In all fairness, Shuichi Chiba genuinely only wao che and had no iion of avoiding the home visit.

  In his previous life, he had seen this kind of thing happen often. Young newers, full of enthusiasm when they first start their jobs, would, within a few months, be overwhelmed by workpce pressure and end up g to their parents.

  Middle-aged men, ruthlessly exploited, silently bear the burden with their families, only to suddenly colpse in tears one day.

  Being tormented by pressure to marry, driven to despair by housing prices—it’s all too "normal."

  However, Sumire Nagase didn't believe that her student could resoh such feelings and thought Shuichi Chiba was just pying mind games with her, so she brought back the school's seriousness.

  With no further idle chatter, Shuichi Chiba idly observed his surroundings orain and once again scrutinized Sumire Nagase.

  The female teacher was tall, at least over 1.7 meters, with a strikio-body ratio. Besides being a bit skinny, she had no other fws.

  Shuichi Chiba thought she could easily sider a modeling career.

  After they arrived at the station, Sumire Nagase, who had been following Shuichi Chiba, noticed the traieo take and gradually furrowed her brows. She remembered from the records that Shuichi’s home was not supposed to be in this dire.

  Sumire Nagase crossed her arms and said, “What are y to pull now? Shuichi Chiba, if you pn to lead me on a wild goose chase, don’t bother—it won’t work. I’m not going to let this go until I meet your parents. Siomorrow is Saturday, I’ve got all the time in the world to wear you down.”

  Having experienced a teag career with some mental games with students, Sumire Nagase had long e to this realization.

  “Well, you’re quite the free spirit, teacher,” Chiba replied. “But I suppose it makes sense; single people do have less to do on weekends.”

  Shuichi Chiba made a quick remark and, before Sumire Nagase could gre at him, he expined, “Don’t worry, I’m n to avoid the home visit. It’s just that since you’re insisting oing my parents, we o go to Haneda Airport to buy pickets first.”

  “Haneda Airport?” Sumire Nagase was taken aback.

  “Yeah, my parents work in South Africa. If you want to meet them, we’ll need an iional flight.” Shuichi Chiba said matter-of-factly.

  He then calcuted the time, “From Tokyo, we’d fly directly to Dubai, then trao Johannesburg. It would take about twenty hours. The weekend—Saturday and Sunday—should be enough for a round trip.”

  “.....”

  Sumire Nagase stared at the serious expression of Shuichi Chiba’s face, her forehead twitg. Why oh would a simple home visit require a trip to South Africa?

  “Do you really want to go, Ms. Nagase? I have to say, it’s quite a hassle. Being a teacher is tough indeed.” Shuichi Chiba remarked with a hint of malice.

  Sumire Nagase’s teeth ched in frustration. She was tempted to see it through and actually fly to South Africa, but the thought was quickly squashed by her ziness. She could use that time to sleep in at home, visit Akihabara, et a couple more outfits.

  With that in mind, she gave up on the idea, cleared her throat, and said, “Ahem, Shuichi, since your parents are busy abroad, it would be a bother to interrupt them. I’ll just give them a call ter.”

  “They don’t have great receptiohey’re w, so they might not get the message,” Shuichi Chiba said, clearly notig that she had given up on the unrealistic idea.

  The young teacher’s insincere demeanor was quite amusing, and he couldn’t resist prodding a bit more.

  “I’ll just send them an email and wait until their reception improves to get in touch.” Sumire Nagase said through gritted teeth. To prevent Shuichi from tinuing to tease her, she quickly shifted her strategy.

  “Although it’s a pity not to meet your parents, the home visit must go o’s head to your pd take a look.”

  She had hoped to see Shuichi Chiba show some signs of panic, but was disappointed. Instead, he gave a small, calm smile and nodded, appearing pletely posed.

  “If you insist, I have no problem with it.” Shuichi Chiba said with a calm demeanor.

  Sumire Nagase's unease grew as she sehere might be some underlying scheme. This student was not as easily manageable as those she had dealt with before; he might actually have something up his sleeve.

  However, she wasn’t going to give in. If she was seen as easily outwitted, how would she maintain her authority as a teacher iure?

  As they boarded arain, a sudden wave of apprehension hit her. If she had gone along with the pn and actually flown to South Africa, would she have ended up being sold off?

  In a brief moment of uling fear, Sumire realized she might be overthinking things—perhaps from reading too many stories and developing a bit of paranoia.

  But upon seeing Shuichi Chiba’s calm and posed demeanor, Sumire Nagase felt as if she was being maniputed by her student, twisted and tur his will.

  This was really frustrating.

  Shuichi Chiba had no idea just how much his teacher's imagination was running wild. After ging trains ohey arrived at the entrance of the Chikase Store Shopping Street.

  “You live here now? I thought the address you provided in your records was different.” Sumire Nagase said, her suspi evident.

  “Yeah, I moved here during the summer.” Shuichi Chiba replied, nodding slightly and leading her further into the area.

  As they ehe ma office for the shopping street, Sumire Nagase finally couldn't hold back. “Are you seriously telling me you live here? If I’m not mistaken, this seems to be the ma office for renting and selling ercial properties.”

  “Exactly,” Shuichi Chiba said, settling fortably behind the desk. He gestured toward the street outside. “I’m in charge of leasing the shops here. Is there anything else you o know, teacher?”

  Sumire Nagase doubted her ears. She looked back at the street and the various shops they had passed, feeling a bit disoriented.

  In disbelief, she turned back to Shuichi Chiba, hoping to catch a hint of a prank on his face, but instead found only siy.

  Shuichi Chiba’s words left her in a state of shock.

  “As I mentioned before, I filled out my career survey very carefully and sidered the practical aspects, Ms. Nagase.”

  Sumire Nagase stood there, stunned, blinking her sore eyes for a while. Her mind started to with bitterness.

  She worked so hard but couldn’t afford a home, having to live with her parents who stantly pressured her about marriage. Meanwhile, her student owned aire shopping street.

  Life felt incredibly unfair. She wao cry.

  It was all too overwhelming.

  Sumire Nagase, feeling a bit defted, sank into a chair. “Well, it seems your career survey was indeed filled out very thhly. I won’t pursue this any further.”

  “That’s quite a relief.” Shuichi Chiba said with a smile.

  Sumire Nagase quickly tried tain her professional dignity. “However, this doesn’t mean you should sck off. Education isn’t just about getting a job; it’s also a crucial means of personal development. It helps you make friends with talented people and expand your work. These things are very important.”

  “Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right, teacher.” Shuichi Chiba nodded early. He wasn’t just being polite; he genuinely agreed with her.

  It was quite the responsibility of Sumire Nagase to discuss the importance of w with her students. However, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Shuichi Chiba was just hum her and that she was being uimated. The frustration of feeliled made her feel like she couldn't tinue as a teacher for even one more day.

  She felt like a plete failure.