What a twist! The loser heroine!

You started it all.

The two leaned against the wall, avoiding the footsteps of the second-year students.

Sunlight streamed through the branches of tall trees outside the window, dappling the corridor. Banami kept her head down, her long hair obscuring her profile, making her expression seem unapproachable.

She stretched out her foot and kicked at the dappled golden shadows on the floor, but a gust of wind swirled the leaves, and her strike landed on empty air.

Banami pouted in frustration, then turned to look at Wenshui and asked, "I sent you so many messages yesterday, and they were all unread. Isn't that a bit much?"

[I can't exactly tell you that last night I was interrogated for almost half an hour by my mom, Yoshiki, and Aunt Yami, can I? Seriously, please don't make me think about it again.]

Wen Shui turned around, leaned against the window and looked outside, then said, "I had relatives come to visit last night and couldn't reply immediately, sorry."

"You can at least reply to messages before going to bed, right?"

"I was so tired from cooking last night that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow."

This is a lie.

Wen Shui felt it would be a bit strange to chat with a girl before bed, even though he had never done so.

Banami sighed and changed the subject: "So, regarding where I want to ask Kusuke out after the exams, does Nukumizu-kun have any ideas?"

“Since junior high school, I’ve basically been a homebody on weekends.”

Wenshui countered, "Over the past 12 years, you must have shared memories with your friends, right? Let's choose that location."

"I see..." Banami recalled her experiences over the past 12 years, a smile unconsciously appearing on her lips: "But wouldn't it seem a bit out of place for an athletic girl to appear in a restaurant and on a pedestrian street?"

All of this guy's fondest memories are concentrated in that restaurant...

"Then let's find a sport-related event," Wen Shui quickly said. "Look, it's perfectly normal to invite someone out to play tennis on the weekend, right?"

"Oh...yes, I understand."

She refocused her gaze on Wen Shui, then nodded and said softly, "Thank you, Wen Shui."

"No need for thanks, after all, I'm your advisor."

Warm Water gently shook her head, and then Banami saw Anzu leaning against the wall, quietly thinking about her own affairs.

Watching the second-year students coming and going, Wen Shui suddenly realized something. He raised his arm, glanced at his watch, and saw that there were less than two minutes left before class.

Although Wenshui had never practiced her pacing method on the second floor of the Shilu school building, estimating time based on distance was not difficult for someone with Wenshui's extensive experience.

He glanced at the pensive Banami and silently counted the days in his mind.

Against a backdrop of the sounds of wind and footsteps, Wen Shui broke the silence between the two.

"Hanami-kun, according to my calculations, if you walk back to the classroom in ten seconds, you will be able to enter the classroom just as the bell rings."

"Huh?! Really?"

"Three seconds left."

Banami held her breath and silently counted down in her mind.

at this time.

"hurry up."

"Slow down, or the student council will catch you again."

"I got it."

A group of senior high school students, carrying recorders and music textbooks, appeared in the corridor, blocking Wen Shui and her companion from the stairwell. Wen Shui quickly withdrew her raised right foot, giving a somewhat embarrassed wry smile.

This is a difficult situation.

By the time the long line for music class finally reached the end, a lot of time had already been wasted.

Seeing this, Bana looked at Wen Shui with a mischievous grin: "Do we still need to count down, Wen Shui?"

Wen Shui didn't answer, but silently quickened her pace, her strides getting longer and longer, until finally she was running in the stairwell.

"Hey! Wait for me!"

Banami quickly chased after him.

◇

Wen Shui sat back in her seat just as the class bell rang.

The slight warmth from the part of his body that was in contact with the seat proved that someone had occupied his seat, and he was certain that staying outside the classroom during the break was the right thing to do.

He quickly took his textbook out of his schoolbag and placed it on the table, watching the teacher walk up to the podium.

Fortunately, we made it in time.

"Where did you go?"

Before Wen Shui could even breathe a sigh of relief, Ji Gong's voice came from behind her.

He didn't turn around, but said softly, "I ran into an acquaintance and chatted for a while."

"That's it."

Himegami Karen nodded without asking any further questions.

She turned to the page the teacher had asked for, then glanced furtively at the window in the distance, where Hanami Anna had entered the classroom at almost the same time as Wen Shui.

"It's someone I know."

She murmured softly in a voice only she could hear.

◇

The two afternoon classes passed quickly, and Wen Shui slung her backpack over her shoulder, ready to leave the classroom.

"Ah, this."

Himegami pushed an unopened pack of tissues on the table to the edge, then said softly to Onami, "Going to cram school, right?"

"Ah."

"Chaoyun might need it later, so take it with you."

Wen Shui picked up the tissue and asked, "Um, yesterday..."

He wanted to ask Hime-kyo if she had successfully helped Asahi get rid of her troubles yesterday, but Hime-kyo just shook her head slightly and did not answer.

Wen Shui understood and put the pack of tissues into her pocket.

