Izumi Nogami was stunned.
She didn't know why her own seat was also covered in glue.
Could someone have coincidentally retaliated against her using the same method?
After realizing her predicament, she wanted to ask Sae Hinata next to her, but her eyes happened to meet the scrutinizing gaze of Kyōko Tsukishima, who was focused on her abnormal movement. She immediately wilted and quickly adjusted her posture to sit down.
She could talk all the trash she wanted in private, saying that people could ignore the teachers but must respect her...
She could be moderately arrogant behind their backs, as they were good friends who wouldn't rat her out. Even if they were discovered, the school wouldn't do much about it, and she had connections anyway.
But face-to-face, she had to behave. If she were caught like this, even her connections wouldn't help much.
After a while, when she sensed Kyōko Tsukishima was no longer paying attention to her.
'Did he swap his seat with mine?'
Izumi Nogami secretly turned her head to look at Ho Fei-yu. She saw him sitting calmly, showing no sign of the expected reaction after being pranked, which made her confused.
'Impossible! My eyes never left him, and such a big move would definitely not have been completely silent.'
She gritted her teeth, discarding the newly formed guess.
Izumi Nogami stared blankly at the blackboard, her mind lost in deep confusion, completely forgetting the next step of the prank they had planned.
The dark-skinned gyaru, Sae Hinata, would occasionally sneak a look at Izumi Nogami, waiting for her signal to continue pranking Ho Fei-yu. However, Kyōko Tsukishima had already asked several questions, and her best friend had not given any hint, making her impatient.
Among the three gyarus, her role was the instigator, the kind who loved chaos. Whenever Izumi Nogami hesitated about stopping the bullying, she would fan the flames. How could a chaos-lover let the fun end so soon? Anyway, everything would eventually be settled. Minako Sanada, the young lady, would pay a sum of money, and the victims of their pranks would receive compensation greater than the harm they suffered.
They got their fun, and the victims got money. Nobody lost out, so shouldn't everyone be happy?
But she didn't know that people who have been bullied always carry scars, which might take a lifetime to heal.
Back to the point.
Seeing Izumi Nogami remain inactive for so long, the dark-skinned gyaru, Sae Hinata, finally couldn't hold back and decided to take action.
When Kyōko Tsukishima posed the next question, Sae Hinata immediately raised her hand. Someone like her, who almost never raised her hand, was the most likely to be chosen.
And so it was.
Kyōko Tsukishima scanned the podium and saw Sae Hinata actively raising her hand. It had been two or three days since she started teaching this class, and this was the first time she had seen the tanned girl raise her hand, so she decided to give her a chance to showcase her knowledge.
"You."
Everyone's eyes followed the direction of Kyōko Tsukishima's finger. When they saw who raised their hand, looks of surprise appeared on their faces.
People who hadn't experienced the morning incident but vaguely knew the gyarus' personalities immediately wondered if the gyaru had turned over a new leaf today? Raising her hand to answer a question...
While those who had witnessed the morning incident exchanged knowing glances with Ho Fei-yu, anticipating that something interesting would happen during the dull English class, especially in Kyōko Tsukishima's class.
They never thought that the dark-skinned gyaru's real intention for raising her hand was to answer a question. After all, a gyaru turning good was as likely as a sow flying!
Izumi Nogami also snapped back to reality, realized something was amiss, and wanted to stop Sae Hinata, but it was too late. The dark-skinned gyaru had already stood up with a grin.
Of course, Sae Hinata wasn't an idiot. Before answering, she pretended to think for a moment and then, with a serious expression, chose a random answer. After all, it was a multiple-choice question with four options, otherwise, she wouldn't have dared to raise her hand.
If it were a normal day and she was called on to answer, Sae Hinata would have prayed for incredible luck to guess correctly. But now, she only hoped to be wrong.
Predictably, the answer was wrong.
Sae Hinata secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Classmate, please sit down for now. Please listen carefully to the teacher's explanation next time. Now, let's have someone else answer."
Kyōko Tsukishima wasn't the type to scold students for being wrong. Her strictness was only reserved for disruptive and lazy students in class. She was quite patient with students who actively raised their hands to answer questions.
"Teacher, he knows the answer!"
