What? You want to hit me, but you want me to stand still? Do I look like an idiot?
"I'm giving you one last chance."
Ho Fei-yu gave his final ultimatum to the furious, crimson-faced Izumi Nogami.
He actually didn't like hitting women.
"Pah! Never in a million years!"
As expected, the response was stubbornly unrepentant and defiant.
"Izumi, this is my last kick!"
Even as he spoke, the dark-skinned gyaru, Sae Hinata, secretly found an angle and tried to sneak-attack him again.
He took back what he said about not liking to hit women. Delinquent suke-bans didn't count, at least.
Ho Fei-yu had initially been holding Izumi Nogami's wrists with both hands. Now, he used sheer strength to forcefully squeeze both her wrists with one hand. Before Izumi Nogami could react, he instantly released her legs, quickly hooked a desk with his foot, and pulled it over. By the time Izumi Nogami realized what was happening and tried to counterattack, her arms were already twisted behind her back and locked in a hold. Her entire body was forcefully pressed onto the desk.
As for the roundhouse kick from the dark-skinned gyaru, which was nearly at his waist, Ho Fei-yu easily caught it with his hand through the thick bubble socks. Then, with a strong pull, her body lost balance and tumbled towards him. As Sae Hinata let out a gasp of surprise, she was also pressed onto the desk, just like Izumi Nogami. However, Ho Fei-yu mischievously stacked her right on top of Izumi Nogami. The two of them were piled together like building blocks.
"Sae! Are you here to help me, or to piss me off!"
Feeling the weight on her body, Izumi Nogami tried to sit up. After struggling for a moment, she remained immobile, only able to shout irritably.
"Izumi, of course, I'm here to help you, but he's too strong. I really can't do anything!"
The dark-skinned gyaru, Sae Hinata, complained helplessly and wrongly.
"Gulp."
Minako Sanada, the blonde young lady, looked at her two best friends, who resembled clowns, and hesitated. She wasn't sure if she should step forward to help. An observer sees clearly, and she had just witnessed Ho Fei-yu complete a series of actions in a matter of seconds. His reaction speed seemed far from that of an ordinary person. If she went over now, she would just be adding to the spectacle.
"Minako! Why are you still hesitating?"
Izumi Nogami, desperate, threw caution to the wind. All she wanted was to escape this embarrassing and humiliating situation. In her state of being restrained with her friend, she asked for help from the least combative person among the trio.
'Sigh~'
"Ah! Ah! Ah! I'm coming!"
Minako Sanada sighed in her heart upon hearing Izumi Nogami's words. For the sake of their friendship, she ultimately chose to face the difficulty. While shouting words to boost her own morale, she charged toward Ho Fei-yu.
Unsurprisingly, Minako Sanada was also captured. Now, all three were piled up, looking even more like a human hamburger.
"Damn it! Idiot, let go of us immediately!"
"Ugh, now all of us are caught."
"Wuu, this is so humiliating."
The three girls reacted differently.
Izumi Nogami was still shouting for Ho Fei-yu to release her.
Sae Hinata resignedly stated the obvious facts.
Minako Sanada, at the top of the stack and receiving the most glances, felt intense shame under the strange eyes of the onlookers. She covered her face with her hands, pretending to be an ostrich.
Ho Fei-yu naturally showed no mercy to the still-shouting Izumi Nogami. He raised his hand and slapped her butt, which was exposed between the legs of the other two girls.
"Slap!"
A crisp sound echoed in the quiet classroom. Hearing the noise, everyone seemed to be frozen in time, displaying only a look of dumbfounded shock.
The person involved was even more incredulous. She couldn't believe Ho Fei-yu actually dared to hit her butt. It wasn't until a fiery pain shot through her buttocks that Izumi Nogami finally snapped out of her daze.
"You! You! How dare you do this to me!"
A powerful sense of humiliation instantly shot through Izumi Nogami, making her face turn scarlet. She tightly bit her lower lip and shouted with resentment.
"You're dead! You're dead! I'm part of the Akujo (Delinquent Girls) Club! Don't expect to leave school safely this afternoon!"
