"Are there many boys like Tam?" Mike led Paige to a seat in the middle of the first row, asking as they sat down.
"Let me see," Lina, sitting in the second row, flipped through the material on her desk.
A moment later, she organized several application forms and came to Mike, saying, "There are quite a few boys trying to seek refuge. Of course, there are also a few of your true followers…"
Mike's performance last year was obvious to all, and for high school boys who are in the midst of hero worship, it's not too surprising to have a few enthusiastic fans.
Looking at the few material in front of him, Mike did not flip through them. He pondered for a moment and said, "How about this, you make a list of the boys who want to join the support group and let them form a separate group…"
If he had the ability, Mike didn't mind lending a hand to marginalized groups in the school, like Tam.
It's important to remember that energetic high school boys are also at an age where they don't know their own strength.
Therefore, never underestimate the evil in human nature, especially when dealing with simple-minded and impulsive high school students.
"Okay, I understand," Lina showed a brilliant smile, seemingly grasping Mike's intention.
Just then, a commotion suddenly came from the back of the classroom.
Two tall boys, who didn't look like good students, seemed to be bullying a female student.
The commotion was caused by the students around them who were watching the fun.
This situation is very common in schools.
Seeing Mike frown slightly, Lina explained, "Those two boys are Arthur and Davis. They seemed to have a good relationship with Georgie before…"
"As for that girl, her name seems to be Mia. If I remember correctly, she also seems to be a member of your support group."
The girl named Mia used to always wear a pair of black-rimmed glasses, plus her messy, curly hair, making it impossible to see her face clearly.
Her usual dressing style also revealed a sense of shabbiness, and she loved carrying a strange, large schoolbag all day long.
She was the epitome of a marginalized person.
Now, with the new semester arriving, this girl had an extra wide fisherman's hat on her head, making her look even easier to bully.
After introducing the basic situation of the three people at the center of the conflict, Lina said no more, seemingly wanting to see how Mike would handle such matters.
"Look at our ugly duckling, she actually bought a new hat…" In the back row, Arthur spoke in a theatrical manner, like a villain in a stage play performance.
Looking at his smug grin, he seemed to enjoy being the center of attention.
Mia, who was being targeted, huddled into a ball, trembling behind her hat, looking weak and easily bullied.
The girl's reaction only fueled Arthur's arrogance: "What? Is our ugly duckling afraid to see people?"
Saying that, Arthur was about to take off the girl's hat.
At this crucial moment, a strong, slender hand grabbed Arthur's wrist, making him unable to move.
"Fu…" Arthur was so angry that he was about to curse when his good show was interrupted. But when he turned his head and saw who it was, he swallowed his words back.
The arrogant expression on his face also turned into an ingratiating smirk.
Only then did Arthur realize that the classroom was eerily quiet.
As for his accomplice Davis, who was beside him, he had already lowered his head, pretending to be a quail.
"Is it fun?" Mike asked, his expression displeased.
"No, not fun—" Arthur, whose wrist was pinched painfully, realized he had done something wrong and quickly remedied with a grimace, "I was just trying to joke with Mia, I didn't mean to bully her…"
Joke? Fooling ghosts, more like.
Mike stared at Arthur with an unkind expression for two seconds, until the other party couldn't speak, then he said, "Then how about I play a joke on you two? I bet you and Davis will be bald before school tomorrow. What do you think?"
Repay kindness with kindness, and enmity with enmity.
Mike used the same method to punish Arthur, and of course, he didn't forget Davis, who was pretending to be a quail beside him.
"I think baldness suits me very well." Arthur caved quickly, and at the same time, silently mourned for his hair in his heart.
Davis, who was beside him, also nodded desperately, indicating that baldness was suitable for summer.
"Can you let me go?" Although he had already become a clown in the eyes of others, Arthur still dared not offend Mike.
It was conceivable that if he offended Mike, who had super high popularity, he would likely be isolated by other students and become a marginalized person in the coming semester, and might even lose his dating rights with girls.