"Warm water."

"Ok?"

He stopped at the door.

"Bon Voyage."

Wen Shui smiled and nodded before leaving.

As usual, Wen Shui walked to the corridor next to the special college entrance class, but did not look into the classroom.

Asahi Chihaya was standing quietly and alone by the window, occasionally saying goodbye to the other advanced students who were preparing to go home.

Her gaze swept left and right, as if waiting for someone, before finally settling on Wen Shui.

The corners of her mouth curved into a smile as the breeze in the corridor blew.

Wen Shui had no choice but to quicken his pace and approach her.

Looking at Wen Shui who had come to her side, Chao Yun said softly, "You're here very early today."

"I'm a little worried about being late."

As Wen Shui said this, she and Chao Yun headed to the shoe lockers in the school building.

"Hehe, don't worry about that. Although Toyohashi's bus system is a bit old, it is the most punctual in Aichi Prefecture."

Asahi Chihaya held up one finger and said something that Wen Shui found hard to understand: "According to the equations I've drawn up, even if we miss two buses, we can still catch the bell for the first class of our cram school."

"They even used mathematical methods to calculate how the bus travels...that's amazing," Wen Shui said sincerely.

"Hehe, if you want to pretend to bump into someone by chance on the bus, you can't do it without making these preparations."

[This sounds a bit dangerous; I think I'd better not ask any further.]

He didn't say anything. The two silently opened their shoe cabinets, changed into outdoor shoes, and then silently walked side by side.

Then, in the silence, Chaoyun said softly, "It's a pity that this kind of technique is no longer needed..."

Wen Shui lowered her head, glanced at Chao Yunqianzao's somewhat defiant smile, and then reached into her pocket for a tissue.

[Hime-miya was absolutely right.]

~Fifty-ninth defeat~ Unwilling to accept it

The unchanging rural scenery flashed by outside the car window.

Wen Shui placed her schoolbag on her lap and turned her gaze away from the window.

Not many people were on this bus today; only a few students from Shilu sat in the empty carriage. To avoid trouble and misunderstandings, he and Asahi Chihaya sat in the front and back rows respectively.

It seemed that the past few days of studying had made her a little tired. While the bus was still on its way, Chaoyun had already hugged her schoolbag and fallen into a light sleep with her head down.

Wen Shui silently watched over Chao Yun's condition the whole way. When the bus arrived at the station, he patted the back of Chao Yun's seat.

"Chaoyun, we've arrived at our stop."

The slapping sound quickly woke Chaoyun. She looked around and quickly grasped the situation.

"I'm sorry... I've troubled you." She quickly patted her cheeks and stood up.

Wen Shui shook her head: "It was just a small favor."

The driver seemed to be watching the situation inside the car and didn't drive away immediately, so the two quickly got out of the open car door.

Standing on the platform, Wen Shui turned to look at Asahi Chihaya, who was constantly rubbing her cheeks.

Chaoyun looks a lot like a squirrel now, which is kind of cute.

"What are you doing?" Wen Shui asked curiously.

"When I study too late, I sometimes get quite tired, so I use this method to stay awake."

She stopped what she was doing and explained softly, "However, if I'm really too sleepy, I usually only do this when I wake up."

"That's completely useless."

"Haha, who says it isn't?"

"The advanced class is really tough." Wen Shui sighed sincerely as she walked to the tutoring center.

"After all, it's to get into a national university, so it's normal to work hard." She smiled. "How about Wen Shui? How's your midterm exam preparation going?"

"It was just a simple review of the key points, nothing special."

Chao Yun nodded and said, "The teachers will focus on review during the tutoring sessions these past two weeks, so there's no need to worry too much. By the way, this afternoon, a classmate who joined the study club said there will be a book club on Saturday that will focus on review. Would Wen Shui like to go?"

"If I don't have anything else to do on Saturday, I'll probably go." Wen Shui nodded. "After all, I'm a member of the Arts Club, and I should participate in club activities."

"I see... Himegami also messaged me today, wanting me to come to school on Saturday to study together. My close friends in class seem eager to try too... I'm a little worried."

Chao Yun smiled and added, "Don't let my attendance at the tutoring class fool you; I'm actually a homebody. If there are too many people, my learning efficiency might drop."

Wen Shui glanced at Chao Yun Qianzao with some surprise.

In his limited interactions with Chaoyun at tutoring classes, he had assumed that she was an extroverted person who liked to find several study partners.

after all……

He glanced in the direction of the educational institution building not far away.

Then, in a somewhat nonchalant tone, he said, "Everyone has their own learning methods. If you feel that reading is not suitable for you, then you can just refuse."

"So that's what Wen Shui was thinking. It's a little unexpected."

Chaoyun's smile gradually faded, and she gently shook her head.

"Unfortunately, I can't be as carefree as you when it comes to friends."

After saying that, she fell silent.

The wind stopped, and the atmosphere became somewhat heavy.