All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Maybe it was because of what Kotomi Izumi had just said, but Shizuka Hiratsuka's dishwashing speed suddenly shot up. In no time at all, she had efficiently cleaned the wok, bowls, chopsticks, cutting board, and everything else. Akina Izumi didn't even get the chance to help.

"You can tell Teacher Hiratsuka does housework often," Akina praised.

"It's nothing, really."

Shizuka gave an awkward smile. Although she wasn't good at cooking, she really was good at cleaning. Not because she'd started living alone after becoming a high school teacher, but because back when she still lived with her parents, they always cooked, and her job after meals was to do the dishes and clean the kitchen.

Shizuka's parents never spoiled their daughter. From an early age, they taught her to be independent.

Except when it came to cooking.

Yuko Hiratsuka had tried several times to teach Shizuka how to cook, but the only things Shizuka ever managed to learn were egg fried rice, egg fried pancakes, and egg fried noodles.

Stir-frying or braising? Totally beyond her grasp.

Since mom couldn't teach her, her dad stepped in. Her father, Iwaoka Hiratsuka, had been full of confidence when he said to Yuko, "Our daughter is so smart. How could she possibly not grasp something as simple as stir-frying? You must be teaching her wrong. Let me handle it—within a month, she'll master all the basics!"

Full of optimism, Iwaoka taught her his signature dish: stuffed green peppers.

But during her attempt, Shizuka made a tiny mistake and ended up turning the peppers and minced pork into something resembling a molten lava explosion.

After seeing her creation, Iwaoka could only wonder if those pork-stuffed green peppers had secretly taken a long soak in a volcano.

With overwhelming strength, Shizuka had crushed both her parents' hopes of ever teaching her to cook. All they could do was pin their hopes on her graduating from college and getting married soon—hopefully to someone who could cook.

Yet now, Shizuka was already thirty, and not only was she still single, she hadn't even been in a single romantic relationship.

Originally, Shizuka's parents had extremely high standards for their future son-in-law. After all, he'd eventually be helping to inherit the family estate—so of course the bar was set high.

But as the years passed with Shizuka still never dating anyone...

By the time she turned twenty-six, their expectations had already softened to: someone who can cook, has good character, and is mature and reliable.

Still, Shizuka had never even dated once.

Now, their standards had dropped to the point where—even if Shizuka brought home a girl—they'd accept it! Male or female, it didn't matter anymore. As long as the person was a healthy, living human being, they were fine with it.

After finishing the dishes, Shizuka sat in the living room chatting with the Izumi couple for about an hour before finally getting up to head to the second floor.

Before going upstairs, she asked which room was Kotomi's bedroom.

Akina Izumi simply chuckled and said, "Once you get upstairs, you'll know immediately which room is Kotomi's."

Could it be that Kotomi had hung her photo on the door? With her narcissistic personality, that wasn't impossible...

Curious, Shizuka made her way up the stairs to the Izumi household's second floor.

As she passed by one room, she immediately stopped in her tracks. High school girls loved hanging cute or cool nameplates on their bedroom doors, and Kotomi was no exception—she had hung a nameplate that read:

[Gate of the Black Abyss and Scorching Sun Gospel]

"Only a little witch like Kotomi could come up with such a chuunibyou name. No wonder Mrs. Izumi said I'd know her room as soon as I went upstairs—so that's what she meant..."

Shizuka Hiratsuka tugged at the corner of her mouth. If a fantasy novel had used a name like that, she might've thought it sounded cool. But to see someone invent that kind of name in real life, then actually make a doorplate out of it and hang it on their bedroom door—and that someone happened to be her most headache-inducing yet worry-free student...

Shizuka could only be thankful she was wearing socks right now. Otherwise, her toes might've curled so hard from secondhand embarrassment that they would've drilled a hole straight into the floor.

Knock knock knock.

Shizuka knocked on the door. Even if they were both women, it was basic courtesy to knock first—just in case she barged in while Kotomi was changing.

Kotomi changing...

That brought the H-cup figure to mind again. Shizuka quickly took a deep breath to calm her thoughts, resolutely reminding herself: she would sleep on the floor tonight! After all, she wasn't some ascetic sage immune to temptation, and who knew whether Kotomi was a restless sleeper?

With that H-cup body, sharing a bed with Kotomi... if Kotomi was the type to toss and turn, Shizuka wasn't at all confident she could keep her cool.

Just the idea of staying in the same room as Kotomi already had Shizuka's thoughts drifting in strange directions. If they ended up sleeping in the same bed, and Kotomi wasn't a still sleeper...

Then next month, Kotomi might be accompanying her to meet Yuko Hiratsuka again—but this time not as a fake girlfriend, but as the real deal.

