COTE: Horikita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 130: Horikita Suzune: No way

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Rin accompanied Horikita to the elevator, which was currently rising from the first floor.

[Host, the system recommends that you leave now, or you'll regret it later.]

"What do you mean?" Rin subconsciously asked the narration system.

Before the system could explain, the elevator reached the third floor. When the doors opened, Rin immediately understood why the system had advised him to leave.

Standing inside the elevator was someone Rin definitely didn't want to see.

"Eh? Isn't this Matsuoka-san and Horikita-san? What happened to you two?"

Inside the elevator, Kushida looked at Rin and Horikita with surprise, her gaze flitting between Rin and Suzune, who was holding a lunch box, a mop, and a bucket.

Horikita, her face cold and indifferent, didn't respond to Kushida's surprise. Instead, she stepped into the elevator and spoke to Rin in her usual brisk tone.

"Thirteenth floor."

"Yes, yes," Rin responded quickly, leaning into the elevator to press the button for the thirteenth floor. He then waved at the two girls as the doors began to close.

"Goodbye, both of you."

"Goodbye, Matsuoka-san!" Kushida responded cheerfully, her tone as lively as ever.

The elevator doors slowly closed, leaving only Horikita and Kushida inside.

Kushida, still wearing her trademark sweet smile, turned to Horikita and asked, "Horikita-san, you're holding a mop and a bucket. Were you just helping Matsuoka-san clean his dormitory?"

"...Yes."

Horikita didn't see the point in lying. She wasn't concerned about others misunderstanding or speculating about her actions, so she admitted Kushida's assumption without hesitation.

"Then, Horikita-san, you—"

Before Kushida could finish, Horikita interrupted her coldly. "I owed Matsuoka a favor. Delivering lunch and cleaning his dormitory was just my way of repaying that favor."

"I see..."

Even someone as skilled in communication as Kushida found herself at a loss for words when dealing with Horikita.

Although Horikita didn't explicitly say "don't talk to me" in every sentence, her tone always carried the unmistakable undertone of "leave me alone."

Suppressing her irritation, Kushida forced herself to maintain her sweet demeanor. "Horikita-san, I want to make friends with everyone in the class. Would you exchange Line accounts with me?"

"I cannot."

Damn it!

What was wrong with this woman? Couldn't she at least reject people a little more tactfully?

Unfortunately for Kushida, Horikita saw no need for tact. If she didn't want to do something, she would refuse outright without hesitation.

Horikita turned her gaze toward Kushida, whose expression had momentarily frozen, and added coldly, "I'm not interested in becoming friends with anyone. Please don't waste your time."

"I see... But Horikita-san seems quite close to Matsuoka-san. Aren't you two friends?"

"..." Horikita fell silent.

That guy is different... He's different from all of you.

Kushida observed Horikita's reaction, sneering internally. For someone who claimed to have no interest in friendship, she didn't deny it when Matsuoka was mentioned.

Thankfully, the elevator reached Kushida's floor. She bid farewell to Horikita with her usual enthusiasm and stepped out, her sweet voice ringing as she said, "Goodbye, Horikita-san!"

Now alone in the elevator, Horikita sighed softly, finally allowing herself a moment of relief.

"I don't know why, but I always feel uncomfortable around Kushida. She's strange too. It seems like she doesn't enjoy being with me, yet she always finds opportunities to talk to me."

Horikita was perceptive and could sense from Kushida's ever-smiling demeanor that the girl didn't particularly like the awkwardness of their interactions.

Meanwhile, after a satisfying dinner, Rin lay on his bed, reading the famous novel Whose Body? that Shiina had lent him. The quilt, which had been folded neatly and sharply like a block of tofu just moments ago, was now a tangled mess.

If Horikita knew how quickly Rin had ruined the quilt she folded, she would probably glare at him fiercely.

But Rin thought otherwise. To him, a quilt was meant to be used when sleeping, and sleeping with a quilt inevitably left it messy.

Since it would get messy anyway, why bother folding it at all?

As Rin became engrossed in the novel, his phone buzzed. He picked it up and glanced at the screen.

[Matsuoka-san, please don't be late tomorrow morning.]

It was a Line message from Ichinose Honami.

[Don't worry, Ichinose. I'll be there on time at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.]

[Then I feel relieved. See you tomorrow~]

[Well, see you tomorrow.]

Ichinose Honami ended the chat and looked at her phone screen with a bright smile.

"Matsuoka-san, I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. I wonder what you want to tell me. It'd be great if you decided to join the student council."

"If we join together, I'll have more time to spend with him."

With a sense of anticipation, Ichinose hummed a cheerful tune, grabbed her nightgown, and headed to the bathroom.

After entering, she removed her casual clothes, revealing her smooth, fair skin and her round, snow-white figure.

It was time for Ichinose to enjoy a refreshing bath.

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Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was already seven o'clock on Sunday.

As usual, Horikita arrived with breakfast in hand. With an inexplicable sense of anticipation, she pressed the doorbell to Rin's dormitory.

Ding Dong~

This time, there was no voice from inside the dorm. Instead, the door opened directly.

Horikita looked up to see Rin standing there in pajamas. Her expectations were instantly replaced with a twinge of disappointment—his pajamas weren't as loose as she had imagined.

"Rin, you're up so early today. I thought I'd have to call you again like yesterday," she remarked.

"I went to bed early last night, so I woke up early too," Rin replied with a smile.

"Here's your breakfast," Horikita said, handing him the plastic bag she was holding.

Rin felt the weight of the bag and couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's for breakfast today? It feels heavy."

"Rice, fried fish, egg rolls, and a bowl of miso soup," Horikita answered succinctly.

"So fancy! I'm in for a treat," Rin exclaimed, his surprise evident.

Seeing his delighted expression, Horikita's cold demeanor softened slightly. She tilted her head and spoke matter-of-factly.

"Yesterday, I went to the convenience store and bought a lot of daily necessities, including kitchen utensils and seasonings. So, today's breakfast is a bit richer."

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