COTE: Starting With Love Stock Market System

As soon as the alarm by her bedside rang for the first time, Horikita Suzune promptly sat up from her dormitory bed without a moment's hesitation.

She proceeded to get dressed, wash up, and prepare herself for the day.

Standing before the mirror, she tidied her long black hair. Her exquisitely beautiful face remained expressionless. This marked the first week of her stay at Advanced Nurturing High School, where she had been assigned to Class 1-D.

The past few days had left her feeling displeased.

This school was far too lax.

On the first day, the students had been generously granted 100,000 Private Points as their initial allowance. Moreover, the instructors exhibited a complete lack of concern for classroom discipline. Whether students passed notes or played on their phones during lessons, the teacher showed no interest in intervening.

The moment the bell rang, she would leave the classroom without lingering a second longer.

For someone who held herself to strict standards, Suzune found this utterly unacceptable. Given that this was the institution where her brother had once studied—a school boasting an impeccable graduation and employment rate—how could it permit such rampant leniency among students?

Nevertheless, despite witnessing her classmates' lack of ambition, she remained indifferent. Suzune had no intention of meddling in matters that did not concern her.

Upon entering the classroom that morning, the atmosphere was no different from before. Her classmates showed no inclination toward academics. The girls eagerly discussed fashion and pop culture, while the boys either chatted about games or laughed loudly at crude jokes.

Suzune noticed that a few students turned their gazes toward her upon her arrival, but she paid them no mind. She quietly took her seat and pulled out a book she had borrowed the day before.

Seated next to her was a young man with delicate features—Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.

She remembered encountering him on the bus ride to school, where they had exchanged a few words. However, that conversation had long since faded from her memory.

Suzune had no interest in forming connections with anyone. She had enrolled in this school for one purpose alone—and nothing else mattered.

After classes ended, she walked to the cafeteria alone to have dinner. Just as she picked up her meal and was about to eat, she felt a gaze on her.

But when she subtly glanced around, she found nothing unusual. The students around her were either seated and eating or waiting in line for their meals.

"Was it just my imagination?"

Dismissing the thought, Suzune chose a relatively secluded corner and began eating.

It was then that she overheard a hushed conversation from two male students seated diagonally in front of her.

Although they were eating, one of them was jotting things down in a notebook, as though keeping records of something.

"How's the progress, Tsube?"

"Got it all down. Sotomura from Class 1-D has spent 2,000 Private Points on his meals daily for the past few days. Also, he seems to enjoy luxury brands—he bought a designer wallet yesterday."

"Wow, this guy sure knows how to indulge himself."

"Wait—look over there. Yamauchi just walked in."

"Him?"

"Yeah, that guy's got a loose tongue. I've chatted with him a few times, and he practically spills everything."

"You didn't do anything suspicious, did you?" The student called Tsube spoke with a hint of warning in his tone. "Did you forget Hikaru-kun's instructions? We can't risk drawing unnecessary attention."

"Relax, relax." Ninomiya waved his hand casually. "That guy's just a Class D student. No way he's sharp enough to catch on. I just casually talked to him about games, and soon enough, he was blabbering all sorts of info."

"...Fine. But don't act on your own again. If we mess this up, it could affect Hikaru-kun's plan."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it."

Ninomiya shoveled a few more bites of food into his mouth, but his gaze never left Yamauchi.

Meanwhile, Suzune—who had overheard everything—narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"What exactly are these two doing? Are they… watching other students?"

She recognized the names mentioned.

Yamauchi Haruki and Sotomura Hideo were both students of Class 1-D.

"They have clear roles—one records, the other observes. Even while eating, they're fixated on their targets."

Suzune's expression grew serious.

"And… they keep mentioning someone named Hikaru. Judging from their words, they seem to be meticulously following his plan."

"Strange…"

As she was pondering this, Ninomiya suddenly stiffened.

"Hey, Tsube—look at what Yamauchi's holding in his hands."

"...The latest gaming console?"

"Yeah. That thing costs at least 30,000 Private Points!"

"..."

Tsube's face immediately darkened. He spoke in a grave tone.

"This is bad. We need to inform Hikaru about this immediately. If Class D students keep spending their Private Points recklessly, his plan will be in jeopardy."

"That bastard! It's only been a few days since school started, and they're already burning through their points like this?"

"Exactly. If they run out of points too soon, it'll ruin everything."

The two exchanged a meaningful look, then quickly left the cafeteria.

Watching them go, Suzune's expression turned ice-cold.

From their conversation, she had gleaned several key pieces of information:

1. They were monitoring how Class D students spent their Private Points.

2. They saw Class D as "garbage."

3. They were reporting everything to someone named Hikaru.

The implications of these facts made Horikita uneasy.

"Who exactly is this Hikaru?"

And why was he so concerned about Class D's spending habits?

She instinctively recalled her observations over the past few days.

Could this explain why the school had given them so many Private Points at the start?

A theory formed in her mind, but without proof, she couldn't act just yet.

One thing was certain, though—

If these students were watching others in Class D…

Then someone might be watching her as well.

Perhaps that strange gaze she had felt earlier had not been her imagination after all.

Suzune clenched her fists.

"I refuse to be labeled as garbage."

"I have to find out the truth—no matter what it takes."

~~~

30 chapters ahead

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