Chapter 148:...Rin likes Horikita?

Chapter 148:...Rin likes Horikita?

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Even though Horikita possessed an extremely high level of cooking skills, it was still challenging for her to replicate the dishes described in cooking books.

For Rin, Horikita truly invested a great deal of thought, time, and energy.

However, when she recalled Rin's joyful expression while he enjoyed dinner, Horikita felt it was all worth it.

She paused while flipping through a cookbook, and a sudden thought struck her. She reached for her cell phone and typed a search query.

[What does it mean when a boy gives a girl a butterfly brooch?]

Horikita stared at the results that appeared on her screen, her eyes fixed on the explanations.

As she continued reading, a particular annotation caught her attention, and her cold eyes gradually widened in astonishment. Soon after, her expression shifted between surprise and disbelief.

[Because a brooch is worn close to the heart, giving one as a gift symbolizes: "I want to stay in your heart."]

[Between men and women, giving a brooch may be a subtle way to express love or a confession.]

"…Does Rin like me?" Horikita murmured absentmindedly. However, she soon shook her head in an attempt to dismiss the thought.

"No, Rin probably doesn't know that giving a brooch to the opposite sex could mean this. He likely just wanted to find something appropriate to give me," she reasoned.

Despite trying to convince herself with this explanation, she couldn't completely suppress the idea that Rin's gesture might have been a confession.

And in truth, Horikita wasn't entirely wrong.

Rin really didn't know that giving a girl a brooch symbolized love or affection.

After finishing the sumptuous dinner prepared by Horikita, Rin was ready to sit down and type a program on his laptop.

However, just as he placed his fingers on the keyboard, the narration system's voice suddenly rang in his mind.

[As the saying goes, "A gentleman's revenge is never too late, while a villain's revenge begins from morning till night."]

[The minor fracture in the arm bone caused by the host to the student council vice president, Nagumo, has mostly healed, but it still aches. This lingering pain fuels Nagumo's hatred toward the host, and he thinks about how to take revenge almost every day.]

[Host, please be mentally prepared for this.]

Rin frowned at the system's reminder and muttered to himself, "This Nagumo is really petty. I just chatted with his childhood Friend for a few minutes and exchanged Line accounts. Does he really need to hold such a grudge against me?"

Of course, there was more to Nagumo's animosity.

Not only had Rin embarrassed him, but he had also fractured Nagumo's arm, leaving him humiliated in front of his subordinates.

But Rin felt no guilt about it.

After all, it was Nagumo who instigated the trouble in the first place.

If Nagumo hadn't tried to harm Rin, there would have been no reason for such a harsh response.

"Maybe I need to find a way to deal with Nagumo," Rin thought aloud. "It's exhausting to guard against someone for two whole years. Who can stay vigilant every single day?"

Since Nagumo was only in his second year, Rin realized that waiting passively was not an option.

His index finger lightly tapped the laptop keyboard as he narrowed his black-and-white eyes. After about five seconds, a faint smile spread across his handsome face.

"I have swimming lessons on Monday afternoon… That might be the perfect opportunity to deal with Nagumo."

With his exceptional personal qualities, Rin quickly came up with a perfect plan to deal with Nagumo in a very short amount of time!

For this reason, Rin temporarily gave up the idea of writing a program and instead began searching for videos about swimming, diving, and entering the water on his laptop.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was Monday morning—

At 8:17, after a faint noise, the door of Rin's dormitory room opened quietly. Horikita Suzune stepped inside with a plastic bag in her hand.

Horikita placed the bag, which contained the breakfast she had prepared for Rin, at the shoe-changing area.

However, after putting down the breakfast, Horikita didn't leave the dormitory immediately. Instead, she removed her shoes, revealing her feet wrapped in black stockings.

Horikita, clad only in her black stockings, continued into the room. Upon entering, she saw Rin sleeping soundly on the bed.

Rin's sleeping posture was far from orderly—the quilt had been kicked to the side, and his pajamas were disheveled, exposing his collarbone and part of his abdomen.

