My love index is at its maximum.

Ok.

The blonde, blue-eyed childhood friend ended up being a loser!

There's nothing I can do...

My brother's debuffs are all stacked up, how can we win?

On the other side of the sofa, Shiori Ninomiya and Sakura Kuriyama were watching TV side by side, their arms linked together intimately. Judging from Sakura Kuriyama's affectionate expression, she really dotes on the little cutie; even Tsukasa Tazaki doesn't receive this treatment.

On the television, they were showing "Tokyo Love Story," starring Honami Suzuki in 1991. The drama was adapted from a famous manga and was a realistic love story between men and women in the big city.

Tsukasa Tazaki would occasionally look up.

In this drama, Honami Suzuki plays Rika Akana, a female office worker who always smiles brightly and loves her colleague Kanji Nagao. However, Kanji's sweetheart is his high school classmate, Satomi Sekiguchi... So, the whole drama revolves around a love triangle, full of ups and downs and chaos.

One moment Kanji and Rika are deeply in love, the next they're teary-eyed with Rimi; he's exchanging glances with Rimi, then making vows of eternal love with Rika, all while Yosuke Eguchi's character, Mr. Mikami, keeps causing trouble. The whole drama perfectly captures the petty, capitalist romance.

Recalling the plot, Tsukasa Tazaki suddenly looked at Shiori Ninomiya.

In this drama, Rika Akana's character is wonderful. She is optimistic, strong, loving, bold and unrestrained, but also yearns for tradition and peace. She always smiles like the early summer sun, and her heart is always full of love and hope. She smiles and encourages herself, saying that Kanji will definitely fall in love with her in the end. She loves Kanji, and Kanji loves her!

Isn't that how little cuties are too?

However, in the drama, Rika Akana eventually gave up and left. When she left, she was on a train, and outside the window was the hazy, fiery red sunset. This girl who was always smiling leaned wearily against the window, tears streaming down her face.

Isn't the little cutie the same...?

No, my little cutie doesn't do that.

If it were Little Cutie, even if she gave up, she would still be at the tram platform in the heavy snow, chasing after the departing tram while shouting, "Please come every year! At least while I'm here, please come see me every year!"

Ok……

This character design is really great!

Should we add the little cutie too?

If the little cutie is added, then the big cutie can't not be added, right? But what if the big cutie is added and the male lead doesn't choose her in the end? Will I get beaten up in real life?

Gan!

"Am I supposed to be a scumbag in my novels too?"

The sudden noise startled all three women.

"Why did you suddenly yell like that?" Shimamoto Kana stretched out her foot and poked Tazaki Tsukasa's thigh with her toe to express her displeasure.

Tazaki Tsukasa casually grabbed her foot and played with it in his hand: "It's just a little annoying."

"What's bothering you?" Shiori Ninomiya peeked out from beside Sakura Kuriyama. "You were just shouting about novels. Did you come up with a new idea?"

"yes……"

Tsukasa Tazaki then shared what he had just thought of.

His main point was that he didn't know whether or not to add more attractive female characters.

Shiori Ninomiya listened very attentively.

Then, she accurately grasped the key point that Tsukasa Tazaki had missed, took out her phone, and opened a four-person group chat.

[Ninomiya: @Sikawa, big brother, you're going to be the loser in Tazaki's novel.]

Completely unaware of her mischief, Tsukasa Tazaki leaned back in her chair, comfortably stroking the smooth skin on Kana Shimamoto's instep: "Hana-nee definitely can't be written in. After all, if she's not chosen in the end, she might break the author's legs."

Kana Shimamoto sat up straight: "Then write me in."

"Why?" Tsukasa Tazaki turned his head to look.

“Because I’m not only beautiful, but I also have the air of a mature, sophisticated woman.” Shimamoto Kana gave him a flirtatious wink.

Then, as if to prove this statement, her slender little hands deftly gathered the scattered hairs into a bundle, turned them over a few times, and then picked up the pen tucked between the pages of the book and tucked it into her hair.

Her long, jet-black hair was quickly styled into a classic bun, elegantly coiled at the back of her head; her slender, snow-white neck was exposed to the light, its tender, alluring color making one want to take a bite.

"No, no, no!"

Tazaki Tsukasa shook his head, picked up a cucumber from the table, and put it in his mouth to eat: "Novels aren't reality. If you want to gain popularity, you have to look at it from a commercial perspective. The story of two rich girls and a down-on-his-luck boy is more in line with the mainstream tastes of light novel readers today."

Kuriyama Sakura stared silently at the cucumber in his hand.

Just now... he touched Shimamoto Kana's feet and didn't wash his hands. Maybe this perverted foot fetish did it on purpose, just to indirectly lick her feet!

"Hey, Kiki, Shiori-chan doesn't quite understand," Ninomiya Shiori asked innocently, holding her phone. "Why does Kikawa-san have to be the loser from a business perspective?"

This was an interesting topic, and Tsukasa Tazaki laughed as soon as she heard it, even stopping eating her cucumber: "If she doesn't become a loser, who will?"

"Kiki, tell me about it." Shiori Ninomiya came around and gently tugged at his sleeve, acting cute.

“In light novels, there’s an unwritten rule that childhood friends always come out on top and crush their childhood friends.” Tsukasa Tazaki said seriously, “As childhood friends, they either start with maximum affection or their relationship has temporarily soured due to some misunderstandings. This is a disadvantage that they can never overcome.”

The adorable, curious child continued, "Isn't this a good thing?"

“In reality, this is naturally a good thing,” Tsukasa Tazaki said. “But from the perspective of a novel, a good story is about the ups and downs of the plot; if it’s unchanging, it will mostly make people feel bored.”

Shiori Ninomiya listened very attentively.

While listening, she also kept her phone on, tattled to Qichuan Wei.

"The moment a childhood friend appears, the affection level is already at its peak, and excessive description cannot express the progress of the plot. On the other hand, the newcomer is completely new and unknown, and can start from scratch, slowly building affection with the protagonist, which highlights the main plot and the feeling of moving forward."

"Oh oh oh~"

Shiori Ninomiya was very satisfied.

Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Yui was starting to go crazy.

Sakura Kuriyama was also looking at her phone.

Tazaki Tsukasa's words were embellished and sent to the group chat, but his phone was being held down by Shimamoto Kana's leg, so he was completely unaware of it.

very good……

"Hey, Tazaki-san," the club president looked up, staring at Tazaki Tsukasa with her clear eyes, "If you can't move the plot forward, why have a childhood friend character? Can't you just leave them out?"

Tazaki Tsukasa glanced at her: "Why would you ask such a simple question?"

As a literary-minded young woman, the Minister surely understands this principle.

There must be a reason why she asked that.

Faced with his questioning gaze, Kuriyama Sakura tilted her neck slightly, resting it on the sofa armrest, and smiled calmly.

A warm smile curved at the corners of her lips—it was the most beautiful smile in the world.

"Answer quickly," she said lightly.

Perhaps the Minister is currently under the influence of being love-struck... Tazaki felt a sweet warmth in his heart, and as if he had been given a buff, his voice became louder: "At the beginning of a story, if the feelings between the newcomer and the protagonist haven't been established, the story might be dull. The role of the childhood friend is to pave the way in the early stages of the story, enrich the early plot with their own feelings, and create some fun and jokes to keep the audience engaged."

Shiori Ninomiya held her phone, misinterpreted Tsukasa Tazaki's words, and typed them into the group chat.

While Tsukasa Tazaki was talking eloquently, the other two girls were looking at their phones, and Kana Shimamoto also noticed something.

She pulled out Tsukasa Tazaki's phone from under her legs, entered his birthday to unlock the screen, and immediately saw the group chat notification.

As soon as I clicked in, I saw the news that Shiori Ninomiya had exaggerated.

[Ninomiya: Yui, did Tazaki mean to you that your existence is just for fun, only used to keep the audience entertained and buy time for the arrival of the sky monster?]

[Kikawa: ...Bastard!]

[Kuriyama: Haha. 】

[Kuriyama: I told you long ago, so be it, I'm a loser.]

[Qichuan: Flat-chested, shut up!]

Kana Shimamoto also laughed.

Holding her phone, she looked up at Tsukasa Tazaki and asked with a smile, "What kind of childhood friend can keep the audience engaged in the early stages?"

“Like Xiaowei!” Tazaki Tsukasa was so engrossed in his business ideas that he didn’t notice the changes in the three people’s expressions. “Viewers have a fixed impression of childhood friend characters. For example, a blonde childhood friend who’s a loser. When you mention that, everyone thinks of Eriri. So everyone will be happy to see her miss the chance to end the whole series again and again because of her tsundere nature. They’ll use her as a plot device to adjust the storyline while looking forward to the development of her relationship with the new girl. Once the new girl’s affections are built up, the childhood friend character will slowly become a background character and eventually become a loser.”

Shiori Ninomiya sent it out again, word for word.

Then, she added fuel to the fire, stirring up a war.

[Ninomiya: Tazaki is just using you as a tool. After he's done with you, he'll marginalize you!]

[Ninomiya: In his words, this is like taking advantage of your feelings and then making money off the viewers.]

[Kikawa: ...He's dead!]

[Kuriyama: Impotent rage.]

[Kikawa: What are you so smug about?]

[Kuriyama: I fell from the sky.]

[Kikawa: That's just fiction.]

[Kuriyama: Even in reality, a sudden influx of someone unexpected has an advantage over a childhood friend.]

[Kuriyama: Finnish anthropologist Edvard Westermarck mentioned the famous "Westermarck effect" in his book *The History of Human Marriage*—that people are less sexually attracted to people they grew up with.]

[Ninomiya: Kuriyama Encyclopedia is now online!]

[Kikawa: ...Shiori, you better find out for yourself what he's going to do with me!]

Is this how noisy they are usually...? Shimamoto Kana, who was watching the drama unfold, exclaimed how interesting it was, and couldn't help but continue to probe Tazaki Tsukasa: "So, in your idea, what will be the final fate of the character represented by Yui?"

Upon hearing this question, the two little ones immediately looked up at her.

then……

The three women, one adult and two children, simultaneously exchanged knowing smiles.

Kana Shimamoto has no bad intentions.

She simply wanted to see Tsukasa Tazaki suffer at the hands of other women, and then comfort him with gentleness, thereby consolidating her own position.

My little cutie...

Needless to say, a country girl full of wicked ideas is far more cunning than people from big cities.

and……

She's still angry!