What a twist! The loser heroine!

Himegami Karen silently took a step forward, and the inexplicable pressure startled Wen Shui so much that she slammed against her own door with a thud.

"I'm already here, warm water."

Her hands clenched into fists behind her back, and her scarlet eyes emanated a menacing gaze that made Wen Shui too nervous to notice her flushed cheeks.

"Don't you want to say something to a girl who's had a long day?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Shui sighed, his expression becoming as resolute as a soldier about to go to the battlefield.

He put the key into the lock, then, as if resigned, whispered:

"Welcome, Himegami-san."

"Pfft, are you some kind of convenience store clerk?"

"It's noisy."

~Seventy-fourth defeat~ A tea party for two

"I am back."

Wen Shui stood in the entryway and wished the empty corridor a lifetime of peace.

Since his parents' weekend home hours were completely unpredictable, he was a little worried that they might suddenly appear out of nowhere and give him a fright.

After all, these two are the kind of extraordinary parents who don't like to speak in their own family group chat; in the words of Wen Shui Mama:

“I have to report to my colleagues in the work group every day. If I have to report to my colleagues when I get home, am I working from home? Besides, life should have some surprises, right? Come here and give Yan a hug.”

Well, let's pretend we didn't hear the last sentence.

Where can you find parents like this?

not to mention--

"Sorry to bother you..."

As Himegami Karen stepped into the entrance hall, she spoke these words while carefully and meticulously examining the layout of the Wenshui family home.

Wen Shui took the guest slippers from the shoe cabinet and placed them in front of Princess Ji.

"Here, I just washed it a couple of days ago."

"Ah, thank you." Ji Gong thanked her softly. She took off her sneakers, put her small feet into slippers, and walked out of the entrance hall with Wen Shui.

There's been so much time and no one's responded, so it seems Dad and Mom haven't come home yet. Yoshiki is probably still participating in the junior high school student council activities, so he won't be back anytime soon.

Well, in short, let's entertain Princess Hime first, and then hurry up and send her back.

Wen Shui glanced at the clock on the wall. The incident involving Chao Yun seemed thrilling, but it hadn't actually taken up too much time. It was just past three in the afternoon.

The two walked through the hallway and entered the living room.

"Wow... the entryway is already quite large, but I didn't expect the living room to be even scarier."

Upon entering the living room, Karen Himegami looked around like a curious cat. However, for some reason, her face seemed a little red, and she spoke more softly than usual.

“Your living room is quite big too,” Wen Shui said, placing her fanny pack on the sofa.

"Where is it? It's crammed full of wardrobes and flower pots, you have to walk carefully to avoid it." Ji Gong touched the material of the sofa, nodded to herself, and then said with a smile, "Compared to that, I prefer this simple and practical decorating style."

"Thank you so much for describing monotony as simple and practical."

"What kind of talk is that! I was just praising you!"

"To be honest, it's not a big deal." Wen Shui smiled. "Anyway, my parents are often not home, and relatives rarely come. Renovating the living room would require frequent cleaning, which would be redundant."

"I heard your parents work for a foreign company?"

"Your aunt even told you this..."

"Hmm...do you mind?"

"No, I didn't mean to hide anything." Wen Shui shook her head, then turned and walked towards the kitchen: "Would you like something to drink?"

"Is there any coffee?"

"Huh? Hime-miya, you like coffee?" Wen Shui paused for a moment as she opened the refrigerator door.

"Yes."

"I thought you liked strawberry flavor because you mentioned you liked it."

As Wen Shui spoke, she took the coffee ingredients out of the refrigerator, then took out the kitchen utensils and put on an apron.

"Hmph, having a love for desserts and drinks doesn't conflict with anything, that's what Xingcai taught me."

Don't follow her example in this respect, I'm serious.

For some reason, Princess Ji was in a very good mood. She moved closer to the warm water and asked with a smile, "Want me to lend a hand?"

"No need, we're not cooking."

He shook his head, skillfully washed the kettle with warm water, and then began processing the ingredients.

"So skilled~ Looks like you make coffee often." Himegami watched Wen Shui's movements and clicked her tongue in amazement: "Wen Shui, do you like coffee too?"

"Yes, when I was in junior high school, my dad often stayed up late reading new books that foreigners had sent him. Sometimes when he got engrossed in reading, he would ask me to make him a pot of coffee if he didn't have any with him."

As Wen Shui said this, her ahoge twisted into a dizzy mosquito coil shape, and then she said helplessly, "Over time, I've gotten used to the taste of coffee. I guess this is a preference that my dad cultivated in me."

"I see! Uncle is really amazing."

For some reason, Princess Hime's mood improved; girls' moods are truly unpredictable.

After processing the ingredients, the electric kettle started working, and Wen Shui, whose hair had returned to normal, turned around and asked, "Would you like something to eat?"

