needed to be upgraded.

[You used 1000 game points to upgrade Time Stop.]

[Time Stop skill level is now LV2.]

Lin Ye looked at the 'Time Stop LV2' skill.

[Name: Time Stop LV2.]

[Ability: When activated, the world will fall into a relative state of stillness for 10 seconds, and it can be used consecutively 2 times, with a cooldown of 50 minutes.]

The duration had increased, the number of uses had gone up, and the cooldown time had decreased.

Nice.

Especially the number of uses.

With the same total duration, Lin Ye preferred more uses.

[You used 3000 game points to upgrade the Time Stop skill.]

[Time Stop skill level is now LV3.]

[Name: Time Stop LV3.]

[Ability: When activated, the world will fall into a relative state of stillness for 15 seconds, and it can be used consecutively 3 times, with a cooldown of 40 minutes.]

Good, very good.

Now the margin for error was much higher.

With his current strength, Lin Ye was confident that he could board the No. 18 bus again and still pass the entrance exam for "Kyoto Private Elite High School."

Skills were just an aid, a help.

The most important thing was his own strength.

The Time Stop superpower wasn't invincible, especially with his current skill level!

Outside the window, the sunset painted the sky in gold and red.

The sounds of bustling students from Sobu High reached his ears.

A gentle breeze blew in, making the curtains flutter in beautiful arcs.

Lin Ye glanced at the classroom clock. It was already 4:50 PM. He had been sitting in the Service Club for over half an hour.

He felt it was enough; he could leave now.

"Minister Yukino, I will leave and go home for now."

After speaking, Lin Ye stood up.

"Wait a moment."

At this moment, Yukino spoke.

"The club application form is a must."

"Alright, I will fill it out."

"Since you've joined the Service Club, you must understand the scope of our club's activities."

She glanced at him briefly and then turned her gaze away.

As expected,

The scene before her eyes didn't change at all.

"It's something like a volunteer department, right?"

"Oh! I didn't expect you, Lin, to guess our Service Club's activity theme,"

"After all, Teacher Shizuka just gave you a commission,"

"You're smarter than I imagined. If you used that intelligence on your studies, I'm sure you could get better grades, and Teacher Shizuka could rest easy, and I'd save some energy,"

The last point seemed to be the main focus.

"There's no need for you to worry about my studies, Minister Yukino."

"Oh, do you have more confidence than I do?"

Her cold voice held a hint of provocation.

"At least in math, I'm confident. I'm pretty good at math."

"If I remember correctly, your math score last semester was 57. And yes, compared to your other subjects, 57 is indeed a high score."

This woman was just like the one in anime, showing a ruthless side to strangers.

Never mind, let me enjoy this for a moment, to comfort my wounded heart.

Lin Ye no longer averted his gaze but looked directly at the girl.

Quite nice.

Never get tired of looking at her!

But how should I put it!

If there were some underwear hiding beneath, that kind of teasing "almost revealing" feeling would be even more alluring and stimulating.

Yukino Yukinoshita trembled slightly, feeling an intense discomfort rise within her. She glared at Lin Ye, took out her phone, and consciously closed her hands to cover it.

Looking at him bare, she felt almost as if she were naked herself.

She couldn't help but feel that way.

"If you keep looking at me with such lewd eyes, I can choose to call the police. But before they arrive, I'm sure Teacher Shizuka will teach you a lesson,"

"I was just admiring you."

"Looks like you were using lewd eyes on me,"

She quickly typed '110' on her phone.

"So in your eyes, Minister Yukino, 'admiring' equals 'lewd'? Well, from now on, I'll look at you with 'lewd' eyes. In your view, that should be 'admiring,' since you, as the cute schoolgirl Yukino, must be used to such 'admiring eyes.'"

This guy is unexpectedly difficult to deal with!

"Goodbye, Minister Yukino."

Lin Ye turned to leave.

"I will correct your attitude and bring you back to the right path."

Yukino lightly exerted force to leave her seat, standing by the window. The cool breeze outside blew in, and her long black hair fluttered gently. She swept her hair with her right hand and spoke calmly.

"Since I accepted Teacher Shizuka is commission, I will fulfill it."

"I hope you can do it. I look forward to that day."

