World-Shocking Wisdom, Activate!

A fierce palm wind whistled through the air.

Horikita Manabu's eyes glinted with a cold light as his right hand sliced through the air, his target clear—his younger sister's cheek.

It was as if yesterday were repeating itself.

Horikita Suzune stared at the scene, lost in a daze.

Next...

The next part of the sequence was supposed to be Elder Brother patting my head before leaving, right?

No.

That's not right—

Seeing the genuine, cold, and hard expression on her brother's face, along with the palm rushing toward her, the girl's brain raced, her reddish-purple eyes suddenly constricting.

He was actually going to strike her!

How could this be?

Elder Brother had never laid a hand on her before.

Even when she made mistakes as a child, even when she was scolded severely, her brother would only lecture her with a cold face; there had never been any physical punishment.

Even last time.

In the end, Elder Brother had simply patted her head.

Furthermore.

There were those words from just a moment ago.

That phrasing, so full of discrimination, was clearly from our previous conversation. Why would Brother bring it up again, with the exact same expressions and movements?

Besides.

Elder Brother never used violence to solve problems.

Most importantly—

Something felt wrong.

In an instant, the girl's World-Shocking Wisdom activated!

As if an electric current had surged through her, thoughts flashing like lightning, Horikita Suzune reached a truly shocking conclusion:

The Elder Brother before her.

Was a fake!

The sharp gale ruffled the bangs on the girl's forehead, sending strands of hair dancing wildly in the air current as the large palm rapidly closed in on her face.

At the critical moment.

The girl's body reacted faster than her thoughts.

Horikita Suzune leaned back violently, her entire body arching like a fully drawn bow, her flexibility pushed to the limit as she executed the high-difficulty maneuver.

Swish—

The palm grazed the tip of her nose, the whistling wind even stinging her skin, but—

It didn't connect.

He missed.

Horikita Manabu's strike hit nothing, and the momentum of his swing left him with a significant recovery lag due to the disappearance of his target.

Barely steadying himself.

He felt a sense of disbelief.

What was going on?

Had his foolish younger sister actually wised up and defied him?

In fact.

From childhood to the present, Horikita Manabu had indeed never subjected Suzune to any physical punishment or contact.

At most, he would sternly reprimand her.

After all, he didn't truly despise his sister.

However.

People always change.

Especially in this school where ability was everything; with Suzune's personality, she would absolutely be unable to survive.

And he would be graduating in another year.

He could not continue to look after her.

Therefore.

Rather than letting her suffer psychological trauma here.

It would be better for him, as the Elder Brother, to play the villain and drive his naive younger sister out of the school; that, too, was a form of protection.

But...

Who could have told him?

That his foolish younger sister, this little girl who had blindly followed in his footsteps, would actually rebel?

Suzune.

She had truly grown up.

For a moment, Horikita Manabu was overcome with a complex mix of emotions, feeling both gratified and approving.

Meanwhile, having barely dodged the attack, Horikita Suzune took the opportunity to retreat three meters away. Fine beads of cold sweat trickled down her temple as she settled into a defensive stance.

"Who are you?!"

Her voice was filled with interrogation and vigilance.

The girl stared fixedly at the person before her who was impersonating her brother, her reddish-purple fox eyes brimming with indignation.

"Why are you pretending to be my brother?"

"What is your goal!"

Hearing this, Horikita Manabu, who had been standing still, froze. A clear look of astonishment flashed in his eyes behind his lenses, and he appeared somewhat incredulous.

What?

What did Suzune just say?

Impersonating?

Horikita Manabu's brain suffered a brief system crash.

"What are you talking about?"

"Stop acting!"

Horikita Suzune cut him off, her tone resolute.

"My brother would never lay a hand on me, and as for the things you just said, he already said those long ago!"

The girl's mind raced.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt her deduction was well-founded.

"Therefore."

"Although it is unbelievable."

"This is the only possibility."

At this point, Horikita Suzune's voice began to tremble—not out of fear, but out of anger.

"Who exactly are you?"

"Why are you masquerading as my brother?!"

For a moment, the alley fell into an eerie silence.

Horikita Manabu opened his mouth, only to find that he didn't know what to say. He adjusted his glasses, trying to keep his voice as calm and gentle as possible.

"Suzune, calm down."

"I am Horikita Manabu. What you just said..."

"Enough!"

Horikita Suzune interrupted him.

"Elder Brother would never treat me this way. If it were truly him, he would certainly use a more rational and persuasive method to make me realize my mistakes, rather than acting like you."

