I'm in a real religion, why are all the people who confess to me girls?

'Hui! Hang in there, you absolutely can't cry this time!'

Karuizawa secretly cheered herself up. Although she appeared to be a very strong-willed girl in the eyes of others, Karuizawa Megumi was actually a crybaby.

When she was bullied in junior high school, she was powerless to fight back and could only hide in a corner and cry helplessly.

During the preferential treatment exam, she was slapped and punched by students from Class C. She dared not fight back, fearing that her pitiful past as a bullied person would be exposed to outsiders. She cried desperately, hoping that someone would come to save her.

Karuizawa cried in humiliation as she was roughly ordered by Amane to take off her clothes and realized that her first time had been taken by a girl she had never even looked at.

In the end, it was because she didn't act like a hot girl at all that Tianyin saw through her disguise and let her go.

Then... that's when she was taken to the rooftop.

Ryuen and his group wanted to use Karuizawa as a hostage to conduct a probing contest with Amane.

The icy tap water soaked her from head to toe. The girl named Ibuki had such powerful fists. What could a poor wretch like her do?

All she could do was cry again, but before the tears could even well up in her eyes, she saw the figure she missed so much appear before her.

Then Tianyin swept through Longyuan and the others, absolutely crushing them.

Lying in Tianyin's arms, she felt for the first time that even though Tianyin was a girl and the plot was a cliché hero saving the beauty, she just couldn't take her eyes off her.

Karuizawa didn't cry that time! As long as the tears haven't fallen, it's considered that she didn't cry!!!

Next came the time I cried the most after arriving at this school; I even cried until my throat was hoarse, but it was all in vain.

No matter how much Karuizawa begged Amane, Amane still unlocked at least thirty moves the first time she ate Karuizawa. In the end, Karuizawa cried for a whole day because of the pain, and it took Amane a long time to coax her before she agreed to try again with Amane that night.

……

There's no need to recall this kind of thing at this time, right?

Karuizawa shook her head vigorously, trying to shake off some of the embarrassing memories from her mind.

Just as she was about to chat with Horikita and Ichinose for a while to distract herself from the pain, she noticed that the two of them were deliberately looking ahead and not at Karuizawa.

Just as Karuizawa's eyes were reddening without her realizing it, the two of them exchanged a glance, realizing that Karuizawa was suppressing her vulnerable side. They then understood each other and looked away from Karuizawa so as not to embarrass her.

"I... Eh!!"

Karuizawa, who was about to say something, suddenly let out a scream.

Someone actually hugged her from behind!

Before Karuizawa could even try to break free from the other person's rude behavior, she heard that voice she knew all too well.

"Long time no see~ Let me see if my Hui has gained weight~ If you're not feeling well, it's okay to rest. I remember you're here these days, right? I'm here for you."

The tears that Karuizawa had been holding back with great difficulty finally burst forth after hearing Amane's gentle voice.

"Heavenly Sound..."

Chapter 176: Only I Can Bully You

"Heavenly Sound!!!"

Karuizawa first screamed, then immediately turned around and hugged Amane.

Hearing Karuizawa's exclamation, the group looked behind them. When they saw Amane also appearing at the race venue in her half-marathon race attire, they couldn't help but cheer. This action attracted the attention of many other graders and casual participants.

"I knew that Sister Tianyin would come back. It's a pity that it's unrealistic to expect to easily defeat the second-year students in the special exam."

Jiang Yan smiled, a rare occurrence, after seeing that Tian Yin's mental and physical condition were not affected by her injuries.

Ever since Tianyin was hospitalized due to her injuries, Jiang Yan has maintained a dreadful and low-pressure demeanor. If it weren't for the school's rule that special training must not be interrupted by leaving the forest school or else the special exam quota would be revoked, he would have already sneaked out to visit Tianyin.

Seeing Tianyin return safely, Jiang Yan finally felt relieved.

However, Tianyin's return also means that he is about to have a fair and square duel with Tianyin.

This is different from the playful banter of the past. Jiang Yan is going to have a contest of strength with Tian Yin, to prove to her that he has grown to the point where he can protect her.

He also took the opportunity of the victory to secretly make Sakayanagi's presence known in front of Amane. He didn't want to have to greet that woman who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Horikita. Clearly, Arisu-nee and Amane-nee were a perfect match!

After careful consideration, Jiang Yan concluded that the main reason Tian Yin didn't take his words seriously was because he was too weak back then. As a boy, he was beaten up and had to hide behind Tian Yin, who was a woman. Even now, when Jiang Yan recalls what happened back then, he still feels ashamed and embarrassed.

Jiang Yan judged that Tianyin probably always regarded him as a disappointing younger brother. Perhaps Tianyin would take good care of him as a brother in terms of family affection, but when it came to choosing a lover, he, as the younger brother, had no say at all and was not even qualified to teach Tianyin how to choose.