"Oh dear, now that you mention it, I am indeed a little hungry."

Himegami smiled somewhat embarrassedly.

"After all, we traveled such a long distance."

He opened the refrigerator; there should still be an extra bento box that Yoshiki and he had prepared for their father to eat on the road last night.

But if I eat a bento box at 3 pm... I won't have any appetite for dinner.

After thinking it over, Wen Shui decided to protect Ji Gong's appetite.

"Well then, the water's still boiling. Wait a moment, I have some cookies and snacks in my room—?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Gong's already slightly flushed face turned even redder. Wen Shui asked in confusion, "Huh? What's wrong?"

Himegami made random hand seals in front of her chest, making one wonder what kind of ninjutsu she could conjure up.

She stammered, "Um... well... about the room, is it really okay for me to go now?"

"...?" Wen Shui was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening and quickly said, "Wait a minute, I just wanted to go back to my room to get something."

"Ugh--"

Why be disappointed?

He took off his apron, hung it on the hook, and then walked towards the stairs: "Princess, you can wander around as you like. No one's home right now."

"So you...you knew about this too."

Himegami, who was always very proactive, suddenly looked away and said somewhat shyly.

【Huh? 】

Oh, right.

Only then did the person, slow to realize, notice:

His parents are out right now, and Yoshiki is also participating in student council activities, which means—

[Oh dear, so it's just a typical scene from light novels: a lone man and woman alone in a room.]

What a load of rubbish! So that's why Princess Hime was blushing all this time? Why didn't I notice?

Upon finally realizing this, Luanshui immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

"Um, well, that's true..."

He silently lowered his stance, then gave Himeko an awkward smile:

"Anyway, I'd better go get the food first."

After saying this, he quickly grabbed the handrail and ran up to the second floor.

"Um……"

As Ji Gong watched Wen Shui's figure disappear from sight, she quickly patted her slightly flushed cheeks and then hurried to the dining table to sit down.

She opened her pouch, took out a mirror and lipstick, and quickly tidied her appearance and hair, which had become slightly disheveled from rushing. After taking several deep breaths, Princess Himegami finally calmed her somewhat nervous emotions.

I don't know why, but I suddenly wanted to come to his house today... I hadn't planned to do that before, and we don't think we live that far apart...

But I just felt like I had to come.

She looked around, carefully observing Wen Shui's living room, which was considerably more spacious than her own. However, it seemed to lack a bit of decoration…

Hmm, hanging up posters here would probably make things much better, and if there were some plants in the corner, the air would be fresher too.

While waiting for the warm water to come out, Princess Himeko considered how to improve the living environment of the house.

After waiting for a while, the warm water still hadn't come out of the room. Logically, it shouldn't have taken this long to get some snacks.

She was a little confused, but she didn't choose to go and ask.

Himeko silently warned herself that her mother's serious dating and matchmaking training had almost scared Wen Shui, so she should pay more attention to boundaries in the future.

This is a boy's house, so it wouldn't be good if he stumbled upon something embarrassing.

But... what exactly is Wen Shui doing? The boy is in his room...

Wait a minute, something awkward? He wouldn't be...

Himegami's face flushed red, even her earlobes turned red from some strange delusions. Her eyes darted around, and she quickly lay on the table, hiding her burning cheeks in her arms.

Even if it is... please don't... um...

"Himeko?"

"Huh?! I'm still here!!!"

Upon hearing the sound of warm water, she immediately jumped up from the table, closed her eyes, and shouted loudly.

"Huh? You really are here."

Wen Shui placed the bag and a pack of cookies she was carrying on the table, then looked at Himegami Karen in surprise, who had become inexplicably agitated: "What happened?"

"No, it's nothing!"

Himegami Karen immediately realized her lapse in composure. She quickly lowered her head and sat down, then used her long hair to cover her still-blushing cheeks: "Wh...why did you stay in your room for so long?"

[Isn't it just to ease the awkwardness?]

"It took a little longer to find the candy," Wen Shui casually offered as an excuse.

He poured all sorts of candies from the bag into the plate he had just prepared: "They were all brought by relatives in Kyoto, but we haven't finished them yet."

Wow~ So many~ They look so delicious.

"You can take some if you want; anyway, apart from my mom, no one in my family eats candy very often."

"That's so embarrassing."

"You're welcome."

As Wen Shui said this, she went into the kitchen and brewed two cups of coffee with the boiling water she had just prepared.

He turned around and asked, "Princess, would you like sugar in your coffee?"

Do you usually add sugar when you drink coffee?

"Huh? I usually don't add anything."

"Then I won't add sugar anymore."

"Don't look for validation in weird places. Is it really okay not to add sugar?"

"It should be... alright."

Wen Shui shook his head helplessly and placed two cups of unsweetened coffee on the table.