Next bonus, 200!
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"Screw you!"
Sonoko Machida lost it when she saw that Shizuka Hiratsuka still had the nerve to make a joke at a time like this.
After forcefully shoving her friend into the hotel bedroom, Machida immediately pulled out her phone and snapped a quick photo.
"What are you doing?"
Even though her vision was completely blocked, Shizuka could hear the crisp click of the camera shutter perfectly well.
"What else? Sending him a picture."
"But..."
A picture? Shizuka suddenly felt incredibly awkward and self-conscious.
"What's with the 'but'? You still have all your clothes on, what are you so afraid of? Don't tell me you're backing out now?"
"Backing out? Are you kidding me? I just wanted to say, you better make sure I look good in the picture."
"Tsk!"
Even though Machida had been best friends with Shizuka for a long time, her ridiculous, stubborn bravado still left him speechless.
Forget it, terrified that teasing her any further would actually make Shizuka bolt out the door, Machida didn't bother saying anything else.
She simply opened Line and sent the photo she had just taken directly to Kai.
"Waiting for you!"
She even attached a highly flirty sticker for good measure.
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"What is this?"
Kai hadn't thought much of it at first. But when he opened the message and saw the photo of Shizuka Hiratsuka lying on the bed wearing a blindfold, a look of genuine astonishment flashed across his face.
IS THIS THE MASSIVE SURPRISE?
Good grief... Kai had originally been trying to brainstorm exactly what kind of angle he could use to conquer Shizuka Hiratsuka. After all, as a hardened teacher with a fiery temper, she wasn't nearly as easy to deal with as the other heroines.
And the result? She literally delivered herself right to his doorstep.
Sonoko Machida was, without a doubt, his ultimate wingwoman.
'Do you not like it?'
Machida texted back, suddenly worried that Kai might not actually be into this kind of specific setup.
'I love it. Of course I love it. You really are my sweetheart.'
'Hurry up and get over here, otherwise she's going to panic and leave.'
"Don't worry!"
After putting his phone away, Kai noticeably picked up his pace toward the hotel.
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Meanwhile.
After putting her phone down, Machida couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh in the hotel room.
"What a total nightmare of a man."
In fact, it was impossible for Machida not to have real, deep feelings for Kai after spending so much time together recently. But she was also very aware of what was going on. She was almost thirty, which was ten years older than him.
Relationships between older women and younger men weren't unheard of, but a gap this wide was still exceptionally rare.
Furthermore...
It wasn't like Machida hadn't dropped hints before, but Kai's stance was very clear. It was fine if she wanted to touch him and have fun. But asking him to stop seeing everyone else and only be with her? Not a chance.
Kai stopped just short of outright declaring his intent to conquer the entire forest. Knowing full well he was an incorrigible playboy—and equally unwilling to leave his side—she resolved to guard against the day he might grow bored and cast her aside.
Machida had no choice but to take a completely unconventional approach.
The reason she had agreed to Shizuka's ridiculous proposal in the first place actually involved a fair bit of her own highly calculated scheming.
"I refuse to believe you'd still be willing to throw me away after this."
As a veteran light novel editor, there wasn't a single outrageous, trope-laden plotline Machida hadn't seen before. Putting those ideas into practice was an entirely different matter, but that didn't stop her from understanding—perfectly—how to capture a man's interest.
"Machida, did you just say something?"
Shizuka suddenly called out from inside the bedroom. Perhaps because her vision was blocked, her hearing had become significantly sharper and more sensitive to the silence.
"Nothing. I was just texting him. He's going to be here any minute."
"I see. Alright then!"
She had originally been planning to rip the blindfold off in a moment of panic, but hearing that, she hesitated again. Forget it. She would just pretend she was asleep since she had already come this far.
If she bailed now, she would definitely be mercilessly mocked. After all, she was the one who had proposed experiencing this in the first place.
Shizuka had no intention of being underestimated.
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Soon enough, Kai arrived at the hotel suite. Pushing the door open, he immediately saw Machida leaning seductively against the hallway doorframe.
"Where is she?"
Hearing his highly direct question, Machida feigned a look of deep, dramatic disappointment.
"As expected. The new always beats the old. Now that you have a fresh toy to play with, an old, boring one like me has to obediently step aside."
"What are you talking about?"
Kai obviously wasn't the type to abandon the old for the new. He immediately pulled her into a forceful, tight embrace, leaned in close, and whispered against her ear.
"I told you, didn't I? Once you belong to me, don't even think about escaping for the rest of your life—"
Even though she was significantly older than him, hearing that intensely dominant, possessive tone made Machida helplessly adopt the blushing demeanor of a smitten teenage girl.
"I know, I know. I'll listen to whatever you say."
Things were already like this anyway.
Furthermore, she didn't know if it was just her imagination, but ever since they crossed that line, she felt increasingly, physically incapable of leaving Kai. In fact, just the thought of talking to other men right now triggered a subconscious wave of pure disgust.
This man was poison!!
But the fatal part was that Machida realized she had no desire whatsoever for an antidote.
"Good girl. It's her first time, so of course I need to take proper care of her. Don't worry, I'll come over and thoroughly satisfy you soon enough."
While she was undeniably thrilled by Kai's possessive tone…
Machida still froze in confusion for a split second.
"How do you know it's her first time?"
That detail bothered her. She was fairly certain she had never actually mentioned it to Kai. After all, Shizuka was the same age as her—no reasonable person would simply assume a thirty-year-old woman was completely inexperienced.
"Of course I know."
He flashed a deeply meaningful, wicked smile, then leaned in even closer to Machida.
"After all, she is my teacher..."
"Hiss!"
Holy hell, they actually had 'that' kind of relationship!
After listening to Kai's brief explanation, Machida was stunned for a moment before her eyes literally lit up with excitement.
"Then what are you waiting for?? Hurry up and go in!"
"..."
Did Sonoko Machida just awaken some twisted voyeuristic kink? Why was she suddenly acting even more desperate and excited than he was?
"Hurry! Go on!"
Well, he had no choice. What else could Kai possibly say? Following Machida's eager, forceful pushing, he walked into the bedroom.
He immediately spotted Shizuka Hiratsuka pretending to be asleep on the massive bed.
Obviously, Shizuka had clearly heard the noise of Kai opening the front door earlier. The tiny shred of composure she had managed to gather instantly vanished into panic.
'Oh my god, is it too late to say I want to leave now??'
While Shizuka was frantically spiraling in her own thoughts...
Kai had already arrived at her bedside.
Sensing someone's intense presence right next to her, Shizuka knew she couldn't keep pretending to be asleep. She stammered out nervously.
"Um, shouldn't we talk first? Get to know each other? Isn't this moving a little too fast?"
"Pfft!" Her terrified and amateurish reaction made Machida, who was watching eagerly from the doorway, burst into laughter.
"Machida? Why the hell are you still in here??"
"What's the big deal? I was planning to tag in and take over when you inevitably run out of energy later."
'TAG IN MY ASS!' She was just about to scream at Machida to get out when Kai's voice drifted over.
"It's fine. If you want, I can definitely keep chatting with you later."
"..."
'You're already doing this, what the hell is there left to chat about??'
Wait?
Shizuka suddenly realized a massive problem.
"This voice...?"
Why did his voice sound so familiar? But before Shizuka could even process her mounting confusion, in the very next second, the brutal siege began.
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