Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 365: The Sandwich Wars

“Wait, Vanessa, you just wanted to return my umbrella?”

Ethan let out a sigh of relief after confirming the situation.

On the other side, Vanessa blinked in confusion. “Yeah, what else did you think?”

“I thought…”

Ethan was momentarily speechless, feeling a bit frustrated inside.

It’s all Vanessa’s fault for being so vague.

If you’re just returning an umbrella, why not say it clearly? Anyone would’ve misunderstood the way you phrased it!

Ethan really wanted to report her for impersonating a succubus!

He let out an awkward laugh and continued, “Yeah, I thought you were just returning my umbrella too.”

“???” Vanessa’s face was a picture of confusion.

“Never mind, forget it.” Ethan tried to play it cool and moved on from the topic.

There’s no way he could say what he was really thinking, right? She’d think he was some kind of narcissist.

Thank God I’m the only one who knows what went through my head, he thought. Otherwise, I’d have to go back to Gotham and get beaten up by Batman.

Then he asked, “But seriously, Vanessa, are you sure it’s okay to bring a guy back to your place?”

Vanessa thought he was worried about her family getting the wrong idea, so she casually replied, “It’s fine, no one’s home.”

Ethan was even more confused.

I’m asking if it’s okay to bring a guy home, and you’re telling me no one’s there?

Vanessa, you’re making it really hard for me to believe you don’t have some ulterior motive here!

Seeing his reaction, Vanessa thought he didn’t want to make the trip, so she suggested, “How about you wait here for a bit? I’ll run home and grab the umbrella. It won’t take long, I live really close.”

Seeing how serious she was, Ethan didn’t want to make her run back and forth late at night, so he sighed. “No, it’s fine. I’ll go with you.”

But there was still a hint of caution in his eyes. After all, a guy like him had to be careful when going out at night.

Just as Ethan stood up to leave, Vanessa called out to him again.

“Wait, I don’t even know your name.”

He turned back to look at her, and at that moment, he realized something: Vanessa didn’t really fit in with the world around her.

He sighed inwardly. The reason for his caution had just vanished.

Impersonating a succubus? No, this is the real deal!

Vanessa repeated his name in her head, committing it to memory: Ethan…

Then, seeing him already heading out, she quickly followed.

It was only after this that she finally had the time and energy to ask what had happened earlier—why she had suddenly passed out.

“So you really don’t know anything, huh?”

Ethan paused with his hand on the door handle, his expression complicated. “You wandered into a forbidden area and disturbed a hungry ghost, so you got taken out.”

“What?”

Vanessa was stunned. Why was this guy suddenly talking like he was in some kind of fantasy novel?

Ethan knew it would be hard to explain with just words, so he opened the door and said, “Why don’t you come out and see for yourself?”

Vanessa, still confused, stepped out of the room. She found herself back in the refrigerated section of the supermarket where she had been earlier. But what she saw made her heart skip a beat—people were lying all over the floor, unconscious.

Vanessa’s first thought was that there had been some kind of gas leak, causing a mass poisoning. Her face instantly turned pale with fear.

“This… what is this…”

Ethan had expected her reaction and calmly reassured her, “Don’t worry, it’s no big deal.”

“???” Vanessa couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

There were so many people lying unconscious, and this guy was telling her it was no big deal?

She felt like if she turned on the news later, she’d see someone on TV bowing and apologizing for this disaster.

But Ethan acted like he didn’t notice her shock. He waved her over and said, “Come on, I’ll explain everything as we go.”

“Uh, are you sure we should just leave them like this?” Vanessa asked, pointing at the people on the floor.

Ethan shrugged. “Yeah, they’re used to it.”

Who could possibly get used to something like this?

As Vanessa was mentally complaining, she suddenly noticed one of the “bodies” move.

It was a high school girl with brown hair. She groaned as she got up, rubbing her back and muttering curses under her breath as she walked away.

From the way that girl reacted, it really did seem like she was used to the chaos around her—there wasn’t even a hint of confusion on her face.

But that only made Vanessa more shocked. She was starting to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with the world.

“Have you ever heard of the Sandwich Wars?” Ethan asked her.

Vanessa shook her head, completely clueless. She had never heard of anything like that.

Ethan explained, “Basically, it’s a brawl where people fight over cheap sandwiches.”

A brawl? Over sandwiches?

Vanessa found it hard to believe. Then, suddenly, a thought hit her, and she quickly asked, “So, when I passed out earlier… could it be because of…”

She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, as the idea seemed too ridiculous to say out loud.

Ethan, with a look of mock sympathy, nodded.

“Yep. You showed up at the worst possible time—right when the Sandwich Wars were starting. You were about to grab a sandwich, so naturally, the hungry ghosts targeted you. And, well… you got knocked out.”

So that’s what happened?

Vanessa covered her forehead with her hand, feeling like the whole situation was just too absurd.

“So after that, you carried me to that room to rest?”

Although there were still some gaps in her understanding, Vanessa now had a rough idea of what had happened. The rest was what she remembered after waking up.

Ethan, hearing her slightly misleading question, quickly clarified, “It wasn’t me who carried you. It was Miss Olivia who helped. If you want to thank someone, thank her.”

“Miss Olivia?”

Vanessa remembered Ethan mentioning her earlier—the store clerk.

But before she could process it, Ethan suddenly reached out and grabbed a nearby female employee, pulling her over. “This is Miss Olivia.”

The pretty store clerk, wearing a blue headscarf, looked completely bewildered.

Vanessa felt the same way, but she quickly turned to Olivia and expressed her gratitude.

“Oh no, no, it’s really nothing worth thanking me for,” Olivia said, waving her hands dismissively. “If you want to thank someone, you should thank your boyfriend.”

“What?”

Vanessa froze on the spot. Boyfriend? Who was she talking about?

Though confused, she instinctively turned to look at Ethan.

And sure enough, his expression mirrored hers—utter disbelief.

Ethan stared at the store clerk who had just stabbed him in the back. Sure, he had said something along those lines earlier, but couldn’t she at least consider the context?

Did I say this girl was my girlfriend? No! I was just trying to stop Olivia from gossiping!

But Olivia seemed completely oblivious to the thoughts running through their heads. She continued, “If it weren’t for your boyfriend winning the ACE, you wouldn’t have had a room to rest in.”

“Huh?”

Vanessa suddenly realized something.

If the sandwiches had to be fought over, then where did the sandwich she ate earlier come from? Could it be that Ethan had also participated in the Sandwich Wars?

In that moment, the sandwich she had eaten suddenly took on a much heavier meaning in her mind.