Silence fell over the dining table for a moment, broken only by Ellureesa's laughter drifting from the living room.
Samantha's eyes were red-rimmed, unable to understand why her daughter would treat her this way.
Parker, too, looked completely startled. The recent events had deeply shaken his young heart.
Young Mikey didn't connect Ashley's change with the wooden box from earlier that morning.
After all, Ashley had always been a bit rebellious, so Mikey just figured his sister was acting out again.
"Mom..."
Samantha wiped her eyes, not wanting her son to see her vulnerable side.
"Parker, Mommy's okay! You keep eating, and I'll clean up later."
Feeling awful, Samantha lost her appetite and went back to her room to lie down on the bed.
At that moment, Samantha desperately wanted someone to confide in about what she was going through. A young man's face quickly appeared in her mind.
Why did she always think of this boy?
Actually, since starting work at the police station in Waterfall Town these past couple of days, Samantha had been quite popular.
After all, the small-town police station was like a church – it was rare to see a normal woman there, let alone one as good-looking and well-figured as Samantha.
So, quite a few of the still-single, middle-aged cops had tried to flirt with Samantha, but she always gave them the cold shoulder.
After a moment's hesitation, Samantha picked up her phone and dialed that number.
Roy, who answered the phone, was completely bewildered. He hadn't expected Samantha to call him to pour her heart out.
When had he become everyone's go-to guy for ladies' problems?
Okay, fine, Roy was indeed very good at solving women's physical problems, but only with attractive women. He definitely wasn't into "driving tanks" (a more crude way of saying he wasn't interested in older, less attractive women).
However, after listening to Samantha, Roy also felt like something was off with Ashley.
This couldn't be explained away by teenage rebellion anymore. Could it be that his actions that day had caused Ashley to develop psychological issues?
If that was the case, then Samantha was right to call him.
"Samantha, don't be upset. There might be more to this than meets the eye! How about this: I'll have a good talk with Ashley tomorrow!"
"Thank you so much, Roy."
Hanging up the phone, Samantha felt a lot better. It really did help to talk things out.
But Roy, the one who had been confided in, was now frowning deeply.
"Roy, what happened? Why do you look like that?"
It was Needy who spoke. Because Roy had complained to her about how empty and lonely his house felt, Needy had specifically brought Jennifer over to hang out.
They had all had dinner together tonight, which Needy and Jennifer had made.
Well, mostly Jennifer had done the cooking.
Don't let Jennifer's usual cold and aloof demeanor at school, like some untouchable ice queen, fool you. Her cooking skills were actually excellent.
There wasn't much choice, really. Jennifer's foster parents were drug addicts, and once they were high, they wouldn't remember to feed Jennifer.
So, Jennifer had started cooking for herself very early on. Plus, she had some experience working in fast food restaurants, so she was quite skilled at making things like burgers or Mexican wraps.
On the other hand, Needy looked delicate and gentle but had absolutely no cooking experience. Her parents had taken such good care of her; she was a typical homebody.
Roy was currently having dinner with Needy and Jennifer. The three of them sat together like a family, even feeding each other bites.
"That was Samantha on the phone. It was about Ashley."
Hearing Ashley's name, Jennifer looked a bit unhappy.
"That girl again? What kind of trouble is she causing now?"
It might actually have something to do with moths (a possible play on words or idiom in the original Chinese).
"I'm not sure, but according to Samantha, it sounds like Ashley's emotions are all over the place again. Needy, you said you talked to Ashley. How did that go?"
Needy frowned slightly.
"After I talked to Ashley, she seemed pretty normal, and her emotions seemed quite stable. But these past few days, Ashley has been hanging out with Carly and Peggy. Maybe they know something."
As a rebellious teenager, Ashley naturally didn't have much in common with a good student like Needy. After meeting Carly and Peggy, she quickly found her group. The three rebellious girls had been together constantly these past few days.
Hearing this, Jennifer immediately picked up her phone.
"Then I'll call Carly and ask."
Carly was a cheerleader, and Jennifer used to be the cheerleading captain. Carly had always been a little scared of Jennifer.
"Hey, Carly, it's Jennifer."
