What a twist! The loser heroine!

Wen Shui stood up and decided to go to the restroom. Leaving the classroom, she went to the somewhat crowded corridor and threw the bread wrapper into the trash can.

"I didn't expect it to get so much attention."

He glanced at the students gathered around the bulletin board, discussing the weekend's activities. Judging by the level of discussion, they should be able to gather enough participants by this afternoon.

Just as he was about to go to the restroom, someone called out to him.

"Excuse me, are you Wen Shui?"

Turning around, Wen Shui realized that it was the young accountant she had met in the student council before—Hiroto Sakurai.

"It's me, Sakurai-san. May I ask what's the matter?"

Hiroto Sakurai looked around at his surroundings and smiled.

"Great! I was going to go to Class C to find you, but I didn't expect you to be there. Luckily, it's not far away."

"Sister Yun Que wants to ask you to come to the student council office. Let's talk as we walk."

"Oh, alright."

◇

Why did the president suddenly call me over?

On the way to the student council office, Wen Shui raised her question: "Isn't the student council currently registering students?"

“It’s not just about registration.” Sakurai gave a wry smile. “In fact, probably due to the weather, the number of people signing up this time is much larger than we expected.”

"Currently, Mengzi and Mati are working with the school committee to conduct the interviews."

"Sigh~ They've even started an interview process now..."

"Yes, the Toyohashi City TV channel will be recording this autograph session, and some students will be responsible for hosting them, so there will be some requirements for the students in terms of appearance and personality."

Hiroto Sakurai scratched his head: "Although Hibari-nee is very dissatisfied with this kind of interview screening, what can we do when the school committee gets involved?"

"A vanity project—"

Wen Shui smiled helplessly.

Sakurai and Nukumizu arrived on the third floor, where the door to the student council room was right in front of them. First and second-year students wearing Ishibashi uniforms were coming and going from time to time, and they all seemed to be students who came to register.

"Let's get back to Wen Shui's story. During lunch break, Sister Yun Que invited the most important person at the autograph session, Xiao Ju, to the activity room."

When asked what her specific needs were, Xiao Ju said—

At this point, Sakurai suddenly slowed down. He glanced at Wenshui, seemingly unsure how to begin, so Wenshui could only wait quietly.

"—Xiao Ju said she hopes a classmate can accompany her to the book signing."

Wen Shui, who had already vaguely guessed what was going on, revealed an awkward smile.

"That...it's not me, is it?"

Hiroto Sakurai smiled noncommittally and opened the door to the student council room in front of him.

"Please come in, Wen Shui."

Wen Shui followed Sakurai into the student council room. To accommodate the interviews, the student council had temporarily set up several long tables. A tall girl who looked somewhat familiar was conducting an interview, but Wen Shui couldn't immediately recall her name.

On the waiting seats for the interview, Anzu Hachimi and Karen Himegami, who had just registered, were sitting side by side. When they saw Onami, they both smiled and waved as if to say hello.

So, Wen Shui focused her gaze on the sofa in the far corner, where a serious-looking Hibari was sitting next to Komari. Komari seemed a little nervous, but Wen Shui honestly admitted that she would feel nervous too if she were in that position. After all—

Sitting on the sofa opposite her was Shikiya Amami, a Toyohashi City official she had met briefly on Sunday, and the vice principal of Ishibuki High School.

The appearance of two leaders together seems a bit too high-profile, doesn't it? But since the chairman specifically asked me to come here, I guess I can't escape.

After mentally encouraging himself, Wen Shuihe walked up to the vice principal and Shikiya Amamiya and bowed slightly.

"Gentlemen, I am Kazuhiko Nukumizu. Please forgive me for disturbing you."

"Oh, Wen Shui Kazuhiko... Please have a seat." The vice principal looked at Wen Shui, who had sat down on the sofa, and said with a smile, "How has your father been lately?"

“My father is in good health recently, thank you for your concern,” Wen Shui replied cautiously.

