Paying a Visit

At 9:00 PM, the dormitory hallway was brightly lit.

Horikita Etsuka took out his key and opened the door.

He casually took off his red suit jacket, hung it on the rack by the door, and then flopped onto the bed with a thud.

He stared at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought.

[This school is destined for class competition, and I currently lack a foundation. After this KTV incident, Nakanishi Jiro should firmly stand on my side...]

The matter with Nakanishi Jiro was originally an accident; he had simply gone with the flow to take the other party under his wing.

Horikita Etsuka had suffered for being in the wrong class, but because of that, he had made connections with the upperclassmen, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.

[Without an inherent advantage, it is impossible to participate in the class competition.]

[However... if only I could fully utilize Ichinose.]

Ichinose Honami was currently the absolute star of Class 1-B. If he could control Ichinose, Horikita Etsuka's life would be much easier.

[Given the personality Ichinose has shown so far, she is still quite easy to control.]

Horikita Etsuka decided to pursue both paths: expanding his own group while attempting to get closer to Ichinose.

Ding-dong!

Just then, a notification sound rang out from his student terminal.

Horikita Etsuka tapped the screen and saw a message.

Horikita Suzune: "Etsuka? Have you seen our brother?"

Etsuka: "Yeah, I saw big brother."

At this moment, Horikita Suzune's room was silent, save for her light breathing and the sound of her fingers sliding across the phone screen.

Horikita Suzune was wearing a white yukata, the collar slightly open, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin, as delicate and smooth as mutton-fat jade.

She sat upright on the edge of the bed, her legs pressed together.

Her gaze was fixed on the phone screen, her slender fingers typing rapidly.

Horikita Suzune: "What... did he say?"

The corners of Horikita Etsuka's mouth curled up slightly, revealing an imperceptible smile.

[It seems my sister still cares quite a bit about big brother's opinion.]

Horikita Etsuka: "He said we should study hard and make progress every day."

Hearing this answer, Horikita Suzune's brows furrowed slightly; she was clearly unsatisfied with the response.

Horikita Suzune: "Etsuka, I am not joking with you."

Her voice carried a hint of sternness, as if she were dissatisfied with Horikita Etsuka's attitude.

However, Horikita Etsuka did not take his sister's dissatisfaction to heart.

Horikita Etsuka: "Sis, just ask big brother yourself. There's no point in asking me. I'm going to sleep now, goodnight."

Horikita Suzune hesitated for a moment, then clicked the dial icon on her phone screen without hesitation, calling the number.

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The ringtone echoed in her ear—one, two, three... However, just as the fourth ring began, the call was suddenly hung up by the other party.

Horikita Suzune's brows furrowed; she clearly had not expected this to happen.

However, she did not hesitate for long and quickly typed a message in the text interface.

Horikita Suzune: "You actually hung up on me?"

After the message was sent, she immediately sent another.

Horikita Suzune: "Horikita Etsuka, I am not joking with you."

After the message went out, Horikita Suzune stared intently at the screen, waiting for a reply.

Not long after, a new message popped up on the screen from Horikita Etsuka.

Horikita Etsuka: ( ﹡ˆoˆ﹡ )

Seeing this emoticon, the corners of Horikita Suzune's mouth twitched involuntarily.

This simple expression made her face turn exceptionally gloomy.

The anger in her heart was ignited instantly; she wished she could pass through the screen, rush in front of Horikita Etsuka, and give him a good beating!

Since the start of summer vacation, Horikita Suzune had relaxed her supervision of Horikita Etsuka, but she hadn't expected him to be so bold now as to hang up on her directly.

Horikita Suzune forcibly suppressed the anger in her heart and did not send any more messages.

She knew that continuing like this would only be asking for trouble.

After some thought, she decided to pay him a visit tomorrow.

The next morning, Horikita Etsuka greeted the recurring NPC Hamaguchi Tetsuya in the elevator before they headed to the classroom together.

"Good morning, Himeno-san."

"Good morning, Horikita." Himeno Yuki sat upright in her seat, expressionlessly eating a long baguette she held in her hand.

"Why do you look like you're having such a hard time eating that?" Horikita Etsuka teased.

Himeno Yuki shook her head helplessly: "I just don't think breakfast tastes good no matter what."

"Is that so, breakfast..."

"Wait, breakfast?"

Horikita Etsuka sat at his desk and stared at the baguette in Himeno Yuki's hand, momentarily stunned.

Damn it, I was so busy chatting with Hamaguchi Tetsuya on the way here that I forgot to buy breakfast.

It's all Hamaguchi Tetsuya's fault!

He subconsciously looked at Hamaguchi Tetsuya sitting in front, only to find the guy pulling snacks out of his desk!

Hamaguchi Tetsuya suddenly felt a chill, rubbed the back of his head, and muttered: "Hm? What's going on? It's summer, why do I feel cold?"

Just as Horikita Etsuka was lying on his desk preparing to rest, a fair hand holding bread reached out in front of him.

"Here, you didn't eat breakfast, right? This doesn't taste good, but I'll share half with you," Himeno Yuki said indifferently.

Horikita Etsuka looked up at Himeno Yuki and said with a smile: "Then I won't stand on ceremony, Himeno-san."

Watching Horikita Etsuka flash a sunny smile, Himeno Yuki couldn't help but blush slightly; she quickly turned her head away and continued eating her half of the bread.

"Mm... hurry up and eat, class is starting soon."

When it came down to it, Himeno Yuki was just a young girl, and she couldn't handle Horikita Etsuka's sunny smile.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the morning was over, and it was lunchtime.

"Man, seriously, it's been so long since I've had a class, I feel like my brain is growing," Nakanishi Jiro said as he walked up to Horikita Etsuka naturally.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Horikita Etsuka nodded.

He naturally hadn't been listening to the lecture, having spent the entire morning thinking about his subsequent plans; he wasn't worried about exams anyway, since he could easily catch up when they got closer.

Kanzaki Ryuji was tidying up the books on his desk and glanced at Horikita Etsuka's direction in surprise; he couldn't quite understand how two people who were at each other's throats last night had become so friendly today.

Could this be part of Horikita Etsuka's scheme?

After what happened last night, Kanzaki Ryuji clearly felt a sense of admiration for Horikita Etsuka, so whenever something happened that was favorable to the other, he immediately assumed it was part of his strategy.

"Right, Etsuka, what are you eating for lunch today? I found a super delicious deluxe set meal, I can treat you," Nakanishi Jiro said with his hands on his hips.

"Oh? Really? Then we..." Before Horikita Etsuka could finish, a crisp voice interrupted him.

"Etsuka, come out for a second."

Horikita Suzune stood at the back door, her arms crossed, waiting with a serious expression.

Nakanishi Jiro looked toward the sound and saw a beautiful girl with long, straight black hair standing at the door, her expression containing a hint of anger.

"Holy crap, Etsuka, you found a girlfriend already?" Nakanishi Jiro exclaimed.

In an instant, the few people who hadn't left the classroom yet turned to look at Horikita Suzune outside the door.

"I knew it, Horikita is so handsome, he was bound to find a girlfriend."

"Yeah, but that girl looks pretty angry. Did Horikita do something to wrong her?"

The crowd's whispers reached Horikita Etsuka's ears.

Even Himeno Yuki looked at Horikita Etsuka with surprise.

Horikita Etsuka offered no explanation; he simply stood up, covered his face with his hand, and laughed helplessly: "Sis, why did you come to my classroom?"