'What?'
Ho Fei-yu was slightly stunned by the System prompt. He hadn't expected to receive a reward just for teaching the little punks a lesson, as there had been none before. It seemed the System really had changed after the upgrade, though he hadn't fully uncovered it yet.
At that moment, there was complete silence.
The people on the train, having watched Ho Fei-yu easily subdue the three minor thugs, all chose to remain quiet. Since most of them had stood by and watched a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy step forward, their faces felt a little hot.
"Come on, let's go sit over by us." Ho Fei-yu said to Kokoro Aono, whose fair face was inexplicably flushed.
"Mhm~" Kokoro Aono smiled sweetly, got up, and prepared to follow Ho Fei-yu.
"Th-thank you!" A weak voice reached them. Kokoro Aono turned to see the frail girl from before.
"You're welcome. And, you should really be thanking him." Kokoro Aono pointed at Ho Fei-yu for the girl.
Before the girl could speak her thanks, Ho Fei-yu waved his hand, signaling that it wasn't necessary.
"Go take a seat." Ho Fei-yu said to Kokoro Aono when they reached Hanatsu Amakawa.
"Come on, sis, sit down. Fei-yu-kun has good stamina anyway~" Hanatsu Amakawa reached out, gently pulled the hesitant Kokoro Aono into the seat, and smiled.
"...Mhm." Kokoro Aono felt Hanatsu Amakawa's warmth. Her heart rate slightly increased, and her breathing grew heavier. She was too embarrassed to look at her.
Perhaps because Ho Fei-yu's brutal beating of the three blondes was too violent, an empty seat appeared next to Kokoro Aono. Since this was the case, Ho Fei-yu didn't hesitate and sat down immediately, close to the girls. He could smell their fragrance, as soft as silk, which was intoxicating.
"You're Kokoro-chan, right? I'm Hanatsu Amakawa. You can call me Big Sister Hanatsu. Fei-yu-kun often mentions you when we chat. Seeing you today, you truly are a kind and lovely girl~"
"Mhm... Big Sister Ha-Hanatsu, does Fei... Fei-yu-kun really mention me often?"
"Hehe, of course he does~"
A bead of sweat appeared on Ho Fei-yu's forehead. What did she mean by 'often mentions'? He had talked about Kokoro Aono with Hanatsu Amakawa no more than fifteen sentences, just briefly mentioning the girl's background. How did that become 'often mentions' in Hanatsu-chan's mouth? What was this girl up to???
Perhaps because they had a common topic, Hanatsu Amakawa and Kokoro Aono's relationship inexplicably warmed up.
"Kokoro-chan, do you... like Fei-yu-kun?" Suddenly, Hanatsu Amakawa glanced at Ho Fei-yu, then leaned in close to Kokoro Aono's ear and whispered.
"L-like... No! I don't like him!" Because Hanatsu Amakawa's question was so sudden, Kokoro Aono subconsciously blurted out an answer. When she realized what she said, the girl quickly gestured with her hands, vehemently denying it aloud.
The surrounding passengers had been intentionally and unintentionally watching them. They were drawn by Kokoro Aono's sudden loud denial. But with Ho Fei-yu sitting right there, they didn't dare show too obvious curiosity and could only prick up their ears to eavesdrop.
Ho Fei-yu's expression remained unchanged. He wanted to see what this Hanatsu-chan was planning today.
Kokoro Aono noticed the strange atmosphere around her and quickly covered her small mouth. Her small face turned crimson, like an autumn persimmon.
"Shh~ Let me tell you some of Fei-yu-kun's little secrets~" Hanatsu Amakawa didn't find Kokoro Aono's reaction strange, as she was a veteran herself. She could tell right away whether the girl liked him or not. She continued to whisper in the girl's ear.
Her words were like the tempting forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Kokoro Aono, still covering her mouth, nodded as if possessed.
"If you want to seduce Fei-yu-kun, you must first know his hobbies."
"Fei... Fei-yu-kun's hob... hobbies are what?" The first part of Hanatsu Amakawa's sentence was automatically ignored by the girl; it was too shameful, even though Ho Fei-yu beside her sat stiffly, appearing not to have heard anything.
"Hehe, Fei-yu-kun's hobbies are definitely... feet... and breasts... Especially his ears, if you gently suck on them, he becomes incredibly sensitive. And if you lick them with your tongue, his body will go completely weak~" Hanatsu Amakawa leaned in even closer to Kokoro Aono, broadly outlining some of Ho Fei-yu's "preferences," not treating the girl like an outsider at all.
'No wonder when we first met and he took me home, he held my foot and smelled it near his nose... Hmph! And he had the nerve to say my feet stank! He clearly just... Wait! What kind of hobbies are these!' What Hanatsu Amakawa called 'hobbies' were more like fetishes. These were intimate, private secrets between girls, making Kokoro Aono blush the entire time. She couldn't help but recall the scene where Ho Fei-yu helped her take off her shoes during their first meeting.
While the two girls were talking softly, the three blondes were finally dragged away by the belated Dark Star members. A female member who looked like a team leader initially wanted Ho Fei-yu to go with her to give a statement, but after a careful look, she recognized Ho Fei-yu and made no further moves, leaving immediately.
The reason was that he was an honorary Vice-Captain of the Dark Star. During the summer, he had earned many merits by turning in the perverted subordinates brought by Kouchou Jinn. He was forcibly promoted to a nominal Vice-Captain by Rindou Kurogane. Although it was an advisory position, it came with some power, so he hadn't refused it.
