To bathe my pet, I was influenced into buying a "Couples' Bathroom Suction Cup Wristband." But the package left at my door was mistakenly taken by my crush, the dentist next door. While walking the dog, I discussed the "wonders" of the wristband with an innocent college boy. When I got back, my neighbor backed me into a corner. "Who did you use it with? "If it could be just anyone, then why didn't you choose me?" 01 My name is Penny Parker. Ever since I was a kid, my feet would glue themselves to the floor at the sight of good food. After I started working, my food expenses went through the roof, taking up a ridiculous chunk of my paycheck. To fund my eating habits, I racked my brain for ways to make extra cash and finally chose the path that suited me best—becoming a Mukbang streamer. My career was just starting; I only had a meager dozen or so followers. On my stream, I was complaining about how my Corgi, Waffles, never behaved during bath time. A fan mysteriously sent me a link, promising it worked like a charm. I obediently bought it. The next day, the delivery guy called to say it was delivered, but I didn't see a ghost of a package. "I left it at your front door as you requested." In the photo the delivery guy sent, the brown cardboard box was sitting quietly right in the middle between my door and my neighbor's. "I went to the building manager to check the security footage. The neighbor thought it was his package and took it inside!!!" During my stream, looking dead inside, I reported this colossal mix-up to my fans. "I don't know if the box has the product name written on it. "If he saw it, my lifelong reputation is ruined, hahahaha." The live chat comments flew by, full of mockery and zero comfort. "I've had a crush on him for so long. If he gets the wrong idea, I seriously won't have the courage to explain myself ahhhh." Just picturing that scene was more than I could handle. When people feel awkward, they try to look busy, so I stuffed another fried chicken drumstick into my mouth. It was a little bland, but that was okay. Paired with my tears, it was just salty enough. [Don't you bring him food all the time? Since he just took the package in not long ago, he probably hasn't opened it yet. Go drop off some food and get it back on the way.] [Girl, she's right! The longer you drag it out, the higher the risk he sees it. Just rip the band-aid off!] [I'm so anxious, I really want to know what happens next. Streamer, hurry up and go. Come back and restart the stream afterward; I'm pulling an all-nighter right here waiting for you.] Thinking it over, I really didn't have a better solution. I had no choice but to hastily end the stream, pack up the table full of food, and knock on my handsome neighbor's door. 02 My neighbor's name was Arthur Hayes, a dentist at a top-tier hospital in our district. My crush on him originated from a brutally intense cavity filling. I had bad eating habits. Whenever I ate something delicious, I'd subconsciously bite down hard. One careless chomp on a bone fragment chipped my tooth. It hurt so much I couldn't sleep all night, my cheek swelling up like a small hill. At the crack of dawn, I scrambled to the nearest hospital and registered. Clutching my swollen cheek, I opened the door to the clinic. One look up completely overturned my perception of the medical profession. He looked very unprofessional, because he was simply way too handsome. Fair skin, perfectly proportioned features, soft hair falling smoothly to his brow bone. He wore gold-rimmed glasses resting on a high-bridged nose, and his lips were full and an alluring shade. "Please, have a seat." His clear, soothing voice pulled my thoughts back. I sat in the dental chair in front of him, obediently opening my mouth, leaving myself at his mercy. He briefly asked about my symptoms, then pinched my chin and meticulously examined me for a long time with his cold tools. I only understood "needs a filling," "requires a root canal," and "might need to come in a few more times." Then, in a daze, I found myself lying back on the cold dental chair. "Pinch me if it hurts." He placed my hand on his leg. "Tilt your head up. "Relax. "Open wide, don't bite down..." His deep, gentle voice worked better than hypnosis. It was like I was under a spell, acting completely obedient. Whatever he said, I did. That was until an indescribable, aching, numbing pain spread through my mouth. I couldn't help but pinch his thigh muscle hard. The texture was firm and elastic. A series of inappropriate images began popping into my head. Like that thirsty TikTok video of the muscle guy I scrolled past before bed last night. Tears spilling out from the pain flowed down my mouth and were sucked away clean by his suction tube. "Bear with it for a second. "A little pressure and pain at first is normal, it'll be over soon." The cold instruments brought a weird sensation, and the fear of the unknown tortured me. Only by staring at his eyes and brows could I alleviate a fraction of my anxiety. Luckily, he worked fast. After it was over, I sat dumbly on the edge of the chair. Arthur went over post-care instructions while scheduling my next root canal appointment. When I left, he said. "...Pinch a little lighter next time." I