Chapter 36

Ding-a-ling—

The crisp school bell suddenly cut through the noise of the corridor.

The rustling conversation in the classroom came to an abrupt halt.

The students returned to their respective seats in an orderly fashion, and the air was filled with a sense of solemnity and anticipation for the new semester.

After a moment of silence.

The classroom door was pushed open gently.

A long-haired beauty wearing a well-tailored women's suit, black high heels, and legs wrapped in sheer black silk walked in slowly.

The sound of her high heels hitting the floor was crisp and rhythmic, exceptionally clear in the quiet classroom.

She looked earnest and serious, walked straight to the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, and turned to face the blackboard.

Her slender and powerful wrist moved, and the chalk made a light "rustling" sound as it rubbed against the blackboard.

Soon, clear and elegant handwriting was left on the blackboard.

"My name is Jiu Jing Ziyuan, and I will be your homeroom teacher for Japanese."

Jiu Jing Ziyuan extended her slender fingers and tapped lightly on the number on the blackboard.

"This is my contact information; if you encounter any problems in the future, you can call me."

"Also, according to school regulations."

"Every student must join at least one club within this week."

"Otherwise, credits will be deducted."

As soon as she finished speaking, the eyes of many boys in the class went wide.

They hadn't expected at all that this new homeroom teacher would be so beautiful.

Xiyuanji Qilai subconsciously covered her slightly open mouth in surprise, her long eyelashes fluttering, and her eyes shimmering with pleasant surprise.

She leaned slightly to the side, lowered her voice to Natsume Chikage beside her, and whispered with a hint of excitement:

"Natsume-kun, our homeroom teacher... is actually a great beauty..."

Natsume Chikage was observing the new teacher and hadn't expected at all that Xiyuanji Qilai would suddenly express such thoughts to him.

He nodded, his tone carrying a hint of sincere agreement, "She really is."

This response was not perfunctory.

After stepping onto the campus in the morning, he had noticed that the overall appearance of the female teachers at this school was indeed far superior to many other schools.

As for their academic backgrounds, there was almost no need to doubt—those who could enter the private Moonlight Academy to teach must have the imprints of top institutions like the University of Tokyo or Waseda University on their resumes.

This top private high school, famous throughout Japan, had long had an open secret regarding the strictness of its teacher selection.

"Then—"

Jiu Jing Ziyuan's cold voice sounded again, interrupting the slight commotion among the students.

She held the student list from the podium in her hand and cast her gaze toward the first row on the left side of the classroom.

"Next, starting from the first student in the first row on the left, please introduce yourselves in order."

After speaking, she sat down quietly in the teacher's chair.

Her gaze seemed to fall on every student who stood up to introduce themselves, but in reality, she would occasionally lower her eyes to look at the detailed student list in her hand.

The paper made a slight friction sound under her fingertips.

The list recorded personal information such as students' grades, family circumstances, specialties and hobbies, and residential addresses.

Time passed bit by bit amidst the fluent or nervous self-introductions.

Finally, it was Xiyuanji Qilai's turn.

When her name was called, the gazes of many boys in the class seemed to be pulled by invisible threads, instantly moving away from the cold and glamorous homeroom teacher and focusing in unison on this equally eye-catching girl.

The reason was simple: Xiyuanji Qilai's clear and cute appearance and noble temperament were in no way inferior to the teacher on the podium.

She stood up lightly, a sweet smile that was just right on her face, like a cherry blossom in first bloom.

"Hello everyone, my name is Xiyuanji Qilai."

"My hobby is collecting all kinds of interesting things."

"Whether it's stones with strange shapes, antiques settled by time, or novel and unique trinkets..."

"As long as it's interesting, I love it very much!"

Listening to Xiyuanji Qilai's honest and unique self-introduction, Natsume Chikage hadn't expected that this girl, who looked so cute and natural on the outside, would have such a special collecting hobby.

On the podium, Jiu Jing Ziyuan's gaze also fell next to Xiyuanji Qilai's name on the list.

Her slender fingers slid lightly across a line on the paper, and a hint of realization flashed in her eyes.

The data showed that this girl's family background was by no means ordinary—her father was a famous figure in the Japanese collecting world and also one of the big shots in the auction industry.

It must be that, deeply influenced by her father and having seen and heard so much, Xiyuanji Qilai had also cultivated this elegant hobby of collecting.