The next morning, in a lavishly decorated room, Wanda stirred from sleep, lightly biting her crimson lips as she opened her eyes with a pained expression.
Before her lay a dazzling ceiling and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the midday sun blazed down. The smooth floor tiles outside reflected the bright light, shimmering like ripples on a lake.
"Ouch! That hurts!" She felt an overwhelming pain throughout her body, as if a heavy truck had run her over; even her mouth throbbed slightly.
Wanda looked around the unfamiliar space, her eyes filled with confusion. "Where am I?"
She touched her clothes and realized her crimson battle suit had been replaced by a men's shirt, faintly scented with sandalwood cologne. Her head went blank as memories flickered in and out. "I should've been out drinking yesterday afternoon..."
"But after drinking, I seem to have collided with…"
"Ugh…" A wave of dizziness washed over her as she tried to recall the details from last night, but her brow furrowed in frustration—her memories abruptly ended at that point.
Catching the scent of the men's cologne from the shirt, she pieced the situation together. "I can't be…!" Panic surged within her as realizations collided with the pain radiating from her lower body.
Knock, knock, knock...
Just then, footsteps echoed down the wooden corridor outside her door. The sudden noise made Wanda's already flustered mind go blank. She tucked herself deeper into the covers, revealing only a small gap.
In walked a handsome young man wearing a bathrobe, holding an aluminum tray. On it were butter sandwiches, fried eggs, and a glass of milk, with a hint of buttery aroma wafting up to her.
Hode entered the room and noticed a large lump beneath the covers, his lips curling into a smile. "You're awake?"
His voice was gentle. Even though they had only spent a little time together, he had noticed that Wanda didn't like to be covered by a blanket. After returning home the previous afternoon, she had tossed off the blankets every time he had tried to cover her up. Now he could confidently assume that she had woken up.
"Was it you?" Wanda puffed up her cheeks, peeking from the gap in her covers. Though she had forgotten many things, she still vaguely remembered Hode's face from last night.
"Yeah, it was me!" Hode's smile widened, a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Wanda was instantly infuriated and ashamed. Her face turned a shade of crimson, resembling someone who had just come out of a steam room.
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