Ho Fei-yu sat in the front, listening amusedly to their chat, but he also grew curious about the woman they mentioned—Louisa Richter, the daughter of the Richter Technologies family.
Blonde hair and blue eyes were a clear feature. Although not that rare in the Inner World, combined with the location they had previously described, Ho Fei-yu easily spotted the girl surrounded like a moon by stars. Indeed, she matched the description.
Her long, curly blonde hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. The wide blue uniform tightly hugged her round, luscious peaks that threatened to spill out. Ho Fei-yu estimated that they were about the same size as the snowy mounds of the two girls in the first row, which made him click his tongue in amazement.
Even in the Inner World, where large chests were common, assets as large as theirs were rare, probably one in ten thousand. He was surprised and fortunate to witness three such owners today.
Meanwhile, on the side of St. Hua Girls' Academy.
"Mhm." Louisa Richter replied distractedly to a question from one of the girls surrounding her. Bustling, excited chatter filled her ears, but she didn't even look at them. She was merely boredly twirling a lock of golden hair by her ear, listlessly watching the performance on the rink.
Most of the students attending St. Hua Girls' Academy were daughters of prominent figures in Japanese society. You could probably pull out any one of them, and they wouldn't be people an ordinary person could offend. Similarly, within the academy, there was a hierarchy, and Louisa Richter was one of the elites, one of the few standing at the peak, someone others looked up to. This was not only due to her own solid background and excellent education, which meant she didn't need to be superficially polite to anyone for connections, but also because she was the Student Council President of St. Hua Girls' Academy, making her an object of flattery and reliance.
She seemed unapproachable, yet she was an idol for most girls at St. Hua Girls' Academy, the embodiment of perfection.
'Such filthy, ugly, and disgusting gazes.'
'Why are men such scum of the earth!'
But what they didn't know was that Louisa Richter was currently cursing the men whose gazes were directed at her from the opposite stand.
When she was a child, her father, who had married into the family, embezzled money from her mother's family company, then casually found another woman and left, abandoning her and her mother. Louisa Richter would forever remember that day. A girl, holding a perfect test paper, ran excitedly towards her father, who had arrived to pick her up, expecting praise and affection, only to witness that ugly scene.
Her mother, unable to cope with the shock and guilt towards the family, passed away in depression. From then on, the seed of hatred for men was planted in her young heart, growing uncontrollably as she matured.
'If it weren't for President Kurashiki Reika, I wouldn't come to a place like this and breathe this foul air.' Louisa Richter thought silently. When she thought of Reika Kurashiki, her emerald eyes held intense admiration. A woman, without relying on any man, single-handedly raised her daughter and step-by-step became the "Queen" of Saitama City—she was truly her idol.
'Just fulfill Principal Sumeragi Rokka's last request, and I can...' Anticipation and excitement filled her.
"Does she have split personality disorder?" Ho Fei-yu watched the changes in Louisa Richter's facial expression, unable to help but complain. Suddenly, he felt she was just so-so. More importantly, the two of them wouldn't cross paths anyway.
"Yu-kun, look! Your friend Elisa is on the ice." Hanami Tenkawa's voice made Ho Fei-yu retract his gaze and look onto the rink.
Elisa Nishikiori, wearing a purple outfit similar to a sukumizu (school swimsuit), entered from the entrance and skated toward the center. She politely bowed towards the judges, then prepared to begin her performance.
'You can do it! Elisa. Fei-yu-kun has helped you improve so much in the past few weeks. And just now... you won't let him down. You will definitely receive Fei-yu-kun's reward!' Elisa Nishikiori silently cheered herself on, instinctively curling her toes and gripping the soles of her skates, filled with confidence from the wetness and warmth Ho Fei-yu had given her in the locker room earlier.
The music began.
Elisa Nishikiori raised her hands, glided, stood on her toes, and spun, starting a sequence of movements. She was like a swan soaring in the air, or a peacock dancing gracefully on the ground. Her lithe and elegant figure seemed to merge with the music. The expression on her pretty face transitioned naturally between relaxed and serious with every move, her soft, delicate body showcasing the dancer's beauty.
The audience in the stands was involuntarily drawn in. The previously somewhat noisy venue miraculously fell silent. When the music ended and the dance concluded, thunderous applause erupted.
Elisa Nishikiori bowed in thanks. Only after witnessing the scores given by the six judges did she leave with a joyful heart. The next contestant then continued the performance.
"Wow! Fei-yu-kun, your friend is so amazing! Five judges gave her perfect scores~ She's truly worthy of being a student at St. Hua Girls' Academy. So talented~" Yui Nakaizumi exclaimed in surprise, her eyes full of admiration.
Shiori Fuyutsuki nodded in agreement, her eyes also showing respect, but more so a sense of fighting spirit. She believed that one day she would be just as outstanding, and then... then Ho Fei-yu would love her even more.