"Did you two forget something else?" Mike didn't immediately release Arthur's wrist but reminded him, "When you make a mistake, you should learn to apologize."
"Sorry—"
Arthur and Davis, reminded, looked enlightened and simultaneously bowed their heads to Mike, apologizing.
"What's the use of telling me?" Mike looked speechless, gesturing that they had found the wrong target.
At this moment, the girl in her seat had stopped trembling, and from beneath her slightly raised hat brim, a delicate, fair chin was revealed.
"Sorry, Mia. Please forgive us!"
Arthur and Davis apologized again, readily compliant.
Seeing the girl nod slightly, Mike released Arthur, letting him and Davis leave together.
"Thank you." The girl thanked him in a low voice; Mike's exceptional hearing was almost the only reason he heard it.
Her personality is too soft!
Mike shook his head, then turned and walked towards the first row.
As the "hero saving the beauty" ended, sparse applause sounded in the classroom.
Facts proved that high school students are not entirely without a sense of right and wrong.
Lina, on her side, also smiled and watched Mike leave, then went to Mia's side, pulled the girl up, and invited her to sit in the second row together.
A commotion thus subsided.
Afterwards, as time passed, Ms. Victoria walked into the classroom with the ringing of the bell.
On the first day of the new school year, as the homeroom teacher, Ms. Victoria needed to re-familiarize herself with her students.
This was also an important moment for the homeroom teacher to establish authority in the new school year.
After the lengthy announcement of class rules and school regulations, Ms. Victoria scanned the students below and sharply said, "Student in the second row wearing a hat, do you know that this behavior is disrespectful to the teacher?"
There was no school rule stating that students could not wear hats, so Mia was clearly being made an example of.
One could only say that the girl's current seating position was simply too conspicuous.
"Sorry, Ms. Victoria." Mia, who was specifically called out, immediately stood up, looking as if she had done something wrong.
"Take off that ridiculous hat." Ms. Victoria's expression showed displeasure.
This was clearly a case of picking on the weak to make an example.
This feminist homeroom teacher already had a bad attitude towards boys, and now her attitude towards female students had also become so poor.
"Teacher, as far as I know, neither the school rules nor the class rules state that students cannot wear hats during class." Mike leaned back in his chair, meeting Ms. Victoria's gaze.
Their eyes met in the air, making the atmosphere in the classroom tense.
A moment later, Ms. Victoria, who occupied a higher physical position, her eyes flickering a few times, was the first to look away.
"Although it's not written in the school rules, wearing a hat during class without special circumstances is disrespectful to the teacher…" Ms. Victoria still argued stubbornly.
"Whether a situation is special or not is a very subjective question. Perhaps some students wear hats because the hat brings them a sense of security." Mike offered his understanding.
It's not necessarily that one has physical defects to hide; one possibility is a situation like 'The Man in the Case.'
Due to personality and mental reasons, some people might need a "hat" as a spiritual anchor.
"Let's ask the person involved what she thinks." Ms. Victoria knew Mike was difficult to deal with, so she turned her gaze back to Mia.
"Sorry for causing trouble." Mia seemed very afraid that Mike would continue to argue with the teacher. After apologizing, the girl took off her hat.
Contrary to expectations, the girl had an angelic face, with fair, firm, and delicate skin, as if it could break at a touch.
Her lips curved slightly upwards even when she wasn't smiling, exuding sweetness unknowingly.
A pair of large, limpid eyes, lively with a hint of gentleness. Like a fawn in the forest, they made people instinctively feel protective.
"Oh, is this the Mia we know?"
"She's so beautiful!!!"
As the girl revealed her true face, gasps of admiration immediately filled the classroom, some from envy, some from shock.
Mia seemed unaccustomed to everyone's gaze, and a faint blush rose on her fair face.
Just as she habitually lowered her head, she happened to meet a pair of bright eyes.
To be honest, Mike, who had turned to look, was also a little surprised by the girl's beauty.
And being stared at by Mike, the girl instead put away her timidity. Raising her head again, her body stood ramrod straight.
[Temperament attribute +5]…[Demeanor experience +20]…