Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Apologize to Me with a 90-Degree Bow!

But this set of procedures failed once in the past few years.

Yes, it's Kyousuke Hojo.

Although this child has excellent grades, he basically never communicates with other classmates. Curious, Teacher Takeuchi observed him before, and he didn't have any communication problems.

On the contrary, this child is unusually mature. When talking to him, Teacher Takeuchi can't feel that he's a sixth-grade elementary school student at all. If he talked on the phone, he would definitely think he's an adult.

This kind of child is naturally bullied in class. After Kyousuke Hojo came to him to report being bullied, Teacher Takeuchi called the bullies over and criticized them casually.

Later, Kyousuke Hojo came a few more times, saying he was still being bullied, but Teacher Takeuchi didn't take it seriously. He even found it a bit funny. Let this little ghost act so mature; now you're experiencing the bitter consequences, right?

However, Teacher Takeuchi didn't expect that he would be the one to experience the bitterness.

When he received a call from the police station, he was still dreaming in bed. By the time he arrived, the principal was waiting for him, along with a group of parents.

Those few kids who often bullied Kyousuke Hojo brought even more kids to beat him up.

After being beaten, Kyousuke Hojo didn't cry like the other kids and go home; he went directly to the police station to report the incident.

Teacher Takeuchi's vision went black, and he almost fainted.

Things got big, and shifting responsibility was no longer feasible. If it weren't for his sister being the principal's wife, he would have left already.

In the end, the matter was settled with the bullies apologizing, compensating, and transferring schools. Except for Teacher Takeuchi and the principal, no one else in the school knew about this. It's just that the kids were wondering why so many classmates suddenly transferred.

Given what had happened, Teacher Takeuchi didn't want to say much to Kyousuke Hojo; he just wanted to get him out of the way quickly.

Under Michiki Kawai's guidance, Shoko Nishimiya walked out in a daze.

As soon as they left the classroom, the people inside erupted.

"Kyousuke Hojo, you're so brave!"

"Yeah, yeah, he's so handsome! I never realized there was such a handsome boy in our class!"

"I've talked to him before, but I always felt he spoke like an adult. Although he seems very reliable, he's not easy to approach."

"I've decided, I'm going to be friends with him from now on!"

"..."

Different from the others, Ueno Naoko felt fear and regret now. She vaguely knew that Shoya Ishida did what he did to get back at her, so now she's afraid he might face severe consequences.

And her regret came from the thought of Shoko Nishimiya being teased in front of the whole class; she felt really sorry, and she was afraid Kyousuke Hojo would dislike her because of this.

"Ishida, apologize to Nishimiya."

Teacher Takeuchi said casually.

"Hai, sorry."

Shoya Ishida turned his head away, looking at the ceiling absentmindedly.

"Wait a minute!" Kyousuke Hojo shouted.

"What now, Kyousuke Hojo?"

"What is it?"

"Why don't you mind your own business, Kyousuke Hojo? I already apologized. I'm going back to the classroom now."

Shoya Ishida was also taken aback by Kyousuke Hojo standing up and confronting the teacher directly. That's why he quickly apologized just now. He was just trying to finish things off, just like Teacher Takeuchi, so he apologized promptly and lightly. But now that he sees Kyousuke Hojo is not satisfied, the child's temper immediately comes out.

"..."

Teacher Takeuchi rubbed his forehead. If he could, he would tell Shoya Ishida, "Why did you provoke him? Whatever he says is fine, just end it quickly, no, end it as soon as possible."

"I don't care, I'm going back to the classroom."

Shoya Ishida was about to push Kyousuke Hojo away and go into the classroom, but Kyousuke Hojo wouldn't budge. He just kept looking at Teacher Takeuchi.

Teacher Takeuchi recognized that look. The last time Kyousuke Hojo came to him saying he was being bullied by classmates, he had casually brushed him off. At that time, Kyousuke Hojo was like this, staring at him without any emotion in his eyes for about a minute.

Then, that night he was called to the police station. He actually felt it was not so coincidental. Bullying among children rarely leads to such serious fights, but he also couldn't believe that a third-grade elementary school child could plan something like that.

"Come here, Ishida. Apologize to Nishimiya properly."

"I'm sorry."

Shoya Ishida still looked at the ceiling, trying to maintain his last shred of dignity.

Shoko Nishimiya was about to bow to return the courtesy after hearing Shoya Ishida's words, but Kyousuke Hojo pulled her back.

"Is this the attitude for an apology? Look at her properly. Didn't your mother teach you how to apologize? Look at her and then bow!"

"Ishida, be more sincere!"

Teacher Takeuchi also chimed in, but he wasn't doing it for Shoko Nishimiya. He just wanted to quickly resolve Kyousuke Hojo, this little troublemaker.

Shoko Nishimiya seemed to understand Kyousuke Hojo's words and quickly waved her hand. This is enough, Kyousuke Hojo. This is already very good. I'm really...

"Thank you, it's already good enough!" Hearing that stern tone, a sense of security emerged in Shoko's heart like never before. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she couldn't hold back anymore, even though she had promised her mother in the morning that she wouldn't cry.

"I'm okay, this is enough."

Unfortunately, this time she said it a bit urgently, and Kyousuke Hojo didn't understand.

"Shoko Nishimiya, I'm sorry!"

Faced with the stern words of two people, especially one of them being the "adult" homeroom teacher, Shoya Ishida's last bit of stubbornness disappeared.

He bowed ninety degrees and then shouted out an apology loudly, his voice so loud that it could be heard clearly in the classroom.

"Is it true? Did that Ishida guy actually apologize?"

"Heh heh, Ishida must have been scared, right?"

Nagatsuka Tomohiro, with narrowed eyes, raised the oversized cuffs of his shirt to cover his mouth and teased.

Listening to his words, you couldn't tell that he was friends with Shoya Ishida and played around with him every day.

"Hey, Tomohiro, Ishida is your friend. How can you say that?"

Ueno Nahoko immediately said disapprovingly.

"Heh heh."

Nagatsuka Tomohiro still had that look, he chuckled and didn't say anything more.

While Shoko Nishimiya was still bowing in response to Shoya Ishida's apology, Shoya Ishida had already opened the classroom door with a "bang" and rushed in.

The little girl instantly looked bewildered and scared, tears even overflowed from the corners of her eyes. Kyousuke Hojo found it amusing and couldn't help but reach out and rub her head gently, assuring her that everything was fine.

Teacher Takeuchi looked down from a high vantage point and couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. Oh boy, turns out he's chasing after a girl. No wonder why this little rascal who usually doesn't care about anything is so proactive this time.

"Alright, you all should go in too."