"So, they lashed out in humiliation?" Shuichi Chiba easily guessed what happened next—this sort of thing was all too common.
"Pretty much," Sumire Nagase nodded. "At first, it was just so of the people she rejected making snide comnts, saying she was arrogant and looked down on others."
"But then female teachers got involved, and things escalated quickly."
Shuichi interrupted, "Wait, am I overthinking this? Did she also reject female teachers?"
Sumire rolled her eyes at him. "What are you even imagining? No, it was female teachers who were jealous of her. They joined in on the gossip and started badmouthing her behind her back."
"Ah, that makes sense." Shuichi said, clicking his tongue in self-awareness. It seed like the antics of a certain shaless student council president had corrupted his thoughts lately.
"If it had just been that, it might not have been such a big deal. Workplace drama like this isn't rare—whether it's about looks or outstanding abilities, people can beco targets."
Sumire sighed wistfully. "But she happened to excel in everything—she wasn't just beautiful; she was incredibly capable, and even her personality was remarkable."
"Despite all the slander, she continued to smile as always, carrying on with her work and life step by step, remaining kind and friendly to everyone." Sumire Nagase said.
"Usually, being a little excellent might spark jealousy, but being too excellent should inspire admiration, right?" Shuichi Chiba mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe that's true in theory, but her fault was being too perfect," Sumire replied with a hint of lancholy. "A perfect person makes ordinary people feel inferior and ashad of their own flaws. It makes them resent their imperfections even more, so they beco obsessed with shattering that perfection.
"They'll do whatever it takes to drag her down to their level, make her just as tainted as themselves, so they can stop feeling so inadequate. It's probably a basic human instinct..." Sumire, as a literature teacher, reflected with a touch of poetic sentintality.
"A perfect person, huh?" Shuichi Chiba murmured, deep in thought. He didn't believe such a thing truly existed in this world.
Beauty often stems from distance. Most likely, no one had gotten close enough to Ichika Kitagawa to see beyond the surface, so they perceived her as flawless.
"Then one day, suddenly, a rumor spread. It claid she was indecent, that she liked walking around without clothes—a shaless woman," Sumire continued.
"Huh?" Shuichi raised his head, looking at her in surprise.
Sumire's face was filled with indignation. "At first, no one knew where the rumor ca from. Later, we found out it started after Ichika kindly let a female colleague who was on good terms stay at her place. Sohow, this twisted into that disgusting gossip."
"So, the whole thing about not wearing clothes happened entirely in Ichika's ho," Sumire continued, her voice tinged with frustration. "It was likely just a case of Ichika being caught after a bath or changing in her bedroom.
"But out of jealousy, the colleague twisted the truth and spread the rumor... and it eventually led to Ichika's social downfall. She couldn't keep working and had no choice but to resign and leave."
"That's truly awful." Shuichi Chiba remarked, thinking back to the communal showers at his university in his previous life. Everyone was used to such openness, and no one thought much of it.
He hadn't expected sothing so trivial could destroy soone's life.
"No wonder you once said that being popular isn't always a good thing, Sensei," Shuichi comnted thoughtfully. "I see now you were speaking from experience."
"With your looks, Sensei, if you ever dressed up, you'd probably face intense jealousy as well." he added, his tone teasing but also sincere.
Sumire shot him an exasperated sideways glance. "That sounds suspiciously like a backhanded complint."
"Now that's just unfair," Shuichi said, spreading his hands in mock protest. "I'm genuinely worried about you, Sensei. Maybe it's your own lack of confidence that makes you think otherwise?"
The tense atmosphere lightened imdiately, and a hint of a smile tugged at Sumire's lips.
Sumire Nagase sighed, no longer feeling indignant. She simply waved her hand and said, "Don't ntion it. Any woman would lose confidence in front of Ichika."
"I can tell," Shuichi Chiba said with a knowing click of his tongue. "You say she's your friend, but you always refer to her by her last na. Tsk, tsk."
Sumire felt a pang of embarrassnt and irritation. "We are friends, it's just... I've always called her by her last na out of habit. I never bothered to change it.
"And besides, Ichika isn't the type to laugh and joke around. If I started calling her sothing cute, it would feel off..."
"Oh, so Sensei is the one who's the jokester when it's just the two of you?" Shuichi grinned, clearly honing in on the key point.
"..." Sumire felt like this guy was going to drive her crazy. "Alright, enough of that. Class is about to start. Go back and get to your lesson."
Shuichi watched her leave, heading back to class himself, while mulling over everything she had said.
Ichika Kitagawa, huh?
It seed like Sumire wasn't as familiar with her so-called "friend" as she thought. Who knows how much of what she said could actually be trusted.
Shuichi Chiba shook his head, realizing that overthinking wouldn't get him anywhere. He'd need to actually interact with Ichika to understand her better. For now, he could only confirm one thing—her looks were definitely not a problem.
However, if she really was that "perfect existence" who kept everyone at arm's length, making her feel a sense of belonging to the shopping street would probably be quite a challenge.
He'd just have to take it one step at a ti, especially since he wasn't even sure she would show up.
...
The first class in the afternoon was math. Shuichi, bored, pulled out his phone and decided to ss with soone.
And then... he picked Sayuki Ogawa.
They had just reached the "kissing" stage yesterday, so now was the perfect ti to strike while the iron was hot.
[Show your legs?]
[Show your legs?] Sayuki Ogawa imdiately replied.
[...] Shuichi Chiba's eyelid twitched slightly.
[Chiba-kun, your legs feel pretty nice. Why not send a photo?]
Sayuki Ogawa playfully mimicked his earlier antics and returned the favor.
[Feel free to cast your spells, Sayuki-san.] Shuichi Chiba generously rolled up his pant leg and took a photo to send over.
[I don't have that kind of fetish. But later, rember to take so ti to remove unnecessary clothing and send more body photos.]
[Tsk... Sayuki-san has quite the appetite. Can we trade? I'd like to see photos like that of Sayuki-san too.]
[What are you dreaming about? I ant full-body photos or muscle shots. Once you've made so progress with your training, it'll be easier to compare. Seeing visible improvent helps boost motivation and confidence for working out.]
[Alright, but a serious Sayuki-san is particularly charming. I can't wait to start Sayuki-san's training.]
Shuichi Chiba wasn't into anything strange; he was genuinely looking forward to fitness.
After all, Sayuki Ogawa's attachnt to the shopping district had reached 40, granting a 400% bonus effect for the gym managed by her.
Training for one day was equivalent to five days—an ideal physique was within reach!
Who could resist such a temptation?
[Heh, let's hope you don't regret it.]
[Will I get crushed to death by Sayuki-san's thighs?]
[If that's what you're expecting, it's not entirely impossible.]
[Then I'll book that experience for 50 years later.]
Sayuki Ogawa rolled her eyes. By then, she'd be an old granny. [Do you have anything serious to talk about? If not, I'm busy and don't have ti to play with a little boy like you.]
[The serious matter is, I miss Sayuki-san.]
[How fake. I don't buy it, so don't waste your effort.]
[Sayuki-san, you're being too judgntal. It's absolutely genuine. My lips have been hurting all day; how could I not think of Sayuki-san?]
[...] Sayuki Ogawa had no argunt; it was hard not to think of such a thing. [So, what's your point?]
[I need to bite back, or the more I think about it, the more I feel cheated.]
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