What a twist! The loser heroine!

Beside a shop on the pedestrian street, Himegami picked up a rabbit-shaped pastry with her fingers and exclaimed in surprise, "So cute! Boss, give me two boxes!"

“Thank you for your patronage~”

Wen Shui casually took the two boxes of not-too-heavy pastries and put them into the shopping bag she was carrying, which was already stuffed full.

"Hime-kun, is it really okay to buy so many?" he asked in surprise.

Unexpectedly, Himegami picked up another shopping bag she was carrying and gave a thumbs-up: "No problem!"

"Because I want to get along well with my classmates, I discussed it with my mom beforehand, and these gifts are all for my classmates!"

"I'm not talking about the recipient, I'm talking about the price. Nagoya's specialties aren't cheap."

"That's not a problem either, is it?"

It's so good to be rich...

Thinking this, Wen Shui turned her gaze to Xiao Ju beside her.

"Xiao Ju only bought some food."

"Yes, the little ones at home kept pestering me yesterday, wanting me to bring them these," Xiao Ju said with a smile. "I also bought some nutritional supplements for Mom."

"How virtuous she is."

"What...what are you saying?!" Xiao Ju's face suddenly turned red.

"I'm sorry! I meant to talk about the Gu family!"

Wen Shui then realized that she had used the wrong word.

"You idiot, you warm water, go, go die!"

"Excuse me……"

"I'm very virtuous, aren't I? Would you like to praise me, Wen Shui?"

"Princess, please stop causing trouble—"

It seemed that the noise of Wen Shui and his group on the pedestrian street had attracted the attention of passersby, because a stylishly dressed man wearing sunglasses came up to them and stood in front of them.

He scrutinized Himegami Karen with a critical gaze, then took out a business card from his jacket pocket and said:

"Gentlemen, nice to meet you. I am the head of Between-X firm."

Himegami stared wide-eyed at the business card the man was offering, and asked with some confusion, "Um, may I ask..."

"Ah, it's like this. Our agency is in charge of selecting models for Fashion-X magazine. I saw that this young lady's qualifications are very suitable, so I would like to learn more about her."

Ah, it's that kind of scene where a pretty girl gets approached by a talent scout on the street; it's quite common in light novels.

When Karen Himegami learned of the talent scout's purpose, she waved her hand and refused to accept the business card: "I'm sorry, I'm still a high school student, and I'm already working as a model."

"Oh, is that so? I'm sorry to bother you."

The talent scout left, behaving himself.

"Hime, have you ever worked as a model?" Xiao Ju asked, watching the talent scout's departing figure.

Himegami nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, my family is in the clothing business, so we often need models to try on new products. Sometimes when we can't get other people available, we have to fill in."

“I see. After all, Himegami is indeed very suitable to be a model.” Wen Shui nodded.

"Huh? Well, Wen Shui, what aspect of me is best suited to be a model?"

Princess Himeko, carrying shopping bags, approached the warm water and asked with a mischievous grin.

"Um, well... it would suit me in every way."

The scent of jasmine wafted over, and Wen Shui touched her nose, turning her face slightly to the side.

"Could you elaborate a bit more?"

"forgive me……"

"hey-hey."

Princess Ji was satisfied and skipped over to the two of them.

She glanced at Xiao Ju's right hand, which was clutching the hem of Wen Shui's clothes, pursed her lips, and said, "You two, you should have bought most of the souvenirs by now, right? It's time to head to the publishing house."

Wen Shui nodded and turned to look at Xiao Ju.

"Xiao Ju, are you ready?"

"Uh-huh."

◇

Kadokawa Shoten's branch office in Nagoya is located on the second floor of a bookstore. Nagoya, through the weekend's surge of book buyers, led Himegami and Nukumi to a locked wooden door.

Xiao Ju took out her phone and checked the information on Line.

"Editor Kihara told me to wait for her here."

"No need to wait, I've arrived."

The response she received was a crisp, concise, and cool female voice. The three of them turned to look, and a tall woman with short, neat hair, dressed in office attire, walked out from around the corner.

She stood in front of the three people and introduced herself with a cold expression: "I am Kihara Hanako, the editor in charge of [Kuon-tsuna] works. Nice to meet you both."

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Kihara," Himegami greeted Nukumi.

Kihara nodded to the two of them, then walked straight to Komari, gently put his arm around her shoulder, and said familiarly, "Chika~~ come here and let me hug you~ how have you been these days? Have you encountered any trouble?"

"No, No, No, there are other people watching..." Xiao Ju, who was being held in the editor's arms, immediately waved her arms in an attempt to resist.

"What's wrong? I need to replenish some of my Zhihua energy~~"

It seems the resistance has had little effect, and Editor Kihara is holding on tighter and tighter.

After a dozen seconds, Kihara finally released Komari, whose eyes were darting around, and beamed with a happy smile, a stark contrast to the cold beauty she had just been.

"Great! Zhihua's energy has been fully replenished!"

She nodded, then said to Himegami and Onami, who were supporting Komari, "You're Chika's friends, right? This child is a bit timid. I was originally planning to go to Toyohashi to pick her up, but it's so kind of you to help me now."

"Hehe, friends are supposed to help each other, right?" Himegami said with a smile.

"That's good." Kihara nodded, pointed upstairs, and said, "Currently, the publishing house is meeting with a leader, so they can't meet with us, but it should be over soon."

Wen Shui raised an eyebrow: "Sounds like this is important."

Kihara nodded in agreement: "Yeah, after all, even I got kicked out."

