Starting a New Life in Tokyo by Inheriting a Shopping Street [61]

Thursday morning’s third period was, once again, Classical Literature.
The moment class ended, Nase Sumire hurried out, walking as if fleeing the scene—afraid that if she lingered, she’d be caught.

After all, for the entire lesson, that brat had kept watching her with that teasing, scheming glint in his eyes—clearly brewing some kind of mischief.

But… she still got caught.

Chiba Shuuichi caught up to her in the corridor, cornering her by the window. His smile was warm, almost gentle, as he asked:

“I have a few questions I’d like to ask Sensei. You’re free right now, aren’t you?”

“I’m not. Chiba-kun, please ask me next time.” Nase Sumire hugged the lesson plans in her arms tightly, face tense and guarded.

“Eh? I thought Nase-sensei was the very responsible type. Is it really fine to brush off such an eager student like this?” Shuuichi turned his head slightly, eyes sliding toward her.

Sumire bit down lightly on her lip, glancing at the lively students filling the hallway.
“Then… just ask here. I have something to do after this.”

“In that case…” Shuuichi’s lips curled into a sly smile.
“How’s Sensei’s health? Have you been obedient and gotten proper rest?”

She’d fallen for that trap once before. No way she’d fall for it a second time—her guard stayed high.

“This has nothing to do with the lesson, nor with responsibility. It’s a personal matter. Chiba-kun, you should be asking about something related to classical literature.”

“That’s not right. I clearly said before—only by taking care of your body can you have the energy to teach students. Thinking like this, Sensei, is actually quite irresponsible.” Shuuichi corrected her.

“…” Sumire took a deep breath, forcing a polite smile.
“Thank you for your concern. My condition is…”

She hesitated. She wanted to say pretty good, but then remembered what Shuuichi had told her last time—once you’re better, I’ll be asking more of you.

But what if she gave the wrong answer?

The memory of the nurse’s office flashed before her eyes—his offhand joke about “helping take the thermometer” still fresh in her mind…

Her gut told her that no matter how she answered, she wouldn’t avoid certain dangerous developments—in fact, it might end up worse…

“…Pretty good,” she finally chose to just tell the truth. If both answers could lead to trouble, then at least honesty would protect her professional dignity.

“You’re welcome.” Shuuichi didn’t seem to mind her tone at all—he just gave a relaxed smile.
“If Sensei doesn’t take care of yourself next time, I will resort to coercion again.”

And with that, he turned to leave.

Sumire blinked in surprise. He… he just left?

He didn’t continue to pressure her into anything else? Wasn’t he the one who’d said that once she recovered, he’d have more demands?

Of course—absolutely not that she was looking forward to such demands—mainly it was…

Well, this way, didn’t it mean she had really misunderstood Chiba-kun? That he’d been genuinely concerned, and she’d thought so badly of him… even…

Even so wickedly…

“Wait, Chiba-kun.” Sumire hurriedly called after him.

“Sensei still has business?” Shuuichi looked at her with a playful glint. Surely she wasn’t going to be like Kaichou, was she?

“That… sorry. Sensei might have misunderstood you before…” Sumire said, sounding a little ashamed.

“If it’s about cosplay—if Chiba-kun is still interested—you can come and exchange ideas with me anytime. Just please, absolutely don’t—”

“Maybe it wasn’t a misunderstanding,” Shuuichi suddenly cut her off.

“???” Sumire’s eyes went wide. Her lips parted slightly, confusion written all over her face. This constant back-and-forth—she was about to crash like an overworked CPU.

Was this student in front of her kind-hearted or wicked? She honestly couldn’t tell.

“Sensei’s reactions are just too cute. Makes me want to tease you even more.” Shuuichi couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Suddenly, Sumire felt a wave of frustration—so he was just messing with her for fun?!

Couldn’t he at least have a shred of respect for his teacher?

Cute, my foot…

A teacher needs dignity, okay?!

Her teeth clenched tight, jaw muscles grinding audibly—she looked like she’d happily bite Shuuichi if she could.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be returning to the office.”

She was furious—but since he wasn’t actually some sinister villain, and had genuinely been worried for her (albeit in the most infuriating way possible), she couldn’t scold him. She could only sulk at herself.

“There is something,” Shuuichi said, unhurried.

“What?” Sumire’s voice was stiff.

“That friend Sensei mentioned before—how’s that going?” Shuuichi leaned against the windowsill, one arm propped casually as he tilted his head toward her.

Sumire, in contrast, stood straight and stiff, clutching her papers like a secretary reporting to her boss.

“Still not sure. Why the sudden interest?” This topic shift felt way too abrupt.

“Just looking for something to talk about—so I can chat with Sensei a little longer.” Shuuichi’s tone was pure mischief.

“…” Sumire rolled her eyes. She didn’t want to respond, and she certainly didn’t trust a single word out of this boy’s mouth.

Shuuichi didn’t seem to care, continuing on:
“It’s just—leaving a shop empty isn’t a good thing. And when I’ve promised something, if I don’t get it done quickly, it sits on my mind.”

“I see. Thank you for the trouble, Chiba-kun. I’ll make sure to confirm it with her in the next couple of days.”

Sumire felt another twinge of guilt—she was the one who’d asked this of a student, yet the student seemed more concerned about it than she was. That was… a bit much.

“That… about after-school tutoring, Chiba-kun, when would—”

“Are you sure that’s okay?” Shuuichi blinked, a half-smile playing at his lips.

“What?” Sumire froze.

“After-school tutoring. One-on-one lessons…” Shuuichi let the words trail off suggestively. “Sensei’s not worried?”

Her heart gave a sharp jolt. As a cosplay enthusiast, she was well aware of certain anime plotlines—after-school private lessons were… indeed risky…

“But, as a teacher, if you’ve made a promise, you should fulfill it, right? Otherwise, wouldn’t that be failing in your duty?” Shuuichi’s words boxed her in again, as if he’d seen straight through her thoughts.

Sumire’s scalp tingled. This was a pain to deal with—but part of her suspected this boy was talking this way just to avoid the tutoring.

Still…

She suddenly smiled with confidence.

“No problem. Actually, my friend used to be a teacher too—her literary ability is better than mine, and she has a talent for languages. Chinese, English, French—you name it. I’ll have her tutor you in person next time.”

Slippery as an eel, this female teacher… Shuuichi sighed inwardly. But his curiosity was piqued about this English-proficient friend of hers.

“So Sensei’s friend is also a teacher. What kind of person is she? I think you mentioned before—something about her having an unfortunate past?”

Hearing that, Sumire’s expression turned a little complicated, her tone more serious.

“Her name is Amamiya Momoka. We were classmates. As for her past… there’s nothing unspeakable about it—after all, none of it was her fault. She was the victim.”

“How so?” Shuuichi settled in for story time.

Sumire let out a quiet sigh.

“It’s simple—just a few sentences to sum it up. She’s extremely beautiful. After she started working, she was relentlessly pursued at her school.

“And it wasn’t just male teachers—there were students, and even members of the school board. She refused every single one of them…”

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This is a fan translation of 从继承商店街开始东京生活 by 净消尘土 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!