They all have hidden attributes!

After Makoto Takahashi and Maya Uesugi entered the archery club and closed the door, Junko Shiraishi quietly approached the archery club and secretly observed through a crack in the door.

The dazzling sunlight bathed the semi-open shooting range, and her ears followed the sound of the black-haired boy walking on the wooden floor.

"How many kilograms of bow do you usually use?" Takahashi Makoto asked.

15 kilograms.

"Will my usual Japanese bow be okay?"

He knew that Uesugi Maya had a psychological obsession with cleanliness, but the archery club had limited funds and arrows were expensive, so they couldn't afford to buy too many bows.

"Or shall we go to the archery range where you usually practice?"

"Too far, too much trouble."

Maya Uesugi took the bow and arrow from Makoto Takahashi, spread her arms, and let him measure the length of the arrows: "Lend me your gloves."

"I don't like wearing gloves."

Seeing Takahashi Makoto spread his hands, she rubbed her temples with a headache and asked incredulously, "Can't you find a single new pair of gloves in the entire archery club?"

“Currently, I’m the only one in the entire archery club who knows archery,” Makoto Takahashi said.

What is the purpose of the archery club?

"Can't we have people, but we can't be without anyone?"

"That's enough. I'll suggest to the chairman that the archery club be abolished."

Uesugi Maya took the arrow from his hand, walked to the designated position, turned to face the sunlit archery path, closed her eyes, and took a slow, deep breath.

The scorching wind blew across the green grass, tossing her long black hair. When she opened her eyes, her beautiful caramel-colored eyes revealed a resolute spirit.

Uesugi Maya's archery posture was as elegant as her usual reading posture; her movements of drawing the bow and nocking the arrow were unhurried, as if victory was assured.

Snapped--

The string rang out, the arrow swept across the grass, and hit the target.

For beginners, hitting the target is not difficult as long as they don't make mistakes. On the contrary, experienced people are more likely to miss the target due to various problems.

That is why archery is a sport of self-discipline.

"We shouldn't lose tomorrow," Makoto Takahashi said.

"You don't believe I can win?"

Uesugi Maya turned around and asked in a cold voice, "Reason?"

"As long as you don't let her music affect you, I think you two will both hit the target with all four arrows."

Upon hearing Takahashi Makoto's words, Uesugi Maya instantly lost the will to continue shooting arrows.

Modern archery competitions are like this: only the number of arrows hitting the target matters, and factors such as the bullseye, etiquette, or shooting pattern do not affect the outcome.

"Although your tone is very goal-oriented and I can feel your unwavering belief, Senior Sister Xing is too cold-hearted and will not be affected by you at all."

Makoto Takahashi frankly expressed his thoughts, and seeing a shadow fall over Maya Uesugi's delicate face, he asked curiously, "What does a draw mean?"

"There has never been a draw before."

"That's not bad, at least this time there's hope of breaking the historical record."

Hearing him say that, Uesugi Maya's face darkened even more. Recalling her countless defeats was not a pleasant thing.

Sensing the atmosphere had become somewhat tense, Makoto Takahashi immediately changed the subject: "Speaking of which, when does this group exhibition of young Japanese artists start? Are there still free tickets available?"

"Kashima is your manager now."

That topic wasn't suitable either, so he changed it again: "What do you think about Shiraishi-senpai joining the band?"

“I don’t like her, but if she meets the criteria, I can consider it,” Uesugi Maya said coldly.

Although I don't want to give Shiraishi Junka a friendly look, keyboardists are already scarce, and keyboardists with arrangement skills are even rarer.

Unlike learning musical instruments, arranging music not only requires time and effort to accumulate music theory knowledge, but also, most importantly, talent. Last night, when Makoto Takahashi was putting up posters, he saw a bunch of flyers recruiting "arrangers".

Outside the archery club gate, Shiraishi Jun, who had been eavesdropping on the two's conversation, had gained enough information and walked towards the bulletin board to check the requirements for the light music club to recruit a keyboardist.

Chapter 58 Before the Final Battle

On a hot summer evening, with the air conditioner humming, Makoto Takahashi lay on the sofa in his apartment's living room, rereading the paperback edition of "The Loser's Girl" with both hands.

Hearing the doorbell ring to announce the arrival of a guest, he got up and walked to the entrance. He knew who was visiting without even looking through the peephole.

—It's already dinner time.

As expected, a tall figure came into view when the door was opened.

Her long, straight black hair was tied into a ponytail with a white hair tie for easy housework. Her washed blue jeans and pure white T-shirt were clean and tidy. Her features were delicate and beautiful even without makeup, and her dignified appearance was charming even with a cold expression.

Hell Girl makes her appearance.

Maya Uesugi stretched out her hand and said in a cold tone, "Dinner."

Her slender, fair hands carried an insulated bag.

"I am extremely grateful."

