Transmigrated: I Bec Chapter 73: did they all take a group sunbath?

Chapter 73: did they all take a group sunbath?

God... why aren’t they leaving already?!

Ivy cried internally while continuing to listen to the growing gossip outside the room.

She had actually woken up the moment Jenny entered earlier.

But before Ivy could sit up and explain the misunderstanding, another maid arrived... then another... and somehow an entire audience had formed outside the door within minutes.

At that point, escaping was impossible.

So, in pure survival instinct, Ivy buried her face against Xander’s chest and pretended to stay asleep.

Unfortunately, that only made things worse.

Much, much worse.

Because now the staff’s imagination had completely spiraled out of control.

Another Young Master? Seriously?! Ivy screamed internally. These people already planned our future children in under five minutes!

Meanwhile, she remained trapped on the tiny couch beside Xander, painfully aware that one wrong movement would send her crashing straight onto the floor.

And honestly?

That sounded less embarrassing than facing the staff right now.

I should never have dragged him here, she thought miserably.

Just then—

"Oh my goodness..."

The familiar voice instantly made Ivy freeze.

No.

Not him too.

It was Butler Rupert.

Ivy nearly died from secondhand embarrassment when she heard him step closer to the room.

"What are Master and Madam doing here?" Butler Rupert asked in visible confusion while staring at their sleeping figures.

But then realization slowly dawned on his face.

And to Ivy’s absolute horror—

The old butler’s ears actually turned pink.

NO!

Ivy wanted to leave this pla immediately.

"Ahem."

Butler Rupert suddenly cleared his throat, snapping the gossiping staff back to attention.

"Everyone," he said calmly while adjusting his glasses, "return to your duties immediately."

The group instantly straightened.

"And make sure no one disturbs Master and Madam."

The maids collectively nodded with sparkling eyes before quickly scattering away like excited pigeons carrying breaking news.

The hallway finally became quiet again.

Ivy slowly blinked.

For one brief second, she felt emotional gratitude toward Butler Rupert.

You’re my savio—

Then suddenly, her brain processed his exact words.

Wait.

Master and Madam?

Her eyes widened instantly.

And what do you mean don’t disturb us?!

Ivy nearly shot upright in panic.

"Hey, Butler Rupert, we’re not—!"

Unfortunately, before she could finish defending her dignity, the door closed shut.

"...."

Silence.

Ivy stared at the door in betrayal.

Then immediately attempted to escape the couch before anyone else arrived to announce wedding preparations.

Carefully, she tried lifting Xander’s arm off her waist without waking him.

Unfortunately—

The moment she moved—

Xander suddenly pulled her closer in his sleep.

"Ah—!"

Startled, Ivy lost her balance and fell straight back against his chest.

Her eyes widened in horror.

Then—

"Didn’t you hear what Butler Rupert said?"

Xander’s lazy voice suddenly came from above her head.

"No one will disturb us."

"..."

Ivy froze.

Slowly... very slowly... she lifted her head to look at him.

H-He was awake this entire time?!

Then another realization hit her like betrayal from the heavens.

If he was awake... then why didn’t he explain anything?!

At that moment, Ivy genuinely couldn’t decide what offended her more.

The maids’ completely unfiltered imagination.Butler Rupert practically approving their nonexistent marriage.Or the man beneath her who had every opportunity to stop the misunderstanding yet stayed silent while listening to the gossip peacefully like free entertainment.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

Immediately, Ivy shoved Xander away and climbed off the couch dramatically.

"You were listening to everything they said and still didn’t correct them?!" she demanded while placing both hands on her waist and glaring at him accusingly.

Honestly, what exactly had been going through his head?

They had simply played games and accidentally fallen asleep.

That was it.

So why was everyone behaving like they had secretly started a family overnight?

Meanwhile, Xander calmly watched her for a few seconds before finally sitting up himself.

Then, without the slightest guilt, he replied,

"I could ask you the same thing."

Ivy blinked.

"You were awake too," he pointed out casually. "So why didn’t you stop them?"

"...."

"You could’ve corrected them yourself."

Ivy opened her mouth.

Then immediately closed it again.

Because annoyingly enough—

He had a point.

Seeing her suddenly speechless, Xander leaned back slightly against the couch with complete calmness while Ivy mentally fought the urge to throw a controller at his head.

Truthfully, Xander had only slept for a short while.

He had actually woken up before Ivy did.

But seeing her sleeping peacefully beside him, he simply couldn’t bring himself to move away.

