"Just call me Elly, don't call me 'Miss,' it's so awkward." It also feels a bit off.
Eloise sat on the wooden chair by the dining table, her slender, white legs swinging gently. Her small face was full of longing and anticipation, stirred by the tempting aromas wafting from the kitchen.
What a coincidence. Octavius was from the South, had returned for the summer vacation, and happened to be on the evening flight. He also happened to remember her. After understanding her predicament, with nowhere else to go, he immediately suggested that she stay at his place for the night.
Eloise pretended to politely decline, "It's so sudden, wouldn't I be bothering your family?" Octavius shook his head firmly to ease her concerns, "It's just me and my brother at home. He's busy with work and usually doesn't come back."
Hearing this, Eloise had no choice but to accept his kindness.
Octavius's home was in the new district, a fairly spacious flat, with modern decoration that looked brand new. He said his brother had bought it two years ago, but before that, the two of them had lived in a one-bedroom apartment left by their parents in the old district.
Eloise admired the decorative paintings on the wall behind the sofa and casually complimented, "Your brother is quite capable!" Unexpectedly, the usually shy Octavius happily responded with a "Hmm," and then started talking more, "He opened his own law firm."
After putting her luggage away, it was already past one o'clock. Octavius asked carefully if she was hungry. Eloise touched her flat stomach, unable to honestly say that she wasn't hungry.
Octavius smiled, walked into the kitchen, and made a simple meal using the very limited ingredients available. When it was ready, the steaming bowl was placed in front of Eloise. "Here, enjoy it, Mi...Elly..."
In his eyes, Eloise was fresh-faced, wearing a cartoon-patterned camisole nightdress, looking younger than he was. Calling her so intimately felt strange.
"Then I won't hold back!" Her eyes curved with a smile as she took up her spoon and dug in. After just one bite, she exaggeratedly gave a thumbs-up. "Delicious!" Octavius had accidentally cooked a little extra, worried that she wouldn't be able to finish it, but to his surprise, not a single food was left.
Eloise refused to let him touch the empty plates, insisting on washing them herself. Afterward, she came out with damp hands, yawning repeatedly. Octavius chuckled, "Looks like my brother won't be home today. You can sleep in his room."
Eloise, who would have been satisfied with just a sofa to sleep on, was pleasantly surprised and happily said, "Thank you, Octavius, thank you, Octavius." Octavius chuckled softly and presented her with an unopened set of toiletries.
After washing her face and rinsing her feet, Eloise slipped into bed. Although there lingered a faint scent of a strange man at the tip of her nose, it did not prevent her from falling into a deep sleep within a second.
However, as she slept, an odd sensation awakened her. It took her a full two or three seconds to realize—someone was touching her thigh!
She quickly ruled out the possibility of sleep paralysis. It was clearly a man's hand, warm and steady, moving slowly up her smooth thigh. The touch was silent, with an alluring and teasing undertone.
Eloise's head throbbed with pain: No way, how could Octavius be this kind of person? This was so awkward, what should she do in this situation?
After thinking it over, she decided to pretend to still be asleep. With a skillful turn, she slipped out of the grasp of that hand, then let out a cough to serve as a subtle warning. The unexpected hand relentlessly pursued her, this time even directly landing on her backside.
Eloise gritted her teeth and turned over, coughing. The hand came up again. She turned again, coughed again, and the hand pursued once more!
She was a little angry, thinking to herself, "How shameless is this kid?" She turned again, but this time the movement was a bit too forceful. Before she could cough, she ended up tumbling right off the bed.
The sharp "bang" of bones hitting the ground echoed as a large area of bone collided simultaneously, and Eloise gritted her teeth in pain. A light, airy voice floated above her head, saying, "I thought you were doing morning exercises."
This voice wasn't Octavius! Eloise looked up in surprise, only to see the unfamiliar face of a man.
"Who the hell are you?!" — Before Eloise could even shout the question out, the man unbuckled his pants, rolled off the bed, and took out his penis, holding it in front of her nose. His lips parted slightly as he said, "Lick it."
Eloise: "..." She stared into the man's eyes, which seemed to look at her as if everything were perfectly natural. She tossed her head back, giving a sharp flick, but nearly bumped her forehead into the two little sacks of flesh beneath his lower body.
The living room was brightly lit.
The unfamiliar man who had just appeared in the bedroom was now lying face down, hands clutching his lower body, motionless like a dead puppet.
Octavius, looking very embarrassed, tried to explain to Eloise, who was seething with rage, "My brother sometimes helps people in the underworld with their lawsuits. As a token of gratitude, they occasionally send… send some ladies of the night to his bed, so he thought…"
Eloise was even angrier when she heard this, and nearly charged at him to give him another beating, "With my noble temperament, you actually think I'm a prostitute?"
The man let out a painful gasp, his face twisted with the pain, and cursed under his breath. Squinting, he said, "Young lady, your head's pretty hard, huh!"
Octavius quickly walked over, concern in his eyes, "Lysander, are you okay?" The man waved him off and, lifting his chin toward Eloise, asked, "Your girlfriend?" "No!" Octavius hastily looked at Eloise, his fair face turning red. He whispered, "She has a boyfriend."
He mistook Isidore, the man who went to the hot spring resort with Eloise last time, for her boyfriend. In this situation, Eloise couldn't be bothered to explain. The man glanced at his younger brother with a look of pity, muttering pointedly, "You sure are generous."
Seeing the deep bond between the brothers, Eloise felt as if she were the one in the wrong—having intruded on their territory, then hitting someone and causing a scene, as though even her complaints had no grounds. Annoyed, she huffed, "You two keep chatting, I'm leaving now!"
It was the man who called her back first. To ease the pain, he lit a cigarette and put it between his lips. After exhaling a cloud of white smoke, he slowly asked: "A girl out here and your boyfriend's not taking care of you?" Eloise retorted angrily, "He's dead!"
There was a moment of silence behind her, then the man muttered, "Where can you go at this hour? Stay here." Eloise snorted, "I don't need your fake kindness!" The man paused, then said, "I apologize," in a low voice. "I'm sorry."
When Eloise woke up, the man had already left. Octavius placed the breakfast on the table and casually handed her a business card. "My brother asked me to give this to you," he said. "He said if you ever need any help, you can call him anytime."
The business card read "Lysander Hawthorne" Eloise stared at it for a moment, then softly said, "I don't need it." She opened her mouth, but only let out a silent sigh.
She was simply a little confused, having messed up the plot and unable to find the meaning or direction for the next step.
It was certainly inappropriate to keep disturbing Octavius's home. Although he had told her to stay as long as she needed, she couldn't bring herself to feel at ease. After thinking it over, the only option was to return to her hometown city and escape from Mrs. Brown's clutches.
The night before, she had checked online. Even without an ID card, it was still possible to fly, and the process wasn't complicated.
After breakfast, Octavius went out to buy something. Eloise sat cross-legged on the sofa and messaged the few people she could barely call friends: "Can you... lend me some money?"
She asked two or three of them, but they were all reluctant: "Elly, your father specifically told us not to lend you any money."
Eloise collapsed against the sofa back, too exhausted to even be angry. It was at that moment that Mrs. Brown's relentless calls started coming in. She hung up several times in a row, but when the ringtone sounded again, she couldn't bear any longer and answered the call. "Give it up! Stop looking for me!"
There was a pause on the other end, followed by a low, deep male voice: "Had enough fun?" Eloise's hair stood on end in an instant—it was Isidore! He asked, "When are you coming back?"
