As the penultimate period ended, the students, previously withered by a boring English class, suddenly became revitalized. The next period was PE—time to sweat and escape the classroom. It was also a time for hormones to flare; boys were already eyeing the girls, imagining how they would look in their tight gym bloomers.
Ho Fei-yu sat calmly. He had forgotten his gym clothes. He watched Yūshin pull out her neatly folded uniform: a plain white short-sleeved shirt and blue shorts. It was a simple, thin outfit used year-round.
"The shorts are so short... what if I get exposed or someone peeps?" Yūshin complained, spreading the blue shorts on his desk. Having gone to a rural middle school without official uniforms, she wasn't used to this.
"Don't worry, they'll reach your thighs just fine," Ho Fei-yu joked, comparing the shorts to her petite figure. "And besides, people won't necessarily look at you."
He meant it to reassure her, but Yūshin's eyebrows twitched, her lips pouted high enough to hang a lantern, and she snatched her clothes away, marching to the changing room with the other girls.
What? Ho Fei-yu was baffled. Did I say something wrong?
The boys began leaving too. Ho Fei-yu sat there awkwardly until Ayato Tsubakino approached him.
"Fei-yu-aniki, aren't you changing? Did you forget your clothes?" Seeing Ho Fei-yu nod, Ayato didn't hesitate. "Use mine!" He held out his uniform with a look of earnest hope.
"Ayato, I appreciate it, but what will you wear?"
Ayato was moved. Ho Fei-yu had saved him twice, stood up to bullies for him, and now was even worried about him over a small matter. His nose felt itchy. "Don't worry, I have a spare set at school that I never took home. This one is clean, I promise!"
Ho Fei-yu eventually followed him to the locker room. As they approached, they heard shouts of disbelief.
"Whoa! Masaru-kun, your piece is huge! What's your secret?"
They entered to find the boys crowded around Masaru Ouga, a yellow-haired guy with a face only a mother could love. He was standing proudly in bright red underwear, acting like a crane among chickens. The boys looked on with a mix of awe and inferiority.
Ho Fei-yu didn't want to get involved. He knew his "Great Dragon" would cause a panic, so he planned to change quickly and leave. But to his dismay, his locker was right next to Masaru's.
Destiny is cruel, he thought.
Masaru felt like a lion in a kennel, basking in the attention. No one in this class is bigger than me. Now I can pick up girls with confidence. Ah, it's lonely at the top. He deliberately slowed down his movements as Ho Fei-yu approached, wanting to give the "newbie" a "Masaru-style shock."
Masaru watched out of the corner of his eye as Ho Fei-yu stripped. First, the upper body—perfect, sculpted muscles like a statue, radiating power. Masaru's smugness faltered.
Then, Ho Fei-yu unceremoniously dropped his pants.
Is... is that even human?!
Staring at the massive object that was nearly the size of his own calf, Masaru's eyes bulged like lightbulbs. He stood there, catatonic, as if struck by lightning. He didn't even realize when Ho Fei-yu finished changing and left.