"Oh? Isn't that Uesugi and Hayami?"

The woman walking towards them was Ayaki Mayumi.

"Good evening, Ayaki-sensei~"

Hayami greeted her as though it was routine, suggesting that he had encountered Ayaki Mayumi here before.

Uesugi followed behind Hayami, pondered for a moment, then greeted Ayaki Mayumi using Hayami's way of address.

"Good evening, Ayaki-sensei."

Upon hearing Uesugi's address, Ayaki Mayumi frowned slightly but didn't say anything about it.

She then approached the two and sniffed them like a husky.

"Mmm, it seems like you guys just had ramen."

Ayaki Mayumi had a mysterious smile on her face, which Uesugi didn't understand, so he asked.

"Ayaki-sensei, what are you smirking about?"

"Hm? You don't know?"

Ayaki Mayumi gave a meaningful glance at Eiji Hayamizu and then answered Uesugi.

"Don't you know, Uesugi? According to an urban legend, if two men come to this ramen shop together and order the same type of ramen, they will both come out of the closet."

Embarrassed, Uesugi stammered, "Uh...," but then poured cold water on Ayaki Mayumi's mischievous smile.

"As a teacher, how can you believe in such unscientific rumors? I will report you to the school."

Facing the ruthless threat from his student, if it were an ordinary teacher, they would bow their head without any dignity and apologize, saying something like "I'm sorry, I was wrong."

But Ayaki Mayumi was different. She grabbed Uesugi by his collar and aggressively chased after him.

"What? Threatening me? I haven't appeared for a while and you dare to step on me? Ha?"

"Uh, haven't... haven't appeared? But... aren't we seeing each other at school every day, Ayaki-sensei?"

Uesugi struggled to speak because his collar was being gripped.

"If life were a novel, it feels like I haven't had a proper appearance for a while."

"Oh, I see. In that case, I also feel like I have almost no chance of appearing."

Eiji Hayamizu nodded repeatedly on the side, appearing deeply resonant.

"Alright, enough about this. With exams approaching, you guys should do your best. I'm starving, so I'll go have some food first."

Ayaki Mayumi, carefree as ever, waved her hand and left Uesugi and Hayami behind, going on her own way.

"Women like her are difficult to deal with..."

Uesugi commented as he watched Ayaki Mayumi's figure recede.

"Is that so? Actually, Uesugi, no matter what type of woman it is, you're not good at dealing with them, right?"

Eiji Hayamizu scanned Uesugi with a gaze reminiscent of a doctor examining a patient.

"Uh, is that so... I... I'm quite good at dealing with little girls though."

Uesugi pretended to be nonchalant.

Hayami made a mischievous move by hooking his arm around Uesugi's shoulder and smirked.

"I didn't expect it, Uesugi. If you consider little girls as women, I'll have to report you hehehe."

Chongzong swiftly thrust his elbow into Hayamizu's stomach and then strode forward confidently.

"No more beating around the bush. Let's go, to the place where you keep that woman," Chongzong said.

Hayamizu clutched his stomach and stumbled to catch up, his face still full of an ominous smile.

"I thought you had forgotten about her," Hayamizu said.

"What do you plan to do to her tonight, Uesugi?" Chongzong asked.

"Just a heads up, I didn't bring any props to that place. Just in case, I suggest we stop by a convenience store along the way to buy... ugh!"

System alert: Eiji Hayamizu has been struck by Chongzong's elbow.