What a twist! The loser heroine!

She lowered her head and muttered to herself in a voice only she could hear, "Senior Ju is quite something, I really made the right choice coming to this autograph session."

"Yoshiki, what are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing, elder brother," Yoshiki said with a smile.

Since her sister had said so, Wen Shui naturally had no doubts.

After leading her younger sister through a short passage, Wen Shui arrived at a medium-sized exhibition hall. The props and decoration team seemed to be using this place as a warehouse; wooden crates in the corner were piled with miscellaneous items, and several students who had been selected to "play themselves" were sitting in chairs putting on makeup.

Wen Shui looked around but didn't see Xiao Ju.

Tian Aixing, who was helping with the management nearby, walked over and looked down at Jiashu.

"This must be Wen Shui's younger sister. The student council president has already explained the situation to me. Please come over here and change into your school uniform."

"Thank you, senior."

Tian Aixing seemed unable to resist Yoshiki's cuteness; she smiled and nodded, then turned around.

"And Wen Shui, please come along too."

"Huh? Me?" Wen Shui pointed to herself in surprise.

"Warm water... also needs makeup..." Shikiya-senpai, who had finished tidying up her school uniform, walked up behind Tenaihoshi at some point and said intermittently, "Also needs to do... hair."

"Uh, haha, I guess I don't need to?"

Wen Shui smiled somewhat awkwardly; he hadn't heard that he was supposed to wear makeup.

"I just received an internal message from the school committee that TV reporters will be following the readers to interview the authors who are currently signing books," Tian Aixing said. "Wen Shui, you're sitting next to Xiao Ju, so you'll definitely get filmed too."

Wow, this is so complicated...

Wen Shui sighed. He wanted to find an excuse to refuse, but he found that his younger sister walked up to him with a mischievous smile.

"Yoshiki wants to see what my brother looks like after he's all dressed up!"

"Even Yoshiki...?"

"Although my older brother is already very charming, Yoshiki always felt that there was still room for improvement in him."

Yoshiki clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture: "Back home, my older brother always disagreed with my 'Older Brother Charm Enhancement Plan,' which really troubled me."

"Brother, you've never heard of such a plan?"

"So, taking this opportunity, elder brother, why don't you try changing yourself?"

"I agree... I agree..."

"Warm Water, this is a school requirement, okay?"

Faced with the combined attack from her younger sister, older sister, and classmate Tian Aixing, Wen Shui had no choice but to say helplessly, "Well... alright then."

◇

"OK, that's about right."

About ten minutes later, Wen Shuihe, who was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed, heard the stylist's voice coming from in front of him.

"Ah, elder brother, please don't open your eyes!" Yoshiki's exclamation rang out beside him.

"Huh? What's wrong? Hasn't the stylist finished yet?" Wen Shui was so frightened by Jia Shu that she didn't dare to move.

Unable to see anything, Wen Shui touched her face.

Recalling what had just happened, the stylist hired by the publishing house had added a lot of ingredients to it, and the strong scent was unforgettable for Wen Shui, who had never used cosmetics before.

"Senior Tsukinoki, please take this!"

"Hehehe, okay."

[Huh? The vice president is here too? Where's everyone else? Are they all looking at me?]

With his eyes closed, Wen Shui's mind wandered. As he drifted off, he felt someone take something from his pocket.

"Wait--"

Wen Shui hurriedly opened his eyes and saw that his phone was being held by Yoshiki, who was wearing the Shilu school uniform. Before Wen Shui could even take a good look at Yoshiki in the Shilu version, the strange atmosphere around him already made him alert.

My sister's eyes were shining with excitement. She was muttering something in a very soft voice while her phone was clicking away frantically.

Standing next to Yoshiki, Tsukinoki Koto carefully examined Onami's face for a while before revealing a lecherous smile like that of an older man.

"Oh my, warm water, I never knew you had such potential."

The vice president smiled meaningfully, while Wen Shui involuntarily felt a chill.

[What potential? Why is the senior student giving such a disgusting smile?]

What do I look like right now? Did they draw a turtle on my face?!

Wen Shui quickly said, "Um... Yoshiki, could you please give the phone back to your brother?"

However, upon seeing the wicked smile on Yoshiki's face, Wenshui sensed something was wrong.

My own sister can sometimes be mischievous.

"No, Yoshiki wants to give his older brother a surprise."

Like a little devil, Yoshiki placed her brother's phone behind her back and said with a smile, "Since you've always been unwilling to accept the charm enhancement plan, you probably don't want to see yourself like this either, right?"

"well??"

"By the way, Yoshiki has already put away all the mirrors in this room. The last one is with me."

The vice president of the Moon Tree Club, holding a mirror, didn't forget to add insult to injury. Several classmates who were helping to organize the props also came over to join in the fun, looking at Wen Shui with surprised smiles on their faces.

Why is everyone laughing...?

Wen Shui sighed helplessly.

