Wasn't an Older Brother Supposed to Protect His Little Sister?

Yang Cheng had gone easy on Manabu Horikita when they fought-very easy.

After all, even if his opponent was a student council president who excelled in both academics and athletics, he was little different from a scarecrow to Yang Cheng now.

With his already superhuman physique, if he had really put his strength into ramming Manabu Horikita, he could have shattered every bone in his body in an instant.

Naturally, anyone capable of becoming student council president at this school had some skills.

Manabu Horikita had swiftly crossed his arms in front of his chest to block, but Yang Cheng still knocked him backward.

Feeling his arms go numb, Manabu Horikita looked rather surprised.

He rushed forward again, unleashing a string of attacks that combined aikido with karate. Unfortunately, Yang Cheng dodged every single one with ease.

He had mastered the Six Powers in the One Piece World. Even if he couldn't use supernatural powers in this world, his combat experience and physical capabilities remained.

Never mind a student with some fighting skills like Manabu Horikita-even if his opponent had been some so-called king of soldiers, Yang Cheng could have put him down effortlessly.

After several unsuccessful attempts to hit Yang Cheng, Manabu Horikita seemed to recognize the gap between them and chose to stop.

"Very clean movements, and those fighting techniques just now... it looks like you've had some fairly formal training."

As a fourth-degree black belt in aikido and a fifth-degree black belt in karate, Manabu Horikita should have ranked among the strongest fighters in the student body.

Yet in his brief exchange with Yang Cheng, he had directly experienced the considerable gap between them.

"I haven't had any formal training. I just practiced a little Taijutsu and swordsmanship on my own. Nothing worth mentioning."

Hearing Yang Cheng's modest reply, Manabu Horikita struggled to keep his composure.

Practiced on your own? Nothing worth mentioning? Then how the hell did you overpower me just now?!

He pushed up the glasses on his nose to hide his embarrassment, then looked at Yang Cheng with a serious expression. "Nanju Yang Cheng, I know about you.

"I'd already heard that a rather interesting student had appeared among the first-years. While everyone else was squandering their private points, he was trying to earn them.

"Your entrance scores were unremarkable, yet you managed to pose as a third-year at the café and tutor second-year students.

"If I remember correctly, your physical fitness test results upon enrollment were fairly average too. But judging by your movements just now, that clearly wasn't the whole story."

Yang Cheng wasn't surprised that the student council president had uncovered those things about him.

As for why someone as important as the student council president would take notice of a nobody like him, Yang Cheng glanced at the surprised Suzune Horikita beside him and immediately understood.

What Yang Cheng didn't know, however, was that Suzune Horikita was even more surprised than he was.

She had already noticed that Yang Cheng was hiding something and was considerably more capable than the other students in Class D.

But she had never imagined that his abilities would far exceed her initial expectations.

Previously, he had told her and Ayanokoji that he worked at the café not only to earn private points, but also to gather information along the way.

But he had never mentioned that his method of gathering information involved impersonating a third-year student.

Advancing through the grades at Advanced Nurturing High School was difficult, because students who failed to meet its standards were weeded out early through various special exams.

Students who managed to reach their third year would easily count as honor students at any ordinary school.

Yet Yang Cheng, a first-year, could pose as a third-year from Class A without arousing suspicion. That meant he possessed, at the very least, a comparable level of knowledge and academic ability.

Combined with the skill he had just displayed while fighting her brother, Suzune couldn't even understand why someone as capable as Yang Cheng had been placed in Class D...

"I never expected the esteemed student council president to be someone who says one thing and means another.

"If you care about your little sister, why not just be honest about it? Instead, you're using this approach to force her to back down on her own.

"I wasn't planning to meddle, either, but I happen to have an adorable little sister myself.

"So when I saw you, her older brother, about to hit your own little sister, I couldn't help stepping in."

Yang Cheng's words left Suzune stunned once again.

My brother cares about me? That can't be right. He's always thought I was useless...

That was why she had followed him to this school-to prove herself.

"You don't understand? The only reason your brother is so harsh with you is that he knows your shortcomings very well. He's worried you'll suffer in the class competitions ahead.

"That's why he's playing the villain, trying to force you to withdraw from school this way.

"Otherwise, why do you think a student council president with so much on his plate just happened to show up here?"

"Normally, someone as important as the student council president wouldn't pay any attention to a nobody like me.

"But your brother knows your personality. He knows you aren't likely to have friends, so I probably caught his attention because I'd gotten a little closer to you.

"And unless I'm mistaken, he's probably investigated Ayanokoji too. After all, he's even closer to you than I am."

After hearing Yang Cheng out, Suzune turned to Manabu Horikita with an incredulous expression. "Brother, is everything Yang Cheng just said true?"

Manabu Horikita didn't answer his sister's question. Instead, he simply turned and left.

Before leaving, he also made sure to say that Yang Cheng had caught his interest, and that he would look forward to seeing how he performed.

"Tch, what's with that domineering CEO line? Who the hell wants your attention? It's not like you're some rich woman."

With Manabu Horikita gone, Yang Cheng looked at Suzune Horikita's conflicted expression and said somewhat apologetically, "Sorry about that. This should have been a private matter between you and your brother.

"I meddled a little too much just now."

As Yang Cheng saw it, he and Suzune Horikita were ordinary classmates at most, and his actions just now had crossed the line somewhat.

"No... actually, I'm grateful to you. If it weren't for you, I probably never would have understood what my brother was trying to do.

"He probably treated me that way because he was frustrated that I wasn't living up to his expectations, right?"

Having just gone through

something like that, Suzune's feelings were complicated, a mixture of joy and sadness.

The joy came from learning that her brother actually cared about her.

The sadness came from knowing that, in her brother's eyes, she really was useless. That was why he believed she couldn't survive at this school.

"You don't really need to take your brother's words so much to heart. Everyone in this world has flaws.

"Protecting his little sister, accepting her, supporting her growth, and doing his best to help her overcome her shortcomings-that's what an older brother should do."