Yukino Yukinoshita's dark blue eyes met Lin Ye's. The two locked eyes, and in that moment, there was a brief silence.

"Welcome to the Service Club, Lin Ye."

"I'm glad to join the Service Club, Minister Yukino."

Lin Ye extended his hand to Yukino Yukinoshita.

At that moment, Yukino hesitated. She stared at the man in front of her, hesitated a little more, and then reached out to shake his hand.

The two shook hands.

At that moment, from a certain angle, the scene was extremely intense.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow…"

If only it weren't for this situation.

Yukino silently thought to herself.

Lin Ye nodded and turned to leave, leaving Yukino with the image of his bare back.

At this moment, Yukino had seen Lin Ye in every way possible.

Splash...

The door to the Service Club closed, and the room returned to its quiet state, with only the black-haired girl inside.

"Ugh…"

After Lin Ye left, Yukino finally showed her true feelings.

She rubbed her eyes, blinking hard.

"What was that about?"

"Why did I see a naked man?"

Could it be that other men also appeared naked in her eyes?

Yukino immediately went to the window of the Service Club and looked towards the sports field in the distance.

Under the reddish glow of the setting sun, a few boys were still playing basketball on the field.

"Normal, they're wearing clothes,"

Was it just Lin Ye who appeared naked in her eyes?

"Why is this happening? What's changing in me?"

She hadn't encountered any special events today.

"Could it be… something strange?"

There were rumors circulating online and among students. Many people knew about it, but it was unclear whether they were true or false.

Why was she thinking about it now? It was because Yukino had once heard that people who experienced strange events gained some special abilities.

She was now experiencing what could be considered a special ability, right?

Yukino wanted to ask someone,

But after thinking for a while, she realized she had no one to ask.

"Maybe I should ask Teacher Shizuka!"

If Teacher Shizuka didn't give an answer, she'd have to ask that other woman.

"Strange? Yukino, you don't look like the kind of person who would believe in these mysterious rumors!"

Teacher Shizuka laughed.

"I don't believe in them, but there's been a lot of talk about it, so I came to ask you, Teacher."

"Haha, there's nothing strange! It's just students with too much time on their hands passing rumors. Don't believe it."

"Mm,"

Yukino calmly accepted the answer and left.

After she left, Shizuka is expression returned to its calm state.

"I'm doing this for your own good,"

Belief increases probability; that's a situation where belief helps.

According to the information Shizuka had, those who were more likely to believe in the existence of the strange were more likely to be chosen by the 'strange game.'

Now, various governments worldwide were actively suppressing the spread of related information, controlling public opinion to reduce the number of 'strange occurrences' and slow their spread, to avoid social chaos.

It was said that the Atlantic Federation had once conducted an experiment on a remote island with 500 people, intentionally increasing their belief in 'strange phenomena' to increase their chances of being selected by the 'strange game.'

But the result was a disaster—powerful strange beings appeared.

The island became a hell, and of the 500 people, fewer than five survived.

Since then, countries had been more cautious about related information, mixing true and false rumors. For example, a country once spread a rumor about an 'immortal practitioner slaying demons with a sword,' accompanied by a video that briefly went viral, only to be debunked soon after.

And in Europe, there were many rumors about vampires attacking women at night, angels descending to Earth, and various other stories that appeared on the internet to influence public perception and prevent the widespread belief in strange phenomena.

This was information Shizuka had learned from her family.

"If anyone is going to tell you about these matters, it should be someone from the Yukinoshita family, not me."

Although Shizuka didn't believe that telling Yukino about these things would involve her in a strange incident, as a teacher, she hoped her students would have a carefree high school life.

The farther away from the strange, the better.

...

...

On her way out of Sobu High, Yukino Yukinoshita kept thinking about the moment when she asked the question and the brief look of shock that appeared on Shizuka is face.

"Was she surprised by me asking such a 'ridiculous question,' or was she shocked that I knew about strange occurrences?"

Both were possible,

But for now, she couldn't make a judgment.

"I'll have to ask my sister when I get home."

Aside from her, Yukino Yukinoshita couldn't think of anyone else to ask.

...

