What a twist! The loser heroine!

"That's quite a long-term idea."

Wen Shui thought for a moment, then said, "Also, why didn't you talk to Ayano about this yesterday? If you had spoken up, Ayano would probably have discussed it with you properly."

“Girls need time to make up their minds, Ah Wen.” Shao Yan poked the exercise book with the tip of her pen, looking shy. “Besides, I always feel like it’s hard to bring it up.”

"Generally, guys wouldn't refuse their girlfriends' requests, right?"

“That’s true…” Shao Shio pondered for a moment, then nodded: “I understand. I’ll go talk to Ayano about this after the city-level competition is over.”

"The city-level competition, I remember it's this Sunday?"

Wen Shui remembered what she had seen on the bulletin board before.

"Yeah, Awen must come and cheer me on then!" Shao Yan said with a grin. She spoke of the competition in a relaxed tone, as if she didn't feel much pressure at all.

After all, with her ability, winning the championship is more than enough.

Furthermore, Shao Shio originally planned to confess to Ayano after the city-level competition, but because of his own actions, the original plan was not so perfect. Logically speaking, he should also take some responsibility.

Thinking of this, Wen Shui nodded and said, "Yes, I will do my best."

"Okay! I'll inform Mitsuki then."

With class about to start, Shao Yan quickly put away her workbook, said goodbye, and returned to her seat.

The city-wide competition on Sunday... looks like I'll have to adjust my weekend plans.

Amidst the clamor of students turning pages in preparation for class, Wen Shui suddenly heard a deliberately hushed voice behind her:

"Warm water—my physics needs some help too."

Without turning around, he could guess the slightly annoyed expression on the girl's face behind him.

He sighed softly:

"Let's talk about it at the community office after school today."

"Good~"

◇

After the rest of the classes passed peacefully, the lunch break bell finally rang.

Karen Himegami, carrying two lunchboxes, left the classroom before her classmates could approach her. She said she was going to take a nap with Chihaya Asagumo today, so she was probably going to the advanced class.

Wen Shui withdrew her gaze and opened her schoolbag.

When she was in school, Himegami used the excuse, "Because my mom made too much food last night, she made a lot of bento boxes," and the third bento box she handed over to herself was quietly lying in her schoolbag.

[I told you before that this wasn't necessary...]

He shook his head, intending to find a random place to eat his bento, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a familiar, tall figure in the direction where Himegami had just left.

"Hey! Wenshui, are you free during your lunch break?"

Wen Shui looked up and saw Ayano Mitsuki standing in the corridor, looking at her with that sunny and handsome smile.

Amidst the gasps of surprise from the girls in the classroom, Wen Shui asked with some astonishment:

"can I help you?"

"I'd like to invite you to take a nap together, but if it's inconvenient, then never mind."

"It's not that it's inconvenient."

"Oh, that's wonderful."

So Wen Shui stood up, picked up her lunchbox, and followed Ayano out of the classroom.

He was a little nervous about being asked out by a boy for the first time, but he didn't notice that a girl behind him suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She stared blankly as Wen Shui's figure disappeared into the doorway:

"how come……"

~The Eightieth Defeat~ A somewhat strange lunch break

Along the tree-lined path, Atsushi and Ayano sat side by side on a stone bench.

"So... this is where you'll take your lunch break."

"Ah."

Wen Shui held the lunchbox in her hands and looked around. This place was located at the back of the school building. Although it wasn't in a remote location, few people came here. This place seemed somewhat familiar, but Wen Shui couldn't remember what it was.

Ayano Mitsuki said with a smile, "I've been taking my lunch break here for the past week. What do you think? It's a nice place, isn't it?"

"It's not bad," Wen Shui nodded. "But the most important reason is that you can see the playground from here, right?"

As Wen Shui spoke, she turned her gaze to the playground not far away, where Shao Yan Ningzi was running swiftly on the rubber track.

"Haha...that's how it is." Ayano lowered her head somewhat embarrassedly.

[So that's why this guy suddenly asked me to take a nap together, turns out he just wanted to show off his love...]

"It must have been really tough..."

Although it wasn't the first time he'd seen the track and field team train at noon, he still couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

"After all, we're going to participate in the city-level competition this weekend." Ayano's gaze never left Shao Shio. He said with a smile, "I heard from Lemon during break that you're also going to the competition to cheer her on?"

"Well, I don't have anything planned for the weekend anyway."

"That's strange. Back in junior high, I sometimes wanted to invite you out on weekends, but you always declined."

"Right."

After saying this, Wen Shui suddenly stared blankly at the lunchbox in her hand.

Since junior high, I've almost always spent my weekends at home, but for some reason, these past few weeks...

My social life seems a bit too active lately. What went wrong?

After a long pause, Wen Shui suddenly shook her head with a laugh.

Anyway, let's just let things take their course.

The bento box was opened with warm water, and a variety of exquisite dishes, a perfect balance of meat and vegetables, immediately came into view.

The Princess Himeko family's cooking is truly excellent.

He picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, quietly savoring the delicious taste as it blossomed on his taste buds.

