Hachiman Hikigaya, who returned from his studies after completing his training.

"Yukinoshita is so cute, and she has such a great presence."

Even in a simple greeting, Yukinoshita's movements were full of elegance, which made Asahina eagerly move closer to her.

Then Hikigaya received a cold gaze from Yukinoshita.

Her beautiful, icy blue eyes seemed to be saying, "How could you bring such an overly familiar senior into your life? She's furious now."

"Hehe." Hikigaya chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "Asahina is in some trouble and needs to learn how to cook. Could you teach her?"

"Why did you choose me? And Hachiman, how did you know I can cook?"

Yukinoshita's cute face showed confusion as she struggled to block Asahina's passionately close body.

“I know, and I also know that you are a helpful person.”

"Please, junior, I'll pay you."

After Hikigaya answered, Asahina also clasped her hands together and begged Yukinoshita for help, which made Yukinoshita sigh softly, revealing a hint of helplessness.

"I agree, but the payment will be made to Hikigaya-kun instead."

"No problem." Asahina raised her hands in a victory pose.

Why did you agree for me, Asahina-senpai?

Looking at the smiling Asahina, Hikigaya Asayuki silently complained before nodding slightly.

Anyway, it was his fault that he caused this mess.

Chapter 162 She's More Like the President Than You

"Why are you so close to Asahina-senpai? And why didn't you ask me for help?"

After Asahina forcefully pulled Yukinoshita to try the three-legged race, Horikita Suzune approached Hikigaya with a cold expression.

Ever since Asahina was brought by Hikigaya, she has been keeping a close eye on this senior who is rumored to be Nagumo's childhood friend.

You should know that Nagumo is Hikigaya's enemy, and a junior whom her brother dislikes.

"It was just a coincidence. As for why I didn't look for you—" Hikigaya scrutinized Horikita Suzune's cold yet adorable face.

Despite their similarly cute and somewhat sarcastic and aloof appearances, their inner selves are completely different.

Horikita Suzune only saw Horikita Manabu's outward coldness and aloofness and presumptuously regarded him as a cold and ruthless rational egoist, completely failing to discover the gentleness beneath Horikita Manabu's indifference.

"Would you genuinely want to teach Asahina-senpai how to cook?"

"Does Yukinoshita-san know how to do that?"

Horikita frowned slightly. She didn't think that Yukinoshita, who looked similar to her, would have a helpful personality.

“She’s more like the president than you are,” Hachiman said earnestly.

Horikita Manabu appeared indifferent, but when Tachibana Akane was punished with expulsion, he didn't hesitate to use 300 class points and 20 million personal points to save her.

At that time, all members of Class 3-A were present, and no one had any objections.

No one questioned Horikita Manabu's actions.

It was as if they all knew that Horikita Manabu would do the same thing.

Hikigaya remembers that Horikita Suzune was so shocked at the time that she couldn't come to her senses for a long time.

"What did you say?! Hachiman!"

Horikita Suzune's face was filled with anger, even a hint of ferocity.

A chop shot came from her flailing arm toward Hachiman's side, but Hachiman, who was prepared, dodged it and took two steps back in front of her.

Even after missing her target, Horikita Suzune didn't give up. She raised her left knee and kicked Hikigaya in the stomach.

Anger overwhelmed her reason.

Why did Yukinoshita, this transfer student, inexplicably gain Hikigaya's trust and be entrusted with important responsibilities? She felt that her position had been replaced and was already dissatisfied.

Is Yukinoshita more like her brother?

Who is playing such a huge joke? She has been relentlessly chasing after her brother's shadow, so why does Hikigaya say that Yukinoshita is more like her brother than she is?

Whether in the sweltering summer or the bitter winter, she never stopped exercising and devoted a lot of time to her studies.

The only time she relaxes is when she reads, and she reads literature and the like.

"This is a fact, and it is my own judgment."

With a gentle flick of Horikita Suzune's ankle, Hikigaya deflected her attack and took another step back. After hearing his words of 'unrepentant,' Horikita Suzune threw another punch at his chest.

"What are you doing, Horikita-kun?"

"Rin-chan, please stop and let's talk things out."

Horikita Suzune's series of large movements naturally attracted the attention of the nearby Class B students, and Hirata and Shiina both jogged over to try and stop her.

"Let me beat him once first before we talk about it."

"You don't think that hitting me will make me change my mind?" Hikigaya helplessly opened his palm to catch Horikita Suzune's fist, and closed his fingers as she tried to pull them back.

Without answering Hikigaya's question, Horikita Suzune struggled to free her hands and then raised her knees, which was naturally noticed by Hikigaya who was watching her closely.

"If you keep doing this, I'm running away."

As more and more students from Class B gathered, Hikigaya no longer wanted to fool around with Horikita Suzune.

"Aren't you embarrassed to be chased by a girl?"

"Wouldn't it be embarrassing for you to chase after her? You're the president's sister."

"Anyway, you also think I don't look like my brother."

After speaking harshly, Horikita Suzune stopped what she was doing, and Hikigaya released her hand at that moment.

Shiina stepped between the two, "Hachiman, what did you do to make Suzune so angry?"

"nothing."

Seeing the murderous look in Horikita Suzune's eyes, Hikigaya also told Shiina the reason why the incident happened, which made Shiina purse her pink lips in distress and leave to let the two of them solve it themselves.

"What makes you think Yukinoshita is more like my brother than I am?" Horikita Rin crossed her arms, her face icy and unyielding, but the interruption of her impulse brought her back to her senses.