Just as Kyōko Tsukishima was about to pick another person, Sae Hinata quickly pointed at Ho Fei-yu.
"He knows? Alright then, young man, please stand up and answer."
Hearing this, Kyōko Tsukishima frowned, a hint of displeasure rising in her heart. What is going on? Treating the classroom like a game? Calling her boyfriend to show off? Suppressing her dissatisfaction, she spoke coldly.
She decided that if the boy also answered incorrectly, both of them would stand outside the door and take a cold draft.
Seeing that her plan had succeeded, Sae Hinata sat down. She winked playfully at Izumi Nogami, who was looking her way, in celebration. Little did she know that her fate was entirely up to Ho Fei-yu.
The moment Sae Hinata pointed at him, Ho Fei-yu understood the whole situation. He hadn't expected the gyarus' revenge to be so similar to what elementary school kids would do, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
If it hadn't been for Saki Yoshida's warning, he might have been embarrassed this time. Of course, that possibility was slim, as unlikely as being run over by a dump truck and transmigrating to an anime world.
Looking at the grammar question on the blackboard, which was simple beyond simple, and a three-choice option at that, if he couldn't answer this, he might as well bash his head in.
"Fei-yu-kun, choose C!"
Just as he was about to stand up, Yūshin Aonoi's soft and anxious reminder suddenly floated from the front.
"It's a fixed phrase: catch sb. doing sth. So, I choose A."
Ho Fei-yu twitched his mouth, then stood up and stated his answer confidently.
"Very good. That was a perfect answer, young man. You may sit down. Keep up the good work next time."
Kyōko Tsukishima's tight frown relaxed, and she nodded in satisfaction. As long as he answered correctly, everything was fine.
Ho Fei-yu slowly sat down, but not before glancing at Izumi Nogami, who was looking his way, and curved his lips into a meaningful smile, though she immediately looked away after meeting his gaze.
"Wuu~ Why did you choose A? I don't care, I still choose C."
As soon as he sat down, Yūshin Aonoi's sullen voice reached his ears, making him want to laugh and cry at the same time.
"..."
'It must be his doing!'
If Izumi Nogami was only suspicious of Ho Fei-yu before, she was 100% certain it was him now. All signs pointed to it.
'But how did he do it? If it really was him, why didn't he make me embarrassed like he did to Sae? Is it because he likes me? No, no, no, how could that be? If he liked me, why would he publicly hit my butt... and let the glue stick to my skirt? What is going on!!!'
Izumi Nogami's mind was a confused mess. Finally, a shameful thought that made her blush popped up, but she immediately dismissed it. When it came to man-woman issues, if she couldn't figure it out, her thoughts seemed to always drift to romance—it was truly strange.
Unable to figure it out, Izumi Nogami simply gave up thinking. The immediate priority was how to get off the chair.
The gyarus didn't bother Ho Fei-yu again until lunch break. After all, they had something they absolutely had to do and no time to harass him.
Ho Fei-yu led Yūshin Aonoi, who was still dejected over giving him the wrong answer, and Hanawa Amakawa, who had come to find him, to find an empty classroom to eat together.
After searching around, the three found a suitable classroom. Only one classroom in the entire hallway had students; the rest were empty. So, Ho Fei-yu casually picked one and walked in with the two girls.
As soon as the door opened, a gust of cold air rushed in, making Yūshin Aonoi shiver. Although it was raining heavily outside, Ho Fei-yu felt that the temperature inside this classroom was even lower than outside.
However, he didn't give it much thought.
Ho Fei-yu took off his school jacket and put it over Yūshin Aonoi. With his physique, he wasn't afraid of catching a cold, and Hanawa-chan, having been nourished by him, wasn't afraid either, though not to his extent.
The girl blushed. The residual heat and scent from the clothes made her feel warm, as if she was wrapped not in a jacket but in...
Ho Fei-yu walked over, pushed two desks together, and took out a cloth to wipe away the dust, but unexpectedly found the desks and chairs unusually clean, as if they were regularly maintained. Upon reflection, he thought it was normal. The school often had big clean-ups and even hired outside custodians to clean.
Ho Fei-yu was about to beckon the two girls to sit down when he felt a cold draft rush past. The wide-open door suddenly slammed shut with a bang. The sound of the impact was so loud and unexpected that even he was startled.