“Okay,” she replied softly, with her eyes still closed.
Then she released him.
At the same time, the tendrils brushed against his wrists for a while before slowly unwrapping themselves from around him.
Simon glanced at her for a few seconds before leaving in hurried steps.
Instead of going in the direction of the party, he took a detour and walked around for the entire night, wanting to cool down.
Simon had always been a reserved and calm person who disliked people being in his personal space.
He was cold even toward his family and friends.
However, when it came to Hazel, he knew his reaction to her was different, and he could not understand why.
This difference bothered him a little.
Sunlight streamed through the window, falling directly onto the face of the silver-haired girl lying on the bed.
The continuous chirping of the birds made the sleeping girl furrow her brows.
Then she blinked twice before opening her eyes, revealing the purple hidden beneath her eyelids.
Hazel felt her head throbbing from a strong headache.
Then the pain in her foot also began to register.
All this made her wonder what exactly had happened.
Her headache was too severe for her to try to think about the events that had occurred yesterday.
She sat up slowly while rubbing her temples.
After looking around for a while, she saw a tube of cream and a bottle on her desk, which she was sure she had not placed there.
She stood up to check what they were.
Standing on her injured foot was even more painful, so she raised it while standing on the other one and hopped over to the desk.
Finally, she saw that the tube of cream was for foot sprains, while the other bottle contained a hangover recovery drink.
She grabbed both of them and sat down.
Then she drank the hangover recovery drink, which was carrot-flavored.
Afterward, she rubbed the injured foot with the cream.
After rubbing the blue cream on her foot for a while, she stopped and removed her hand when, suddenly, an intense heat spread through her foot.
It was so unexpected that Hazel groaned and broke into a cold sweat.
Five minutes later, although it felt like several hours had passed to Hazel, the heat finally disappeared, and so did the pain.
If she had not been looking at the cream she had just rubbed on her foot, she would have thought she was hallucinating.
Once again, she marveled at how advanced this world was in the medical field.
With her headache and sprain gone, a flashback from the bonfire party suddenly came to her mind.
It only took a few seconds for her to process what had happened before Hazel’s face turned bright red.
Almost immediately, she used her hand to tap her head repeatedly.
“You stupid fool, you stupid fool.
How could you cling to a man and even cry?”
She almost screamed at the thought of it.
Despite all this, Hazel knew she had things to do that day, so after calming down for a while, she went to bathe and get dressed.
After leaving her room, she noticed that Jane was nowhere to be found.
Guessing that she was probably still asleep in her room, Hazel headed to the market to get some things she needed for the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Simon was on his morning run when his thoughts returned to the previous night.
Why exactly had he gone back to leave the cream and hangover recovery drink?
Had he been bewitched, or what was happening to him?
He still could not believe that he had coaxed a woman.
Previously, when socialites in the Imperial City threw themselves at him, they would cry immediately after his rejection.
He would simply give them a glance and leave.
His mother had always said that he had no soft spot for the fairer sex.
But what about Hazel?
What was so special about her?
While his thoughts were swirling inside his mind, he kept his calm expression on the outside as he ran around the track.
*** ****
The market here was just like all other markets.
Since it was an open market, everyone simply displayed their wares in the open.
Some called out to customers, advertising their goods.
“We have fresh vegetables here!
“Freshly caught fish this morning, just 5 star credits!”
Hazel navigated through the market, picking up everything she needed.
After buying everything she wanted, her hands were already full, and she headed back home.
Upon getting home, Jane was already awake.
Though Hazel had not seen her earlier, she noticed the changes in the environment.
The floor was sparkling clean, and some of the things that had been knocked over since the night before had been arranged back in their proper positions.
Hazel went straight to the kitchen and began arranging some of the things she had bought.
Along the way, the items she had ordered through the brain terminal also arrived.
By the time she was done with the kitchen, it was stocked with cooking utensils and food.
After this, she finally began to cook the real food she had missed so much.
Though it was not too much, as she had only made rice and fish soup, she was still eagerly anticipating when it would be ready.
The smell of the fish soup had already made her salivate, and her stomach was growling continuously.
When it was ready, she served herself.
The first bite of the rice almost brought her to tears.
Finally, real food.
Nutrient solution could never compare to real food.
While she was eating, she suddenly felt an intense gaze on her back.
She turned around, only to find Jane swallowing.
“Gulp!”
Just as their eyes met, a loud growling echoed through the room, and Jane’s face turned red.
“Do you want some?”
“Gulp!”
Jane swallowed again.
“Yes.”
Hazel stood up and gave her a portion of the food.
Afterward, she handed Jane the plate.
After receiving it, Jane said, “Thank you,” before leaving with the plate of food.