As soon as the call connected, Jennifer could hear loud disco music. It seemed some people had already started their nightlife.
"Jennifer? What made you think of calling me? Hold on, it's too loud here. Let me go somewhere else to talk!"
After a while, the noise on the other end of the phone finally died down a bit.
"Jennifer, what's up?"
"Carly, I need to talk to you about Ashley."
"Ashley? What about Ashley?"
"Has Ashley been acting weird these past few days?"
"Weird? Yeah, she actually turned down mine and Peggy's meticulously planned girls' night out at the bar tonight! That's totally outrageous!"
Carly's words left Jennifer speechless. Going to a bar with Carly and Peggy was probably the problem.
"Carly, you're not even 21 yet! You can't get into a bar!"
"Uh, I didn't go into a bar. You must have misheard me. Hiccup—"
Carly on the other end of the phone let out a big burp and then hung up.
Jennifer put down her phone and shrugged at Roy.
"You heard it too. Carly and Peggy probably don't know anything either."
Roy and Needy exchanged glances.
"That's strange. From what I know, even though Ashley can be a bit rebellious, she usually knows right from wrong. How could she suddenly change like this?"
Needy took Roy's hand.
"We'll find out tomorrow when we ask Ashley. There's no use thinking about it so much now."
"You're right! By the way, why don't you two just stay at my place tonight? Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep alone!"
Needy quickly pulled her hand back, her cheeks flushing.
"I, I can't! I still need to go home and put medicine on Emma tonight. Just let Jennifer stay with you!"
Roy looked at Needy a little strangely. Their relationship was so close to the point of being official, practically just a thin veil away, and he couldn't understand why Needy was still so shy.
At this moment, Jennifer helped Needy explain.
"Hehe! Roy, you don't know, Needy is very sentimental about these things. She wants to give herself to you on a special day! She was originally planning to, uh, uh, uh... on her birthday..."
"Ah—Jennifer, you're not allowed to say!"
Embarrassed and indignant, Needy jumped up and covered Jennifer's mouth to stop her from talking.
However, Needy's physical abilities were no match for Jennifer's. Although her momentary embarrassment allowed her to briefly subdue Jennifer, Jennifer quickly broke free.
"She said she wants to wait until your birthday to give herself to you!"
To this, Needy could only let out a scream to try and drown out Jennifer's voice, but it was clearly futile.
So that's how it was. Needy's reaction on her birthday had indeed been a bit strange, but the Night Demon incident had prevented Needy's wish from coming true.
The original owner's birthday seemed to be in June, and it was already the end of March, so the time wasn't too far off.
Roy raised an eyebrow and then gave a mischievous smile.
"So that's it, huh? I'm really looking forward to that day."
Steam seemed to rise from Needy's head, as if she was so embarrassed she could boil water.
"Ugh! I'm not talking to you guys anymore! I'm going home!"
With that, Needy ran out of Roy's house.
Roy and Jennifer looked at each other and smiled. Teasing Needy was a shared hobby of theirs.
"So, Ms. Morgan, what are you planning to do?"
Jennifer bit her lip lightly as she looked at Roy, a dreamy expression on her face. Even though they hadn't had any wine with dinner, she seemed a little tipsy.
"Hmm—I'd like to dance, if that's okay?"
Roy snapped his fingers.
"No problem!"
Roy had a sound system at home, the same one he'd used to play the AC/DC record when he first transmigrated. But this time, the music wasn't heavy metal rock; it was beautiful classical music.
Although Roy didn't actually know how to dance, he still offered his hand to Jennifer.
Anyway, Jennifer didn't really want to dance; she just wanted an excuse to hold Roy.
"Madam, shall we?"
"Ouch! You stepped on my foot!"
"Sorry, I actually don't know how to dance."
"Hmm~ Then let's skip that part!"
"Is that okay?"
"I feel like if you step on me twice more, I'm going to get flat feet!"
"Then let's do it!"
To the tune of beautiful classical music, clothes began to fly around the living room.
Soon, a high and melodious soprano voice drowned out the classical music, but this was just the beginning.