"It looks like Elisa will take first place." Ho Fei-yu muttered to himself. Typically, in such competitions, the highest and lowest scores are discarded, and the average is taken. In any case, Elisa Nishikiori would receive a perfect score, or at the very least, rank first.
Just as Ho Fei-yu was contemplating what reward to give Elisa Nishikiori, his phone vibrated again. He took out his phone, thought for a moment, edited a few messages, sent them, and then put the phone back.
"Next time, huh?"
"What kind of gift will Fei-yu-kun prepare? Could it be..." On the other end, Elisa Nishikiori looked at Ho Fei-yu's message with a hint of disappointment, but it quickly vanished. Her tone was again full of anticipation, seemingly having thought of something, and her pretty face flushed red.
"..."
"Let's go. There's nothing more to see. Let's go shopping together for the rest of the time."
"Okay, it's 5:10 PM now. The sun should be less intense." Hanami Tenkawa checked her phone and replied.
"Let's go! Let's go!" Yui Nakaizumi impatiently pulled Shiori Fuyutsuki's hand, ready to leave. After watching Elisa Nishikiori's performance, the fun had significantly lessened, and it felt boring. When she heard Ho Fei-yu's suggestion, she immediately perked up. What good was a performance when she could go shopping with Fei-yu-kun and Shiori-chan?
Shiori Fuyutsuki didn't object, and the group left the venue. Their departure caused no ripples. Many people had already left gradually during the performance. In fact, most people who bought tickets weren't there for the competition itself but to catch a glimpse of the beautiful students from St. Hua Girls' Academy. Since the academy had extremely strict rules, opportunities like this were rare. Once they had seen enough, they left. Who really cared about the competition?
"Where should we go?" Ho Fei-yu asked the girls.
"The snack street, of course! Sushi, daifuku (a type of mochi rice cake), taiyaki, oden..." Yui Nakaizumi, the food lover, suggested excitedly, counting on her fingers. A blissful look appeared on her innocent face, and she looked like she was about to drool.
"Snack street it is, then." Seeing that the girls had no objections, Ho Fei-yu decided.
"Let's go~"
"..."
"Fei-yu-kun, see you tomorrow at the convenience store."
"Hiccup~ F-Fei-yu-kun, goodbye~"
"Goodbye." Ho Fei-yu, Hanami Tenkawa, and Shizuku Hatsufuji said goodbye to Shiori Fuyutsuki and Yui Nakaizumi after dropping them off at home.
"Alright, this is far enough. Go spend some time with little sister Shizuku." In front of Hanami Tenkawa's house, the girl leaned in and whispered into Ho Fei-yu's ear.
"I'm so..."
"Hmph~ Why are you saying things like that when we're this close, Yu-kun? Go on."
"...Mhm." Feeling the girl's thoughtfulness, Ho Fei-yu couldn't help but feel guilty and instinctively wanted to apologize, but before he could finish, the warm breath from Hanami Tenkawa's small mouth made his body tingle. Her subsequent words warmed his heart...
Separating from Hanami Tenkawa, Ho Fei-yu held Shizuku Hatsufuji's hand and walked toward his house. Shizuku Hatsufuji was silent the whole way, just as she had been since leaving the venue, which left him puzzled.
"Alright, little sister Shizuku, we're home. Auntie Akari should be inside. Let's go in." They arrived at the Hazama Apartments, and Ho Fei-yu said to Shizuku Hatsufuji.
"What's wrong?" Ho Fei-yu was about to let go of Shizuku Hatsufuji's hand but found that she was holding him tightly. She didn't speak, keeping her head down in silence.
"Oh! Fei-yu-kun and Shizuku, you're back! Did you have fun this afternoon? Do you want to come in and sit for a while, sweetie?" Akari Hatsufuji opened the door, her beautiful eyes looking at the two standing at the entrance, especially Ho Fei-yu, speaking with enthusiasm.
"Huh? Shizuku, aren't you going to say goodbye to your big brother Fei-yu? What's wrong with this child? Fei-yu-kun, I hope Shizuku didn't cause you any trouble today~" Shizuku Hatsufuji silently let go of Ho Fei-yu's hand and walked straight to her bedroom without even changing her shoes. Seeing this, Akari Hatsufuji couldn't help but complain.
"No, little sister Shizuku was very well-behaved. Auntie Akari, why don't I go check on little sister Shizuku and see what's wrong..." Ho Fei-yu explained to Akari Hatsufuji. He was worried about Shizuku Hatsufuji and wanted to know what was bothering the girl.
"Yes, please do! That would be so kind of you, Fei-yu-kun." Akari Hatsufuji was happy to hear this and pulled Ho Fei-yu inside.