Looking at Andrew's mumbling, frightened face, Scarlett felt a pang of worry. 'What kind of nightmares is he having because of me?' She didn't want him to sleep restlessly.
As she adjusted the waistband, her fingers brushed against his skin one last time. She paused for a moment, staring at his peaceful sleeping face.
After she finished dressing him in clean clothes, she sat on the edge of the bed and leaned close to his ear. Her voice became unusually soft and gentle as she whispered.
"My poor, frightened little boy… You don't need to be scared of me anymore. From now on, Teacher will take care of you properly."
She brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead tenderly.
"Teacher has forgiven you. Don't be afraid anymore."
As if responding to her words in his dream, Andrew mumbled sleepily, "Really…?"
"Really," Scarlett replied softly, a small smile tugging at her lips.
Satisfied, Andrew's body suddenly leaned forward, resting heavily against her chest. He went still again, breathing peacefully.
Scarlett's heart skipped. A warm, strangely pleasant feeling spread through her body at the unexpected closeness. But she still had work to do, his dirty military uniform needed cleaning.
She tried to gently support him so she could stand up, but Andrew instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly, nuzzling into her chest.
"Sis… stop grabbing my pillow…" he muttered.
Scarlett's face instantly flushed crimson all the way to her ears. Her body stiffened in surprise.
Before she could react, Andrew frowned again in his sleep and complained louder, "Mom! My sister is bullying me again…"
"..."
Scarlett pursed her lips, utterly speechless for a few seconds. She looked down at the boy clinging to her like a koala and let out a helpless sigh.
"I'd better just let him sleep alone and talk to his dreams," she murmured.
With some effort, she pried his arms off and laid him back properly on the bed, tucking the blanket around him securely. She stood there for a moment, staring at his peaceful sleeping face with complicated emotions swirling in her eyes.
After collecting his dirty military uniform, she went to the bathroom and washed it thoroughly by hand. Once done, she put it into the dryer.
By the time she finished everything, exhaustion had finally caught up with her. It had been a long, emotionally heavy day.
Scarlett took a loose beige trench coat from her bedroom, draped it over her black nightgown, and walked into the living room. She lay down on the wide sofa, intending to rest her eyes for just a short while until the dryer finished.
However, the moment her head touched the cushion, deep fatigue pulled her under. She fell into a heavy sleep, completely unaware when the dryer's cycle ended and its alert quietly rang out.
---
It wasn't until the latter half of the night that Andrew finally woke up.
His head was still spinning, and the strong aftereffects of the alcohol made everything feel hazy. He sat up slowly in bed, rubbing his temples.
"Where… is this? Wasn't my sister just snatching my pillow?"
It took him nearly a minute to remember he was no longer at home but in Blackthorn City, living with his former teacher.
"That's not right… I drank Scarlett's wine, and she got angry… She went to the kitchen to get something…"
Andrew suddenly paused and looked down at himself.
His military training uniform was gone. He was now wearing clean, soft casual clothes, a simple t-shirt and comfortable pants that definitely weren't his own.
"…Why am I wearing different clothes?" he muttered, frowning slightly. A vague sense of unease rose in his chest, but before he could think too deeply about it, his stomach let out a loud, angry growl.
It was already past two in the morning, and he hadn't eaten anything since lunch.
"Food first… I'll think about the rest later."
He stood up, but the room tilted dangerously. He quickly grabbed the wall to steady himself.
"Damn… that alcohol really hits hard."
Still groggy and extremely hungry, Andrew opened his bedroom door. The moment he stepped into the living room, the bright light made him squint. He froze when he saw Scarlett slumped over the dining table, fast asleep.
'Why is she still out here?' he thought, his heart jumped.
He stood still for a while, confirming she was really sleeping, then quietly tiptoed toward the refrigerator like a thief. He planned to take something small, eat it quickly, and replace it tomorrow.
But when he opened the fridge door, he was stunned.
It was almost completely empty. Spotless. Only one lonely, unopened package of ham sausage sat on the middle shelf.
"…A whole refrigerator, and there's only this?" Andrew whispered in disbelief.
