I'm Just a Pure Passerby

Sato Hayato clutched his head, surrounded by three girls who were kicking and hitting him.

In truth, if a real fight were to break out, even though Sato Hayato was weak and timid, the three girls would not have been able to beat him so easily as a male.

Unfortunately, Sato Hayato did not dare to strike girls, nor did he want to bear the bad reputation of fighting them; if word got out, he would never be able to stay in school.

Thus, he could only lie there and take the beating, hoping that once these girls vented their anger, they would stop bullying Asaka.

"You... stop it, don't hit him anymore!"

Asaka Akie stepped forward, trying to pull the three of them away. "Junko-chan, please stop."

The short-haired girl, Watanabe Junko, shoved Asaka Akie to the ground with a backhand motion and sneered, "Asaka, we haven't even settled our score with you yet."

As she spoke, she raised her foot and kicked toward Asaka Akie.

Asaka Akie instinctively covered her head with her hands, but the pain never came; instead, she heard a loud, crisp sound.

"Smack!"

Watanabe Junko clutched her backside with both hands and let out a high-pitched shriek: "Ah—"

She lunged forward two steps before turning around to glare at the person who had ambushed her from behind.

The other two girls also stopped and looked over, seeing a strange boy holding a tree branch.

Watanabe Junko felt a burning pain in her buttock; it had definitely broken skin.

Her eyes turned red with rage, and she gritted her teeth, shouting, "Who the hell are you?"

Fang Cheng pointed the branch at the three of them and declared righteously, "I'm just a passerby who can't stand bullies like you ganging up on people. If you've got guts, fight me one-on-one."

Asaka Akie looked up, surprised. "Fang-kun?"

Well, thanks to that shout from his pig-teammate, Watanabe Junko and her friends immediately realized this was just another boy standing up for her.

Watanabe Junko was furious; she lunged forward, wanting to grapple with Fang Cheng, and the other two girls followed suit.

Fang Cheng dodged their clawing with ease, the branch in his hand swinging like an electric fan, landing repeatedly on their buttocks, thighs, and arms.

Accompanied by the intense smack-smack sounds, the three girls were driven to jump around by Fang Cheng as if they were being herded like ducks.

Watanabe Junko chased after Fang Cheng in a frenzy, but not only did she fail to catch him, she ended up with her thighs covered in red welts from his strikes.

The more frustrated and anxious she became, the more tears welled up in her eyes, until she finally collapsed onto the ground and burst into tears, her composure shattered.

"Waaah... you jerk... waaah... stop running..."

The other two girls also glared at Fang Cheng while wiping away their tears.

Sato Hayato had already climbed up from the ground, and seeing this, he said with pity, "Fang-tongxue..."

Fang Cheng smiled at him. "Want to plead for them? Buy me lunch, and I'll let them go."

Sato Hayato hesitated, mostly fearing that Asaka Akie would misunderstand, but the sight of the three girls crying softened his heart.

He glanced at Asaka Akie and, seeing her own look of pity, nodded. "No problem."

Only then did Fang Cheng stop and ask the three, "Tell me, why are you bullying Asaka?"

Watanabe Junko cried loudly as she shouted, "Who's bullying her? ...Waaah... It was clearly her who hit me first yesterday... I'm just trying to get revenge..."

"Impossible!"

Before Fang Cheng could reply, Sato Hayato shouted excitedly, "Asaka-tongxue is so gentle, how could she possibly hit anyone? Don't you dare slander her."

Watanabe Junko yelled back at Sato Hayato, "Then ask her yourself!"

Fang Cheng looked toward Asaka Akie and found her face pale, her hands clasped together, her eyes darting around. "It wasn't me... I didn't... I didn't get into a fight..."

Sato Hayato immediately said, "See? Asaka-tongxue says it wasn't her."

Watanabe Junko cursed at Asaka Akie in a rage, "Asaka, you're shameless! You dare to do it but not admit it. Plenty of people saw you hit me yesterday."

