"Ugh..."
On his way back to the dorms, An Xiao winced and pressed his fingers against his temple, which kept throbbing now and then.
"Did I drink too many cold drinks?"
An Xiao muttered to himself, but the earlier scene remained crystal clear in his mind.
Drinking, chatting, complaining...
His classmates in Class B... They really were a good bunch.
At least... none of them were the kind of "weird" people he'd imagined before.
As An Xiao thought this, he kept walking, slowly making his way forward. But at some point, he heard a man and a woman arguing nearby.
"Suzune, I didn't expect you to follow me all the way here." A man's voice rang out. Though he said it like he was surprised, his tone held little surprise—just distance and indifference.
"I just... came here so I could catch up to you, Big Brother." A timid female voice followed.
That voice... sounded kind of familiar.
An Xiao crouched by the mouth of the alley and peered inside. He saw a lean man wearing glasses, his expression icy as he looked at the girl before him. She had long, straight black hair and was nervously clutching the hem of her skirt.
That was... Senior Horikita Manabu.
What was he doing out this late?
Before An Xiao could think much more about it, the girl facing Horikita Manabu slowly lifted her head and spoke in a timid but stubborn tone.
"I'm not the useless person you knew back then anymore, Big Brother!"
By the end, the girl's cool, clear voice had grown hoarse.
Wow...
Family drama?
He hadn't expected to stumble across something like this just a few steps from home.
An Xiao raised an eyebrow. His rational side told him that since this was a family matter involving the Student Council President, he'd be better off leaving at once.
But his curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn't help edging closer.
"Catch up to me...?"
Horikita Manabu adjusted his glasses, his voice growing even colder.
"Have you still not realized your own shortcomings? No wonder you were placed in that class."
"Choosing this school was a failure on your part."
"And on mine, too."
"You should drop out, Suzune!"
"You don't even understand what this school is really like, yet you keep saying you'll catch up to me."
"Don't be so naive. Do you even know what kind of lousy class you were placed in?"
As Horikita Manabu delivered one cold remark after another, Horikita Suzune couldn't help trembling.
"No... Why? I only wanted to catch up to you, Big Brother."
"You don't have what it takes to move up, nor the right to demand that I..."
As he spoke, Horikita Manabu slowly raised his right hand and began to tense his muscles. The girl before him squeezed her eyes shut, but didn't move an inch.
Click!
A sudden flash, followed by the sound of a phone camera, cut off whatever the two were about to do. They both turned toward the flash.
"Ahem, uh, good evening! So, um, if I said I was just passing by, would you believe me?"
Seeing that there was no way to hide, An Xiao forced a smile and awkwardly tucked the culprit behind his back. Inside, though, he was cursing up a storm.
Nobody had told him Japanese phones made such a racket when you took a picture!
Horikita Manabu felt a little helpless as he looked at the boy standing awkwardly nearby. His raised hand had already dropped.
He'd only meant to scare his little sister and make her realize she was out of her depth, so she'd leave this complicated school sooner rather than later.
After all, with her personality, she was bound to have a hard time here.
But who would've thought someone would run into them and snap a picture of the whole thing? And that someone was...
Horikita Manabu looked at An Xiao, still standing some distance away. He felt a headache coming on, but quickly composed himself and addressed him. "You're An Xiao, right?"
That was enough to make the smile An Xiao had barely managed to keep on his face falter.
Crap! He knew who I was!
Horikita Manabu's words put an end to An Xiao's last hope of slipping away. Even his feet, which had been inching backward, came to a stop.
Huh? Why hadn't he just run?
Please. Just look at Horikita Manabu's build, not to mention his perfect scores in all ten events as Student Council President. An Xiao couldn't imagine he'd have any chance of getting away.
If he ran and got caught, whether they talked or did something else, he'd be at a disadvantage from the start.
Besides, the guy already knew who he was. There wasn't much point in running now.
Once An Xiao's little movements stopped, Horikita Manabu got straight to the point. "You got a picture of what just happened, right? So, what are you planning to do?"
Wait, that was it? Wasn't he supposed to use his authority as Student Council President to threaten me?
Why was he handing me the initiative instead?
Though puzzled, An Xiao wanted to settle this as soon as possible. After a moment's hesitation, he said:
"Well... 500,000 points, and I'll delete all the pictures right in front of you." He paused, then added without hesitation, "Of course, you'll have to transfer the points first."
"..." Horikita Manabu.
Horikita Manabu gave An Xiao a long look but said nothing. After getting An Xiao's account details, he started making the transfer.
While An Xiao stood there, momentarily stunned, his phone rang. He pulled it out and saw a transfer notification from Horikita Manabu.
?????
Wait, he didn't even try to negotiate? He just paid up?
The words An Xiao had prepared caught in his throat. He glanced at Horikita Suzune, still huddled in the corner, not yet recovered from what had happened. He seemed to understand, and his mouth twitched. Still, he handed over his phone without hesitation, deleted every photo in front of Horikita Manabu, and even let him check.
"Well, if that's everything, I'll be off."
An Xiao looked at the extra 500,000 points in his account, unable to suppress his grin. His tone grew noticeably brighter, too.
Just as An Xiao turned to leave, a large hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. It held him in place like a pair of pincers, stopping him mid-step.
"Um... weren't we even after the money changed hands?"
"Also, violence is frowned upon. We should be civilized, polite, and promote a fresh new atmosphere." An Xiao stiffly turned his head and swallowed.
"Right, Senior Horikita?"
Before you continue