Chapter 70 – A Call from the Quintuplets' Father
While the three girls were working on their test, Sakurai Saki wasn't idle either.
He observed each of their progress.
Miku was the fastest. She answered almost all the history questions at the beginning in an instant. The rest came much slower, but she was still able to pick off a few here and there.
Ichika, just as Sakurai had expected—was good at math. Observing more closely, he noticed that Ichika quickly skipped questions she couldn't immediately solve, moving on to the easier "freebie" questions.
This method could secure a decent baseline score, just enough to pass, but it wasn't a sustainable way to study. If she continued like this, her performance would only decline.
If Ichika was someone who gave up too easily, then Itsuki was the very embodiment of "never giving up."
She worked incredibly slowly.
Watching her for a while, Sakurai saw that she was stuck on one multiple-choice question and simply couldn't move past it.
Despite it being a four-option multiple choice, she was trying to verify each answer one by one—clearly not an efficient method. At that pace, while the others were already double-checking their answers, Itsuki might still be stuck on the first few questions.
"Rii-ring~"
The phone rang. It was Sakurai Saki's. He took it out. "Sorry, I'll step out to take this."
He stepped out onto the balcony and looked at the caller ID.
He had it clearly labeled—Mr. Nakano.
Full name: Nakano Maruo, director of a hospital. Beyond that, Sakurai Saki didn't know much.
"Hello, Nakano-san. This is Sakurai Saki speaking." he answered.
"How's the tutoring coming along?" came a very cold voice over the phone.
Sakurai Saki glanced back inside. Through the balcony glass, he could see the three girls still diligently working on their tests.
"It's going fairly well so far."
"But what I've heard suggests otherwise." Nakano Maruo sounded doubtful.
"There was a misunderstanding last week, but it's been resolved." Sakurai replied as he turned to look out from the 30th floor.
The sun was still blazing.
"Nakano-san, is this call solely to ask about tutoring progress?"
"Sakurai-kun, regarding Ichika, I want to thank you."
That answer caught Sakurai Saki off guard.
How did he know about that? Did he have informants there too?
Nakano Maruo continued, "For various reasons, I don't usually intervene in my daughters' daily lives. Because of that, there are sometimes lapses in their protection."
Sakurai Saki glanced around.
He was beginning to suspect this house was filled with surveillance equipment installed by him.
Otherwise, how did the man know everything?
And he dares to say he doesn't intervene in their lives? That kind of overprotectiveness is a bit much, isn't it?
"Sakurai-kun, I did not install surveillance devices in the house. Last week's incident was reported to me by Itsuki. She's in charge of updating me on the tutoring progress and managing your payment. Since you only taught for one day last week, I'll be paying you for one day only."
Sakurai Saki was speechless.
This really was the archetype of a doting father, with an intense urge to protect.
"The exam after Golden Week—I look forward to seeing your results, Sakurai-kun." With that, Nakano Maruo hung up on his own.
Sakurai Saki put his phone back in his pocket and headed back into the room.
...
In the director's office of a certain hospital in Tokyo—
A stern-looking man put his phone down.
He looked out the window.
"A student and a teacher, huh…"
That scene stirred unpleasant memories within him. In his mind, Nakano Maruo caught a fleeting image of a red-haired woman, and his expression immediately darkened.
A few seconds later, he let out a sigh: "…Reina."
His late wife had ended up in a tragic situation all because she married a teacher. That bastard—when he heard she was pregnant with quintuplets, he abandoned her without hesitation.
Yes, Nakano Maruo is not the biological father of the quintuplets. He is only their stepfather. After the girls' mother passed away, he took on the responsibility of raising all five of them.
Having once witnessed such a tragedy, Nakano Maruo absolutely refused to let it happen again.
The academic performance of the five sisters was abysmal. A tutor was a must. But Maruo would never casually allow just anyone into his daughters' lives. He knew better than anyone how difficult the girls could be.
That's why the tutor needed to be responsible—someone who could endure the girls' temperaments. Only after that would he consider their actual teaching ability.
From the very beginning, Nakano Maruo had his eyes set on a student from Shuchiin Academy. If the tutor attended the same school, they would have more chances to interact, making it easier for the girls to accept the tutoring.
At first glance, he was drawn to a Shuchiin student—the top of the second year, outstanding academic performance, upright character, and even the student council president. Unfortunately, negotiations fell through. The reason was simple: the student had no time and wasn't good at dealing with girls.
With no other choice, Nakano Maruo gave up.
The second choice was Sakurai Saki, introduced by Shirogane Miyuki. Ranked third in the second year, living alone in Tokyo, had been working part-time since last year, and had recently taken on a job known as a "rental boyfriend." Though the job sounded a bit dubious, considering his independent lifestyle, it was still acceptable. Moreover, he had a good reputation at school.
"If they've already had a fight... then I doubt anything unexpected will happen."
With a thorn like that in the heart, the chance of romantic feelings developing was very low.
"It's best to keep tutoring strictly professional," Nakano Maruo muttered.
It wasn't that he forbade his daughters from dating. He just feared they might be deceived by some awful man.
Nakano Maruo never wanted to witness another tragedy again.
But if his daughter did truly fall for someone, then he'd have no choice but to accept it. At most, he could give that person a test to challenge them.
Hmm… maybe he should try the old style—with a gun.
( -_•)▄︻テحكـ━一💥 Σ(°ロ°)
…
"About the test…" Under the hopeful gazes of the three girls, Sakurai Saki finally spoke: "What do you think I'm going to say?"
"We did pretty well, right?" Nakano Itsuki said with confidence in her just-finished test.
( ๑‾̀◡‾́)!
She had completed the entire thing without leaving a single blank.
"Sensei-chan~ I answered all the ones I knew~" Nakano Ichika sipped her fruit juice from a glass in her hands.
/ᐠ˵- ⩊ -˵マ
Miku said nothing, but a proud glimmer lit her face.
( • ̀ω•́ )✧
This time, she would win.
That matcha cake—she would learn how to make it!
Finally, under the intense anticipation of the three girls, Sakurai Saki sighed.
"Good news: all of you passed the average score."
"And bad news: it was all middle school-level content."
Upon hearing that, the three girls looked at one another.
Then simultaneously hung their heads.
(,,¬﹏¬,,)(,,¬﹏¬,,)(,,¬﹏¬,,)
Miku quietly drank her beloved matcha soda.
"Was it… that bad?" she asked softly.
"There's still hope," Sakurai Saki replied as he reviewed the test papers.
"At least Miku didn't give up." He glanced at her before shifting his gaze to Ichika.
Ichika responded with an embarrassed smile.
"The one who did best was Itsuki. You've got a solid grasp of middle school material. That deserves praise."
Receiving a compliment, Itsuki smiled faintly.
Itsuki: ( ꈍ◡ꈍ)
Noticing her smug expression, Sakurai Saki continued,
"But your pace is far too slow. Just now, Ichika and Miku had already finished, and you had only just completed the multiple choice section."
Itsuki's radiant smile immediately vanished at his words.
Itsuki: (¬`‸´¬)
"...It was just a little slow," she murmured.
"There were also a lot of eraser marks. You're not confident in your answers," Sakurai Saki went on.
"Solving slowly, and not even sure whether it's correct—that's a serious issue."
Nakano Ichika chimed in teasingly, "Sensei-chan~ So who are you going to give that coupon to?"
Sakurai Saki replied,
"Of course, it's…"
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