Chiba Elementary School,

After seeing that all the teachers had left the office, Kyou Fujibayashi stretched and loosened her muscles.

"My first day at work was really exhausting."

The mental fatigue.

She liked children, which was why she became a primary school teacher, but even so, managing them was still a headache.

"Hang in there, Kyou, you'll get used to the new job and life here in Chiba soon."

Kyou Fujibayashi stood up and encouraged herself.

After tidying up her desk, she looked around, ensuring the windows were closed before leaving the office and shutting the door.

"Next, I'll go home and have dinner with Ryou."

She was looking forward to it.

But as soon as she thought of her younger sister, Kyou Fujibayashi couldn't help but feel a sinking sensation in her heart.

The situation between Ryou and Lin Ye still weighed heavily on her mind.

Until she cleared it up, she wouldn't be completely at ease.

"Anyway, the best thing I can do for now is stop my sister from meeting Lin Ye alone."

That was all she could do for the time being.

A few minutes later, Kyou Fujibayashi walked out of the gates of Chiba Elementary School, turning left and heading towards the train station.

"Teacher Fujibayashi."

A childish female voice called from behind, and Kyou turned to see a delicate little girl with long black hair.

"Rumi-san," she said, recognizing the student from her class.

"Are you not going home yet?"

Kyou Fujibayashi approached Rumi Tsurumi, squatting down and smiling.

"You're waiting for me here?"

"Eh, waiting for me? Did you need something from me?"

Wasn't she able to just go to the office to find her? Why wait at the school gate?

"Mm, there's something I wanted to tell you, Fujibayashi-sensei. You're a good teacher, so you should know."

The little girl looked at Kyou, her eyes filled with a faint concern and determination.

Rumi Tsurumi was very young but quite observant. In just less than a day of contact, she could tell that Kyou Fujibayashi was a kind and gentle teacher, someone who genuinely smiled at them.

"What's the matter?"

"Our school isn't very clean."

Kyou Fujibayashi: ???

"I think maybe you should consider teaching at another school."

Kyou's eyelid twitched.

Had she upset this student somehow today?

"Rumi-san, did I do something wrong today? Is that why you think I should leave?"

Rumi Tsurumi shook her head.

"Our homeroom teacher has already left twice in the past two weeks. Teacher, you probably don't know about this, right?"

She really didn't know.

Kyou Fujibayashi only knew that the sixth-grade homeroom teacher had to leave due to health reasons.

To her, that seemed like a normal situation, but two homeroom teachers leaving in two weeks? Something didn't add up.

"Did you all bully the teachers together?"

Rumi Tsurumi rolled her eyes.

"Do you think that's possible?"

"Then…"

"You're a good teacher, I don't want to see you shocked."

At this point, Rumi Tsurumi bowed to Kyou and left, leaving only her retreating figure.

Kyou was left confused, wondering what just happened.

"What is going on?"

Her gaze fell on the small, sunlit school.

Everything seemed normal. There was nothing dirty or suspicious here.

Shaking her head to clear her confused thoughts, she murmured, "Maybe it's just a joke. I won't back down because of this."

She clenched her right fist.

In fact, she felt that Rumi Tsurumi didn't want to say this herself, but was probably pressured by her friends.

Elementary school students still had many things going on.

The phenomenon of kids teaming up to bully someone still existed.

More than half an hour later, Kyou returned to her apartment.

About ten minutes later, the door to the house opened.

"Ryou, welcome home."

"Sis, you're home so early?"

"It should be me asking you that! Aren't nurses busy?"

Her sister had gone for an interview today and had sent a message midway she had successfully gotten a job at Chiba City Hospital, the same hospital as her friend, Ren Nanase.

"I just started today, mainly to get familiar with the hospital layout and the staff, but yes, the hospital was very busy today, especially with the car accident that happened yesterday. It exhausted all the medical staff, so quite a few people were missing today."

"With such a situation, how did you come home so early?"

"Sis, are you hoping I came back, or are you not happy that I came back?"

Ryou Fujibayashi looked at her sister.

"Ah, of course, I'm happy you're back early, haha… If you came back late, that would worry me."

"There will be night shifts from now on."

With that, their opportunities to talk would become even fewer.

