"Hahaha, okay!"
Seeing how toward his reply, Eva laughed heartily, loudly, and even a little out of character, with her melodic voice while leaning a little forward and covering her mouth with her hand, and noticing how the sunlight caught her golden hair, illuminating her crescent-shaped eyes that sparkled with joy and something else he didn't quite understand.
Now, looking at this breathtaking scene, Christian forgot what he said and felt himself somehow falling deeper, as Eva seemed to make the riverside, with its lush green grass swaying gently in the breeze, even more captivating.
Still, he also felt that the current dynamic of their relationship seemed a little off. If he was being teased now, just after something that could be considered to have happened between them, then what would happen later? This thought lingered in his mind.
Having mixed emotions but still overflowing with happiness nonetheless, Christian while thinking that things should change later, finally continued his walk with Eva.
He even felt as if his age was regressing, overcome by the impulse to wave his arm still holding her hand, like in some anime.
But perhaps because he had achieved what he had set his mind to, Christian, still holding Eva's hand, felt unprecedentedly relaxed and didn't know what topics to bring up.
He naturally felt fulfilled just walking like this, even in silence, as moments like these felt deeply comfortable to him. It was just that he didn't know if Eva felt the same way.
"How about this: since it's become my job to think about what you should do later, what do you have in mind for now? Or shall we simply continue like this?"
Hearing Eva's voice and the way she phrased her words, while Christian sensed the amusement she contained at the moment. He also felt that she didn't mind either way, so he replied by sharing his opinion, thinking that she should ultimately make the decision.
"Would you like to find a spot to sit for a bit? We could even keep walking or grab a bite to eat, since it's lunchtime. You can decide."
"Then let's take a rest, sitting somewhere."
Seeing how decisively and quickly she replied, Christian thought that maybe this was the difference in their ages, and he simply nodded in agreement.
He continued his time with Eva, and this time they spent much longer together than before, as he didn't return home until evening, even though they hadn't talked about anything particularly important after their riverside conversation.
Entering the house, heading to the living room, and throwing himself onto the sofa, Christian felt that today had truly been different, maybe even special, as despite how he was tired from being out so long, yet he also felt invigorated as he remembered his success with Eva.
With a grin etched on his face as he stared at the ceiling, still replaying the day's events, Christian was lost in thought. Standing nearby and drying her still-wet hair with a towel, Annabelle couldn't help but think he was smiling stupidly.
'Even then, it's still beautiful.'
While finding some charm to his smile, the itch of curiosity still tugged at her; she wanted to know what had happened with him, as this time, it was clearly related to Eva, and there was no room for doubt anymore.
After some time had passed in the lingering silence, with his sister's head now somehow resting naturally on his shoulder, Christian, who had initially thought she didn't exert any pressure, found himself compelled to reevaluate his assessment.
'Well, she could definitely be considered a lethal weapon herself right now, so maybe she knows it?'
With this thought in mind, Christian, who had initially considered waiting to confirm some facts about Eva, finally felt that he could share everything while remaining silent about just one thing.
"Well, the thing is like this.."
As for Eva's material state, should he really ask? After all, she still called herself the older sister. Christian had initially referred to her as Olivia's older sister as a form of a compliment, expecting her to correct him. Now, finding himself in this situation, he hoped she would be the one to clarify it first, allowing him to ask about her current circumstances more specifically.
Even with all these thoughts swirling in his mind, Christian didn't consider himself particularly patient in situations like this. If she didn't say anything soon, he was prepared to ask her himself.
But as he began to speak truthfully to his sister, he suddenly found himself reflecting on the events of the day once more.
'While we didn't define our relationship, it could still be considered as something happening between us, right?'
Was the urging question lingering in his mind now.
Unlike Christian, whose mind was on other things while sharing his story, Annabelle listened intently. Sitting up straight and serious, she felt incredulous. It was a relationship with an older woman, clearly from a wealthy family, and their interaction had been very brief.
No matter how she looked at it, there was something off about the situation.
What could possibly be wrong? What could
The problem was that when she asked herself what could possibly be wrong? What Eva could possibly want from her younger brother, she came up with nothing, as while she thought very highly of her brother, she believed that people like Eva should
In the end, despite the bewildering situation, she didn't want to point anything out to him just yet. She wanted to be an understanding older sister for her younger brother.
But she also felt the need to meet Eva; she wanted to see for herself before giving her brother any advice. As no matter how she thought of him, he seemed terrible at interacting with women.
So, she needs to get to the bottom of the situation first, see how did things come to this point.
"Hmm, Chris, what do you think about inviting Eva over sometime later?"
"You also know how, the last time at school, she expressed that she didn't mind either."
Hearing his sister's suggestion, while Christian felt it might be a little too early. However, like his sister had pointed out, if Eva had said she didn't mind, whether she truly meant it was another matter, of course. Still, maybe he really could invite her?