What a twist! The loser heroine!

Seemingly having heard her sister's words, Wen Shui's breathing instantly became long and deep, clearly indicating that she had entered a brief state of catching up on sleep.

Wen Shui Jia Shu quietly gazed at his elder brother's profile.

A moment later, the girl blushed slightly and looked away, twisting her fingers together haphazardly.

"..."

About fifteen minutes later.

Kazuhiko Nukumizu was woken up by his sister. He rubbed his shoulder, which was slightly sore from sitting stiffly, and got off the train.

"Brother, how are you feeling now?"

Yoshiki leaned forward, raised her head, and looked at Wen Shui with curious eyes, like a cute rabbit.

"You've perked up a bit." Wen Shui smiled. "Thanks to you, Yoshiki."

Yoshiki smiled upon receiving the praise. She glanced at the time and said, "Brother, the museum is still quite a distance away. We have enough time. Shall we walk there?"

"That's no need."

The sudden sound startled the brother and sister. Wen Shui turned around and saw that the vice president of the Tsukinoki club, dressed in a school uniform, was looking at her with a smile.

"Huh? Why is Tsukinoki-senpai here?"

"Oh, I was wondering if you wanted a ride to the museum, since it's still a bit of a walk." Tsukinoki pointed to a small van parked on the road next to the platform, then looked at Yoshiki next to Nukumizu: "Is this... your sister?"

"Yes, I am Yoshiki Onamizu. You must be Tsukinoki-senpai, right? Nice to meet you." Yoshiki greeted his senior before Onamizuzuzuzuzu could even introduce him.

"It's me! Oh my, Wen Shui, you have such a cute and sensible little sister! Why don't you introduce her to everyone?"

[Anyone is fine, but I just don't want to introduce myself to Tsukinoki-senpai...]

Wen Shui silently stepped forward, separating her younger sister from the person who was first in the list of "women she didn't want Yoshiki to become," and then asked, "Um, how did you know we would get off here, senior? I don't remember sending any messages in the group's Line chat."

"Well, if you're wondering why—"

Tsukinoki Koto turned around, and the Wen Shui siblings followed her gaze.

In the back seat of the van with the sign "New Driver" on it, Xiaoju Zhihua was sitting quietly.

~Thirty-sixth Defeat~ Book Signing Event Part Two

Faced with the warm invitation from senior student Yuezhi, Wenshui naturally couldn't refuse, and he and Jiashu got into the car.

Of course, Wen Shui sat in the front passenger seat, and then let Jia Shu sit in the back. Wen Shui felt more at ease if her younger sister was with Xiao Ju.

Fastening her seatbelt, Wen Shui turned her head to look at Vice President Yue Zhi Mu, who was starting the van, and asked, "Why is Xiao Ju in the Vice President's car?"

"I picked up Xiao Ju because it was on the way. I notified you in the group yesterday, but you didn't seem to see it."

"Uh, I didn't check the group chat." Wen Shui nodded. He had been chatting with Jia Shu all night.

"That's why I didn't pick you up at your door," Yuezhi explained. "But Xiaoju said you'd probably get off here, so I came here to wait for you."

[You even know this, Ju Jingyi?]

Wen Shui turned his head and glanced at Xiao Ju, who was sitting in the back seat with her head down, seemingly lost in thought. After a moment's thought, he changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, Tsukinoki-senpai, it seems that neither you nor the club president participated in yesterday's preparatory activities."

Tsukinoki fastened his seatbelt and replied, "Ah, we're third-year students. The student council president said we only need to make an appearance today."

"What exactly needs to be done?"

"I think it's the reception group, the kind where you stand on the side of the line?" Senior Yuezhi pushed up her glasses, looking like she didn't quite understand what she was supposed to do, which made Wenshui a little worried.

Wen Shui nodded. Both presidents were very good-looking, so it was only natural that they would be included in the reception team.

"Shintaro and I were originally going to give the speech in place of Komari, but the president seems to have disagreed for some reason," said Tsukinoki-senpai as she started the car.

The sound of the engine immediately brought back memories of that club introduction day, when the two club presidents were arguing heatedly on the stage, ruining the atmosphere. He couldn't help but applaud the brilliant decision of President Fang Huyuan in his heart.

[What if the senior student suddenly falls seriously ill during the presentation? That would be terrible. Let's leave professional matters to professionals...]

"Warm Water, I have a feeling you're thinking about something rude."

"No, no. Senior, you should focus on driving, haha, haha."

"?"

Tsukinoki glanced at Wen Shui with a suspicious look, then turned back to focus on driving.

Meanwhile, in the back seat, Yoshiki and Koko were having a lively conversation. After dealing with her senior, Wen Shui turned her attention to their conversation.

