What a twist! The loser heroine!

"No, no need to trouble yourself with Wenshui! I'll apologize in person—"

Before Chaoyun could finish speaking, Wenshui smiled wryly and half-raised her hand, signaling her to calm down a bit.

"Alright, alright, this whole thing started because of me, so I have to take full responsibility. Besides—"

He paused for a moment, then continued:

"I've been helping Shao Shio all along, this time... let me help you instead."

After Wen Shui finished speaking, he revealed a smile that was all too familiar to Chao Yun.

That smile, filled with concern and apology, finally broke through her defenses and brought tears to her eyes.

Asahi Chizaki was stunned for several seconds before she came to her senses and nodded slightly.

"Then it's up to you..."

"Ah."

The atmosphere on the bench gradually returned to tranquility.

Wen Shui silently watched the cars passing by. Going to find Ayano now was not a good choice; it would be too bad if she disturbed him and Shao Shio again.

Asahi Chizuru kept her head down, lost in thought. The swelling around her eyes had subsided after being iced, and she looked no different than usual, but the lingering melancholy in her expression remained.

Banami sat between the two with her lips pursed. She first looked at Asahi's expression, then turned to look at Onami, as if she had something to say but didn't know how to start.

The three of them seemed to be waiting for something, and the silence continued until a loud shout came from afar.

Ah! Everyone's here!

The warm water immediately turned its head away.

Himegami Karen, dressed in a close-fitting wool sweater and cropped trousers suitable for exercise, was standing about 50 meters away. After confirming their identities, she waved first, then ran towards the three people with an excited expression.

As she ran, a particularly prominent part of her body formed an exaggerated curve, making Wen Shui feel dizzy and causing her to unconsciously look away.

Wen Shui looked around and, finding no traffic accidents caused by the spectacular scene, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then, she stood up with the two girls.

"Sorry, I'm late."

As soon as Karen Himegami ran up to the three people and stopped, she quickly said, "I thought you were at the zoo."

As she said this, she glanced at Wen Shui, which made him break out in a cold sweat. Banami didn't dare to say a word.

Seeing that the two of them had fallen silent, Chao Yun smiled and took over the conversation:

"Hehe, it was originally at the zoo, but somehow it ended up here."

Upon hearing this, Princess Ji swallowed back the words she had been about to say.

"Chihaya...! Are you alright today?"

She immediately pulled Chaoyun's hand and sat down, then whispered to her best friend.

Meanwhile, her other best friend stood up, picked up the ice pack that had melted into water, and walked toward the trash can not far away.

Wen Shui didn't want to hear the girls' whispers, so he very gentlemanly made way for the two girls and stood next to the vending machine.

It's all over now...

As he thought this, he looked up at the gloomy sky.

The sun still refused to show its face. A lone bird flew across the gray canvas, landed on a branch, and preened its feathers.

On this ordinary Sunday afternoon, Chihaya Asagumo's six-month-long, secret love affair was brought to an end by Mitsuki Ayano.

Speaking of which... there is a word in this world that is used to describe girls like this.

Asagumo Chihaya, that's right, she is—the defeated heroine.

Wen Shui sighed softly.

Reality is completely different from novels and comics; the losers don't simply disappear. They too have their own lives ahead of them, but this failed relationship will ultimately become just a memory.

Hopefully, Chaoyun can recover soon.

As he was thinking this, a lollipop that had already been opened suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Warm Water Guy, this is for you."

Wen Shui turned her head and saw Banami standing next to her. While adjusting the position of the lollipop in her mouth, she raised the lollipop she was offering to Wen Shui, as if gesturing for him to take it.

"Thanks so much for today, even though we were mostly just making things worse..."

She smiled somewhat embarrassedly, but her eyes were filled with a strange expression.

Wen Shui politely declined, saying, "Thank you, but I'm not in the mood for lollipops right now."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Is there something you need?"

"Uh……"

“Every time Bana sees a classmate wanting to talk to me, she has this expression on her face.”

"Ugh, how could this be..."

Seeing the troubled look on her face, Banai took back the lollipop she had given to Wenshui, then put both of them into her mouth and chewed them up.

She quietly savored the rich sweetness in her mouth, and after a while, she spoke:

"Asakusa-kun... he must have already been rejected..."

"..."

The lukewarm water fell silent.

Banami chuckled softly, "To be honest, seeing Asahi's appearance was a little scary."

Wen Shui immediately understood. He glanced at Chao Yun and Ji Gong not far away, then asked in a low voice:

Are you afraid of being rejected?

"Um……"

Without holding back, Banami laid out her thoughts completely: "After all, that sad look... it's exactly what I intuitively feel."

Wen Shui shook his head helplessly.

“I’m here.” He joked casually, “After all, I’m the strategist. I can’t bear to let my general lose like that.”

"If only that were true—" Hanami said softly.

"Don't always be so pessimistic." Wen Shui glanced at her irritably: "Hanami-kun, let me test you, what is the relationship between Yaki-san and Ayano-san?"

"Childhood sweethearts," Banai replied immediately.

"anything else?"

"...Couple...?"