was speechless. The second time I came, I recorded an audio clip on my phone. "Dr. Hayes, it hurts!" Every time it hurt, I just pressed play on the recording. My voice echoed in the small clinic room. "Dr. Hayes, it hurts! "Dr. Hayes... "Dr. Hayes, it hurts so much!" The young nurse beside us was bursting with joy, laughing so hard she bent over and couldn't stand straight for a while. Arthur's face turned red all the way to the tips of his ears. He kept saying, "Okay, I'll be gentler. Hang in there, it'll be over soon." But his hand movements didn't pause for a single second because of my audio clip. It wasn't until I looked at him with teary eyes that he let me rest for a few minutes. Then it was a new round of torture. After the filling was done this time, we had no reason to meet and chat anymore. Even though I missed him, the painful memories of that dental chair were truly terrifying, always managing to nip my burgeoning crush in the bud. However, our next meeting didn't take long. The flu hit hard, and the apartment complex organized a pop-up vaccination drive in the lobby. Arthur was the doctor assigned to our building. I came down late and was at the very end of the line. It wasn't until I got my shot and he took off his protective gear that I recognized him. "What a coincidence, Dr. Hayes!" "I've been dealing with you for days, and you're just now recognizing me?" "Huh? You recognized me the past two days?" "I recognized your teeth." I laughed awkwardly. Chalk it up to him being unromantic, and me being overly sentimental. We chatted as we walked, only realizing we were walking the same path when we reached our front doors. "You live here too? "Looks like we're neighbors." Being close to the water gets you the moonlight first. Wasn't this a godsend? I, Penny Parker, am indeed destined to feast on the best! Since then, I would find excuses to bother Dr. Hayes, making him cute bento boxes, asking him out to try new restaurants or watch movies. The fact that he never refused made me feel pretty good about myself. I had even thought of our future kids' names. Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes. I believed our relationship was just one step away from the goal line. Now that this incident happened, if I didn't handle it well, wouldn't all this time spent chasing him be for nothing? 03 I knocked lightly three times. Not long after, the door opened. "Hehe, I'm here to use you as my taste tester again." Arthur stepped aside, gesturing for me to come in. Just as I was about to take off my shoes and walk in barefoot, a pair of fuzzy slippers was handed to me. "I bought you these fluffy bunny slippers. They just arrived today." The two little ears on the bunny's head bobbed with his movement. A squeal of delight was right on the tip of my tongue, but to maintain my ladylike image, I swallowed it back down. "I saw these scrolling online just a couple days ago! They're so cute!" Delighted, I slipped on the slippers and arranged the food on the dining table. Not forgetting why I was here, I kept my hands moving while secretly scanning every corner of the living room from the corner of my eye. By the shoe cabinet in the entryway, my delivery box lay quietly. It didn't look like it had been opened. My heart settled halfway back into my chest. "I tried to replicate KFC's crispy fried chicken at home today. I feel like it's a bit bland, can you taste it?" I held out a drumstick to Arthur. I thought he would reach out and take it, but to my surprise, he just leaned in and took a bite right out of my hand. "It's delicious." I felt the temperature of my face rising steadily. Was this the beauty of flirting? I sat down, feigning calmness, and pulled out my homemade floral gin. It was October, the autumn breeze was crisp, and the scent of flowers filled the air. It was a great time for infused liquor. I figured knocking back a couple of drinks might make it easier to speak naturally, so I brought it without overthinking. Arthur brought out two glasses and poured a little for each of us. Worried it wouldn't be enough liquid courage for me to perform, I topped them off with a bit more. "I didn't realize you were such a good drinker?" He teased me, watching my actions. I just giggled. I was here to handle serious business, after all. After dinner, I sat on the sofa watching TV, preparing to get down to business once Arthur finished cleaning up the dishes. I was still brewing my words and hadn't opened my mouth yet when he interrupted my casting. "That movie you missed in theaters is available streaming now. I rented it. Do you want to watch it together?" My mouth was faster than my brain. Before my brain could process it, my mouth had already said yes for me. The lights were dimmed, and coupled with the alcohol, sleepiness soon enveloped me. In a daze, I blindly grabbed something to hug and slept soundly. When I woke up, the movie was over. I was leaning against Arthur's chest, my hands wrapped around his arm, and I had even left a suspicious drool stain on his shirt. Guiltily, I pursed my lips, but I felt a stinging, burning sensation on them. Seeing this, he leaned in for a closer look. "It might be an allergic reaction. Do you know what you're allergic to?" Maybe