Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 373: It was all because of that guy!

Sophia thought today would be just like any other—calm and uneventful.

But as soon as she stepped out the door, her dull, colorless world was suddenly filled with vibrant hues.

She never expected to run into the person she had been thinking about day and night, right outside her own home.

In that moment, a bright smile spread across her face. She hurried forward, her voice full of surprise and excitement: “Vanessa, what are you doing here?”

Vanessa, equally surprised by the encounter, hadn’t realized Sophia lived right next door to Ethan. But her soft expression quickly hardened, turning cold and unreadable.

Vanessa had no intention of responding. She had long since moved on from the past and didn’t want to be dragged back into it. To her, reconnecting with people from that time would only weaken her resolve to leave her old self behind.

Her reaction hit Sophia like a punch to the gut.

They used to be so close, practically inseparable…

But Sophia wasn’t about to give up. Just a few days ago, she had made up her mind to reclaim the best part of her past. She was determined to get the band, VibraMyst, back together.

And Vanessa was the key to making that happen. For days, Sophia had been trying to figure out how to meet her. Running into her like this, right at her doorstep, felt like fate. There was no way she was going to let this chance slip by.

“Vanessa, can we talk?” Sophia asked, her eyes full of hope.

But all she got in return was Vanessa’s cold, indifferent reply.

“There’s nothing for us to talk about.”

“How can you say that…?”

Sophia was about to say more, but just then, the elevator doors opened.

Vanessa turned and called out to a guy standing nearby. When he didn’t respond, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the elevator with her.

Sophia stood there, frozen in shock.

Who was this guy?

She hadn’t even noticed him before—her entire focus had been on Vanessa. He was just some random person, someone she had completely overlooked.

But now that she was aware of him, details she had subconsciously ignored started flooding back into her mind.

Vanessa couldn’t possibly live here.

That morning, Sophia had seen Vanessa waiting for the elevator with a guy.

Vanessa had come out of his apartment.

And then, a thought hit Sophia—one she absolutely couldn’t accept.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, Sophia snapped out of her daze and rushed inside.

She had one goal in mind: the guy.

“Who are you?” she demanded.

“What’s your relationship with Vanessa?”

“Is it because of you that Vanessa left us?!”

Lila, who had been trying her best to stay invisible, was now trembling in fear, cornered by the infamous “queen” of Riverside High School.

Up until now, she had been doing everything she could to avoid drawing attention to herself.

Lila had quickly picked up on the fact that there was a complicated history between Vanessa and this “queen” from Riverside High. The tension between them was so thick, it was suffocating. The last thing Lila wanted was to get involved in whatever was going on between them.

At first, she thought she was in the clear—Sophia hadn’t even noticed her. When the elevator doors opened, Lila had been planning to just wait for the next one.

But Vanessa hadn’t forgotten about her and had dragged her into the elevator.

Now, Lila was staring at the brunette in front of her, terrified. She could barely breathe!

In her panic, Lila suddenly remembered something Ethan had told her earlier.

This definitely counted as an emergency, right?

Without hesitation, Lila dialed the pre-set emergency contact number.

On the other side of town, Ethan was in the middle of making breakfast when his phone rang. As soon as he picked up, he was greeted by the frantic voice of a girl, clearly upset.

“Are you trying to mess with Vanessa’s feelings? You liar! What have you done to her?!”

Ethan blinked, confused. Who the hell was this?

Then, he heard Vanessa’s cold voice in the background.

“Are you done with this nonsense?”

“Vanessa, you must’ve been tricked by this guy!”

Ethan finally started to piece things together. That voice—it had to be Sophia, right?

How did they run into each other? And why was she calling him a liar? What had he done?

He was baffled, and a little annoyed. These former VibraMyst members were just as rude as ever. This was the third one now.

As he was mentally grumbling about how only Elise had ever been decent to him, he suddenly remembered the time Elise had given him the dreaded “nice guy” speech.

“…”

“Whatever.”

Ethan shook his head, trying to clear his mind of all these distractions. But then another thought hit him—why was Lila calling him in the middle of all this? Was she just inviting him to watch the drama unfold?

Meanwhile…

As soon as the call connected, Lila realized Ethan wasn’t going to be much help. At best, he’d give her some advice, but she’d still have to deal with the situation herself.

And right now, she was being stared down by this terrifying “queen” of Riverside High, so much so that she couldn’t even get a word out.

All she could do was mentally repeat the mantra Ethan had once told her.

I’m an assassin, I’m an assassin, I’m an assassin…

She tried her best to keep her cool, standing there silently, pretending to be aloof. Luckily, her sunglasses hid her nervous eyes, and somehow, she managed to pull it off.

Her silence only made Sophia angrier.

To Sophia, being ignored was the ultimate insult.

This girl wasn’t even acknowledging her, as if she were some kind of joke. The sheer arrogance of it!

Frustrated, Sophia turned her attention back to Vanessa, hoping to snap her out of whatever spell she was under.

“Vanessa, if you’re in any kind of trouble, you can tell me. I’ll help you, no matter what.”

Sophia grabbed Vanessa’s arm, her voice filled with genuine concern.

But it was exactly this kind of naive sincerity that irritated Vanessa the most.

She yanked her arm free, her expression icy as she said, “My life has nothing to do with you. Stop bothering me.”

Her cold words hit Sophia like a punch to the chest, leaving her stunned.

She couldn’t believe this was the same Vanessa she used to know.

How had things gotten this bad?

Just then, the elevator reached the ground floor, and as the doors opened, Sophia watched helplessly as Vanessa walked out, still holding the hand of that guy she’d seen twice before.

The sight snapped Sophia back to reality.

Yes, it had to be because of him. It was all because of that guy!

Like a drowning person clinging to a lifeline, Sophia latched onto this idea.

Her resolve hardened once more.

I will bring Vanessa back. I will get VibraMyst back together, no matter what it takes…

As Vanessa pulled Lila along, Lila suddenly felt a chill run down her spine, like she was being hunted by a predator.

She instinctively turned her head, and through the slowly closing elevator doors, she caught a glimpse of the brunette girl’s dark, brooding gaze fixed on her.

“!!!”