"Senior Komari! Nice to meet you! I am Kazuhiko Nukumizu's younger sister, Yoshiki Nukumizu."

Yoshiki looked at Komari and a bright smile appeared on his face.

"what--"

Komari Chika was stunned for a moment, but immediately realized: the lovely girl in front of her was Kazuhiko Nukumizu's younger sister. In her original plan, regaining Yoshiki's favor and support was a crucial step. After all, in those three years of memories, it was Yoshiki who told her about Kazuhiko's hobbies and preferences.

This also explains why Yoshiki knew his surname right away. After all, Yoshiki would definitely share messages with Kazuhiko via the cloud. He probably deduced it from the daily messages of the literary club.

Xiao Ju pursed her lips.

If he could gain Yoshiki's support, given Kazuhiko's sister-complex personality, his chances of winning would undoubtedly be the highest. Although Yoshiki seemed to have his own calculations, however—

Komari looked at Yoshiki and immediately responded to her self-introduction: "N-Nice to meet you, I'm Komari Chika, please, please take care of me!"

She stared at Yoshiki, her voice sounding very serious and earnest. This tone, so unlike her usual personality, surprised Yoshiki, but she quickly recovered and skillfully steered the conversation.

"Senior Sister Ju, I've recently been reading your works!"

Yoshiki smiled as he looked at the girl who was ranked high on his list of "ideal marriage partners for my older brother".

Jia Shu took out his phone and skillfully brought up the electronic version of "Even If You're a Dark Side, You Still Have to Fall in Love" for Xiao Ju to see. The reading progress was just at the beginning of the second volume.

"Um, no need to use honorifics..." Xiao Ju scratched her cheek a little embarrassedly.

"How can that be?! Senior Komari's writing style and plot arrangement are already among the best in the light novel world!" Yoshiki said, showing great admiration.

"Hehehe, is it... really that amazing?"

Xiao Ju laughed sheepishly: "I... I've only just begun my journey as a writer, don't... don't praise me like that."

"Xiao Ju, you're a silver medalist now, why are you still being so modest? Where do you put amateurs like me and Wen Shui?" Senior Yue Zhi Mu casually picked up the conversation while driving.

"Right? Wen Shui, you must be very sad, right?" The vice president smiled and glanced at Wen Shui.

“I haven’t written anything yet.” Wen Shui raised an eyebrow.

"I told you to praise Xiaoju more!" Yuezhimu said irritably.

"Haven't I already praised her many times before? Don't forget, I was the first fan to praise Kuonto-sensei to her face, right?"

Wen Shui touched his nose, seemingly a little smug, unaware that Xiao Ju's face was already slightly flushed because of his words. Meanwhile, Jia Shu, sitting next to Xiao Ju, glanced curiously at Xiao Ju's profile, becoming increasingly certain of something in his mind.

Perhaps I can update the "Observation Handbook" when I get back, Yoshiki thought to himself.

"But speaking of which, there are so many cars on the road today..." Senior Yuezhi clicked her tongue slightly. This was the second time the van had been stopped by traffic and missed the green light.

"Hmm, probably because of the book signing? After all, it's right next to the park where the art museum is located,"

Although there was still about half an hour before the required meeting time of 7 o'clock, the congested traffic situation still made people a little anxious.

"Toyohashi is such a small place, yet it's overflowing with people because of the autograph session. It's a bit ridiculous." The senior student, being a senior in high school, hit the nail on the head with her criticism: "Those guys in the city council, if you want to attract customers with autograph sessions, then you'd better handle the crowds properly!"

Wen Shui replied helplessly, "There's nothing we can do. The road was only this wide when it was being built, and we can't expand it overnight. Just bear with it, senior. We're almost at the park."

He pointed to the tops of the tall trees that were already visible in the distance, and sure enough, a few minutes later, the senior student drove the car to the park entrance. However, before the group could relax, a new problem arose.

"Why do Japanese people love road trips so much?!" The vice president cried out in despair as he looked at the parking spaces at the park entrance that had been completely claimed.

Standing at the entrance of Fengqiao Park, watching her senior's small van merge into the crowd searching for parking spaces, Wen Shui shook her head empathetically, then turned to look at her younger sister and Xiao Ju. Both girls were petite; if Xiao Ju hadn't been wearing a school uniform, passersby might have mistaken them for middle school sisters.

"It's still early for the meeting time, should we wait for Senior Moonwood?" Wen Shui asked.

"Editor Kihara wants me to go there as soon as possible." Komari nervously clutched the hem of her clothes. "He said... he said it's because of a TV interview, and he needs to get his makeup done in advance..."

"It sounds like we're in a hurry, let's go then."

