Am I Good-Looking qwq

Flustered and helpless.

Standing before the three of them, Hinata's heart was in turmoil.

This was different from what Ryosuke had said. She had done as he told her, yet these three boys in front of her had not apologized.

For a moment, all kinds of emotions surged into her heart. Fear and the urge to retreat once again took hold of her.

Sweat seeped from her back unconsciously. She wanted to lower her head, but Hinata found that she couldn't.

"Indeed, you're right."

To her surprise, she had spoken without even realizing it. Her voice was as calm as before, without any sign of the panic in her heart.

"Everyone is free to express their opinions about people, matters, things, and so on."

"But that does not mean those opinions are correct, especially when you discuss someone's faults right in front of the person concerned—namely, me."

Hinata stared calmly and coldly at the three boys, all much taller than her. She did not display her usual weakness. Though her tone was calm, it carried a certain sharpness.

It was a momentum she had never possessed before.

The boys, who had been laughing without restraint moments ago, froze at once, looking at Hinata in confusion.

But she did not stop because of their bewilderment. Instead, she continued, "Originally, I thought this was just something between us children. That's why I came to find you, hoping you would apologize to me, and then we could pretend nothing had happened."

"But now, I feel that reasoning with you seems unlikely to work."

"So after some time, I will pay a visit to your homes and discuss this matter with your families. After all, someone needs to hear me explain this clearly. I believe your parents will be very willing to make you apologize to me when the time comes."

"You!"

The three boys had already been at a loss because of Hinata's sudden change, but the moment they heard that she intended to find their parents, they panicked.

Just as they clenched their fists and prepared to step forward—

"I advise you not to put too much faith in the strength you're so proud of. The two people behind me are genuine Chunin," Hinata's cold voice continued.

"I already warned you. As long as you do not make the first move, they will not act. Our Hyuga Clan would never do something like bully children."

As she spoke, Souji Hyuga and Seisai Hyuga, who had been standing behind her in the same confusion since the beginning, utterly unable to understand what had happened to their young lady, seemed to finally remember their assignment.

They cooperatively released their killing intent, staring coldly at the three children.

Their gazes were like the biting winter wind, chilling the three children from head to toe. It was a kind of... indescribable fear.

Yet compared to the two behind her, the one they feared most was the small figure standing before them.

They were certain that the girl before them was absolutely not the person they had often bullied in the past. She was absolutely not that... weak young lady of the Hyuga Clan.

"S-Sorry!"

The first to bow his head was the child Hinata had encountered at the Restaurant.

He seemed to have a good relationship with his father; that much had been obvious during their meal earlier.

But at the same time, he also seemed very afraid of his father and did not want this matter to reach home.

"Sorry, we were wrong."

The other two apologized in succession.

Only then did Hinata seem to return to her usual self, waving her hands in a slight panic. "I... I accept your apologies."

Her voice was quiet, completely lacking the imposing aura she had possessed just a minute earlier.

Hinata was completely dazed now. She could not quite make sense of what had happened throughout the whole process.

Of course, she had remained conscious the entire time, but it had felt more as though she were an observer. Her body had seemingly refuted the three of them on its own, and then...

They had easily lined up and bowed before her in apology.

Did... I really do that?

Only after the three boys fled the park as if escaping did Hinata raise her hand in confusion, tilting her head as she looked at her palm.

Outside the park, the veins bulging beside Ryosuke's eye sockets slowly receded, returning to calm.

Of course, Hinata could not have accomplished this by herself. From the very beginning, Ryosuke had not believed she could make the three children apologize with just a few words.

For someone to undergo a change in personality, it required a gradual process built up over time. It absolutely could not be achieved in a single day, or through a little encouragement.

Everything Hinata had said just now had been spoken under Ryosuke's control of her consciousness, using the Genjutsu ability of his Byakugan.

And the fact that his Byakugan possessed Genjutsu abilities was top secret. The fewer people who knew, the better.

