Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 364: fan

Ethan was munching on his sandwich while sneaking glances at Vanessa.

Even though she was clearly starving, the former rich girl still managed to eat with such grace.

But in the next second, Ethan froze. The sandwich in his hand slipped and fell back into the box.

Wait, why was Vanessa crying while eating!?

His face was blank, completely clueless about what had just happened.

Was it because of something I said earlier?

But that’s not enough to make someone cry, right?

Based on the limited information he had, Ethan could only come to this conclusion.

He was a bit shocked that Vanessa seemed so sensitive, but the thought that he might’ve made her cry made him panic a little.

In a way, his analysis wasn’t entirely wrong—it was just a different path to the same conclusion.

Meanwhile, Vanessa was wiping her tears when she noticed a pack of tissues appear in front of her.

Obviously, it could only have come from the guy sitting across from her.

She took the tissues and glanced at him, only to witness something that left her completely dumbfounded.

Ethan suddenly bent down toward her, almost bowing, and loudly apologized.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to speak so loudly earlier!”

Vanessa’s tears stopped instantly, and she stared at him, utterly confused and at a loss for words.

She had no idea why this guy was suddenly apologizing to her.

Speaking too loudly?

Vanessa wasn’t an idiot. She quickly pieced it together—did he think he made her cry?

But does that even make sense? She wasn’t that fragile. Why would she cry over something like that?

The girl pulled out a tissue and wiped the remaining tears from her face, though her eyes were still a little red. She shook her head gently. “It’s not because of you. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

Ethan let out a huge sigh of relief. If it really had been his fault, he wouldn’t have known what to do—he wasn’t exactly great at comforting people.

Now that it wasn’t his problem…

“Sorry for bothering you. I didn’t see anything. You can carry on.”

Since it had nothing to do with him, he acted like nothing had happened, sitting back down and continuing to eat his sandwich.

Vanessa, on the other hand, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But because of this little interruption, she realized she was feeling a lot better.

Vanessa couldn’t help but wonder if he did it on purpose.

What a clumsy guy, she thought to herself.

After finishing the somewhat unforgettable dinner, Vanessa put down her sandwich box, sat up straight, and turned to Ethan.

“Thank you.”

She thanked him first, then, with a serious expression, asked, “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Ethan immediately recognized this as one of Vanessa’s old habits.

After everything that had happened to her family, she had become especially sensitive to other people’s kindness. She absolutely hated the idea of being pitied, so whenever someone did something nice for her, she felt the need to repay them, as if that was the only way to maintain her dignity.

It was a bit heavy, a bit stubborn, but also kind of endearing.

But Ethan couldn’t think of anything he needed from her.

So, even though it was clearly something Vanessa felt strongly about, he still shook his head. “Nope, nothing.”

“Do you have time later?” Vanessa asked again.

Huh, no more insistence? Ethan was a little surprised.

But he quickly realized that this wasn’t some life-saving favor, so it didn’t warrant a heavy repayment. She was probably asking if he had time so she could thank him in her own way.

Since it didn’t feel like a big deal, he didn’t mind helping her resolve this little issue. He picked up his water, feeling relaxed, and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got time.”

Vanessa then looked at him seriously and continued, “Then, can you come home with me later?”

“Pfft!”

Ethan spat out the water he had just sipped, even choking on it, causing him to cough violently.

But he didn’t care about his own situation at all. His face was full of shock, completely incredulous. Did he hear that right? What did she just say!?

Vanessa, startled by his reaction, quickly grabbed a few tissues and handed them to him. “Are… are you okay?”

Still shaken, Ethan took the tissues but didn’t even bother to wipe his face. He quickly asked, “W-what do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean?” Vanessa looked a bit confused but answered without much thought, “I want to give you back your umbrella.”

Umbrella? What umbrella? Could it be that umbrella?

Ethan’s expression instantly turned to one of horror.

No way, Vanessa! I just bought you a sandwich—there’s no need to go this far!

Seeing that he clearly didn’t understand her, and noticing his bizarre reaction, Vanessa had no choice but to explain further. “The umbrella you lent me that time. I want to return it.”

Ethan froze, completely bewildered. “What are you talking about? The umbrella I lent you?”

“Huh? You don’t remember?” Vanessa was surprised, but then quickly realized that this made sense.

To him, lending her an umbrella might’ve been a trivial act, but to her, it had meant the world.

With a mix of emotions she hadn’t even realized she was holding, Vanessa began to explain the whole story.

Did something like that really happen between me and Vanessa?

At first, Ethan was still confused, but as she spoke, the memory slowly came back to him.

“Oh, I remember now. It was that rainy day in May last year, right? The rain was pouring down that day. So, the girl I ran into back then was you, Miss Vanessa?”

Back then, Ethan had been in the middle of his peak workaholic phase, juggling multiple part-time jobs. On his way to his next shift, he had come across a girl who looked completely lost, walking straight into the rain without an umbrella. Out of kindness, he had called out to her and handed her his umbrella before rushing off, not even paying attention to who she was. He’d forgotten about it soon after.

Now that Ethan realized what had happened, everything clicked into place. That must’ve been the day Vanessa disbanded the VibraMyst band, right?

And because of his intervention, the former VibraMyst members probably didn’t see a drenched Vanessa that day.

Vanessa, however, had no idea what Ethan was talking about, and her attention quickly shifted to something else he said.

“Wait, you know who I am?” she asked, surprised.

“Uh…” Ethan suddenly realized he’d let that slip in his shock, so he decided to just roll with it. “Of course, I’m a fan of yours, Miss Vanessa.”

Vanessa immediately understood that he was referring to the VibraMyst band, and she fell silent.

This felt oddly familiar to her—yes, something like this had happened not too long ago.

That’s why she quickly realized what he meant by “fan.”

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