Hints for Horikita Manabu?! Sending a Message?! Horikita Suzune's Embarrassment?!

The moment Akiyama Shin stepped out of the office, he saw Horikita Suzune leaning against the hallway wall. Her cool gaze rested on him; she had clearly been waiting for quite some time.

"Did Teacher Chabashira want something from you?"

Horikita Suzune straightened up and got straight to the point, her tone carrying her usual desire to investigate.

"What did you talk about?"

Akiyama Shin did not stop walking and continued forward, his tone as calm as ever.

"No comment."

If it had been yesterday, Horikita Suzune might have been displeased. But after a day of observing and interacting with him,

she had more or less figured out Akiyama Shin's personality: a man of few words who always kept part of everything hidden.

Knowing that pressing him would get her nowhere and only make her seem impatient, she suppressed her curiosity, quickly caught up with him, and stopped pursuing the matter.

"Are you going back to the dorms?"

She changed the subject.

"I'm going to the Gymnasium to check out the club recruitment."

Akiyama Shin spoke, then casually glanced back at Horikita Suzune.

"Is there a club you want to join?"

Horikita Suzune shook her head, her jet-black hair swaying gently with the motion.

"No. But the Student Council should be recruiting there too, so I want to... take a look."

She paused. At the mention of the Student Council, a faint, barely noticeable glimmer flashed through her eyes.

She wanted to see the brother she had always chased after, yet also felt immense pressure from—Horikita Manabu.

That was her real purpose.

The two walked side by side along the tree-lined path leading to the Gymnasium, where the afternoon sunlight filtered through the leaves and scattered mottled shadows across the ground.

After hesitating for a moment, Horikita Suzune decided to clear up yesterday's misunderstanding.

"Akiyama..."

"About what I said at yesterday's dinner..."

She organized her thoughts, trying to keep her voice calm and even.

"When I said I was pursuing you, I meant catching up to you in ability and knowledge. I meant surpassing you, not..."

"Not what you or anyone else might have misunderstood. My wording was inappropriate and caused a misunderstanding. I'm sorry."

Akiyama Shin showed no surprise whatsoever. He merely gave a faint hum.

"I could tell."

He paused, glanced at her with those dark red eyes that showed little emotional fluctuation, and added,

"Besides, even if you really did fall for me, there would be nothing wrong with that. You wouldn't need to explain yourself."

Horikita Suzune was briefly stunned.

When she heard him say he could tell, along with his indifferent reaction, an inexplicable trace of disappointment welled up in her heart.

Does he really not care at all?

Am I really that unattractive to him?

Although she had absolute confidence in her looks and abilities, she was not blindly narcissistic.

Yet Akiyama Shin's utter lack of interest gave her a subtle sense of defeat.

However, his matter-of-fact and wildly narcissistic addition immediately scattered that small disappointment.

She could not help tugging at the corner of her mouth, and a trace of helplessness and disdain appeared on her cool face.

"I have never met anyone as... confident as you."

She considered her wording and replaced narcissistic with the somewhat more tactful confident.

"Just the facts."

Akiyama Shin accepted it calmly, as though he were simply stating a natural law as ordinary as the sun rising and setting.

Still engaged in this rather bizarre conversation, the two entered the bustling Gymnasium.

The hall was already packed and lively. Curious freshmen crowded around every club booth while upperclassmen enthusiastically promoted their respective clubs.

Akiyama Shin spotted several familiar faces at once.

Kushida Kikyo, surrounded by many people and smiling brilliantly, along with Wang Meiyu and the others.

Karuizawa Kei, Sato Maya, and Shinohara Satsuki, who had formed their own little group and were chatting cheerfully,

as well as Hirata Yosuke and his large group of boys.

Akiyama Shin had no interest in going over to greet them. He and Horikita Suzune stood at the edge of the crowd, looking past the bobbing heads toward the central stage at the front of the Gymnasium.

At that moment, a low commotion suddenly arose in the previously noisy hall.

A tall, stern-faced black-haired boy with glasses stepped onto the central stage with steady strides. His presence was commanding and his expression severe. Simply standing there, he exuded an invisible pressure.

Following behind him was a petite, cute-looking girl.

She carried a stack of documents, her long purple hair tied into two delicate buns, and wore a serious expression.

They were the Student Council President—Horikita Manabu!

And the Student Council Secretary—Tachibana Akane!

Their appearance immediately drew the attention of everyone present.

"Who's that? His presence is so intense..."

"He's from the Student Council, right? That upperclassman is so handsome!"

"The upperclassman next to him is so cute too!"

The freshmen whispered among themselves. Some were curious, some admiring, while a few who did not know their place continued laughing and talking loudly below, completely oblivious.

Standing on the stage, Horikita Manabu swept his hawk-sharp gaze from behind his lenses across the noisy crowd below.

He did not speak immediately. He simply stood there silently, yet the invisible pressure radiating from him spread like a tide.

Gradually, the noisy voices involuntarily died down beneath his gaze.

In the end,

the entire Gymnasium fell silent.

As his gaze swept across the hall, he naturally noticed Horikita Suzune standing at the very edge of the crowd.

And Akiyama Shin beside her.

His gaze lingered on Akiyama Shin for an extra moment, but he revealed no emotion.

Just as absolute silence fell and he was about to speak,

"Heh."

A clear, slightly mocking snort abruptly rang through the silent Gymnasium, sounding particularly harsh.

Swish!

Everyone's eyes, including those of Horikita Manabu and Tachibana Akane, instantly turned toward the source of the sound.

