Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 349: Oh no, wrong door…

As soon as Ethan heard Kristen’s name, he choked on his water and sprayed it everywhere.

“Who!?”

It was like he hadn’t heard it right, so he asked again.

His exaggerated reaction startled Lila, and she timidly replied, “Kristen… you know, the Kristen from the movie.”

“Of course I know who she is,” Ethan snapped, clearly annoyed.

Lila glanced at Ethan cautiously. “Did I mess up…?”

That Kristen… Lila really didn’t know how to handle her. The fact that Kristen had asked to meet her after school just to confess? That was something Lila couldn’t have imagined in a million years.

Especially since Kristen’s approach was so aggressive, it completely overwhelmed her and threw her into a state of confusion.

By the time she stumbled back to class in a daze, she started to realize she might have agreed to something way out of her depth.

To be honest, Ethan was pretty shocked at first, but since it had already happened, he didn’t want to stress Lila out any further. Instead, he reassured her, “It’s fine. It’s a bit tricky, sure, but I can handle it.”

Not only that, but he knew how important it was to encourage her, so he added, “Besides this whole thing, you did pretty well today. You deserve some praise.”

That immediately made Lila feel a warmth inside, and she was genuinely touched.

Just then, the food they’d ordered arrived, so Ethan suggested they eat first.

As he ate, Ethan couldn’t help but think about Kristen.

Why would she confess to him?

Sure, he had helped her deal with her Puberty Syndrome, but this felt like overkill.

Yeah, overkill. Or maybe even revenge.

He admitted that the way he’d solved her problem had been a bit extreme, but the result was good, wasn’t it?

Kristen had been unable to make anyone notice her existence, right?

So Ethan had spent a small fortune hiring a band to follow her around for a week, announcing her arrival everywhere she went with a loud “Make way for Queen Kristen!”—whether there were people around or not.

The result? It became impossible for anyone to ignore her.

For that entire week, Kristen was the most talked-about girl in the city. She even made the front page of several newspapers.

And just like that, her Puberty Syndrome was violently cured.

So wasn’t that a happy ending for everyone? Why would Kristen want to get back at him?

Ethan knew he’d never understand what went on in a girl’s mind, so he decided to stop thinking about it.

As they finished dinner, Ethan pulled out his phone.

After a bit of fiddling, he handed it to Lila and said, “Given that we don’t know how long this situation between us is going to last, I’ve synced our phones with a dual system. You can switch between identities when you need to.”

This meant that even if they used each other’s phones, they could still handle their own business, which saved a lot of hassle.

“Oh, okay.”

Lila looked at the phone, which now showed her own interface, and felt a wave of relief.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

Ethan pulled out a mirror and held it up to Lila.

“Look into the mirror. What do you see?”

Lila stared at it for a while, hesitating before answering, “Uh… a handsome guy?”

“That’s not what I meant.” Ethan shook his head and clarified, “I’m asking if you see anything like a countdown.”

“A countdown?”

Lila looked at the ordinary mirror, completely confused. Was this some kind of high-tech gadget? Why would there be a countdown?

When Ethan saw Lila’s reaction, he let out a sigh of relief and smiled as he explained, “It’s because I work for the Time-Space Management Bureau. My job is to protect the normal flow of time, and sometimes I get sent on missions to other worlds. That countdown you didn’t see? It’s for when the Bureau assigns me a task.”

“Oh, I see now,” Lila said, nodding as if she’d just had an epiphany. “So, Ethan… you have delusions?”

“That’s rude,” Ethan shot her a glare, clearly annoyed.

We’ve already swapped bodies, and she still finds what I’m saying hard to believe?

But he didn’t hold it against her. Instead, he continued, “Alright, now that we’ve covered that, let’s get to the real issue.”

Huh? Lila blinked in confusion. Wait, what? That wasn’t the real issue?

Ethan went on, “I’ve got a part-time job later, but as you can see, I’m in your body now. So, I was wondering if you could go in my place?”

“What!?”

Lila was stunned and immediately started shaking her head furiously, chanting, “No, no, no, no, no…”

A part-time job? She’d die!

“Hey, don’t be so quick to refuse. At least hear me out about what the job is,” Ethan said, exasperated.

“F-Fine, tell me,” Lila replied, though her face was full of suspicion.

“It’s actually just a performance at a place called the Aurora Hall.”

As soon as Ethan finished speaking, Lila shook her head even harder.

“No way! I don’t want to work! That’s terrifying! The world is terrifying!”

As expected, asking her to perform was basically a death sentence.

Seeing how strongly she was resisting, Ethan tried to persuade her, “Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider? I heard the guest performers are pretty amazing. It’s a rare opportunity.”

Lila stared at him for a moment before replying in a serious tone, “I just want to survive.”

Watching her spiral back into her “no, no, no” loop, Ethan realized this idea was a lost cause.

“Well, in that case, I’ll just have to go in your body. You’re okay with that, right?”

“No problem!” Lila nodded vigorously. As long as she didn’t have to go, he could do whatever he wanted.

Still, Ethan threw out one last suggestion, asking if she wanted to come along to the venue, even if she wasn’t going to perform, just to see what it was like.

But that idea was also met with a resounding “no, no, no.”

So, Ethan gave up completely.

With that, their little meeting came to an end.

Ethan offered to walk Lila home, but she insisted she could get back on her own just fine—she knew the way!

So, they parted ways at the family restaurant’s entrance. Before they left, though, Ethan confiscated her mask, saying that just wearing a hat and sunglasses would be enough to avoid looking suspicious.

On her way home, Lila couldn’t stop thinking about Ethan using her body to perform. Out of curiosity, she pulled out her phone and did a quick search. What she found shocked her.

Aurora Hall—one of the city’s top-tier performance venues, where many famous bands had held concerts.

At first, she thought it must be a place with the same name.

But then Ethan sent her a link to a live stream, and when she clicked on it, she realized it was the Aurora Hall, the super prestigious one.

So… who exactly was Ethan?

As Lila pondered this, a sudden thought hit her.

Wait a minute. He’s using my body to perform, so… does that mean I’m… debuting?

With her mind racing, she finally made it back to Ethan’s house. But when she stood in front of the door, for some reason, the fingerprint lock wouldn’t open.

“Huh?”

Just as she was about to message Ethan to ask if something was wrong, a cautious voice came from behind her.

“Excuse me, what are you doing at my door?”

Lila jumped at the sound and turned around to see the girl she’d met in the elevator that morning.

Looking up, Lila realized the door number wasn’t 1601.

Oh no, wrong door…

Lila quickly apologized to the girl, then backed away slowly, carefully skirting around her. After another quick bow, she bolted.

Sophia Astor watched the retreating figure with a puzzled expression. She recognized him as the strange guy she’d seen in the elevator earlier that day.

He got the wrong door? Did he just move in or something?