Just as he was still figuring out how to get his phone back, the backstage door opened, and Ma Titian Aixing rushed in.

"Gentlemen, the chairman has ordered the members who participated in the performance at the front of the stage to assemble immediately."

After saying this to Yoshiki and Vice President Tsukinoki, Tenaihoshi turned to look at Onami.

"And this member of the reception team... wait a minute?"

She paused and carefully examined Wen Shui's face.

"Huh??!!!"

"Wen...Wen Shui?!"

Tian Aixing's exclamation echoed backstage.

"There's no need to be so surprised," Wen Shui said with a wry smile. "It's definitely me."

"Ah, haha, I didn't expect Wen Shui to suddenly change like this." Tian Aixing patted her cheeks and stammered, "Um, Yue Zhimu-senpai, Wen Shui-mei, let's hurry up and get to the meeting point."

"Huh? Wait, I haven't taken a picture yet—"

"The president is already urging us!"

Tsukinoki-senpai and Yoshiki were pushed and shoved out of the backstage area by Tenaihoshi.

What on earth is all this...?

Wen Shui stood up from the chair and looked around, but couldn't find any way to observe her current appearance.

With Jia Shu's meticulous planning, it's unlikely that the students backstage will lend their phones.

Thinking about this, Wen Shui's head started to ache.

"Sigh, I'd better go out and find someone to help me."

He pushed open the door and walked out of the backstage area. After passing through a short passage, he returned to the small room where the desks for signing autographs were placed.

“Ah—”

A familiar figure in a school uniform was sitting at a desk, but the short hair that should have been fluffy seemed to be neatly styled.

Wen Shui breathed a sigh of relief.

Great! It's Xiao Ju! We're saved!

"Um, Xiao Ju, I'm sorry, this happened so suddenly, could you please—"

Komari Chika was startled by the sudden sound and trembled for a moment before turning around.

The next second, Wen Shui and Xiao Ju widened their eyes at the same time and pointed at each other.

Who are you?!

Two gasps rang out simultaneously in the room.

~Thirty-ninth defeat~ Book signing event, part five

After a brief standoff, Wen Shuiheyan reluctantly raised his hand and sat down on the chair next to Xiao Ju.

"I am lukewarm water."

Xiao Ju was stunned for a moment before realizing that the somewhat handsome guy in front of her was actually the ordinary-looking Wen Shui. In all three years of her high school memories, Xiao Ju had never seen him like this before, and she was startled.

Xiao Ju wasn't the only one who was startled. Wen Shui looked at Xiao Ju, who had also become quite different, and was also somewhat surprised.

Under the warm lighting, Komari Chika's smooth, short hair, newly styled by her stylist, shone with a luster. Her bangs, which usually covered one eye, were now braided and secured with hair clips. Seemingly to imitate the image of Sayaka, the heroine of a novel, she also wore a pair of decorative glasses, adding a touch of artistic flair.

[What's going on? He seems kind of cute...]

Wen Shui shook her head, banishing the strange thoughts from her mind.

He explained to Xiaoju, "Yoshiki took my phone, so I can't see what I look like now. I hope that didn't scare you."

"Ah, no, no, I'm just a little surprised." Xiaoju shook her head.

"Huh? Could it be that Tsukinoki-senpai didn't play any pranks?"

Wen Shui touched his face in surprise; he had thought a turtle had been drawn on his face.

"Your sister won't let her do that."

"That's true."

Wen Shui sighed: "But speaking of which, what do I look like now... I always feel like they're looking at me strangely."

An awkward atmosphere ensued, and the empty room fell silent.

Xiao Ju quietly raised her head to glance at Wen Shui's profile, then said in a voice barely audible, "Very, very handsome..."

Wen Shui scratched his slightly flushed cheeks embarrassedly; of course he had heard what Xiao Ju said.

"Really, really?"

"Um……"

"Thank you for the compliment. I thought you were going to scold me—"

"I won't do that again."

"Ugh?"

"Don't make a girl say the same thing twice, you idiot."

"The promise was null and void on the spot."

Wen Shui sighed helplessly, as if giving up, and said, "Sigh, forget it, do you have a cell phone here? At least let me see it with my own eyes."

"It's... it's charging." Xiao Ju's tone seemed to carry a hint of annoyance: "What a pity..."

"What's the pity—"

Wen Shui paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh, so Xiao Ju, you were messing with me too?!"

Could it be that I really have a tic-tac-toe pattern on my face?!

Thinking of the possibility that Xiao Ju was also an accomplice, Wen Shui immediately stood up.

"Huh? No, that's not what I meant!" Xiao Ju was so excited that she even forgot to stammer.

"Hime-miya probably won't give me her phone, but what about Hanami-kun—" Wen Shui seemed to be pondering who to borrow a phone from.

"...!"

Upon hearing the names of Himegami and Hanami, Komari almost reflexively grabbed Onami's hand.