Fairy Tail: This Healing Mage's hits hurt so much!

The fluorescent lights were still flickering in the corridor.

Riyao squatted by the door of the multimedia classroom, leaning against the cold wall, looking down at his phone.

On the screen was a novel titled "The Love and Hate Between the Weak Black Dragon and the Overbearing Zeref," which he was reading with great interest. His finger slowly slid down the screen, and every few seconds, the corner of his mouth would twitch.

After a while.

The door opened, and Mirajane came out.

Levy, Lucy, and Erza followed behind her.

Four people filed out of the door, and suddenly there were several different kinds of footsteps in the corridor.

Mirajane walked in front, casually patting Riyao's head and running her fingers through his hair a couple of times.

The sun shines brightly.

"Is that right?!"

He locked his phone and stood up.

"You think I'm a golden retriever, huh?"

After saying that, he reached out and pressed Mirajane's head down, giving it a retaliatory rub.

Mirajane's hair had just been styled by Lucy's makeup artist, tied in a half-up style, with a fluffy and stylish look on top.

As Riyao gently rubbed the hair, a few stray strands immediately escaped from the hair tie and fell around her ears.

"Don't rub it, don't rub it."

Mirajane grabbed Sunshine's hand and tilted her head to avoid it.

"I just got Lucy's makeup artist do my hair, and it's ruined if I mess it up."

Riyao then stopped and looked down at his fingers.

There was a little bit of hairspray on it, so it was sticky.

He wiped it on his pants.

Levy peeked out from behind Mirajane and her eyes lit up when she saw Sunshine.

"Huh!"

She pointed at Sunrise, then at Mirajane.

"You and Senior Mirajane are actually a couple?! I thought you were a real fan of Senior Mirajane."

Sunshine blinked and turned to look at Mirajane.

"It seems like you two know each other?"

"Yeah, we're in the same department."

As Mirajane spoke, she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"They are a year younger than me."

Riyao pressed his hand to his chest, his expression crumbling, looking as if he was about to cry.

"I didn't even know... I did have my own little secret after all."

Mirajane sighed in agreement, her tone flat.

"If that's how you think, then there's nothing I can do."

Lucy, Levy, and Erza stood to the side, their eyes twitching simultaneously.

What kind of ridiculous plot is this where a delicate young wife suffers a cruel fate at the hands of a domineering CEO?

"You two, stop playing around."

Erza sighed, her voice filled with deep helplessness.

"There are still people here."

"We won't perform if there's no one else there."

Riyao muttered to himself.

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone to hear.

Erza's forehead twitched.

She took a deep breath and swallowed the swear words that were about to come out.

Mirajane looked at Sunrise, took his hand, and clenched his fingers tightly between Sunrise's.

"Oh right, aren't we having hot pot tonight?"

She smiled.

"Lucy and the others are going too."

Riyao tried to pull his hand away.

Mirajane was prepared and put all her strength into it, refusing to let him have a turn.

He tried twice, but it didn't budge.

The world of two is gone.

Riyao's shoulders slumped.

Mirajane, supporting Riyao's arm, half-dragged and half-pulled him toward the stairwell.

"Lucy, you guys don't want to be fed dog food either, right?"

Sunrise turned around and winked at Lucy.

Lucy gave a smug look, her lips curling up wide, her eyes full of schadenfreude.

"We're quite happy to have free hot pot."

Sunlight stared at Lucy.

"As the heiress of Heartfilia Real Estate, owning an entire shopping mall, is it really worth sacrificing yourself for a free hot pot meal?!"

"Free things smell especially good."

Lucy was perfectly justified.

Sunlight took a deep breath and turned to look at Erza.

Erza nodded to him, her expression serious.

This gave Riyao hope, and his eyes lit up.

Then Erza spoke.

Mira said they have a specialty strawberry cake there.

The light in Riyao's eyes went out.

Having graduated from high school, he knew all too well how this guy couldn't resist strawberry cake.

Levy bounced twice from behind, jumped in front of Sunshine, and waved.

"You haven't even asked me yet! Maybe I'll be on your side."

Riyao glanced down at her.

"Oh."

Levy's smile froze on her face.

"What does that mean, huh?!"

She waved her little fists and slammed them twice in the air.

Riyao turned his head to the side, pretending not to see.

Lucy was laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight, with one hand on Levy's shoulder and the other hand covering her stomach.

Erza's lips curled up slightly, but she quickly suppressed it again.

While everyone was making a fuss, Mirajane secretly took out his phone and sent messages to Lisana and Elfman.

"Come over and have hot pot!"

Lisana replied instantly.

"Cute kitten excited.jpg"

Elfman replied after a few seconds.

Out of caution, fearing it might be another trap, he typed a line.

"A real man doesn't fall for the same trick twice!"

Mirajane glanced at the phone, put it back in her pocket, and didn't reply.

The group walked out of the teaching building and arrived at the parking lot.

Lucy's van was parked at the outermost position. It was a black seven-seater van with a shiny body and a license plate ending in three eights.

Riyao stood next to the car and whistled.

Lucy pressed the car key, the car door slid open automatically, the interior lights came on, and the leather seats gleamed softly under the light.

Riyao sat down in the second row of seats, slumped back against the backrest, stretched out his legs, and placed his hands on the armrests, striking a boss-like pose.

"handy."

He closed his eyes, his voice squeezed out from his throat.

Everyone sat down and fastened their seatbelts.

Then they all looked at Riyao without prior arrangement.

Riyao sensed something was wrong and opened his eyes.

Four pairs of eyes were fixed on him.

Why are you looking at me?

Mirajane sat in the passenger seat and gestured towards the driver's seat with her lip.

Riyao blinked.

"Does it have to be me?"

He pointed at Erza.

"Erza can drive too."

"I still have work to do."

Erza took out her phone, the screen lit up as if she were replying to a message, but her fingers weren't actually typing.

Sunlight then looked at Levy.

"I can't drive."

Levy shook her head innocently.

Sunlight then looked at Lucy.

Lucy leaned back in her seat, crossed her legs, and fiddled with her car keys.

"This is my car."

Riyao resignedly stood up, walked around the seat, and got into the driver's seat.

He adjusted the seat position, moved the backrest forward, and then adjusted the rearview mirror.

The movements were very skillful, and it looked quite professional.

Then he reached out and flicked the lever on the right side of the steering wheel.

The windshield wipers swished across the windshield with a squeak on the dry glass.

Lucy and Levy jumped up from their seats at the same time, their seatbelts tightening.

"Can you drive?!"

The two spoke in unison, their voices trembling.

Riyao turned his head and revealed a confident smile.

"You'll definitely learn it."

He patted the steering wheel.

Do you know Bayinbuluke?

Lucy's eyes lit up.

"I know, you wouldn't happen to be...?"

"I've seen the movie!"

Riyue gave a thumbs up.

The car fell silent.

Lucy's smile froze on her face.

Levy's mouth opened into an "O" shape.

Erza silently tightened her seatbelt a little more.

Mirajane rested her forehead on her hand, her shoulders trembling slightly.

The air conditioning inside the car was unusually cold.