From the time Izumi Nogami could remember until now, in all these twelve years, neither her parents nor her relatives had ever hit her butt. Now, being subjected to such humiliating treatment by a stranger, and in public, anger overwhelmed Izumi Nogami. She immediately brought up her backing.
"Slap!"
Ho Fei-yu was unperturbed by Izumi Nogami's threats. Instead, he raised his hand and delivered another slap. Leaving aside that he had never even heard of the so-called Akujo Club, even if he had, they would just be a group of suke-bans. What threat could they pose to him?
"Do you know who the Akujo Club President is!? She's the daughter of the Seika Group CEO! If you offend me, you've offended her! You're finished!"
Izumi Nogami was enraged. She flailed her limbs on the desk like a drowning person, continuing to threaten him, even clarifying the specific situation.
"....."
Hearing this, Ho Fei-yu's hand, which was about to land, paused. He naturally knew that Kurashiki Reika had a daughter. He hadn't asked in detail, and Kurashiki Reika hadn't elaborated. He hadn't met her during the summer break and had almost forgotten about her. He hadn't expected to hear about her from Izumi Nogami's mouth today.
"Haha! You're scared, aren't you? Too bad it's too late! You're dead!"
Since the burning pain on her butt hadn't returned for a long time, Izumi Nogami thought Ho Fei-yu was scared after learning her identity. She quickly gloated with excitement.
Izumi Nogami's words pulled Ho Fei-yu's thoughts back to reality. The corner of his mouth twitched. Setting aside the fact that Kurashiki Reika's daughter would have to respectfully call him "Father" when they eventually met, Izumi Nogami's tendency to court disaster was such that in a deserted area, she would certainly be the target of a murder to silence her.
"Slap!"
So, Ho Fei-yu granted Izumi Nogami's wish, and another slap landed.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! You! You! You!"
Now it was Izumi Nogami's turn to be utterly baffled. If, at first, Ho Fei-yu didn't know who her backer was, he certainly knew after her explanation. Why did he still dare to hit her? Izumi Nogami felt like she was about to explode with anger.
"Izumi, don't say any more. Um... class is about to start. Could you please stop..."
Minako Sanada, covering her face at the top of the pile, advised Izumi Nogami. She had just checked the time. Class was starting in half an hour. Because of the heavy rain today, not many people had arrived, but the longer they delayed, the more people would show up. If everyone in the class saw the embarrassing sight of the three of them, how could they ever live it down?
"Idiot! Blockhead! Fool! Stupid donkey! Slap! Moron! Slap! Scumbag! Slap! Trash! Slap! Pervert! Slap... Slap! Slap! Slap!"
Izumi Nogami, whose brain was completely consumed by rage, couldn't hear her best friend's words. She went all out, spitting out every vulgar word she knew. Ho Fei-yu didn't tolerate it. By the time she uttered the fourth word, the slap followed.
"Wuu, Izumi, stop cursing. We were wrong."
"Izumi, just apologize. We'll deal with him this afternoon."
Minako Sanada and Sae Hinata couldn't bear to see their best friend suffer any longer and quickly pleaded with her.
"Hehe, your two friends are more sensible than you. If you don't apologize and want to stay like this, I can keep you company. I just don't know whose face will be lost in the end."
Ho Fei-yu heard the incomplete sentence from the dark-skinned gyaru. A black line appeared on his forehead, but he didn't pursue it. He spoke indifferently to the now-silent Izumi Nogami.
"I'm... so... rry."
An inexplicable emotion swirled in Izumi Nogami's eyes—a mix of restraint and endurance. After a long silence, she flushed, grit her teeth, and uttered the three words, one syllable at a time.
"Ayato-kun, do you forgive her?"
Ho Fei-yu was not very satisfied with the apology, but he decided to ask the victim's opinion first. If Ayato Tsubakino forgave her, the matter would be closed. If not, he would make Izumi Nogami explain herself clearly.
"Huh!? No... it's fine. I wasn't really hurt much, and it was my fault for not looking where I was going."
Ayato Tsubakino lowered his head, embarrassedly scratching his hair, and answered weakly, feeling overwhelmed. He hadn't expected someone to stand up for him besides his sister. This was also the first time someone who bullied him had apologized to him.