Originally, Komuro Takashi had intended to wait until Miyamoto Rei finished speaking with the others before approaching her for a chat. However, as soon as he saw her join Su Yan's group, he could no longer sit still.
Before this, Rei had never had any close male friends besides himself, yet this man had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
And from what he had heard and seen, Rei had actually eaten his lunch, washed the container, and returned it to him?
"Rei, who is he?"
Komuro Takashi stood in front of Miyamoto Rei, blocking the group's path as he asked coldly.
Rei felt her scalp tingle with irritation.
She had done her best to avoid Komuro Takashi and ignore him, so why did he insist on pestering her?
"What does it have to do with you? Didn't I just say it? We aren't close, so please stop calling me by my first name and stop bothering me, alright?"
Rei took a step forward, standing in front of the two to shield Su Yan and Busujima Saeko behind her.
Since he was unavoidable, her personality dictated that she wouldn't—and didn't want to—let her problems involve others.
Hearing such cold words from Rei for the second time, Komuro Takashi could no longer restrain himself. He said with disappointment, "Rei, you've changed. You weren't like this before."
He couldn't understand why his childhood friend, who used to share everything with him, had suddenly become so cold.
"Before?"
Rei was stunned for a moment, then she couldn't help but feel like laughing. She said coldly, "You have the nerve to talk to me about 'before'? How did you treat me when I complained to you about that bastard Shido Koichi?"
"We grew up together, yet you actually chose to speak up for an outsider rather than believe what I said. And now you're talking to me about 'before'?"
"I know Mr. Shido. He isn't like that. You must have some kind of misunderstanding about him," Takashi said, stammering slightly.
Hearing this, he finally realized that this was where the problem lay.
However, he still didn't think there was anything wrong with Shido Koichi. After all, seeing is believing, and he couldn't just take Rei's word for it.
Although he wasn't very familiar with Shido Koichi, the man's reputation at school wasn't bad. He didn't look like the type of person Rei described at all.
Moreover, the man was a school teacher. In his eyes, offending a teacher was never a good thing.
"Since you think Shido Koichi is a good person, then I'm the bad one, okay? So please, go find your Mr. Shido and stop pestering me from now on, alright?"
Seeing how Takashi still seemed completely clueless about the situation, Rei laughed out of pure frustration.
"Rei, I didn't mean that."
Takashi tried to persuade her earnestly, "I'm doing this for your own good. Even if everything you said is true, do you think you can win against Mr. Shido?"
"Listen to me. Go apologize to Mr. Shido before things get out of hand, so it doesn't end up being impossible to resolve."
"For my own good? This is your way of being 'for my own good'?"
Rei looked at Komuro Takashi in shock, a sense of revulsion rising in her heart. She said to him word by word, "Komuro Takashi, you make me sick!"
"You?!"
Hearing this and looking at the ungrateful Rei before him, a nameless rage surged from within Takashi.
In a fit of desperation, he reflexively raised his hand to slap Rei's face.
Rei had never imagined that Takashi would actually try to hit her, even if things had already fallen apart between them.
Consequently, she didn't react at all, let alone try to dodge. She just stared blankly as his palm closed in.
Instinctively, she lowered her head and closed her eyes.
However, the expected pain never came.
'Had Komuro Takashi suddenly pulled his hand back?'
Rei opened her eyes only to see a tall figure standing in front of her, catching the hand Takashi had swung.
It was Su Yan!
At this moment, Su Yan's silhouette reflected in the young girl's eyes seemed to be glowing.
Yes, Su Yan had stepped in, and he had to.
Firstly, the numerous public service announcements he had grown up watching on the children's channel made it impossible for him to remain indifferent.
Secondly, if this had happened elsewhere, it would be one thing, but it was happening right in front of him while Rei was with him.
If that slap had landed, it wouldn't have just been Rei's face being hit, but Su Yan's as well.
"Who are you?"
A hint of regret flickered in Takashi's heart. Even he hadn't expected that he would try to strike Rei in the heat of the moment.
But when he found his slap blocked by the suddenly appearing Su Yan, that trace of regret vanished instantly, replaced by irritation and anger.
Su Yan glanced at Takashi and said calmly, "An ally of justice? A passing Kamen Rider? None of that matters. What matters is that I think Miyamoto-san was right about one thing: you really are quite disgusting."
Originally, Su Yan had felt indifferent toward Takashi, the protagonist of the anime.
This was normal. Unless a character was exceptionally well-designed, how many people would remember exactly what kind of person a protagonist was after watching an anime?
But based on what he heard from Rei and what he had just witnessed, this guy was truly redefining his understanding of the word time and again.
Self-righteous, controlling, and fond of manipulating those around him under the guise of 'doing it for their own good' while attacking them from an outsider's perspective.
This was clearly a piece of trash.
Su Yan could now somewhat understand why Rei would rather choose the protagonist's best friend over him in the anime.
This reminded Su Yan of a plot point that occurred early in the series.
Shortly after the zombie crisis broke out and the main group gathered, everyone was supposed to leave the school together on a school bus.
But Shido Koichi suddenly appeared, leading a large group of students wanting to board.
Rei had strongly opposed it, stating it was either him or her; anyone else could board, but not Shido Koichi.
In the end, the protagonist, Takashi, ignored Rei's opposition and let them on the bus anyway.
Following that, Rei's actions were very decisive. She chose to get off the bus alone, and Takashi chased after her to bring her back.
This led to the group being split up, and the two later triggered a 'hero saves the damsel' scenario at a gas station.
It seemed it was precisely because of that incident that Rei's attitude toward Takashi began to become ambiguous.
"This is between Rei and me. It's none of your business," Takashi said, trying to yank his hand away from Su Yan's grip, only to find the other's strength was unexpectedly great. Unable to break free, he could only talk tough.
Su Yan asked, "Are you her father?"
Takashi shook his head.
Su Yan asked again, "Then are you her husband?"
Takashi turned to look at Rei, saw the coldness in her eyes, and shook his head again.
Su Yan followed up with feigned surprise, "Could it be that you're her son?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?!" Takashi snapped at Su Yan impatiently.
"See? You're quite clear about your own position. You're nothing at all," Su Yan said, spreading his hand.
"You!"
Takashi was left speechless, then exploded in rage, throwing a heavy punch at Su Yan.