What a twist! The loser heroine!

"Please comfort girls when they complain," Banami said irritably. "Isn't Nukumi-san quite good at that?"

"Huh? Me? Where did you get that conclusion, Hanami-kun?"

"Sigh... I guess I was just being presumptuous." She shook her head and continued, "However, I've recently had some ideas of my own."

"Appreciate further details."

“Look, when we wear school uniforms every day, it feels no different from usual, right? No matter how much I run, he will only think that I am still the same Hanami, just with more exercise than usual.”

"That's true."

Wen Shui nodded in agreement.

"So the key is to dress casually for the weekend. I'll wear suitable sportswear and take him to places like the city stadium. That way, he'll probably have a refreshing experience."

【Huh? She actually came up with a good idea.】

Before Wen Shui could agree, Banaijian revealed a determined expression: "Besides, I heard that a super delicious snack shop opened next to the city stadium, so we can take advantage of—"

"Stop for a second. I think this plan is pretty good, but let's forget about the rest."

Wen Shui turned to look at Banami and said earnestly, "Otherwise, your image in your childhood friend's heart may very well regress to its original state, and then all your previous efforts will be in vain."

At the intersection, the red light came on, and the two fell into a moment of silence.

When Banami saw Anja turn her head, she looked at Onami with a dangerous gaze.

"Warm Water, what do you mean by that?"

"It was just a friendly reminder."

"A reminder that I've eaten too much?"

Wen Shui looked away, taking it as tacit agreement.

"Athletic girls burn a lot of calories during exercise, so it's normal for them to eat more to replenish their energy!"

The green light came on, and Banami, pushing her bicycle, began to spout her cryptic remarks again.

"Then please focus on becoming a sporty girl first."

Why would I advise someone like that?

For the first time in his 15 years of life, Kazuhiko Nukumizu felt that complaining was a very tiring thing.

~Fifty-seventh defeat~ Wen Shui's family's meal

Wen Shui stepped onto the platform after passing through the bus door.

The phone was vibrating incessantly in her pocket, but Wen Shui had no intention of taking it out.

Without even looking, he knew those messages were a constant stream of pictures of sporty outfits from Anna Hanami. To conserve his data, he decided to check them when he got home.

Although Banami seemed to be bothered by the change in her character design, she didn't keep bothering Onami. After he got on the bus, she rode her bicycle away.

Of course, on the way to the platform, she was discussing the outing plans for the next weekend with Wen Shui, and she was still enthusiastically asking Wen Shui to help her choose outfits.

If she asked me to help her choose clothes, all I'd say would be how beautiful they are. Wouldn't it be better to ask her best friend for this kind of thing? Why did she specifically ask me?

I've only ever commented on my younger sister's clothes since she was little, so I'm a bit confused.

Anyway, I hope she succeeds.

Warm water silently blessed Banami as she crossed the intersection from the zebra crossing.

The dazzling orange-red sunset illuminated the pavement at his feet through the gaps between the buildings. His gaze followed the trails of passing cars, but he spotted a familiar figure in uniform at a grocery store not far away.

A petite girl, about the size of a middle school student, was chatting happily with the owner of a general store. As the girl politely covered her mouth and chuckled, her long, flowing black hair swayed gently.

Wen Shuihe quickened his pace and came to the girl's side.

"Yoshiki, what brings you here?"

Upon hearing his brother's voice, Yoshiki immediately turned around, his face beaming with joy: "Ah, elder brother, you've arrived just in time! Yoshiki is picking out ingredients for dinner. What would you like to eat, elder brother?"

"But we have relatives visiting today, so we still need to cater to our guests' preferences, right?"

Wen Shui said with a smile.

Yoshiki gently took her brother's hand: "Whenever we cook at Wenshui's house, no matter who the guests are, Yoshiki will make a special dish for you, my brother."

"Sigh... As expected, Yoshiki is still the best." Wen Shui patted her sister's head, touched.

After spending some more time, Yoshiki finished buying the ingredients for tonight, and Onami helped carry the heavy bags home with her sister.

Leaving the shopping street, Yoshiki, standing at the intersection, asked, "Brother, what were you doing when you received the message?"

"The Arts and Literature Club is going to have a club activity soon, and the president told us about the activity in advance."

"Is the event... on the weekend?"

"It's on Saturday afternoon, there's a book club, after all, the midterm exams are coming up soon."

Yoshiki nodded, looking up at the sparse clouds on the horizon. She silently squeezed her brother's hand and whispered, "Brother, you've changed a lot."

"Me?" Wen Shui raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Really?"

“Since joining the literary club, you’ve made a lot of friends, brother,” Yoshiki said with a smile. “If it were before, I wouldn’t even need to send a message; you would just come straight home.”

"My brother sometimes goes to family restaurants to sample the latest light novels."

He remained silent about making friends.

"Does your elder brother still go to restaurants now?"

"It's basically impossible now."

"Hehe, so this is a change, elder brother." Yoshiki chuckled.

[Will it change...?]

Wen Shui silently recalled, completely unaware that her sister's hand was gripping hers even tighter.

