Don't you guys dislike me?

……

Tsukino still followed Amamiya Chizuru desperately, but because he was afraid of being discovered, he followed her from a distance. He lost her when they reached the sports warehouse.

Tsukino looked around anxiously, but saw Murakami Aiko and others coming out of the toilet talking and laughing, followed by the soaking wet Amemiya Chizuru.

Her long purple hair was dripping with water and hung in front of her. There were large and small shoe prints on her soaked white shirt. The dust and mud from the shoe prints made the pure white shirt look black and dirty.

Tsukino walked around Murakami Aiko and the other two, ran to Amamiya Chizuru, and asked anxiously:

"Amamiya-san, you, you, you were bullied by them again?!"

"Ah~ You're the boy who talked to Class President Amamiya during PE class, right?"

Murakami Aiko turned around and didn't intend to let go of Tsukino who was trying to get close to Chizuru Amamiya.

144. The courage he mustered to overcome his cowardice was so cheap

Murakami Aiko showed a smile that was completely different from the one she usually showed in class. There was a sarcastic arc at the corner of her mouth, and her eyes under the glasses looked down at Tsukino condescendingly.

It was cold yet somewhat teasing, like a poisonous snake fooling its prey.

His cowardly character made Tsukino subconsciously hide behind Chizuru Amamiya. His heart was beating with fear, and his consciousness became blurred for a moment. When he came to his senses, he had already hidden behind Chizuru Amamiya.

Tsukino fell into another brief stupor, as if frightened by his own unexpected cowardice.

"Look! That guy got so scared after I glared at him that he hid behind Amemiya, hahahahaha..."

Murakami Aiko pointed, and her companions behind her also laughed, tears almost overflowing from the corners of their eyes. Then they turned their gaze to the expressionless Amamiya Chizuru and asked with a cheerful smile:

"Amamiya-san, this is your good friend? This boy who hid behind you in fear when I glared at him is your good friend? This is the kind of guy you rely on?"

Her smile suddenly turned cold. She passed by Chizuru Amamiya and looked at Tsukino who was hiding behind with disdain, as if she was looking at garbage. She said indifferently: "And he's a boy, useless thing."

Tsukino's pale face flushed instantly, both because of fear and anxiety. Being laughed at and teased for being cowardly and a loser hiding behind a girl, Tsukino naturally wanted to prove himself, especially in front of the person he liked...

Not everyone dares to face an enemy stronger than themselves. For the thin and short Tsukino, Murakami Aiko and the other two are all taller than him.

It was normal for a young bird to be frightened when it landed in a place where three poisonous snakes were lurking, but Tsukino didn't want to hide behind others like this. He always hated himself for being so cowardly, and he hated himself even more for hiding behind girls.

But his instinct hindered his steps forward, and he moved forward to Chizuru Amamiya and protected her from the bad guys who bullied Chizuru Amamiya.

I was afraid of being beaten, afraid of being isolated, so afraid that I had been trying to be a friendly person since elementary school. I didn't want to cause trouble, I didn't want to be targeted by others, and I believed that taking a step back would open up a new world, even though I would get angrier and angrier afterward.

It doesn't matter even if he suffers some loss. It's good for him to keep a low profile and be an invisible person.

Maybe you like Amamiya because you think she looks innocent, cute, and has big breasts? A girl like this from a comic book would definitely have many boys chasing after her...

But no, she seemed to be targeted, and all the classmates treated her coldly. Tsukino heard from her friends that it was because the popular guys in the class were deliberately targeting her.

so poor……

He wanted to get close to the angel who had fallen into the mortal world, and only at this time would he have the chance to touch her.

So he mustered up the courage to talk to Chizuru Amamiya. Chizuru Amamiya was very surprised. She smiled and talked to him. Her smile was so beautiful...

Tsukino still feels that going and talking to Amamiya-san was the best decision in his life, even though his friends warned him that he might be targeted by the popular people.

But he had fallen in love and forgot about the eyes around him. Perhaps it was because he had always been low-key that he was ignored by Murakami Aiko and the others?