"Just night shifts, then. I'll keep you company while you stay up at the hospital."

"Ugh!"

"If I put on a nurse's uniform and tie up my hair, do you think your colleagues would be able to tell the difference between me and you?"

Hmm... probably not.

Ryou Fujibayashi thought for a moment.

"Ren... might notice."

"Haha, then no one else would. Ryou, tell me if there's anything interesting happening at the hospital, or if there are any handsome guys?"

As soon as Kyou mentioned it, she became eager, waiting for Ryou's response.

"Are you trying to find a boyfriend, sis? I can keep an eye out."

"Who wants a boyfriend?! I'm just worried that you might get swept away by some handsome doctor at the hospital."

"Not gonna happen!"

Ryou Fujibayashi quickly denied, her face slightly flushed.

"It's not because of him, is it?"

"It has nothing to do with Lin Ye-kun!"

She continued shaking her hands to deny it.

"I never said it was Lin Ye."

Silence stretched between them.

Ryou Fujibayashi's expression froze.

"Sis, I won't talk about that anymore. Let me tell you something I heard at the hospital!"

"Don't change the topic."

"Do you remember the car accident yesterday? The one where Ren was urgently contacted to return to the hospital to assist with that series of car accidents?"

"Mm, I know."

Kyou Fujibayashi didn't press the issue of 'Lin Ye'. She decided to deal with it slowly, in due time.

But she was interested in the car accident from yesterday.

If it weren't for that accident causing Ren Nanase to leave, her sister and Lin Ye would never have had a chance to be alone, and whatever was happening behind her back would never have happened.

"Yesterday's car accident was strange. After the first car crash, many cars just slammed into the vehicles in front."

Was that strange? It seemed like a normal accident.

"There were no brakes, just full speed crashes."

"Eh!"

Kyou Fujibayashi was stunned.

"It wasn't just one or two cars. According to the surveillance footage, at least seven cars crashed into the vehicles in front without braking."

One or two might be a coincidence, but seven? That didn't seem like a coincidence.

"It really feels like something's wrong."

"Yeah, some nurses were saying they might have been possessed."

"Ugh!"

"Some nurses were even wondering if that stretch of road was cursed, like there were evil spirits."

Unlike others, Ryou Fujibayashi had experienced eerie incidents firsthand. Her instinct told her that this might be connected to something supernatural.

Could the people who died in the accident have perished because they didn't pass some strange game?

She decided she would contact Lin Ye and tell him about this matter.

"Sis, just don't ride your motorcycle down that road in the future!"

"What? Ryou, you're just trying to scare me!"

"No, no, I'm serious. I just want you to avoid dangerous places and stay safe for the rest of your life."

Eerie events should be kept away from her sister forever.

So, she subtly expressed her desire for her sister to stay away from dangerous places.

"Got it! I won't go down that road. Happy now?"

"Mm."

This made Kyou Fujibayashi temporarily dismiss the thought of sharing what happened with the little girl Rumi Tsurumi and the strange things she said.

Good thing she hadn't mentioned it. If she had, her sister might have really suggested she leave the school and find another job.

She couldn't just quit after one day.

Besides, she was Kyou Fujibayashi, fearless and strong-willed.

Tomorrow, when she went to class, she'd stay for a couple of extra hours with two dictionaries in hand.

"Alright, I'll go prepare dinner. You rest well, Ryou."

Kyou had a natural talent for cooking, so she usually handled it at home.

"Okay, sis."

Ryou Fujibayashi went back to her room.

Sitting in the chair, she dialed Lin Ye's number.

"Lin-kun, good evening."

"Good evening, Miss Ryou. I didn't get a chance to say 'congratulations on getting the job at Chiba City Hospital!'"

Ryou Fujibayashi sent him the job offer information.

Although Lin Ye replied with congratulations, it still felt appropriate to say something now that they were talking on the phone.

"Th-thank you,"

Ryou Fujibayashi was happy, her left hand unconsciously rubbing the bed sheets.

Today, aside from telling Lin Ye about the car accident, she also wanted to ask Lin Ye out, but she wasn't sure if he would agree.

At the same time, a sense of guilt emerged.

Was it right for her to do this to her good friend, Nanase Ren?

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