Just as he reached for the freezer compartment to check, a calm but slightly tired voice sounded from behind him.
"What are you doing?"
"!!!"
Andrew nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around instantly, stood ramrod straight, raised both hands, and froze like a criminal caught red-handed.
"I didn't take anything!" he declared nervously.
Scarlett rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep. She had woken up from an uncomfortable nap on the table, her mind still replaying fragments of what she had done to him earlier that night, the way she had touched him, stroked him, watched him cum in her hand…
A faint, hidden warmth rose in her cheeks. She felt a strange mix of guilt, satisfaction, and growing possessiveness, but she quickly suppressed it and kept her expression neutral.
"…Order takeout if you're hungry," she said, voice softer than usual. "There's almost nothing in the house."
She picked up her phone and opened a food delivery app, the yellow interface lighting up her face.
But after searching for a long time on the delivery app, Scarlett frowned. There were almost no restaurants still open.
Andrew, who had been standing awkwardly nearby, finally spoke up hesitantly.
"Um… Teacher, it's already past two in the morning. We can't order takeout right now."
It was only after Andrew reminded her that Scarlett realized it was past two in the morning; even barbecue delivery was no longer available.
"Then I'll pay extra and order city-wide delivery. There are still places open downtown."
Just as Scarlett was about to place the order, Andrew quickly refused, "No need, no need. I'll just go downstairs to the 24-hour convenience store and buy some Maggie."
Setting aside the fact that city-wide delivery was ridiculously expensive, it would take over an hour to arrive. By the time he finished eating, it would be dawn.
Scarlett looked at him with a slightly surprised expression. "You know how to cook Maggi?"
"Huh???"
Andrew was stunned for a moment, then slowly nodded.
Shouldn't everyone know how to cook Maggie? If someone didn't even know how to boil Maggie, Andrew couldn't imagine how they managed to live.
But he quickly thought again, Scarlett's fridge was almost empty, so maybe she really didn't know how to cook noodles.
Plus, she drove a luxury car, lived in a large apartment alone, and all her clothes were high-end designer brands. She was clearly a rich woman, but one who couldn't cook.
A twenty-seven-year-old rich woman who was also beautiful, she was practically a treasure!
For a brief second, a ridiculous thought flashed through his mind, 'A rich, beautiful woman who can't cook… If she were mine, that would be quite nice…'
He immediately killed that thought before it could fully form.
'No no no. Forget it, forget it. This rich woman's combat power was too exaggerated, and she got angry easily. One wrong move and he could be killed. Too dangerous.'
Just as Andrew was about to put on his shoes to go downstairs, Scarlett called out to him.
"Wait a moment."
"!!!"
Andrew froze instantly, heart leaping into his throat. He thought she was finally going to punish him for drinking her wine.
But the next moment, he only saw Scarlett put on her trench coat, walk over to him, and change into her outdoor sandals.
"I'll go buy them," she said. "Besides instant noodles, what else do you want?"
"Uh… maybe a can of vegetables and a carton of eggs."
Scarlett raised an eyebrow. "Do convenience stores even sell eggs?"
"They do. The ones near the college usually don't, but the one downstairs should have them."
Andrew scratched his head awkwardly. "Actually, I should go. You should rest-"
"I'll go," Scarlett interrupted firmly, her tone leaving no room for argument. A strange, warm feeling had quietly bloomed in her chest. She didn't want him going out alone this late at night.
She paused at the door, then added softly, "You go take a shower. Just a quick rinse for your body is fine."
The moment the words left her mouth, Scarlett felt her cheeks burn. She quickly turned away to hide her blush, opened the door, and left the apartment in a hurry.
Andrew stood frozen in place, still processing what she had just said.
"…Why did she specifically tell me to rinse my body?"
A few seconds later, his eyes suddenly widened in horror. He wrapped his arms around himself protectively as realization hit him like a truck.
His clothes had been changed.
He was now wearing completely different clothes than when he passed out.
"Holy crap… I didn't get seen, right?"
But what Andrew didn't know was that he hadn't just been seen.
He had been touched. Stroked. Made to cum in her hand while he slept.
And the woman who did it had already begun to see him as hers.