Why is the Demon King like this?

As Chizuru Shiraishi's best friend since middle school, Tsukishima instinctively sensed something was amiss.

—Leaving aside the fact that Shiraishi Chizuru is a person whose heart is half black, she has never been in a relationship since birth, let alone actively flirted with someone.

Moreover, Shiraishi Chizuru had only gone to the restroom before, so how could she have turned around and started flirting with someone else halfway there?

Most importantly, Chizuru Shiraishi's pale face and furrowed brows told her that her best friend was in a terrible state.

But looking out the window, the dimly lit campus offered no sign of anyone else.

Tsukishima frowned, completely clueless.

But sensing the gaze behind her, she didn't ask any questions, only giving Shiraishi Chizuru a deep glare.

"That's all for tonight, everyone get some rest."

She quickly compiled a list of documents to take back and process.

"Shiraishi, I'm leaving."

"Goodbye, teachers. Sorry for the disturbance this evening."

"Oh, no, no, we will never forgive anyone who made Dr. Shiraishi cry!"

"Oh, Dr. Shiraishi..."

"Let me take you there!" Saburo Kamamatsu offered.

"No need, we have our own car."

Tsukishima swiftly led Shiraishi Chizuru away in less than three minutes, effectively silencing the gossipy thoughts of the older teachers.

At this time, Aoki Keisuke was still waiting for a taxi outside the wall.

On the way to the parking lot, Shiraishi Chizuru avoided looking Tsukishima in the eye and talked about other things.

Tsukishima didn't care. Anyway, her best friend always acted this way when she had something to hide. Sometimes she was too lazy to care and would let her get away with it.

But tonight...

"Don't think you can get away with this."

Facing Tsukishima's proud chest, Shiraishi Chizuru lowered her head.

Two best friends who grew up together, even lived in the same room during college, and continued to live together after graduation. They even came to Konghai Private High School together. One became a school doctor and just coasted along, while the other became a homeroom teacher in just two or three years.

The two of them jointly funded the car, a Honda Fit, which is very suitable for driving on the narrow lanes of Japan. However, Tsukishima does most of the driving (as the chauffeur), while Shiraishi Chizuru has almost forgotten everything she learned from her training instructor.

Once in the car, Chizuru Shiraishi sat in the passenger seat, fiddling with an iron sake bottle.

The sloshing of the wine caught Tsukishima's attention.

"What is that?"

Chizuru Shiraishi immediately boasted proudly, "It's the sake I was just talking about!"

"Where did it come from?"

"It was a gift from a handsome guy~"

Tsukishima's face contorted with disgust: "Where would a handsome guy come from in the middle of the night at school?"

"Sigh, maybe it's all just my imagination." Shiraishi sighed wistfully, like a little girl, "I found this in the toilet, want some?"

"..."

Chizuru Tsukishima's murderous gaze shot over from the driver's seat.

Chizuru Shiraishi covered her mouth and laughed. With Tsukishima by her side, she was no longer afraid. Now, recalling Keisuke Ao's actions and tone, she felt even more that he was not a bad person.

"what……"

As she drove away from the school, just after turning a corner, Tsukishima Chizuru suddenly noticed a tall figure standing quietly on the sidewalk.

She asked uncertainly, with a troubled, headache-inducing tone, "That person...it's not Qing Keisuke, is it?"

"Um?!"

Chizuru Shiraishi suddenly raised the radar.

She glanced at him discreetly for a few moments and immediately recognized him.

Female doctor: "It seems so. Why are you still here so late?"

Female teacher: "How should I know!"

Tsukishima felt that everything was going wrong tonight. Not only was Saburo Kamamatsu a persistent nuisance, but even Keisuke Ao had to show up.

Can't you understand how eager a female teacher is to go home after working overtime?!

"So young and already so irritable, Tsukishima, what will you do when you go through menopause?" Shiraishi Chizuru said worriedly.

Tsukishima's blood pressure spiked immediately.

The car slowly pulled over to the side of the road. Tsukishima honked the horn and rolled down the window: "Senkyu?"