"It wasn't me! You've got the wrong person!"

Asaka Akie replied in a panicked tone, then covered her head with her hands and turned to run away.

"Asaka-tongxue?!"

Sato Hayato called out and wanted to chase after her, but Fang Cheng grabbed him.

Fang Cheng shoved the branch into his hand and patted his shoulder. "These three girls are yours to deal with. Remember to buy me lunch."

"Huh?"

Sato Hayato was stunned, and by the time he reacted, Fang Cheng was already far away.

He slowly turned back to see the three girls glaring at him with eyes that seemed to spit fire.

"Fang-tongxue, wait for me!"

Sato Hayato was so scared he dropped the branch and chased after Fang Cheng.

When he returned to the classroom, Fang Cheng did not see Asaka Akie, but he noticed that her schoolbag was gone from her desk.

Asaka Akie did not appear for any of the afternoon classes; she must have left early.

The way she looked when Watanabe Junko accused her at noon was as good as a confession.

But Fang Cheng found it hard to believe Asaka Akie could fight, let alone initiate it.

Perhaps there was some unspeakable reason; ordinary people could be terrifying when they finally lost their temper.

When school ended, Fang Cheng was about to leave when Sato Hayato approached him with a worried expression. "Fang, Asaka hasn't been seen all afternoon. Could something have happened to her?"

Fang Cheng took out his phone and called Asaka Akie, putting it on speakerphone.

It connected quickly.

"Asaka, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Fang-kun. Thank you for what you did at noon."

"You're welcome."

"And Sato-kun, if it's convenient, please thank him for me."

Sato Hayato's face turned red with excitement upon hearing Asaka Akie's words.

Fang Cheng chuckled, "Sato-kun is right in front of me, jumping for joy like a horny orangutan..."

Sato Hayato lunged forward, covering Fang Cheng's mouth with his hand, his face pleading.

"Huh? What's wrong, Sato-kun?"

"Nothing, he just wants to discuss the plot of some adult manga with me. That's all for now."

Fang Cheng didn't ask what had happened at noon, just as Asaka Akie hadn't asked why he wasn't at school.

Seeing Fang Cheng end the call, Sato Hayato breathed a sigh of relief. If he was going to confess, he wanted to do it himself, not through a third party.

"Fang!"

Sato Hayato said with a serious expression, "Let's investigate together what happened to Asaka yesterday!"

Fang Cheng picked up his schoolbag. "You go ahead. I wish you success."

Sato Hayato looked at him in surprise. "Isn't Asaka your friend? Aren't you concerned about what happened to her yesterday?"

"I am concerned."

Fang Cheng reached out and patted Sato Hayato's shoulder. "But I come from a poor family and need to work to survive, or I'll starve. I really don't have time for anything else. I have to entrust this difficult and glorious mission to you. Don't disappoint me."

Sato Hayato's expression was firm. "Don't worry, Fang. I will find out the truth and won't disappoint you."

"Go on, go on. I wish you good luck and victory."

After seeing Sato Hayato off, Fang Cheng slowly left the school.

If Asaka Akie had actively asked for help, Fang Cheng might have lent a hand, or if something happened right in front of him like at noon, he would have helped.

Other than that, Fang Cheng had no interest in actively seeking trouble.

Given his current situation, he was also reluctant to interact too much with ordinary people. If something were to happen, it would harm both himself and others.

He was mainly afraid of being dragged down, of some melodramatic situation like a friend being kidnapped or threatened.

As long as he remained a part of the orphanage, he was emotionally invincible.

Leaving the school gate, Fang Cheng walked towards the subway station, contemplating what to eat for dinner.

A beautiful high school girl suddenly jumped out from around the corner.

"Hi, we meet again."

Thanks to: Night Raid Principal, my friend Mr. Four Dogs for the tip, thank you for your support! (^▽^)