After coaxing his girlfriend for now, and finishing lunch somehow, it was finally time for everyone’s favorite break: lunch recess.

Liyu was exhausted. At Chen Xiang’s insistence, she did a bit of light movement first to help digest, then collapsed onto the lounge sofa and fell asleep.

Yumo didn’t have a habit of napping, but the sheer amount of exercise that morning had already left him drowsy.

“Would you like a lap pillow from Demon Miss? A boob pillow works too.”

“Don’t freak me out... hm?”

His phone suddenly rang. Yumo saw an unfamiliar number, wondered how he should respond if it was a scam call, and pressed accept—

“...Yumo? Is that Yumo?”

“...Teacher Lin?”

Why was that woman suddenly calling him? It couldn’t be about chemistry class, could it?

“So, are you really certain you have to stay suspended the whole time, and can’t come to school at all?”

“Of course. Weren’t you there when it happened?”

“About that... actually, after you left, there’ve been some vacancies on the chemistry side, and, um... there are some details about miscellaneous tasks I might still need to ask you...”

“Then hurry up and find yourself another assistant.”

“I want to, but do I have anyone suitable?”

“You’re the teacher and you’re asking me? Also—wait.”

A plan suddenly came to Yumo.

Even he was startled by his own idea. Maybe he really did have a talent for being a scheming scumbag. It was all the Demon’s fault for leading him astray.

“Come to think of it, being the chemistry class rep at our school means handling quite a lot.”

“Yes, I know that...”

“Collecting and handing back homework is just the basics. You also have to regularly check inventory, maintain equipment, assist with experiments... there’s a ton to do.”

“Mhm... I dumped a lot of things on you before. Anyway... um... sorry...”

“What’s the point of saying sorry? The urgent thing is finding someone willing to take over this mess. That person has to command respect, be excellent, and not refuse a teacher’s request. Who do you think fits best in those two classes?”

“You mean... ah!”

The classroom of Class 3, Year 2, was missing two people, and had gained two empty seats.

Liyu was one thing. She didn’t hold any position, and she didn’t have any friends. Cruel as it sounded, whether she was in this class or not made no difference at all.

But Yumo was different.

Class monitor, cleaning committee member, chemistry class rep. Three roles that all required constant effort had fallen on him. The moment he was suspended, the whole class started malfunctioning.

The importance of class monitor and cleaning committee member went without saying. Homeroom teacher Liu had lost a major workhorse, so a pile of things now had to be handled personally. On top of that, the school was still pressing him for accountability. It was a complete train wreck.

As for chemistry class rep? Linhai High’s chemistry program emphasized hands-on practice. Lab classes were frequent, and each session was taught to two classes together. Yumo often handled the workload of both classes at once. Linqinglan had actually felt relieved when he was gone at first, but after just one day, she started missing him.

That boy had a severe imbalance in his grades. His Chinese and English were awful, but his science scores were excellent. Especially chemistry—he had never scored anything but full marks.

He was absurdly good at all the messy little jobs. Sorting chemicals, assisting with experiments, even helping review reports and grade homework. Only after he was suspended did Linqinglan realize just how much she had relied on him.

Near the end of today’s lab class, a helpless Linqinglan said,

“Ahem. Because of reasons everyone already knows, student Yumo will be absent for a long time. So the chemistry class rep position needs extra help. Would anyone like to volunteer?”

“......”

So no one, huh...

Linqinglan hadn’t wanted to do this, but... it seemed she had no choice but to use a teacher’s authority and directly appoint someone.

Just like she had said on the phone with Yumo, that student had to command respect, have excellent grades, and preferably not refuse.

And wasn’t there a perfect candidate right in front of her?

“Jing Yiqiu? I’ll leave it to you. How about it?”

“Hmm? Me?”

The one she had called on was the girl in the first row. The famous school beauty, acknowledged as perfect both inside and out—Jing Yiqiu.

A trace of surprise flashed across her face when her name was called, but she immediately returned to her usual calm gentleness. She stood up, gave Linqinglan a slight bow, and said in a clear voice that was fresh yet sweet, “Of course. Since Teacher Lin trusts me so much, I won’t let you down. I’ll definitely take over student Yumo’s duties.”

“Thank you! That’s a huge help. Come see me after school and I’ll explain what you need to do. If you have any detailed questions, you can also contact Yumo and ask him, alright?”

“...Alright.”

And just like that, the afternoon passed.

Counting from the morning, they had trained for an entire day. Exercise a bit, stop a bit. Chen Xiang kept the workload under precise control the whole time, making sure Liyu stayed in a state of sustainable total exhaustion. One day of this was worth several weeks of activity.

As for Yumo...

“I... have to... stop...”

He sprawled on the floor like a puddle of mud, one hand stretched forward as if he wanted to write the character for miserable on the yoga mat.

“...Are you cosplaying Orga?” Liyu asked carefully.

“Who’s that...”

“A character from Olympus in Heart-Throbbing War God: Justa Steel Pipe. He died in a really funny way.”

“Are you saying I’m really funny...”

“Ah, no, no, that’s not what I meant! I mean... ah, right! Since we’re, we’re, we’re a couple now, then... could we maybe... share hobbies and stuff sometime? Like watching anime together...?”

“I’m too tired today... you’re tired too, right... head back early...”

“...Okaaay.”

Liyu felt a little disappointed, but she really was exhausted too. She could barely keep her eyes open.

Under Chen Xiang’s orders, the two of them forced themselves to finish their post-workout stretches, then staggered into the changing room. Only then did Yusuozaai appear again.

“Good work. How does day one feel?”

“...You’re asking me that?”

“Don’t blame me. Sweating it out is what youth is all about. You did pretty well. Your friends and family got to live one more day.”

“............”

A threat.

A naked, blatant threat.

That delicate young girl appearance couldn’t hide the Demon’s spine-chillingly evil nature.

“...Like you said, I’m casting a wide net.”

Yumo was too tired to get angry at Yusuozaai anymore. There was no point getting mad at a Demon.

“If nothing goes wrong, the school beauty will contact me on her own before long. Linqinglan will probably appoint Jing Yiqiu as acting chemistry class rep,” Yumo said.

“I told you, you’re a natural-born bad man, but you wouldn’t believe me. You’re emotionally manipulating your official girlfriend while flirting with a cheerful Japanese girl, and now you’re forcibly dragging the school beauty into your web too. You scheming glasses-wearing man!” Yusuozaai laughed as she poked Yumo’s cheek.

“I don’t want to die, and I definitely don’t want the people I know to die. I’m being forced into this.”

“There you go again, using death threats as an excuse for scumbag behavior~”

“? But that’s literally the truth. If you weren’t forcing me, would I be acting like a scumbag? And you’re still trying to bluff me with that? Do you think I’m stupid?”

“...Tch. You really are hard to fool.”

Yumo easily saw through Yusuozaai’s cheap little attempt to pile more guilt onto him. Ignoring her muttering, he pulled off his beloved cotton boxers in one swift motion.

“Ah-wah-wah-wah...”

And this Demon actually got shy. She covered her face with both hands, but the gaps between her fingers were very wide.

“You’re really letting it all hang out in front of a young maiden. How bold...”

“Drop the fake shyness already!”