"Come in."

Kotomi's soft voice came from behind the door. Shizuka took a deep breath, opened it, and stepped inside. She found Kotomi had already changed out of her school uniform and was now wearing a pink-and-white silk nightgown with lace trim. She sat in a computer chair, headphones on, completely absorbed in a game of Apex.

The elegant curves of Kotomi's body were outlined beneath the nightgown, exposed to the cool night air.

Bang bang bang!

A burst of gunfire rang through the headphones—Kotomi had been eliminated.

"Phew... I almost won that one. That really was an intense battle between pros. It must've been the mouse's fault—if I had a better one, they wouldn't have stood a chance to counterattack."

She had never even seen where the opponent shot from, yet Kotomi still removed her headphones, wiped imaginary sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, and rotated her wrist like she'd just been narrowly defeated in a hard-fought, even match.

"You're playing games this intensely even with your homeroom teacher at your house. Do I not hold any authority in your eyes?" Shizuka walked over and asked half-jokingly.

Kotomi nodded without even a second of hesitation.

That made Shizuka so annoyed that she reached out and pinched Kotomi's cheek hard, indulging herself thoroughly.

After a bit of playful banter, Kotomi shut off the computer. She hadn't written a single word or drawn a single page of manga today.

Deadline? What deadline? Never heard of it~

If Haruno Yukinoshita or Asuka Chizuru found out, dragging her to a dark room to force her to work wouldn't even be overkill.

"You're done playing?" Shizuka thought she had interrupted Kotomi's gaming and was about to tell her it was fine to keep going—there was no homework tonight anyway.

"I'm done. These days, I only play computer games every few days. I'm past the age where I'm obsessed with gaming."

Kotomi's tone was wistful, like a shut-in who had started working full time, coming home from overtime every day with no energy left to turn on the console or PC to enjoy their favorite single-player or online games. All they wanted was to shower, watch anime on their phone while eating dinner, then lie in bed scrolling through mobile games or videos before falling asleep.

"You're not even that old, and you're already talking like a full-fledged working adult. A high schooler should have a high schooler's energy. Look at me—I'm in my twenties and still full of life every day," Shizuka said, rubbing Kotomi's cheek with a smile.

"Shizuka-sensei, aren't you already thirty this year... cough, cough, I mean, twenties, twenties! We can negotiate. Let's start by getting your hand off my waist."

"Remember, your teacher is only twenty-nine years and twelve months old."

"Ah, yes, yes, you're absolutely right."

Kotomi nodded enthusiastically, showing full agreement.

After sitting down on the floor, Shizuka Hiratsuka looked around Kotomi's bedroom.

It was her first time in Kotomi's room.

And to think her first visit would involve actually staying over.

There was no way she wasn't at least a little excited.

"Kotomi, can I move this table?" Shizuka pointed at the small round low table in front of her. It was clearly movable, but since it was her first time in Kotomi's room, it was best to ask before touching anything.

"Of course you can. But why move the table all of a sudden?"

Kotomi didn't use the table much anyway—just occasionally when ordering takeout. She'd put the food on the little table, prop up her phone with a stand, and watch anime while eating.

Speaking of which, Kotomi especially liked watching slice-of-life anime while eating—ideally ones involving food. If she couldn't find anything new, she'd fall back on her childhood classics for mealtime viewing:

Crayon Shin-chan, Doraemon, and Detective Conan.

Even though Detective Conan was technically a detective series—and in its early days could even be considered horror rather than mystery—there were still plenty of food-related episodes that made it suitable as a dining anime.

As for Crayon Shin-chan and Doraemon, there was no need to explain. Kotomi would search specifically for episodes with food or eating in the title to watch while dining. Even if she rewatched the same episode multiple times, she never got tired of it. If she didn't watch one of those episodes while eating alone, the food just didn't taste as good.

Why not eat in front of her computer, since the screen was bigger than her phone's?

Simple—the keyboard and mouse were too expensive! Even the mousepad had been a premium purchase: a high-end model designed specifically for e-sports. Despite her costly setup, Kotomi's gameplay remained wildly inconsistent. On a good day, she could carry the whole team, earning cries of praise from her teammates. On a bad day, she played so poorly her teammates fell into despair.

But regardless of her performance, there was no way Kotomi was going to risk eating over her precious mousepad.

"Obviously, I'm moving the table so I can lay out the bedding. You'll sleep on the bed tonight, and I'll take the floor," Shizuka said in a tone that implied the answer was obvious.

