Topics for Boys

Ichinose had completely given up at this point.

Horikita Etsuka was like a tapeworm living inside her stomach! He knew everything! She felt as if she had no secrets left in front of him! It was as if he had x-ray vision and had seen right through her entirely!!

Ichinose rubbed her fluffy, beautiful long pink hair, sighed, and leaned back against the sofa with a helpless nod:

"Fine, Horikita-kun, you really do know everything, but how did you even know about that person?"

Horikita Etsuka raised an eyebrow: "Ichinose, you didn't think I hadn't noticed anything, did you?"

Ichinose puffed out her cheeks and stuffed a potato chip from the table into her mouth:

"Ugh, fine. I'll call Kanzaki-kun over in a bit to organize the boys, but he isn't very good at socializing, so I hope you can cooperate with him, Horikita-kun."

Horikita Etsuka smiled: "Of course. After all, I don't like parties that aren't lively either."

Ichinose nodded and went out to make the arrangements.

A short while later, Ichinose stood at the door looking pretty with her pink canvas bag in hand. She raised her hand and waved it: "Girls, let's go play in another room!"

Kobashi Yume, who had been getting to know Horikita Etsuka, turned back and waved with a smile: "Got it, Ichinose."

As she spoke, she turned back to wave at Horikita Etsuka: "See you later, Horikita-kun."

Horikita Etsuka waved back with a smile: "Have fun."

"Mm-hmm!" With that, Kobashi Yume grabbed Ichinose's hand and skipped away.

A dozen other girls followed behind them.

Suddenly, only the boys were left in the room, and it became incredibly quiet in an instant.

However, this silence didn't last long before the room door was opened once again.

A boy with purple hair and black eyes led a dozen other boys into the room.

The purple-haired boy scanned the room before finally letting his gaze land on Horikita Etsuka.

He slowly extended his hand: "Hello, I am Kanzaki Ryuji. It's a pleasure to meet you, Horikita Etsuka-kun."

If Horikita Etsuka had known earlier that the person was Kanzaki Ryuji, he probably would have thought this formation was meant to cause trouble.

"Hello, Kanzaki."

The two shook hands briefly and then sat down.

Kanzaki Ryuji opened the conversation by saying: "I heard from Ichinose that Horikita-kun is very capable. I wonder if you have discovered the unique aspects of this school?"

"Hm?"

Horikita Etsuka couldn't help but complain internally.

Who asks that right off the bat? No wonder Ichinose said Kanzaki Ryuji is bad at socializing.

Horikita Etsuka sighed. He picked up a banana from the table, pointed it at Kanzaki Ryuji, and said:

"Want a banana?"

Kanzaki Ryuji was slightly stunned by the banana in the other's hand, but he still took it and held it in his hand: "So, what is your take on it, Horikita-kun?"

Horikita Etsuka patted Kanzaki Ryuji on the shoulder and said: "Kanzaki-kun, don't you think it's very quiet around here?"

"Quiet?" Kanzaki Ryuji snapped back to reality. He felt a bit awkward as he noticed the gazes of everyone converging on them.

He was beginning to understand why Horikita Etsuka hadn't been talking about serious business.

And Horikita Etsuka also understood why Ichinose had repeatedly emphasized the need to cooperate with Kanzaki Ryuji; the guy was a walking conversation-killer.

"We're here to have a good time, so let's not talk about other things." Horikita Etsuka said with a smile and a relaxed tone.

He stood up, picked up the microphone, smiled slightly at everyone, cleared his throat, and said in a slightly humorous tone:

"Ahem, let me show you all my beautiful singing voice."

As soon as he finished speaking, a look of surprise appeared on Hamaguchi Tetsuya's face: "Horikita, you can sing?"

Horikita Etsuka curled his lips, shook his head, and answered frankly: "No."

"Then what's with that confident look on your face, hey?"

In Hamaguchi Tetsuya's impression, Horikita Etsuka had always been an honest and steady person, so this behavior was truly surprising.

However, Hamaguchi Tetsuya did not know that this was merely the image Horikita Etsuka presented on the surface.

In reality, Horikita Etsuka's personality was far more complex than what he displayed.

Horikita Etsuka did not feel embarrassed by Hamaguchi Tetsuya's questioning. He remained smiling and said to everyone:

"Everyone, give me some applause for encouragement, will you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of enthusiastic applause erupted in the room.

This was mainly because the boys in the room already had a good impression of Horikita Etsuka, so there was no need to worry about the atmosphere turning cold.

Horikita Etsuka began to sing with extreme confidence.

His voice in this life was excellent; the deep, magnetic male vocals startled everyone the moment he started.

Yes, that was correct, and it took everyone by surprise.

That voice, sounding as if a motorcycle were stuck in his throat, made everyone want to cover their ears, but out of respect for Horikita Etsuka, they had no choice but to endure it.

Horikita Etsuka was singing with great gusto; although he wasn't singing well, the atmosphere was gradually being stirred up.

Horikita Etsuka had a very strong ability to learn, and if he were to actually study singing, it certainly wouldn't sound this terrible—it might even be quite pleasant.

However, Horikita Etsuka had never wanted to study music, preferring to sing in his own way and actually taking pride in his unique vocal style.

As the song ended, the crowd broke into enthusiastic applause.

"Damn, Horikita, your singing is absolutely heaven-defying."

"Yeah, yeah, my ears are pregnant now."

Horikita Etsuka gladly accepted the praise and picked up the microphone, intending to sing another song.

The group hurriedly stopped him.

"Hey, Horikita, that's not fair! Aren't you going to let us classmates have a turn?"

"Yeah, yeah." Some people chimed in, terrified that Horikita Etsuka might get his hands on the microphone again.

Horikita Etsuka couldn't resist the crowd and had to reluctantly pass the microphone over.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere had been elevated by more than a few notches thanks to Horikita Etsuka's singing.

They took turns picking songs, with a queue of over a dozen tracks lined up.

Watching everyone scramble to pick songs, Horikita Etsuka crossed his legs and sat back down on the sofa.

Meanwhile, Kanzaki Ryuji, who had watched the entire process, was deep in thought. He didn't join the others in teasing Horikita Etsuka to stop him from singing; instead, he was analyzing the other boy's various behaviors.

Kanzaki Ryuji looked at Horikita Etsuka with a hint of admiration in his eyes.

After all, the other boy was far superior to him in interpersonal interactions, and Ichinose had also said that he would be an extremely important person for the class.

Time passed quickly, and before long, everyone was tired from singing. They sat on the sofas chatting, joking, and snacking, and it could be said that they had basically all gotten to know one another.

Just then, a boy suddenly asked, "Ahem, which girl in our class do you think is the prettiest?"