What a twist! The loser heroine!

"Dazai's going to be on top! Kirigakure!"

"No...no, Mishima's personality is more suitable..."

Okay, you two yaoi fangirls, don't treat books like that in public. They can cry too.

Wen Shui gently shook her head and walked towards Princess Mama, who was looking at Xiao Ju and the other girl with a puzzled expression.

"Oh dear, Wen Shui, I was just giving these two books to your vice president, but I don't know why those two suddenly started arguing..."

"Haha, that's probably just another way they express their friendly communication."

He pretended to be stupid and acted clueless while drinking warm water.

"Sigh~ Young people these days are really peculiar. I'd love to know what they're talking about..."

"Please, please don't do that."

He waved his hand repeatedly at the lukewarm water.

Seeing that the debate in the living room about whether Dazai Osamu or Mishima was the dominant or submissive character had finally ended with Tsukinoki-senpai winning, Wenshui walked over to Komari, who was clearly looking a little dejected, and handed her the book.

"Xiao Ju, this is for you."

"Huh? Oh, oh." She picked up the book.

Xiao Ju, who had just received the book, let out an extremely soft, strange cry after only glancing at the title.

"Warm, warm water, what... what do you mean by this—"

"Huh? What do you mean? Aunt Himegami wanted to give everyone a book, but she wasn't quite sure what you liked," Wen Shui explained. "So I helped her choose one for you."

"No, that's not the point!" Xiaoju hugged the book to her chest. "What do you mean by 'care'?"

"Oh, you were talking about the book title. That's just a catchy gimmick. Actually, the book is about interpersonal relationships, which I think would suit you perfectly."

Wen Shui's expression remained unchanged as she spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Xiao Ju stared at him with a strange expression for a while before sighing.

"Warm, warm water, that's where your problem lies."

Before anyone could ask a question, Xiao Ju opened the book to the first page and said softly, "Don't worry, I will read this book carefully."

"That's good. I thought it wouldn't suit your taste."

Wen Shui breathed a sigh of relief.

The little incident of giving away books came to an end, and everyone, satisfied with their gifts, was finally able to shake off the feeling of fullness after dinner.

It was getting late, so President Tamaki was the first to get up and say goodbye, and Wenshui and the others also expressed their desire to leave. Whether it was Wenshui and her group from Shilu High School or Yoshiki from Taoyuan Junior High School, they all had to attend classes properly tomorrow.

Princess Himeko, of course, knew all this. She didn't try to stop them, only reminding them to be careful on their journey. Then she leaned against her doorway, gazing absently at the children's departing figures.

After a while, Himegami Kaoru finally spoke up and asked, "Aren't you going to see him off?"

"There are too many people," Himegami Karen said with a laugh, leaning against her mother. "And his sister is right next to him."

"Hehe, you're not in a hurry at all."

"There's no rush..." Himegami Karen pouted slightly.

"However, today wasn't entirely fruitless."

“He dotes on his sister and always puts her first. On New Year’s Day, she didn’t seem to have a very good impression of me, so I’ve been trying to get along with her all day.”

"In that case, it seems like I actually helped you out." Himegami Kaoru covered her mouth and laughed.

"Oh? Really? Mom, what did you do?"

"Heh heh, that's a secret~"

"Hmm... I'll mop the floor for you twice."

"It was sold in three tries."

"Okay, okay, tell me now~~"

◇

Meanwhile, Onami and Yoshiki took a bus to the streets near their home.

With the lights of the residential area filling his vision, Wen Shui walked along the familiar streets. He looked at his sister, who was holding his right hand, and asked, "Jia Shu, how are you feeling today?"

"As long as my older brother is with me, I'm always the happiest," my sister replied immediately.

"Brother wants to ask for your own thoughts." Wen Shui smiled and patted his sister's head.

Yoshiki thought for a moment before answering, "Hmm... I had a lot of fun at the autograph session. I made friends with Hachimi-senpai, and I think I also made friends with another senpai, but I can't quite remember her name."

[So Yoshiki has already become friends with Hanami-kun. She's such a good sister.]

"The party tonight was also very interesting. Aunt Himegami's cooking is to your liking, isn't it?"

"Huh? Why are you asking me all of a sudden? It really is delicious."

"Yoshiki and his older brother have the same genes, so they have the same taste buds, which is why Yoshiki also thinks it tastes delicious."

Genes are truly powerful.

"So, Yoshiki is very happy today because his older brother spent the whole day with him. Perhaps because of this or that, Yoshiki couldn't be by his older brother's side, but Yoshiki is already very content."

Jia Shu's bright, sunny smile shone through her, and she seemed to be deliberately adjusting her pace, wanting her elder brother's figure to always surround her.

Wen Shui paused slightly, then stroked Jia Shu's head even more gently.

He hadn't been able to spend much time with his younger sister on the previous weekends, and to be honest, he felt a little uneasy. However, seeing her smile at this moment made Wen Shui feel incredibly happy.

However, there was one thing that bothered him greatly.

[Wait a minute? Isn't there something wrong with the book Yoshiki is holding? I don't remember giving her this one.]

Curious, he leaned closer and discovered that Yoshiki was holding a book about gardening in her other free hand.

The lights inside the bus at night weren't very bright, and he didn't even notice it at the time.

"Yoshiki is actually reading a gardening book." He was somewhat surprised.

My younger sister has never been involved in gardening before, so why is she suddenly interested in these flowers and plants?

