Chapter 100: Chapter 88 – Now I’ve Become a Teacher in Prison
Yukinoshita Yono gazed blankly at her serious-looking younger sister in front of her.
The glow of the sunset reflected in her eyes, gradually blurring her vision.
In her memory, the carefree smile of her sister, who had always stuck to her like a shadow in their childhood, began to overlap with the resilient face before her.
Snapping back to reality, Yono suddenly leaned back against the sofa, abandoning her lady-like demeanor, and whimsically stretched out her arms against the backrest, exclaiming, “Ah, I’m hungry, Yukino! Go make dinner for your sister!”
The pleasant atmosphere was shattered in an instant. After a moment of surprise, Yukinoshita Yukino revealed a smile and got up to check the remaining ingredients in the fridge.
Once she entered the kitchen, Yono began to absentmindedly gaze at the ceiling, letting out a long sigh that only she could hear, her calm and beautiful features betraying no hint of her inner thoughts.
Dinner was quickly prepared, and as Yukinoshita Yukino set the table, she brought up Lin Qi’s plan to buy a house, hoping that Yono could lend a hand.
“After all, Lin Qi isn’t from this era and must be utterly confused about all the procedures involved in purchasing property,” Yukinoshita Yukino said.
However, whether Lin Qi really was from a thousand years ago and what his true identity was remained a temporary mystery.
Before she could inquire further, he had already slipped away.
“Hey, it seems like Yukino is quite concerned about Lin Qi~” Yono teased.
“I just don’t want that money to be scammed away. After all, I’m usually the one dealing with cursed spirits,” the black-haired girl replied nonchalantly while sipping her miso soup.
“Alright, alright, I got it,” Yono readily agreed to her adorable sister’s request. “Then Yukino, just give me Lin Qi’s contact information.”
“…”
Yukinoshita Yukino suddenly froze mid-sip, her expression turning rigid.
“Yukino doesn’t have Lin Qi’s contact information?” Seeing her look of unexpected disappointment, Yono couldn’t help but chuckle. “I guess you’ll just have to wait for him to contact you.”
“After all, Lin Qi doesn’t have any form of identification,” Yukinoshita Yukino set her bowl down, saying with a troubled expression.
“Are you leaving already? Don’t you want to stay the night?” Yono asked. “Without Lin Qi in your head, you can finally bathe and sleep with your sister!”
“No, I have class tomorrow,” Yukinoshita Yukino replied while changing her shoes at the entrance.
“You’re actually worried about Lin Qi, aren’t you?” Yono teased, leaning against the wall.
“Of course not! That guy doesn’t need anyone worrying about him!” The black-haired girl flicked her heel, stomped her foot to secure her shoes, and rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Worrying about him is less useful than worrying about accidentally getting involved with his poor little victims.”
“That’s a fair point,” Yono laughed and waved her goodbye.
After Yukinoshita Yukino left, the apartment grew quiet again, with only the sound of the air conditioner humming in the background.
However, for Yono, this quietness was just right; due to her wide social circle, her time outside was often quite lively, making the rare silence a form of peaceful enjoyment.
After cleaning the dining table, Yono, a little sweaty, decided to take a shower.
Today, to help Yukinoshita Yukino request a day off, Yono made a special trip to meet Shizuka Hiratsuka. She was also pulled into a ramen lunch and inevitably smelled a bit like oil and smoke.
Once she finished her shower and wrapped herself in a white bath towel, she suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the balcony.
“Hm? Just you? Yukino has already left?”
Lin Qi looked around the empty living room, his gaze eventually landing on the short-haired beauty wrapped only in a towel, exposing a lot of smooth skin. The curves that were invisible on Yukinoshita Yukino now became clear.
When she saw a strange boy appearing in her home, Yukinoshita Yono’s head buzzed, and she instinctively clutched the loosely wrapped towel around her chest until he spoke.
Although his face was unfamiliar, his voice sounded familiar.
“Lin Qi?” she tentatively asked.
“It’s me, this should be our first official meeting,” Lin Qi nodded and replied.