"But speaking of which, there's something I wanted to ask you last night, but Lemon interrupted me," Ayano said with a smile.

"……?What's up?"

"Um, well... this..." Ayano scratched his cheek a little embarrassedly, put down the bread in his hand, and looked at Wen Shui: "Wen Shui, didn't you go to the planetarium with Asahi on Sunday?"

"Um... that's how it is, but I absolutely don't have any other thoughts."

Wen Shui quickly explained, "I was worried that Chao Yun might do something rash, which is why I kept following her."

"Haha, I understand, but that's not what I wanted to say."

Ayano stopped smiling, carefully chose her words, and then said, "Back then, there was a girl with Wenshui next to you, right? She looks vaguely familiar."

“That’s true.” Wen Shui thought for a moment and figured that Ayano probably saw Banami in the video of the autograph session, which was why she looked familiar.

Since that's the case, he didn't bother to hide anything and introduced her directly: "She's my classmate, Hanami. She attended a signing event before, so you might remember her."

"Oh, I see. Yashio also told me about Hanami-kun."

Ayano pushed up his glasses, using the reflection to obscure his intelligent eyes, revealing a knowing look: "I didn't expect that even though Wen Shui says you're not a dating expert, you went out with a cute girl from your class on Sunday..."

"Um...it seems you've misunderstood something."

Wen Shui's lips twitched slightly, and he quickly raised his hand to indicate his innocence.

"Misunderstanding?" Ayano smiled knowingly. "Hmph, Wen Shui, when you go to the vending machine during your lunch break, you always pass by the special class. I've paid special attention to your lunch break meals, and you basically eat bread sold in the cafeteria."

[How did this guy start observing me for so long...?]

Wen Shui suddenly felt a strange sensation of being watched. He quickly looked around but did not find any suspicious people.

Ayano, however, seemed oblivious to all of this, and continued to speak eloquently: "Although your lunch break routine has changed recently for some reason, it's still mainly bread, right?"

"So what...?" Wen Shui suddenly had a bad feeling.

"So, the bento box you're holding was made for you by Hanami-kun, right?" He concluded confidently. "That's great, having a couple make bento boxes for you. Maybe I should learn to make bento boxes for Shao too—"

To everyone's surprise, Wen Shui immediately looked away: "You guessed wrong, this bento wasn't made by Banami-kun."

"Ugh?"

"Besides, she and I aren't in a romantic relationship, I can guarantee that." Wen Shui picked up a piece of cabbage with her chopsticks and said calmly, "She likes her childhood sweetheart."

"But you do it on weekends..."

"It's just a coincidence," he explained. "Ayano, don't overthink it."

Hearing Wen Shui's firm denial, Ayano had no choice but to nod.

"I understand. I'm sorry, it was just my assumption."

The atmosphere became a little awkward, so Wen Shui said self-deprecatingly:

"How is it possible for someone like me, who can't even make friends, to get a girlfriend?"

"How could that be? Aren't I your friend?"

Ayano Mitsuki's seemingly casual remark made Wen Shui raise her head:

"Huh? We're friends?"

"...Really?!"

Ayano looked as if he had been dealt a heavy blow. He said incredulously, "You helped me and Lemon so much... I thought you already considered me a friend..."

So the friend he was talking about on Saturday was me?

Wen Shui was stunned for a moment.

However, if it's this guy, I wouldn't be too opposed to him. Besides, Dad said something before—

After carefully preparing himself, Wenshui Kazuhiko placed the lunchbox on the stone bench and then said to Ayano in a very serious tone:

"Well... although there are many shortcomings, please give me your guidance."

Are you responding to a marriage proposal?

Ayano suddenly burst into laughter, and a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on Wen Shui's face:

"Sorry, I take the definition of friendship a little too seriously."

"Haha, now I've seen it for myself."

Lingye nodded with a sense of sympathy, now completely agreeing with Wen Shui's words.

◇

When most of the lunch break had passed, Shao Shio Lemon finished her training. She drank her sports drink and ran over to Ayano for a happy chat.

Wen Shui didn't want to see a newlywed couple showing affection in front of him, so the moment he saw Shao Shio running towards Ayano, he made an excuse and ran away.

Standing by the pool, he looked away, washed the empty lunchbox in his hand, and took the opportunity to taste the tap water from the pool by the playground at midday.

Kazuhiko Wenshui straightened up in front of the pool. He briefly reviewed his conversation with Ayano and extracted some key information from it.

Did Hanami and I really look like a couple back then?

The answer was naturally no; she hadn't even considered that possibility, especially since her classmate, Banami, liked her childhood friend.

However, Banami often seeks her out to discuss plans. And, based on her intuition, it seems that Banami deliberately seeks her out, a point that can be inferred from their conversation on Sunday.

Although the reason is unknown, it is indeed possible that outsiders might mistake her and Hanami for a couple.

Wen Shui pondered for a moment as she walked toward the school gate.

We need to speed things up between them.

He frowned, thinking with some distress.

If Hakamada misunderstands his relationship with Hanami, it could have an irreparable impact on Hanami's plans, ultimately leading to a complete failure.

It seems best to avoid her for now. If anything comes up, I'll contact her via Line.