After staying awake the entire night playing games together, he had finally started improving at the game.

Only to realize Ivy had already fallen asleep halfway through the mission with her head resting against his shoulder.

At first, Xander planned to carefully lay her down properly before leaving quietly.

Unfortunately, Ivy apparently turned into an octopus in her sleep.

The moment he moved, she unconsciously snuggled closer, one arm wrapping tightly around his waist before he could react.

And before Xander fully understood what was happening, Ivy had somehow pinned him flat against the couch while comfortably sleeping on top of him like a clingy cat claiming ownership.

"Hm..." she had softly mumbled while adjusting herself against him before peacefully drifting deeper into sleep.

Meanwhile, Xander had remained completely frozen beneath her.

Because somehow...

He strangely didn’t hate it.

Back in the present, Ivy’s face slowly turned red as fragments of memory resurfaced.

"...Wait."

Her eyes widened in horror.

"Don’t tell me I actually slept on top of you the whole night."

Xander calmly looked at her.

"You did."

Ivy instantly covered her face.

"Oh my God."

"And you almost kicked me off the couch twice."

"...I did not!"

"You also stole the blanket."

"That sounds fake."

"And at one point," Xander added very seriously, "you threatened to punch zombies in real life."

Ivy stared at him in disbelief.

"I talk in my sleep?!"

Xander’s lips twitched slightly.

"You’re surprisingly violent even unconscious."

Ivy immediately pointed at him accusingly.

"This is all your fault somehow."

Xander raised a brow.

"How exactly?"

"I don’t know yet," she declared confidently. "But I’ll figure it out."

The corner of Xander’s lips curled slightly before he slowly stood up, casually sliding one hand into his pocket as he stepped toward Ivy.

Ivy blinked as he stopped right in front of her.

Too close.

Dangerously close.

And before her thoughts could spiral out of control again, Xander suddenly leaned down slightly, enough to steal the air straight from her lungs.

"Get ready," he said quietly. "We’re going somewhere."

His deep voice sent another wave of chaos through her already unstable heart.

Ivy stared straight into his dark eyes, completely caught off guard.

For a brief moment, her mind genuinely stopped functioning.

All she could focus on was his face.

The slightly messy hair from sleep.The calm expression.And the unfairly attractive features that somehow looked even more dangerous this early in the morning.

Goodness... why is my heartbeat increasing again?

Ivy parted her lips slightly as she felt her heart pounding harder against her chest.

Meanwhile, Xander simply pulled back as though he hadn’t just caused emotional destruction inside her entire nervous system.

Then he turned around and walked out casually, leaving Ivy frozen in place.

"...."

She had no idea how long she remained standing there like a malfunctioning statue.

Only after the sound of a closing door echoed nearby did she finally blink back to reality.

Meanwhile, after stepping into his own room, Xander suddenly stopped walking.

His brows furrowed slightly.

Slowly, his hand lifted toward his chest.

Thump.Thump.Thump.

His heartbeat was racing.

Fast.

Far faster than it should have been.

Xander frowned deeper while pressing his palm lightly against his chest, trying to steady his breathing.

"What is happening to me?" he muttered quietly.

No matter how calm he tried to remain, he couldn’t ignore the strange feeling spreading through his body anymore.

It was unfamiliar and uncontrollable, and somehow... every single time Ivy looked at him like that, it only became worse.

Xander quickly shook his head, forcefully brushing those thoughts aside before they could linger any longer.

Taking a slow breath to calm himself, he turned away and headed straight toward the bathroom, convincing himself that whatever strange feeling he was experiencing was nothing more than lack of sleep and unnecessary overthinking.

***

Ivy stepped out of the shower and quickly got dressed.

She had no idea where they were going, but since she was bound to Xander through that ridiculous contract, refusing him wasn’t really an option.

After checking herself in the mirror one last time, she nodded in satisfaction and hurried downstairs.

But the moment she stepped out of the main door—

Her feet came to an abrupt halt.

Teddy. Percy. Nico. Benny.

All standing in a line.

And looking... suspiciously toasted.

Holy goodness... did they all take a group sunbath?

Ivy frowned at their noticeably tanned faces. On top of that, all of them were wearing black sunglasses, standing stiffly like undercover agents from some low-budget spy movie.

The only thing missing was dramatic background music.

She quickly composed herself and forced a polite smile before walking toward them.

"Hey, Teddy... about yesterday—"

Before she could finish, Teddy suddenly stepped back like she carried emotional damage and opened the car door.

"This way, Madam."

"..."