The small birthday party at the living room dining table didn’t last long, as it was mostly held under the guise of dinner.
Anrou’s cooking was delicious, Yuyu was still pushing for gift reimbursement, and a certain someone’s cake fight to stall time ended with me barely winning, leaving us both looking like the tragic last page of a textbook.
Still, when the living room clock chimed half-past eight, the birthday party drew to a close with the deepening night outside.
“The water’s heated. Evin, Little Tong, go wash up first,” Anrou said, neatly stacking spare pajamas in the bathroom’s laundry basket, thoughtfully adding, “Evin, wear Tong’s pajamas for now. I’ll dry your clothes so you can wear them tomorrow.”
“Just let her go back naked,” I muttered, peeling off my stained clothes, rolling my eyes. If not for a certain someone starting “World War III,” my clothes wouldn’t be too dirty to wear.
“Anan’s so naughty, wanting to see my body~” Evin, already in the bathroom, poked her head out, making a cute face.
“Flat as a runway, what’s there to see?” I glanced at her vague silhouette through the glass door—probably the flattest landing strip in the world.
“Hmph, I’ll definitely grow!” she huffed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll pray you stay flat forever.”
“Pfft, that’s a curse! Reflect!”
“Absolute reflect!”
“Super invincible reflect!”
“Alright, you two little brats, get in there before the water cools,” Anrou said, half-amused, half-exasperated, nudging me into the bathroom.
“I wanna bathe too!” Yuyu’s resentful voice echoed from the living room.
To secure gift reimbursement and survive the month, she was stuck cleaning the table and washing dishes.
Good thing, too, or she’d probably launch a “black ops” attack under the guise of “caring for her niece and her friend.”
“I wanna bathe with Tongtong and little Evin!”
Great, I misjudged. She’s not even hiding her criminal urges anymore.
“So warm~” Stepping into the bathroom, I saw Evin’s petite figure submerged in the tub, her twin tails undone, looking softer and calmer than her usual lively self.
Her small face, flushed from the steamy water, looked even cuter in the misty haze.
Hearing the door, her pale blue eyes lit up like she’d spotted treasure.
But the next second, she pouted. “So mean! You’re guarding against me like that?”
It was too embarrassing to be fully exposed in front of someone I’d just met, even if she was overly familiar.
So, I’d wrapped a towel around myself while undressing.
“You think your track record makes you trustworthy?” I rolled my eyes, nudging her. “Scoot over, I’m getting in.”
As I sank into the tub, Evin tried a sneak attack, only to get a bop on the head, settling her down—for now.
My caution wasn’t for nothing.
The warm water enveloped me, washing away the day’s fatigue. Leaning my head and arms on the tub’s edge, I reflected on the day’s chaos: Yuyu and Anrou’s visit, getting dragged to buy clothes, picking up a troublesome girl, and throwing her a troublesome birthday.
And the trouble wasn’t over.
“If you move, I’ll toss you out,” I warned without turning, sensing her sneaky approach.
“I just wanna bond with Anan~” Evin, oblivious, snuggled closer.
“Use that energy to figure out how to explain this to your parents tomorrow.” She’d contacted them by phone, but I doubted any parent would agree so easily. She probably ignored their follow-up texts.
If I were her, my dad would’ve chewed me out.
Evin’s face stiffened, but she quickly reverted to her carefree act. “Who cares? I’d rather bond with Anan~”
“She”? Single-parent household?
Catching the key detail, I pondered.
“…Close your eyes. I’ve got a surprise.”
I fell silent.
Seeing her instinctively cover her head, my forehead twitched. “You want me to hit you?”
“Fine, I’m closing them,” Evin said, shutting her eyes.
When she opened them, I’d dried off and slipped into pajamas from the bathroom cabinet.
“…Ugh, so mean! I wanted to bond with Anan!” she protested, betrayed.
Buttoning the last button, I steered the topic elsewhere. “After today, I thought we were friends, but I guess I was wrong.”
“Not friends? Then best friends~” Evin, caught off guard, tried her usual playful dodge.
“If you’re gonna keep that attitude, what’s there to talk about?” I ignored her, pushed open the glass door, and left without looking back.
After saying goodnight to Yuyu and Anrou, I returned to my room, slipped into bed near the wall, and settled in.
Soon, the door creaked open and shut softly. Rustling followed, and a small figure slipped into my covers.
After a long hesitation, I felt her cautiously inch closer.
When I shifted slightly, she froze. Even without looking, I could sense her nervous gaze.
Neither of us spoke. The warm bedding and passing time lulled my consciousness.
But the silence was broken by a timid voice. Evin, after much hesitation, spoke.
“Um… the people chasing me this morning wanted to drag me to a birthday party tonight.”
“I know. And I heard someone call you ‘Young Miss,’ so your family’s probably a big deal,” I said, rolling over to face her.
