Eloise felt a heavy weight lift off her chest, relieved that she had met a kind-hearted person. She definitely didn't want to spend the night on the sofa in the hotel lobby, risking being kicked out and settling like a homeless person.
They exchanged a glance, then turned to walk back, as if everything that had just happened was merely a performance art.
Eloise instinctively headed toward the safety staircase, clenching her fists along the way, mentally encouraging her trembling legs: "It's just the 36th floor, like climbing six 6-story buildings. Consider it muscle training, and I'm saving on gym fees!"
When she turned around, the man was casually standing by the elevator, looking up at the descending numbers on the indicator board. He shrugged at her. "Sorry, I'm a bit exhausted. You can continue your workout; I'll support you in spirit."
"Ding—" The elevator arrived. Eloise, torn between swallowing her pride and comfortably taking the elevator, hesitated for a second and a half. In the end, she decided to disregard her own words, squeezing into the lift just before the doors closed.
"I think the purpose of today's workout has been achieved," she said, trying to cover up. The man raised an eyebrow slightly, a faint curve appearing at the corner of his lips.
Eloise, though timid and afraid of ghosts, wasn't one to be overly fussy. True to her word, she spread the hotel-provided spare blanket on the floor by the bed and made herself a makeshift bedding. Though her bedding skills left much to be desired, the makeshift bed was barely formed. She curled up into the warm cocoon she had created, yawning in exhaustion and satisfaction, "I'm going to sleep, goodnight." The next second, she fell into a deep sleep.
She had forgotten that the man in front of her was someone she had only known for less than two hours, and whose identity and name she didn't even know. Whether it was because she was feeling bold, or simply too tired to think any further, she entrusted him with her complete trust without hesitation.
In the middle of the night, as she turned over in her sleep, Eloise vaguely noticed that the surface beneath her had become much softer. Half-conscious, she instinctively moved closer to the source of warmth nearby. She dreamt of the oversized teddy bear on her bed at home, the one she always clung to with both arms and legs while sleeping, feeling as though she were resting in a hot spring, so comfortable and soothing.
"Hey, where do you think your hands are going?" The teddy bear spoke, its voice deep and very pleasant.
Eloise pouted, unwilling to pull her hand away from that warm, smooth, and firm paradise. "You, a stuffed bear, still want to be modest? Even I, the owner, am allowed to touch!" She muttered to herself, "I won't stop touching!"
She wished not merely to touch, but to explore every corner. Turning, she pressed herself against the "Teddy Bear," her body and cheeks gliding over its curves and edges, like a writhing caterpillar. She caressed every inch—both the permissible and the forbidden—immersing herself fully, until the "Teddy Bear" no longer offered resistance, at which point, content, she ceased.
When she realized, too late to undo the mistake, that she was not holding her beloved hugging bear, it was already morning. The strong daylight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, which had been forgotten to be drawn. The hustle and bustle of cars and people on the busy street below reached this high, growing faint and almost surreal.
Right in front of her was the face of the man, sleeping so close. He was still incredibly handsome. His nose was straight, and his eyelashes long. Eloise couldn't help but marvel again at this stranger's natural, bare-faced beauty, which could easily rank in the top three of all the men she had ever seen.
It's worth noting that after entering the story, Eloise had seen quite a bit of the world and had personally encountered many celebrities and internet influencers.
However, what she had never encountered in all her experiences was waking up to find herself, like a snake, with her limbs tightly entwined around a strange man... Just as she was about to quietly withdraw her hands and feet and pretend it never happened, the man's eyes opened.
His deep blue eyes shimmered, clearly reflecting her image, like a tranquil blue spring.
Eloise saw her own terrified, wide-eyed expression reflected in his gaze, and she felt utterly mortified, as if her embarrassment could explode. "Uh... Good morning." She feigned calmness, her mind racing to find any excuse to gracefully disentangle herself from him.
Just as she was lost in thought, something hard and rigid pressed against her lower abdomen, faintly emitting a scorching heat. "What's this?" she murmured, her gaze drifting downward.
"Morning erection, haven't you seen one before?" The man, just awake, spoke with a voice still rough from sleep.
