Horikita Suzune stood with her arms crossed and her bag slung over her shoulder, looking at Horikita Etsuka with a puzzled expression as he blissfully enjoyed himself.
Ichinose stopped massaging him and Horikita Etsuka spread his hands. "Sis, as you can see, I'm enjoying a massage."
Horikita Suzune furrowed her brows and grabbed Horikita Etsuka's hand, quickly pulling him aside.
"What are you doing, Sis?" Etsuka grumbled unhappily.
Horikita Suzune ignored him and said sternly,
"Etsuka, I thought you'd be able to control yourself once you got to college. I never imagined you'd turn out to be such a womanizer."
"What? A womanizer?" Horikita Etsuka was stunned. She was slapping him with such a serious accusation right out of the gate?
Horikita Suzune took a deep breath and looked at Etsuka as if trying to rein in her emotions.
"I don't care if you're dating someone, but what's with you dating so many people?"
Horikita Etsuka could tell she'd misunderstood. He gave a wry smile. "Sis, you've got it wrong."
For certain reasons, he couldn't tell his sister what Ichinose and Kanzaki had done, so she'd clearly gotten the wrong idea from what she'd seen.
"Fine. I've got it wrong." Horikita Suzune crossed her arms and waited quietly for Horikita Etsuka to explain.
Horikita Etsuka: "..."
Looking at Horikita Etsuka's handsome face, Horikita Suzune suddenly felt a little proud. He was more or less the result of her own efforts, after all. But then she furrowed her brows.
Why am I thinking about that?
Horikita Etsuka watched his sister frown one moment and smile the next, completely at a loss.
He used to know everything about her—even what her farts smelled like—but now he couldn't read her at all?
Could it be...
Horikita Etsuka covered his mouth and leaned close to Horikita Suzune's ear. "Sis, I could introduce you to someone..."
The next moment, he felt those familiar fingers tugging on his ear.
"Etsuka, did you forget you had a sister the moment you got to school?"
"Ah, Sis, people are watching. Have a little mercy," Horikita Etsuka whispered.
Horikita Suzune replied in a perfectly flat tone, "It's fine. I'm blocking her view."
Behind them, Ichinose tilted her head, watching the siblings with some curiosity.
But they were brother and sister. They hadn't seen each other for a week, so maybe they were catching up?
Yeah... probably?
Hearing his sister's tone, Horikita Etsuka immediately sensed something was off.
Why does she sound a little aggrieved?
Is something wrong, Sis?
Who made my sister upset?!
Horikita Etsuka knew his sister well after all their years together. He could tell what emotions lay behind every tone of her voice.
"Sis? Is something bothering you?"
Horikita Etsuka asked cautiously.
"No." Horikita Suzune stubbornly denied it, as usual.
Horikita Etsuka didn't press her. He knew that if his sister didn't want to answer, no amount of asking would get anything out of her. He decided to find out for himself.
"Anyway, when are we starting with Sudo?" Horikita Suzune let go of his ear and got down to business.
Horikita Etsuka let out a long breath and rubbed his ear, relieved that the matter was finally over.
"Tomorrow. I'll have someone let you know."
"Okay." Horikita Suzune nodded and left.
Horikita Etsuka waved at his sister's retreating figure. "Take care, Sis!"
Horikita Suzune only looked back to glare fiercely at him before walking off, her long black hair swaying behind her.
Ichinose covered her mouth and giggled. "I never expected you to be so afraid of your sister, Horikita."
Horikita Etsuka shook his head. "Well, she's had the upper hand since we were kids."
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Ichinose hopped forward twice, then turned around with her hands behind her back. "Well then, Horikita, I'll head back and change. See you at the get-together tonight!"
Horikita Etsuka waved and nodded. "Yeah, see you tonight."
Ichinose smiled, tilted her head, and then turned to leave.
Watching her walk away, Horikita Etsuka couldn't help sighing again.
"Man, campus life is great."
That evening, at 7:00.
Everyone had agreed to meet at an upscale buffet restaurant.
They gathered around a round table with a white tablecloth draped over its base.
Nakanishi Jiro sat in his chair and patted his stomach, joking, "Haha, I even skipped lunch for this! I'm going to eat my fill later!"
Hamaguchi Tetsuya pushed up his glasses and smiled wryly. "Nakanishi, you don't have to go that far. You'll make yourself sick if you do that."
"Come on!" Nakanishi Jiro said cheerfully, patting his belly. "I'll be fine. Skipping a meal or two won't kill me."
Kobashi Yume covered her mouth and giggled. "Nakanishi, you're so funny. You really know how to make people happy."
Nakanishi Jiro froze. With his face slightly flushed, he rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe, my family always says I'm funny, too."
"Everyone... the delicious food is here!" Ichinose carried a large platter of lobster in each hand.
Amikura Mako followed behind her with an assortment of desserts. "We can't do without sweets, either, right?"
"Wow, what a feast!" Nakanishi Jiro exclaimed, putting on an exaggerated expression.
Horikita Etsuka couldn't help nodding in agreement at the spread of delicious food before him. Even with their monthly allowance of 100,000 points, they couldn't afford to eat like this very often.
Everyone arranged their chopsticks and said in unison, "Let's eat!"
Only then did they dig in.
Over by the food stations, Ishizaki Daichi nudged Ryuen with his elbow, holding a plate. "Ryuen, those guys from Class B are here."
"Oh?" Ryuen set down his heaping plate and slowly turned toward Horikita Etsuka. He smiled faintly.
"Well, if it isn't our dear classmates. Heh. Come on, let's go say hello."
Just as Ryuen was about to step forward, a small hand caught his sleeve.
"Ryuen, we're going to make our move tomorrow anyway. There's no need to hassle them now, is there?" Ibuki Mio said hesitantly.
Ryuen sneered.
"What are you talking about? We've been giving them trouble all along. Now that we've run into them, if they see me and we don't start something, that would be a problem."
"Uh..." Ibuki Mio hesitated.
Ryuen pulled Ibuki Mio's hand away and said icily, "Just watch me mock those stupid bugs."
Ryuen took a couple of steps, then seemed to remember something. He picked up his heaping plate and headed straight for the table where Horikita Etsuka and the others were eating.
Sitting at the innermost part of the table, Horikita Etsuka spotted Ryuen approaching. He wore a smile, though there was something ill-intentioned about it.
Amikura Mako, seated on the outside, happened to look up and notice Horikita Etsuka's gaze, so she turned around curiously.
Just then, Ryuen's hand suddenly lurched, and everything piled on his plate spilled onto the floor. Some of the greasy food splattered all over Amikura Mako's short skirt.
"Ah! What happened?" Kobashi Yume, sitting beside her, was caught in it too.
Everyone's eyes instantly turned to Ryuen Kakeru.
Some looked angry; others, confused. Nakanishi Jiro slapped the table, stood up, and shouted, "Ryuen! Are you looking for trouble?"
Ryuen Kakeru stood with one hand in his pocket, wearing a contemptuous expression. "Oh my, I'm terribly sorry. My hand slipped."
His expression was infuriating—he looked nothing like someone apologizing. Most importantly, he hadn't even dropped his plate. He still held it firmly in his hand!
Ichinose stood up with a frown and addressed Ryuen sternly.
"This is our gathering. Please don't cause trouble. Otherwise, I'll get the restaurant's security footage and submit it to the Student Council!"
Ryuen burst out laughing. He brushed his hair back, then leaned close to Ichinose's face with a shameless grin.
"Haha? Are you going to report me to the Student Council for deliberately spilling food on the floor? Or for wasting food? Hmm?"
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