But Sakayanagi Arisu treated him well. Masahiko originally thought that Sakayanagi Arisu's position was definitely secure, and no one could compete with Sakayanagi Arisu, who had a ten-year friendship with Amane-nee. But to his surprise, he found out as soon as he arrived that Amane was already living with Horikita Suzune! Living together!! Living together!!

This made Masahiko, who had been hoping that Amane and Sakayanagi Arisu would get together, feel like the sky had fallen. No matter how much he hinted at how good Sakayanagi Arisu was, Amane seemed not to hear him or casually replied, "I know." If he hadn't just witnessed Amane and Sakayanagi engaging in tongue exercises and even kissing for nearly ten minutes, he would have suspected that Amane and Sakayanagi had some kind of conflict.

Even now, Yasuhiko is still confused about the relationship between the two. If they are friends, then no matter how you look at it, Amane's behavior is not at all like that of a friend. But if they are lovers, why would Sakayanagi allow Amane to live with someone else?

Masahiko was unable to find the answer to this question through thinking, and he also tried to find the answer from Sakayanagi Arisu.

Kosaka Arisu's answer to him was surprisingly 'love'.

This left Masahiko even more confused. Since Sakayanagi had no intention of competing with Horikita, Masahiko could only help the poor Arisu-nee defeat the evil woman Horikita Suzune who had taken over Amane-nee's body through other means.

Therefore, he must strengthen his voice in front of Tianyin. If he communicates with Tianyin as her younger brother, he will always be the stupid younger brother who is always overshadowed by Tianyin.

Therefore, Jiang Yan had no choice but to take a different approach. What if he communicated with Tian Yin as a class leader or even a grade leader? Wouldn't Tian Yin then pay more attention to his judgment?

If he could defeat the second-year students led by Tenon in the grade-level competition, wouldn't he hold more weight in Tenon's heart? And if he remembered correctly, the winner of the grade-level competition had the power to decide who would be expelled from school...

Hmph, hate me if you want. I can't let that woman Horikita ruin Arisu-nee's good time... Wait a minute, why is that Karuizawa Megumi starting to kiss Amane-nee?

This is daytime!!! And it's at the half marathon! There are cameras broadcasting it live! That shameless woman from Karuizawa actually kissed Amane-nee in front of tens of thousands of people!!

"It seems the plan needs to be changed. This Karuizawa is also a strong competitor of Arisu-nee's, and we must find a way to eliminate her..."

While Masahiko was still glaring angrily at Karuizawa, who was so happy to see Amane that he couldn't help but kiss her, Masahiko was watching.

Horikita and Ichinose, who were standing right next to the two people involved, both had mischievous expressions on their faces. Airi covered her eyes with her hands, seemingly afraid of seeing something she shouldn't have, but with her flushed face, it was hard to tell whether the gaps between her fingers were a little too wide.

Hearing the increasing laughter around him, Karuizawa was suddenly jolted awake from her brief moment of bliss.

After glancing around and recalling the impulsive thing he had just done, Karuizawa buried his head in Amane's arms and refused to lift his head no matter how Amane tried to coax him.

Amane could only stroke Eri's smooth hair while chatting with Horikita and Ichinose.

"Tianyin, how is your hand injury healing? Although this is a half marathon, it still requires the coordination of the arms. If the injury is serious, it will be a loss."

Horikita looked at Amane with some concern... The hand that had been secretly groping Megumi's waist remained silent for a moment.

Tianyin seemed to be fine, but she was neither a professional doctor nor Tianyin herself. It would be a bit hasty to conclude that Tianyin was alright based on just one action.

"Don't worry, Lingyin. My injury has long since healed, and it's only a half marathon. It's a piece of cake for me."

After speaking, Amane winked at Horikita and then tapped her lips.

Horikita naturally knew what Amane wanted to do. Although she had the courage to talk about how much she liked Amane in front of the first and second-year students, there were more than 6,000 participants in this half marathon, and with volunteers and spectators, there were at least tens of thousands of people watching the race. No matter how brave she was, she couldn't do what Karuizawa did and kiss her without saying a word.

Moreover, even Karuizawa herself is now looking like she wants to leave Earth, so she's not going to be foolish enough to be tricked by Amane into taking advantage of her.

Just as Horikita was about to speak, a somewhat rude voice interrupted her.

"It's fine for kids to brag a little, but this is a half marathon. Judging from your appearance, you're probably not college students, right? Just finishing the race is already a remarkable achievement. How could you say you could handle it easily? Do you really think the people here are pushovers?"

A burly man, at least 1.9 meters tall, said this while glancing disdainfully at Tianyin, who was holding Hui.

"Shouldn't we only know if someone is an easy target after we've compared them? Maybe this big piece of meat of yours is just for show?"

Before Amane could even speak, Horikita's sharp tongue kicked in and retorted.

The burly man laughed silently, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

Just then, a man who was slightly thinner than the burly man walked over from the side and patted the burly man on the back.