Makoto Takahashi clasped his hands together, offered his sincere thanks, and then accepted the insulated bag, stepping aside to make way for the entrance: "Please come in."

She didn't say "excuse me," but walked into the living room, her caramel-colored eyes scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.

Seeing that the living room was fairly tidy, except for a pile of shopping bags in the corner, Uesugi Maya nodded in satisfaction: "Let's have dinner."

"I'm so glad I didn't cause you any trouble."

Makoto Takahashi breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had escaped a disaster. After sitting down on the sofa, he opened the insulated bag, took out the white modular bento boxes one by one, and placed them on the coffee table.

Dinner was exquisite and plentiful, including rice, coconut chicken curry, steak, avocado salad, and a bowl of bamboo fungus soup.

He picked up a small piece of steak with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. The rich sauce and the spiciness of black pepper blended together in his mouth to create an exquisite flavor that was unbelievably delicious.

While Takahashi Makoto was having dinner, Uesugi Maya tidied up the shopping bags piled up in the corner of the living room.

Upon opening the different watch boxes, seeing how generous Jianli Jianxing was, she pursed her lips slightly and said, "Go buy a watch winder yourself."

"Can't we just put it in the box like that?" Takahashi Makoto was wearing a watch on his wrist and was too lazy to take it off.

"No."

"Ok."

"These new clothes need to be washed before you can wear them. I'll bring them to you tomorrow."

Thinking that his sports jacket and uniform jacket hadn't been washed yet, Uesugi Maya gathered the new clothes together, carried them back to the apartment next door, threw them in the washing machine, and came back to continue tidying up.

After a quick cleaning of the living room, the next step is the bathroom.

After a while, she poked her head out and said, "The toothbrush needs to be replaced. I'll take it back to brush my shoes. Remind me to bring the new toothbrush and activated charcoal later."

"it is good."

Does the art studio need tidying up?

"Please, I have no intention of writing anything in July."

Besides Makoto Takahashi's bedroom, Maya Uesugi cleaned the entire apartment. Fortunately, it was only about 60 square meters and was usually kept clean, so it wasn't too tiring.

After Makoto Takahashi finished dinner, she took the lunchbox back to her apartment to wash it, retrieved the activated charcoal and a new toothbrush, and then brought back the washed clothes to dry.

As dusk fell, Maya Uesugi, having finished all her household chores, sat down to rest on the sofa opposite Makoto Takahashi, across the coffee table.

"At this temperature, the clothes will be dry by tomorrow."

She sat with her legs together at an angle, her posture ladylike, her caramel-colored eyes fixed straight on Takahashi Makoto, as if reminding him so he might forget:

"Make sure to put it in the closet in time; it can suddenly pour rain in Tokyo's summer."

"Okay, no problem."

Makoto Takahashi repeated twice that he definitely remembered, closed the book in his hand, looked up and met her gaze: "If we win the competition tomorrow, will the Light Music Club continue its activities?"

"I haven't thought about that."

Maya Uesugi glanced at the balcony, where colorful clothes hung on the clothes rack swayed in the wind: "We'll only know the ending tomorrow, so let's think about it tomorrow."

"That's not like you." In Makoto Takahashi's memory, she was a very organized person, who would always make a shopping list before going to the supermarket.

"After defeating her, my spirit and will will surely be elevated," Uesugi Maya said confidently.

Tachibana Yuki has always been a shadow over her.

Maya Uesugi has tried many different approaches, including having the obsession that "only by surpassing her can I gain attention" and trying to "blindly imitate all of her behaviors."

Now, her thoughts are:

[I must defeat her to prove my abilities, break with the past, and find my own path.]

"I still think you're too stubborn."

Makoto Takahashi pondered for a moment, then said in a sincere tone, "Do you know what Sachi-senpai has been busy with lately?"

"Speak your mind." Uesugi Maya frowned unhappily, her delicate face turning cold.

"She seems to think that the previous exploitative methods were wrong and is reorganizing the student council."

"Are you saying she's growing while I haven't improved at all?"

“I think the essence of your desire to defeat her is the seeking of a concrete expression of self-identity.”

Makoto Takahashi wanted to say that her obsession was actually a psychological shackle, but Maya Uesugi clearly didn't like the topic. She suddenly exuded a cold aura, and the atmosphere instantly froze.

Makoto Takahashi raised his hands in surrender and wisely shut his mouth.

An incurable silence filled the living room. After taking a deep breath to calm herself, Uesugi Maya stood up from the sofa and looked down at him.

“Buying the apartment next door puts a lot of financial pressure on me. Regardless of what happens tomorrow, if there is still a need, I hope to be able to pay for my friends’ expenses with lunch and dinner in the future.”

"Sure, there are also family matters."

"See you tomorrow."

Seeing her walk towards the entrance with a cold face, Takahashi Makoto stood up to see her off: "See you tomorrow."

July 18th, the first day of summer vacation.