Chapter 55: If the host marries her!
_____
After a moment of silence, Horikita Suzune picked up the same facial cleanser as Rin Matsuoka's and placed it into the shopping cart.
"You don't plan on saving your personal points~" Rin's words, accompanied by a smile, made Horikita Suzune glare at him. "Didn't you just tell me to pick this one?"
"Hahaha~ So just because I said it, you had to choose it?" Rin teased.
Seeing Horikita Suzune's increasingly cold eyes, Rin quickly changed his tone. "Girls should pay attention to their skin after all. It's important to choose a good facial cleanser!"
"Mm," Horikita responded softly.
"Huh?" Rin looked at Horikita Suzune strangely, wondering if she had actually responded just now. He had assumed that Horikita, who always displayed a cold and arrogant personality, would ignore what he had said.
In truth, Horikita Suzune had never really paid much attention to her appearance. But as she matured, she became more and more conscious of Rin Matsuoka's gaze. She always wanted to make sure this guy didn't see her in a careless or sloppy state. Otherwise, he would definitely laugh at her.
Because of this, Horikita Suzune had begun to pay more attention to her appearance starting two years ago.
[Horikita Suzune is a good woman, diligent and frugal. If the host marries her, he will never have to worry about trivial household matters. She will run the house so perfectly that you won't find a single fault.]
The sudden reminder from the system made Rin twitch his lips. Are you insane, system? suggesting that he should marry Horikita Suzune...
While it's true he wouldn't need to use air conditioning in summer, in winter... well, it would be freezing!
Just as this thought crossed his mind, Horikita Suzune turned her gaze toward Rin. Her fox-like eyes glinted as she stared at him with a strange expression. "Matsuoka, your expression looks weird. Are you thinking about something bad?"
"Uh... not bad, just a little... scary."
"What do you mean by 'scary'?"
Marry you and take you home!
Rin suppressed the words that almost slipped out. If he said that, she would definitely give him a death glare followed by a hard punch.
As the silence lingered, Horikita Suzune's eyes grew sharper. She could tell something was up.
"Oh, I just realized I forgot to bring a shopping cart earlier. So careless of me," Rin said, quickly patting his forehead before slipping away.
Horikita Suzune murmured to herself as she watched his retreating figure, "I really want to know what that guy was thinking just now…"
Meanwhile, Rin, who had grabbed a shopping basket not far away, contemplated whether or not to return to Horikita Suzune. He suddenly remembered something crucial.
"I forgot to ask Horikita for her contact information."
Since Rin had previously offended Nagumo, he wanted to gather more intel on him. Chabashira Sae had already told Rin everything she knew about Nagumo, but Rin felt it wasn't enough. He wanted to get in touch with Horikita Manabu, Suzune's older brother and the student council president. Being both in the student council, Horikita Manabu would definitely know more about Nagumo than Chabashira did.
Nagumo Miyabi was the school's vice president, after all.
Horikita Suzune continued picking out her daily necessities, while Rin Matsuoka returned to her side with a shopping basket.
"Horikita, you've already found your brother, right? Give me Horikita-nii's contact information," Rin asked directly.
Horikita Suzune glanced at Rin, who was once again bringing up her brother, then her fox-like eyes shifted away from him.
"No."
"Huh? What?" Rin blinked in confusion.
"I said… I don't have my brother's contact information," she responded, her tone betraying a hint of guilt.
Rin noticed something off in her voice. "Why? You haven't reached out to Horikita-nii yet, have you?"
"…I just enrolled and have been busy with my own things, cleaning the dormitory and such. I haven't had time to look for him," Horikita Suzune explained, though her guilty expression was hard to miss.
She had lied—about something so trivial! But it wasn't her fault; it was this irritating guy's fault for bringing it up!
How could Rin not realize that she wasn't mentally prepared to face her brother yet?
"Go find him now," Rin suggested casually.
"I won't!" Horikita Suzune snapped, suddenly firm in her stance. She glared at Rin, her tone defiant. "I'll find my brother when I decide to."
"Tsk." Rin clicked his tongue in mild annoyance.
"What's that tone for? And why are you so eager to meet my brother, Rin?"
"Just want to chat and reminisce about the past," Rin replied nonchalantly.
"We can do that later. Let's wait until the weekend—he'll definitely be free then." Horikita's voice wavered slightly as she said this, as though she were convincing both Rin and herself.
She silently promised that she would find the courage to meet her brother, Horikita Manabu, by the weekend.
"But the weekend's two or three days away, and today's only Wednesday," Rin pointed out.
"Exactly." Horikita Suzune's eyes locked with his, her expression serious. "And you're coming with me, Rin. You can't just go and meet my brother without me."
"Why?" Rin asked, confused. He had planned to go to the senior dormitory to find Horikita Manabu later anyway. It wasn't like it was far from the first-year dorms.
"..." Horikita pursed her lips, struggling to come up with a plausible excuse. The real reason was something she couldn't say—that she was nervous about seeing her brother and needed Rin there for support. His presence would give her confidence, but there was no way she could admit that. He'd definitely mock her for it!
Seeing her hesitation, Rin shrugged. "Alright, alright. We'll go together after the weekend."
"Good. That's a promise," Horikita said, her tone more relaxed now that she didn't have to make excuses. "I'll find out which floor and room my brother is in. You just wait for me to contact you."
"So we can stay in touch, let's exchange Line IDs." She pulled out her phone.
After a quick and efficient exchange, they successfully connected on Line. Rin noticed he was now on her follow list and checked it out of curiosity.
To his surprise, he was the only person on her list. It looked almost… lonely.
Thinking it over, Rin realized it wasn't all that surprising. Horikita Suzune, with her cold and aloof personality, didn't seem like someone who would actively make friends. It made sense that he'd be her only contact.
"What are you looking at?" Horikita Suzune asked suspiciously.
"Just checking out your follow list," Rin replied casually.
Curious, Horikita glanced at his phone and immediately noticed that her situation wasn't mirrored on Rin's list. Unlike her, Rin had several contacts on his Line account, a fact she found both surprising and a little disheartening.