Meeting his gaze, Morishita gave him a knowing wink and smiled in a friendly, suggestive manner,
"Yeah, if you approached Hamasaki, the chances of striking up a friendly match with her are pretty high."
Ignoring the teasing tone, Sasaki asked with genuine curiosity,
"Who is this Hamasaki you're talking about?"
This wasn't an act—he truly didn't know who they were referring to.
Though there were indeed many attractive girls in Yukiha's class, he was always under Yukiha's watchful eye whenever he passed by, so he couldn't exactly stare at the other girls.
Thus, his impression of the girls in the neighboring class was limited to the vague notion that they were "pretty."
He didn't know their names or who they hung out with.
Morishita was a bit surprised that Sasaki didn't know Hamasaki, but considering that he was new to the school and hadn't made many friends yet, it made sense that he wouldn't be familiar with the pretty girls in the next class.
Taking out his phone, Morishita moved closer to Sasaki and introduced her:
"Here's her picture. What do you think? Pretty, right?"
The background of the photo had been blurred, but the colorful billboard and the light gray barriers in the picture, along with the bustling crowd, clearly indicated that it was taken in a commercial street.
The main subject of the photo was a strikingly beautiful girl with short, yellow hair.
Her slightly tousled, neck-length golden hair was free of any accessories, giving her a clean and natural look.
The soft, golden strands were casually parted in the middle, with the right side falling along her face, and the left side tucked behind her ear, revealing a silver earring, giving her a mix of feminine charm and tomboyish flair.
Her bright, clean face bore a cheerful smile, and her slightly cocky, confident stance, with one hand on her hip and legs slightly apart, suggested that her personality was anything but demure.
The contrast between her soft appearance and her bold demeanor made the girl in the photo particularly appealing.
From their discussion, it seemed this girl, named Hamasaki, was also a part-time fashion model.
So, aside from her attractive face, she clearly had an excellent figure as well.
Though she might not be as voluptuous as girls like Chifuyu, Natsuha, or Yukiha, her body was perfectly proportioned—just the right amount of curves where they were needed, without being overly full or lacking.
Her outfit showed this off well.
The black off-the-shoulder sweater she wore hugged her upper body, naturally and perfectly outlining the lines of her figure—from the soft curves to her slender waist, down to the full hips accentuated by her black shorts, and her long, shapely legs beneath.
"Yeah, she's really pretty."
Sasaki nodded sincerely after looking at the photo for a few seconds, offering a genuine and heartfelt evaluation.
Morishita wasn't surprised by his response; after all, who wouldn't be attracted to a girl like that?
He firmly believed that even someone impotent would find it hard to resist the charm of a girl like Hamasaki.
Putting his phone away, he stood beside Sasaki and introduced the girl in the photo:
"Her name is Hamazaki Reina. She's in Class A, and she's one of the most famous gyaru in the entire school."
He then nudged the boy's arm lightly and continued:
"With your looks, Sasaki-kun, forget just Hamazaki—you could probably win over their entire gyaru group. Want to give it a try?"
"Judging by the photo, Hamasaki-san doesn't seem like that kind of person," Sasaki responded.
After all, he had seen Hamazaki Reina before, from a distance, as he glanced into Class A while looking for Yukiha.
He found it hard to believe that such a confident, cheerful girl could be the type of person they were making her out to be.
But given the way these guys were gossiping behind her back and trying to manipulate him, Sasaki figured they weren't exactly trustworthy themselves, so he took their words with a grain of salt.
Unaware of his contempt for them, Morishita, hearing his words, just thought he was embarrassed, so he smiled and continued:
"That's just how guys talk, Sasaki-kun. You should have heard what we said earlier, right? Don't you agree?"
"No, I don't," Sasaki replied flatly.
"I told you, you must... wait, what?" Morishita was taken aback by his blunt disagreement.
However, without paying any attention to Morishita's surprise, Sasaki brushed off the hand that had touched his arm and then, with a look of disgust, patted his arm clean before speaking:
"Hamasaki-san can be a fashion model because she's beautiful and has a great figure.
She's making the most of her assets.
And altering her uniform... well, how many people in this school don't modify their clothes?
Just because she wears expensive clothes, it doesn't mean she's involved in something shady. Maybe her family is just well-off."
"And honestly, with her figure, she probably earns a decent salary as a model. So, what makes you jump to conclusions about her character?"
"You have no evidence or anything to prove your claims, so, it's all just nonsense."
"If you had a single photo proving Hamazaki was up to something inappropriate—even if it was fake—I might have taken you seriously."
"But right now, spreading these kinds of rumors just makes me think you're all jealous because you can't have her yourselves."
"Talking trash behind someone's back and ruining their reputation, to be honest, it's disgusting."
Hearing his words, Morishita's face flushed with anger as he shouted back, "Isn't that just your opinion? Why are you defending her so much? Don't tell me you've fallen for her!"
"Hah! If you really think you can win her over just because of your looks, you're delusional!"
"Disagreeing with you means I'm in love with her? What nonsense. Who do you think you are, expecting me to go along with your idiotic assumptions?"
Sasaki scoffed, losing all interest in continuing the conversation with them.
He picked up his bucket, intending to leave after dumping the water.
But Morishita, unable to swallow his pride after being insulted in front of his friends, wasn't about to let him off so easily.
As Sasaki walked past him, he clenched his fist and swung it toward his face.
But before his punch could connect, all he saw was a large, metal bucket hurtling toward him.
Then, a flash of black filled his vision.
Before he could even process what was happening, half a bucket of dirty water drenched his clothes, and the impact of his fall knocked over a desk and chair, creating a loud crash.
Tap, tap—
Sasaki paid no attention to the guy he had just floored with the bucket.
Instead, he suddenly turned his head toward the corner near the back door, by the staircase.
Due to the wall blocking his view, he couldn't see the hallway, but he heard someone approaching.
From the sound of the running footsteps, it wasn't a teacher.
Perhaps it was a member of the student council checking on the cleaning?
However, glancing at Morishita, who was now lying among the desks and chairs, his nose bloodied from the fall, Sasaki showed no sign of panic.
He had anticipated a confrontation with them, which was why he had propped his phone against his drink earlier.
The phone had recorded everything that had just happened.
Even if the matter escalated to the teachers, he had nothing to fear.
After all, he hadn't thrown the first punch.
Still, having a witness wouldn't hurt.
As the other two boys stood frozen in shock, Sasaki calmly stopped the recording on his phone and turned to them:
"I recorded everything that just happened.
You might want to think carefully about whose side you're on."
"Wise people know when to back down."
"…"
Seeing him stop the recording, Uchida and Higashikawa didn't have time to wonder how Sasaki had anticipated their moves.
They just nodded nervously, too shaken to do anything else.
Tap, tap—
Crash—
The sound of footsteps grew louder, accompanied by the rather violent noise of a door being thrown open.
All eyes, except for Morishita's, who was struggling to stand with blood covering his face, turned to the back door.
However, who appeared in front of them, wasn't the person Sasaki had anticipated.
.