All along, he could only watch Amamiya being bullied by them. This time he encountered them head-on and he really didn't want to escape anymore...

"Tsukino-san, please go first..."

Under Chizuru Amamiya's wet bangs, her pair of purple-red eyes were lifeless as they looked at him quietly, like a dead pool of water.

His heart seemed to be wailing in grief for the passing of the beautiful clear pond. He wanted to save her and didn't want to watch her being bullied again!

Impulse took over in an instant, overwhelming cowardice. His pupils were trembling, his legs were shaking, and he was hesitant when he spoke, but he was indeed standing in front of Chizuru Amamiya.

"You, you, you are not allowed to bully Amamiya-san anymore!"

Murakami Aiko restrained her teasing a little, raised her eyebrows, and said in a long nasal tone:

"Oh~~ Tsukino-kun is so brave. He actually overcame his cowardice and stood in front of Amamiya-san."

It seemed that Murakami Aiko's words gave him more courage, and Tsukino spoke with more confidence:

"Amamiya has always been dedicated to serving the class and will take the initiative to help others when they encounter difficulties. If it weren't for you, Amamiya would definitely be able to get along well with the others in the class!"

"You are the ones who ruined Amamiya's school life. I won't let you bully Amamiya again!"

Tsukino opened his arms and protected Chizuru Amamiya behind him, and his legs were shaking less violently.

"Indeed... we were the ones who did the wrong thing before, but it's not all bad after Class Leader Amamiya was bullied by us. After all, it's great that he made friends with a manly boy like Tsukino-kun."

Murakami Aiko spoke in vain, somewhat dejectedly, while praising the young man in front of her and walking towards him.

"Amamiya is a really nice person. She is helpful and responsible. She is a dedicated and good monitor. I may have been afraid that Amamiya would be more popular than me, so I treated her like this..."

She lowered her head in self-blame, and unknowingly walked to Yue Ye. She suddenly raised her head with an apologetic smile on her face:

"But after hearing what Tsukino said, I think I went too far... I'm sorry..."

Tsukino couldn't hide his joy on his face, and asked expectantly:

"really?"

In an instant, the bright sun hid in the clouds, and Murakami Aiko's humble smile turned into naked disgust in an instant.

"Of course it's fake."

"Eh?"

Snapped--!

Tsukino's smile froze, a dark shadow flashed before his eyes, and a slap landed hard on his face. The burning pain forced his mind into a blank.

Why...? Don't you think that what you did was excessive?

Seeing the confusion in Tsukino's eyes, Murakami Aiko couldn't help but smile and said:

"What's that expression? You don't really believe what I said, do you? How stupid do you have to be to believe it? Huh~?"

Murakami Aiko smiled and patted his dull and confused face, "Yes, everything I just said, from beginning to end, not a single word is true, it was all to scare you."

Seeing Tsukino's doubtful expression, Murakami Aiko laughed even more wantonly. She leaned close to Tsukino's ear and whispered:

"You won't allow us to bully Amamiya? How about we beat you until you allow it?"

The courage that his impulse had given him just now had already dissipated into the air with the slap from Murakami Aiko. Tsukino's plea for mercy was as weak as a mosquito:

"no, do not want……"

145. If I had stood aside and watched...

From time to time, bursts of screams and pleas for mercy were heard from the remote sports warehouse. Among these series of painful cries, there were also subtle and suppressed laughter.

Murakami Aiko and others surrounded Tsukino and Amemiya Chizuru. If the two of them had the determination to fight to the death, it was not impossible for them to suffer the consequences if they were facing only three girls.

But past experiences have restrained Chizuru Amamiya's resistance, and Tsukino's courage has long been lost because of that slap, so how can he dare to resist?

Tsukino's screams were getting louder and louder. The pain was twice as severe but he managed to shout it out ten times louder, as if he thought his pitiful screams would gain some mercy from the abuser.

Little did he know that Murakami Aiko's eyes showed more excitement as he shouted.

But Tsukino's cry was not completely meaningless.

"Aiko, that's enough. If this kid screams too loudly, it will attract others."

