He paid no mind.
The boy who had just entered the restroom still chose to ignore them.
"You idiot! The senpai is talking to you! Brat, you don't even acknowledge me. What are you trying to do?!"
The person who spoke first lowered his voice, which was filled with suppressed anger and dissatisfaction, looking at the boy who continued to ignore him.
The boy in front of him wasn't wearing a school uniform, meaning he was a new freshman. Being ignored by a rookie made him feel humiliated.
Especially since his friend Hayato was already shamelessly collecting protection money from the freshman, while he was being ignored just for trying to talk to him. In front of his buddies, he felt completely disrespected.
He decided that no matter how meekly the boy apologized later, he absolutely had to teach this freshman a lesson. Otherwise, how could he continue to mix with others at school? Or in society?
"Hahahaha~ Kurishun, you're not cutting it either. Even a freshman dares to ignore you, unlike our Hayato, hahaha~"
The surrounding thugs, seeing their friend lose face, immediately burst into laughter, while also not forgetting to mock him.
"Yeah! Skinny! Can you even do it~"
Hayato was also laughing heartily, clearly enjoying the attention. After all, in their circles, the greater one's reputation, the better things one could enjoy.
Ryoto, held captive by Hayato, listened to the thugs' roaring laughter. His less-than-five-foot body had begun to tremble slightly, like a quail.
Ryoto looked at the boy who had appeared at the wrong time with a look of shared misery. He had angered the thugs and was outnumbered. His fate was predictable.
Then, as if he remembered something, Ryoto froze. He no longer had the right to worry about others. The money he had saved for his sister's upcoming birthday gift was stolen, but that was nothing; he was already used to it.
What worried and terrified Ryoto the most was that his slip of the tongue had exposed his sister's existence. Ryoto knew the kind of person Hayato was. Not only did he enjoy using drugs, but he also enjoyed manipulating women. Ryoto had heard in middle school that Hayato would deceive naive girls with smooth talk, then drug them, and use the drugs to make the unfortunate girls fall into prostitution. Then, when he was low on cash for his personal expenses, he would force the girls to sell themselves.
Although it was only a rumor, Ryoto believed it implicitly.
"Heh heh~ Don't worry, Ryoto-kun. You're so delicate and tender, your Hayato-bro wouldn't hurt you," Hayato noticed the distress in his captive's body. He stopped laughing, looked down, patted Ryoto's pale face, and reassured him.
Hearing this, Ryoto nodded weakly.
"By the way, tell me about your sister sometime~"
Seeing Ryoto's reaction, the sinister coldness in Hayato's dark eyes flashed and then disappeared. He spoke with what he thought was a kind smile.
The moment Hayato finished speaking, Ryoto's body visibly shuddered.
"I'm sorry... Senpai... I didn't know before. Is that right? That's what you want me to say, isn't it?" Ho Fei-yu spoke calmly, a subtle, teasing smile playing on his lips, addressing the aggressive, pompadour-haired thug in front of him.
"There have been several guys who said they 'didn't know' before, and they never came out of the hospital... What did you say, brat? Say that to my face again!!" The pompadour instantly began to answer without thinking when Ho Fei-yu finished speaking. After all, they were a big group. He didn't believe for a second that this freshman would dare to resist. It wasn't until he was almost finished with his sentence that he realized what Ho Fei-yu had said. He shouted incredulously at the composed Ho Fei-yu, his spittle flying everywhere.
"Senpai? Veteran? Forgive this junior for asking, did you not brush your teeth this morning? Or did you just eat feces? Your mouth smells terrible. Oh~ I see! No wonder you didn't want me to come in. You're holding a mass shit-eating gathering. What great taste."
When the pompadour thug approached him and showered him with profanity, Ho Fei-yu took a few steps back. After the thug finished, Ho Fei-yu, pinching his nose in disgust, looked at the pompadour and the thugs behind him and spoke thoughtfully.
"Pffft."
Ryoto tried to suppress his laughter, but immediately shut his mouth under Hayato's threatening gaze. Still, he looked at Ho Fei-yu curiously, wondering why he dared to talk back.
"You bastard! You're asking for it!"
The pompadour thug froze for a moment, then flew into a rage. He swung his fist and quickly lunged forward, ready to teach this insolent freshman a lesson.
But the result was predictable.
There was a loud thud, followed by the sound of a heavy object hitting the floor.
"Alright, one of the six stalls is occupied. Now it's your turn. Who's going first?" Ho Fei-yu retracted his left foot and spoke calmly to the remaining thugs.
'What? He kicked him flying with one kick?? We've run into a tough guy!'
Silence fell. Everyone looked at the composed Ho Fei-yu in shock, silently and unanimously thinking the same thing.
"Gulp."
The sound of someone swallowing broke the silence.
"Brat, since you can fight, all you have to do is apologize to us, and we won't pursue your disrespect. Maybe we'll even take you in as a junior and you can enjoy the good life with us, how about it?"
"You should know that when you're mixing, you need connections and influence. Being good at fighting alone is useless. Your big brother here knows people in the underworld."
Hayato forced himself to suppress his fear and stepped forward. Despite his reputation among the thugs, only he knew how frail he truly was. Years of drug use and excessive indulgence had completely weakened him. Normally, he had to take more than ten pills to last ten minutes during sex.
He tried to coerce Ho Fei-yu with both threats and promises, hoping to resolve the conflict without escalating it. If possible, he could even gain a decent fighter as a junior.
"Enjoy the good life with you? Know people in the underworld? I'll say this now: even if the Great Amaterasu herself came here, she couldn't stop you from eating shit today."
Ho Fei-yu dismissed the blonde guy's words with contempt, even scorn.
He wouldn't even accept the ultimate sugar daddy treatment from his primary girlfriend, Reika Kurashiki. Why would he care about such petty gains?
"You! How about this? I'll introduce you to the gang I'm affiliated with. With your ability, you'll definitely rise to a high position quickly. How about that?"
Hayato was enraged by Ho Fei-yu's reaction. He had lowered himself, yet Ho Fei-yu still hadn't defused the situation. Seeing Ho Fei-yu's determined stance, he had no choice but to try again.
"Stop stalling. Come at me all at once. Don't let the pompadour guy eat the warm stuff first. You don't want to miss out on the fresh shit-eating experience."
Ho Fei-yu stopped wasting words on them. For some reason, ever since he entered the restroom, he felt the Crazy Diamond Stand within him stir, brimming with anger directed at these thugs, eager to be unleashed.
Ho Fei-yu had sensed this anomaly, which was why he hadn't immediately knocked out the thugs. He wanted to understand the source of Crazy Diamond's fury. It wasn't until the blonde Hayato stepped forward that the Crazy Diamond inside him almost burst out of his body uncontrollably.
Although he didn't know why Crazy Diamond was so agitated and angry, Ho Fei-yu felt no sympathy for thugs who bullied men and violated women.
'Since that's the case, Crazy Diamond, come out and vent your frustration.'