because we hadn't spoken for a long time during the movie, his voice sounded a bit hoarse. Seeing me shake my head, he continued. "Come to the hospital tomorrow for an allergy test. I'll book the appointment for you." Before leaving, as I was changing my shoes in the entryway, I pretended to casually notice my package. "Oh, this looks like my package. The delivery guy must have dropped it off at the wrong door." He glanced at the box and handed it to me. The lighting was dim, so I couldn't clearly see his expression. My probing had failed. "Is it? I just brought it in and didn't look closely. You should take it back." I thought to myself, Thank god I got here fast. He hadn't opened it or seen it, so my image was safe. After bidding each other goodnight, I happily carried the box back to my place. I didn't forget the girls waiting for me online, so I updated them on the progress. "Retrieved safely! I'll dish the details on tomorrow's stream! I just fell asleep at his place." This was the first time I'd stayed at his place this long. My whole body was marinated in the nice woody scent of his apartment. As soon as I got back, Waffles circled me, sniffing for ages. When I showered and threw my clothes in the hamper, I was almost reluctant to wash them. How is my behavior any different from a total creep? Penny Parker, you are such a pervert. 04 Actually, the stinging on my lips was gone after my shower that night. I figured the allergen was probably inside Arthur's house. However, since he had already booked the appointment, I woke up bright and early to get the allergy test done. As soon as I got the report, Arthur strolled up beside me out of nowhere. "Let me see." I handed it to him. "Dust mites and cat dander." "I fed some stray cats on my way home from work yesterday. I probably got cat hair on me." The symptoms did appear right after leaning on him, and it wasn't too severe. "Probably." "Mhm. Next time you come over, I'll change clothes and shower first." "It's fine, it's fine, I'm not that fragile. It's probably just because we were leaning so close yesterday." Arthur gave me a meaningful look. "Last night, when you were rubbing my abs and sleep-talking, you said they felt good, that you loved touching them, and wanted to touch them more." My eyes widened to the size of saucers. My little brain desperately scrambled for memories of last night—error 404, scene not found. How could a person make such a massive blunder after just a little alcohol??? My mind went completely blank, and I couldn't utter a single syllable. "Allergies can be mild or severe; in the worst-case scenario, you could suffocate. "As a doctor, I obviously have to prevent my patient from collapsing in front of me." The heart of a girl with a crush on her doctor simply shattered into pieces. The temperature of my face skyrocketed. If it were winter right now, I'd be blowing white steam out of my nostrils like a dragon. "I have to get to work. I'm leaving." I muttered under my breath and hurriedly fled the scene, not even taking my allergy report. Sitting in the car, I couldn't stop replaying Arthur's words. I said I wanted to touch him, and he just let me? Did he think I was a creep, or was he indulging my handsy behavior? If I hit him up in the future, will he treat me like a pervert? If I read this completely wrong, does that mean I can never hang out with Dr. Hayes again? The more I thought about it, the worse my mood got, and I didn't dare initiate conversation with him anymore. When I started my stream that night, my head was still full of this mess, so I talked a lot less. [Is Penny in a bad mood?] [You still haven't told us about last night.] Seeing the chat mention yesterday, I couldn't help but sigh again. "Ugh, don't even bring it up. I made an even bigger mess yesterday." I stopped eating and recounted the whole series of events from last night. The chat had people comforting me and people laughing at my obliviousness. But one particular comment buried in there was exceptionally explosive. [What a shame it was just an allergy! I totally thought he stole a kiss and kissed your lips swollen!] [Let them speak!] [User 'BigSocks', you have no filter.] What kind of wild, scandalous statement is that! If Dr. Hayes would actually do that, I'd wake up laughing from my dreams. "I've been flirting with him for so long and haven't even gotten to hold his hand. How could he possibly steal a kiss!" The chat erupted into a sea of [Hahahaha]. [But he ate the chicken straight from your hand! He must have feelings for you to do that.] [Were his words this morning a polite way of telling you to keep your hands to yourself?] [Sister, you've definitely never dated. He's obviously playing hard to get!] [+1.] [I think so too.] Seeing the chat debating so passionately, I felt a whirlwind of mixed emotions. They could guess whatever they wanted, but if I guessed wrong, I might just repeat past mistakes. Back in college, I pursued a guy too aggressively and mistook his polite rejection for shyness. Full of confidence, I went to confess my feelings. When he rejected me, he frowned, looking at me like I was a pesky mosquito. "Sorry, I think you're just horny, you don't actually like me." After that, we completely cut ties. Thinking that if I said the wrong thing, my relationship with Dr. Hayes would reset to zero, my heart ached sourly, and my food lost its flavor. And if I ever needed to see a dentist again, I'd have to detour to a farther hospital. I don't want that!!! "Sigh, I should just lay low and behave myself for a while." 