Yukinoshita Yono felt relieved. In such a situation, it could only be Lin Qi; after all, who else would come in through the balcony as if it were the front door?
“Feel free to sit. If you’re looking for Yukino, she left a while ago.” Yukinoshita Yono said casually, then walked into her bedroom and shut the door.
A light flush crept to her face as she recalled that a boy she just met saw her fresh out of the shower. Despite years of practice in maintaining her composure, she found it hard to keep up her usual ease in such a situation.
After calming her slightly chaotic emotions and changing into comfortable homewear, Yukinoshita Yono returned to the living room.
Lin Qi was already enjoying a drink on the sofa. When he saw her dressed and coming out, he casually tossed a chilled beer can from the table at her.
“Wow, you really have no courtesy, do you, Lin Qi?” Catching the beer, Yukinoshita Yono sounded somewhat pouting.
“Familiarity breeds comfort,” Lin Qi smiled and raised his glass toward her.
Not one to be overly polite, the short-haired girl opened the can with a decisive action, took a sip, and then settled into the single sofa beside him, curiosity dancing in her eyes as she scanned the youth who seemed a bit overly handsome.
“I didn’t expect Lin Qi to be so young. I thought you’d be some boring old man.”
Lin Qi’s appearance was crafted based on his past life, and since he suffered injuries that left him in this parallel world at a young age, he naturally appeared youthful.
Besides, he had a face that didn’t look old; even in his past life, at over twenty years old, he frequently got mistaken for the younger one when standing next to his teenage cousin.
“I’m just a youthful old man,” Lin Qi joked in response.
“But Lin Qi is clearly black-haired.”
“Just dyed it. It makes me seem younger. Judging from your reaction, I’d say it’s working quite well,” he replied.
Yukinoshita Yono chuckled at his words, covering her mouth in amusement.
“I heard from Yukino that Lin Qi is planning to buy a house? Do you need my help?” After laughing, she remembered her sister’s request.
“Having someone to help arrange things is definitely better, so I’ll count on you then, big Yukinoshita.”
“Even to distinguish between me and Yukino, you don’t have to use such a strange title, Lin Qi. Just calling me Yono is fine.”
“Then it’s settled, Yono.”
……
When Yukinoshita Yukino returned home, it was almost nine o’clock in the evening. The apartment was dark, indicating that no one was home.
She fumbled to turn on the wall switch, the harsh white light bringing brightness to the living room but making it feel somewhat cold. The orange and soft glow of the lamp felt a bit lonely.
Without the noisy distractions in her head, Yukinoshita Yukino found it strangely hard to adjust.
Back in her room, she sat at her desk and picked up a book she had yet to finish reading, Natsume Sōseki’s I Am a Cat.
As she immersed herself in the world of the book, her thoughts gradually settled.
When it was about time, Yukinoshita Yukino, as usual, took a shower and went to bed, ready to sleep.
Now that there was no annoying guy telling jokes or scary stories before bedtime to disturb her sleep, the girl quickly fell into a deep slumber.
Perhaps due to her body being used in an intense battle by Lin Qi, she slept soundly, even when the sound of running water from the house’s bathroom in the morning stirred her, she merely frowned and turned over, not wanting to get out of bed.
It wasn’t until six-thirty that her biological clock woke her up on time from her dreams.
Yukinoshita Yukino groggily got out of bed, preparing to wash up, when she noticed the living room curtains she had closed last night had somehow been opened, along with the glass door.
Morning sunlight streamed in, forcing the girl to squint her eyes instinctively.
In her blurred vision, a figure sat elegantly in a bamboo-woven lounger, facing the rising sun, gently swaying a wine glass filled with red wine, as if he had become a winner in life, only needing to greet the world’s beauty each day, without facing life’s harshness.
Unfortunately, the house wasn’t his, the wine in his hand was borrowed from someone else, and even the towel covering his modesty was something casually used from the bathroom.
“Lin Qi?”
Yukinoshita Yukino’s expression changed rapidly, shifting from surprise to questioning disbelief, then to evident disdain, all within two seconds, prompting a sigh.
