COTE: Horikita Is My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 127: It's so embarrassing, I want to die!

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"Madam, what is the result of the complaint?"

"We used the surveillance cameras along that stretch of road to confirm that the Tsukishiro clan was indeed following you and committing illegal acts," Mirai replied.

Her words brought a slight smile to Rin Matsuoka's face. "So, he has been fired by the school now, right?"

"Well..."

Mirai's pause made Rin raise an eyebrow. "The school didn't punish him?"

"How could there be no punishment?" Mirai said with a hint of displeasure in her voice.

"Although Tsukishiro Ryu's stalking behavior was inappropriate, this offense alone isn't severe enough to warrant dismissal. The school has already punished him by transferring him from the sales department to the department responsible for receiving supplies."

"After the transfer, Tsukishiro Ryu will no longer have contact with students," she explained.

Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School is situated on an island. The students and faculty living there depend on supplies transported from the mainland. From now on, Tsukishiro Ryu could only handle cold supplies.

Even so, Rin was far from satisfied with the school's decision. Allowing Tsukishiro to remain on the island didn't sit well with him. He suspected that Tsukishiro's lenient treatment might have something to do with his relative, being a school board member.

Still, Rin knew better than to press Mirai for confirmation of his suspicions. Their relationship was merely one of familiar strangers, far from the closeness of friendship.

"Thank you, boss lady, for informing me about the result of my complaint," Rin said with apparent gratitude.

"You're welcome. Conveying the results is part of our standard procedure. Rest assured, this kind of issue won't arise again. That's all," Mirai assured him.

"Understood."

The conversation between Rin and Mirai ended there. Rin leaned back and muttered to himself, "Narrator, do you think my guess is correct?"

[That is indeed the case.]

[The school concluded that Tsukishiro Ryu's actions, while inappropriate, did not meet the threshold for dismissal. Since he caused no direct harm and has connections, they chose to transfer him instead.]

"Tsk," Rin clicked his tongue. "I hope that guy behaves himself after being transferred."

At that moment, Rin received a Line message from Sakura.

"Make a copy of those photos of mine?" Rin murmured in slight surprise. Without hesitation, he replied, "OK."

After all, those photos were taken by Sakura Airi herself, so Rin saw no issue with her wanting to keep a copy.

Rin's response brought a broad smile to Sakura Airi's face, her eyes curving into crescents. She giggled softly, looking a little silly as she basked in her happiness.

Moments later, another Line message from Rin followed:

[Sakura, are you available now? I want to call you to tell you something.]

Seeing this, Sakura's eyes widened. Her snow-white, slender legs subconsciously closed, rubbing against each other shyly.

"Could it be a confession?! Is Matsuoka-san planning to confess to me?"

"No, no way... That's impossible. Matsuoka-san wouldn't confess to a gloomy girl like me..."

Excitement mixed with anxiety filled Sakura Airi. Her lack of self-confidence blinded her to the truth—she possessed a charm more than enough to captivate boys.

Sakura Airi shook her head violently, trying to rid herself of her strange, impatient expectations. Her trembling white fingers managed to type the word "yes."

The moment Rin Matsuoka saw her response, he called her directly.

In less than a second, Sakura Airi answered the call, and Rin could hear her rapid breathing through the phone.

"Sakura, why are you breathing so fast? Were you exercising?" Rin asked curiously.

"Ah? No... no! I'm just a little hot right now, so my breathing is... a little rapid," Sakura stammered, her voice low as she fanned her flushed cheeks with her palms.

Why would she need to exercise again? After all, she had already exerted herself enough during her date with Rin earlier today.

Sakura Airi sighed inwardly, knowing full well her body would be sore all over when she woke up tomorrow.

Pressing her soft palms tightly against her plump and firm chest, she asked expectantly, "Mat...Suoka-san, what did you want to tell me?"

"Well, it's about the employee we ran into at the store today. The school has punished him and transferred him to the supplies department. We won't see him again, so you don't need to worry about being followed anymore."

"…"

Sakura Airi, who had been so full of expectation, felt utterly deflated after hearing Rin's explanation.

Muttering to herself, she said softly, "I've been overthinking," and, "It was really impossible."

Rin, noticing her sudden change in mood, raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Sakura, what are you talking about? Are you unhappy with the school's decision?"

"No, no, I'm quite satisfied. I won't have to see that clerk again, and that makes me very happy," Sakura answered sincerely.

She truly didn't think the clerk deserved to be fired, so she felt the school's handling of the matter was appropriate.

Yet, this only added to her disappointment because Rin clearly hadn't called to confess anything to her.

Still unwilling to give up entirely, Sakura summoned her courage and asked, "Mat...Suoka-san, did you call me specifically to tell me about the school's handling of that clerk?"

"That's right," Rin replied matter-of-factly.

"…"

"I was worried I wouldn't be able to express myself clearly over Line, so I thought it would be better to call you directly."

"Well, now it's completely clear to me that I was thinking too much."

"So, what were you thinking about, Sakura?" Rin asked, genuinely curious.

"Nothing! Mat... Suoka-san, I'll hang up now. No, I'm hanging up first. I won't disturb your rest!" she said hurriedly, her voice tinged with embarrassment.

"Alright," Rin replied simply.

After the call ended, Sakura collapsed onto her bed like a deflated balloon.

Turning onto her stomach, she buried her delicate, plump body into the mattress and pressed her pretty face against the pillow. A muffled cry of frustration escaped her lips.

"What was I thinking, expecting something so ridiculous as a gloomy girl? It's so embarrassing—I want to die!"

"Thankfully, no one knows what was going through my head just now," she muttered.

If anyone had known, she might have seriously considered dropping out of school.

After venting her frustration and shame into the pillow, Sakura eventually calmed down.

Sitting up, she reached for her phone and turned on its Bluetooth function. Pairing it with her camera, she began transferring all the photos from the memory card to her phone.

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Note: This is Erovia a friend of ANelite, I am here to notice you that from now on I will be taking over ANelite's work's and I will also change the name from ANelite to Erovia in all platforms .