I Ended up Getting Close With the Class Madonna Who Keeps Rejecting Confessions, Saying She Doesn’t Plan to Date Anyone - Chapter 14

It was about 1:30 in the afternoon.

The intercom rang, and Anju, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up to answer it.

“I’ll get it. Stay here, Anju.”

“But it feels wrong to trouble big brother over something so small.”

She wore her usual unreadable expression and a pastel blue dress with a ribbon at the chest.

Judging by the time, it was probably Shinoba. I wasn’t sure if she knew that, but I should handle it first.

“I think it’s Shinoba.”

“I understand. Anju isn’t the kind of little sister who decides whether to answer based on who it is.”

“Right. But if you answer, Shinoba might get surprised. It’s better if I do it first.”

I also wanted to quickly go over a few things with her before she came out.

“There’s no need to worry. I won’t make the guest uncomfortable.”

…She never listens.

Outside, Shinoba was probably waiting. I decided to handle it quickly.

“Then, Anju, make some tea. It’ll save me some work if you do.”

“If you say so, big brother.”

She was finally convinced and headed to the kitchen.

I went to the intercom.

“Hello?”

“Uh, um, it’s Shinoba. Thank you for inviting me today…”

“It’s me, Sousuke.”

“Oh, yeah. Hello.”

“I’ll come pick you up, so wait a moment.”

I hung up and left the house. The Gojou family lived on the second floor, so I walked down the stairs to the entrance. There was Shinoba, standing next to a red bicycle; she must have come by bike.

“Hi, Sousuke-kun. Thank you for inviting me today.”

She wore a thin white knit top and a mint green skirt that swayed in the breeze. Her ivory bag and shoes were simple but still noticeable.

Her hair was styled differently from the usual straight look. It was tied up, giving her a different impression.

She looked a bit nervous, but when she saw my face, she let out a relieved sigh.

“Ah, my bad for calling you out suddenly.”

“No, it’s fine. But what should I do with my bike?”

“There’s a bike parking area over there. Just leave it there, and I’ll show you.”

I had come down not just to guide her to the bike parking, but also to talk with Shinoba one more time before she met Anju.

As we walked toward the bike parking, I glanced at her. When our eyes met, she smiled slightly and tilted her head. Pretty calculated.

“So, I called you today for the reason we talked about yesterday.”

“Oh, Sousuke, you have a little sister?”

“Ah. I hadn’t mentioned her?”

There hadn’t been a chance to talk about my sister. She wasn’t around the first time we met.

“Gojou Anju. She just graduated from middle school this year, and she’s a year younger.”

“That sister… so she’s the one who doubts our relationship.”

“Yeah. She probably thinks there’s no way I’d have a girlfriend.”

“Well, I get the point.”

Shinoba forced a wry smile as if remembering something from my first year.

After parking her bike, we entered the apartment grounds. It didn’t take long to reach the second floor.

“I figured it’d be better to introduce you to her before she starts wandering around.”

“I see… But why does she think we’re dating?”

“I guess that Shinoba’s mom told my mom something, and Anju overheard it. Did you talk with your mom the other day when we went out?”

We slowly climbed the stairs, turning at the landing as we went. Shinoba followed a few steps behind.

“Hm? Hmm, well, yeah, we did.”

Her reaction was a little awkward. I glanced back, and Shinoba was nervously avoiding my gaze.

“…What did you talk about?”

That was basically admitting to it.

Shinoba reacted like she’d been shot in the heart by my low-tone comment, then reluctantly spoke.

“It wasn’t anything serious. She just asked where I was going, so I said I was going out. Then she asked who, so I told her it was with Sousuke-kun.”

“Why are you being so open about that?”

She’d usually just say she was going out with friends to keep things simple.

I didn’t get it, but if Shinoba had answered like that, her mom might have thought we were just friends. But it could easily be misunderstood that we were dating. Naturally, that would lead her mom to contact my mom.

Ah, so that was how things had unfolded.

“Well, there’s no point in worrying about what’s already done. If we want this to work, we need to get Anju to accept it.”

Shinoba frowned. We had just arrived at the front of the house, and she stopped walking.

Then.

“Why do we need to convince your little sister?”

A reasonable question.

Shinoba had asked me to be her fake boyfriend to escape the mess of confessions at school.

So, she probably thought there was no need to lie to family outside school.

Her logic wasn’t wrong.

But that kind of gap is where problems start, and besides…

“That’s―”

“Big brother? Are you here?”

Just as I was about to explain, the door clicked open and Anju peeked her head out.

“…”

“…”

Shinoba and Anju’s eyes met.

For a second or two, they just froze, staring at each other. Shinoba seemed unsure how to react.

Finally, Anju broke the silence.

“Are you Wolf-san?”

“Hey.”

I lightly tapped Anju’s head while giving her a look, and she let out a small, “Ouch.”