"Heh, Ayato Tsubakino, I order you to squat down right now. Don't you dare stand up without my permission!"
Seeing that Ho Fei-yu was ignoring her, Izumi Nogami felt a surge of nameless rage. Spotting Ayato Tsubakino, who was looking at Ho Fei-yu with a face full of admiration, she came up with a cruel whim and barked her command.
Ayato Tsubakino wanted to be a man, but having been bullied for so long, weakness was etched into his very bones. Izumi Nogami's sharp threat made him instinctively prepare to crouch down.
"Fei-yu... Brother... Sorry, I still can't do it..."
His body was already halfway down when he suddenly felt his shoulder grabbed by a warm, powerful hand. His buckling body was hauled back up by sheer force. Pale-faced, Ayato looked down in shame at the owner of that hand.
"Ayato, it's okay for a man to fail a thousand times, but never say you 'can't' do it. If you do, you're truly beyond saving. You have to learn to resist oppression, or they will ride on your head forever."
Ho Fei-yu spoke with earnest intent. He knew that a weak personality formed by years of bullying wouldn't change easily, but he hoped Ayato would at least learn to grow. Perhaps one day, he would break out of his cocoon.
"As long as I'm by your side, do not bow to evil forces, and do not be afraid."
Ho Fei-yu stabilized Ayato and patted his weak frame encouragingly. Then, without waiting for Ayato to speak, Ho Fei-yu turned his body and stared at Izumi Nogami with a playful, mocking gaze, saying nothing.
"Wh-What do you want!"
Izumi Nogami trembled under that mocking look. She couldn't help but speak out in fear.
"I'm talking to Ayato Tsubakino, what's it to you? Mind your own business!"
Perhaps feeling embarrassed that a single look from Ho Fei-yu had made her so flustered, Izumi Nogami intentionally raised her voice to hide her lack of confidence.
However, she watched as Ho Fei-yu slowly raised his hand, making a slapping motion. That simple gesture triggered a sudden, vivid memory of the humiliation she suffered yesterday in the rain. The shameful images she had tried so hard to forget flooded back as if they were happening all over again.
"Nngh~"
Before Izumi could finish her sentence, her body went soft, and she let out an involuntary, shameful moan.
"Izumi, what's wrong?"
"Are you okay, Izumi?"
Minako Sanada and Sae Hinata, who were watching from either side, looked at her in confusion. Seeing her swaying, they hurried to support her.
Izumi Nogami was now a mix of shame and fury. She was ashamed that she, a proud gyaru, would make such a slutty sound, and furious that Ho Fei-yu dared to humiliate her like this.
"Alright, we're all classmates, let's not have a conflict. Actually, this young man is quite right. You shouldn't sit down immediately after running. It's best to wait for your heart rate to return to normal. Also, don't drink water for ten minutes; if you're really thirsty, just rinse your mouth."
Just as Izumi Nogami broke free from her friends' support to say something to save face, Ikumi Haruhara walked between them with a smile, blocking their view of each other. She first praised Ho Fei-yu for his knowledge and then gave a professional explanation to everyone.
Those who were about to sit or drink stopped and began walking slowly to recover. Izumi Nogami had no choice but to drop it, giving Ho Fei-yu a resentful glare.
Ho Fei-yu wasn't angry. No matter how sharp a look was, it couldn't hurt him.
Ikumi Haruhara felt relieved. In her eyes, the bickering between Ho Fei-yu and Izumi was like children fighting. While nothing serious would happen, it was better to keep the peace.
"Fei-yu-kun, they are so annoying! We were just talking, why did they have to butt in with such mean faces!" Yūshin Aonoi said, standing by Ho Fei-yu and glaring at the three gyarus.
"Don't mind them. They're just immature little girls," Ho Fei-yu said, stroking Yūshin's hair.
"Mm~" Yūshin narrowed her eyes and nodded, enjoying the sensation of his large hand on her head.
After resting for about eight minutes, Ikumi Haruhara clapped her hands. "Students, gather around!"
Everyone moved toward her.
"For this month's PE, our theme is football. Of course, we'll practice other sports occasionally, but for now, let me explain some basic knowledge about football."
"Ikumi-sensei~ didn't you say we could rest after running? Why do we have to play football now? Even a teacher shouldn't go back on her word~"
Some students who thought they were being dismissed groaned. A voice broke the silence, and everyone looked to see Masaru Ouga, the blond who had been punished in Kanade Himuro's class. He was desperate for free time because he had "big things" to do.
Masaru didn't feel embarrassed by the stares; he enjoyed the attention. Especially when he saw the purple-haired girl, Natsuha Shizunomiya, look over, he vanity-brushed his blond hair. He wanted to leave a cool impression of himself resisting teacher oppression.
"This student is right. You did rest after running, didn't you? Or did you misunderstand something?" Ikumi Haruhara replied logically, not bothered by his defiance.
"..."
The crowd went silent. Are you playing word games with us?! But she was the teacher, and she hadn't explicitly said they'd be dismissed.
"Suzuka-chan was the fastest in the thousand-meter run at three minutes and thirty seconds—the only perfect score. Most of you were around five minutes, below the passing line. If you can't even do that, how will you handle two thousand meters? Even if it's not related to your college entrance exams, a healthy body makes studying and life much easier," Ikumi said sternly, her smile vanishing.
The complainers went quiet. Masaru Ouga remained anxious, his eyes fixed on Natsuha Shizunomiya's profile with a gaze full of greed and obsession, like a dog eyeing a piece of meat.