Do you think your brother is gentle?

Hikigaya understands Horikita Gakushu, understands Yukinoshita, and of course understands Horikita Suzune.

This was the basis for his conclusion, but he chose to answer Horikita's question in a different way.

"Brother... is he gentle?"

Horikita frowned deeply, pondering the meaning behind Hikigaya's words.

Her brother doesn't seem like a gentle person at all, so why would she ask her if she thought her brother was gentle?

Is there a deeper meaning here? Is the emphasis not on gentleness but on my feeling?

"Sigh, you just need to answer whether you think so or not."

Seeing Horikita Hikigaya puzzled by such a simple question, she sighed. It seemed that her IQ would drop significantly whenever her brother, Horikita Suzune, was involved.

"I don't think so," Horikita Suzune replied, following her heart.

Her brother was cold, aloof, and friendless, and he was extremely strict with her because she was weak.

However, she wouldn't be angry with her brother because of this, since it was all her fault for not being good enough for him.

People who hold others back have no value as needed.

"But I think your brother is a very gentle person, and my existence is the best proof of that."

"That's because you're strong, which is why your brother pays attention to you and takes care of you."

“I’m not talking about the fact that I was taken care of, but rather the reason why he wanted to promote me to be the student council president.”

In just a few months, Horikita Manabu will graduate from Advanced Education, and from then on, whatever happens to the school will be none of his concern.

The fact that Nagumo's rise to power has intensified the emphasis on meritocracy will lead to more students dropping out, but what does that have to do with him, who has already graduated?

"You don't actually think the president went to all that trouble to put me in his place just because he doesn't like Nagumo, do you?"

"Then what other reason is there? My brother is about to graduate, so it doesn't matter who becomes the student council president."

Although Horikita Suzune clearly thought that it wouldn't affect him who became student council president after Horikita Manabu, she couldn't understand his reason for doing so.

Hikigaya felt that part of the blame lay with Horikita Manabu, who was indifferent and didn't pay much attention to Horikita Suzune.

If you want to train your younger sister, you need to pay close attention to her, senior.

When she goes astray, it is the older brother's job to guide her in time, rather than completely indulging her and letting her wallow in the mire to figure things out on her own.

"His elaborate reasoning was that he believed Nagumo's extreme meritocratic philosophy would lead to more students dropping out, which was not what he wanted."

"How is that possible? Why would my brother care about protecting vulnerable people who are unrelated to him?"

Her eyes widened, and Horikita Suzune bit her lip tightly.

Chapter 163 The Curtain Rises

"You'll have to observe and think about it yourself. If you really can't figure it out, just ask the chairman."

"To truly understand a person, it's not enough to just listen to what they say; you also need to observe what they do to delve into their motives."

With several months left before Horikita Manabu's departure, Hikigaya hopes the two siblings can reconcile as soon as possible and part without regrets.

Horikita Suzune is not yet someone Horikita Manabu can trust.

"Don't dwell on the past, Horikita," Hikigaya said seriously. "I don't know about the previous student council president, but do you think the president hasn't changed at all in the two years since he entered this school?"

"It's time for you to grow up. Stop following your brother around like a little kid without any of your own ideas."

On the bustling playground, Horikita Suzune stared blankly at the successor chosen by her older brother.

After being pointed out, she suddenly realized that she seemed to have never really understood her brother, and that entering this school was just her way of following in his footsteps from two years ago.

I don't want anything except my brother's approval.

"I...I'm not a child."

Unable to refute her, Horikita Suzune took a step back and turned to leave.

She didn't know where she was going, but she just didn't want to stay in front of Hachiman.

"Is everything alright? Suzune seems to be preoccupied."

Shiina, who had been watching closely, quickly approached and looked worriedly at Horikita's departing figure.

“No problem, she’s Horikita Suzune.” Hikigaya smiled and patted Shiina’s head.

Horikita Suzune's persistence and willpower are among the best he has ever seen, and a little confusion in her mindset is no obstacle for her.

...........

...........

The first day that student entry forms for the Sports Festival can be submitted.

As soon as the bell rang, Chazuki immediately closed his textbook and announced the end of get out of class.

A few minutes later, all the students in the classroom left with Hirata and the others to train on the playground, leaving only Hikigaya and Shiina in the classroom.

Not long after, Ichinose, who was alone, also arrived at the classroom.

"lets go."

After stretching, Hachiman stood up from his seat and walked out of the classroom. Ichinose and Shiina followed him with smiles, and the three of them walked in the empty corridor with Hachiman in the middle.

At the same time, the class leader of Class 3, Grade 2 (BCD) went up to the podium and called off the students' original plan to train on the playground. The original destination was changed from the playground to the conference room.

A conference room that can accommodate hundreds of people is also the destination of the three Hachimans.

"Moka, do you know what's going on? It seems like only the students from Class A are missing, and aren't those third-year seniors? The student council president is also there."

"I don't know either, but those guys are not only seniors from the third year, but also leaders of Class C and Class D," Xu Zhi replied, frowning slightly at his companion's question.

In the spacious and solemn conference room, more than one hundred students from three classes, under the direction of their class leaders, had taken their seats in the empty front row, clearly divided into groups.

The central speaker's seat on the podium remained empty. The third-year leaders recognized by Suzuki Moka simply stood silently beside the podium, facing them without saying a word, seemingly having no intention of going up to speak.