"After what happened today, I suppose we won't need to use questions anymore."

To comfort the suddenly dejected Banami, Wenshui had no choice but to follow her train of thought: "It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I was the one who brought them together..."

Uh, I feel like I've been a bit presumptuous. Wen Shui scratched her head awkwardly, but continued, "So, you see, since even childhood friends like Yakishiro and Ayano can become a couple with my help—"

He deliberately left room for imagination, allowing Banai to let him expand on it.

As expected, upon hearing these words, Banami's eyes immediately regained their sparkle.

"Hmph, still saying you're not a childhood sweetheart, Mr. Wen Shui."

She smiled and patted Wen Shui on the shoulder.

"Yes, yes, I admit it."

Wen Shui shook his head helplessly.

[But speaking of which, did Yanami suddenly change how she addresses me?]

He pondered for a while but came up with no answer, so he stopped thinking about it.

Wen Shuihe turned around and looked at Himegami Karen, who was helping Asahimo walk towards him and Hanami.

He smiled, beckoned to Princess Ji, and then whispered:

"Don't worry, Banami-kun, you definitely won't become the defeated heroine."

~Seventy-third defeat~ I already said it was destined to be anything but peaceful.

Chihaya Asagumo, feeling exhausted and having suffered a significant setback that day, had recently expressed her desire to rest. The other three naturally had no objections, and it was unanimously approved, so they all headed to Futagawa Station to take the tram.

As the only boy among the four, Wen Shui had no intention of being a third wheel. After all, each of the three girls possessed an appearance, temperament, and attractiveness far beyond their years.

There are already more than ten people who have personally experienced being stared at by Himegami Karen's intense gaze while standing next to her. Imagine having to endure three times that number, or even more, of those gazes at once...

With years of experience as a pervert, Wen Shuihe was certain that he would melt in public. In order to save Japan the manpower and resources needed to clean up his own body, he chose to quietly follow behind the three girls.

Fortunately, there weren't many pedestrians on the streets around 2 p.m.

He lowered his head, took out his phone, and wanted to send a message to Ayano to ask about the situation.

A peculiar floral fragrance accompanied the sound of footsteps, completely out of sync with his own, which gradually drew his attention.

Looking up, he saw Himegami Karen slowly slow her pace, naturally leaving the girls' group and coming to his side. She adjusted her steps slightly, aligning them with Wen Shui's.

"Things have still come to this..."

Walking beside Wen Shui, Himegami Karen looked at Asahi and Hanami not far away and said softly.

"Yes." Wen Shui looked at Chao Yun's retreating figure and let out a deep breath.

He carefully chose his words and said in a voice that Chaoyun couldn't hear, "I didn't expect Chaoyun to be so serious."

"Hehe, after all, it's Chihaya." Himegami smiled bitterly with some heartache. "I told you, didn't I? She values ​​relationships between people, whether it's friendship or romance, she doesn't want to let go easily."

Princess Himeko paused, sighed, and then said:

"That's why she'll be the one who's most heartbroken."

Wen Shui glanced at Ji Gong: "Now it's your turn to step in."

"I'm not a psychologist," Himegami Karen rolled her eyes at Wen Shui, annoyed. "Besides, people's defenses are most vulnerable at times like this. Comforting her might backfire. It's better to let Chihaya calm down on her own."

"That's right..."

After saying this, a brief silence fell between the two.

Then, Princess Hime suddenly asked:

"By the way, what brings Wen Shui to the zoo today?"

"Huh? This..." Wen Shui was startled.

He looked at Himegami Karen's slightly curious eyes, paused for a moment, and then spoke:

"Well, it's because my classmate Ma Ti asked me out to dinner—"

Himegami Karen's gaze instantly shifted from curiosity to inquiry.

"But in the photo, I only see Wen Shui standing next to the vending machine." She asked meaningfully, "Did Ma Ti invite you?"

“Yes, she felt that I had helped her a lot at the book club, and she also happened to have vouchers for the restaurant at the zoo,” Wen Shui explained calmly. “So she planned to take this opportunity to treat me to a meal.”

As Wen Shui said this, Ji Gong narrowed her eyes and nodded slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

So Wen Shui also started to think.

Thinking about it carefully, Tian Aixing had a reason for asking her out, and the whole time it didn't feel like a date at all. In her own words, it was a "healthy and open" interaction between opposite sexes.

I don't seem to have any reason to panic, so why was I startled by Himegami just now? It's quite strange.

"Oh, I think I understand."

Himegami Karen nodded slightly, then subtly used dance steps to move a little closer without realizing it, and whispered, "Hey, didn't you ever think about hiding it?"

Wen Shui was stunned: "What need do I have to hide anything?"

Himegami's expression suddenly turned to one of immense joy, a change that left Onami somewhat bewildered.

She stretched out her index finger, pointed cutely to the sky, and nodded with satisfaction: "You pass."

"...?"

Wen Shui paused for a moment, then watched as Himegami Karen skipped and hopped over to Hanami's side. Himegami put her arm around Hanami's shoulder, and after the latter exclaimed in surprise, she happily started chatting with her.