Seeing Enid still frozen, cheeks burning with steam practically rising from her head, Vic grinned. He reached out and pulled her down to sit beside him, the mattress bouncing lightly under their weight.
"Well, Enid? Isn't it super comfy?"
Vic's eyes sparkled, exactly like a little boy showing off a new toy to his best friend. His tone was filled with the pure, uncomplicated desire to share joy.
Enid felt the softness of the mattress beneath her, then looked at Vic's innocent face, which clearly screamed: 'Praise me for picking a good mattress!'
A wave of shame and self-reflection washed over her:
Oh my god, what kind of dirty thoughts was I having? Vic is so pure, how could I project such impure motives onto him?
At that moment, Wednesday, who had been observing calmly from the side, spoke up. Her cool voice carried a hint of imperceptible mockery.
"It seems Miss Sinclair's brain is currently running some rather... unsanitary programs."
Vic immediately turned his head curiously, blinking his big eyes.
"Hmm? What unsanitary stuff? Is it a virus? Do you need me to debug it for you?"
"Nothing! It's nothing!"
Enid raised her voice to interrupt, her blush deepening. She glared at Wednesday with shame and indignation, warning her with her eyes not to stir the pot.
Vic watched the silent "confrontation" between the two. He tilted his head, thinking, then suddenly clapped his hands as if struck by inspiration. He put on an excited, mysterious expression and dropped a bombshell:
"Right! Since it's still early and the bed is so big... why don't the three of us play a tense and stimulating game together?"
He deliberately dragged out the last few words, his tone filled with ambiguous suggestion.
The effect was instantaneous and devastating!
Enid's face, which had just cooled down slightly, whooshed back to maximum red. Her temperature spiked, and even her neck turned pink. She stammered in shock:
"V-Vic! Wh-what kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Who... who wants to play that kind of shameless game with you! A-and with Wednesday too... That's too... too..."
Even the usually composed Wednesday's eyes widened instantly upon hearing Vic's earth-shattering proposal. A rare flash of panic crossed her face.
She subconsciously gripped the sheets beneath her, a faint blush surfacing on her pale cheeks.
Although she maintained her facade of calm, her slightly quickened breathing betrayed her inner turmoil.
Vic looked at his two girlfriends reacting so dramatically, his face written with confusion.
"Huh? What's wrong with you guys? It's just Ludo... is that worth such a big reaction?"
As he spoke, he bent down and agilely pulled a flat cardboard box from under the bed. Printed on the cover in bright colors was the unmistakable logo for "Aeroplane Chess" (Ludo).
"Ludo?"
Enid was dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open as she stared blankly at the box of children's board games in Vic's hand.
Vic nodded vigorously, looking as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yeah! Doesn't Ludo get more fun, tense, and exciting with more people? What did you think I meant?"
He looked suspiciously at the beet-red Enid, then at Wednesday, who had regained her poker face but still had pink earlobes.
"We... we..."
Enid was speechless, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her whole.
So when he said "tense and stimulating game," he literally just meant... Ludo!
Wednesday took a deep breath, rapidly reining in all visible emotions and restoring her usual chill. She glanced indifferently at the board in Vic's hand, her tone flat:
"Nothing. Ludo is acceptable."
However, the slight tremor in her fingertips as she released the sheets betrayed her momentary loss of composure.
Although Vic found his girlfriends' reactions a bit weird, he didn't dwell on it. Happily, he spread the Ludo board on the bed and began distributing the colored pieces.
While Vic was buried in distributing the red, yellow, blue, and green pieces, humming an off-key tune, he completely missed the "conspiracy" brewing behind him.
Taking advantage of Vic's back being turned, Wednesday leaned in quietly. Her cool lips almost brushed Enid's burning ear as she whispered a few sentences in a voice only they could hear.
After listening, Enid's eyes widened into perfect circles. The blush on her cheeks exploded outward as if she were about to emit actual steam.
She turned to look at Wednesday in disbelief, protesting in a whisper:
"Wh-why do I have to say it? Can't... can't you do it?"
The corner of Wednesday's mouth hooked into a faint, cunning arc. Lowering her voice, she analyzed logically:
"If I say it, given Vic's understanding of me, he will likely assume I am delivering another dry, sarcastic roast, which would diminish the effect significantly. But if you say it..."
She glanced meaningfully at Enid's flushed face.
"It will be a critical hit."
Enid bit her lower lip, looking down shyly, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her shirt. A war was raging inside her.
Seeing this, Wednesday added fuel to the fire with her unique, cool, yet bewitching voice:
"Think about it. He is always the one effortlessly teasing us, intentionally or not, looking so composed..."
"Do you not wish to exact a small 'revenge'? To tease him back?"
"Do you not want to see... our usually manic or innocent boyfriend turned red-faced and helpless when the tables are turned?"
That sentence was the last straw. It crushed Enid's hesitation.
She looked up abruptly, a look of "do or die" determination flashing in her eyes. She clenched her small fists and whispered solemnly, as if going into battle:
"I... I want to see that!"
With that, she took a deep breath, mustering a lifetime of courage. Inch by inch, she carefully moved her body closer to the unsuspecting Vic, whose back was still turned.
Wednesday watched Enid's "suicide mission" approach, finally unable to hide the triumphant smile of a successful prankster.
"Vic~"
Enid leaned close to Vic's ear. In her softest voice, laced with a tremor of shyness, she whispered a single sentence, extremely fast and extremely quiet.
The content of those words was known only to her and Vic, but undoubtedly, it was nuclear-grade.
The moment the words landed—
Vic's hand, in the middle of dealing game pieces, froze in mid-air. His entire body paused as if someone had hit the stop button. Even his breathing halted for a second.
He whipped his head around. Those peach-blossom eyes, usually twinkling with mischief or innocence, were now filled with disbelief. His pupils were slightly dilated from sheer shock.
His fair cheeks were rapidly conquered by a blush visible to the naked eye, spreading from his ears down to his neck like a boiled shrimp.
"You... you..."
He opened his mouth but only managed a few meaningless syllables. His eyes darted around, terrified to meet the blue eyes of Enid, who was inches away, looking shy but a little smug.
"Vic? Your hormone levels just... spiked to absurd levels. What happened?"
Venom, sensing the violent fluctuation in his host's physiological metrics, couldn't help but poke half his black head out to look around curiously.
But when he saw Vic's exploding red face, Enid's shy blush, and Wednesday's "enjoying the show" expression, he instantly understood. He let out a raspy "Oh~" of realization and quickly retracted, pretending he hadn't seen anything.
Venom's "reminder" made Vic want to die of embarrassment.
He practically scrambled off the bed, stumbling toward the ensuite bathroom while covering his nose. He mumbled incoherently: "I... I'm gonna go wash my face!"
SLAM.
The door shut. Faintly, the sound of a faucet turning on and coughing—like someone choking on water—could be heard from inside.
"Pfft—"
Watching Vic flee in what could only be described as a panic, Enid finally couldn't hold back her laughter. The tension and shyness from moments ago were replaced by a massive sense of achievement and joy.
"Vic acting like that... is really cute."
She covered her mouth, her eyes curving into crescents.
Wednesday glanced at her. Her tone remained flat, but her eyes held a trace of understanding and faint teasing:
"Now, you finally understand how he feels when his unintentional flirting leaves you red-faced and flustered."
Enid recalled Vic's rare, innocent-boy embarrassment. Her smile grew even brighter, and she nodded vigorously.
It seemed that occasionally taking the initiative... felt pretty good!