Chen Mian gently cupped her face and pinched her cheeks. “Do you have any idea how cute you are right now?”
“...I don't know.”
Looking into her ruby-like eyes, Chen Mian gently caressed her cheek, then tilted her chin up and captured her lips.
Loviki's eyelashes fluttered. She tilted her face up slightly and clumsily kissed his lower lip. Her movements were incredibly gentle, making a soft, almost inaudible sound in the quiet room.
Only after a long while did she pull back slightly, her nose brushing against his. Her breathing was still a mess, but her tone carried a hint of smugness. “I think I've learned how.”
“You can learn this too?” Chen Mian asked, amused.
“Of course! I'm a gen—mmph!”
...
“...I really don't have any strength left,” Loviki said, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning gently against him.
Looking down at her embarrassed yet reluctant-to-let-go expression, Chen Mian took half a step back and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Loviki blinked, and before she could react, he gently tugged her wrist. She stumbled half a step forward and fell right into his lap.
“So, genius, are you ready to admit defeat?” Chen Mian asked with a smile, pinching her cheek.
Sitting on his lap with her hands loosely draped over his shoulders, Loviki raised her chin at his words. “I-I'm not admitting defeat! You kissed me first. Since I didn't dodge, that means I win.”
“What kind of twisted logic is that?”
“My twisted logic,” Loviki declared righteously. She couldn't help but giggle at her own words before resting her face against his shoulder, her voice softening once more. “...Anyway, I win.”
Chen Mian didn't say anything, simply holding her gently.
Loviki didn't move either, resting in his embrace as her breathing slowly stabilized.
After a long while, her fingers twitched slightly, her voice laced with drowsiness. “...What time is it?”
“A little past three in the morning,” Chen Mian said, pointing to the clock on the wall.
“...Oh.” Loviki made no mention of leaving, instead burying her face further into his chest, curling herself completely into his embrace.
Chen Mian looked down. Her eyes were already closed, but her eyelashes were still trembling slightly.
“Loviki.”
“...Yes?”
“Are you sleepy?”
“...No,” she replied, letting out a yawn right after she spoke.
“You didn't sleep at all yesterday when we were in the Royal Capital.”
“I'm really not...” she said, raising her head slightly with a weary expression.
Seeing how hard she was trying to stay awake, Chen Mian adjusted his posture slightly to make her more comfortable.
Sensing his movement, Loviki snuggled slightly closer into his chest, her fingers still loosely clutching his clothes. After a moment, she suddenly spoke in a soft voice, “Chen Mian.”
“Yes?”
“...Are we moving too fast today? Do you think... I'm too easy?”
Chen Mian's movements paused, and he lowered his head slightly.
Loviki's face was still buried in his chest, her voice very quiet.
“No.”
“You ran over here in the middle of the night to explain all that nonsense because you were afraid I'd misunderstand,” Chen Mian said softly. “And you're sitting here instead of leaving because you can't bear to.”
Loviki's breath caught slightly.
“Even if we're moving fast, I was the one who kissed you first,” Chen Mian added with a hint of amusement in his voice. “At most, you just didn't dodge.”
After a moment, Loviki's voice sounded again, sounding slightly more relaxed. “You're certainly good at comforting people.”
“Stop overthinking things,” Chen Mian said, stroking her hair. “If anything, I think we're moving a bit too slowly.”
Loviki was silent for a moment, then slowly looked up at him. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Then I'm going back to my room to sleep,” Loviki said, her voice carrying a trace of cheerfulness.
Chen Mian looked down at her with a smile. He reached out to pull the blanket over them, wrapping both of them up, and then rolled toward the inner side of the bed while holding her.
Pulled along by him, Loviki fell backward, sinking into the soft sheets. Wrapped tightly in the blanket, her eyes went wide. “You—”
“You might not be easy, but I certainly am,” Chen Mian said nonchalantly as he lay on his side next to her. “It's not like we didn't squeeze together when we were in the Royal Capital.”
Loviki opened her mouth to speak, then quickly turned her head away as her cheeks began to redden again. “...How is that the same? Everyone was there back then.”
“It's basically the same now.”
“How is it anywhere near the same?!”
Chen Mian didn't answer, simply pulling her closer into his arms and resting his chin gently on top of her head. “Go to sleep. I'm not going to eat you.”
Loviki's body tensed slightly, and it took a long while before she slowly relaxed.
She could feel the steady rise and fall of Chen Mian's chest, which was much calmer now. She carefully nudged her body slightly away from him, as if afraid he would notice.
“What's wrong?”
“...Nothing,” Loviki's voice came from beside him, trembling slightly.
Chen Mian turned his head to look at her. She had turned her back to him, wrapping herself tightly in the blanket, leaving only the tips of her flushed ears visible.
He reached out, gently resting his hand on her waist over the blanket. “Cold?”
“...No.”
“Then why do you seem even more nervous than before?” Chen Mian's voice carried a hint of confusion.
His three weekly chances to read inner thoughts had already been used up, so right now, he only knew that Loviki's emotions were slightly off.
【Loviki’s Emotions: Nervous, conflicted, embarrassed】
Loviki didn't answer right away. Her breathing was exceptionally clear in the quiet room, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, as if she were wrestling with something.
After a long while, she spoke in a small, hushed voice, “...Maybe I should go back to my room to sleep after all.”
“Regretting it so soon?”
“N-No, I'm not,” she said, her words quickening. Then, she explained in a whisper, “When I came out, I thought I'd just head back after talking to you... so I didn't prepare anything.”
“Didn't prepare what?”
Loviki buried her face deeper into the pillow. “...Underneath my clothes.”
Chen Mian's hand froze over the blanket. Then, he slowly withdrew it, his tone turning slightly serious. “I didn't notice.”
Loviki's body stiffened. She suddenly whipped around, her eyes wide. “Y-You didn't know?!”
“Yeah. Your wool coat is very thick.”
She stared at Chen Mian's expression for a few seconds. Confirming that he really hadn't noticed, she turned back around, feeling incredibly embarrassed. “...Why did I have to say it out loud?”
“So that's why you kept wanting to leave just now?”
“What else would it be?!” Loviki's voice came from beside him, sounding completely resigned. “How could I possibly regret it so quickly? I just didn't think about it at first. But then you held me for so long, so I thought you had noticed already.”
“And it turns out you had no idea, and I went and blabbed it myself—” Her speech grew faster and faster toward the end.
“Right, smart aleck,” Chen Mian said with a chuckle.
Loviki turned on her side again to face away from him, wrapping the blanket tightly around herself, though her exposed ears remained bright red.
“...Y-You have to forget what I just said,” she whispered after a moment.
Rate on N.U.
