Within an hour, Ayatsuki Ayaka had left the Kendo club and sprinted all the way to the Human Observation Society.

She burst through the door to find Miyahara Kaoru and Takahashi Saeko discussing which nail polish colors looked better.

When they saw Ayatsuki Ayaka show up at the door, surprise showed on their faces.

Takahashi Saeko's expression turned serious, her eyes slightly suspicious as she asked, "Why are you back?"

Ayatsuki Ayaka waved her hand under her nose, fanning away the smell, and said, "The Kendo club stinks; there's this musty sweat odor."

Miyahara Kaoru shook her head and said, "Iroha, if you can't even stand a bit of Aozawa's smell, how can you say you like him?"

"It's not Aozawa that stinks; it's the other guys' sweat."

Iroha pulled a face, pouring out her troubles. "Those guys would practice for a bit and then be drenched in sweat. Then they'd take off their gear and start drinking water. The smell of sweat began to spread in the air. At first, I could endure it, but later I really couldn't stand the smell they were giving off. And then those pairs of shoes and socks. Ugh! I really feel like throwing up!"

As she spoke, Iroha was reminded of the strange odor of the Kendo club and mimed the desire to vomit on the spot.

Takahashi Saeko didn't need to experience it firsthand; she could understand from Ayatsuki Ayaka's vivid expressions just how foul the Kendo club smelled. "It's indeed easy for a group of boys to smell when they're playing sports in hot weather."

"Sorry, Saeko, for letting your sacrifice go to waste."

Guilt crossed Ayatsuki Ayaka's face.

Takahashi Saeko laughed and said, "What sacrifice? It should be called enjoying myself! When we date, the Kendo club president pays for everything. All I need to do is hold his hand and say a few words, and I can make his heart soar. Boys at seventeen who are still virgins are really very naive. I can control their hearts with just a flick of my fingers."

Ayatsuki Ayaka suddenly felt some sympathy for the club president who dated Saeko, but she shook her head; this was not the time to be worrying about others.

She said seriously, "I can't stay in the Kendo club, so how can I increase the time I spend with Aozawa?"

"Chat on the phone."

Takahashi Saeko came up with another idea, smiling. "At night, deliberately send Aozawa a video after taking a bath, under the pretext of asking for help with studies. Then, chat for a bit. Don't talk for too long; hang up after about ten minutes. Remember, your neckline should be loose—at least half-open."

"Haha, I was thinking the same thing."

Ayatsuki Ayaka hurriedly tried to cover, avoiding revealing her lack of experience.

Takahashi Saeko and Miyahara Kaoru exchanged glances and smiled, but didn't expose her flimsy lie.

「The Kendo club training was over.」

Aozawa returned to the Morimoto Family, reaching out to twist the door open and saying, "Chitose, I'm back."

There was no busy figure in the kitchen; dinner for the day was already prepared on the counter.

It was a hot pot evening, with sumptuous side dishes like snowflake beef rolls, lamb rolls, veggies, and enoki mushrooms arranged neatly on plates beside it.

Morimoto Chiyoda stood in front of the sofa, holding up a light blue dress with a smile. "What do you think about wearing this out tomorrow?"

"Of course, it's suitable. You look so good that anything would suit you."

His comment did not earn Morimoto Chiyoda's approval. She gave Aozawa a sidelong glance and huffed heavily through her nose. "Hmph, how perfunctory! I would look fine in anything? What if I wore a bald samurai doll costume that covers my face? Would you still think it looks good?"

Aozawa scratched his head, not understanding why she suddenly got angry, and said cautiously, "Chitose, I was speaking sincerely."

"It's because it was sincere that it's annoying! Let's eat!"

Morimoto Chiyoda was displeased.

She had thought Aozawa would be very excited about going out with her and would discuss what she should wear.

And he said anything would do?

That made her feel like contemplating what to wear was pointless.

Aozawa didn't know what he did wrong, but he knew that if he didn't admit his mistake now, he would indeed be in the wrong.

"I'm sorry, Chitose, it's all my fault. After thinking about it, this blue dress might not look that good after all; it doesn't match your temperament."

"Right. A woman ten years older like me isn't suited to wear such a youthful and pretty dress at all. Only high school girls should wear that."

"That's not what I meant."

Aozawa was confused. Praising the dress had invited complaints from Chitose, and not praising it also brought objections.

So, was he supposed to praise it or not?

Seeing his utterly bewildered expression, Morimoto Chiyoda's mood suddenly improved. With an upward curl of her lips, she said, "At this moment, whatever you say is wrong. Remember next time, don't brush off my questions carelessly."

"I have never brushed you off. I've always been genuine in answering any of your questions."

Aozawa looked earnest. He absolutely wouldn't promise not to make the same mistake again, because that would imply he *had* been perfunctory with Chitose before.

Morimoto Chiyoda chuckled, touching his forehead with a finger. "See? When you seriously consider it, you do know what's on my mind. Let's eat."

"Okay."

Aozawa breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to wash his hands.

