Chapter 37 Hot

After sending the intoxicated Evelyn home, Vivian realized she was not exercising much lately, as even a little movement made her feel unbearably hot. She had already taken off her jacket, and while the air conditioning wasn't set too high, she still felt overheated.

Seeing Charles, she said, "You can leave, I can handle it myself."

Charles looked at her and realized something might be wrong. Her face looked like a tomato.

"Why are you constantly moving? I told you not to move," Vivian said as she embraced Charles, feeling cool and comfortable. "This is much better, don't move."

Charles touched her forehead with his hand, then held her entire face, wondering whether it was caused by that drink.

With one arm holding Vivian, Charles took out his cellphone and made a call. "Help me find someone." He briefly described the appearance and figured the person should still be in the bar. "Ask him for an antidote, hurry!"

"I'm telling you, usually there is no antidote for this kind of drug. You might as well handle it yourself," the person on the other end said jokingly.

"So, you're not interested in helping?" Charles furrowed his brows and ended the call.

Vivian still had some awareness left and asked, "What drug? I'm not sick!"

After thinking for a moment, Charles decided to bring her directly back home.

In the car, Vivian began to take off her clothes. How could she feel so hot? She squinted at Charles beside her and said, "Hey, what's wrong with me? I feel like I'm about to explode!" She continued muttering non-stop.

In the garage, she refused to get out of the car. Charles had no choice but to grab hold of her collar and pull her out like a little kitten. Supporting her, he brought her into the elevator.

Vivian was still under the effects of that drug. She constantly tugged at her own clothes. Charles shielded the security cameras while ensuring she didn't fall directly to the ground.

Suddenly, Vivian stopped fussing and hugged Charles tightly. Nestled in his arms, she looked up and smiled innocently. "I'm hot."

Now, it wasn't just Vivian who felt hot. Charles couldn't believe he could be aroused so easily by someone, just from a hug and a single sentence.

After entering the door, Charles immediately tossed her into the bathroom and turned on the shower. As soon as the cold water came out, Vivian jumped in shock. "Are you going to kill me for losing a cufflink? Really?"

Charles didn't want to see her like this and took off the showerhead, handing it to her. "You can wash yourself. Keep going until you're not hot anymore." There were, of course, better ways to handle the situation, but he didn't want Vivian to regret or hate him.

Not long after, a loud thud came from the bathroom. Charles put down the cup in his hand and rushed in at the fastest speed. Vivian slipped and fell into the huge bathtub, thrashing around with her hands and feet.

If Charles had just pulled Vivian out, the situation would have been resolved perfectly, but as soon as he reached out, Vivian pulled him into the cold water as well.

Now both of them were sitting in the bathtub, looking at each other. Charles shivered from the cold, while Vivian took off her wet coat, leaving her underdress soaked and clinging tightly to her body. As she stood up, there were water droplets hanging on her fair, rosy skin, and her large eyes stared at herself in a daze.

Vivian felt like she was getting feverish again, very hot. Only when she was close to Charles did her body temperature drop a little. Unconsciously, she ended up sticking to Charles's chest in a strange position.

Charles finally spoke, realizing that his voice had become hoarse. "Are you sure?"

Vivian felt like she must have gone crazy from the medication because she didn't say anything and just moved closer to him. Charles lifted Vivian from the bathtub.

After leaving the bathroom, he put her down, but Vivian immediately stuck to him again. However, it was getting hotter and hotter.

"Do you want more or is this enough?" Hearing his voice, she felt a slight decrease in the heat.

Clutching him tightly, she didn't know what she was doing or what she would do next. Charles forcefully pulled her away, holding her by the shoulders and forcing Vivian to look into his eyes. "Answer me."

Being so close, Vivian looked into his eyes, tiptoed, and hooked her arms around his neck. Charles immediately lowered his head and kissed her. "Are you awake?"

Vivian, of course, didn't answer. It felt like there were countless ants crawling in her bloodstream, and the temperature kept rising. It seemed that only by getting closer to him could she find some relief.

In the morning, Vivian opened her eyes. This wasn't her house or Evelyn's house. Where was she? Why did her whole body feel like it had been run over by a car? She lifted the blanket and saw that she was naked! And why was there an arm lying across her waist?

It was too horrifying! Vivian kept opening and closing her eyes, but the scene before her remained the same. Finally, she understood that this was real.