05 The wristband the fan recommended was actually pretty great. Once I secured Waffles, he couldn't break free, and I finally didn't have to play parkour with him in the shower stall. That evening, I took Waffles out for a walk. We bumped into a downstairs neighbor who also had a Corgi. The two of us strolled along the path by the community park. Waffles and the other Corgi, Marshmallow, ran in circles wagging their tails, having the time of their lives. Heh, little simp. Just like me. Marshmallow's owner was a college boy. I rarely saw him walking the dog before because he was a busy high school senior; usually, his mom brought the dog out. Back in high school, he had a buzzcut and wore a uniform every day, looking like an average teenager. Now that he was in college, his hair was longer. Wearing a hoodie, calling me "Penny" with a sweet mouth, he gave off total "puppy dog" vibes. "I rarely saw you walking Marshmallow before." "Yeah, I didn't have much time in high school. Now that I have more free time in college, my mom stopped walking her for me." "Oh, I see. Do you take Marshmallow to a groomer, or do you wash her at home?" "Washing her at home is more convenient, but it's a huge hassle." Hearing this, I couldn't wait to recommend my new bath-time miracle tool to him. But since this thing's original purpose wasn't pet grooming and it looked a bit kinky, I had to lean in close and whisper to him. "Someone recently recommended something to me, and it works so well. "Go search these keywords: Couples, Bathroom, Wrist Cuffs." Seeing me say this, Toby looked at me weirdly. I quickly pulled out a picture and explained how to use it, preventing him from thinking I was some older woman with bizarre fetishes. "Look, you strap them up like this, and no matter how much they struggle, they can't get loose." "Is it really that good?" "Yeah! It's comfortable for them, and comfortable for you." "But I've never tried it. Will it overstimulate her?" "No way! I've already used it!" Right as we were discussing it, I caught a glimpse of Arthur walking by. I was just about to say hi, but I saw his face was dark. The air pressure around him was freezing, giving off a total "stay away from me" vibe. The way he looked reminded me of that guy I confessed to before; he was just as ruthlessly cold after rejecting me. I swallowed my greeting, lowered my head to pretend I didn't see him, and moved a few steps closer to Toby. After Arthur walked past, I felt distracted. The topic we were happily chatting about suddenly lost its appeal. Toby also noticed something was off. "Penny, you look a bit tired. You want to head back and rest?" "Yeah, I'm just not really feeling it right now." I sighed deeply, tugged at Waffles' leash, and said goodbye to Toby. Waffles looked reluctantly at Marshmallow. His two hind paws dug firmly into the ground, completely refusing to leave. The leash around his neck squished his face flab into a ball, but he still wouldn't budge. "Waffles! Time to go home!" Seeing his pathetic, simp-like expression made me mad. Toby, on the other hand, was laughing beside us. "He probably hasn't played enough yet. Looks like Marshmallow wants to keep playing too. "Leave him with me. You head back and take a shower first, and once they've played enough, I'll bring Waffles back to your place." Although I felt a bit bad, since he put it that way, I couldn't refuse. I had to temporarily entrust Waffles to him and head home first. As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I saw someone standing in the hallway. It was Arthur. He turned to look at me, his face wearing an icy expression I had never seen before. Pierced by his unfriendly gaze, I felt a sting of hurt. I stood rooted to the spot, momentarily unsure if I should step forward. He turned and advanced on me step by step. In the empty hallway, only the sound of his footsteps echoed, hammering against my heart beat by beat. I had a vague, bad premonition. Perhaps our relationship was about to end right here. My body subconsciously backed up until my back hit the wall with nowhere else to retreat. "Why are you hiding?" I kept my head down, not daring to look at him, but he suddenly took off his glasses. "Close your eyes." Because I had always followed his instructions during my dental visits, when his familiar voice rang out, my body reacted before my brain. The instant I closed my eyes, his hand threaded through my hair, landing on the back of my neck and pressing me towards him. The momentum made me tilt my head up, and his scorching kiss crashed down. It burned so hot that my eyes flew open, and I froze in shock. His dark eyes carried suppressed anger, his gaze locking tightly onto me, his handsome brows furrowed into a knot. "Do you like it like this? "I saw the package." He let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I thought you were going to use it with me. "Who did you use it with? "What am