What a twist! The loser heroine!

"It's very dark, hurry up!"

In the darkness, the girl's response seemed to carry a hint of excitement and agitation.

"Ok!"

◇

Wen Shui and the girl sat side by side next to the basketball hoop, shrouded in darkness.

The student council president, Hibari Hohara, with his beautiful long, wine-red hair, is introducing the student council from the podium.

Kazuhiko Wenshui had absolutely no interest in joining the student council. Wasting so much after-school time socializing with other strangers was of zero value to the high school life he longed for.

He stretched lazily, trying to relax after three classes in the morning, but when he turned around, he found that the girl next to him seemed to have been staring at him the whole time.

[Holy crap, what's going on? Could it be...?! No, let's face it, Kazuhiko Numizu, you're not the male lead. You don't have that kind of charm that makes Yin Jiao fall in love at first sight!]

He stared in surprise at the girl's eye, which gleamed in the darkness, and moved his body slightly away.

"Huh? Huh?!" The girl seemed to have just noticed that she had been staring at the warm water for a long time. She quickly lowered her head and explained, "No, no, it's not like that..."

She touched her slightly flushed cheeks and decided to take the plunge.

"Um, that!" She looked up. "I, I, I—"

Perhaps due to excessive excitement, the girl coughed softly.

Warm water remained silent, waiting quietly.

"My name is Koju, Koju Chika."

"Nice to meet you..." Komari Chika seemed a little hesitant.

After saying all this, Xiaoju Zhihua looked at Wenshui with anticipation.

[You startled me! Oh, so you wanted me to introduce myself. That must have been difficult for you, comrade.]

He cleared his throat somewhat deliberately.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Kazuhiko Nukumizu. Please take care of me."

Upon receiving the reply, Komari Chika smiled, lowered her head, and murmured softly, "I... I guess I haven't changed after all."

"Oh, what did Xiao Ju just say?" Wen Shui said apologetically, "Sorry, the dance club's talent show has started, and the music is a bit loud."

"No, no, nothing..."

Xiao Ju suddenly stood up and bowed deeply to the warm water at a 90-degree angle.

"I am a very, very, very virtuous woman. Please, please, please guide me in the future!"

"I know you're nervous, but please don't say things that are so easily misunderstood!"

~Fifth Defeat~ The Unsettling After-School Arts Club

"Wen Shui, what club or organization would you like to join?"

In a dark corner, Wen Shui, who was watching the art club's advertisement, was suddenly asked a question by Xiao Ju Zhihua.

"Hmm? Clubs?" Wen Shui thought for a moment and then said, "To be honest, there isn't really any club I want to join. I was just brought here to the gym today."

"That won't do!" Xiao Ju's voice suddenly rose several notches, attracting some attention. She immediately shrank back after noticing this.

"Huh? Does Shilu have some kind of school rule that forces students to join clubs?"

The lukewarm water felt a little ashamed.

"No, not really." Xiao Ju stared blankly at the drama club seniors' performance on stage, and murmured, "But, but, joining the club will allow me to make more, more friends."

Upon hearing this, Wen Shui looked at Xiao Ju with some surprise: "Making friends?? What kind of 'open-minded' statement is that??"

Surprisingly, Ju Jingyi did not refute this time.

She sat curled up next to the basketball hoop, hugging her knees, and muttered to herself softly.

"I... I joined a club when I was in high school... no, in middle school..."

"The president and vice president of the club are all very friendly, kind and gentle. They have always taken care of me, and I am very happy."

As she recounted her memories, Xiao Ju gradually stopped stuttering.

"However, because that club had very few members, the student council wanted to abolish it. Another member and I worked together, and in the end, we made many friends, and the club was saved..."

Xiao Ju looked up at Wen Shui, her eyes conveying a complex and unfathomable emotion, but unfortunately, the dim light prevented Wen Shui from noticing it.

"Another member eventually became the new president, and he was also very good to me... Although there were some misunderstandings and unpleasantness at the beginning, in the end, in the end..."

Her eyes suddenly dimmed.

Looking at Xiao Ju, who seemed somewhat lost and dejected, Wen Shui didn't know how to start a conversation.

"so!"

Xiao Ju grabbed Wen Shui's arm, her tone returning to normal.

"This time, although I was very scared, I still came."

She stared intently at Wen Shui's face.

"I...I hope to make friends. I think Wen...Wen Shui feels the same way, right?"

Wen Shui suddenly fell silent, his brows furrowing slightly.

Oh my friend……

Since junior high school, Wen Shui and Yan have longed for and enjoyed solitude. To say that he didn't yearn for friends would be a lie.

But Wen Shui, who was keen to put himself in the role of an observer, witnessed too many superficial "friendships".

Friends who argue over trivial matters and break off friendships over the smallest things are merely nodding acquaintances. On the day the results are released, how many of the boys and girls who cry because of the impending separation will remember their past friendships after moving on to new environments?

Throughout his three years of junior high school, Wen Shuiheyan always kept his concept of friendship to himself—he wanted to find "close friends" with whom he could deeply understand each other, rather than just casual acquaintances.

He longed for companionship.