She didn’t deny it but avoided the topic. “I didn’t wanna go.”
I’d guessed most of it, but not why. “Why not?”
Evin bit her lip. “I just… didn’t wanna go…”
“Why?”
She turned her gaze away, the air growing silent again.
“Why?” I pressed.
Finally, she snapped, shouting, “Because Mom always makes me do things I don’t like and can’t do! The party tonight would’ve just been another chance to compare me to others.”
“I’m not a boy, but she compares me to those amazing boys, expecting me to do the same things as well as them. How could I possibly do that?!”
“So I hate those boys, and I hate her the most.”
Venting her pent-up frustration, Evin’s face showed a fleeting relief before stiffening.
“Why don’t you like it? Why can’t you do it?” I asked, locking eyes with her, not qualified as a life coach but leaning on my past-life experience to nudge her.
“…How could I like it? How could I do it? I’m not a boy—it’s impossible!” she retorted loudly, her eyes reflecting unacknowledged disappointment, maybe in her mother or herself.
Some things in this world are unchangeable, due to various reasons—call it fate. But for many things, those are just external factors, so—
“Does liking or doing something have to do with gender?”
“Huh…?”
“You’re just using gender as an excuse.”
“But… what if I really can’t do it?!”
“Then try first, and honestly tell your mom you can’t. She’ll understand. Otherwise, you’re just running away, which solves nothing.”
“She won’t understand me.”
“Have you ever talked to her?”
“I don’t need to. I just know…” Evin’s gaze dropped, her voice weakening, lacking conviction.
“‘I just know,’ huh? That’s what you think because you’ve always thought that way,” I echoed, raising my voice firmly.
“That’s just running away, isn’t it?”
“You’re assuming everything. It comes down to two choices: do or don’t. Running away keeps it all theoretical, and you’ll never know the outcome.”
In Evin, I saw my past self in the game, burdened with the Demon King role, thinking the Light faction was unbeatable until Syl reminded me otherwise.
“Only by trying will you know the result. Liking it, doing it, that’s one thing. Your mom’s attitude is another.”
“Go talk to her properly. Stop running before it’s too late.”
“I…” Even in the dark room, her lack of confidence was clear—a reaction built over years. Despite her mature act, she was just a kid, her doubts like an overinflated balloon.
It wouldn’t deflate instantly, but a little loosening was enough.
I paused, then said something random. “Was the cake good?”
“Huh…?”
“The cake we made. Was it good?”
“But that was with you…” Evin started to explain.
“Was it good?” I cut her off, repeating the question.
She stared, as if wanting to say more, but nodded unconsciously. “Y-Yeah… really good…”
“So, can you give me your answer now? If you admit you’re a coward, I’ll be disappointed.”
Silence fell again.
Time dragged, the quiet room and warm bedding blending into drowsiness.
But her sudden gaze, sparkling even in the dark, carried a certain resolve.
“I… I get it. Thank you, Anan!” Her serious tone and newfound determination showed my efforts weren’t wasted.
“If you get it, go to sleep. I’d be out cold if not for you,” I said, rolling my eyes, done with this life-coaching nonsense.
But she wasn’t finished. “Wait, one more thing.”
“What—”
Before I could react, the world spun. When I came to, we were tangled in an ambiguously intimate position.
“What are you doing?” I eyed the twin-tailed loli straddling me, a bad feeling creeping in.
“Nothing~ Just… I think I’m totally charmed by Anan~” Evin’s cheeks flushed, her tongue lightly licking her lips, dangerously alluring, especially with her next declaration.
“I’m head over heels for you…”
“Wait… isn’t this a misunderstanding?!” The shock left me reeling.
“No way~ You like me too, right? Why else would you do so much for me?” she teased.
“Wait, don’t get the wrong idea! And this is weird—we’re both girls!”
Even if my orientation didn’t change after becoming a girl, I needed an excuse—this girl was terrifying!
“Does liking or doing something have to do with gender?” Evin echoed my words, stunning me.
“And I already hate boys. If it’s a girl, it’s fine—especially if it’s Anan~” She shrugged, tossing out dangerous remarks, adding, “Or is Anan using gender as an excuse?”
“I’m not—”
My own words turned against me, leaving me speechless.
She didn’t give me a chance to recover, landing another blow. “You said it yourself: you only know if you try. So I’m not running anymore—not from other things or… my overflowing love for Anan~”
“Don’t use it for weird stuff like this!”
I tried to protest, but my eyes locked on her sudden lean, and all words were silenced by a warm, soft touch.
“Hehe, got Anan’s first kiss~”
Looking at the loli savoring her victory with a dreamy expression, one thought filled my mind.
I… created a monster.
“How about another bite?”
“…This isn’t cake!”
“But Anan’s ‘cake’ is delicious~”
“What kind of awful metaphor is that?! Wait… stop… don’t come closer, idiot…”
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