“Isn’t this Karuizawa?”
The drawn-out female voice carried obvious malice and mockery.
Hearing that familiar voice, Karuizawa Kei’s mind went blank for a brief moment.
A trace of panic flashed across her face.
She had thought she had already forgotten.
She had thought that if she ever met these people again, she would be able to face their provocation with confidence.
She would not be afraid anymore.
She had thought she had already walked out of the shadow of school bullying.
But reality proved that she had not.
The girl forcibly suppressed the panic in her heart and turned to say something to Hayasaka Ai.
She wanted to pretend she had not seen them.
“Karuizawa, don’t pretend you don’t know us.”
The leading gyaru had already walked over with a smile.
“After all, we were classmates in middle school, weren’t we? Acting so cold really hurts our feelings.”
Karuizawa Kei stopped.
Her entire body fell into silence.
She did not say a word.
Running away won’t solve anything.
That was something her boyfriend had once told her.
Yes.
Unlike a coward like her, her boyfriend’s life philosophy might include enduring humiliation and biding his time.
It might include swallowing anger for a while.
But he would never hide in a sewer like a rat and refuse to come out.
He could accept failure.
Failure was not frightening.
At worst, he would become stronger, then return the humiliation a hundredfold or a thousandfold.
But she could not do that…
Hayasaka Ai’s gaze became strange.
She felt that the little golden retriever beside her, who had been happily bouncing around just a moment ago, had suddenly turned into a helpless little white rabbit.
Then, she had turned into an ostrich burying its head in the sand and playing dead.
Hayasaka Ai had investigated Karuizawa Kei’s background, so she was not surprised by the girl’s weak personality.
She was only curious.
How could one person’s aura change so flexibly?
“Oh, this outfit doesn’t look cheap…”
The gyaru looked Karuizawa Kei up and down.
“And those earrings too. Looks like you’ve got money now, Karuizawa.”
Seeing the expensive brands on Kei’s body, then looking at that cute face that had always made her jealous, the malice in the gyaru’s heart burned into envy.
She pulled out a sharp, mean smile.
“I don’t remember your family being this rich. Don’t tell me you’re doing something shady?”
“Or did some ugly, potbellied company president keep you?”
Karuizawa Kei froze.
She could ignore the earlier insult.
But when she heard the last sentence, sparkling tears suddenly appeared in the girl’s eyes.
As if she was about to cry.
Her delicate shoulders tightened little by little, and her expression turned ugly.
“Hey, Ishikawa.”
“What?” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“You really are disgusting.”
“Hah?”
“All of you bitches should hurry up and die! Especially you. Can you go die somewhere I can’t see you!?”
“What did you say?!”
Ishikawa and the other gyaru girls immediately shrieked.
They tried to rush forward and grab Karuizawa Kei’s hair, just like they had done back in school.
But this time, they grabbed nothing.
Hayasaka Ai reached out and pulled Karuizawa Kei backward, letting her stay behind her.
Then she tilted her head.
“I’ll handle this. You just stand behind me. If you’re bored, you can play with your phone.”
Ishikawa screamed sharply, “Who the hell are you? Trying to stand up for her?”
Hayasaka Ai did not even look at her.
Instead, she continued looking at Karuizawa Kei.
“These people are the ones who bullied you before?”
“Y-Yes… it was them…”
Slap!
Without any warning, Hayasaka Ai struck like lightning.
A bright red palm print instantly appeared on Ishikawa’s heavily made-up face.
Her swift and decisive movement stunned everyone.
The passersby around them also noticed the commotion and stopped to watch.
“You…”
“One slap, ten thousand yen.”
A 10,000-yen bill was thrown onto Ishikawa’s face.
She instinctively grabbed the note.
Hearing Hayasaka Ai’s arrogant words, the curse stuck in her throat.
Her face turned livid.
She stopped looking at Karuizawa Kei.
Instead, she stared at Hayasaka Ai with resentment and greed.
“You’re rich, huh? Then do you dare go somewhere else with me? I’ll let you slap this face as much as you want!”
The three gyaru girls beside her were actually a little panicked.
One of them leaned toward Ishikawa.
“Maybe we should just forget it. This girl doesn’t seem easy to mess with…”
Ishikawa glared at her fiercely.
“What are you afraid of? If you’re scared, then leave. I’ll go rob her myself.”
Rob Hayasaka Ai?
The girls exchanged glances, their eyes flickering.
That was true.
As long as they dragged her into an alley, robbed her money, threatened her with a knife, and took some humiliating photos, wouldn’t they have a long-term wallet?
“You just want to find an alley without cameras, right?”
Hayasaka Ai spoke without hesitation.
“I know where one is. I’ll take you there.”
Without another word, she took Karuizawa Kei’s hand and walked away.
Naturally, the four girls behind them followed closely.
While whispering among themselves, they stared at the two girls in front with vicious eyes.
“A-Ai!?”
“Don’t be afraid.”
Hayasaka Ai lowered her voice. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“When we enter the alley later, you run straight toward the exit.”
“I investigated it before. The exit is near the shopping street, and police patrol there.”
“You can look for an officer and bring them over.”
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“How can I not worry!?”
“It’s fine.”
Hayasaka Ai’s voice was calm.
“I’m a professional maid trained by the Shinomiya family, after all.”
“Dealing with adults would be a little difficult.”
“But taking down a few little girls who only know how to pull hair and slap people is more than enough.”
“But…”
“Relax. I won’t really hurt them. I’ll just teach them a lesson.”
No, that was not the problem.
Karuizawa Kei really wanted to retort.
Just how did the Shinomiya family train its maids?
It was honestly incredible.
Why did fighting even count as part of the training?
The two of them walked into the alley.
Suddenly…
They both stopped.
Their faces showed the same stunned expression.
Hayasaka Ai had clearly seen her master suddenly appear inside this alley.
For a moment, she even thought her eyes had blurred.
But Karuizawa Kei did not care about that.
Her eyes filled with the joy of a lost puppy finally finding its owner.
She immediately threw herself into Hayashi Makoto’s arms like a little swallow returning to its nest.
Tears glimmered at the corners of her eyes.
“Makoto, listen to me—”
“I know. I know everything.”
He comforted the little golden retriever with one hand and beckoned Hayasaka Ai over with the other.
“Ai, take her outside.”
He did not really want his already timid girlfriend to see something too bloody and cruel.
But after a thought, he changed his mind.
Hayasaka Ai was different from Karuizawa Kei.
As the maid sent over by the Shinomiya family, she showed no resistance on the surface.
But there was no guarantee about what she thought in her heart.
To eliminate the sprouts of those thoughts, it was not bad to let her watch.
“Come here. Cover Kei’s eyes.”
“Eh?”
Karuizawa Kei looked surprised.
Makoto patted her little head.
“Be good.”
So she obediently stopped moving and let Hayasaka Ai cover her eyes with both hands.
Only then did Makoto turn his head and look at the four gyaru girls.
…
…
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