What a twist! The loser heroine!

Hmm, that's acceptable. I'll write it down when I get back to my room.

She nodded gently, relieved but not entirely at ease.

My older brother really has a way with women, which has made Yoshiki have to keep taking on new candidates for evaluation.

If there is no suitable tree, how should my elder brother choose?

Putting down her phone, she smiled but with a hint of worry, gently lay back down on her brother's bed, and drifted off to sleep.

Not long after, Yoshiki felt someone pushing her shoulder.

"You'll catch a cold if you don't cover yourself with a blanket."

Before even opening his eyes, Yoshiki heard his older brother's somewhat helpless admonition: "Also, go back to your room and sleep."

"Sorry, Yoshiki is a little sleepy."

She opened her eyes, a playful smile on her face, and sat up in bed, looking at her brother who was taking out a hairdryer.

"Brother, someone just called you."

"Huh? For me? Is this a scam call?"

"No, she claims to be Ma Ti Tian Ai Xing, probably the student council senior I met at the autograph session last time?"

"So it was her..."

As Kazuhiko said this, his hand, which was taking out a hair dryer, paused slightly.

That being said, although Tian Aixing asked me out, she didn't tell me where we were going at all, and she didn't add me on Line. Could it be that she called me just to talk about this?

Seemingly sensing that his brother was thinking, Yoshiki smiled and quietly left the room.

"Brother, you should go to bed early."

"I know, Yoshiki, you too."

Watching his younger sister disappear into his room, Kazuhiko quickly dried his hair and then picked up his phone.

There was an unrecorded call.

Has Jia Shu already talked to Tian Aixing? I hope she didn't say anything strange.

He took a deep breath.

This was the first time in 15 years that he had called a girl this late at night.

"Have some courage, Kazuhiko Nukumizu. You... you should be able to do it, right?"

Why am I doubting myself?

After mentally preparing himself, he pressed the call button.

The dial tone sounded, and every second seemed to drag on forever.

connected.

There was a long silence.

""Hello?""

""that!""

Repeated statements.

Both of them fell silent again.

"Ahem." Kazuhiko decided to break the silence first: "Good evening, oh... Masato."

"Ah, um, good evening, Wen Shui."

"Um... I don't know how you got my phone number, but..."

"That's because I forgot to ask for your contact information before, and we didn't arrange a meeting place." Tian Aixing's voice grew even softer: "So... I asked the president for your phone number."

"It's on the student council roster, so it's not an invasion of privacy. Of course, I'll apologize if you mind—"

"Ah, it's nothing." Kazuhiko scratched his head. "I'm just curious why you don't use things like Line."

"Because I use an older model phone, it doesn't have that function."

"So this is ah."

[I didn't realize Tian Aixing was such a traditionalist.]

Kazuhiko asked, "So, where shall we meet tomorrow?"

“I…I have two restaurant vouchers from my mom’s company, so I’m planning to take you there for dinner.” Tian Aixing said quickly, as if she had just remembered something. “That way, we won’t have to split the bill! We can save money.”

"Tian Aixing is so thrifty, that's a great idea!" Kazuhiko agreed enthusiastically. "So, where should we meet?"

"Uh, sorry... I got a little excited just now." A deep breath came from the other end of the phone. After a while, Tian Aixing continued, "Then let's meet at Erchuan Station at 11 a.m. tomorrow."

Erchuan Station?

I remember it was the bus stop next to Toyohashi Zoo... Is there really a restaurant there? Kazuhiko, who rarely goes out, was puzzled.

However, he still agreed to Tian Aixing's suggestion: "I understand, I will definitely be there tomorrow."

"Thank you!"

"Why act like someone who's being treated to a meal?"

After exchanging a few casual pleasantries, Wen Shui hung up the phone.

After resting for a while, he lay down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Tomorrow will probably be quite turbulent...

~Sixty-seventh defeat~ The troubles of Tian Aixing

Sunday, May 18th, cloudy.

Having finished dressing, Kazuhiko Onamizu boarded the tram bound for Futagawa Station.

Before going to school, Yoshiki helped him choose his outfit for the day: a simple black sweater paired with gray trousers, a very casual style.

He actually wanted to try on other clothes, but since his sister had firmly refused, he decided to give up.

He gently adjusted the collar of his T-shirt and then waited quietly for the vehicle to start moving.

This is the third time in my high school career that a girl has asked me out alone on the weekend.

Based on the light novels and comics he has read so far, dating can occur without a prior romantic relationship.

So, Ma Ti invited me out on a date today?

To be honest, I felt a bit uneasy, completely different from the feeling I had when I was invited by Banami, but more similar to the feeling I had when I was invited by Himegami.

As for why, Wen Shui herself couldn't explain it.

Amidst the whimsical thoughts typical of adolescence, Wen Shuihe spent what wasn't a particularly long drive.

"Erchuan, we've arrived—"

Startled awake, Wen Shui quickly stood up.

Get off the tram and go through the station's ticket gates.