She was at a loss for words as she looked at Lin Qi, wrapped in a towel, half-naked, drinking wine on her balcony.
“What are you doing in my house?”
“I’m here, welcoming the first rays of sunlight to greet my new life. It’s a ritual,” Lin Qi replied leisurely, taking a sip of the red wine. “You know, Yukinoshita, a sense of ritual is very important.”
Ignoring his nonsense, Yukinoshita Yukino glanced at the open bottle of red wine on the small round table and asked again, “Where did you get the red wine? There shouldn’t be any in my house.”
“Your sister gave it to me,” he said without changing his expression.
“Ugh, my sister really…” Yukinoshita Yukino let out a headache-inducing sigh, shaking her head helplessly as she went back to the bathroom to wash up.
Lin Qi could enjoy his leisure, but she couldn’t; she still had to go to school.
After washing up, she had to start preparing breakfast and a bento for lunch at school, while Lin Qi finished the glass of red wine and returned to the living room to sit on the sofa.
He picked up Yukinoshita Yukino’s phone from the table and skillfully entered her lock screen password.
Thanks to the open kitchen arrangement, Yukinoshita Yukino immediately caught his actions and asked, “Lin Qi, what are you doing with my phone?”
“Calling Ijichi to get me some identification,” Lin Qi explained, then used Yukinoshita Yukino’s phone to call Kiyotaka Ijichi.
After three rings, the call connected, and Ijichi’s slightly hoarse voice came through, clearly having just been awakened from sleep.
After explaining the identification matter, Lin Qi set the phone back on the table.
“So, Lin Qi has nowhere else to go now?” Yukinoshita Yukino asked while preparing the meal.
“Pretty much.”
“I see.” Upon hearing Lin Qi’s vague answer, the girl hesitated for a moment before softly speaking up, “Then, should I…”
“Before the identification is sorted out, I’ll need to stay here for a few days,” Lin Qi interrupted her, not the least bit polite.
The words on the tip of Yukinoshita Yukino’s tongue were swallowed back, transforming into a teasing remark with a hint of a smile. “Looks like even with his own body, Lin Qi has merely evolved from a parasitic bug to a hermit crab.”
“You’re not wrong.” Lin Qi had already opened…
For some reason, a subtle discomfort floated within her.
After preparing breakfast and a bento, Yukinoshita Yukino placed two servings on the dining table and quietly began eating.
Once she finished her meal, the girl tidied up and headed out for school, leaving Lin Qi alone on the sofa, playing games.
He manipulated little monsters to kill the character he controlled, enjoying their dying moans, and smiled helplessly, “Sigh, at least cover it with a bowl so that people don’t smell the aroma wafting over.”
Getting up from the sofa, he walked to the dining table, looking at his serving prepared by Yukinoshita Yukino, where even the chopsticks were neatly laid out for him.
Lin Qi had always been very tolerant of the girl’s little quirks, so he picked up the chopsticks and started to enjoy the breakfast that Yukinoshita Yukino had made for him.
……
What was said to be a temporary stay for a few days turned into Ijichi delivering Lin Qi’s identification the very next day.
“Here’s your driver’s license and your teacher’s certificate.” In Yukinoshita Yukino’s home, Kiyotaka Ijichi handed him several identification documents and related paperwork.
“A teacher’s certificate? Oh, so you’ve listed me as a teacher at the vocational school,” Lin Qi said, looking at the handsome photo on his ID and nodding in satisfaction.
“Yes, please don’t mind that.” Ijichi bowed slightly, a hint of apology in his voice, as this was indeed a unilateral decision on their part.
Images of Satoru Gojo’s nonchalant demeanor when he spoke to Lin Qi floated through Ijichi’s mind: “It’s fine, it’s fine; that guy won’t mind, right?”
“It’s nothing, rather it turns out well.” Lin Qi lifted an eyebrow; now he had a justification to take over Itadori Yuuji directly.
After all, you all admitted it yourself—I’m a teacher at Jujutsu High School.
Taking care of my own student, what’s wrong with that?
……
After school, and then becoming a jujutsu sorcerer.
