Hearing this.
Ho Fei-yu slightly turned his head and realized that the girl calling herself Saki Yoshida was greeting him and not someone else. Ensuring that he wouldn't face the embarrassment of a misunderstanding, he turned fully in his seat to face the girl.
What came into view was a girl with twin braids and thick glasses. Her neck was very slender, and her visible upper body above the desk looked very thin, as if she were malnourished. At first glance, she looked like a country girl from the countryside.
'Is... is it because I'm too ugly? Why is he looking at me like that... Is my first attempt at making friends in high school going to end in failure...' Saki Yoshida, looked at by Ho Fei-yu, had flickering dark eyes. She didn't dare meet Ho Fei-yu's gaze, and the hand she had stretched out to him was gently trembling. Her heart was beating fast from nervousness, and the girl couldn't help but murmur in her mind.
"Hello, I'm Ho Fei-yu. It's nice to meet you. Please take care of me as classmates over the next year."
Just as Saki Yoshida thought Ho Fei-yu was looking down on her and was about to withdraw her hand, it was suddenly grasped by Ho Fei-yu's large hand, followed by the boy's polite greeting.
"Th-thank you, Fei-yu-kun. Oh, no, Fei-yu-student." Saki Yoshida's face instantly flushed as Ho Fei-yu suddenly took her hand. The warmth from his hand seemed to travel through her palm to her entire body. Although she had been nervous, her heart was now filled with joy, and she replied excitedly.
'Does this count as making my first friend in high school?'
'No... maybe it's just a polite greeting between classmates. I didn't make any friends in my three years of middle school, so how could it be so easy to make friends in high school... Don't overthink it, Saki Yoshida.' Saki Yoshida thought with a sense of loss as Ho Fei-yu turned back after the greeting.
"Fei-yu-kun, what were you doing just now? Do you know that girl?" Ho Fei-yu had just turned around when a curious Kokoro Aono leaned in front of him, asking one question after another.
"What's it to you? The class bell has rung. Why aren't you facing forward? Do you want to be the first one caught and lectured by the teacher?" Ho Fei-yu looked at the overly curious Kokoro Aono, irritably pinching her small cheek and speaking with exasperation.
"What! I was just asking! If you won't tell me, then don't! Why did you pinch my face! I... I'll tell Big Sister Hanatsu, and then..." Kokoro Aono's words were cut off as Ho Fei-yu forcibly turned her head around.
His ears were finally quiet. Before Ho Fei-yu could relax, the sound of high heels clicking on the floor approached the classroom door.
'...Why is it her!' The sound finally stopped at the doorway. Ho Fei-yu instinctively looked over, and a familiar figure entered his view. He couldn't help but gasp in surprise in his mind.
The previously noisy classroom also fell silent with the teacher's arrival.
"Hello, students. My name is Kanade Himuro. I will be your homeroom and Mathematics teacher for the next year. Please take care of me." The graceful figure slowly walked to the podium. With a coolly beautiful smile, she quickly wrote three characters on the blackboard. As she introduced herself, she scanned everyone in the room with a cold gaze. Her eyes lingered for a fraction of a second near the window, where Ho Fei-yu was sitting, a hint of anger and triumph flashing in her gaze.
"Since today is the first day of school, we won't be having classes, but there are some planned activities. I will now explain what we need to do today." Kanade Himuro withdrew her gaze and continued.
"First, I need a few students to come with me to the gymnasium shortly to pick up your uniforms. Second, we will select the class officers, so I hope everyone will volunteer actively. The third and final thing is the freshman entrance ceremony at three o'clock this afternoon. Alright, that's all for today. Did everyone understand?"
"Yes~"
Bang!
"Why are those all female voices? Do we not have any boys in this class? Yell again! If the boys' voices don't drown out the girls', you'll keep yelling until I'm satisfied. Otherwise, forget about getting your uniforms from the gymnasium!" The class was composed of about two-thirds girls, and the female voices overpowered the weak, lifeless male voices. This displeased Kanade Himuro. Being a strict teacher, she naturally couldn't stand the weak, half-dead demeanor of the boys. She slammed the textbook heavily onto the podium, creating a dull thud that startled all the students, and then spoke coldly again.
"YES, WE DID!"
Everyone, regardless of gender, shouted loudly. Ho Fei-yu also put a little effort into his shout this time. Kanade Himuro's stern look had startled him, involuntarily reminding him of his high school teacher in his past life—a pot-bellied, slightly balding middle-aged man who hadn't been shy about verbally abusing them.
"Alright, that's much better. It's inappropriate for the boys to be inferior to the girls! Now, I need four or five students to come with me to the gymnasium to get the uniforms. Does anyone volunteer?" Kanade Himuro nodded in satisfaction and then asked.
However, no one raised their hand. Everyone seemed to be intimidated by Kanade Himuro's strict demeanor.
