Chapter 143 – The You and Yukinoshita…
Around a simple bonfire, a circle of people gathered.
Yukinoshita Yukino held a roasted rabbit leg lightly between her fingers, eating slowly and delicately.
The meat was cooked to perfection, revealing exceptional freshness; when biting into the rabbit meat, the oil would seep out, spreading an aroma that filled the mouth.
It really smelled delicious.
It wasn’t just Yukinoshita Yukino; everyone in this small circle from the Service Club had been given a rabbit and was enjoying it. Although they were already quite full after having curry rice bowls, it was hard to resist the temptation of barbecued food!
Hayama Hayato and his group had all left.
After all, they were not close, so how could they keep intruding and eating for free?
Moreover, Hayama was also aware that Yukinoshita Yukino and Hachiman Hikigaya did not particularly care for them; he didn’t want to make Yui Yuigahama and Ayaka Hozuki uncomfortable.
“It really tastes great. I don’t think I can look at cute rabbits like this anymore,” Yui said with guilt, chewing with her mouth full, feeling slightly guilty.
“Yeah, there’s also Lin Qi’s barbecue skills,” Ayaka added, wearing a modest smile.
“What? My barbecue skill is top-notch!” Shizuka Hiratsuka grumbled, unwilling to be outdone. She then skewered another rabbit leg and started roasting it over the fire.
Her face bore a noticeable flush, partly due to drinking a good amount of alcohol, which made her gaze slightly hazy. Her usual sharpness waned, replaced by a flirtatious air.
Shizuka Hiratsuka, dressed masculinely, exhibited a striking contrast at this moment. When she once again opened a beer can with one hand and clinked glasses with Lin Qi, she flipped the rabbit on the grill and took a long sip, finishing the can in one go.
“Ha!”
If she sat still, she seemed like a charming, mature, and elegant woman. But as soon as she spoke or moved, a strong aura emerged, destroying any composed image she might have built for others.
Indeed, she was a beautiful, static idol.
The two of them sat side by side, and empty beer cans surrounded their little stool.
“Oh, you don’t know how annoying our school’s dean is! Since I’m the advisor, they keep piling up work on me, making me work overtime frequently…”
Shizuka had drunk too much and started complaining about her workload to Lin Qi, looking exactly like a salaried worker complaining after work at an izakaya.
In theory, even if Shizuka liked drinking, she wouldn’t consume like this in front of students; at most, she would drink one or two, and even if she wanted more, Yukinoshita Yukino would stop her.
But since she was drinking with Lin Qi,
Yukinoshita Yukino said, “Lin Qi-kun, don’t drink too much.”
Lin Qi replied, “This is adult business, kids should mind their own business.”
Yukinoshita Yukino was speechless.
“No, no, one is enough, it’s not appropriate,” Shizuka interrupted herself, looking a bit flustered.
Lin Qi said resignedly, “If it’s not allowed, then fine.”
Then Shizuka said, “Oh, come on, drink it!”
So, one can followed another. As Shizuka drank, her face turned redder, and her words started becoming less restrained—from work issues, personal life, to matchmaking—she vented her frustrations.
Yuiyu, although wanting to stop her, saw even Yukinoshita Yukino, who clearly had a better rapport with Lin Qi, remained silent. Thus, Yui stopped trying to intervene as well.
“It’s the same everywhere,” Lin Qi responded cheerfully, though he was drinking just as much as Shizuka, but his cheeks showed healthy flush without signs of drunkenness.
Earlier, he had motioned to Hachiman to start recording with his phone.
Obviously, Shizuka was still talking about herself, indicating she wasn’t really drunk yet.
If she were, she’d have asked about the marriage arrangements already.
“Why do you not seem to understand the pressure? Is your job that easy?” Shizuka couldn’t help but ask, noticing his seemingly contented smile.
“It is,” Lin Qi nodded.
“Do you not get more work piled onto you from the leaders?”
“They dare not.”
“Tsk, how nice,” Shizuka envied, then she asked, “What subjects do you teach?”
“A bit of everything,” Lin Qi said.
“Really?” She looked surprised, not having seen such a teacher before.
Lin Qi smiled sincerely, “I cover quite a lot.”
“So impressive. What university did you graduate from?”
Lin Qi casually mentioned his former university.
After pondering, realizing that he didn’t match the Japanese university, he clarified after being reminded by Lin Qi, “I forgot, your name sounds foreign.”
Yukinoshita Yukino raised her eyes slightly, observing him.
“I’ve finished eating.” She wiped her mouth and hands with a tissue and stood up, saying, “Lin Qi-kun, don’t stay out here too long, it might affect the children.”
Meaning not to mess too much.
Fully understanding Lin Qi, Yukinoshita knew what he was up to when she saw his half-smile and noticed his request for Hachiman to record the scene.
Although she didn’t know why the target was now Shizuka-sensei, she knew she couldn’t stop him.
Fortunately, Lin Qi-kun understood limits and probably wouldn’t do anything too outrageous; she didn’t know why he wanted Shizuka-sensei drunk, and they hadn’t intersected much.
No problem; Lin Qi-kun would explain himself later.
“We’ve all eaten our fill! Thank you for the meal!”
After Yukinoshita left, Yui felt extremely restless and quickly took Ayaka away, giving Hachiman a wink, indicating they should leave too.
Adult conversations were truly intimidating!
“Think nothing of it.”
Hachiman was desperate to run; he was supposed to be doing something for Lin Qi-dai-san, not just playing with his phone.
Plus, who doesn’t want to leave!
He was surely the student most eager to escape.
“All right, go ahead,” Lin Qi waved his hand. From his grasp, Hachiman retrieved his phone and saw that it was recording. He put it away.
“Alright, alright, I’ll go first, thank you for the meal.”
Hachiman felt a weight lifted and hurriedly departed with Yui, Ayaka, and Komachi.
Seeing the students leave, Shizuka started eating her grilled rabbit leg alone.
Lin Qi savored his roasted snake meat with relish.
It shouldn’t be long.
The older female teacher, after finishing her rabbit leg, reached for the plastic bag of beer, only to find it empty. She then withdrew her hand.
“Cough, cough…” she coughed, a mix of embarrassment and shyness appearing on her face.
After some hesitation, Shizuka opened her mouth slowly.
“Lin Qi, you… you’re with Yukinoshita…”
…
After School, Then Become a Jujutsu Sorcerer:
