What a twist! The loser heroine!

Himegami Karen closed the photo album with satisfaction and placed it aside. After a moment of contemplation with her eyes closed, she nodded.

"thanks for treatment."

"Please speak properly."

Wen Shui approached with a cup of hot tea: "Finished reading?"

"Yes, I've finished reading it."

"Very well, I won't ask for your thoughts."

"Huh?! Shouldn't we be asking for your thoughts at this time of day?"

“I’m afraid I’ll pique your interest again and make you want to see your elementary school graduation album.”

"Hehe, I've seen enough already." Himeko rubbed her temples wearily, then said with a smile, "As for the rest, I'll leave it as a mystery and talk about it later."

How many more times does this guy intend to come to my house?

Wen Shui shook her head, placed the tea on the coffee table, and asked, "When are you planning to leave?"

"Sigh~ They're already kicking people out."

"It's getting late."

Wen Shui pointed to the clock on the wall: "It's already 4:30 in the afternoon, and my sister will be back soon."

"Huh?! That's right, little sister!"

Himegami said as if she had just realized something.

"...?" Wen Shui didn't quite understand what she meant.

"I haven't seen your sister all day! I remember she said she usually stays home with you on weekends."

"Actually, when I came to your house today, I was prepared to meet her, but I didn't expect to meet your father instead."

Why do I need to prepare to see my sister?

"Ya-Shu has a student council activity at her junior high school to attend today."

Wen Shui explained the reason, then sat down on the sofa: "By the way, Himegami, how did you know that Yoshiki was spending the weekend with me?"

"It was at the autograph session, everyone was talking at once, and Yoshiki basically said everything."

Himeko said with a smile, "Like my brother's zodiac sign, blood type, and so on..."

"Wait a minute, Yoshiki didn't say anything strange, did he?"

"I already said so."

Please, please deny this question.

Wen Shui sighed, as if still clinging to a last glimmer of hope, and asked, "What other strange... things did she say?"

She said…

At this point, Ji Gong glanced at Wen Shui's wry smile, thought for a moment, and then continued, "Brother likes to drink tap water the most."

"That's not surprising, is it?"

"Who knows? Anyway, everyone was laughing happily."

After saying this, Himegami's expression suddenly became somewhat downcast: "However... at the autograph session, Yoshiki seemed to be deliberately avoiding me. I tried to talk to her several times but failed, and it was the same when she came to my house later."

"Did I...do I do something that made her dislike me?"

Upon hearing this, Wen Shui held her teacup and said softly, "Hmm, I actually feel the same way."

"Really?"

“Well, ever since Jia Shu came back from the New Year, she doesn’t seem to have a particularly good impression of you.” Wen Shui nodded: “She even wanted me to return that coin to you. Apparently, it’s a special ritual called ‘returning fate’.”

"no!"

Himegami's voice suddenly grew louder, and she shook her head rapidly, her face full of anxiety.

"Huh? It won't work?"

"Hmm, hmm, no!"

"Can I ask for the reason?" Wen Shui asked with some doubt. "I searched online later, and there's actually no such ceremony. I hope Jia Shu isn't just making things up..."

“Um… this…” Himegami hesitated for a moment, then frowned as if troubled.

She didn't want her own affairs to cause any misunderstandings between Yoshiki and Wenshui, so she had no choice but to say, "The ritual of 'Returning Fate' actually exists. Your sister wasn't lying to you."

"I see."

Wen Shui nodded, half believing and half doubting.

Himeko, feigning seriousness, raised a finger and explained to Onami, "However, cough cough, I've already given you this coin. It will only be effective if the giver makes a request for 'repayment of kindness'."

"There are really a lot of rules..."

"After all, it's a ritual related to the gods. Huh? Why are you looking at me with such suspicion?"

"It feels like...neither you nor Yoshiki are telling the truth."

“There really is such a ceremony. I didn’t learn so much about shrine culture just for fun.” Himegami raised her head confidently.

The next second, as if she had thought of something, her voice suddenly turned down: "But... I didn't expect your sister to actually want to give the coin back to me."

"That child has had a somewhat strange personality since he was little, so don't take it too seriously."

"This probably has nothing to do with personality—"

Himegami shook her head, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Wen Shui mentioned before that your sister is participating in student council activities, right?"

"Yes, and they'll be back soon."

“Then I’ll just wait a bit longer,” Himegami said, adjusting her posture on the sofa. “After all, I’d really like to talk to your sister.”

"Okay, I'll ask for you." Wen Shui nodded.

Although she didn't know why Himegami cared so much about Yoshiki's thoughts, she couldn't very well refuse since Himegami had already spoken up.

