My Idle System

"Sis."

But when he noticed the flower bouquet in her hands, Christian couldn\'t help but wonder when she had found the time to buy and bring it. The thought lingered in his mind as he approached her, curious but not surprised by her thoughtful gesture.

After the usual hug with his sister, followed by her congratulating him for the umpteenth time and him thanking her just as often, they wandered through the decorated areas set up for the graduation. Together, they posed for some pictures, though naturally, it was mostly her capturing him amidst the festive displays, preserving the moment in her camera.

But as time passed and the venue became crowded with students who seemed to have finished their recessional and their families, forming groups and chatting in clusters, Christian began to feel like it was time for them to make their exit. Unlike the others, they had no one else to gather with after all, and with nothing left for them at the event, it seemed like the right moment to leave.

"Should we go? We\'ve taken plenty of pictures after all," Christian suggested, glancing around at the growing crowd.

"Okay."

Seeing how his sister remained silent for a moment before answering with a smile, seemingly agreeing that it was time to leave, Christian thought that the brief pause might have been due to her feeling a bit bittersweet about the graduation coming to an end or perhaps having mixed emotions about it. Still, he didn\'t dwell on it and simply moved on, considering it not a big deal.

While everything has a start, it also has an ending after all.

But as he prepared to quietly make his way toward the exit with his sister, leaving the bustling crowd behind, Christian suddenly caught sight of Eva approaching from the corner of his eye, and he couldn\'t help but feel a little surprised, as he didn\'t think that they had reached a point where they could talk casually in front of each other\'s family member, even if nothing was actually happening between them.

"Christian."

He didn\'t even have time to process what was happening or decide whether he should avoid her. As Eva called his name, she approached him and gave him a light hug, saying, "Congratulations on your graduation!"

Annabelle stood frozen beside her brother, her gaze fixed on the blonde woman conversing with him. A whirlwind of thoughts swirled in her mind as she tried to make sense of the scene unfolding before her.

Quickly calming herself and assessing the situation in front of her, Annabelle realized that if she were to point out anything first about the woman before her, it would undoubtedly be her appearance, as while she was well aware of her own beauty, she couldn\'t help but notice that the woman standing before her seemed to outshine her, leaving Annabelle feeling surprisingly inadequate in comparison.

The more surprising part, however, would be how her younger brother had come to know her, given that she was an old and mature woman. Annabelle, of course, didn\'t mean "old" in a literal sense, but rather, she was comparing the woman to Christian, as despite the impression of youthfulness she exuded, Annabelle estimated that the woman was in her early thirties, so there was quite an age gap.

And if asked why she was making this comparison in the first place? Then it would naturally be because of the tone her brother was using when speaking with her. It was a tone clearly intended to sound confident, aimed at making himself appear equal to the person next to him.

However, for her, as his older sister who had known him since he was born, the hidden nervousness behind it couldn\'t have been more apparent.

It was clear to her that her brother was interested in this woman, which left her feeling mixed emotions and unsure of what to say.

\'Chris, why can\'t it be a girl closer to your age?\'

While asking this question in her mind, Annabelle quickly dismissed all her distracting thoughts as the woman turned toward her, giving her, her undivided attention, as she wanted to appear proper and didn\'t want to embarrass her brother with her behavior; she could get to know everything later from him anyway.

"Hello, you must be Christian\'s older sister."

"Yes, that\'s me! Nice to meet you!" Annabelle replied, her expression soft and friendly.

"I\'ve heard a lot about you from Christian. Nice to meet you too."

"Actually, you really resemble each other, and it\'s apparent at first glance that you are siblings."

Now, hearing what she said next, Annabelle was initially surprised and felt happy that her brother had talked about her to someone else, especially to the woman in front of her, who he clearly had an interest in. However, at the back of her mind, she couldn\'t help but question whether her brother had truly introduced her, deciding to think things through again later.

"Sister, this is Eva. She\'s actually the older sister of the second top student who gave a speech at the graduation ceremony just before."

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Feeling that he should include himself in the conversation to prevent it from steering in an unwanted direction, Christian finally interrupted and introduced each of them.

"And Eva, this is Annabelle, my older sister, but you already know, right?"

Hearing her brother introduce the beautiful woman in front of her as the older sister of one of the students, Annabelle found the explanation quite logical. However, as she looked at both of them more closely, she couldn\'t shake the feeling that there was more to their connection.

Then the question of when they had gotten to know each other popped into her mind once again, especially since the actual student in question hadn\'t come, and it was the older sister who had appeared alone.

But, as she registered what her brother had said and recalled the beautiful girl\'s speech, how should she describe it? Unique? She didn\'t want to put labels on it, but she was fairly certain that it was not a typical one.

The personality of the one speaking it, was also quite apparent, so knowing her brother, she couldn\'t imagine him getting along with that kind of girl. She also felt that that student didn\'t resemble the woman in front of her, as despite exuding an elegant presence and appearing very wealthy from her clothes, there was something different about her.

The warmth and confidence reflected in her smile revealed other qualities that set her apart.

"Yes, nice to meet you again, Eva! I can only assume that my younger brother has been bragging about me, right?"

Despite having many thoughts swirling in her mind, Annabelle remained focused on the ongoing conversation. She spoke, but feeling it wasn\'t enough, she continued to express herself clearly, even if it came off as a bit childish.

"Actually, thank you very much for looking after my Chris."

"Oh, it appears Christian didn\'t do you justice with his bragging, as you seem even closer and more exceptional than he said."

Annabelle felt as if she had been punched in the face by Eva\'s reply, interpreting it as an implication that they weren\'t very close after all, and though she didn\'t take it to heart, the initial impression she had of the woman took a hit, losing two points from a score of a hundred, perhaps even ten in actuality; she wasn\'t quite sure yet.

"Well, in that case, we can get to know each other more closely from now on, so you won\'t get the wrong impression again."

"Absolutely, I don\'t mind at all."

Annabelle fell silent after hearing Eva\'s reply. But as she gazed into her sky-blue eyes, which appeared especially dazzling paired with her confident smile, she began to understand why her brother was attracted to her.

She seemed captivating and had a particular charm to her, and while Annabelle usually had no trouble conversing with strangers, she felt a sense of uncertainty with the person standing in front of her. Strangely enough, though, Eva didn\'t come across as annoying at all to her.

\'Or maybe not? After all, she\'s stealing my younger brother.\'

\'Anyway, it\'s just a difference in experience; I will become better at handling conversations in time.\'

Annabelle tried to comfort herself regarding the actual reason for the situation. After all, she felt she could attribute many reasons for this kind of thing, one of which was that she didn\'t seem to share the same level of ease in this particular subject regarding her brother as Eva did.