"Ah."

So the three of them walked together along the forest path in the park, heading towards the art museum.

Perhaps due to the recent typhoon, the autograph session was packed with people, and the forest paths of Toyohashi Park were crowded with tourists dressed in all sorts of costumes. This made Onju and Komari, dressed in their school uniforms, seem out of place.

Although she was prepared, Xiao Ju was still taken aback by the scene and immediately moved closer to the warm water, then grabbed his arm.

The Wen Shui siblings both froze for a second.

Wen Shui glanced down at Xiao Ju's nervous expression and asked with concern, "You still have to sign autographs for the readers later, are you alright?"

"The editor and the people from the publishing house helped me prepare yesterday," Komari said softly. "Now, there shouldn't be any problems."

"No wonder he wasn't here yesterday."

Wen Shui nodded and looked at the somewhat crowded group: "There are a lot of people, don't get separated, okay? Jia Shu too, you'd better stay close to me."

Yoshiki, unusually, didn't reply. She stood beside the two, silently watching Komari, who was about her height, and the hand that was holding her older brother's. After a moment, she spoke.

"Speaking of which, I didn't expect that Xiaoju-senpai would need to put on makeup." Yoshiki leaned closer and smiled at Xiaoju, saying, "Can I do it for you? I'm actually quite knowledgeable about this kind of thing."

"After all, the TV station will be coming to interview us in a little while," Wen Shui explained. "Jia Shu, don't cause any trouble. Let the professionals from the publishing house do your makeup."

Jia Shu seemed a little regretful, and she quietly walked over to Xiao Ju's side.

"Sigh~ But I suddenly really want to do Xiaoju-senpai's makeup." Jiashu's big eyes sparkled with a strange light. "Xiaoju-senpai, can you come to our house sometime? Jiashu will do your makeup properly!"

Wen Shui raised an eyebrow: "Jia Shu, don't make things difficult for Xiao Ju. She usually doesn't want to—"

"R-really?" Komari turned to look at Yoshiki.

"what?"

To Wen Shui's surprise, the usually introverted Xiao Ju unexpectedly accepted Jia Shu's suggestion.

Yoshiki was also taken aback for a moment, but she was surprised by Komari's decisiveness. She had originally planned to subtly reveal some information about her older brother as bait... but now it seemed unnecessary.

Yoshiki thought this to himself, but on the surface, he nodded with a smile.

"It really works!"

"Hey, wait a minute, Yoshiki, what's with this sudden—"

The lukewarm water was a bit confused.

"Then, I'll visit you when I have time..." Xiaoju smiled at Jiashu while tightening her grip on Wenshui's arm again.

"In that case, Yoshiki would like to add Komari-senpai's Line account. Is that alright now?"

"Oh, okay, okay."

Don't ignore me.

Wen Shui watched helplessly as the two girls quickly exchanged Line contacts on the street.

A strange yet familiar sense of unease washed over me once again.

That's strange. Wasn't this the first time Xiaoju and Jiashu had met? Why do they seem so familiar with each other?

Wen Shui glanced at Kokoro Chika, who was clutching her phone to her chest with a satisfied smile, seemingly having achieved some goal. He ultimately decided not to delve into the matter. The autograph session was about to begin, and it wouldn't be good if he affected Kokoro's performance.

As for Xiao Ju coming to his house... he'll just let things take their course. It's his sister's request anyway, so he can't really say anything.

As he thought this, he turned his head and saw the red walls of the art museum gradually appearing between the tree trunks.

After crossing a narrow path, Wen Shui and his two companions followed the crowd of tourists to the square in front of the museum. By this time, the publisher had already displayed various posters for the book signing event on both sides of the square, and many readers who had come from out of town were sitting in twos and threes on their own folding chairs, clearly having come prepared.

“Ah, it’s Sayaka,” Yoshiki said, pointing to a poster prominently displayed in the square.

Wen Shui followed her sister's finger and saw a huge poster with information about "Even if you're in the dark, you still have to fall in love!" and the location of the booth.

The illustration of Sayaka, created by a renowned artist, shows her looking at the tourists in the square with a frightened expression and tears in her eyes, vividly portraying a character who is stunned by the crowd.

However, it seems that this is because the target audience of the work is from the shadows. There was absolutely no one taking photos near the poster of "Shadow Corner Love," which is in stark contrast to the situation where the posters of other works are surrounded by people taking pictures.

If you look closely, you can see many tourists nearby wrapped in coats and wearing sunglasses, exuding a strange aura of loneliness. They are staring at the poster, looking like they are itching to go but dare not approach.

Completely shrewd and obscure...

Could it be... that these are the people Xiao Ju will be facing later?!

His lips twitched.