Victor-Grey's survival alarm blared frantically in his mind.
Even if his EQ was currently offline, he could clearly read the killing intent that was almost condensing into substantial ice picks in Wednesday's eyes.
Holding the Goth detective's hand while praising the sweet werewolf girl's dress—
This move would make even the scumbags in hell shake their heads!
An inexplicable, intense guilt seized him.
Must remedy this! Immediately! Right now!
Just then, the domineering, unreasonable, and brute-force traits of Riot in his mind seeped quietly into his consciousness like a subtle electric current.
Victor-Grey's gaze sharpened. Suddenly, he took a step forward and, without explanation, extremely dominantly grabbed Wednesday's just-retracted wrist again.
His smile became instantly flamboyant and highly aggressive, as if he were a different person.
"It's settled then!"
His tone was tough, unquestionable, even carrying a hint of brute force.
"I haven't seen you in formal wear yet! I must see it!"
"Victor, let go."
Wednesday's voice was dipped in ice, trying to arm herself with sharpness. But beneath that cold tone, a trace of extremely hard-to-detect nervousness from being offended leaked out quietly.
"No!"
Victor-Grey's smile was brilliant to the point of arrogance, carrying a stubbornness and madness as if possessed by Riot.
"I want to see! I want to see it now!"
He gave Wednesday no chance to refuse again. exerting force abruptly, he pulled her hand, turned around, and ran toward the town!
"You—!"
Wednesday stumbled from his pull. She bit her lower lip in annoyance, a flash of anger crossing her pale face.
She was fully capable of breaking free easily, and had a hundred ways to make this suddenly crazy guy hit the floor instantly.
But...
Her gaze landed on their clasped hands, then quickly swept over Victor-Grey's rare, unreasonable yet unusually bright profile.
The cold rebuke already on her lips was finally swallowed back silently.
She tilted her head slightly, letting him drag her running through the dappled forest light, the oncoming wind lifting her black hair.
A trace of extremely faint, almost invisible blush, like a drop of blood in clear water, flashed across her pale cheek and dissipated rapidly, fast as an illusion caused by light and shadow.
She didn't break free.
She just let this lunatic drag her toward the town in a manner bordering on kidnapping.
---
Jericho's only dress shop was filled with a uniquely pre-holiday, sickly sweet, and anxious atmosphere.
The air floated with the scent of perfume, new fabric, and the hushed conversations of countless couples, either sweet or tense.
Compared to those male partners standing aside with faces of despair, looking as if their souls had been sucked dry by the fitting rooms, Victor-White was like an effervescent tablet thrown into warm water—fizzing with vitality.
He shuttled enthusiastically between racks of dresses, holding several long skirts of vastly different styles, constantly offering Enid—
Mainly low-voiced suggestions from the pearl-white symbiote "Serum" on his neck—fashion advice.
"This starry blue one! Enid! It absolutely complements your eyes!"
Victor-White held up a long skirt embellished with fine sparkles, his eyes shining.
Serum added softly: "The pleat design of the hem... will look... very lively..."
"Oh! And this red one! Passionate like fire! Just like you!"
He held up another one.
Serum chimed in quietly: "Very suitable... for your hair color..."
Enid giggled, enjoying this star-treatment.
Especially the gazes from other girls around—mixed with amazement and thick envy—made her unconsciously puff out her proud little chest.
See, this is the partner I chose! Handsome, strong, has good taste, and so considerate!
The high-spirited Victor-White even picked out a pure white suit for himself.
When he walked out of the fitting room, the originally somewhat noisy dress shop quieted down instantly.
Everyone's eyes involuntarily focused on him.
The well-tailored white suit perfectly outlined his tall figure, stripping away his usual manic flamboyance.
Replacing it was a rare, settled elegance and confidence. The faint smile on his lips even revealed a hint of wisdom.
Serum wrapped around his neck, its pearl-white soft luster complementing the suit, adding a touch of mysterious aura.
Under the suit, he unexpectedly paired it with a V-neck white fitted tank top, revealing just the right amount of clear collarbone lines and a patch of solid chest, adding a trace of lazy, inadvertent sexiness to the solemnity.
"Enid, how is it?" Victor-White winked mischievously, instantly breaking that layer of elegant facade, returning to that familiar guy with a hint of a smirk.
He rubbed his chin as if seriously considering a fashion dilemma: "I think on the neck... hmm... would wearing a shiny bell collar look better?"
These words were like a magic spell.
Pfft—
Gasp!
Several suppressed grunts and sharp intakes of breath sounded instantly in the shop.
Quite a few girls covered their noses abruptly, cheeks exploding red, eyes drifting, almost unable to stand steady.
A few others subconsciously, shyly tilted their necks slightly, as if silently responding to that absurd yet extremely seductive proposal.
Even Serum on his neck seemed unable to withstand this sudden shockwave mixing extreme elegance with primal suggestion.
The pearl-white substance rippled violently, then whoosh retracted completely into Victor-White's body, leaving only a trace of imperceptible, shy residual warmth.
Enid's face turned completely red too, heart pounding madly.
Luckily... luckily she had developed a tiny bit of pitiful resistance to the amazing charm Victor erupted with occasionally these days!
She stomped her foot hard, trying to disperse the heat on her face, and scolded coquettishly:
"Victor! Don't talk nonsense! This is... this is already very good-looking! Very, very good-looking!"
But her gaze couldn't move a millimeter away from the guy in the white suit smilingly suggesting wearing a collar.
Victor-White saw Enid's red face and the exaggerated reactions of the surrounding girls. Instead of restraining himself, he looked like a child who found a new toy. His smile grew brighter, carrying a little smugness of a successful prank.
He even deliberately tilted his head up slightly, tapping his now bare neck with a finger, scanning the shop as if really looking for a suitable "collar."
"Really don't need one~ Hmm?"
He dragged out the tone, full of innocent temptation.
"I think it would match this outfit really well."
"NO! NEED! Really!"
Enid almost screamed as she pounced, covering his mouth, afraid he would say something even more shocking that would make more people "KIA."
Her small face was hot enough to fry an egg. Her eyes held annoyance, unhideable affection, and a trace of the sweet trouble that "my darling attracts too many bees and butterflies."
"Mmm mmm mmm..." Victor, mouth covered, could only make muffled sounds, but those eyes always dancing with light curved into crescents, filled with the joy of a successful prank.
He took the opportunity to extend his hand, naturally wrapping it around Enid's waist, pulling her closer into his embrace. He lowered his head and rubbed his forehead affectionately against the top of her hair, as if soothing a flustered small animal.
This action instantly drew another wave of suppressed gasps and low cries of envy.
Serum also seemed to finally recover from the extreme shyness, carefully re-oozing a tiny bit of pearl-white substance from the back of Victor's neck.
Like a ring of reserved, soft decorative collar, trembling slightly, as if still embarrassed by Victor's bold proposal just now.
"Alright, alright, if we don't wear it, we don't wear it. Serum is pretty good too."
Victor was finally "released," his voice carrying laughter as he raised his hands in compromise.
"Enid says it looks good, so this one it is!"
He held Enid's hand, turned to look in the mirror, rubbing his chin, seemingly truly satisfied.