"That's good, it's good that you're in good health." Shikiya Amami took over the conversation, glancing at Shikiya Yumeko who was interviewing students not far away: "My niece has been well taken care of by you lately, Nukumizu-kun."

"No, no, no, that's not it..." Wen Shui quickly waved her hand and said, "I just helped my senior with a few small things."

"Hmm? But that child has been mentioning you a lot lately."

"Huh...?" Wen Shui was a little confused.

Sitting next to Wen Shui, Xiao Ju Zhihua was stunned for a moment as she watched Wen Shui chatting amicably with the two adult leaders. She was so surprised that she didn't even notice the details of the conversation.

[Did Kazuhiko know the vice principal before?] Koko wondered blankly.

Meanwhile, Wen Shui, who felt that constantly reminiscing with the two elders was not a good solution, took the initiative to start the conversation.

"Um, Chairman, you came to see me because...?" He looked at Hibari Honohara.

"Is such that--"

The president got straight to the point: "Due to Xiao Ju's request, Wen Shui, you don't need to be in charge of reception and on-site decoration this time. However, please be sure to stay by Xiao Ju's side during the autograph session on Sunday to prevent any unnecessary situations caused by her social anxiety."

"The video of this book signing event will be broadcast on television. The city council doesn't want any mistakes to happen."

Shikiya Amami said in a deep voice, "Although we can edit the video now, the final effect will definitely be greatly reduced."

"So, Wen Shui, please take good care of Xiao Ju."

At that moment, Wen Shui seemed to feel a heavy pressure on his shoulders. He turned his head and glanced at Xiao Ju, who was looking at him expectantly.

"Then, on the day of the book signing, you...you'll come with me too."

The words from a few days ago came to mind.

Oh, I see.

Facing the gazes of the vice principal and Shikiya Amamiya, Nukumizu Kazuhiko nodded.

"Please feel free to leave it to me."

"very good."

After receiving Wen Shui's reply, the vice principal nodded and said with a smile, "In that case, is there anything else the student council can help us with?"

"Yes." The president nodded. "Time is too tight. Even if I can provide a list of personnel today, what about the specific decoration plan? We only have tomorrow. Otherwise, we'll just stick with the publisher's first edition—"

Seeing that the conversation had turned to specific arrangements, Wen Shui knew it was no longer appropriate for him to stay. He stood up, bowed to the people present, and then took his leave with Xiao Ju.

◇

Volunteer registration ended during lunch break, and the student interviews seemed to have yielded results as well.

Today's tutoring classes were suspended due to the weather. That's why Wen Shui was able to go to the small auditorium where the mobilization meeting was being held after hearing the student council's announcement.

At the mobilization meeting, several members of the student union briefly introduced the group requirements and task arrangements, and asked everyone to gather in the school's gymnasium on Saturday morning.

Although Wen Shui only needed to assist Xiao Ju with the book signing event on Sunday, he still had to participate in the preparations on Saturday, and it seemed that he had been assigned to the logistics team.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to be in the same room with everyone, Wen Shui observed these first and second-year students who had been selected through interviews. They all seemed to have outstanding appearances and outgoing personalities.

etc--

[Why send a bunch of guys with positive traits to the book signing for "Love in the Dark"?! Are they trying to create a contrast?!] He thought to himself.

What surprised Wenshui the most was that, despite the climbing team's activity on the weekend, Hakamada Sosuke also signed up for the event.

Moreover, the tall girl she saw in the student council room seemed to be her classmate. If ranked by height, she would be number one, but for some reason, Wen Shui couldn't remember her name.

For some reason, I felt a warm, familiar feeling emanating from this girl, and silently withdrew my gaze.

It's strange, how can someone have such a weak presence?

◇

After the student council's mobilization meeting ended, Wen Shui stood alone in front of the shoe cabinet.

Due to the recent weather, Toyohashi has experienced two consecutive days of rain.

