"You..." Utaha closed her eyes. Facing the increasingly near face, the usually strong-willed her actually chose to escape, seemingly ready to accept her impending fate.
But in reality, her heart held both nervousness and a sliver of anticipation.
No matter what, the feeling of being protected was something every girl secretly yearned for.
However, the expected kiss didn't come. She only felt a warm breath by her ear, sending tingles through her.
Then, she felt the guy who had been leaning in slowly release her.
Slowly opening her eyes, she was met with the sight of that guy looking at her with a teasing smile.
Utaha couldn't help but feel a surge of embarrassment and instinctively wanted to step on this guy's foot.
But Yusei's perception was too sharp. He noticed her every move and dodged immediately.
Utaha's foot met empty air, making her even more furious and ashamed.
Her cheeks flushed, she glared at Yusei, her voice cold: "Are you going to let me step on you or not?"
Her tone carried both shame-turned-anger and a hint of the playful banter between a couple, so she regretted it as soon as she said it.
'Wasn't this just delivering myself to his doorstep? Why should he let me step on him?'
Yusei smiled wryly. It was his first time seeing Utaha 'act unreasonable'. He helplessly shrugged.
"Utaha-chan, I just saved you, and now you're repaying kindness with enmity?"
"Hmph, Cheater-kun is really bold. Teasing a beautiful girl violates public security laws, you know."
"Alright, I was wrong."
Yusei knew that in certain aspects, arguing with a girl was a losing battle, even if she suddenly gave him another nickname.
Besides, he had 'won' today… there was no need to provoke the girl further.
But honestly, Yusei was quite impressed with himself. The usually calm and bold Utaha seemed like a different person around him.
He always managed to make her nervous, shy, and... tsundere. Perhaps it was a matter of attribute compatibility.
"That's more like it." Utaha muttered, her face red.
She was also annoyed with herself for losing her usual composure.
But thankfully, Yusei had given her a way out, so she hadn't completely lost her dignity.
…
Regardless, Utaha was the victim, and Yusei was the good Samaritan.
After the school teachers found out, Taiji's parents and Utaha's parents were called to the police station.
Because the incident was severe and had been transferred to the police, the school couldn't handle it anymore.
Yusei, as a witness and the one who acted bravely, only needed to handle his own part.
At the police station, in a spacious room.
Taiji, his leg already in a cast, sat on a chair with vacant eyes. Next to him were a weeping woman and a very impatient man.
Across from them were Utaha, her parents, and Yusei.
It had to be said, there was a reason Utaha was so beautiful… good family genes.
Just like Yusei's dad, a handsome middle-aged man who probably attracted many young girls.
And his deceased mother, judging from photos, was also a first-class beauty.
This was essentially handling the matter through mediation by the police.
But Yusei felt extremely uneasy because he kept feeling glances sweeping over him and Utaha beside him.
And the source of those glances was Utaha's mother.
Utaha's mother was named Kasumigaoka Shion, a very elegant name, and she herself had a gentle, elegant feel.
Her father was named Kasumigaoka Kazuhiko, a middle-aged man who seemed scholarly and amiable but carried a certain presence in his movements.
His appearance naturally went without saying… with such an outstanding daughter, the father couldn't be bad either.
Kazuhiko was fine. After thanking him for saving his daughter, he didn't pay too much attention to him.
But the mother was different. Yusei felt she had come today to check out a potential son-in-law, not primarily for her daughter's safety.
"Cough..." A police chief coughed lightly, drawing everyone's attention.
"The nature of this incident is extremely severe. Although Mimori Taiji is a minor, if we proceed legally, the sentence will definitely not be short."
This was essentially mediation. His implication was to tell Taiji's parents that if they didn't settle privately, their son would only go to jail.
Jail was out of the question. Taiji's parents would never let their son go to jail.
So, they immediately looked at Kasumigaoka's parents, ready to state their compensation terms.
But just then, Taiji, who had been vacant and dazed, suddenly became agitated, his fierce gaze fixed on the police chief beside him.