“Brother, you may not know this, but Xiao Quan has been talking to me a lot about gardening lately. In order to be able to answer some of her questions, Jia Shu wants to brush up on his knowledge of gardening.”

She opened the gardening guidebook, and the pages were covered with notes written in delicate handwriting.

"Huh, these notes... could they be Aunt Himegami's?" Wen Shui recalled the flowers and plants in the Himegami family's living room.

"That's right, after I asked around, Aunt Himegami gave me this book."

"I see." Wen Shui nodded.

It seems I should find an opportunity to thank Princess Hime.

As the boy thought this, he pushed open the gate to his courtyard.

The front door wasn't locked, perhaps because Mom would be coming home late again tonight.

"I'm home." Wen Shui and her sister said at the same time as they unlocked the door to their house.

"Oh, welcome back." The father, who had been waiting at home, smiled and pointed to the television not far away.

"I'm watching the Toyohashi TV report about you. You must be tired after a long day. The bath water is ready."

"Then I'll go wash up first~" Yoshiki changed her shoes first and ran back to her room.

Wen Shui then went to the living room and sat down next to her father.

"Hey, here you go."

Her father tossed her something, and Wen Shui caught it. Looking down, she saw it was an apple.

"These are fruits sent by relatives in Tokyo. I was originally going to give them to clients, but your mother scolded me, so I had to settle for them internally." He asked curiously, "What's in that bag?"

Wen Shui picked up the bag in her hand and answered truthfully, "There are two books. One is a free gift from the book signing event, and the other is a gift from a classmate's mother at a party."

"Really? You should express your gratitude properly." After saying that, the father waved his hand and said, "Go back to your room and tidy up. You have class tomorrow, so don't stay up too late or you'll get scolded by your mother again."

Wen Shui nodded, got up and walked to the second floor. Just as he was going up the stairs, his father's voice came from behind him again.

"By the way, Kazuhiko, how about you try dressing up every day? When I saw how you looked at the book signing event today, I almost had a memory of my own youth."

"I don't need to attract attention, so let's just forget about it," Wen Shui said softly. "It's fine as it is."

"Is that so? Then let's leave it at that..." The father's voice was tinged with regret: "If you need anything in the future, just let me know. Although I can't manage the family's money, I still have plenty of hair gel."

[Dad, you really know how to find joy in hardship.]

"Okay~ I got it." Wen Shui replied casually and went back to her room.

I closed the door and took off the school uniform I had been wearing all day.

Wen Shui sat in her seat and stretched out a big yawn.

I'm still a little tired, so I won't read any light novels today and will go to bed early.

With that thought in mind, he took out the two books from the bag and placed them on the table along with the apple his father had given him.

A book titled "Love in the Shadows," and another titled "How to Correctly Understand Your Own Inner Self."

Even though I don't want to read light novels anymore, I think it wouldn't be a problem to review a few pages of the physical book "Yinjiao Love" before my sister finishes her shower and leaves the bathroom.

With this in mind, he opened the cover of "Love in the Shadows".

The words "[To the first reader who praised me in person - Xiaoju Zhihua]" came into view.

Wen Shui shook his head.

Xiao Ju must have been so nervous that she forgot to sign her name. Luckily, I practiced with her for a while. If her real identity had been revealed, it would have been a big problem.

He was secretly glad.

Reading an e-book light novel is naturally quite different from reading a physical one. While Wen Shui isn't the kind of person who deliberately pursues a single reading method, she still prefers the tangible feeling of holding a physical book in her hands, perhaps influenced by her father's extensive book collection.

With that thought in mind, he began to reread the first chapter of "The Love in the Shadows".

Time ticked by, and Wen Shui became increasingly engrossed. Xiao Ju's handling of the opening conflict and the character development were highly commendable and worthy of study. Some online experts have even begun to dissect the outline of "The Hidden Corner Love," praising the work's plot structure to the skies.

That guy really is a master of deception.

"Brother!"

Yoshiki's voice, along with the scent of shampoo, filled the room.

【Huh? Have I been watching for this long?】

Amazed by the allure of "Love in the Shadows," Wen Shui quickly turned around and said, "Are you done washing? Make sure your hair is dry properly."

"Yoshiki can dry his hair himself, brother, please go take a bath."

"it is good."

Wen Shui stood up, but her arm accidentally knocked another book to the ground.

He quickly picked up the book, "How to Correctly Understand Your Own Heart," and checked the cover for any damage.

"what?"

Suddenly, he looked at the name of Himegami Karen written in neat handwriting on the title page with a puzzled expression; the ink was not very fresh.

[So this is Princess Hime's own book.]

~Forty-sixth defeat~ The aftermath of the weekend

Monday, May 12th, sunny

On the asphalt road in front of Shilu High School, students in school uniforms gathered in small groups, creating a lively atmosphere.

The scenery was similar to usual, and the atmosphere was similarly restless. However, judging from the topics of discussion, it seems that the book signing event over the weekend has already caused quite a stir.

After all, even channels in Nagoya reported on the autograph session, emphasizing the rescue story, and there was a lot of online discussion about the incident.

The scene of Himegami Karen saving people caused a huge uproar, with many netizens even starting to use strange terms like "angel" to describe Himegami.

Wen Shui Kazuhiko glanced back at Himegami Karen, who was surrounded by a large group of girls. After noticing the helpless look in her eyes that seemed to be pleading for help, he smiled and gave her a "take care" wink.

Fortunately, even if I were on TV, no one would notice.

With these thoughts in mind, Wen Shui strode toward the school building.