What a twist! The loser heroine!

~Fifty-first defeat~ It was only evening

The president was still checking on Xiao Ju's physical condition. Although Shao Yan was very interested, the track and field team's training had ended, so she followed the team back to the locker room.

Seeing that it was getting late, Banai greeted Asahime-no-miya and got up to head to the changing room. She still needed to ride her bicycle home and didn't have the energy to go for a run.

Everyone's attention was focused on Komari Chika, who was screaming in pain under the president's control on the playground.

Vice President Tsukinoki nodded with satisfaction: "With the release of the tiger, Komari's physical fitness should improve as well."

"Senior Yuezhi seems very supportive of Xiaoju's training," Wen Shui said, somewhat surprised.

"Of course, Xiao Ju is already a well-known writer. If she didn't have a good physique, how could she support long periods of writing?"

The senior student said with a smile, "In the days leading up to the book signing, I noticed that she would get sleepy from time to time while she was rushing to finish her manuscript. I guess it was probably due to her poor health."

"I see."

Wen Shui nodded in agreement. Many famous writers in literary history had health problems. It's always a good thing for Xiao Ju to work hard and exercise while she's still young.

"After all, that child always looks like she's someone to worry about." Senior Tsukinoki showed an expression of helplessness, then waved to Wenshui and Himegami Karen: "Since Komari is not in danger, Shintaro and I will be leaving now. This girl has a study group to attend tonight."

"See you tomorrow then." Himegami waved goodbye to the two company presidents.

"Well, see you tomorrow."

The two presidents then left, and Wen Shui looked up at the sunset on the horizon.

"It's getting late, let's go back."

He also remembered Tian Aixing's warning in the corridor: "If you miss the latest time to leave school, you will probably be punished according to school rules."

"Aren't we waiting for Xiao Ju?"

Wen Shui turned to look at Ji Gong: "Should we wait?"

"I'd like to wait a bit."

"That's it."

Wen Shui didn't say anything else. He and Ji Gong stood quietly under the shade of the tree, looking at the president who was explaining the future training plan to Xiao Ju.

The president's idea was to let Xiao Ju increase her physical strength and muscle power first, and then proceed with training. She said she would come to the arts club after school tomorrow to give Xiao Ju professional guidance, which scared Xiao Ju so much that she dared not move.

[I see, it's a gradual approach. That sounds very feasible.]

Wen Shui nodded silently.

"Ah, I miss it a bit."

Himegami Karen suddenly spoke.

"Miss you?"

“When I was in elementary school, I actually practiced dance for a while. But because I was in poor physical condition, my dance teacher told me to improve my physical condition first.”

"My mom hired a coach and nutritionist specifically for me to exercise at home. Looking back, I was quite happy during that time."

"Hiring someone to exercise at home would seem like it would cost a lot of money."

"That's not the case. The teachers are all my mom's friends from university, and the results were quite good in the end."

She smiled and held out her hand, comparing the height difference between herself and Wen Shui: "Hehe, it's a pity I'm still not taller than Wen Shui."

"Why do you have to compare me to someone else?" Wen Shui smiled helplessly.

"Huh? Isn't this kind of thing common among classmates and friends? Comparing heights and stuff."

"I've never heard of it."

While waiting for Xiao Ju to finish her business, the two chatted about their classes that day.

"Oh! You two haven't gone back yet?"

A highly recognizable voice rang out, and Wen Shui turned her head to see Shao Yan Ningmeng, who had changed back into her school uniform, running towards the shade of the tree.

The scent of the antiperspirant spray instantly diluted the floral fragrance slightly, and Wen Shuiheyan unconsciously took a half step back, not wanting to be bumped into by the PE student who was running at high speed.

“We plan to wait for Xiaoju to go back together. She is very tired today, and we are a little worried that something might happen to her tonight.”

Once the roasted salt lemon was standing in front of him, Warm Water explained.

"I see, I see." Shao Yan nodded, then immediately added, "Then one person should be able to manage, right?"

"Huh? Does 'one person' mean?" Himegami asked, somewhat confused.

"It means exactly what it says, Princess Himegami-san, could you lend me some warm water for a while?" Shio Yaki asked with a forced smile, clasping his hands together.

[Borrow? Oh, so I'm an item? And what do you mean by "use for a while"?]

Faced with the easily misunderstood remarks made by Shao Yan, Wen Shui awkwardly twitched the corner of her mouth.

Himegami Karen's smile remained unchanged as she quickly glanced at Yashio's current appearance.

Her crimson eyes shifted slightly, and after a moment's thought, Himegami nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll wait for Komari here."

"Really? Thank you so much!" Shao Yan said with delight.

"Uh, wait a minute, what's my opinion?" Wen Shui pointed to herself.

"Oh, don't worry, I just want to ask you something. Let's talk as we walk." Shao Yan chuckled and patted the warm water, the force almost making him cry out in pain.

Wen Shui sighed, turned around and waved to Ji Gong, saying, "Then I'll go first."

"Ah."

With a smile on her face, Himegami Karen watched as she chatted with the warm water and roasted salt, disappearing into the outline of the school building.

After thinking for a moment, she turned and walked towards Xiao Ju and the president, who were still on the playground.

"Um, President, if it's convenient, could you take Xiaoju to the bus stop later?"

She told the president, "I have some personal matters to attend to."

“Sure, that would be a good opportunity for me to talk to Xiao Ju about some preventative measures for muscle strains.”

The president patted Xiao Ju's shoulder, who seemed to be staring intently in the direction the warm water and salt had left, and said, "Xiao Ju hasn't exercised in a long time. The salt made her run for so long at once. I'm worried she won't be able to come to school tomorrow."

