The Most Troublesome Plot Twist

Horikita Suzune sounded somewhat annoyed.

"Huh? Isn't this what you art and publicity work on? Horikita Suzune, right? I remember you had pretty good grades. Don't worry, we believe in your abilities. This is so complicated, even our class couldn't come up with it."

That's why people so readily equate good grades with strong abilities.

... No, it seems like I thought the same thing before.

Horikita Suzune sighed, her voice weak:

That's all, right?

"Yes, thank you for your hard work."

As Horikita Suzune walked out of the school gate with her notebook filled with random opinions, she surprisingly felt a sense of relief. At least she had become the class's executive committee member, and she could finally give her family something to report home.

Because of the long delay, it was even getting dark. After all, it was almost winter, and the days were getting shorter every day.

The good news is that I no longer need to cook dinner myself.

Thinking about being able to finish her business and enjoy Kitagawa Ryo's cooking after returning home, Horikita Suzune quickened her pace.

Although I hate to admit it, besides being able to support himself with his looks, Kitagawa Ryo's cooking skills are probably more than enough.

"Liang, Executive Committee Member..."

Horikita Suzune rushed home. Just as she took out her key to open the door and was about to speak, she heard the melodious sound of a piano coming from inside. It was "Für Elise," the piece Kitagawa Ryo had taught her the day before.

This classic piece composed by Beethoven is actually just a short piece with a single movement, lasting only a few minutes. Therefore, even Horikita Suzune was able to learn it in just one night.

However, it was only after hearing Kitagawa Ryo play this classic piece himself that Horikita Suzune truly experienced the charm of the piano for the first time.

Normally, Kitagawa Ryo would only stand impatiently behind Horikita Suzune occasionally and casually play a few keys. This should be the first time he has seen her sit there and play an entire piece herself.

The boy's aloof shadow was cast by the lamplight onto the snow-white wall, like a bare branch under the moonlight.

On her fair and nimble fingers, the rounded and neatly trimmed nails gleamed under the incandescent light. These were beautiful, slender hands, as if they were born to dance on the black and white piano keys.

When the music ended, Horikita Suzune finally snapped out of her daze. She instinctively reached out to express the praise she felt in her heart:

"Cool, this poem is dedicated to..."

But someone else was faster than her.

The faint sound of clapping coming from another corner of the room made Horikita Suzune realize that there was another girl in the house.

Judging from the style of her uniform, she should be a student of the same age as me. However, the forearms peeking out from the sleeves of the uniform and the feet leaping out from the pleated skirt were so slender that it was worrying, as if they would break at the slightest touch.

Girls naturally develop earlier than boys, but it's difficult to see any evidence of them entering the secondary sexual characteristics stage. Their bodies are still far from mature women, and they even look more like elementary school students. Their doll-like snow-white skin and deep purple pupils, coupled with their surreal silver-white hair, sometimes give people the illusion that they are not real human beings.

"Is Suzune back?"

Kitagawa Ryo didn't seem flustered at all, even though he had brought a strange girl back to his boarding house.

"This is Sakayanagi Arisu."

Sakayanagi Arisu --Sakayanagi Arisu.

Horikita Suzune recognized the word "borrow" in an instant.

Arisu is pronounced almost exactly the same as Alice.

"Hello, I'm Sakayanagi Arisu."

She smiled and reached out her hand to Horikita Suzune. The girl's smile was so cute and ethereal that it made one wonder if she might one day chase after a talking rabbit with a pocket watch and jump into its hole.

Für Für Elise.

To Für Elise.

Horikita Suzune felt her heart being squeezed tightly.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Most Troublesome Plot Unfolds

"Arisu is the daughter of the current Chairman of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. I asked her to take both of us to the Cultural Festival a few months from now."

Kitagawa Ryo seemed oblivious to Horikita Suzune's strange behavior and continued explaining to himself.

"It Arisu told me about the information I received after entering Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School."

His tone was calm, and his words seemed to possess a magical power that inspired trust.

"The reason we invited Arisu here this time is simply to let you get to know her beforehand. After all, we still have to be known Arisu's family members. Because of the closed nature of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, even the Cultural Festival that are partially open to the public only invite the families of school staff."

"I actually went to pick you up at Suzune's school gate today, but I saw you were busy so I didn't bother Suzune. Looks like you've become an executive committee member."

Kitagawa Ryo calmed Horikita Suzune down with just a few words. She stammered a couple of sentences but didn't know how to start, and the nameless anger that had been burning inside her dissipated.

"Next time you bring people to my house, at least tell me first."

Horikita Suzune retorted somewhat weakly.

"Okay, okay, go make some tea. It's rare to have guests over."

"I've already told you this is my home."

Horikita Suzune shook her head, but her body language betrayed her and she went into the kitchen.

Sakayanagi Arisu sat on the living room sofa, her ivory-like legs together, her cane resting horizontally on her knees. She watched with interest as Horikita Suzune took a tea set from the cupboard.

"Is this the cousin you were talking about?"

"Well, although he's not the sharpest of them all and his personality is a bit odd, he's still pretty good."

Kitagawa Ryo asked with a pointed glimpse:

"How about it?"

"No roots."

Sakayanagi Arisu commented casually, watching Horikita Suzune's practiced tea-making movements and smiling:

You'll find out soon enough.