"What?! You're sleeping in the same room as me and still choosing the floor?!" Kotomi's tone was full of disbelief, like she was questioning whether Shizuka's brain was functioning properly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?! What's wrong with it? You're my student, I'm your teacher. Even if we're both girls—and I'm fourteen years older than you—it's still not appropriate for us to share a bed the first time we're sleeping in the same room, right?"

Noticing Kotomi's look, Shizuka sounded a little aggrieved.

"Shizuka-sensei, I have to seriously criticize your decision. My bed is so soft and cozy, and you still want to sleep on the floor? That's like eating pan-fried dumplings without fried rice and a broth-less ramen! Like eating a hamburger without ordering at least two sides! Like eating Korean noodles without youtiao! Or eating minced pork steamed egg without pouring it over rice!" Kotomi protested.

"Crap... I thought a 14-year age gap wouldn't cause any generational differences, but I'm suddenly not sure what you're even talking about. Could it be... we really do have a gap? Wait, what are Korean noodles? I've only heard of Korean cold noodles. Are they good?"

"Korean noodles with meat broth are the best in the world. And dipping youtiao in that broth—ahhh, I'm starving... I want some so bad..." Kotomi collapsed to the floor like she'd lost all strength—despite having eaten twenty bowls of rice at dinner.

It wasn't until Shizuka saw Kotomi polish off twenty bowls in one sitting that she finally understood why the Izumi household always cooked so many dishes, with each portion being double what most households served.

If the food wasn't made in large portions, it wouldn't even be enough for Kotomi to eat!

"Now that you've described it like that, I'm kind of craving it myself. Which ramen shop sells it?"

"Nope, you can't find it in Japan! If you want to eat it, you'll have to go to China and look for a small breakfast stall."

Kotomi rolled left and right on the floor, muttering quietly. She really did miss those 17 years she'd spent living in China during her second life. Back when she was in school, she'd always have five yuan in her pocket to buy Korean noodles and youtiao from a breakfast stall near the campus.

"You're such a little glutton," Shizuka said with a chuckle.

Kotomi rolled her way over to Shizuka's legs, blinking her eyes and asking, "Shizuka-sensei, are you really not going to sleep with me? My double bed is super comfy."

"Nope." Shizuka's stance on the matter was firm. Sure, she wanted to sleep on the bed too—but she had to be responsible.

With that, she stood up. "I'm going to take a shower first. I'll lay out the futon afterward. Even though you don't need to attend tomorrow's sports festival, you must be tired after running the 800 meters today. Get some rest early."

"Why don't you ask if I've showered already?"

"Your hair's still a little damp, and you smell like body wash. It's obvious you just got out of the shower." As she spoke, Shizuka reached out and gave Kotomi's cheek a little pinch. "So smooth—you definitely just finished bathing."

"Not smooth on other days?" Kotomi shot back.

Shizuka thought for a moment. Actually, even just catching a glimpse of Kotomi in passing was enough to make her think: this girl is ridiculously soft and radiant.

"You're smooth all the time. I'm honestly a little jealous of whoever ends up with you."

Shizuka smiled faintly and turned to leave the room to shower downstairs.

But just as she reached the door, she paused, as if suddenly remembering something. Looking a little sheepish, she turned back to Kotomi and asked, "Kotomi... um, do you have an extra set of pajamas? I just realized I didn't bring any sleepwear or a change of underwear."

"There's a blue-and-white penguin pajama set in the closet. You can wear that one tonight, Shizuka-sensei. As for underwear... hmhm, if you want, I could lend you mine too~"

"Just the pajamas will be more than enough, thanks!" Shizuka said quickly.

Wearing a student's underwear... that was way too inappropriate, no matter how you looked at it!

Not to mention—

Shizuka glanced at Kotomi's impressive bust. Bottoms might be one thing, but the top? There was no way she could even fit into it!

They weren't even in the same dimension when it came to size!

Forget it—for tonight, she'd skip changing undergarments. She could do that after going home tomorrow. With that decision made, she took out the blue-and-white penguin pajamas Kotomi had mentioned from the closet.

Such a cartoonish pajama set—Kotomi would look absolutely adorable wearing it.

Just imagining Kotomi in those penguin pajamas made Shizuka speed-walk to the bathroom in a fluster.

When she returned to Kotomi's room after her shower, she saw that Kotomi had already laid out the futon for her. She was kneeling beside it on both knees, like a gentle wife quietly waiting for her beloved to come home and helping them undress before bed.

"Shizuka-sensei, your bedding is ready."

Kotomi looked up gracefully and smiled softly. Her gentle and modest tone, paired with her demure demeanor, completely embodied the classic image of a Yamato Nadeshiko—the ideal Japanese woman from many people's dreams.

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