Although he had some unmentionable secrets, Andrew wasn't just talking nonsense.
And Anby, while she didn't understand Andrew's words, had no intention of refuting them.
But Nicole, being the sharp person she was, instantly understood Andrew's idea. After all, if you want to escape your old identity, a new look and new weapons are essential.
"Well then, as a perk for my new employee, I'll begrudgingly buy you a new weapon. But I'm a little tight on cash recently. If only some kind soul would help me out."
Nicole said the words, but her eyes kept darting toward Andrew. Her intention was so obvious, everyone on the street could see it.
After all, just yesterday Nicole had said she was completely broke due to a bad investment, so much so that she had eagerly snatched up the tutoring job. How could she suddenly cough up the money to buy a weapon today?
Buying a weapon was the excuse; asking Andrew for a loan was the real goal. After all, there were only three people there—who else could she be asking?
"Is that so? Feeling generous all of a sudden, are we, Nicole! But since Anby's the new boss now, buying her employee a new weapon is certainly the right thing to do. You'd better treasure it, Anby."
Andrew pretended not to notice. Or rather, it was precisely because he'd noticed that he said such a thing.
Seeing her attempt to feign generosity completely fail under Andrew's teasing smirk, Nicole, who wasn't particularly concerned with saving face to begin with, decided to abandon all pretense and lunged forward, hugging his leg.
"Andrew! Please! Just help me out! I'll do anything you ask, I'll do anything!"
Hearing the commotion outside, Belle pushed open her door only to see Nicole clinging to Andrew's leg, mumbling fragmented pleas like 'please, I'll do anything...'
Faced with this shocking scene, Belle froze on the spot.
Andrew himself was a bit flustered by Nicole's sudden move. Her more-than-average bust was pressed tightly against his thigh by her movements, and the surprising softness delivered a powerful jolt of sensory stimulation.
He was a man, after all. And although he'd already planned on making a weapon for Anby anyway, Nicole's... assets... made him subconsciously slow his movements to lift her off his leg.
But the sound of a door opening from behind him suddenly made Andrew freeze in place.
His memory served him well; he knew perfectly well that the person in that room was none other than Belle, who had stayed over last night.
He turned his head, and sure enough, there was Belle, wearing an oversized black hoodie as pajamas, standing stunned in the doorway and staring right at him.
"Wait, Belle, it's not what you think!"
But it was too late. Belle, still looking dazed, took a step back into her room and casually shut the door behind her.
While closing the door behind you is a good habit, Andrew really wished she hadn't demonstrated it just then.
However, Nicole, oblivious to all this, had no intention of letting go. When she realized Andrew was trying to lift her up, she hugged his leg even tighter, her expression making it perfectly clear that she wasn't letting go until he agreed to the loan.
At this point, he might as well start mentally drafting an explanation for later.
Back in her room, Belle remained in a bit of a daze, her mind involuntarily replaying the scene she'd just witnessed.
After all, the last time she'd seen an identical scene was in one of those under-the-counter videos, where the young female protagonist, under duress, knelt before the gangster boss who was threatening her.
What followed was the R-rated part of the film, with contents not meant for public discussion. The only difference was that the protagonist in it was far less buxom than Nicole. As for Andrew's 'size,' she had no idea.
Still, doing that sort of thing in broad daylight?! Isn't this progressing a little too fast?!
Belle recalled that, according to the 'progress bar,' she should have been the one in the lead! How did Nicole suddenly get ahead of her? And from the looks of it, Andrew was the one who initiated it!
Could it be... that Andrew likes them big?
Belle subconsciously reached out and sized up her own chest.
She usually wore a baggy hoodie that hid it, but hers wasn't bad at all! Could it be because her clothes were too loose for him to notice?
Suddenly, Belle shook her head violently.
No, no, why am I suddenly so concerned with Andrew's preferences? We don't have any real relationship, so what does it matter to me who he likes?
As Sixth Street's legendary video guru, business at the video store might be slow enough to catch flies, but to ensure the quality of their stock, the siblings would screen every movie after its release, regardless of whether they decided to carry it or not.
This meant Belle was, one could say, incredibly well-versed in film. She'd seen more than her fair share of suggestive stuff, and even plenty of purely adult content.
However, they ran Random Play as a legitimate video store, so they never actually stocked those kinds of tapes.
Even though there was no need to watch the tapes they wouldn't be stocking, a person in their early twenties is at the peak of their curiosity.
As time went on and she watched more and more films, Belle's mind had developed a tendency to go off the rails.
Now that she had calmed down a bit, Belle replayed the scene in her mind again and finally realized something was off.
Never mind Andrew's expression, which didn't look forceful at all—Anby was standing right there nearby! Knowing Andrew, there was no way he'd do something like that in front of Anby!
Not to mention the panicked look on Andrew's face when he saw her come out.
Thinking it over carefully, the pose was less like something from a restricted video and more like that time Nicole had hugged her own leg while begging for a loan.
But that time she was seeing it from a first-person perspective, whereas this time it was third-person, which is why she hadn't realized it right away.
Subconsciously, Belle let out a sigh of relief. But right after, she couldn't help but wonder why her mind had instinctively jumped to such wild conclusions.
It had only been three months since they met, but Belle already felt as if she'd gotten used to having him around.
He would always listen quietly to her endless rants about the bad movies she watched every day. And when she was mentally and physically exhausted after a long day of commissions, he would silently bring her delicious food she had mentioned offhandedly before.
Even though he often said weird things she didn't understand, he would always pull out some fresh, new story she'd never heard before to cheer her up.
But after listening to many of his stories, Belle gradually started to understand more of the things he said. Whenever he'd make some reflexive comment and she'd actually get it, the flicker of surprise and delight on his face was so obvious.
After Helios Academy disappeared and she lost her teacher, Andrew was the first friend she'd made besides her brother. A real friend, one she could truly trust.
So why were her feelings for him getting stranger and stranger lately, seemingly on the verge of crossing the boundary of friendship?
______
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