When soone who’s bad at accepting kindness ets soone who’s bad at having their kindness rejected, the inevitable result is the forr’s complete defeat.
Vanessa’s cheek stung a little, but she knew he did it for her sake, so she wasn’t mad… well, maybe she was a little mad.
How does this make sense? He bullies , and I still have to thank him?
A rare feeling of frustration bubbled up inside her, and it took several deep breaths before she could calm down.
After that, she was ready to say her goodbyes and leave.
Ethan glanced at his phone and casually suggested, “It’s already past midnight. If you don’t mind, you could stay over.”
What kind of girl would stay at a guy’s place the first ti they et?
But Vanessa knew he didn’t an anything by it—he was just being straightforward.
Still, she shook her head and politely declined, “No, I’ll head ho.”
“Alright.” Ethan didn’t push it, but he added, “Wait a sec.”
Vanessa was a bit confused at first, but then she saw him stand up and start untying the belt of his robe.
She froze, then quickly covered her eyes, panicking. “W-What are you doing?!”
Ethan looked puzzled for a mont before realizing she’d misunderstood.
With a hint of exasperation, he said, “I’m turning into the Big Bad Wolf to eat you!”
Of course, Vanessa didn’t believe him. She peeked through her fingers and saw that he was still fully dressed under the robe.
Oh, so he’s not undressing after all.
She dropped her hands and asked, “What are you doing, then?”
Ethan glanced at her and replied, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m taking you ho.”
He was wearing regular clothes under the robe, clearly having anticipated this situation.
“No… that’s really not necessary,” Vanessa tried to refuse again.
Ethan explained, “The trains have stopped running, and it’s not exactly safe out there. I wouldn’t feel right letting you go ho alone.”
He wasn’t just talking about the usual dangers. Even though he’d dealt with the strange incident earlier, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t run into sothing else.
Vanessa understood what he ant but still hesitated.
“But isn’t this a huge hassle for you?”
Of course, it was a hassle. He didn’t exactly want to go out at this hour either.
But since they were friends now, he figured he had to follow through. Otherwise, it’d just be a superficial friendship.
So Ethan shook his head and said gently, “It’s no trouble. A friend of mine lives downstairs. I can borrow his car and drive you ho.”
The friend he was referring to was Liam Hudson, the lead perforr of the group “Jack-o’-Lantern,” and the younger brother of Grayson Hudson, the famous martial artist known for his incredible strength.
Ethan had crossed paths with both brothers through his part-ti job, so they were on friendly terms.
Drive… a car?
Vanessa clearly rembered that Ethan was still in high school, so she asked in surprise, “You have a driver’s license?”
He shook his head without hesitation. “Nope, but don’t worry. There won’t be any cops out this late.”
Vanessa was stunned. Is that really what I’m worried about?
As Ethan walked toward the front door, he called out, “Co on, let’s go. It’s been a while since I’ve gone for a late-night drive.”
The excitent in his voice made Vanessa even more nervous.
Is he really trying to take ho, or is he just looking for an excuse to go speeding?
If they got pulled over, she could already picture herself on the morning news as the delinquent girl caught joyriding with a street racer.
At that mont, she saw Ethan almost reach the door. In a panic, she rushed forward and grabbed his arm.
“What’s wrong?” Ethan asked, turning around with a puzzled look.
Vanessa’s cheeks flushed slightly as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger. After taking a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, she tried to speak as calmly as possible.
“I’ve decided… I’ll stay here tonight.”
“Huh?”
Ethan looked confused, clearly not understanding why Vanessa had suddenly changed her mind.
“But won’t your family worry about you?” Ethan asked, still a bit reluctant.
Vanessa noticed the hint of disappointnt in his voice, which only made her more certain that she’d made the right decision.
“It’s fine. My dad’s hardly ever ho at night.”
She shook her head casually, then added, “But if I stay, I won’t be bothering your family, will I?”
Ethan froze for a second, then looked at her with a mix of surprise and alarm. “Wait, Nessa, did you see my family? There’s no one here. My mom passed away, and I’ve been an orphan ever since.”
“Huh?”
Vanessa was completely thrown off by his reaction. Is that what I ant?
Just as she was about to explain, she saw Ethan start to think deeply.
“Wait, I do have a sister. Does that still make an orphan?”
Is that really the point here!?
Vanessa felt like she couldn’t keep up with his train of thought at all.
Ethan glanced at her, as if expecting an answer, but she had no idea how to respond to that. Instead, she just apologized.
“S-Sorry.”
Normally, family topics were sensitive, but Ethan seed more concerned about whether he technically counted as an orphan than the topic itself. His reaction left her completely bewildered.
Luckily, he didn’t dwell on it for long.
“Forget it.” He shrugged, then smiled at her. “Anyway, my only family isn’t ho, so you don’t need to worry. Just… make yourself at ho.”
Make myself at ho?
Vanessa wasn’t sure what crossed her mind at that mont, but her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.
Ethan glanced at the ti and said, “Alright, it’s getting late. You should go wash up and get so sleep, Nessa.”
With that, he gently nudged her toward the bathroom.
“Wait, hold on…”
Vanessa’s reaction was a bit strange—there was so resistance, but more than that, she seed flustered.
But Ethan didn’t think much of it. He had sothing more important to check on.
Once they were in the bathroom, Ethan pointed to a small shelf next to the laundry basket. “The towel’s new, so feel free to use it. And these pajamas are my sister’s. I hope you don’t mind.”
After explaining everything, he left the bathroom.
It wasn’t until she heard the door close that Vanessa snapped back to reality.
She realized she’d been going along with everything without much thought. Now that she had a mont to calm down, her sharp mind kicked back into gear.
Wait a minute… the pajamas and towel were already prepared.
Did he plan on having stay over from the start?
Thinking back on his behavior, it didn’t seem like he was ever really planning to drive her ho.
As the pieces fell into place, Vanessa couldn’t hold back anymore.
This guy’s got so serious tricks up his sleeve!
And then, rembering her own thoughts from earlier, her face turned so red it felt like it might start dripping.
“What an idiot!” she muttered to herself before rushing into the inner bathroom without looking back.
anwhile, Ethan had no idea Vanessa was silently cursing him. He was sitting at his computer, finally able to relax.
After checking his browser history, he let out a sigh of relief.
Earlier, when he’d left the room, he suddenly rembered that his bookmarks were filled with so… questionable content. Things like “Vanessa’s Cutest Quotes” and “Vanessa’s Best Photos Collection.”
He had no idea when those weird things had snuck into his bookmarks, but he hadn’t dared to open a single one.
Even though Ethan felt like he had nothing to be ashad of, if Vanessa had seen any of that, he would’ve died of embarrassnt on the spot. She’d definitely think he was a total creep.
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