Horikita Suzune walked over carrying a tea set, looking as if she had put all her energy into it.

Perhaps because it was a bit hot inside, Sakayanagi Arisu took off her coat. Her clean and neat white shirt made her look even more petite, but Horikita Suzune seemed to sense a different kind of aura about her, somewhat like Horikita Manabu.

"Horikita Suzune, Horikita Manabu's biological younger sister, right?"

Sakayanagi Arisu took a small sip of tea.

"Although I heard before that Ryo was going to take you to Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School to meet Horikita Manabu, I am still very curious, so please allow me to ask him in person."

What are your reasons or causes for doing this?

"Of course, it's to let him see how much I've grown."

Horikita Suzune answered without hesitation.

"Why must he witness it? Growth should be a personal matter."

"Because my brother has always been my goal and role model. Only by letting him see, no, only by seeing him, can I know whether I have improved compared to the past."

"All right."

Sakayanagi Arisu cleanly and decisively ended the topic, then she looked up and smiled, saying:

"But what if Horikita Manabu himself doesn't want to see you?"

"For example, he thinks you're just a stupid little sister or something."

Horikita Suzune didn't refute it immediately. Even though it was a baseless statement, she fell into a struggle of thought. It seemed that she had heard similar things many times before.

This does sound like something Horikita Manabu would say to Horikita Suzune.

Or rather, this is the most likely scenario in Horikita Suzune's imagination.

"Okay, to be honest, I've already spoken with Horikita Manabu, and he doesn't welcome you as a guest at Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. He also said he doesn't want you to apply there."

Sakayanagi Arisu clapped her hands, revealing a mischievous smile:

"This is option one."

"Option 1?"

Horikita Suzune was stunned for a moment, because Sakayanagi Arisu's remarks were so disjointed that she couldn't even tell which were true and which were false.

"Because Horikita triggered the conditions leading to this option."

Sakayanagi Arisu put down her teacup and stood up.

"What?"

Horikita Suzune noticed that the other person was reaching out to her, a rather frivolous gesture, but Sakayanagi Arisu's target was not Horikita Suzune's face.

She pinched a strand of Horikita Suzune's hair.

"Your hair looks really nice."

"But she has long hair."

Sakayanagi Arisu withdrew her hand and explained to Horikita Suzune, who looked astonished:

"Long hair leads to option one."

What exactly are you talking about?

Horikita Suzune seemed not to have reacted yet, or perhaps she remembered something but was unwilling to accept it.

"Because after my brother, Horikita Manabu, told me you were going to the Cultural Festival to see him, he only asked me to check on the length of your hair."

Sakayanagi Arisu sat back down on the sofa, propping her chin on her hand as she replied:

"As long as you have long hair, he won't need to personally witness your growth anymore, whether it's in your studies, sports, or talents; he won't need to verify anything."

"The younger sister gave up her own colors and preferences just because of one lie her brother told her."

"No matter how much Horikita Suzune grows, she'll never surpass him."

Horikita Suzune stood frozen in place. This was probably the first time Kitagawa Ryo had seen Horikita Suzune at this age shed tears up so closely. From the perspective of crying, she was no different from an ordinary teenage girl.

After all, everything she thought she had worked hard for over the years was negated in that one instant.

With just one sentence from Horikita Manabu, she easily concealed her true colors and effortlessly revealed them to others.

Horikita Suzune's original form was revealed after her hair was burned.

No matter how hard she tried over the years to get closer to her brother and to convince herself that she was on the right path, from the very beginning, Horikita Suzune was...

She lacked her most important roots, which she had uprooted herself in her childhood, and then grafted herself onto an individual named "Horikita Manabu".

Like vines clinging to a tree, looking up reveals the shadows cast by the dense foliage, while the occasional ray of sunlight seems like a gift from the tree.

Moreover, it has no roots.

No matter how lush and verdant it grows later.

She is outgoing, which makes her appear independent.

She was uprooted, so she appeared fearless.

This is the true nature of the girl named [Horikita Suzune].

As for why Sakayanagi Arisu was able to notice this so keenly, it's because that's just her personality.

You could call her cunning, or even worse, Sakayanagi Arisu is very good at and enjoys seeing into people's true nature and their very essence.

In a sense, both Sakayanagi Arisu and Horikita Suzune were problem children.

"Alright, stop crying."

Kitagawa Ryo walked over and gently patted Horikita Suzune's back. All his experience in comforting children came from Hotaru, but Hotaru didn't cry much, so he was a little troubled for a moment and could only glare at Sakayanagi Arisu.

Horikita Suzune initially thought Kitagawa Ryo had changed his personality today, but unexpectedly, he then said:

"If you keep crying, dinner time will be over, and it'll be time for piano practice."

Horikita Suzune sniffed, then sat down at the table under Sakayanagi Arisu's somewhat speechless gaze.

Well, it seems that the [God of Cooking] golden talent is quite valuable.

As Kitagawa Ryo sighed, he served the dishes. He had originally planned to train Horikita Suzune for a while longer. If she could persevere, he would let her personally defeat Horikita Manabu to fulfill her long-cherished wish. If she couldn't persevere, he would directly make her re-examine her past life and play the emotional card.

But who would have thought that after Sakayanagi Arisu's series of actions, Horikita Suzune had become increasingly withdrawn.

In previous simulations, these two weren't this incompatible.