COTE: Horikita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 110: Brother, you can just say my name...

_____

Horikita Manabu nodded slightly. "Use your personal points sparingly or find a way to earn more. This is my advice to you."

Horikita Suzune, however, showed a slightly aggrieved expression. What about me?

Brother, why don't you remind me? Don't I deserve your concern?

Although Horikita Manabu had never directly approached Horikita Suzune, he had secretly paid attention to her Class 1-D.

For this reason, Horikita Manabu was well aware of how poor the learning environment in Class 1-D was.

He concluded that if Class 1-D continued as it was, the 1,000 class points allocated by the school would soon be deducted.

The school assigns individual points to students based on their class points multiplied by 100.

If a class's points were reduced to zero, its students would receive no individual points on the first day of the following month.

Although Horikita Manabu couldn't explicitly explain the concept of class points to Rin Matsuoka or Horikita Suzune, he could indirectly remind them to save their personal points.

He didn't want them to end up eating the dreadful wild vegetable set meal next month.

"From what you've said, Brother Horikita, it seems the school doesn't allocate a fixed 100,000 individual points each month. Otherwise, you wouldn't need to remind us to save," Rin said with a smile, already aware of the existence of class points.

Horikita Manabu's eyes gleamed with approval. "I can't go into detail, but I can tell you this school isn't as idyllic as the guidebook makes it seem. On the contrary, it's harsh and unforgiving."

He added in a serious tone, "It's impossible for someone who isolates themselves and avoids interacting with others to succeed here."

"..." Horikita Suzune remained silent, her gaze fixed on the floor. Rin glanced at her briefly before addressing Manabu again.

Horikita Suzune muttered under her breath, "Brother, why don't you say her name outright? You can just call her out directly."

After this subtle insinuation, Horikita Manabu's expression softened slightly. He then said to Rin, "But as for you, Matsuoka, you don't need to be overly frugal with your personal points. After all, you currently have over one million."

"I didn't expect you to know what happened yesterday, Brother Horikita," Rin replied, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Even though Nagumo and the others tried to suppress the incident, I have my ways of finding things out," Manabu said calmly.

When Horikita Suzune heard that Rin had over a million personal points, her eyes widened in surprise. At the same time, she burned with curiosity about what incident her brother and Rin were referring to.

Despite her curiosity, Horikita Suzune didn't dare interrupt while Manabu was present.

Manabu paused for a moment, contemplating something, before finally speaking. "Matsuoka, have you considered… joining the student council?"

Earlier that afternoon, after the student council's recruitment ended, Tachibana Akane had reported to Horikita Manabu that Rin showed no interest in applying.

Manabu felt it was a pity. If Rin didn't join the student council, many of his plans and ideas would fall apart.

Although he wanted Rin to decide independently, Manabu couldn't help but try to recruit him personally.

At the same time, Manabu had a compelling reason to convince both himself and Rin of the importance of this decision.

That reason was—Nagumo.

As he prepared to elaborate, Horikita Manabu's gaze shifted momentarily to Horikita Suzune.

At this moment, Horikita Suzune was gazing at Horikita Manabu with hopeful eyes. She eagerly anticipated that her brother would invite her to join the student council.

"My brother even recruited Matsuoka into the student council. Surely, he won't leave me out, right?" Horikita Suzune thought, her anticipation growing.

However, Horikita Manabu, meeting her hopeful gaze, remained unmoved. With a calm expression, he said, "Suzune, you may leave now. I need to discuss something with Matsuoka privately."

"...Oh."

Feeling disheartened, Horikita Suzune turned and walked away, but she didn't go far. She stopped beneath a streetlamp just five meters away, her disappointment apparent.

"Why did my brother invite Matsuoka to join the student council but not me? What about me?"

"And why did he ask me to leave? What could they possibly talk about that I'm not allowed to hear?"

Horikita Suzune murmured softly, her voice tinged with grievance as she stood there, a forlorn expression on her face, exuding an air of sadness.

Once Horikita Suzune had left, Rin Matsuoka turned to Horikita Manabu and said, "Horikita-san, you must know that I've offended the vice president of the student council, right? Are you sure it's okay to invite me to join the council?"

"There's no problem," Horikita Manabu replied sternly. "I need to discuss Nagumo with you."

Horikita Manabu continued, his tone serious, "Rin, because of what happened yesterday, you've completely offended Nagumo. If you want to avoid his retaliation, your best option is to join the student council."

"If you join, I'll do my utmost to mentor you and prepare you to take over the position of student council president. Once you're the president, even Nagumo will think twice before targeting you."

Hearing this, Rin stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Horikita-san, you want me to become the student council president rather than let Nagumo succeed you. From what you've said, it's clear you're strongly opposed to him."

"That's correct," Horikita Manabu admitted frankly. "Nagumo's philosophy is too oppressive. If he were to lead this school, the students would suffer greatly."

Rin nodded in agreement. "I can see that. Nagumo is petty and narrow-minded. If he became the student council president, who knows how many students would be mistreated under his leadership?"

"Alright, Horikita-san. I'll join the student council," Rin finally declared.

Initially, Rin had no intention of joining.

For one, Nagumo, as the current vice president, held considerable power. If Rin were to join, he'd likely become a target for Nagumo's bullying and manipulation.

Additionally, Rin hadn't interacted much with Horikita Manabu in the past two years. He wasn't sure if Horikita still held the same amicable and supportive attitude towards him as before.

Finally, Rin needed clarity on the dynamics between Horikita Manabu and Nagumo Masaru.

He needed to determine whether Horikita would genuinely protect him against Nagumo's retaliation or if he'd be left to fend for himself.

Only after understanding these factors would Rin consider joining the student council.

Now, with Horikita Manabu's assurance that he intended to block Nagumo's rise to power and groom Rin as the next president, Rin saw no reason to hesitate.

"On behalf of the student council, I welcome you aboard," Horikita Manabu said with a rare smile, extending his hand to Rin.

Rin returned the smile and firmly shook Horikita Manabu's outstretched hand.