Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Vanessa, still a bit groggy, found herself playing cards with Sophia and Ethan.

After all, there wasn't much else to do in this place, and without something to pass the time, it was getting pretty boring.

As for the bet Ethan mentioned, Vanessa took it seriously, but not too seriously.

For instance, she thought that if she won, maybe Sophia would finally stop bothering her. That way, she could bury her weaker self for good.

Of course, if she lost—especially to Ethan—she might have to cheat her way out of it.

Sure, she liked him, but she wasn't ready for anything serious. The idea of someone else taking on her whole life? That was way too much to handle!

Sophia, on the other hand, looked dead serious. She wanted to win, but more importantly, she really didn't want either of the other two to win.

Because whether Vanessa or Ethan won, she couldn't accept the consequences. If she won, though, everything would be fine.

And then… Sophia came in dead last in this life-changing card game.

"Ugh…"

In that moment, it was like all the color drained from Sophia's face. She looked ghostly pale.

She actually lost!?

Ethan, with a smug grin, tossed his cards down and gave Sophia a mock bow. "Thanks for the game."

"I… I…" Sophia started to say something, but her good manners stopped her from blurting out anything rude.

"I lost," she admitted.

Vanessa threw her cards down too, taking a deep breath. She was about to say something when the scene around them suddenly shifted, and the three of them were back where they started.

"Whoa, we're out," Vanessa said, looking around in surprise. "How does this even work?"

"Who knows," Ethan replied, though he clearly knew more than he was letting on.

"So… what about the game? How are we counting that?" Vanessa asked, bringing up the card game again.

Sophia snapped out of her daze, her voice shaky. "That was all just a joke, right?"

"Nope, it was real," Ethan said, shaking his head. He then declared the final result: "I won, so Nessa's my girlfriend now."

Vanessa's face turned bright red at his words, and for a moment, she didn't even try to argue.

"Vanessa, you're not actually going along with this, are you?" Sophia asked, clinging to her last bit of hope.

"I… I don't know," Vanessa stammered, giving a vague answer. She couldn't seem to make up her mind.

"Alright, alright," Ethan clapped his hands, breaking the tension. "Let's just leave it at that for now."

"What do you mean 'leave it at that'?" Sophia muttered under her breath.

"Sophia, you're always thinking about yourself," Ethan said, looking at her with a sigh.

"And what gives you the right to say that to me?" Sophia nearly snapped.

"Because you can't handle taking on someone else's life, but you also won't let anyone else take on Nessa's. You're always thinking about what you want," Ethan said, exasperated.

Of course, his words didn't faze Sophia in the slightest.

"Like I care what you think," she huffed, turning her head away.

For now, the whole situation was left unresolved. Ethan wasn't pushing Vanessa for an answer; he just needed an excuse to keep things going.

Ethan and Sophia followed Vanessa to her small apartment.

"Nessa, you're living here now?" Sophia asked.

She had a feeling this was the case, but seeing it in person still surprised her.

Vanessa didn't mind her reaction. Since she'd brought them here, she didn't care what they thought anymore.

"Come on in. My dad hasn't been home for a while, so there's no one here," Vanessa said as she opened the door.

Ethan and Sophia sat down on the floor in the middle of the small apartment, while Vanessa poured them some tea.

"This place feels a little… off," Ethan remarked, glancing around the room.

"Hey, that's rude!" Sophia shot him a look, clearly annoyed.

"I didn't mean it's physically dirty," Ethan replied, giving her a playful smile, not at all bothered by her irritation.

Of course, this kind of attitude always made Sophia even more frustrated.

"Are you talking about… weird stuff?" Vanessa asked, her breath catching slightly.

"There are some traces, but nothing major for now," Ethan explained. "You've been living here for a while, right? If something serious had been here from the start, you'd have noticed by now."

"Can you fix it?" Sophia asked, clearly worried about Vanessa, turning to Ethan.

"Of course. Who do you think I am?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, looking at her confidently.

With a quick use of his powers as a time-space administrator, Ethan separated Vanessa's apartment from any supernatural disturbances.

"Is it done?" Sophia asked, looking around in confusion.

She hadn't noticed any changes and was half-expecting some kind of flashy effect.

"You've been watching too many cartoons," Ethan teased.

"Alright, back to business."

Ethan pulled two contracts out of his backpack and placed them on the table. "Sign these."

"What's this?" Vanessa asked, eyeing the papers.

"Contracts. I'm signing you both," Ethan said casually.

"A… contract for what?" Sophia asked, suddenly on high alert.

She picked up one of the contracts and skimmed through it, her eyes widening. "Ashen Paradise Agency? What's that?"

"It's my new company. I'm signing you both, and after some training, you'll be ready to debut," Ethan explained.

"Are you serious?" Sophia asked, staring at him in disbelief.

Sure, she knew Ethan was capable of a lot, but she hadn't expected him to suddenly pull out contracts and try to sign them up for something like this.

"And what's the catch?" Sophia asked, knowing full well about the struggles Vanessa had been facing. She wasn't against the idea of debuting if it could help Vanessa.

"You're giving me work, and you think you have to pay me a price?" Ethan said, looking at her like she'd just said something ridiculous.

"Uh…"

Meanwhile, Vanessa had already picked up the contract and was reading through it. The terms were shockingly generous—something no regular company would ever offer.

"But why are you doing this?" Vanessa asked, still unsure.

"Think of it as a whim," Ethan shrugged. "I'm a fan of VibraMyst, and if I can personally help launch a group to the top, that sounds like a fun challenge to me."

"Fun, huh…" Vanessa thought it over. Should she refuse?

In the end, she couldn't. If she turned this down, she'd have to face the consequences of the card game earlier. So, even though she felt a bit cornered, Vanessa signed the contract.

Seeing Vanessa sign, Sophia didn't hesitate either and quickly signed her own contract.

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