She harshly knocked her own head with her hand. It was over. If Mrs. Garcia found out, she was done for. Charles watched this silent play before him, feeling better and better.

Once again, Charles held her hand when Vivian was self-blaming and said, "You are already foolish. Hitting yourself further would make you mentally challenged."

Vivian was speechless and closed her eyes, slowly curling up under the blanket.

Seeing her pretending to be ignorant, Charles had no choice but to get up first, giving her some space.

Upon hearing the sound of water from the bathroom, Vivian quickly got up from the bed. Her clothes were still damp, piled up on the floor. What should she do? She remembered the outfit she left here last time, wondering if he had thrown it away.

She hopped over to the wardrobe barefoot and upon opening it, she was relieved to see that they were still there. Hastily, she put the clothes on, but the more anxious she became, the more mistakes she made. Charles walked over from behind and helped her with the buttons, putting the clothes on one by one. "There, all done."

Vivian felt embarrassed but still managed to say thank you.

"Thank me for what? The clothes? Or for last night?" Charles suddenly leaned in, pressing against her ear.

Vivian looked at him, feeling a sense of grievance. Usually, she was sharp-tongued, but now she couldn't utter a word. Charles, noticing the tears welling up in her big eyes, realized that he had taken the joke too far.

"I'm sorry, I was just joking. I'm sorry."

Vivian pushed him away and ran out of the room. She always thought that Charles didn't like her, that's why she felt so miserable.

Charles followed her with his coat in hand. She was dressed too lightly. He hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to cover her with the coat. "Let's pretend like nothing happened, okay?" Vivian pleaded with her eyes.

Charles couldn't bear it and reluctantly nodded. "Where are you going? Let me escort you."

"No need, you can go back."

Vivian walked along the road to Evelyn's doorstep and sat quietly for a while before knocking on the door. Evelyn rubbed her temples and opened the door. "Why are you here at this time?"

"What do you want to eat? I'll cook for you!" Vivian said.

"You're not Vivian!" Evelyn was shocked. This girl actually wanted to cook for her?

"It's because you were drunk. I'll make soup and some salad, okay?" Vivian pleaded.

"Okay, go ahead."

Both of them sat at the dining table. "So, what's the matter?" Evelyn asked.

"Um, I wanted to ask you, how would you feel if someone who is close to you, like your good friend, keeps coming to see you, and many inappropriate things happened between you two?" Vivian hesitated in her words.

Seeing her expression, Evelyn knew that it must be Charles she was talking about. "I suppose he must like you. Otherwise, why would he keep coming to see you?"

"Not me! It's not me!" Vivian quickly denied.

Evelyn replied perfunctorily, "I know."

"Then why did you come to me last night?" Vivian quickly changed the topic.

"I just wanted to drink," Evelyn said.

"Where is William?"

"He had something to take care of at home," Evelyn replied.

"I see. That's why you wanted to get drunk." Vivian smiled and stayed quiet. She was happy that William had left, but she knew she couldn't be too cheerful at this moment.

Luckily, work started to pick up, or else Evelyn had feared she might become a desperate woman waiting for her boyfriend to come back.

The popularity of the movie gradually faded, but there were still many similar invitations coming in. Evelyn turned down each one of those, and when Adrian asked her why, she simply replied, "I'm not interested."

She started attending various award ceremonies, sometimes just to make an appearance, and other times returning home with a trophy. Sitting in the audience, she maintained a constant smile, but inside, she felt incredibly frustrated.

In the backstage corridor, she ran into Lena. Lena looked at Evelyn, and after a long silence, Evelyn pretended she was just passing by and didn't say anything before walking away.

Lena caught up. "Miss Bennett, I'm sorry for last time. It was my mistake."

Evelyn wondered why Lena suddenly felt the need to apologize but decided to nod in response.

"Miss Bennett, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Do I look idle to you?" Evelyn looked back at Lena.

Just one glance, and Lena was stunned by Evelyn's beauty. Even as another woman, she couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful Evelyn was. But since she had something to ask for, she naturally had to be humble and obedient. "Miss Bennett, I just wanted to ask if Charles really likes Vivian. Did you really matchmake them?"

So, it's about that.

"Yes."

Evelyn thought, "Well, let's help that silly girl one more time."