[They really have a grand air about them...]

So, Wenshui and his two companions began talking with Kihara, the editor, about the release of Komari's physical book. Just as the three were getting into a lively conversation, the locked wooden door was opened from the inside.

"Ah, Kihara, you're here. Has [Kuon-Usagi]-sensei arrived?" A middle-aged man peeked out from behind the wooden door.

Editor Kihara turned slightly to the side, exposing Komari behind him.

"Oh, so you've already arrived. Then let's not delay and go upstairs to talk."

After the middle-aged man finished speaking with a smile, he disappeared straight behind the wooden door.

"Who is this……"

“He’s the head of Kadokawa Shoten’s Nagoya branch,” Kihara introduced. “Looks like we can go upstairs now, let’s go.”

Editor Kihara led the three of them, including Wenshui, into the stairwell behind the wooden door and headed to the second floor.

After passing through the noisy office area, Wen Shui and her two companions placed the gifts they had purchased in a locker, then stood in front of the heavy conference room door. Looking through the specially made glass, the light was distorted and blurred, revealing only a few dark shadows.

Kihara nodded to the three of them, then knocked on the door: "Excuse me."

"Please come in." A deep voice came from inside the meeting room.

Kihara pushed open the door and went in. Wenshui and Himegami originally planned to wait outside, but unexpectedly, Komari stood at the door and pulled Wenshui, causing her to stumble into the conference room.

"Oh? You two are both high school students."

The deep voice came again. Wen Shui looked up and saw a middle-aged man in a suit with bright eyes smiling at her.

"Toyohashi is truly teeming with young talents; even its novelists are so young. Congratulations!" The man, who looked like an official, said with a smile, his hands resting on the table.

Are we Toyohashi officials?

Wen Shui and Xiao Ju were pulled by editor Mu Yuan to sit down at the conference table. Wen Shui quietly glanced around the conference room and noticed that, in addition to the branch manager from before, there were several unfamiliar people from outside the organization.

"It's a real shame that we can only meet one writer today." The official introduced himself: "I am Shikiya Amami, and I am in charge of boosting the tourism industry in Toyohashi City."

【Huh? Shikiya...?】

Before Wen Shui could think it over, Shikiya Amami continued, "The Toyohashi City Council is also aware of the news about this book signing event. Since the three novelists who are about to release their works are all from Toyohashi, they sent me here to discuss the details of the book signing event."

After finishing his speech, Shikiya Amami turned his gaze to the branch manager of Kadokawa Shoten. The latter nodded and said to Komari and Nukumi, "So, this book signing event—"

"We plan to hold it in Toyohashi."

Intermission Yoshiki's Sunday

My older brother has a female friend.

After Yoshiki Onozumi realized this situation on the day of his New Year's visit to the shrine, she shared all of her brother's social media accounts with her, and also shared his phone's photo library.

As for how Yoshiki managed to avoid being discovered by Wen Shui, I suggest you don't delve too deeply into it...

◇

May 4th, Sunday morning.

"Yoshiki, I'm going out."

"Brother, have a safe journey."

The sturdy iron gate slammed shut, cutting off the morning sunlight. Wen Shuijia stood in the dark entryway, took out his phone, and sent a message to his friend.

Jia: "Xiao Quan, how are things going on your end?"

"The car is ready."

Kwon: "But is it really necessary to do this... stalking and all that..."

Jia: "This is for my brother's future happiness!"

Quan said, "I can't do anything with you. Come down, I'm right at the intersection."

Jia Shu put her phone back in her backpack, ran to the sofa, and put on the travel clothes she had just put on the sofa when Wen Shui wasn't looking.

She picked up a notebook and pen with the title "Observation Record of My Future Sister-in-Law" written on the inside cover, and checked through the peephole to make sure that Wen Shui hadn't returned because she forgot her things before opening the door to her own house.

After locking the door from the inside, Jia Shu headed to the intersection she had agreed upon with Xiao Quan, following the pre-arranged route.

The morning breeze caressed Jia Shu's cheeks, and the fragrance of flowers carried on the wind was refreshing, but Jia Shu's heart did not feel relaxed at all.

The woman I met with my brother yesterday, Hanami, is cute and has a big appetite, but she's a married woman. And since she didn't cross any lines in terms of physical intimacy, Yoshiki has already removed her from the "Observation Log" list.

But today is different.

Today, surprisingly, my older brother went out with two other girls!

One of the two girls...

She is a girl with the online name "Little Rabbit" who has had several conversations with her older brother in the literary and artistic community. Judging from her daily words, she is a family-oriented and kind girl, and she clearly has feelings for her older brother.

Yoshiki believes she is indeed a suitable wife for his brother and has placed her on his watchlist. He has begun guiding his brother to take action, and their relationship has progressed to the point where they can use informal language without formalities. Yoshiki has already planned a follow-up in-person assessment.

If her older brother only goes out with her today, Yoshiki won't be too worried.

however……

Another girl, during the New Year's shrine visit, unexpectedly broke through her brother's defenses and was able to completely control his actions—

Himemiya Hualian.

Yoshiki's expression turned serious at the thought of that name.

Even though my brother already pulled down the flag, why am I still involved with him...?

Women who are difficult to control... cannot be included in Yoshiki's observation record.

"Wow, Wen, your eyes look so fierce."

Yoshiki's consciousness suddenly returned from her thoughts, and she realized that she had reached the intersection, and her best friend, Kondo Asami, was looking at her in surprise beside her.