He felt a little wronged, but with Reiji-kun's encouragement, he still called Hanasaku Tenkawa. She actually answered, which made him feel happy inside, proving she still cared about him. But he kept up the pretense of crying, hoping the girl would come out to accept his apology.
The girl didn't speak and hung up shortly after, but he believed he had succeeded because the girl was very kind and pure and definitely couldn't bear the thought of someone being sad because of her.
Ichi Nishida had been standing here for nearly an hour. Because it was summer, it was quite hot even at noon. He could have waited downstairs at the movie theater, hidden in the shade like Reiji-kun, but he wanted the girl to see him covered in sweat the moment they met, knowing how much he had endured for her, hoping to win back her heart that way.
He guessed Reiji Matsuoka was afraid of being misunderstood by Hanasaku Tenkawa, given his notoriously bad reputation. He planned to explain the situation to the girl face-to-face, hoping their misunderstanding would vanish.
Ichi Nishida checked his phone. It was almost two o'clock. The girl should be arriving soon.
Sure enough, as soon as he looked up, he saw a figure coming from the direction of the girl's house toward the movie theater. Because his eyes were damp with sweat, the view was a bit blurry, but he could vaguely make out a white silhouette. White was the girl's favorite color. It must be her.
Ho Fei-yu turned the corner and saw a boy with a long watermelon haircut. Ho Fei-yu didn't recognize him at first. After all, his hair completely obscured his eyes. In his past life on Earth, there was a saying, "The eyes are the windows to the soul." If not for the generally large breasts of women in this world, he wouldn't be able to tell the person's gender.
"Such a big sun, and he doesn't even know to stand in the shade."
"It's like shelling melon seeds to find shrimp—there are all sorts of people." Ho Fei-yu couldn't help but complain. On such a hot day, if not for his excellent physical condition, he would want to lie in a swimming pool all day.
"..." Ichi Nishida, who thought the figure was the girl, was about to go up and show how hard he had waited for her, but he heard the person in front of him complaining. It was clearly a male voice. Not knowing if his secret intentions had been exposed, he subconsciously clenched his fists.
Ho Fei-yu ignored the Watermelon Head in front of him. He had already seen a few of his Crow Brothers circling above a narrow gap beside the movie theater, just wide enough for a person to pass through. He guessed that was where the Blonde was hiding. He slowly walked toward that spot.
He looked completely calm and composed, seemingly not taking the Blonde seriously at all.
In contrast to Ho Fei-yu's calm demeanor, Reiji Matsuoka, in the shade, spotted Ho Fei-yu right away. His forgotten memories flooded back, and his body trembled. All he wanted to do now was go home and cool down.
He watched the boy slowly walk toward him, swearing frantically in his mind, while simultaneously praying that the boy wouldn't notice him.
"Reiji Matsuoka, are you going to come out yourself, or should I invite you out?" Unfortunately, fantasy is beautiful, but reality is cruel. The boy's voice, like that of a grim reaper, rang in his ears, shattering his delusion. Reiji Matsuoka knew he was discovered and could only slowly drag himself out of the gap.
"W-what do... you want? I... I didn't... provoke you!" Reiji Matsuoka stammered. Looking at Ho Fei-yu's half-smiling face, the memory of being severely beaten flooded back, and his face seemed to ache faintly again.
"I don't have a direct feud with you, but too bad you decided to target my woman."
"Go on, tell me how you want to die. I'll grant your last wish." Ho Fei-yu said with a contemptuous tone, his words like those of Death, as if Reiji Matsuoka's life or death were merely child's play in his eyes.
"Don't... don't forget... this is... a society governed by law! Don't be... so arrogant!" Even though Reiji Matsuoka was terrified of Ho Fei-yu, hearing the mockery in his tone, treating him like an insect, he couldn't help but clench his fists and speak a harsh threat.
"Heh heh." Ever since Ho Fei-yu arrived in this world, he had observed many things. For example, this was a merged world. Secondly, the police here were useless. Finally, aside from relevant anime where surveillance was a plot point, over ninety percent of public spaces had no surveillance cameras. As for why there weren't massive riots, it was probably related to the laws of the world (though the latter part was purely his speculation).
So, he found Reiji Matsuoka's words very laughable. Did a person who got a female intern teacher pregnant and then used connections to suppress the incident deserve to talk about such things with him???
"Fei-yu-kun?" Just then, a familiar voice rang out in the empty area in front of the movie theater.
All three turned to look at the newcomer. It was Hanasaku Tenkawa.
The three had different thoughts in their minds.
First, Ichi Nishida. He was watching the confrontation between Reiji Matsuoka and the suddenly appearing boy, completely confused by their strange conversation. Then, he heard the girl's voice, which had appeared countless times in his dreams. He turned around with a joyful expression, only to see her running straight toward that boy, completely ignoring him. He stood rooted to the spot. It was true, just as Reiji-kun had said: Hanasaku Tenkawa had a boyfriend.
Next, Ho Fei-yu. He looked utterly speechless as the girl ran toward him, hugging Hana-yu, and then threw herself into his arms. Hana-yu, meanwhile, had jumped onto Ho Fei-yu's head and was sitting there. Ho Fei-yu was about to say something to the girl, but seeing the worry in her purple eyes, he ultimately remained silent.
Finally, Reiji Matsuoka. He instinctively wanted to seize the moment to escape, but a powerful impulse kept him there. When he saw Hanasaku Tenkawa, his heart was instantly filled with bitter hatred. He desperately wanted to defile her and then tear her to shreds. This thought immediately seized control of his mind, and all thoughts of escape were completely forgotten.
"Didn't I tell you not to come? Look at you, all sweaty."
"But... I was worried... about Fei-yu-kun..."
"Sigh."
"And you, Hana-yu, who told you to bring her? She might not know the situation, but you should!"
"Meow!!!" Hana-yu was extremely exasperated. The meows seemed to be saying: You gave her the power to command me! You didn't tell me not to listen to her! If she commands me to come, what can I do? Also, you can't bear to blame her, but you can bear to blame me, this poor cat??? Huh!!!
The cat's life is hard! Others are treated like royalty, but I'm being used as a dog and a bodyguard.
"Don't you know! Public displays of affection bring instant death!!!" Reiji Matsuoka was already furious. The dog and bitch in front of him were openly showing affection in his face. The vow of the FFF Blonde Brigade immediately flashed in his mind. He gathered his courage and rushed toward the couple, his fist tightly clenched, aiming for a fatal strike toward the back of Ho Fei-yu's head.