He didn't get the response he wanted.
Horikita Manabu said coldly:
"Ganlongdao, where did you get that level of skill?"
At those words,
Horikita Suzune, standing nearby, also turned to look at Prince Ganlongdao.
Her brother, Horikita Manabu, was a fifth-dan karate master and a fourth-dan aikido master. Yet Prince Ganlongdao had defeated him in an instant with a few simple movements.
And,
Prince Ganlongdao had even planted a foot on her brother.
Though he'd used a few tricks,
his clean, decisive movements had made Horikita Suzune curious about how he'd learned to fight so well.
"Like a frog in a well."
Prince Ganlongdao spread his hands and shook his head:
"You're making a fuss over something this trivial. You're both too weak. Now, answer my question."
Prince Ganlongdao turned his cold gaze on Horikita Suzune:
"It looked like he was bullying you just now, and I was helping you, right? What was all that about?"
"..."
Horikita Manabu stepped forward without changing his expression and said coldly:
"Looks like you might have misunderstood. Who said I was bullying her? We were just fooling around, right?"
"Mm, yes. Horikita-senpai and I were just fooling around."
Horikita Suzune lowered her head as she spoke.
Naturally, she chose to side with her brother, Horikita Manabu.
Seeing this,
Horikita Manabu looked over and said coldly:
"But what about you, Ganlongdao? Are you prepared to face the consequences of ambushing a senior from the university?"
"Oh?"
Prince Ganlongdao raised an eyebrow.
He'd heard this guy had a pretty good reputation at the university.
He hadn't expected
Horikita Manabu to turn the tables on him like this.
But after glancing at Horikita Suzune behind him, Prince Ganlongdao had a pretty good idea what was going on.
He was probably just trying to protect Horikita Suzune.
Maybe he was worried that Ganlongdao had some sort of video evidence, and that he might pull some "you wouldn't want your brother to find out about this, would you?" stunt with Horikita Suzune.
He might be using this approach
to see whether Ganlongdao had any evidence, or perhaps to take the opportunity to put him in his place.
Hmm...
He was certainly a good brother. It was just a shame he was too timid.
"Senpai..."
Horikita Suzune was utterly confused.
In her mind,
her brother, Horikita Manabu, had always been a kind, strong, and upright person.
After all,
it was true that Horikita Manabu had hit her just now.
At first, she'd thought he only wanted her to play along so they could get their stories straight and let the matter drop.
Why was he now trying to pick a fight with Prince Ganlongdao?
They hadn't seen each other for three years.
Why did Horikita Manabu seem even a little different?
It was a complete upheaval of everything Horikita Suzune had believed about him.
Thinking it over,
Horikita Suzune could only conclude that Horikita Manabu was taking revenge for what had happened at the Club Orientation.
Watching the scene before him,
Prince Ganlongdao suddenly realized:
A powerful older brother who cared about his younger sister, and a younger sister who admired him without understanding his good intentions.
Perhaps playing along with Horikita Manabu would be a good idea?
Horikita Manabu was probably only trying to find out whether Ganlongdao had recorded what had happened.
He could just give him the video!
"Fooling around?"
Prince Ganlongdao gave a mocking smile and flipped his hand, revealing his phone to them both.
In the video,
Horikita Manabu struck Horikita Suzune in the right side of her abdomen.
"However you look at it, this is a university senior bullying a newly enrolled girl, isn't it?"
"So you really did record it."
Horikita Manabu said coldly.
He hadn't noticed a thing until Prince Ganlongdao approached. He'd already prepared for the worst at that moment.
"This is..."
Horikita Suzune wavered, clenching her fists as she silently lowered her gaze.
She'd thought Horikita Manabu was turning the tables on him, but it turned out he was doing it because of the video.
That was...
Just like her brother.
He'd noticed from the start what she hadn't even considered.
However,
wasn't all this for the sake of the student council president's reputation?
The student council president beating up a newly enrolled girl in the middle of the night!
If this video got out, it would be a devastating blow to Horikita Manabu's reputation.
She'd already dragged his name through the mud.
At the thought,
Horikita Suzune lowered her head, filled with frustration and remorse.
"Obviously."
Prince Ganlongdao scoffed.
"I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. You have to know to keep evidence for yourself."
"I suggest you delete the video."
Horikita Manabu replied coldly.
What he feared most
was Prince Ganlongdao using the video to do something to Horikita Suzune.
For that,
he didn't mind spending a few Private Points.
But negotiations were negotiations. There was no way he would reveal his hand right away.
"Hmm..."
Prince Ganlongdao thought for two seconds, then nodded and smiled:
"Sure."
"Huh?"
"What are you so surprised about?"
Seeing the confused expressions on the Horikita Siblings, Prince Ganlongdao shrugged indifferently.
"I only came over because I saw the student council president bullying a new student and wanted to play the hero. Since you two seem to know each other, it has nothing to do with me. I don't mind deleting the video."
"What?"
However,
the more casual Prince Ganlongdao seemed, the more wary Horikita Manabu became. He challenged him:
"What are you after?"
"Of course, I have one condition for deleting the video."
Prince Ganlongdao fixed a cold stare on Horikita Manabu:
"Apologize to me."
"Huh?"
"What gave you the right to talk to me like that just now?"
"Senpai."
Before Horikita Manabu could speak, Horikita Suzune rushed to speak first.
"Don't listen to this nonsense. You're the victim here. He ambushed you, so there's no reason for you to apologize. If you're worried about the video, I caused you trouble, and I can pay some Private Points to buy it from him."
As she spoke,
Horikita Suzune turned and glared at Prince Ganlongdao.
The man in front of her had pinned her beloved brother, Horikita Manabu, to the ground.
And now he wanted Horikita Manabu to apologize to him?
How outrageous.
This was too much!
And what did he mean, "What gave you the right to talk to me like that?"
Who did this guy think he was? How full of himself could he be?
"Points?"
Prince Ganlongdao's expression turned even colder.
"So you turn the tables on us, and now you dare insult me with Private Points?"
"Huh?"
Horikita Suzune was dumbfounded.
Come on.
I offered to spend Private Points to buy the video from you.
I was offering you money.
How was that an insult?
She was just about to say something when Horikita Manabu raised a hand to stop her.
Actually,
the video didn't matter much to him.
Even if it had a slight effect on his reputation, as long as Horikita Suzune didn't appeal to the university, Horikita Manabu could handle it.
If the two of them could reach an understanding,
the video would be worthless.
The key was Horikita Suzune.
Actually,
the video didn't matter much to Horikita Suzune either.
If he could explain everything to her, the video would be worthless, too.
The key was,
Horikita Manabu had chosen to distance himself from Horikita Suzune precisely because he didn't want his younger sister to keep copying him.
If he explained everything,
the effort he'd put in over the past three years would probably go to waste.
After thinking it over,
Horikita Manabu still decided
that nothing mattered more than his younger sister's growth.
With that in mind,
Horikita Manabu spoke in a low voice.
Before you continue