"First, with inexplicable, discriminatory remarks."

"And then, by attacking me directly."

"This is simply not my brother's style."

Horikita Suzune spoke with righteous confidence, even harboring a faint sense of triumph, as if to say, "I have already seen through you."

After all, this way, it was completely not her fault.

Horikita Manabu: "..."

He fell silent.

Ten seconds of silence stretched out.

The air was so quiet that they could hear each other's breathing.

Finally.

Horikita Manabu took a deep breath, keenly grasping the crux of the matter. "Suzune, you just said you saw..."

"Shut up!"

The girl interrupted him again.

"I won't listen to your sophistry. Do you think you can still deceive me?" Her gaze grew increasingly resolute.

"No matter what your goal is."

"I am going to find the real Elder Brother right now."

"And expose your conspiracy!"

With that said.

She spun around abruptly, preparing to leave this place of trouble and head to the Student Council to find Elder Brother.

Seeing this.

Horikita Manabu frowned deeply, his instinct urging him to stop her.

And just then—

"Pfft."

A stifled, delicate laugh rang out, sounding exceptionally clear in the deathly silent alley.

"Who—"

In an instant.

Horikita Suzune and Horikita Manabu froze simultaneously, both turning toward the source of the sound in near-perfect synchronization.

There.

Deep in the shadows of the alley entrance.

A slender figure slowly stepped out from the darkness, the dim light of the streetlamp gradually outlining a face that was excessively refined and handsome.

It was Xu Nuo.

At this moment.

He held his phone up with one hand while the other was tucked into his trouser pocket, looking exceptionally relaxed.

A trace of irrepressible amusement hung at the corners of his mouth.

"Ah—"

"Sorry to disturb you."

Xu Nuo's voice was remarkably clear in the night air, carrying a hint of mockery. "Please continue, don't mind me. I'm just a passing Phantom Thief."

"Just recording a video, that's all."

After speaking.

He shook his phone, and the recording interface on the screen clearly displayed the elapsed time—

02:32.

Two and a half minutes.

From the moment Horikita Manabu spoke his first sentence to the moment Horikita Suzune prepared to turn and leave, the entire process had been recorded in its entirety.

The air practically solidified.

Horikita Suzune's fox-like eyes widened, and she stood there stunned, only one thought remaining in her mind—

It's over.

Social suicide.

And in front of this detestable guy, no less.

Everything she had just said, her soft and vulnerable demeanor, her embarrassing actions... it had all been recorded.

For a moment.

The girl felt her face burning hot.

If there were a crack in the ground, she would want to crawl right into it.

At the same time.

Horikita Manabu's expression shifted as well.

A cold glint flashed behind his lenses. He didn't speak, merely staring silently at the phone in Xu Nuo's hand, his brows knitted together.

This is bad.

The contents of that recording.

It was not just his sister's embarrassing moments that mattered, but more importantly—those words he had just spoken, the ones intentionally meant to provoke Horikita Suzune, would cause no small amount of damage to his image if they were to get out.

As the Student Council President, acting in such a manner behind the scenes would undoubtedly tarnish his reputation.

Although Horikita Manabu did not care for the opinions of the outside world.

However.

The feeling of having such leverage fall into someone else's hands left him feeling extremely displeased and weary.

Truly...

Did he fail to check the almanac before leaving the house today?

"You—"

Quickly adjusting his mood, Horikita Manabu pushed up his glasses, his voice low. "How much did you hear?"

"All of it."

Xu Nuo shrugged, admitting it quite readily, then added while rubbing his chin, "From the very beginning until just now, when Suzune said she was going to expose your scheme."

"Every single word."

"The video quality is actually quite clear, want to take a look?"

As he spoke.

He actually intended to hand over his phone.

"Xu Nuo!"

Horikita Suzune finally snapped back to reality, her face flushing red. Her reddish-purple fox eyes glared at Xu Nuo with dissatisfaction. "You guy, why were you secretly filming over there?"

And just stood by watching me get beaten!

"Secretly filming?"

Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow, correcting her with a straight face:

"This isn't called secret filming; this is called 'Phantom Thief material collection.' The two are completely different concepts."

"..."

Horikita Suzune's brows furrowed tightly.

Her mind was currently filled with the shameful things she had just said, but at the same time, she felt a sense of relief.

Although she was still somewhat mortified.

The appearance of this guy proved that she was safe.

That person impersonating her Elder Brother couldn't possibly suppress both of them at a time like this, could he?

However.

Right at that moment—

Horikita Manabu suddenly moved.