"Fukada, what kind of time is this to still be chatting with these high school girls?"

"Hey, isn't this my Sun Zijun? What? Here to collect your second-place certificate again?"

Fukada stretched out his burly arm and put it on Jun's shoulder. It seemed that although the two were rivals, they had a good relationship in private.

"Hmph, your six championships before were just good luck. This time, several experts have come. Forget about winning the championship, it's questionable whether you can even make it into the top ten."

"What the heck? That's incredible! Did some professional team come down from the mountain?"

"Tobita is here."

Just one short sentence caused everyone, including Horikita, to change their expressions.

Only Amane, who didn't know who Tobita was, secretly kissed Megumi again while everyone was still in shock, finally managing to coax her out of her arms.

"This...this is really leaving us no way out...By the way, I just met a master who said he could easily take down a half marathon."

After Fukada finished speaking in a sarcastic tone, he deliberately glanced in the direction of Amane. Jun glanced at Fukada's nonchalant expression and Amane's gentle smile.

His relationship with Fukada was indeed alright, but competing with a high school girl was a bit too much of a lapse in decorum.

"Sports performance speaks for itself."

Not wanting to offend Fukada, but also not wanting to join him in his tasteless bullying of high school students, Jun could only offer a polite and respectful way out for both sides.

“That’s right. In sports, strength speaks for itself. Little girl, if you want to easily win a half marathon, you’ll at least have to beat me, Fukada Hei…”

"I have no interest in knowing the names of the small fry."

"Please wait! The match is about to start. If a fight breaks out here, you will be disqualified..."

Knowing Fukada's temperament well, Jun sensed something was wrong after hearing Amane's arrogant reply and quickly stepped between the two before Fukada could react.

"...Of course I know that! Little girl, your name is Miyako, right? I'll remember you!"

Fukada saw the surname mark printed on Amane's body, glared at Amane with such anger that his eyes were practically spitting fire, then snorted coldly and turned to leave.

After confirming that Tianyin was safe, Jun secretly breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Tianyin with a serious expression.

"Leave as soon as the match is over. That guy has a criminal record, and he'll beat up even minors without hesitation. It's good to be confident, but you're still too young to think you can easily handle this kind of formal competition."

Tianyin did not heed Jun's advice.

"No matter how much a frog in a well looks up at the sky, the view it can see is always just the small patch of sky above the well's opening, isn't it?"

"..."

Tianyin's words silenced Jun.

'This girl is incredibly arrogant.'

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Jun quickly shook his head. Perhaps Tianyin was a confident, even arrogant, girl, but the body doesn't lie. The muscles faintly visible beneath her sportswear and the knife-like lines on her arms clearly indicated that the girl in front of him was very likely a hidden monster.

He had said everything he needed to say, and it didn't matter if the other party didn't appreciate it, but he hoped that Tianyin could at least listen to some of his advice as an adult.

After watching Jun leave, Ichinose gently tugged at Amane's sleeve.

"I think Tianyin, you'd better not get into a conflict with those adults here. Even though we're still students, this isn't a school. What if something happens here..."

Ichinose felt a little scared when she heard the other party's threat.

"They're just a bunch of slightly larger ants. Fanbo, don't be too afraid. Just wait and see how I retaliate with my strength."

Tianyin had no interest in remembering the names of those two people. Every word she had said from the beginning to the present was true. Winning the half marathon was not a big problem for her. There should be no one stronger than her in this event in the city. Even if she happened to encounter a few professional athletes, they might not be able to surpass Tianyin in terms of physical fitness.

If a few athletes could easily surpass her ten years of hellish training, wouldn't all her training have been for nothing?

Tianyin didn't really care about what the man who was causing her trouble said. After all, just like she herself said, a frog in a well can only see a small patch of sky above its head.

There are always people better than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. Only when he can truly grasp the meaning of this saying will he be able to climb out of that narrow well filled with prejudice.

"Fanbo is right. It's always better to be careful. Nobody knows what outrageous things they might do."

"Don't worry, I'm here."

Tianyin patted her chest confidently.

Seeing Amane's confident demeanor, Horikita chose to believe her.

Hui, who was carefully holding Tianyin's finger, looked at Tianyin with eyes that were now sparkling like little stars.

"I always felt that Tianyin was very cool. If it were me, I might already be apologizing to them..."

Hui scratched her cheek sheepishly. Her words sounded a bit weak, but they were in line with her personality.

"Didn't we make a promise back then? You can do whatever you want, I'll always protect you. Even if you run into someone like him, you don't have to be subservient. No one can bully you in front of me..."

After Tianyin finished speaking, she felt as if she had left something out, and after thinking for a moment, she quickly added another sentence.

"Apart from me."

"Tianyin, you big bad guy!!! I don't want to be bullied by you!"

Chapter 177: The World Has Changed

After checking the time and confirming with the organizers that the race was ready, the referee fired a signal gun to signal the start of the race.