COTE: Horikita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 2: Classmate, please give up your seat

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Rin Matsuoka had heard that the lottery was controlled by humans, so even if someone knew what numbers would be drawn in advance, they couldn't claim the prize.

Rin wanted to use the narration system to test whether the rumor was true, but unfortunately, the narration didn't allow him to take shortcuts like this in life.

At this moment, the bus arrived at the stop, and the narrator keenly noticed Rin's desire to make money.

[If the host wants to make money, he could become a gigolo. I can read the inner thoughts of the guests for you, so the host can be a thoughtful gigolo.]

"Get lost! I have pride, I don't mooch off others!"

Rin rolled his eyes.

Although the narration system didn't support Rin's desire for easy money, it often made some very tempting… or rather, embarrassing suggestions to him!

However, in the narrator's judgment, wasn't living off others technically getting something for nothing?

Rin sighed in frustration. As he looked at the people rushing to get on the bus, he felt even more tired.

Still, Rin wasn't in a hurry. The narration system had said there were sixteen seats on the bus and only nine people waiting here. Even if they squeezed in, there would still be empty seats.

Rin remained in place, and so did Horikita Suzune beside him. The two of them slowly boarded the bus after everyone else had squeezed on.

As Rin stepped onto the bus, he raised his eyebrow slightly—there weren't many empty seats, just three left.

"The narration system almost cost me my seat."

[Host, I told you the bus has sixteen seats, but I didn't say it has sixteen empty seats.]

Rin curled his lip and sat casually next to a brown-haired boy without arguing with the narration system.

The brown-haired boy had a calm expression and didn't seem to mind Rin, a stranger, sitting next to him.

Rin, being his usual sunny and cheerful self, considered starting a conversation with the boy, maybe asking what kind of girls he liked. Was he into girls with big breasts, or perhaps girls with big breasts? Or maybe… girls with big breasts?

But before Rin could open his mouth, Horikita Suzune walked over with her slender legs wrapped in black stockings.

"?"

Ayanokouji Kiyotaka raised his head and looked at Horikita Suzune, his expression still calm, but there was a hint of confusion in his eyes. He couldn't quite understand why she was standing in front of him.

"Classmate, please give up your seat. I want to sit here," Horikita Suzune said, concise and clear.

Ayanokouji was surprised, letting out a soft "Ah" because he didn't fully grasp the situation, and Rin couldn't help but cast a puzzled look at Horikita Suzune.

Now it was Rin's turn to be confused. What was going on? Did this girl want to sit next to him?

"Okay."

Ayanokouji had no objections. He stood up quickly, leaving the seat he hadn't even had time to fully sit in, and moved toward one of the other empty seats.

Horikita Suzune gently smoothed the hem of her school uniform as she sat in the empty seat next to Rin, then took out a well-known novel and began reading.

Rin glanced at Horikita Suzune, who was now seated beside him. "Horikita, you know you might annoy people doing that, right? There were other empty seats."

"It doesn't matter. I have no intention of making friends," Horikita Suzune replied coldly.

"..." Rin could only shake his head helplessly.

After about three minutes, Horikita Suzune, who hadn't even turned the page of her book, suddenly spoke out.

"That..."

"The reason I'm sitting with you is because you're the only one I know on this bus, and it's better to sit with you than with a stranger I've never met."

Rin Matsuoka, who had been resting with his eyes closed, looked at Horikita Suzune, who was holding a book. He said subtly, "I understand. You don't need to explain something like that."

Especially when several minutes have already passed...

If you wanted to explain, please do it sooner!

Horikita Suzune's delayed explanation made Rin Matsuoka laugh and sigh.

With a snap, Horikita Suzune closed the book in her hand and turned her head to the side, as if she wanted to look at the scenery, leaving Rin with a view of the back of her head and her beautiful hair.

"I wasn't explaining it."

There was a hint of tsundere in Horikita Suzune's words, and her tone was so strong that it made Rin Matsuoka's mouth twitch.

"Yes, yes... Horikita, you weren't explaining it specifically."

It was unclear if Horikita Suzune saw something outside that made her happy, but her cold and aloof eyes softened slightly, curving into a faint smile.

This smile made Horikita Suzune, a girl with a naturally cold temperament, appear a little softer.

Unfortunately, Horikita Suzune's smile and gentleness were suppressed in less than a second.

In Rin Matsuoka's eyes, Horikita Suzune was just an unfamiliar girl sitting next to him.

But in Horikita Suzune's eyes, Rin Matsuoka was her only friend and a strong rival for points.

This little episode passed in the silence between Rin Matsuoka and Horikita Suzune. The bus stopped twice, and many students got on.

These students were all wearing the same school uniforms as Rin, Horikita Suzune, and the others. It was obvious that they, like Rin and the others, were freshmen in their first year of high school at the school.

They looked at the full seats, helpless expressions on their faces, and stood holding the bus pull rings.

[Host, the mission has begun to be communicated.]

Rin Matsuoka, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them. He listened attentively to the next voice from the narration system.

[Please find the person with the best physical fitness in this carriage besides the host.]

[If you guess correctly, you will get one personal quality enhancement point (random enhancement).]

Rin Matsuoka, who had long been accustomed to the narration system issuing tasks from time to time, stood up and stretched comfortably.

He used this action to move his black and white eyes, scanning everyone in the carriage.

'Small stature, thin arms, frail, he must not be.'

Rin's eyes moved, then focused, as he saw someone different!

'This guy has sunken cheeks, dull eyes, and dark eye sockets. You can tell at a glance he has kidney deficiency. He must watch porn movies every day… Well, anyway, this guy is not one of them.'

Guito Hayabusa frowned; he felt uncomfortable being slandered!

Rin's eyes continued to move.

"This guy is actually a big bald head! He doesn't even have eyebrows. He's even more amazing than Saitama-sensei. Could it be him?!"

The calm Katsuragi Kouhei frowned deeply. He felt annoyed for no apparent reason, as if someone was mocking him for being bald…