Futakawa Station is close to the Toyohashi City Underground Museum and Zoo & Botanical Garden, both popular destinations for elementary and junior high school students. It's safe to say that every Toyohashi resident has memories of visiting these places.

Wen Shui was no exception. The giraffe pattern on the station window instantly reminded him of his elementary school school field trips. Hmm, he thought, maybe he shouldn't dwell on the time he was chased by sheep across most of the feeding plaza.

Recalling her dark past, Wen Shui rolled her dead fish eyes, trying to find Tian Aixing's figure at the station.

"Huh? He's not here?" Wen Shui glanced down at her watch.

It's 10:30 in the morning now, and there's still quite a bit of time before the agreed-upon 11:00.

Oh, I see. I arrived too early.

After instantly understanding the current situation, Wen Shui breathed a slight sigh of relief.

To be honest, if he saw that Tian Aixing was waiting for him, he would probably feel even more awkward.

With that thought in mind, Wen Shui walked to the vending machine by the door, bought a bottle of green tea, and then stood there waiting.

The weather in mid-May wasn't exactly hot, but it wasn't exactly cool either. As a transitional period between spring and summer, it was arguably the best time to go out, no wonder Ayano was planning to go out with Yakishiro today.

While he was waiting for his classmate Tian Aixing to arrive, he heard a girl's voice.

"By the way, Kasumi, have you been studying hard lately?"

"Oh, yes, there is! We're out having fun, why are you talking about these things!"

"Ah! Sorry, sorry! Don't pinch my cheek!"

Several young girls dressed casually walked out of Erchuan Station, their playful banter and laughter perfectly showcasing their youth.

Wen Shui, who was standing in the middle of the station entrance, quickly turned around and made way for the girls. As he passed them, he didn't see one of the girls suddenly turn her head and glance at him.

After he finished his bottle of green tea, a new wave of people arrived at the ticket gate, indicating that another tram had entered the station.

In the queue at the ticket gate, Ma Titian Aixing, wearing a black dress, stood out.

So he waved to Tian Aixing, who immediately walked over to him.

"Warm Water, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I... I'm not late, am I?"

"I just arrived too, and we all got here a long time ago."

Taking this opportunity, he observed Tian Aixing, a classmate outside the school.

She looked like she had dressed up nicely; the few strands of hair that used to stick up behind her ears were now neatly arranged, and the necklace around her neck added a touch of color to her overall black outfit.

However, overall it looks like—

Wen Shui glanced down at her dark gray outfit and had a feeling that she and Tian Aixing weren't out for dinner, but rather attending some important ceremony...

For some reason, Wen Shui felt a little more at ease.

"So, where should we go next?" Wen Shui looked at a map not far away that marked the buildings near Erchuan Station: "There shouldn't be any restaurants around here that can issue invitation vouchers..."

“It’s a newly opened restaurant in the zoo,” Tian Aixing explained. “It will take us about 10 minutes to walk there now.”

Although he really wanted to complain about why anyone would open a restaurant in a zoo, he couldn't say anything since Tian Aixing had chosen this place as the location for their gathering.

Walking along a street with few vehicles passing by, the atmosphere between the two was not particularly warm.

Seemingly sensing this, Tian Aixing took the initiative to speak up: "Um... the Natsume Soseki books that you lent me last time... I've finished reading a few more, and I'll return them to the literary club on Monday."

Wen Shui shifted her gaze from the distant fields back to the present and then nodded.

"Okay, I'll clear out some space on the bookshelf then."

Tian Aixing continued, "Reading these books has given me a lot of insights, and I will attach my reflections at the end!"

"Um, well..."

Wen Shui initially wanted to say that there was no need to go to so much trouble, but after seeing Tian Aixing's solemn expression, she nodded.

"Okay, I understand. I'll review it and include it in the club's publication later."

"The journal?!" she suddenly interrupted Wen Shui loudly.

【Huh? ?】

"Yes, yes, the Literature Club is preparing to publish a book, and Tian Aixing should know that they're soliciting submissions, right..." Wen Shui explained, "A book review is actually a type of article, so I plan to..."

"Only, only Wen Shui is allowed to see this!" Tian Aixing suddenly said, blushing. "If you dare to put it in the club magazine, I, I won't attach it at the end."

"It will be anonymous, don't worry, no one will know that you wrote it."

"It's not a matter of anonymity!"

Tian Aixing quickly said, "Those books were actually brought by Wen Shui, right? And aren't you the owner of those books? Book reviews really should be shown to the owner of the book to make them seem more serious, right?"

"So that's how it works."

Seeing Tian Aixing's face filled with inexplicable murderous intent, Wen Shui, to ensure her own safety, had no choice but to agree to her bizarre theory: "But these books actually belong to my father..."

"The son...the son follows in his father's footsteps!"

【What kind of story is this, where the son inherits the father's business?】

Tian Aixing seemed very interested in Wen Shui's father, and used this topic to continue the conversation.