Morimoto Chiyoda sat down across from him, casually asking, "Are you going out for a night run tonight?"

Aozawa nodded. "Yeah!"

"What do you want to do after the run?"

"Just mess around a bit."

"Is that so."

Morimoto Chiyoda's eyes narrowed slightly.

She knew well that being too strict with a teenage boy could easily cause him to rebel.

Morimoto Chiyoda knew exactly when to give Aozawa freedom and when to set limits.

"Don't play too late and forget the curfew, or don't blame me for being harsh," she warned.

"Don't worry," Aozawa replied with a smile.

「After finishing the steaming hot pot meal,」

Aozawa took a short break and then, as usual, went outside for an hour-long night run.

Following his thirteen-kilometer running route, he showed up on time at the vending machine in the small park.

The nearby streetlight flickered. Aozawa gasped for breath, so exhausted he squatted down, bracing his hands on the ground.

Using his Catalyst sensing ability, his sight suddenly elevated. The park scene appeared in his mind, and he could also hear someone's panting.

A hundred meters behind him, amidst the small woods, he spotted through the tiles a tall figure wearing a duckbill cap, sunglasses, and a mask to conceal their face.

Chitose, as expected, hadn't given up her suspicion that he was Dio. She wanted to observe what he did after his night run.

Aozawa wasn't worried. He pretended to rest a while longer, got up, and deactivated his Catalyst sensing ability.

He sat on the nearby bench and took his phone out of his pocket.

During the run, he had noticed his phone vibrate, indicating he had received a message.

Opening it, he saw it was a message from Ayatsuki Ayaka.

"Aozawa, are you busy?"

The message had been sent at six-thirty.

Aozawa typed back, "I was just running for training, but I'm done now and have a lot of free time. Do you need something?"

The message was quickly marked as read, which made him suspect that Ayatsuki Ayaka had been waiting for his reply all along.

"Actually, I have some questions about my studies, and I was wondering if you could help me over a video call?"

Her reply came instantly, so fast that Aozawa was certain Ayaka had written it in advance and then copied it.

"No problem, I'll send you the video call."

After typing his response, he directly initiated the video call.

The ringing of the video call echoed through the quiet park, carrying far into the distance.

Morimoto Chiyoda, hidden behind a tree, quietly peeked toward Aozawa on the bench. The flickering light reflected her complex emotions.

Why do I feel like I've become a wife trying to catch her husband cheating? she thought to herself.

The video call connected quickly, and Morimoto Chiyoda perked up her ears, eager to hear whose voice it was.

Aozawa hadn't set the volume too low; at a medium level, the sound could travel far in the quiet park.

"Good evening, Aozawa."

Ayatsuki Ayaka greeted him, raising her right hand, her hair slightly damp.

Unlike at school, she seemed to have just taken a shower. Traces of water droplets lingered on her cheeks, neck, and chest, not fully dried.

She wore loose, strawberry-colored pajamas.

Very light and thin.

The neckline was low, revealing an expanse of fair skin that dazzled Aozawa's eyes. He had to control his gaze and said, "Good evening, Iroha. Have you just taken a bath?"

"Hehe, yeah, my hair is still a bit wet."

Ayatsuki Ayaka purposefully ran her hand through her hair.

To maintain the impression that she had just showered, she would occasionally go to the bathroom to dampen her hair and sprinkle some water on her neck and chest.

She was following Saeko's 'honey trap' plan, step by step, to present herself to Aozawa in this exact way.

"What problem do you need my help with?"

"It's this problem."

From this moment on, Ayatsuki Ayaka was to act like a diligent but struggling student, at least for the ten minutes of the video chat.

She had initially wanted to extend the time but was reminded by Saeko that teaching for ten minutes was fine. Anything longer might annoy Aozawa.

"I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I can't figure out how to solve it."

Ayatsuki Ayaka furrowed her brows, looking troubled.

However, she had already verified the camera angle on her phone with a selfie.

The angle was just right, revealing yet concealing, ensuring Aozawa's first glance wouldn't land on the problem or her face.

"Hmm, this is indeed tricky." Aozawa's gaze only landed on the question after his third look. He then added perfunctorily, "Let me think about how to solve it."

At this point, Morimoto Chiyoda decided she didn't need to listen any further.

She didn't have a habit of eavesdropping, and she felt confirmed that Aozawa had nothing to do with Dio. After finishing his night run, he hadn't come home simply because he wanted to avoid her and chat with a female classmate.

It seemed that being a scummy guy was an innate talent for boys, Morimoto Chiyoda thought, feeling a little sour.

She quickly dismissed the thought, then suddenly worried that if the two of them broke through that final barrier, Ayaka might dump Aozawa.

Given how deep he seemed to be falling, she hoped he wouldn't resort to drowning his sorrows in alcohol when that happened. Morimoto Chiyoda thought that a bit of pain would be good for him; at least it would teach him a lesson.

He shouldn't go around flirting with everyone. Not all women were as magnanimous as she was, willing to tolerate Aozawa's foolishness.

She headed home, continuing to ponder what clothes to wear for their date tomorrow.