COTE: Horikita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 17 Congratulations host, you have been targeted again

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Horikita Suzune had always looked forward to reuniting with her brother, but after actually meeting Horikita Manabu, her anticipation quickly faded into timidity.

All in all, the current Horikita Suzune just didn't have the courage to face Horikita Manabu!

"Are you going or not? If you don't go, I'll go by myself," Rin Matsuoka urged.

Horikita Suzune rolled her eyes at Rin and retorted, "He's my brother, not yours. Why are you more eager than I am to find him?"

Rin looked at her with disdain and said sarcastically, "You're so heartless. You've seen your brother, whom you were separated from for two years, and you won't even take the initiative to approach him. No conscience at all!"

Annoyed, Horikita Suzune punched Rin in the arm. She then ran a hand through her black hair and replied sternly, "My brother is a senior high school student about to graduate, and he's also the student council president. He must be very busy. To avoid disturbing him, we should choose an appropriate time to approach him."

"Besides, didn't our homeroom teacher tell us to return to the classroom immediately after the entrance ceremony?"

Rin rubbed his arm and smirked, "Excuses, all excuses."

Too irritated to continue the argument (and not really knowing how to shut Rin down), Horikita Suzune turned and walked away with a cold expression. Rin watched the direction in which Horikita Manabu had left, hesitated for a moment, and then gave up the idea of looking for him.

Horikita Suzune, his sister, wasn't in a rush to reconnect with her brother, so why should he, an outsider, be?

After all, Horikita Manabu was at this school; there would always be another opportunity to meet him. Rin also thought it was better to return to the classroom first and retrieve the student ID and mobile phone that Chabashira Sae had mentioned.

Besides, Rin had yet to receive the school's official mobile phone from Chabashira Sae, so he couldn't exchange contact information with Horikita Manabu anyway.

So there was really no need to hurry.

As Rin was leaving the gymnasium, he failed to notice a girl seven meters behind him, intently watching his every move.

The girl had delicate features, her skin was as smooth as honey with a healthy glow, and her long honey-colored hair was tied up in a playful high ponytail. Her slender legs were clad in simple white socks, revealing the youthful sweetness and purity of a young girl.

Her name was Karuizawa Kei, one of the girls in Class D and one of the girls Rin had mentally noted as "pretty."

Karuizawa Kei trailed closely behind Rin, maintaining a distance of about three meters. Her honey-colored ponytail swayed gently with her steps, making her stand out in the crowd.

Karuizawa Kei, who had been secretly observing Rin, murmured to herself, "This boy named 'Rin Matsuoka' seems like the most suitable candidate..."

Before the entrance ceremony, Karuizawa Kei had introduced herself to the Class D classroom. At that time, her tone had been particularly frivolous and arrogant, giving off a strong, confident impression.

However, that strong, frivolous demeanor was just a façade that Kei used to mask her anxiety and fear.

Karuizawa Kei was different from someone like Yamauchi Haruki. She didn't act out of a desire to boast but rather to prevent herself from being bullied again.

In junior high, Karuizawa Kei had suffered severe bullying because of her beauty and outgoing personality.　

The shoes in the changing cabinet had been thrown into the trash can, toilet water was poured over her whenever she went to use the restroom, and insulting words like "bitch" and "rounded corner girl" were carved into her desk.

But the bullying didn't stop there — those incidents were not even the worst of it!

The most severe case of bullying occurred when Karuizawa Kei was stabbed in the left side of her abdomen.

Although the wound eventually healed, it left a long, narrow scar.

Every time — whether by accident or on purpose — whenever Karuizawa Kei touched the scar, memories of the bullying would come rushing back, flooding her heart and filling her mind with a wave of nausea.

The pain had become a conditioned reflex...

From this, it was clear just how traumatic the bullying experience had been for Karuizawa Kei.

She couldn't bear the thought of being bullied again...

With that in mind!

Clenching her teeth, Karuizawa Kei decided that, in high school, she would disguise herself, pretending to be someone with a strong will who wouldn't be an easy target for bullying.

After that, she resolved to find a strong boy and, if necessary, even beg him to be her boyfriend.

Karuizawa Kei understood that there was no way she could pretend to be a strong girl forever. Her fear of being bullied would eventually show.

So, she knew she needed to find a strong boy quickly, latch onto him, and make him her support.

And now, Karuizawa Kei had set her sights on Rin Matsuoka.

Let's not even consider whether this boy was handsome or not!

The fact that he could speak so confidently to the chairman on stage, without a hint of nervousness, proved he was a very courageous boy!

And that was exactly the kind of boy Karuizawa Kei needed.

"The important thing right now is to protect myself. For that, I will do anything..." Karuizawa Kei muttered to herself, as if hypnotizing herself, while staring at Rin's back.

[Congratulations, host, you've caught someone's attention again.]

"Huh?" Rin was taken aback for a moment before he responded sarcastically, "Narrator, what are you congratulating me for? Is it really a good thing that I'm being targeted by others?"

"Who's targeting me this time?"

The narration system did not respond.

"Narrator, say something!"

The system went silent again, leaving Rin to sigh helplessly as he looked around to see if anyone was staring at him.

Unfortunately, with so many students returning to the first-year building, Rin had no way of determining who might be watching him.

Upon noticing Rin scanning the area, a self-hypnotized Karuizawa Kei suddenly shivered and darted behind a stone pillar, like a frightened little rabbit.

With all the students moving back to the classroom, their figures obscured Karuizawa Kei's panicked escape, so Rin did not spot her.

Unable to find anyone staring at him, Rin could only return to the classroom, feeling somewhat exasperated.

About a minute later, Karuizawa Kei cautiously peeked out from behind the stone pillar. When she saw that Rin had gone, she gently patted her chest and let out a sigh of relief.

"He's gone. I hope he didn't notice me just now..." Karuizawa Kei murmured, before pausing in confusion. "Wait, why am I hiding from him?"

She was planning to ask him to be her shield, to protect her from harm, so no one would dare to bully her again…

So what she should do is seize the opportunity to approach him, say hello, and get to know him better!

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Give me some power stones