It was Akiyama Shin.

He stood there with an elusive, faint smile on his face.

Horikita Suzune, standing beside him, instantly turned utterly grim.

Though she acknowledged Akiyama Shin's abilities, she could never tolerate such disrespect toward her brother.

Moreover, the look her brother directed at them was clearly displeased, making her feel intensely humiliated and angry.

Student Council Secretary Tachibana Akane also showed obvious displeasure.

Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his cold gaze locking onto Akiyama Shin. His voice was steady, yet carried unquestionable authority.

"What are you laughing at?"

Faced with the entire hall's attention and Horikita Manabu's questioning, Akiyama Shin showed not the slightest hint of timidity.

He did not like showing off in public, but in this unusual school, the Student Council undoubtedly possessed intelligence and authority inaccessible to ordinary students.

He had naturally recognized Horikita Manabu as Horikita Suzune's brother. If he wanted to acquire more resources in the future, drawing the Student Council President's attention was the first step.

Meeting Horikita Manabu's gaze, he spoke casually, as though they were merely chatting.

"I was just curious. Is President Horikita working in the Student Council? You look very serious, you know~"

The remark sounded like an ignorant freshman's tease, but its underlying probing intent was instantly caught by the quick-witted Horikita Manabu.

As Student Council President, Horikita Manabu had naturally reviewed every freshman's enrollment records.

He knew that Akiyama Shin was a typical science prodigy with poor social skills.

Normally, someone like that would never voluntarily draw attention to himself in public.

If he was doing this, he must have had some ulterior motive.

At this stage, there were undoubtedly only two possible benefits Akiyama Shin sought. One was joining the Student Council; the other was that he had already guessed some of the school's rules and wanted to test the waters for cooperation.

And the question, "Are you working?" appeared on the surface to ask about Horikita Manabu's situation.

But on a deeper level, it might have been probing the nature of the Student Council's operations—whether it offered compensation like an ordinary company.

For example, special points or privileges.

Akiyama Shin was using this method to subtly display his insight and value, hoping to pique Horikita Manabu's interest and pave the way for future deals.

Tachibana Akane had just been about to rebuke Akiyama Shin for his rudeness when Horikita Manabu raised a hand to stop her.

Horikita Manabu looked at Akiyama Shin, his eyes behind the lenses deep. He did not get angry, merely giving an ambiguous answer in an equally unreadable tone.

"Perhaps."

The answer neither confirmed nor denied anything.

It left ample room for interpretation while also showing that he had received Akiyama Shin's signal.

Having received the response he wanted, Akiyama Shin said no more. He gave Horikita Manabu a slight nod, then turned and briskly left the Gymnasium without hesitation.

Horikita Suzune watched Akiyama Shin's departing back, then looked at her brother on the stage, whose expression was impossible to read. Though her heart was filled with confusion and lingering anger, she still bit her lip and chose to quickly follow Akiyama Shin.

After leaving the Gymnasium and reaching the relatively quiet outdoors, Horikita Suzune finally could not stop herself from demanding,

"Akiyama Shin! What exactly did you mean just now?"

"Why did you do that? You made me... You made President Horikita, in front of so many freshmen..."

Akiyama Shin cut her off, his tone carrying a trace of barely perceptible perfunctoriness.

"Adult matters. Children shouldn't interfere."

"I'm not a child!"

Horikita Suzune's cheeks reddened slightly with anger.

"Oh?"

Akiyama Shin stopped and turned to look at her, a trace of amusement in his dark red eyes.

"If you're not a child... find the answer yourself."

"After all..."

"Only children keep asking why, don't they?"

"Only children wait for others to spoon-feed them the answers, right?"

Horikita Suzune was left speechless by Akiyama Shin's words. Her mouth opened, but she realized she seemingly could not refute him. What he said... seemed to make a little sense?

But being treated like a child!

It irritated her immensely!

The two remained silent all the way until they reached a secluded bench in the campus park.

Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves, warm and pleasant.

As Horikita Suzune looked at Akiyama Shin beside her, she added another item to her assessment of his personality.

Not only was he cold! Quiet! Arrogant!

Now she had to add devious too!

Akiyama Shin seemed to feel the warmth of the sun. He let out a soft yawn, a trace of fatigue appearing on his face.

He walked naturally to the bench and sat down beside Horikita Suzune. Then... before she could react... his body tilted! He directly rested his head on her somewhat slender but upright shoulder!

"You...!!"

Horikita Suzune's body instantly stiffened as though she had been hit by a paralysis spell. Instinctively, she wanted to move away, but Akiyama Shin had already leaned against her, his breathing even, as if he truly intended to take a nap. His crisp, pleasant scent lingered at the tip of her nose.

The hand she had raised froze in midair before slowly lowering. Looking at Akiyama Shin's handsome sleeping face so close to her, her heartbeat inexplicably skipped a few beats. Heat uncontrollably crept across her cheeks and ears, tinting them faintly red.

This was the first time in her sixteen years that she had been so intimately close to a member of the opposite sex.

It was also the first time a boy had made her feel such clear embarrassment and warmth.

She kept her body rigid and did not move, afraid of disturbing Akiyama Shin's sleep. She did not know how much time passed, but her tense nerves gradually began to relax.

The sunlight was too warm, the surroundings too quiet, and the presence of the person beside her too intoxicating.

Before she knew it, her head gently tilted as well, resting against Akiyama Shin's head as she fell into a deep sleep.