Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

No matter if it was Vanessa or Sophia, both of their faces turned bright red the moment they saw the words on the wall.

"W-What is this?" Vanessa pointed at the wall and asked Ethan.

"Isn't it obvious? We're trapped," Ethan explained. "It looks like this is what we have to do if we want to get out of here."

"Isn't there another way?" Vanessa asked, refusing to believe it. I mean, who in their right mind would just follow these instructions without trying something else first?

Ethan walked over to the couch and sat down, frowning after a moment. "This isn't normal. This room is real, and the fact that we were brought here without even realizing it... something's seriously off."

Sophia, on the other hand, was eyeing Ethan suspiciously. "Let me make one thing clear—I am not doing that with you!"

Ethan looked at her, a bit confused. "Sophia, why would you even think I want to do that with you?"

Sophia froze for a second, then her face flushed with anger.

Girls can be weird like that. They don't want you to have any thoughts about them, but if you really don't have any, they might get mad anyway.

This was exactly why Ethan didn't like dealing with girls much. If he had the choice, he'd rather hang out with guys—it was just simpler.

Sophia, still on edge, moved to shield Vanessa and added, "And I won't let you have any ideas about Vanessa either!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Ethan said, raising his hands in surrender. Then he suggested, "Why don't you two try it? Maybe that'll get us out of here."

"Us?" Sophia's face turned an even deeper shade of red, clearly flustered and unsure how to respond.

"How would that even work?" Vanessa shot Ethan a glare, clearly annoyed.

"If you're worried about me, I can look away," Ethan said, trying to be considerate.

"That's not the point!" Vanessa sighed, exasperated.

She felt like they should be focusing on finding a normal way out of here. Why were they even stuck on this whole "should we do it" thing? It was ridiculous.

Especially with the way Sophia was looking at her now—like she was ready to throw caution to the wind. Why on earth would Sophia be okay with this if it involved her? What was going on in her head?

Just as Vanessa was trying to steer the conversation back to something more reasonable, Ethan suddenly asked her a question.

"If you had to choose between the two of us, who would you pick?"

"Huh?" Vanessa was completely caught off guard, her face turning as red as a tomato.

Sophia, hearing this, glared at Ethan, clearly pissed off. This was basically a challenge. With her standing right here, why would Vanessa ever pick him? Where did this guy get the nerve to ask something like that?

She joined Ethan in staring at Vanessa. "Yeah, Vanessa, I want to know too!"

"You... you guys..." Vanessa was at a loss for words, feeling like she was about to shut down completely.

She didn't want to pick either of them. In fact, she didn't even want to answer this ridiculous question. So, she quietly walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down by herself. Experience tales at m-vl-e-mpyr

Sophia, seeing this, shot Ethan an annoyed look and whispered, "This is all your fault. You made Vanessa upset."

"How is this my fault? Weren't you the one stirring things up?" Ethan shot back.

Sophia had already decided in her mind that she couldn't possibly be wrong, so she just responded with a sharp "Huh?"

Ethan suddenly gave her a disdainful look and motioned for her to come closer. Though still wary, Sophia leaned in.

Ethan whispered, "Don't you think this is a perfect opportunity?"

"What opportunity?" Sophia blinked, confused. Then her eyes widened in disbelief. Was he seriously suggesting this was her chance to make a move on Vanessa?

Ethan immediately realized that Sophia had misunderstood and sighed in frustration. "I meant this is your chance to get back together with Nessa! Normally, whenever you try to talk to her, she runs away. But now, in this situation, no matter what you do, Nessa can't escape."

Sophia's eyes lit up.

Ethan was right. If she didn't take advantage of this opportunity, how else was she going to win Vanessa back?

Without hesitation, Sophia walked over and sat down next to Vanessa.

Her sudden approach made Vanessa a bit wary. She couldn't help but wonder if Sophia was planning to pull something.

But to her surprise, Sophia just sat there quietly, not saying a word. It was like she was simply there to keep her company.

This threw Vanessa off a little. It reminded her of the old days, back when their band, VibraMyst, was still together. Sophia had always been like this—not particularly outgoing, but always there, offering silent support.

Did she hate Sophia back then?

Did she?

No, she didn't.

In fact, VibraMyst had some of its best, most harmonious moments because of Sophia. She was a big part of why those times were so special.

As Vanessa thought about those precious memories, she felt her resolve starting to waver. The softer side of her, the one she'd been trying to suppress, was beginning to resurface.

Of course, this was also because, lately, her emotional defenses had been weakening. It was like her inner strength had been doing sit-ups for weeks, and now it was starting to give out.

Finally, Vanessa sighed. "Sophia, can we talk?"

"No need," Sophia shook her head gently.

For a moment, it felt like their roles had reversed.

"Uh..." Vanessa was at a loss for words.

She couldn't shake the feeling that something about Sophia had changed, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Or maybe Sophia had always been like this, and now she was just returning to her original self.

"No, we need to talk!" Vanessa insisted, her tone serious.

Sophia turned to her and smiled softly. "But there's nothing to talk about."

"What do you mean?" Vanessa asked, clearly surprised.

"Because no matter what, I'm not going to give up on what I want. So, could you take a step back, Vanessa?" Sophia asked quietly.

"But VibraMyst is over!" Vanessa couldn't help but raise her voice.

"Do you really believe that?" Sophia asked, looking straight at her.

"Of course," Vanessa nodded firmly.

Sophia, however, gave her a serious look and warned, "You're playing a dangerous game, Vanessa."

"Huh?" Vanessa was completely confused.

"If you keep this up, Elise is going to break your legs," Sophia said with a straight face.

"Wait, what!?"