Ho Fei-yu heard everything the two girls said. Although Hanatsu Amakawa kept her voice very low, he still heard her. Why was this girl saying all this? Even his personal preferences were revealed. How was he supposed to maintain his authority in front of Kokoro Aono now? Wasn't this blatant husband-setting behavior?
Ho Fei-yu secretly vowed to give Hanatsu Amakawa a severe lesson in the coming days.
"Did you get all that?"
"Y-yes, I did. Thank you, Big Sister Hanatsu."
"Hehe, be a little bolder~" Hanatsu Amakawa looked at Ho Fei-yu with a smiling glance, then encouraged Kokoro Aono.
"Cough cough... We're at the station. Let's go to school." Finally, they arrived at the stop. Ho Fei-yu immediately stood up and spoke calmly to the two girls.
"Let's go, Kokoro-sis~" Hanatsu Amakawa held Kokoro Aono's arm, and the two walked along, chatting and laughing, making Ho Fei-yu feel like an outsider.
"Hehe~ I managed to film something interesting~" Watching Ho Fei-yu and the two girls' figures fade into the distance, a pink-haired girl somewhere retracted her gaze. She looked at the video playing on her phone, a strange, knowing smile playing on her lips.
"..."
"See you at lunch, Fei-yu-kun~"
"Mhm."
After Hanatsu Amakawa changed her shoes at the entrance of the school building, the three separated at the staircase landing. Hanatsu-chan was in the second year, while Ho Fei-yu and Kokoro Aono were in the first year, so they were on different floors.
"Let's go. Why are you still standing there?" Ho Fei-yu turned and walked towards his classroom. After a few steps, he realized Kokoro Aono hadn't followed and was still staring blankly at the staircase landing, so he spoke up.
"Hmph! You lied to me, you big liar! You big pervert!" Kokoro Aono, holding her school bag, puffed up her cheeks, pouted, and looked at Ho Fei-yu angrily.
The girl had learned Ho Fei-yu's name and that he was also a student, and even in the same class as her, from Hanatsu Amakawa.
She had been kept in the dark for the past two days. Worst of all, she felt extremely embarrassed when she remembered thinking Ho Fei-yu had come to the school just to accompany her.
"You never asked, so how did I lie to you~" Ho Fei-yu smiled at Kokoro Aono.
"B-but you clearly said..." Kokoro Aono wanted to say the words Ho Fei-yu had used to threaten her, but she stopped herself, considering the many eyes and ears at school.
"Who knew you were so obedient~" Ho Fei-yu chuckled mischievously.
"Alright, alright, let's go. Let's claim our seats in class. If we're late, we'll have to sit at the front." Kokoro Aono tried to speak again, but Ho Fei-yu interrupted her.
"Then hurry up and go." Hearing Ho Fei-yu's words, Kokoro Aono seemed to remember something. Her angry expression instantly changed to one of nervousness. She hurried in front of Ho Fei-yu, grabbed his hand, and ran toward the classroom.
"Huff puff~ Good thing." They reached the classroom door and looked inside. Less than half the class had arrived, and there were many empty seats.
"Fei... Fei-yu-kun, where do you want to sit?" Kokoro Aono turned, panting, and asked Ho Fei-yu. She quickly corrected herself, realizing their relationship wasn't that intimate yet.
"Hehe, of course—" Ho Fei-yu walked into the classroom without hesitation and took a seat in the second-to-last row by the window. Since it was near the back, few people sat there, and the area around him was practically empty.
"Fei-yu-kun, why are you sitting here?" Kokoro Aono bit her lip, walked up to his desk, and asked curiously when she saw Ho Fei-yu sitting in the back.
"Hehe, it's a secret." Ho Fei-yu couldn't exactly say that the location held a strange attraction for him, like a dog going back to its... No! It felt mysteriously like his rightful spot (The God Seat).
"Oh." Seeing that Ho Fei-yu didn't want to elaborate, Kokoro Aono didn't press the issue. Her mind entered a state of internal conflict. Honestly, people who usually choose the back row seats are slackers. The front is the best choice for someone who wants to study well. Her previous urgency was because she was afraid the front seats would be taken or that only one would be available, preventing her from sitting with Ho Fei-yu. But now, there were still many empty pairs of seats in the front.
"Fei-yu-kun, can I sit in front of you?" Finally, Kokoro Aono made her choice.
"Sure, it's up to you where you sit."
"Mhm. Please take care of me from now on, Fei-yu-kun~" Kokoro Aono smiled and extended her hand to Ho Fei-yu.
"Hehe, you too." Ho Fei-yu replied with a smile, and their hands clasped tightly together.
In truth, they had arrived quite early; it was only about eight o'clock, half an hour before class started. There were still many empty seats around Ho Fei-yu.
As time passed, people gradually filled the room.
Ho Fei-yu's left side, next to the window, remained empty. The seat to his right was taken by a girl with long purple hair and a good figure. However, the seat directly behind him remained vacant.
Fortunately, in the final seconds before the school bell rang, a seemingly slender, weak girl hurried in. She frantically searched for an empty seat like a headless chicken. Aside from the one behind Ho Fei-yu, there were no other seats. The slender girl looked anxious, but luckily, just as the bell rang, she noticed the seat behind Ho Fei-yu. She rushed over and sat down, breathing heavily.
Ho Fei-yu felt the warm breath on the back of his neck, and a strange sensation arose in his heart. It was so close to his ear, making it sensitive, and a faint, fragrant warmth entered his nose.
"H-hello, I'm Saki Yoshida, nice to meet you."