Kanade Himuro witnessed this and frowned. She opened her mouth to say something but held back when she saw four girls raise their hands. Still, she was annoyed because no boys had volunteered. Her eyes instinctively glanced toward a certain person, finding him looking out the window, looking quite leisurely. This made her even more irritated. Before she could explode, a thought suddenly crossed her mind, and the corner of her mouth curved into a slight smile.
"Only girls? What are the boys in this class doing! You have no sense of responsibility. Since no one is volunteering, I'll have to pick one myself." Kanade Himuro said with a tone of disappointment, then her eyes swept over the boys in the class one by one.
Every boy who was looked at by Kanade Himuro lowered his head, afraid of being chosen. Having just been scolded, being picked now would only make him the center of attention.
"You! The boy in the second-to-last row by the window!"
Just as Kanade Himuro finished speaking, all eyes focused on the person she chose. Some looked curious, others looked teasingly.
"Understood, Teacher Kanade Himuro."
That person was naturally Ho Fei-yu. The moment Kanade Himuro said she would pick someone, he knew exactly who it would be.
Ho Fei-yu had planned to spend three years of high school keeping a low profile. He hadn't expected to attract so much attention right from the start. He felt a little annoyed, but he knew he had to submit to authority.
"The rest of you can use the time to get to know each other and prepare for the class officer elections. Also, don't be too loud." Seeing Ho Fei-yu agree, Kanade Himuro nodded in satisfaction. She instructed the class before leaving the classroom.
"Follow me, and don't get separated." After saying this, she gave Ho Fei-yu a meaningful look and started walking.
The four girls followed behind Kanade Himuro, and Ho Fei-yu walked at the very back. He shifted his gaze away from Kanade Himuro's uniform-clad hips and casually observed the four girls who had volunteered.
They were walking in pairs, seemingly knowing each other.
One pair of girls looked somewhat similar, perhaps sisters. They both had beautiful short blue hair. Their occasional profiles showed them to be lovely and graceful, no less attractive than the girls beside him. However, Ho Fei-yu found it strange that they kept glancing at him.
Was it because of the incident earlier?
Ho Fei-yu didn't think too much of it and turned his attention to the other pair of girls. One of them had vibrant magenta-red hair that reached her waist. The girl beside her had short blue hair and looked gentle yet strong.
Neither of the two girls seemed very tall, reaching just about his shoulder, small and cute.
As Ho Fei-yu admired them, they finally reached the gymnasium.
"The four of you girls each take two sets, and the rest will be dragged back by this boy in the bag." Kanade Himuro found the storage room for their class's uniforms and gave the instruction.
"Teacher Kanade Himuro, Fei... this male student probably can't carry that much. Can I help him carry a few more sets?" One of the girls from the pair of sisters—it wasn't clear if she was the older or younger one—said to Kanade Himuro. Her words showed concern for Ho Fei-yu. Although Ho Fei-yu didn't care about the weight, it was nice to be cared for.
"Hehe, thank you for your concern, student. It's fine, you just take two sets. I can take the rest." Ho Fei-yu smiled at the short blue-haired girl.
The short blue-haired girl wanted to say something else, but her sister beside her pulled her arm, and she finally nodded without continuing to speak.
What they didn't notice was that Kanade Himuro's face had darkened, making her already coolly beautiful face look incredibly cold.
"Take your items, and the four of you can leave first." Kanade Himuro said expressionlessly to the four girls.
After the four girls left the storage room, Kanade Himuro actually closed the door. The four girls outside looked at each other with wide eyes for a moment, then took the uniforms they were carrying and returned to the classroom.
Back in the storage room.
"Fei-yu Ho, is that right? The teacher feels like she's seen you somewhere before~ Do you remember? Or did the teacher make a mistake~" With only Kanade Himuro and Ho Fei-yu left in the storage room, Kanade Himuro looked at Ho Fei-yu, who was bending over and putting uniforms into a bag, and said with a half-smile.
"Cough cough... Teacher Kanade Himuro must have mistaken me for someone else. This should be our first meeting." Ho Fei-yu paused his action of packing the uniforms and spoke awkwardly, not facing Kanade Himuro.
"Hehe, is that so? But why does the teacher feel like she's seen you somewhere~ Hmm~ Let the teacher think carefully. Oh~ In the bathroom, right?" Seeing Ho Fei-yu deny it, Kanade Himuro walked toward Ho Fei-yu in her high heels, teasing him patiently.
"Keep pretending, keep pretending. I'll never forget you, you damned little pervert. How dare you do that to me!!!" Ho Fei-yu's nonchalant attitude finally provoked an angry outburst from Kanade Himuro.
Recalling the scenes in the bathroom and the bed, the hickeys on her snow peaks and the painful throbbing in her lower regions seemed to return.