Aonaka Saya saw the handsome guy's attention shift to her and puffed out her chest. She winked at him and said to Hozuki Nozomi, acting as if it were a big deal: "Hey, you probably don't know this, but don't let Asada's weak appearance fool you—it's all an act! Her true identity is that of a murderer! Everyone knows that when she was in elementary school, she used a gun to kill a living person! Don't let her deceive you."
"Exactly, handsome, you'd be better off not getting too close to Asada," the two other girls—one fat, one thin—chimed in to support Aonaka Saya.
Faced with her dark history being exposed, Shino didn't panic. She just stared intently at Hozuki Nozomi, waiting to see how he would respond. Facing the slanders from Aonaka Saya and the others, Hozuki Nozomi smiled and nodded.
"I've known about this for a long time, but… ladies, I think you've all misunderstood. Shino is not a murderer. On the contrary, she is a hero who bravely protected her mother and the lives of others."
"Uh… how is that possible?" Things weren't going as Aonaka Saya had imagined; she was stunned.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Hozuki Nozomi replied calmly. "You said it yourselves: Shino used a gun to kill someone in elementary school. But did you know that the deceased was a criminal who was robbing a bank at gunpoint? Classmate, if you had been there and your mother was being held hostage by a criminal at gunpoint, could you have bravely stood up to save her?"
"I… this…" Aonaka Saya and her friends were speechless. Their faces flushed red. They wanted to say they could, but if they did, wouldn't that make them murderers too? Hozuki Nozomi understood immediately. These girls were probably jealous of Shino's appearance and, having heard rumors from others, arbitrarily decided that Shino was some sort of "murderer." They were belittling others to elevate themselves, satisfying the vanity that comes from being less attractive.
"Ladies, I don't know where you heard these rumors, but before you call Shino a murderer, use your brains and think for a second. If she were truly a criminal, why would she still be allowed in school? Wouldn't the police have already taken her away?
Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you. I don't want to hear you badmouthing my Shino again. In my eyes, she is the bravest person, and the one most worth cherishing. So, could you please stop spreading such unwise rumors from now on?"
The three girls looked at each other, feeling awkward. If Hozuki Nozomi had been aggressive, they might have retorted defiantly. But he hadn't been harsh; he had simply, as a man who cherished Shino, explained the facts to them and requested they stop hurting her. The three girls were genuinely jealous. How come such a handsome, warm, and gentle guy wasn't their boyfriend?
Gritting her teeth, Aonaka Saya blushed and bowed to Shino. "I'm sorry, Asada. I was too quick to judge and slandered you without knowing the facts. I won't do it again. Please forgive me." The other two apologized as well.
Shino didn't mind, just waved her hand and said: "There's nothing to forgive. I know my reputation at school isn't good. It's normal for misunderstandings to arise. If there's nothing else, we'll be going."
The three girls watched the pair walk away hand in hand, feeling incredibly bitter. At the same time, having been gently "scolded" by Hozuki Nozomi, they vaguely understood that there was more to the story behind Shino's shooting incident. Regret immediately filled their hearts.
Shino looked at their joined hands, pouted, and glanced at him with a hint of resentment. "What's wrong? Why is your lip poked out so far? Are you not satisfied with how I handled that?" Hozuki Nozomi turned his head and smiled at her.
The young girl quickly shook her head. "I'm not dissatisfied. I was just a bit surprised." She looked at him shyly and continued, "I thought you were going to scold them."
"No need to scold them. They're just a few young girls." Hozuki Nozomi raised his hand and rubbed her little head, then explained: "Mostly, it's because you still have to go to school there for the next few days. If I had scolded them, it would be bad if they targeted you later.
Besides, I think they already know they were wrong. Before, you didn't have anyone to back you up, so naturally, anyone could slander you. But now that you have me, they won't dare.
Also, rather than making a few girls cry, letting them know that Shino has an excellent, gentle, and handsome boyfriend is the best revenge. I could tell they were just jealous that Shino is cute, which is why they were giving you trouble, right?"
After hearing his words, Shino glanced at him coquettishly, then shyly lowered her head. "Cute, what… do you really think so?"
"Of course. The way you blushed last night was the cutest!"
"Pfft, stop talking about that!" Shino punched him lightly with her small fist in embarrassment. "I just realized, you're a big bad guy!"
Hozuki Nozomi laughed and held her small fist, continuing to walk forward. "But this big bad guy will protect you and cherish you from now on."
Shino nodded slightly. "Thank you."
"Alright, thank me when we get back."
Hozuki Nozomi felt he still needed to maintain his composure. He was certainly unhappy that those girls had slandered Shino. But he couldn't just beat them up, could he? What if Shino thought he was an abusive boyfriend? So using a soft approach to convince them was the most appropriate thing to do.
Through his investigation, he had learned the reason Shino's reputation at school was poor: Shinkawa Kyouji, when exposing the incident of Shino shooting the robber on the school network, hadn't mentioned that the deceased was a robber. He had only emphasized that she had killed someone with a gun back in elementary school.
People who didn't know the truth naturally felt that Shino was two-faced—she looked cute but was actually a murderer. Maybe she was even mentally twisted. Shino had naturally thought about explaining, but no one believed her.
And with Shinkawa Kyouji secretly stirring the pot and spreading unfavorable news about her behind her back, she ended up being isolated by everyone. Someone isolated by so many people would naturally be subject to all kinds of malicious speculation. At that point, the truth no longer mattered.
Poor Shino had no one to believe her, no one willing to help her, and her only friend was the culprit who coveted her body and caused her isolation. It could be said that everyone around Shino was bullying her. Thinking of this, Hozuki Nozomi squeezed the girl's small hand, and the look in his eyes became even more compassionate.