He had just turned on his phone and switched to Jia Shu's chat interface on Line when a dialog box suddenly popped up on the screen before he could even slowly start typing.

As if she had foreseen this, Yoshiki sent him a message first:

"Brother, I'm already at the door."

"Ah?"

The warm water couldn't help but let out a soft gasp.

"What's wrong?"

"Um... Yoshiki said..."

As if in response to his words, the sound of a door opening came from the entryway.

Himegami and Onami both froze in place.

"Brother, I'm back. Are we having guests today?"

Yoshiki's lovely, heavenly voice was heard by the two of them without missing a single word.

Wen Shui immediately went to greet her, while Ji Gong stood up somewhat nervously, unsure of what to do with her hands.

"Yoshiki, welcome back. Today... um, some classmates came to visit."

"Hehe, elder brother, there's no need to be nervous. Father has already sent me a message."

Yoshiki, who had just changed into slippers in the entryway, looked up at Onami, who had come over to greet him, and said with a smile, "Yoshiki was curious about the new friends my brother has made, so I came back early."

"Aren't student council activities okay?"

"Anyway, it's almost over, and the president has agreed to let me go home early."

"That's good." Wen Shui breathed a sigh of relief.

"Brother, is she in the living room right now?"

"Ah."

"Hehe, it wouldn't be good to neglect the guests."

Yoshiki naturally and intimately took his older brother's arm, and then walked into the living room with him.

The moment she saw Himegami Karen, Onami clearly felt Yoshiki holding her hands, applying a slight force.

However, Yoshiki remained outwardly calm as he gazed at Himegami Karen, then smiled and said, "Oh, it's you. Good afternoon, Himegami-senpai."

◇

The atmosphere in the living room was somewhat tense.

"I didn't expect that Sister Himegami would come to visit on the weekend. Please have some fruit."

Before she could even take off her Taoyuan Junior High School uniform, Yoshiki Wenshui carried a plate of pre-cut fruit to the dining table. After gently placing the fruit plate on the table, she sat directly in the lap of her older brother, Karen Himegami, sitting opposite her.

"Jia Shu?"

"Brother, please have some apples."

Yoshiki smiled and shoved a large piece of apple directly into his older brother's mouth.

"Woo-woo-gu..."

And so someone's question was swallowed back.

"Haha, I just happened to be passing by and thought I'd drop by as a guest." Himegami smiled calmly at the sight and said, "After all, Wen Shui has already been to my house before."

"What a coincidence." Yoshiki gently stroked his brother's chin with his head, then said:

"My elder brother isn't very good at taking care of people, so please forgive him if there's anything he hasn't done well in his hospitality."

"Oh, no, I had a lot of fun. I even chatted with your father earlier."

Himegami Karen waved her hands repeatedly, but she didn't expect that her words would make Yoshiki pause for a moment.

Yoshiki quickly looked up at Kazuhiko Onamizu, only to find that her poor older brother's mouth was stuffed with apples and he couldn't speak. He could only puff out his cheeks and nod at her, indicating that Himegami was right.

Yoshiki looked at Himegami intently, then said softly, "So you've already met Father..."

"Ah...yes, that's right." Himegami nodded repeatedly and said very quickly, "Uncle is a very kind person. He is highly educated and speaks with great manners. I have always admired people like him."

"Yes, Yoshiki has always idolized his father."

Yoshiki lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought, a gesture that only made Himegami more nervous.

After a while, Yoshiki let out a soft sigh: "Brother, we're running low on salt and soy sauce at home. Could you please go and buy some?"

Wen Shui was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. He first glanced at his sister, and then at Ji Gong.

"I see."

He swallowed the apple in his mouth, gently moved his little sister away from his arms, then stood up and reached out to pat her head: "You've had a long day, it'll be good for you to relax a bit."

"I will, elder brother."

Half a minute later, the door closed, and Yoshiki Awami looked away and sat back down at the dining table.

She took a deep breath, then looked up at Himegami Karen, who was sitting upright opposite her.

"Hime-senpai, it will take about ten minutes for her to return from shopping at the Wenshui residence."

"..." Himegami did not answer, her crimson eyes fixed on Yoshiki, quietly waiting for her to speak next.

Yoshiki chuckled softly:

"Hehe, so let's take these ten minutes to get to know each other better."

~Seventy-seventh defeat~ Heart-to-heart talk

"Since time is short, let's get straight to the point."

"Ah, okay, okay!"

This time, Yoshiki didn't take out the recording pen like he did when he was facing Koko.

She simply gazed silently at Himegami Karen with her brown eyes for a moment, then spoke:

"Hime-senpai is really beautiful, and she has a great personality. She must be very good at socializing."