"Uh, I'm fine, it's just that my throat hurts a little." Xiao Ju quickly shook her head.

"That won't do either. You must take good care of your body." Ji Gong gently rubbed Xiao Ju's face and said with concern.

Seeing that the president had agreed to her proposal, she straightened up and said with a smile, "Then, president, I'll take my leave now. See you tomorrow, Xiao Ju."

"Ah, ah, um, see you tomorrow." Komari waved to Himegami, but her gaze seemed to drift intentionally or unintentionally toward the direction where Yashio had left.

Himegami Karen nodded, turned around, and quickened her pace to leave the playground.

"Let me try the method you taught me, Chaoyun."

she whispered.

◇

Let's rewind a few minutes.

Nonomura Touko, who had not appeared in public for a long time, was standing on the escape staircase on the fourth floor of the old school building with a teacher.

The view here is excellent. Nonomura has been enrolled for so many days and never knew there was such a place in the school where you could see the entire playground.

"But... Mr. Koba, why didn't we go directly to the playground, but came here instead?"

Nonomura looked at the school nurse in front of him with some confusion. Although she had an amazing physique, she was holding binoculars in one hand and making some kind of strange laugh.

Upon hearing this, the legendary observer, Sayo Kobata, did not put down her binoculars. She held up one finger and then explained to Nonomura:

"Oh dear, I am a teacher after all. If I am there, the students will feel uncomfortable."

“Now that Xiao Ju has been found, it shouldn’t be a big problem if I don’t go.” Teacher Xiao Ba smiled. “Besides, seeing Wen Shui in such a predicament makes even working overtime worthwhile.”

Nonomura immediately caught a key phrase: "Huh? Why did the teacher specifically mention Nukumizu?"

“It seems you care a lot,” Ms. Xiaoba suddenly said.

Nonomura did not refute, but waited quietly for his teacher to say what he was going to say next.

"When you came to the infirmary to ask for my help before, you also reacted to the name 'Wen Shui'," Ms. Xiao Ba explained with a smile. "That should show that you're also paying attention to him, right?"

To her surprise, Nonomura nodded: "Yes, I have been observing Nukumizu for a while because his social style is very similar to mine."

Upon hearing this, Ms. Koba finally put down her binoculars. She turned to look at Touko Nonomura and asked, "So... what is your purpose?"

“He might be one of my kind, and I want to confirm this hypothesis,” Nonomura said softly. “That’s why I’m trying to observe Nukumizu.”

Koba and Saya carefully examined Nonomura before turning their attention back to the playground.

"I really underestimated you... Warm Water." She said softly, "Not only Himegami and Komari, but now there's another one... and even Yakishio and Hanami, who already have boyfriends—"

“Um…” Nonomura frowned slightly, interrupting the mutterings of the divine being before him: “Master, what are you saying?”

"Hehehe, Nonomura-kun, you can just ignore what you just said."

It's impossible to just ignore it...

Nonomura was about to say something when Koba-sensei spoke up first: "Oh, right, since you want to observe Nukumi-kun, I can teach you a trick or two."

Ms. Xiaoba smiled as she put the binoculars back into the large pocket of her school nurse uniform, then turned around and fumbled around on the iron gate leading into the old school building.

"Um, so what are you saying, teacher?"

"Oh dear, now that we've come this far, don't be shy," Teacher Xiaoba said with a smile. "I'll teach you some special methods to observe others without being detected."

After she finished speaking, she removed a memory card from a pinhole camera installed on the iron gate.

"I've stored this amount for a whole week, I'll have to take a good look at it tonight..."

"Teacher, isn't this a violation of the rules?"

Nonomura stared in shock at the camera that could very well have been mistaken for a door lock, and gasped.

"Oh dear, this is one way for a health teacher to care about students' mental health, you know?" Ms. Xiaoba made an excuse for herself without changing her expression.

"Teacher, this is definitely a violation of the rules, isn't it?" Nonomura's tone became serious.

Teacher Xiaoba chuckled softly.

"But there are video recordings of Wen Shui in here, and the teacher doesn't want to delete them..."

There was something else in her words.

"Hmm... Has Wenshui-kun been here before?" Nonomura hesitated noticeably.

Ms. Xiaoba's lips curled slightly as she changed the subject:

"Oh dear, it's getting late. Let's head back soon, the school will be closing soon."

She chuckled softly and took the lead in walking down the stairs.

"I had a great chat with Nonomura-kun today. How about I add you on Line? There's a limited-time bonus today, so please don't miss it, hehehe."

"Then I shall respectfully accept your offer..."

Hearing Nonomura's response from behind, Koba-sensei's lips curled up again.

Wen Shui, I really underestimated you...

◇

"Ah!"

Wen Shui, who had just crossed the school gate, suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.

[That's strange, I haven't had a cold recently.]

He turned to look at Shao Yan Lemon, who was walking beside him, and asked, "Hey, Shao Yan, you've been talking about today's training since the beginning."

"Oh, sorry, I've been talking nonstop. Are you getting a little annoyed with me, Wen Shui?"

Shao Yan scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"No, that's not it. I just felt that if you wanted to talk to me about training, there was no need to call me out separately," Wen Shui explained.

Shao Yan nodded and explained his reason for specifically looking for warm water today: "It's like this, at the end of the month, I'm going to participate in the city's sprint competition."

"Huh? The end of the month? There are midterm exams at the end of the month, are you sure it's okay?"

"Anyway, the score won't be very high."