What a twist! The loser heroine!

"Maybe it's the gods protecting Xiao Ju," Wen Shui joked.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ju stopped in her tracks and stared blankly at Wen Shui's retreating figure.

"What's wrong?" Wen Shui turned her head and asked.

"Ah, no, it's nothing."

As Xiao Ju spoke, she quickened her pace to catch up with Wen Shui. She secretly glanced at the boy's profile, then adjusted her direction, shortening the distance between them even further.

"Warm water."

"I'm right here."

"You must come to the book signing."

"I think this was already discussed at noon, right?"

"First, you absolutely must come."

"I got it."

After receiving a reply, Komari Chika's steps became even lighter.

The journey home under the setting sun was a path shared only by two people.

【finally--】

The moment she had been looking forward to for so long—

"...!"

"Warm~~"

The sound of running footsteps came from behind.

"Water!"

It seemed like background music was playing in my ears.

"Thump." Himegami, who had been running over, stopped abruptly beside the two of them and then gently bumped into Wen Shui with her shoulder.

"Oh!" she laughed, making a strange sound, as if greeting someone.

"It hurts a lot."

Wen Shui pretended to touch his shoulder, which wasn't actually in much pain.

"What were you talking about just now?" Himegami Karen leaned closer, looking at the two of them curiously.

"It's about the autograph session. But why are you so late, Hime-kyo?" Wen Shui countered.

"I ran into a friend on the way, so we chatted for a while."

Himeko said with a smile, "By the way, when is Komari's autograph session? I plan to bring my mother to support her that day."

When suddenly asked, Xiao Ju seemed to have just emerged from a state of deep thought: "Huh? Uh, uh, probably this Sunday."

"Oh, so it's this Sunday. That's perfect."

"Just right what?" Wen Shui was a little confused.

"Hehe, it's a secret."

"Fine, don't tell me then."

Seeing that Ji Gong looked mysterious, Wen Shui decided not to investigate further.

"Maintaining a little mystery is the best way to live a happy life. You still have a lot to learn about Wen Shui."

Himegami watched Wen Shui's retreating figure, her lips slightly pouting. However, she quickly turned to Komari beside her and asked, "Komari, how were the cookies?"

Himegami moved closer to Komari and naturally took her hand.

"It's very, very delicious," Xiao Ju said softly.

"So, which tastes better, my cookies or the ones made with warm water?"

Princess Hime asked the question with a smile.

"Made with warm water."

Xiao Ju answered without hesitation.

"Ugh!" Himegami made an exaggerated gesture as if her heart had been struck, then put on a crying face: "Kiri doesn't like my cookies, I'm so sad~"

"N-no, that's not it," Komari quickly said. "It's Princess Hime's too—"

"Hehe, it's okay."

Himegami quickly "cheered up," put her arm around Komari's shoulder, and smiled confidently: "Next time, I'll definitely make Komari like me even more!"

"No, don't say things that could be misunderstood."

◇

The bus route that Xiao Ju took was at the same stop as Wen Shui, but it was not the same route.

After waving goodbye to Komari, Wenshui and Himegami waited for their train on the platform benches.

"Hey Wen Shui, do you know that serious-looking girl from the arts club?"

Princess Himeko brought up the topic.

"She is Ma Titian Aixing from the student council, and she is in Class 1-B."

"It's written on the name tag, but it seems Wen Shui knew her before?"

"Ah, that was when you transferred here on Friday."

Himegami was somewhat surprised: "Huh?! Does this have anything to do with me?"

The long-awaited bus stopped at the bus stop, but there weren't many passengers on board.

The two sat down side by side in the back seat. Wen Shui briefly explained to Ji Gong the things that Tian Aixing had mistakenly taken the books and that she had gone to the student council at noon that day.

"So you didn't show up at noon because you went to the student council."

Wen Shui nodded: "I also asked about Mr. Shikiya Tenji, and as expected, he is a relative of Shikiya-senpai."

"Back then, I felt there was something between me and my senior, after all—"

"Hmm... Shikiya, Masaki... these are all uncommon surnames."

Ji Gong paused, as if she had thought of something. She glanced at Wen Shui, then reached out her hand to him.

"Warm water, you can give me back my lunchbox now."

Upon hearing this, Wen Shui immediately took out her lunchbox from her schoolbag: "It's already washed."

