Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 26 A Friend's Backstabbing

As soon as Akizuki Makoto entered the classroom, everyone sitting in the class turned to look at him, as well as Shiina Maki behind him.

A few minutes before the two arrived at the classroom, someone who had witnessed them walking to school together came to the classroom and released this explosive gossip.

Many people didn't believe it, wondering how Makoto Akizuki and Maki Shiina could go to school together, since they didn't even live in the same place.

Besides, given Shiina Maki's personality, would she have the guts to approach Akizuki Makoto?
It couldn't be that Akizuki Makoto initiated the conversation with Shiina Maki, could it? Otherwise, they would suspect that he had woken up and traveled to some parallel world.

"Well, how dare you be so disobedient and even approach Akizuki-kun..."

Satomi Sawada's face was gloomy, and her sharp gaze passed over Makoto Akizuki, piercing towards Maki Shiina, who was hiding behind him and dared not raise her head.

Her hands, clenched tightly under the table, revealed her inner anger.

The girls around her also didn't look too good.

"Satomi, how should we teach this thieving cat a lesson this time?"

"She actually came to school with Akizuki-kun. When did they start dating?"

"That bitch, she might have even complained to Akizuki-kun!"

When Satomi Sawada heard what the group said, especially the part about accusing them, her rapid breathing, which had become rapid due to her anger, paused for a moment.

If Shiina Maki really complains to Akizuki Makoto, then things will get complicated.

They all knew Akizuki Makoto's character; if he knew that bullying had occurred in the class, he would definitely investigate it thoroughly.

I just hope that all of this is because of them...

Just as Satomi Sawada was secretly praying that Maki Shiina wouldn't tell on her, Makoto Akizuki, who had been smiling and greeting the other classmates, suddenly turned his head and glanced at her.

She was startled and quickly lowered her head, not daring to meet Qiu Yuecheng's gaze.

Not only her, but also her accomplices lowered their heads guiltily.

"Hey, Satomi, did Shiina really tell on us?"

The person who asked the question was named Kitahara Yukina; she was one of the people responsible for holding down Shiina Maki.

At this moment, her face was filled with unease. The thought of being exposed and not only being hated by Akizuki Makoto, but also being held accountable filled her with fear.

"N-nothing, it's okay. That guy doesn't have the guts to say it. She didn't say anything before either, did she?"

Satomi Sawada tried to remain calm as she spoke, referring to the time when they had locked Maki Shiina in the toilet and splashed water on her, soaking her.

At that time, Makoto Akizuki also wanted to investigate the matter, but Maki Shiina refused to reveal who did it, and the matter was left unresolved.

"really?"

"Don't scare yourself. If Shiina really told on us, why didn't Akizuki contact us?"

“That’s true…”

Hearing what Satomi Sawada said, the others felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

While they were whispering amongst themselves, little did they know that Akizuki Makoto had been observing them all along.

Seeing them lower their heads guiltily, avoiding his gaze, Akizuki Makoto couldn't help but laugh.

They have the guts to bully others, but not the guts to take responsibility; they are typical bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong.

He has a better way to deal with these kinds of people; directly exposing their flaws would be pointless.

After that, Akizuki Makoto pretended to be nonchalant, chatting and laughing with his classmates, wasting time.

This made Satomi Sawada and her group feel more at ease, and they even started discussing how to teach Maki Shiina a lesson again so that she would never forget it.

So, at nine o'clock in the morning, the first class meeting began, and the homeroom teacher walked into the classroom.

Before the homeroom teacher could speak, Akizuki Makoto raised his hand, indicating that he had something to say.

Seeing this, the homeroom teacher asked gently, "What's wrong, Qiuyue?"

“Teacher, it’s like this. Yesterday, didn’t I ask you to let me deliver the handouts to Shiina?” Akizuki Makoto stood up and first gave the homeroom teacher a brief summary of the situation before changing the subject and saying, “Then, I discovered that there was another reason behind Shiina’s leave of absence.”

