Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 89: A hospital bed, a bathroom, or anywhere really, can become a battlefield

The evening breeze tousled Emily’s long hair. Dressed in a sleek black gown, she looked like a sprite of the night, her eyes curving into crescents as she smiled. She was a mix of elegance and mischief.

“I’m serious, you know. Should we start dating?”

Ethan was taken aback, caught off guard by her sudden proposal: “Isn’t this a bit sudden? I don’t think I have anything about me that you’d like.”

“True,” Emily said, her hands clasped behind her back, nodding cutely. “You’re a bit of a flirt, but you’re too timid.”

“I can’t just ignore that comment,” Ethan pouted. As a man, being called timid by a woman felt like the ultimate insult.

He just found Emily a bit too much to handle, which is why he preferred to keep his distance.

“But hanging out with you is really fun, even though your flirting skills are pretty awful,” Emily said with a charming laugh.

“A future with you would definitely never be boring.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Ethan said, sizing up Emily.

No doubt about it, she was stunning.

Today, in her black gown, she looked dignified yet added a touch of sexiness, with a sprinkle of playfulness.

Just like she said, being with a girl like her would mean a future full of excitement.

Logically, dating her seemed like a great idea.

After all, when it comes to love, being this beautiful, it’s not hard to fall.

Ethan raised five fingers, and as he looked puzzled, he lowered one, as if counting down.

“What are you doing?”

“Counting down. Impulses have a time limit,” Emily’s eyes twinkled like crescent moons again. “When the countdown ends, if my reason wins over my feelings, I won’t date you.”

Ethan watched her fingers go from four to three, his heart skipping a beat.

Looking at Emily’s angelic face and devilish smile, and her long, fair legs peeking out from under her black gown, his male instincts, driven by a deep-seated attraction, urged him to quickly agree.

Until Emily’s last finger went down.

“Ah, my confession got rejected, how sad,” Emily said nonchalantly as she turned around.

“Hey,” Ethan said regretfully. “I’m having second thoughts. Let’s start over.”

“No way, Ethan. Impulse, like love, is fleeting,” Emily said, slipping off her high heels and walking barefoot on the pavement, swinging her shoes playfully behind her. “Maybe we could try something crazy.”

She turned around, leaned in close, her eyes like black gems looking into Ethan’s. “Like kidnapping me, tying me up, doing whatever you want with me, and then leaving this city to start a new life somewhere no one knows us.”

“Your thoughts are pretty dangerous right now,” Ethan grimaced, wanting to retort but caught by Emily’s gaze.

He saw seriousness in her eyes.

Ethan felt his heart contract sharply.

He instinctively stepped back.

“Just kidding,” the seriousness in Emily’s eyes vanished, returning to her dignified demeanor.

“You probably had a lot of weird thoughts just now, like imprisoning a beautiful girl and fulfilling all sorts of thrilling sexual fantasies.”

“Heh, heh,” Ethan chuckled nervously, genuinely startled for a moment.

“Okay, I need to go home now. I’d love to stay and chat, but my mom is pretty strict about my curfew,” Emily said, stretching out her hand just in time to hail a taxi.

She got into the car and winked at him: “It was fun performing with you. Bye.”

“Yeah, okay,” Ethan nodded, watching the taxi disappear around the corner.

This girl, he just couldn’t figure her out.

It was hard to tell which of her words were true and which were just part of her act.

“Ding ding!” The ringtone of the phone went off.

Ethan picked up his phone, seeing Isabella’s name on the caller ID.

“Congrats on making it to the next round, I’ve transferred ten thousand dollars to your bank account,” Isabella said, her voice brimming with excitement. “You really nailed that performance.”

“Thanks,” Ethan replied, his expression a mix of amusement and disbelief. That performance was a total trainwreck, and here she was, praising it.

It’s all about the views, no integrity whatsoever.

“The next round of recording is in a week. Got any ideas for your next act?” Isabella knew that once this episode aired, it would bring in a ton of views, especially if Ethan could pull off something even more spectacular.

The Dream Chaser Show could really turn things around with this—no chance of winning, but the ratings were in the bag.

So, she didn’t mind loosening the purse strings.

“Not yet, I’ll let you know when I do,” Ethan said, aware of her motives. He needed to think this through, figure out how to maximize his gains.

“Alright, if you need anything for the performance, the production team is here to support you,” Isabella reminded him before reluctantly ending the call.

What a 180 from her initial attitude.

“Sheesh, talk about being pragmatic,” Ethan muttered, making a face. Isabella saw him as a ratings magnet, and he saw her as a cash cow. Mutual use.

With that ten thousand dollars, plus what he’d made streaming recently, after deducting rent and equipment costs, he now had thirteen thousand dollars in savings.

“Should I give it to Auntie?” Ethan knew the household expenses were all on his aunt’s modest salary.

Times were tough.

Thirteen thousand dollars wasn’t a small amount.

After a brief hesitation.

Ethan decided to save it, aiming to give her a lump sum of one hundred thousand dollars later.

Next up, he planned to ride the wave of the Dream Chaser Show’s popularity to hit that hundred-thousand-dollar goal.

He didn’t know.

Scarlett was in a bad mood. After talking to the doctors, she found out that Ethan and Blair were only at the hospital half the time.

That meant they were often spending nights out.

If it were once or twice, she could chalk it up to them hanging out at a friend’s place, but this frequency made it hard not to jump to conclusions.

“Do you think that kid and Blair are dating?” Jessica, clad in her police uniform, looked sharp and skeptical.

“Yeah, I can’t think of any other reason they’d be out overnight so often,” Scarlett said, her gaze troubled. She was about to prepare for her teaching certification exam.

And then she finds out her nephew and her sister, who was like a daughter to her, were spending nights out together.

It was a bit unsettling.

After much deliberation, she decided to consult Jessica, who, despite not always being reliable, was still a cop.

“That doesn’t add up,” Jessica stirred her black coffee with a spoon. “If they wanted to do… those things, don’t you think young people would just get a room? A hospital bed, a bathroom, or anywhere really, can become a battlefield.”

“…” Scarlett gave her a weird look. Something was definitely off with Jessica’s thinking.

“But they’ve been friends since childhood,” Jessica lifted her coffee. “Being together all the time, it’s pretty normal for them to end up together, right?”