Kiyomiya Aoi grabbed Murakami Aiko's arm, which was trembling slightly with excitement, and pulled her back from her sick state.

"makes sense."

She muttered to herself, and left another sentence before leaving:

"Oh~ By the way, Tsukino-kun, I'm sorry to tell you that you failed all the items in the physical test. Please continue to work hard next week."

She suddenly laughed, her cheeks slightly red and she was breathing heavily:

"Well...it's useless even if you work hard, because you have to accompany your good friend, Class Leader Amamiya, and carry this failure until the end of the semester or even graduation."

"Well...see you later~"

……

It was the first time that Tsukino was bullied and the first time that she was beaten. Her school uniform was covered in dust and her body was shaking constantly. She didn’t know if it was because of the pain or fear.

Of course this won't be the last time...

After a long time, Yue Ye could barely stand up, staggering, his face was swollen and bruised, and the corner of his mouth was scratched and bleeding. He tried to smile, but it became distorted because of the pull on the wound:

"Amamiya-san, let's go back..."

The girl was still sitting on the ground, head down, hair loose, silent. It seemed that she didn't even cry out when Amamiya was beaten just now. She is really strong...

Tsukino thought Chizuru Amamiya couldn't stand up either, so he reached out his hand and tried to pull her up:

"Amamiya-san, please get up quickly. Class is about to start."

The pale hand slowly reached out to the girl.

When he was about to touch her shoulder, he was slapped away heavily.

Snapped--

There was a crisp sound. Amamiya Chizuru slapped the opponent away with great force. Her palm felt burning with pain, as if it was even more painful than when she was surrounded and beaten by three people just now.

Why……?

Tsukino didn't quite understand. After all, he stood up for Amemiya-san. After all, they had been beaten together. It was because of her that he stood up regardless of the risk.

Why do you treat him like this?

Chizuru Amamiya raised her face. Her delicate face was not stained with dust, but she was crying like a pear blossom in the rain. Her purple eyes were full of anger and confusion:

"Why did you come out to help me? You clearly know that you can't save me from them by yourself, so why did you come out? They finally vented their emotions, and you provoked me like this. I'm going to get beaten again!"

Chizuru Amamiya raised her voice high as she lost control of her emotions, angrily scolding the boy who tried to be a hero but ended up doing more harm than good:

"It's the same with the physical test. If you hadn't come to help me, I would have just done one more long-distance run and they would have let me go. Now, because of you, I'll never be able to finish it!"

The girl seemed to have exhausted all her strength in shouting. Her high-pitched voice gradually faded, becoming lower and lower, and finally she curled up with her knees hugged:

"Since you can't save me... then don't come to help me..."

The June sun emits useless light and heat, which cannot illuminate the isolated girl, just as Tsukino's determination to overcome his cowardice is unable to pull the girl out of the quagmire.

Instead, he caused the girl to fall deeper and deeper into trouble, and in the end, even he himself was implicated.

"I'm sorry...I shouldn't have said those words to you..."

After all, he helped her, so Chizuru Amamiya got up from the ground and trotted away.

From a distance, that pure white shirt seemed even dirtier... because of him.

"Sorry……"

Tsukino couldn't help but feel bitter. He thought his action was cool, but it backfired and caused trouble to others. The ups and downs made Tsukino's last bit of gain from standing up be ruthlessly killed.

……

……

The bell rang for preparation. Tsukino, who was walking on the stairs, looked back several times but could not see Chizuru Amamiya coming. Thinking back to the shabby clothes she was wearing, he could not help but mutter:

"Has Amamiya-san already returned home?"

He shook his head and laughed at himself, picking up the dust particles on his clothes and rubbing them between his fingertips, thinking that he was no different.

Tsukino pushed open the door and walked into the classroom. The classroom fell silent for a moment and then returned to its normal noisy state. However, from time to time, a person would glance at her vaguely in the crowd, and his lips would move as if he was whispering something.

It always feels like it's covered with a thin invisible film.

He couldn't hear what they were saying, and when he looked over, they looked away.

Is it because of your clothes?