"Eh?"

The homeroom teacher paused slightly, wondering what Qiu Yuecheng meant by bringing this up in public.

In her view, what she understood was that Akizuki Makoto went to visit Shiina Maki's home and discovered that her family situation was complicated, but this should not be said in public, right?

However, she did not make a fuss, because she believed that Akizuki Makoto was not such a thoughtless person.

"Two days ago, she asked for leave because she was bullied, which caused her to feel unwell."

These words immediately caused a huge uproar in the class. Some of the people who had been there before all looked at Sawada Satomi, whose expression had changed drastically, with expressions of anticipation for a good show.

"Bullying?"

Upon hearing this, the homeroom teacher couldn't help but frown, looked at Shiina Maki sitting in the last row of the classroom, and asked, "Is that so, Shiina-kun?"

"Yes, it is……"

Shiina Maki nodded somewhat timidly and answered in a low voice.

Upon seeing this, the homeroom teacher's expression immediately turned serious, and she asked sternly, "Are the people who bullied you from our class?"

"Um……"

Maki Shiina nodded again.

At this moment, Akizuki Makoto spoke up, "Teacher, let the people who bullied Shiina step forward. At the very least, they should be willing to take responsibility for their actions, right?"

"...Did you hear that? Step forward yourselves. Do you need Shiina-kun to identify you?"

The homeroom teacher swept his stern gaze across everyone in the audience and immediately spotted the culprit.

Some people, completely bewildered, chatted with those around them with expressions of utter astonishment;

Some, on the other hand, wore gloating expressions, belonging to the kind of people who enjoy watching a good show;
Only a few people reacted strangely. They all lowered their heads, remained silent, dared not look at the podium, and did not talk to the people around them, looking extremely guilty.

After all, he was just a high school student. When things were about to be exposed, he couldn't stay calm and his self-control was still too poor.

After waiting for a while, no one took the initiative to stand up and admit it, so Akizuki Makoto couldn't help but laugh.

He got up from his seat, walked onto the podium, stood next to the homeroom teacher, and faced everyone in the audience.

"Just as I thought, the bully is someone who has the guts to bully introverted and timid classmates, but not the guts to admit it."

"Now that things have come to this, do you still want to evade responsibility? Do you think the worst outcome is simply that the homeroom teacher notifies the parents, gives them a reprimand, and then they have to pay compensation?"

At this point, Akizuki Makoto's expression turned cold, and a chilling sneer appeared on his face, devoid of any real smile.

"Don't be so naive. I will report this to the school through the student union. At the very least, you should be suspended from classes, given a major demerit, or even expelled!"

Upon hearing this, the bullies in the audience panicked, their faces turning pale instantly, their expressions revealing fear and confusion.

"W-What do we do? Why did it turn out like this? Didn't Rimi say that Shiina was too afraid to say it?"

"It's all Rimi's fault! No, I have to admit my mistake and shift all the blame onto her to see if I can get a lighter punishment."

Upon realizing this, the accomplice named Kitahara Yukina immediately stood up and shouted, "I admit my mistake! But this was all Sawada's idea. She instigated me to help her teach Shiina a lesson!"

"Kitahara?!"

"You actually——"

When Kitahara Setsuna stood up and admitted it, her classmates, who had been talking in hushed tones, suddenly erupted in uproar.

The very next second after she finished speaking, another girl stood up and cried out in despair, "Yes, yes! It was all Sawada's doing! She even asked me to help her! She was the one who came up with the idea of ​​bullying Shiina, and she was the only one who beat up Shiina. None of us lifted a finger!"

Satomi Sawada stared wide-eyed as the girls who had bullied Maki Shiina along with her turned on her back, their minds going completely blank.

She never expected that her "good friends," who had agreed beforehand that even if their bullying of Shiina Maki was exposed, they would absolutely deny it or simply remain silent, would not only admit it now but also turn around and blame her for everything!

(End of this chapter)