Wen Shui, of course, knew that "best friends" evolved from "friends," but out of fear of losing them, he avoided having them. This conflicted boy protected himself with a thick wall around his heart, unwilling to interact with others. Yet, the boy stubbornly insisted that it was a longing for solitude.

Just as he is saying now—

"Forget it, with my shaky personality, I'll never find any friends no matter what I do."

"So, that's why Wen Shui is not good at this."

"What exactly is wrong with it...?"

Seeing the girl suddenly become sullen, Wen Shui scratched his head helplessly.

Just then, a new commotion broke out on the stage. The senior members of the drama club had just finished a wonderful performance, which was met with enthusiastic applause from the audience, bringing the atmosphere in the gymnasium to its peak.

Then, two seniors dressed in ancient costumes walked onto the stage.

"Hello everyone, new students. I'm Shintaro Tamaki, the president of the Literature Club." The senior, who called himself the president of the Literature Club, had a kind expression and was tall. He said with a smile, "For some reason, we're dressed up as Yukio Mishima and Osamu Dazai today..."

"First Dazai, then Mishima! Shintaro, how many times have I told you..."

The beautiful senior student behind President Tamaki, dressed in ancient men's clothing with her long hair tied in two braids, immediately stepped forward. Her fierce words instantly destroyed her mature demeanor.

"Ancient capital! The speech is still going on!"

Senior Tamaki pointed to the microphone and said with great difficulty.

"Oh, ah! I'm so sorry, so sorry..."

"Ah... the atmosphere that the drama club just hyped up is gone just like that... what are these two even here for...?" Wen Shui was speechless.

After a bumpy and somewhat unsuccessful club introduction, the two sheepishly walked off the stage, seemingly having no chance to put their prepared talent performances to use.

"So what was the point of wearing that outfit?"

"I don't know, how boring..."

The sounds of the freshmen discussing amongst themselves reached the ears of Wen Shui and his companion.

With just this kind of introduction, can the literature club really recruit anyone? Probably only people who were tricked into signing up will join. Wen Shui thought to herself, almost bursting out laughing.

But to his surprise, Xiao Juzhihua, who was sitting next to him, had already burst into tears.

The girl lowered her head, her joy and emotion making her both laugh and cry.

"It's still the same old thing, I've already said that Mishima should be placed first..."

[Don't cry and say strange things, you're definitely acting a bit odd.]

The girl's crying interrupted Wen Shui's internal monologue.

"senior--"

Tears streamed down her face, and Xiaoju, her body trembling, grabbed Wenshui's arm again: "—This is so wonderful..."

Seeing the girl crying like that, a certain string in Wen Shui's heart seemed to be plucked.

[Perhaps she was thinking of her friends from junior high school.]

He pursed his lips, silently took out a pack of tissues from his pocket, and handed it to Xiao Ju.

The girl raised her head and looked at the warm water with eyes filled with tears.

"I'll go check it out after school."

The boy's words caught her off guard and she didn't react for a moment.

"Ugh?"

"I'll go check out the Shilu Literature Club after school." Wen Shui said with a smile to Xiao Ju, whose face was covered in tears. "I paid a little attention to it when I was going to college. I heard that the Literature Club doesn't require any group activities, so it should be quite suitable for me."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ju immediately stopped crying and started laughing, gripping the warm water even tighter.

"Ok!"

"Wow, you're suddenly all happy! You haven't already joined the Literature Club and are now here as a lobbyist, have you?!" Wen Shui joked, trying to ease the tension.

"No, no, you stupid, idiot, go, go die."

"His attitude suddenly became so bad!"

◇

"Ding bell~~"

"Okay, time's up, get out of class dismissed."

The afternoon passed quickly, and the teacher who was teaching the last class hurriedly ended the lesson.

The classmates cheered, but no one seemed to want to leave the campus. They discussed loudly the club introductions they had received that day and shared their desire to join.

Amidst the commotion, the most eye-catching figures were undoubtedly the two foolish lovers—

"Hey, Kusuke, which club do you want to join?"

"I'm not interested yet... What about Apricot?"

"I'll join whatever club Kusuke joins!"

"Ah ha ha……"

That's right, this pair of people who shamelessly flaunt their affection in class are none other than Anna Yagami and Sosuke Hakamada, classmates of Nukumi. A handsome guy and a beautiful girl, plus Anna "accidentally" revealing their 12-year-long childhood friendship—

...Very well, let it explode.

Ignoring the close interaction between the popular students, Wen Shui Kazuhiko packed his bag and left the classroom, heading towards the Literature Club's office.

"Hmm... I remember it was on the first floor of the west campus..."

It was only the second day of school, and although Kazuhiko Wenshui had already done some reconnaissance to sample the tap water, he was still somewhat unfamiliar with the school's layout. Like a headless fly, he wandered around the school buildings with a map in hand.

By the way, the map is hand-drawn; Wen Shui just got this useful thing from a senior student who was promoting the surveying club in the corridor.

Shilu High School really has all sorts of clubs.

But speaking of which... where exactly is the entrance to the west campus??

A boy with a melancholy expression stood by the window in the corridor, holding a map, feeling utterly powerless for the first time.

"that……"