Perhaps because of his name, Kazuhiko Onami didn't like this damp, gloomy weather. As was his habit, on rainy nights, curling up in a warm bed and indulging in light novels was the best choice.

Let's finish our homework first today, and then enjoy the latest volume of "Suspected Step-Sister" from Yoshiki's recommended reading list.

He looked up at the raindrops falling obliquely outside the glass door not far away.

[I hope it won't rain on the day of the release.]

With that thought in mind, Wen Shui took an umbrella out of her schoolbag.

As Wen Shui stepped out of the school building, she saw a familiar figure from behind.

Xiao Juzhi, the VIP of this book signing event, who had just been called up to the stage by the president for an introduction and then fled amidst applause, was now standing blankly under the eaves, looking at the torrential rain with a troubled expression.

Wen Shui stepped forward.

"Xiaoju?"

He made his voice from a safe distance so the girl wouldn't be scared and run into the rain. If he caused Xiaoju to catch a cold and miss the autograph session, then Wen Shui Kazuhiko would be a terrible sinner.

Upon hearing the sound, Xiao Ju initially shrank back in fright, but after realizing it was warm water, she laughed somewhat awkwardly.

"Ah, warm water, you've come..."

"Didn't you bring an umbrella?"

"Ah... I did bring an umbrella, but I accidentally left it in the chemistry classroom... The door is locked now..."

"Oh, I see. Then let's see if there are any lost and found notices tomorrow. I'll take you to the platform first."

As she said this, Wen Shui stepped forward and held the open umbrella over Xiao Ju's head.

"Oh, okay, okay."

Xiao Ju nodded and moved her body closer to the warm water.

"Um... the umbrella is a bit small, so—"

Perhaps sensing the somewhat ambiguous atmosphere of sharing an umbrella, she stammered and whispered.

"Sorry, I'm usually alone, so I'm used to using this kind of umbrella." Wen Shui didn't seem to realize that something was wrong.

"No, it's nothing, this is fine."

Although someone was a bit slow-witted, they unexpectedly made Xiaoju feel at ease.

However, she suddenly remembered something and looked around like a cute meerkat, but fortunately she did not find a tall and conspicuous figure.

"Warm water, where is Princess Hime-gong now?" she asked, somewhat worried.

"Oh, it seems like Banami really wants to chat with her. The two of them are probably still taking a walk in the school building right now."

"This, this is it..."

Xiao Ju smiled gently.

"Then, let's go first."

"Be careful not to get wet in the rain."

"I'll come closer to you—"

"Stupid, stupid."

~The Twenty-Ninth Defeat~ Not a Battleground

Friday, May 9th, Cloudy

As the typhoon moved away, the continuous rain that had lasted for several days finally subsided, but the gloomy weather still made it hard to cheer people up.

In the dimly lit classroom, the math teacher quickly finished explaining the last problem and began the usual pseudo-study session. Wen Shuihe, sitting in his seat, secretly took out his phone and quickly scrolled through the messages in the weekend's Line group chat.

After a series of discussions, it seems that the student council has finalized the features and preparation plan for Xiao Ju's autograph session booth.

During breaks, the students enthusiastically discussed the details of the event arrangements. Various emojis and obscure words used in their conversations seemed to come out of nowhere, making Wen Shui, who was getting so deeply involved with these social butterflies for the first time, feel a strange sense of unease.

After glancing around, Wen Shui put his phone back in his pocket and nodded to himself. At first, he thought the tight schedule would affect Ju Jingyi's autograph session, but now it seemed there was no need to worry.

Although the student council members all have their own minor flaws, they are quite reliable when it comes to getting things done. They selected members in half a day through interviews and then completed the planning in a full day – their highly efficient work ethic is reassuring.

This is really something to look forward to!

The bell rang, and the departure of the math teacher marked the start of lunch break. Seemingly due to the lingering effects of the rain from the previous two days, most students chose to spend the break in the classroom.