So when Hinata entered the park with Souji Hyuga and Seisai Hyuga, he had not followed them in. Instead, he had remained outside the park, hidden away.

"You were amazing, Hinata. You did great."

Ryosuke did not hold back his praise as he strolled into the park and approached the still-dazed Hinata.

Hinata felt embarrassed by Ryosuke's praise, but her mind remained clear. She leaned closer to his ear and asked softly, "R-Ryosuke... did I really do that just now? You... didn't help me?"

"Of course you did it. Everyone here saw it—you convinced those three brats to apologize to you yourself," Ryosuke responded with a soft laugh.

Beside them, Souji Hyuga spoke with surprise and delight, "That's right, Young Lady. You looked really cool just now. You even had a bit of the clan head's bearing."

"Yeah. Whenever the clan head held a clan meeting before, he liked lecturing people like that."

Seisai hurriedly chimed in as well.

But the praise from both of them came entirely from the heart, without a trace of flattery.

Hinata's performance just now had truly taken them by surprise.

"I..."

Her face flushed red, Hinata wanted to explain that she herself had no idea what had just happened.

But before she could say it, a warm palm pressed down on her hair.

"You did very well. See? You're actually amazing—you just lack a little confidence." Ryosuke's voice was gentle, making her swallow the words she had been about to say.

The thought that she lacked confidence and that it could not possibly have been her slowly began to fall apart.

Could it... really have been me?

Hinata's heart was filled with doubt, but the warm hand atop her head quickly drew away her attention.

"Don't lower your head. As the future clan head of the Hyuga Clan, you must always hold your head high and look directly at everyone before you, no matter the situation."

Ryosuke looked amusedly at the girl before him, who had comfortably narrowed her eyes. He stopped stroking her hair. "It's about time we went back. Father should be home after his meeting by now."

"Okay..."

Hinata replied with a hint of disappointment on her face.

But for some reason, she felt very comfortable inside, very... very excited.

She felt that she was slowly beginning to change.

The moment that thought arose, Hinata's gaze fell upon the few people in the center who had always treated her rather well.

They were looking in her direction too. It seemed they had been watching what happened just now all along.

When their eyes met hers, Shikamaru and the others all nodded at her kindly.

Faced with their kindness, Hinata suddenly felt that things she had never dared to do before—taking the initiative to speak to others, let alone trying—were possible. She had found the courage to try.

"Ryosuke, please wait for me."

Leaving those words behind, Hinata jogged over to Shikamaru and the others under Ryosuke's puzzled gaze.

"Hello."

As always, she greeted them politely first.

"Hello."

Shikamaru and the others responded politely as well, though they looked at her somewhat strangely.

"Although it's rude of me to ask this, I've always been concerned about it. May I ask... am I considered ugly?"

Driven by impulse, Hinata had come before them and blurted out the question. The moment she finished, blood rushed to her head with a buzz.

She stood before them with flushed cheeks, yet still forced herself to wait for an answer.

This is so embarrassing. Who asks people so directly whether they're good-looking? Will they think I'm narcissistic?

But... I really do care. Was Ryosuke only saying I was pretty to comfort me?

Those three said they were telling the truth, but was it really the truth? Or was it like Ryosuke said, and they simply had no sense of beauty?

"Pfft... Hahahahahaha!"

Sitting on the shoulder of the Third Hokage's statue, Ino could not help bursting into bright laughter.

Then, under Hinata's nervous gaze, she leaped down and landed steadily on the ground. Although Shikamaru had repeatedly warned them not to interact too much with Hinata, she could not hold herself back now.

Walking up to Hinata, Ino placed a hand on her hair and rubbed it. "You're very pretty. You're beautiful, and you're cute too."

As she rubbed her hair, she glanced toward Ryosuke. "Is that your future husband? You two look so sweet together."

She was copying Ryosuke's gesture.

From afar, she had seen the scene just now. For some reason, it had made her heart feel sweet, overturning some of her understanding of romance.

It was as if... the male and female leads from the love stories she had read in the past had taken shape before her.