Yet, these weren't the areas that caught Horikita Suzune's attention the most. What truly drew her gaze was the "tall tower"...

[Note: God damn]

The sight caused Horikita's usually cold cheeks to flush with the warmth of a shy blush, and she quickly turned her gaze away.

"Although we learned in junior high school physiology class that boys behave like this in the morning... but... but Rin is different from what was described in class," she murmured softly to herself.

"It's... so high up there..."

To stop her thoughts from wandering, Horikita pinched herself and forced her attention back to Rin's face.

When Rin was sleeping, his breathing was steady and gentle, and his handsome face appeared exceptionally peaceful.

Horikita remained silent, staring at Rin's face for nearly three minutes before turning her gaze away.

Yet before leaving, she couldn't help but sneak another glance at the "tall tower."

At 8:30, the alarm on Rin's phone began to ring, waking him from his sleep.

[Host, you are awake. Horikita Suzune entered your room at 8:17.]

"Ha~" Rin yawned and replied lazily, "I know, I gave her the key last night... Wait, you said Horikita didn't come until eight o'clock?"

[Yes.]

[Horikita Suzune placed the breakfast she prepared for you at the shoe-changing area, then stayed and looked at you for three minutes and fifty-eight seconds.]

"Huh?" Rin couldn't help but reveal a confused expression. "Horikita came into my room, so why did she leave the breakfast at the shoe-changing area? Did she forget to bring it in?"

[That's not the case. Horikita wanted to create the impression that she only intended to leave the breakfast at the shoe-changing area and then leave.]

"Why?"

[Host, guess for yourself.]

"You're just a system, and now you expect me to guess?" Rin complained.

He wasn't overly curious about why Horikita left the breakfast at the shoe-changing area. Getting out of bed, he walked over and picked up the plastic bag.

"It's so heavy. What's with the weight? Did Horikita prepare lunch for me as well?" Rin clicked his tongue in surprise as he lifted the bag.

But Rin remembered—this breakfast was supposed to be the last meal Horikita owed him.

"Does she really need to make lunch too?" Rin muttered, puzzled.

Unable to figure it out, he placed the plastic bag on his desk, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and then sat down to eat breakfast.

Holding the firm belief that "delicious food should not be wasted," Rin devoured the entire large breakfast that Horikita had prepared for him.

By the time Rin finished eating, it was already 8:53. Grabbing his school uniform and cell phone, he quickly left the dormitory.

Since the elevator was on the 14th floor, Rin, who lived on the third floor, decided he was too lazy to wait and opted to take the stairs instead.

This was one of the few advantages of living on a lower floor—you could go up or down as you pleased. If you felt like taking the elevator, you could, but if you didn't want to wait, the stairs were always an option.

"Narrator, do you think I'll run into Kushida again if I take the stairs?" Rin asked casually.

[No, Kushida Kikyo is already in Class D.]

"That's good."

[Host, do you hate Kushida? Don't you usually like women with petite bodies and plump breasts?]

"Well, that's true, but there's something off about her. It always feels like I'm facing rotten honey. I can't stand the sense of incongruity she gives off, so I'd rather not meet her."

[I'm sorry, Host, but Kushida Kikyo has already set her sights on you.]

"I know. Narrator, why would she target me? She clearly doesn't enjoy interacting with me."

The narration system crashed again, leaving Rin without a response.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the school, Kushida sneezed softly. Covering her mouth with her hand, she looked embarrassed as she spoke to Wang Meiyu, who were walking in front of her.

"Sorry, sorry," she apologized.

"It's fine," Wang Mei-yu replied, shaking her head. Her gaze shifted to a girl not far away, and she spoke timidly to Kushida Kikyo.

"Kikyo-chan, did you offend Karuizawa-san over the weekend?"

"No, Miyu-chan, why would you think that?" Kushida asked, her tone puzzled.

"If you didn't, why would she be looking at you with such a scary expression?" Wang Mei-yu said softly.

"..." Kushida glanced at Karuizawa and realized that the girl was indeed staring at her with a scrutinizing gaze.