Despite appearing tearful and pitifully vulnerable when facing evil spirits, Miko actually possessed a strong sense of justice and far greater courage than most girls.
After all, she lived daily under the oppressive fear of evil spirits.
Caught suddenly, the molester first showed panic, but upon seeing Miko's high school girl appearance, his expression instantly shifted from cowardice to unreasonable aggression.
"Hey, little girl, watch your words! What crime have I committed!?"
The passengers in the carriage were all drawn to the scene, gathering around to watch.
Despite being stared at by so many people at once, Miko Yotsuya didn't falter in the slightest. She pointed an accusing finger and declared righteously,
"I saw it with my own eyes just now—you were groping this woman! This is sexual harassment, a despicable act!"
Hearing this, the crowd's gazes towards the so-called 'train molester' turned scornful, and murmurs broke out.
"How disgusting."
"No wonder he's dressed like that—clearly up to no good."
"Someone call the train police?"
Listening to the surrounding chatter, the 'train molester' sneered coldly before suddenly speaking up.
"Then tell me, who exactly did I harass!? Let her come forward and testify!"
Miko was momentarily stunned by his retort, clearly not expecting him to brazenly deny it at this stage.
But when she turned her gaze towards the office lady, the latter averted her eyes, shrinking back timidly as she stammered,
"I—I—this has nothing to do with me, I don't know anything."
This outright left Miko at a loss.
She had clearly seen the office lady's expression earlier—one of intense discomfort yet fearful submission when touched.
It reminded her of how she herself reacted when facing evil spirits.
In a way, Miko had stepped forward precisely because she empathised with the woman's plight.
But why?
Why had things turned out like this?
Seeing Miko fall silent, the molester grew even more emboldened. Addressing the onlookers with righteous indignation, he proclaimed,
"Everyone, you've all witnessed it—there was no such incident, yet she's making baseless accusations! What is this!? This is slander!"
The crowd exchanged uncertain glances, their expressions towards Miko now tinged with doubt as they whispered amongst themselves.
"What's really going on here?"
"That girl... might she have some kind of delusional disorder?"
"She accused him of harassment, but without a victim, isn't this just a false accusation?"
"Tch, young people these days, really hard to understand."
Facing the crowd's sceptical gazes and words, Miko Yotsuya stood rooted to the spot, looking utterly lost. She clenched her fists tightly, unable to comprehend how things had come to this.
Wasn't she doing the right thing?
"Hey."
With the situation now reversed, the train groper's lips curled into a smug, perverted grin.
"Which school are you from? I'm going to report this to your principal. How could they have a student like you?!"
Those who commit groping on trains are, without exception, scum.
What he enjoyed wasn't just physical gratification.
What truly thrilled him was targeting women too afraid to resist, watching them squirm helplessly under his predatory grasp—that powerless vulnerability was the ultimate rush!
And now, with Miko Yotsuya being publicly denounced, she was the perfect victim in his eyes. How could he let her go so easily?
"I'm talking to you!"
The groper reached out to grab Miko's shoulder.
At that moment.
"Let's talk this through properly."
A hand reached from the side, clamping down on the groper's wrist.
"And who the hell are you?"
The groper eyed Ye Xing's disgustingly handsome face with disdain, snorting coldly.
"What, her boyfriend? Perfect. Let's hear it—how are we settling this?"
Hearing this, Ye Xing studied the man's expression for a few seconds before chuckling lightly.
"Well, well. You're trying to pull an NTR move, huh?"
Ye Xing was a seasoned veteran of adult games.
Just from the groper's barely concealed excitement upon seeing him, he could guess exactly what was going through the creep's mind.
Seriously.
'Little girl, you wouldn't want to get expelled, would you?'
'Young man, you wouldn't want your girlfriend expelled, would you?'
How creative.
"Hold your horses."
Seeing the groper about to speak, Ye Xing cut him off with a smile, waving his phone in front of the man's face.
"Take a look at this first."
The groper glanced casually, but when he saw the video on the screen, he froze instantly.
His previously triumphant expression twisted into panic.
"This... this... this..."
Miko, shielded behind Ye Xing, caught a fleeting glimpse of the screen's contents too.
It was crystal-clear footage of the groper assaulting a woman.
"Everyone."
Ye Xing displayed the freshly recorded video to the crowd.
"See for yourselves. This is irrefutable proof."
The groper knew he couldn't talk his way out of this. Sweat poured down his back as he tried to bolt.
But just then, Ye Xing's grip on his wrist "lightly" tightened.
"Ahh!"
The groper cried out in pain, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. His legs gave way, sending him crashing to his knees, his face contorted in agony.
Ye Xing crouched down, tucking his phone away while maintaining his iron grip. With a benign smile, he patted the man's cheek—hard enough to border on a slap.
"So... what now?"
As Ye Xing's grip intensified, the groper bawled like a baby, tears and snot streaming down his face, begging pitifully for mercy.
"Sorry, I was wrong, please let me go!"
Ye Xing acted as if he hadn't heard, merely chuckling to himself.
"How about this punishment - letting the evil spirits devour you?"
As he spoke these words, Miko Yotsuya suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.
The next second.
To Miko's horrified gaze, a faint, mirage-like pale giant hand materialised inside the train carriage. Though indistinct, it radiated an aura of sheer terror.
The hand's five fingers bore razor-sharp black nails that lightly grazed the molester's cheek, as if playfully toying with its prey.
Ye Xing's tone remained lighthearted, no different from when he normally joked with her, yet his words sent shivers down one's spine.
"Should I crush you or eat you? Which would be more entertaining to watch?"