All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me

Shizuka Hiratsuka stared at Chihiro Sengoku, her expression blank as her colleague’s earlier words echoed in her mind.

”Wait… are you seriously saying that you suspect Mashiro is in a relationship?”

Her lips moved, but no coherent words came out. Shizuka felt as if her brain had short-circuited. She would sooner believe that Chihiro had finally managed to get herself a boyfriend than accept that Mashiro Shiina was dating someone.

It wasn’t that Shizuka had a problem with student relationships. After all, Sobu High School didn’t impose particularly strict rules on such matters. Some graduates even invited their homeroom teachers to officiate their weddings.

Sobu High’s teachers generally turned a blind eye to student romances as long as things didn’t get out of hand.

What shocked Shizuka wasn’t the idea of a student dating, but the idea of Mashiro dating.

Mashiro Shiina didn’t fit the mold of a typical high school girl in a relationship. She sat alone in the last row, without a desk partner, rarely initiating conversations. Most of the time, she either stared into space, sketched in her notebook, or stayed with Kotomi and their group. After school, she always headed to the art club with Kotomi.

Add to that her status as a world-renowned genius artist, and even her classmates hesitated to approach her. Not out of disdain but out of awe—many feared being looked down upon if they dared to speak to her.

Teenagers are prideful creatures, after all. Even though Mashiro had never treated anyone with arrogance, her exceptional talent and reputation cast an intimidating shadow.

Nobody wanted to risk humiliation, so most simply avoided talking to her altogether.

As a result, Mashiro’s only apparent friends were Kotomi and the others.

Shizuka had noticed all this as a teacher but had chosen not to intervene. As a homeroom teacher, her role was to respect each student’s individuality. Mashiro was introverted, yes, but there wasn’t much she could do about that.

Talented individuals like Mashiro often had a mindset different from the average person. Perhaps Mashiro liked being alone.

Back to the point, Shizuka was utterly floored by Chihiro’s claim. If Mashiro really was in a relationship, Shizuka couldn’t even begin to imagine how that had happened.

What’s more, she couldn’t help but worry. Mashiro was undoubtedly a genius at painting, but her understanding of everyday life—and relationships—was laughably naive.

She was so pure it was almost hard to believe.

She didn’t even know she needed to pay for things when shopping.

If Mashiro was dating someone, wasn’t there a huge risk she could be taken advantage of?

At this thought, Shizuka suddenly understood why Chihiro had been standing by the window earlier, staring at the cement wall outside with such melancholy.

It was a legitimate cause for concern.

Seeing Shizuka’s skeptical expression, Chihiro shrugged.

”I can tell you don’t believe me, but you heard me right. I think my sweet little cousin might be in a relationship. Argh, this is driving me nuts! Should I call her parents tonight? No, no, if I make that call and it turns out to be true, I’ll look like a villain in her eyes!”

”Oh, like you’re some kind of saint,” Shizuka retorted, rolling her eyes. ”Let’s not forget you’re the ’ghost advisor’ who drinks beer in front of students.”

”Hey! Shizuka, now’s not the time to roast me. Help me think of a solution here! What if she is dating someone?!”

With a sigh, Shizuka gave Chihiro a karate chop to the head. ”Calm down. Now, when exactly did you start suspecting this?”

”Just a little while ago.”

Shizuka: ???

She glanced at the time on her phone. It was currently during the art club’s activity period. By this point, Mashiro was almost certainly painting in the art room. With the Tokyo University Youth Art Contest’s deadline approaching, the trio of girls would be dedicating every spare moment to finishing their pieces.

Yet Chihiro claimed to have started suspecting Mashiro just now.

A row of question marks seemed to float over Shizuka’s head. How on earth had Chihiro come to this conclusion? Was Mashiro not in the art room?

”If you’re saying it was just now, then she must be in the art room, right? Or are you telling me she didn’t go to the art club today?”

Chihiro shook her head. ”She went to the art room.”

Shizuka let out a sigh of relief before furrowing her brows. ”If she’s there, then why are you so suspicious? There are only a handful of members, and they’re all girls. It’s the safest environment imaginable!”