"Thank you! How was today's bento?" Himegami put the lunchbox into her backpack.

"Do you have any thoughts?" After holding back for a while, Wen Shui blurted out three words: "It's delicious."

"That's too simple. How about a more detailed evaluation?"

"Hmm..." Wen Shui frowned, savoring the taste of her lunchbox: "The curry rice was amazing, the rice was soft and delicious... uh..."

He racked his brains for the right words, but couldn't come up with anything. He'd just read a light novel about cooking, but the food was set in another world. Was he supposed to praise Himegami's bento as being as delicious as the roe of a demon shark? Wen Shui obviously wouldn't say something so strange.

Thinking of this, Wen Shui's eyes lit up.

"Oh, right, the croquettes are delicious, with a rich aroma and an amazing combination of flaky crust and filling."

"Hmph, Wen Shui knows his stuff. After all, it took me many experiments to make this, and I even used my family's secret sauce." Ji Gong said with some pride.

"I see." Wen Shui nodded. "No wonder you ate so heartily, senior."

The moment she heard a certain word, Himegami turned her head and stared intently at the warm water.

"Senior?"

she asked softly.

Having little experience communicating with friends of the opposite sex, Wen Shui was completely unaware of how offensive her words were.

He nodded and continued, "Yes, it's that senior student Shikiya we met last Friday. We ran into her at the student council at noon, and because we were worried she might have low blood sugar since she hadn't eaten, we—"

“Warm Water.” Himegami’s voice seemed to have turned slightly colder.

"Huh?" Wen Shui looked up and found Ji Gong staring at him in a daze.

"Warm Water, are you being a little...?"

Which one is that?

Wen Shui was stunned, her face full of confusion.

Seeing Wen Shui in this state, Ji Gong sighed helplessly.

"Hey, Numizu-kun, listen carefully." Himegami held up a finger: "If a girl makes a bento box just for you, then you'd better not share it with anyone else."

"But Shiki-ya-senpai has low blood sugar—"

"Even if you shared it with others, you shouldn't tell me about it in front of me..." Himegami covered her forehead, making a "I give up" expression.

Wen Shui then realized what was happening.

"Sorry..." He shrank back.

"No need to apologize, after all, I had a premonition."

Princess Himeko seemed somewhat sullen.

The conversation was ended by the wooden-headed man below. In the quiet carriage, Himegami Karen looked out the window, quietly calculating the time in her mind—there was still about a minute's drive before Wenshui got off.

She took her lunchbox out of her bag and opened it. A fish-shaped cookie that she had deliberately saved was lying quietly in the middle, its surface slightly burnt.

She pursed her lips.

"Oh my god! There's still one left!"

Himegami spoke in an exaggerated, comedic tone, then picked up the cookie with her hand and held it in front of the warm water.

"This piece is a bit burnt and doesn't look very appetizing. As punishment for Wen Shui's slip of the tongue, you can eat it."

Princess placed the biscuit in her warm water-soaked hands.

Wen Shui picked up the burnt cookie and hesitated for a moment.

Let's eat it, after all, I was in the wrong first.

So he ate it in one bite.

Himegami Karen looked expectant.

"how is it going?"

"Hmm... although the burnt parts are a bit bitter, it's still delicious overall." Wen Shui paused for a moment, then continued, "However, the texture feels a bit soft..."

"It's probably because it's been sitting for a while." Himegami put the lunchbox back in her bag. "After all, home economics class is a long time ago."

"Huh? Really? I remember when we were in the literature club, Himegami's cookies were still pretty crispy—"

The bus announcement abruptly cut off Wen Shui's speech. He instinctively grabbed his backpack and headed straight for the open door. Only after standing in front of the door did he, lacking social experience, belatedly turn around and awkwardly bid farewell to Ji Gong, who was inexplicably blushing.

"Um... goodbye."

Princess Himeko smiled and nodded.

"Well, see you tomorrow."

The train doors closed, and Wen Shuihe's figure disappeared from the carriage.

Himegami Karen withdrew her gaze and turned to look out the window.

After a moment of silence.

"Oh dear, oh dear," the girl sighed.

"Hanami Anna, Masashi Tenai, Shikiya Yumeko..."

"Xiaoju Zhihua——"

Princess Himeko muttered to herself in a slightly dissatisfied tone.

"Although I don't understand girls' hearts, I'm surprisingly popular with the opposite sex—"

"Warm water."