◇

The shopping street wasn't far from Wen Shui's house. After walking three intersections, you could see the house's sharply defined roof in the sparsely populated residential area.

Yoshiki opened the door and happily called out, "I'm home!" Wen Shui put the plastic bag she was holding on the ground and added, "I'm home!"

"Oh, welcome back!"

Before the brother and sister could even change their shoes in the entryway, a beautiful face peeked out from around the corner.

"Yoshiki~~ What are we having for dinner tonight? Mom, I'm a little hungry."

With her stylish curly hair and makeup still on, Wen Shui's mother revealed a childlike smile.

"Tonight, Yoshiki is making udon noodles; the toppings are a secret for now~"

Jia Shu changed her shoes, picked up a plastic bag, and went to greet her mother.

"Oh dear, whose dinner is a secret?!"

Mom jokingly patted Yoshiki's head, then turned her gaze to the warm water.

"Kazuhiko is back too. Aunt Yami is in the living room. Remember to say hello."

"I will, Mom. Did you just get back?" Wen Shui looked at her mother's face, which hadn't had time to remove her makeup.

Wen Shui's mother nodded and said, "I took a short leave of absence after suddenly hearing that my relatives were coming."

"What about my dad?"

"Your dad is going to help translate the instruction manuals for the new products today, so he won't be back early."

"I see."

Wen Shui nodded, indicating that she understood the situation.

"Heyan, why don't you go to the living room and chat with Auntie? Mom is going to help Yoshiki cook."

Wen Shui's mother winked at her son, then disappeared around the corner of the corridor: "I want to see what that girl is going to cook tonight!"

"I'll go right away."

Wen Shui shook her head. Her mother was as lively as ever, truly befitting an employee in a foreign company who was specifically responsible for liaising with clients.

I changed into slippers, grabbed my backpack, and walked through the hallway. My family's minimalist living room, with its highly practical design, came into view. My mom and Yoshiki were cooking together, and the kitchen utensils made cheerful noises under the skillful hands of the two culinary experts.

A middle-aged woman with curly hair was sitting on the sofa. Her unique clothing style attracted a lot of attention. She was Aunt Yamei, whom I had met briefly when I visited relatives during the New Year.

Wen Shui immediately hung her schoolbag on the coat rack and then walked to the sofa to sit down.

"You're back from school, Kazuhiko. Do you remember who I am?"

“Aunt Yamei, we already used this trick during the New Year,” Wen Shui said helplessly.

"Hehehe, it seems Auntie will have to find a new way to talk to young people from now on." Aunt Yamei smiled and then continued, "It's been so long, you've become quite handsome."

"Uh, I don't think so... haha."

Wen Shui was still a little shy in the face of her relatives' praise.

"Where didn't you look handsome? You looked really cool in the news at the autograph session." Aunt Yamei smiled and patted Wen Shui's shoulder.

"Huh? A book signing event? Auntie, you know about this too?"

"Of course, after all, Xiaowei spent a whole day liking posts about Kazuhiko on Instagram, so everyone knows about it now."

Mom, what have you been doing...?

Wen Shui glanced helplessly at her mother, who was taking a moment to give her a smug smile from the kitchen, and silently decided that she would download the IG app, which she had never used before, to her phone tonight.

"So, who was that girl sitting next to you at the autograph session?"

Aunt Yamei seemed to get excited when she talked about this. She moved closer to the warm water, her eyes shining.

Wen Shui thought for a moment, then said, "They are classmates who joined the same club."

"Oh dear, you know that's not what Auntie really wants to ask. What's your name?"

"Um, her name is Komari Chika, but she's the author at this book signing, so please remember to keep it a secret, Auntie."

Wen Shui looked at her relative with a very serious expression.

Aunt Yamei nodded: "I know, I always keep my mouth shut. So, how far have things progressed?"

"Huh? Progress?"

"That's your relationship!"

The sounds from the kitchen fell silent instantly after Aunt Yamei asked her question.

Wen Shui turned her head and glanced at her mother and Jia Shu, who had silently slowed down their work in the kitchen.

[If I don't say anything, will I not get to eat dinner?] He started to have these wild thoughts.

"Xiao Ju and I have just become friends."

So Wen Shui replied.

"Just friends?"

Aunt Yamei sounded a little disappointed. Why was that?

"Of course." Wen Shui nodded: "We usually go to the same club to read books, share our thoughts, help each other... and so on? That's about the kind of friends we are."

"Aren't they very close?"

"Uh... that's not wrong."

Wen Shui looked away somewhat embarrassedly, and then noticed that the atmosphere in the kitchen area seemed a little off.

That said, why did Mom and Yoshiki suddenly show those relieved smiles?

And they even high-fived each other to celebrate, isn't that a bit too surprising?

Warm Water's mother smiled and said in a way her son couldn't quite understand: "Jiashu, is he the cute kid you mentioned before?"

"That's right, Mom! I'm going out to buy red beans!"

Yoshiki nodded and immediately ran towards the entrance.

"Oh! I'll prepare the rice then. I'm definitely going to show off my cooking skills tonight!" Mom suddenly became excited as well.

[Huh? That's strange, what is Mom saying to Yoshiki?]