"..."

Qing Guijie remained calm and composed, his heart unmoved, and nodded.

Tsukishima felt his blood pressure was starting to get out of control again.

"Why are you still here at this hour?"

"I've come to see a friend (referring to Hanako)," Keisuke Ao said frankly.

Dressed like this, could it be some kind of suspicious online meetup?

Looking around on Tsukishima, he was wearing a baseball cap and a mask late at night; he was either a criminal or deeply socially anxious.

The female teacher subconsciously categorized Aoki Keisuke into the second type.

"Are you getting ready to go home now? Let me give you a ride."

"No need, I'll just take a taxi."

Regardless of how volatile Tsukishima's inner world might be, he was certainly qualified as a teacher.

"Don't waste your money, get on the bus!"

"..."

Keisuke Aoki sat in the back seat and asked Chizuru Shiraishi, "Dr. Shiraishi, is Professor Tsukishima a bit irritable at night?"

The two actors displayed remarkable chemistry.

Chizuru Shiraishi wholeheartedly agreed: "To be honest, that's true."

Tsukishima clicked his tongue and started the car.

In the presence of students, she is like a tough warrior, never easily taking off her mask.

A faint fragrance wafted through the car, emanating from the two mature women in the front row. If Tsukishima were to lean close to Keisuke Ao's chest, he could also smell the familiar scent.

The car stereo was playing a restored version of Akina Nakamori's "Oh No, Oh Yes!", with her captivating voice from the end of the last century flowing out slowly.

Keisuke Ao closed his eyes and leaned back in the seat.

"Loving you is wrong"

Don't take me home tonight

So why don't you hold me tight, my dear?

It seems to be an illicit affair that's fitting for the occasion, so whose playlist is this?

Yuki was curled up in Keisuke Ao's bag, already asleep due to excessive spiritual depletion, and Tsukishima didn't even realize that he had picked up other passengers.

It was only three stops away, and soon it was time to get off. Before Shiraishi Chizuru could come up with a way to conveniently abduct Ao Keisuke, the Demon King decisively thanked her, opened the door, and got off the train.

The Fit returned to its predetermined route. Chizuru Shiraishi relaxed her unconsciously tense body, sinking into the seat, and remarked with a sigh:

"It's so nice to live in this upscale neighborhood in Shinjuku!"

"Isn't Kawaii-sou good enough?" Tsukishima Chizuru retorted, "I'll go back and complain to Granny Shiraishi."

"Yamete! Don't do such a terrifying thing!"

Chizuru Shiraishi shrank her neck, but as an old house where she had lived for so long, wasn't it normal to be complained about?

The small courtyard is prone to mosquito breeding in the summer, the "water filling" is blocked every year, and the corridor grows terribly every time it is cleaned.

"If you tell your parents, I'll say you're dating your student!"

Are you crazy?

They returned to Chuanyan Village amidst much bickering. The young female teacher and doctor parked the car and subconsciously lowered their voices.

"Grandma Shiraishi should be asleep by now."

"Yay!"

The two exchanged a glance, and an unspoken understanding arose instantly.

"I'll go prepare some things, you go to the kitchen, and take this pot of urine with you..."

Shiraishi Chizuru glared at him angrily: "You'll be so hungry then!"

—Perhaps outsiders will never know that Tsukishima Chizuru, who claims to never drink, is actually a heavy drinker who can't live without alcohol.

If she hadn't seen Shiraishi Chizuru crying so miserably, she would have really thought Shiraishi Chizuru was going crazy on her.

She kicked her best friend's butt: "Hurry up and make some snacks to go with the drinks!"

They even snatched the wine bottle along with it.

"Give it back to me!"

"If I had you, would I still drink your wine?"

When Shiraishi Chizuru came out of the kitchen with the side dishes, there was only a thin layer of sake left in the tin can.

"Where did you get this drink? It tastes really good." Tsukishima swirled his glass of liquor with ice. "And cut me two slices of lime."

"This is outrageous! I'll fight you to the death!"