My Visual Novel System

Slap

In that moment, Justus's mind flooded with memories. He discreetly pinched his thigh, adjusting his expression to ensure no flaws were visible to Azaria.

Lilyana continued to trail behind them, glancing at Justus and Azaria, sensing that something might be amiss between them. However, she refrained from saying anything and simply followed along obediently. Suddenly, someone bumped into her from the side.

Appearing frail, Lilyana lost her balance and fell forward with a soft cry. Unlike the previous incidents, this time she hit the ground harder.

Hearing Lilyana's call from behind, Justus instinctively turned and saw her on the ground.

The person who accidentally collided with her was a girl from their class.

Justus furrowed his brows slightly, then quickly rushed to check on Lilyana's condition.

"Lilyana, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Lilyana responded with a slight tremor, avoiding the intense gazes of the two girls and not wanting to cause any trouble for Justus.

Azaria stepped forward and confidently blocked the path of the two girls. Her voice carried authority as she stated, "You bumped into someone; don't you think you should apologize?" Her stern gaze made her message clear.

"What's there to apologize for? We can just pay if it's a big deal." The girl responded arrogantly, showing no remorse as they took out a stack of money from their bags and tossed it in Lilyana's direction.

At Paradise Academy, mistreatment of students from lower-income backgrounds was unfortunately commonplace. Whether it was Lilyana, Azaria, or even Justus, who all dressed modestly, they were often subjected to unfair judgment. Azaria's impactful speech and Lilyana's beauty seemed to amplify the bullying they faced.

Justus hadn't anticipated such harassment on their first day.

Could it be because he had taken the male lead's script, leading to this situation? Justus wondered, but when he glanced up, Azaria was still confronting the two girls, so he rushed over.

In this life, Justus knew he had to befriend Azaria. No matter what choices she made, Justus was determined to unconditionally support and help her.

"Just a bookworm who only knows how to study, what's so great about her? She'll probably end up working at our parents' company in the end," one of the girls sneered, voicing her disdain for Azaria.

The derogatory remarks continued, with another girl chiming in, "Yeah, I don't understand why these poor people are allowed to study with us. Just look at their clothes. They probably don't even cost a hundred bucks."

As the hurtful words hung in the air, Justus felt a mixture of anger. He wanted to step in and defend Azaria, to shut down the narrow-minded gossip and protect her from such cruel judgment. But to his surprise, Azaria held him back, indicating that she could handle the situation herself.

Curious and concerned, Justus chose to stand by her side, supporting her silently.

Despite the hurtful comments, she didn't let her emotions get the better of her. Instead, she calmly engaged in verbal sparring with the girls, using her eloquence to skillfully counter their attacks.

With each exchange, Azaria's intelligence and confidence shone through, leaving the girls flustered and their faces turning red from embarrassment.

A crowd gathered to watch, mostly there for the spectacle. One heavily made-up girl couldn't bear Azaria's verbal attacks and attempted to slap her in the face.

Azaria didn't evade or back down; she seemed to have a plan, possibly using a strategy of feigning weakness to make the two girls rethink their actions. However, Justus didn't want Azaria to take that risk. He gently pulled Azaria away and swiftly intercepted the girl's hand just before it could strike.

"Do you really think you're invincible in this school?" Justus's gaze locked onto the heavily made-up girl, and his eyes emanated a cold, intimidating aura.

During his time as the school bully, no one dared to challenge Justus's authority.

Fear overcame the girl, who attempted to struggle but found herself powerless in the face of his menacing presence. She resorted to hurling malicious and offensive insults at Justus.

Unaffected by her words, Justus exchanged a glance with Azaria, silently indicating that he should handle the situation.

Lilyana rushed over, panting, and made a gesture to Justus. He let go of the girl, providing an opportunity for her to retaliate. The girl immediately slapped Justus across the face.

Justus's glasses fell from his face due to the impact, but he maintained a playful smile as he gestured behind the girl.

Confused, the heavily made-up girl turned to see a handsome face - it was Freddy Drebin, the current homeroom teacher of their class and the principal's grandson. It was apparent that an interesting scene would unfold once the usually upright Freddy Drebin witnessed this situation.

"You, come with me," Freddy Drebin's voice resonated with coldness. The heavily made-up girl tried to resist but found herself unable to struggle. Eventually, Freddy Drebin took both provocative girls away.

Justus wasn't the one who came up with the tactic; it was Azaria herself who devised the "injured lamb" strategy.

Azaria didn't have anyone to protect her, and there were too many people jealous of her. Justus used to stood by, watching as Azaria received multiple slaps from a minor character.

If Azaria hadn't reminded Lilyana to call Freddy Drebin, she might have been severely hurt. So, to prevent history from repeating itself, Justus endured this deceptive plan on Azaria's behalf.

With the commotion settled, Justus touched his slightly painful face and began searching for his glasses.

"Here," Azaria appeared suddenly, holding Justus's glasses in her hand, though he wasn't sure when she had obtained them. She handed them back to him.

"Thank you," Justus said with a smile as he accepted his glasses. He had opted for decorative glasses, fearing that Azaria might notice his lack of lenses and make certain associations.

Relieved, Justus put on his glasses in front of Azaria.

"Are you okay?" Lilyana was on the verge of panic. She followed Justus's instructions to find Freddy Drebin, but she didn't expect to witness him being attacked.

If Justus's father, Derek Wallace, found out about this incident, who knew what drastic actions he might take.

"I'm fine, just got a light slap on the face, stings a bit," Justus reassured her. He then crouched down to examine Lilyana's injuries.

"And what about you? Are you okay?" Justus asked as he carefully checked her scraped knee from the fall.

Despite knowing this was all part of the plot, and that Lilyana was just an NPC, Justus felt a tinge of guilt at the sight of her pitiful appearance.

"I'm... I'm fine," Lilyana said, tears streaming down her face.

Everything seemed surreal to her. In this dreamlike scenario, Justus was no longer the willful and capricious guy, but a true friend who genuinely cared about her.

"You've scraped yourself. Let's go; I'll take you to the infirmary first. Azaria, if you run into a teacher, please let them know we're in the infirmary," Justus said, taking Lilyana's hand and guiding her towards the infirmary.

Azaria watched their departing figures silently and eventually headed back towards the classroom.

What embarrassed Lilyana the most was that Justus was currently squatting in front of her, attentively tending to her wound.

Justus's movements were skillful, as if he had experience in a related field.

"Justus, why are you so skilled at this?" Lilyana couldn't help but ask. Justus gave her a faint glance, uncertain of how to express the answer.