Chapter 52: Pulling and Tugging

“Hmph—I knew it—”

“W-Wait!?”

“S-Sweetheart!?”

This time it was Masha’s turn to be surprised.

She hadn’t expected the girl who had been so timid just a moment ago to admit it so frankly.

She thought they would need more tugging back and forth…

“E-Elena… why did you…”

How did Elena suddenly get so close!

Aren’t they supposed to be brothers!

Just as Fen was about to speak, he smelled that faint jasmine scent getting closer to him.

“!”

Elena had already pressed herself completely against Fen’s side, wrapping her arms around his left arm, pretending to be a couple in a passionate romance.

“W-Wait!”

Fen felt his left arm being enveloped by something soft and warm.

The soft, tingling sensation shot up his arm like an electric current, finally exploding in Fen’s mind.

There’s no mistake.

This absolutely cannot be wrong!

This touch… definitely is!

Fen immediately started having lewd thoughts, blood rushing up.

‘S-So that’s what that thing feels like when touched!!!’

So soft… so warm…

And so bouncy…

It’s exactly like the description in the anime he watched before…

Yes, although he mocked Elian for being an innocent boy, Fen actually forgot that he himself was also a Xiao Chunan with zero experience over two lifetimes.

Perhaps his only advantage over Elian was that he had read a lot of doujinshi and played some adult games.

He could only try his best to stiffen his arm, keeping it at a certain distance from that softness.

“E-Elena!?”

“D-Don’t stick so close!”

This sentence was almost said in a pleading whisper.

But unexpectedly, the girl did not let go.

“Shh—”

From Masha’s perspective, she instead pressed closer more assertively and dominantly, gently placing her index finger against the young man’s lips.

“Th-This is just—”

Although she spoke calmly, the undeniable blush mercilessly revealed her shyness at that moment.

“It’s just a necessary disguise!”

Though trembling slightly, the girl still strenuously maintained the posture of “everything is under control” in front of Fen.

“After all, you don’t want… Masha to keep pressing us, right?”

The girl leaned close to his cheek and whispered.

That voice was light and gentle, soft like an angel’s blessing, as sweet as brewed fruit wine.

Added to that, the girl’s floral scent, now completely impossible to hide due to the rising temperature, Fen felt his brain completely melt into a paste, no longer under his control.

The silver hair tips quietly fell on Fen’s shoulder, making him feel a little itchy.

But at this moment, he clearly had no mind to notice anything else.

His attention was completely captured by the girl in front of him.

This was another time he observed Elena’s face at such close distance.

Although they spent a lot of time together daily, Fen either didn’t pay attention or didn’t dare to sneak a glance at Elena when she was facing him.

He could clearly see the collarbone slightly exposed because of her leaning forward.

Could clearly see the fair, slightly peach-blushed cheeks.

And could also clearly see Elena’s evasive eyes, and the fidgety, even uneasy little movements at this moment.

Because of this frozen posture, a strange atmosphere spread between them.

‘This is bad…’

This is practically tempting him…

It’s like a girl you treat as a bro, and then one day you suddenly feel a sexy vibe from her.

‘Did Elena… cast some kind of magic?’

His vision also changed; besides Elena, everything around became hazy too.

“O-Okay…”

“I’ll cooperate…”

In a daze, Fen could still feel a burning heat on his cheek.

He didn’t know whether it came from the girl’s shyness or his own nervousness.

Sure enough, seeing their intimate posture, Masha nodded in satisfaction.

“That’s more like it! I said there’s always been an ambiguous atmosphere between Brother Fen and Sister Elena!”

She rubbed her head.

“And you two look perfect together!”

Upon hearing Masha’s words, the two immediately separated like a knee-jerk reflex.

‘Am…Ambiguous!?’

‘Between… between me and Fen…’

‘Is… is it really that… obvious?’

Elena touched her face, which was hotter than the oil lamp on the wall.

‘P-Perfect match!?’

‘What is she talking about?’

‘Elena is my bro!’

Fen’s hands were completely clenched into fists from nervousness.

“Oh! Why did you separate again!”

“Brother Fen and Sister Elena should just show off your love openly!”

“Don’t worry about my feelings! Just treat me like a third wheel!”

Masha jumped up, raising her hands high, waving them in dissatisfaction.

Because this action was too conspicuous and attracted the gazes of many other customers, the two had to press the excited girl back into her seat.

“Speaking of which… I’ve been observing you two for a while…”

“The two of you are really strange…”

After sitting down, Masha cupped her chin and pondered.

“Sometimes you two get shy and embarrassed over some intimate actions…”

“Like a couple who just started dating not long ago…”

She shook her cup, as if thinking about how to describe this feeling.

“Other times you two don’t need many words, just communicating with your eyes… getting along so harmoniously—”

“It’s almost like…”

smack!

Masha suddenly put down her cup and excitedly slapped the table.

“Right!”

“It’s almost like a long-married couple who know everything about each other!”

Such a loud commotion naturally attracted the customers’ attention again.

“Ugh—”

From the corner of the seat came a whimper like a small animal.

“Ma… Masha…”

The silver-haired girl had completely curled up into a ball.

“Please, big sister… don’t say anymore…”

She hadn’t expected that one day, words like “passionate love” and “long-married couple” would be used for her and Fen.

It was already awkward being stared at by so many people…

If it continued, her brain would overheat.

“Uh… that’s because… that’s because we’re coworkers!”

Fen had no choice but to add some new settings out of thin air.

After telling one lie, you have to use more lies to cover it up.

“Coworkers?”

“Right! Coworkers!”

“We were originally coworkers… we just confirmed our relationship not long ago! So it looks a bit off to you!”

Strictly speaking, this was a half-truth, making it more believable.

After all, he really did work with Elian as a coworker.

Masha seemed to finally let down her guard and obediently sat back down.

“Phew—”

Fen let out a sigh of relief.

Who knew, a heavyweight comment exploded in his ears again.

“Oh… office romance… I know, I know!”

She revealed that auntie smile again.

“Cough… cough!”

What do you ‘get’ now?!

‘Office romance…’

Masha thought to herself.

‘How should I set up Brother Fen and Sister Elena?’

In Novalis, she had seen many examples of workers falling in love…

But between coworkers, since they spend all day together and know each other well, the relationship might not suddenly make big progress…

Without a sense of mystery and ceremony, every day passes in dullness…

Masha had seen too many cases of relationships ending like that…

‘At times like this, you have to actively create opportunities!’

The girl seemed to have come up with a new idea.

‘Just right, Dad said to let me take them around…’

‘Why not let them experience Novalis’s specialty—film movies!’

Masha clenched her fists excitedly, looking at the two who were still stammering.

“You two…”

“Since you’ve come to Novalis… how about trying the local specialty?”

“How about watching a movie?”

“M-Movie?”

The two across the table said in unison.