Roy had never known that Jennifer had such a talent for coloratura singing. The rapid and high-pitched short notes were captivating.
It was just like the Queen of the Night aria from Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, with its dramatic ups and downs.
Bathed in the sounds of classical music and the soprano's coloratura, Roy felt like his whole being was elevated.
But Roy wasn't the only one elevated. Jennifer experienced a spiritual elevation, as if she had ascended to heaven and was looking down at the entire earth.
As the song finished, Jennifer lay sprawled on the sofa, still a little dazed.
"Has Lilith fallen into a deep sleep?"
Hearing this, Jennifer nodded.
"Lilith's instructions were not to wake her unless it's something important, and to wait until the Witch Council's business is over before calling her."
Roy felt a bit of regret. When it came to physical activity, Lilith was definitely more skilled.
Especially when Lilith wore Jennifer's face, it always gave Roy a special kind of feeling.
Jennifer held the remote control.
"Tsk tsk, are you already missing her so quickly?"
"What? Are you jealous?"
"Not really. I just don't like it when you're thinking about other women while you're with me."
Jennifer's hand began to move restlessly, and soon the sleeping lion perked up.
"Including Needy?"
Jennifer paused for a moment.
"Uh, Needy is an exception."
"That's perfect then. Let's think about Needy together!"
These words were like opening the floodgates, causing Jennifer to experience strange emotions.
Just as Roy and Jennifer were in the middle of a fierce rematch, Ashley was in her own room, murmuring to the ring in her hand.
"Will doing this really win Roy's heart?"
Then, another deep voice came from Ashley's mouth.
"Yes, as long as you listen to me!"
"I will listen to you! As long as you can help me get Roy's heart!"
The next day was Monday, another school day.
Carly and Peggy, just like the past few days, drove up to Ashley's house in their convertible to pick her up.
They honked the horn, and Ashley came out of the house.
Today, Ashley was still wearing her school uniform, but the shirt had been drastically altered. It looked a bit like the uniform Britney Spears wore in her debut song "Baby One More Time," revealing her sexy and alluring lower abdomen.
(Image of the music video)
She also had heavy makeup on, making her look even more mature and seductive.
Carly and Peggy exchanged a look, a bit incredulous.
Actually, these two had long wanted to dress like Ashley. They were sure it would make all the virgins at school stand at attention.
The problem was that the school rules at Oak High were quite strict, and the only outcome of dressing like that would be getting called into the principal's office, followed by a beating at home.
Peggy looked at Ashley strangely.
"Um, Ashley, are you planning to go to school dressed like that?"
"What's wrong with it?"
Ashley got into the car. Due to her improper sitting posture, the red bra under her shirt was revealed, showcasing impressive potential.
At least, Carly and Peggy couldn't compare at all.
The two girls looked at their own potential and then at Ashley's, and immediately lost any desire to continue trying to dissuade her.
This was the slow, plastic kind of sisterly affection.
The car started, with Peggy driving, while Carly excitedly told Ashley about her experiences from the previous night.
"Ashley, you really should have come with us to ladies' night last night! There were so many hot guys at the bar! How about we go again this weekend?"
Ashley refused directly.
"I'm not interested in those guys!"
Carly actually knew what her new friend was thinking.
"Uh, Ashley, is your target Roy? Honestly, all the girls at school like Roy, but they wouldn't really hang all their hopes on him alone. And Jennifer is not easy to deal with!"
Peggy interjected while driving.
"Yeah! That new girl, Nancy, used to have a pretty good thing going with Roy too, but hasn't she been acting distant lately? I don't know what kind of magic Jennifer and Needy cast on Roy. If I were Roy, I'd definitely have a new girlfriend every week and spread the love to all the girls in school!"
This statement was a bit outrageous, but when you considered that the speaker was Peggy (played by Paris Hilton), it somehow felt very fitting.
Carly was also indignant.
"Exactly! I practically threw myself at him, and he still didn't want me. Could he be sick or something?"
Ashley had some insight into this, after all, she had secretly watched Roy feeding baby formula to Ellureesa.
But the current Ashley was just touching the ring on her hand, her eyes unfocused as she murmured to herself.
"I will definitely get him!"