I, then? "If it could be just anyone, then why didn't you choose me?" His tone carried restrained fury. With every accusation, his eyes grew a shade redder. Seeing him like this, I didn't even know where to start explaining. "I..." The moment I made a sound, he cut me off. "Sorry. I lost my composure." He let go and looked like he was about to turn and leave. I quickly grabbed his hand. "It's not what you think..." Before I could spit out more than a few words, my stomach let out a noise louder than my speaking voice. Grrrrmble— In the empty hallway, it sounded exceptionally clear. My silence was deafening. "...Have you eaten? Come over to my place for dinner, and I'll explain everything while we eat." He didn't say a word. He looked like he was in a terrible mood, but he still let me pull him into my apartment. Since I was streaming today, I had cooked rice in advance and prepped food in the fridge, planning to heat it up and eat after walking the dog. I posted an absence notice to my fans on my phone, then heated the food while carefully weighing how to explain things. Arthur sat silently on the couch, the back of his head facing me so I couldn't see his expression. I analyzed the current situation. He seemed to think I liked aggressive romance, that I had used the wristbands with someone else, and that I was playing with his feelings? So, does that mean I can interpret this as him liking me too? At the dinner table, he ate very little. He didn't look like he had an appetite, more like he was just going through the motions to keep me company. "Um... that package is indeed mine, but I didn't use it for those things... "I have a dog named Waffles. He's misbehaves during baths, so I used them to tie him up while washing him... don't get the wrong idea." He put down his chopsticks and looked at me. "Do you see a single shadow of a dog in this house?" I went silent. I had thought of everything except that he wouldn't believe me. But with Waffles not home, my explanation did sound pretty unbelievable. I had Waffles' dog bed in my bedroom. If I showed it to him, he should believe me, right? "Penny, do you like me?" I didn't expect him to ask that. I nodded hastily. He breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had made some sort of resolution. "Then that's all that matters. I don't care about the rest. "If you like it rough, I can do it. Just don't go to anyone else." 06 "So that's what happened. It was too much drama. I still haven't recovered." After Arthur left, I broadcasted my mind-blowing day on my stream. The chat comments flew faster and faster, and the viewer count skyrocketed. [Ahhhh so sweet!!!] [He's so smooth!] [He's down bad!] [Manifesting a handsome, obsessed boyfriend.] I couldn't help but giggle like an idiot. Who would've thought? I assumed I was going to be blocked and treated as a pervert, but the tables turned, and I went from a one-sided simp to mutual love. [Maybe you just shouldn't explain. I feel like you're pretty into it.] [She still has to explain! Otherwise, what if he constantly thinks Penny has unhealthy relationships with other guys?] I thought they had a point. Even though this dynamic was admittedly intoxicating, I couldn't seriously let him keep misunderstanding me. "When Waffles gets back, I'm definitely clearing things up. It's just that it was so shocking earlier; I've never seen anything like that, so I froze in fear, hehe." After chatting with them for a bit more, Toby knocked on the door to return the dog, so I took the opportunity to end the stream. After wiping Waffles' paws clean, I took him and knocked on Arthur's door. Opening the door, Arthur only had a towel wrapped loosely around his waist. His hair hadn't been blow-dried yet, and water droplets rolled off the tips, sliding all the way down his collarbone and leaving a trail across his pecs and abs. I stared, completely mesmerized. "Come in." My body reacted faster than my brain again. By the time I came to my senses, the door behind me had already closed. Waffles wriggled free from my arms and ran off into his apartment on his stubby little legs. "Waffles!" I warned him to behave, but Waffles just turned to look at me with a clueless expression. Helpless, I had to turn my gaze back to Arthur. "Now you believe me, right?" "Mhm." His tone was affirmative, but he didn't seem to care much whether it was true or not anymore. Looking entirely like, "Whatever, I've already made peace with it," he reached down and scooped up Waffles. Maybe it was because he had smelled Arthur's scent on me before. Waffles just lowered his head, took a sniff, and dropped his guard. He wiggled his big butt and nestled into a comfortable position in his arms. Haha, the feeling I hadn't even experienced yet, he got to try it first. Maybe my gaze was too searing; Arthur looked up at me. "Want to touch?" I nodded my head vigorously like a rattle drum. "Touch if you want to. I showered, so you won't get an allergic reaction." I remembered what he said at the hospital before. So it really was playing hard to get. Then I won't hold back. Without hesitation, I shooed Waffles away and threw my arms around his lean waist. I buried my face in his chest; it was cool and felt incredibly comfortable. I hugged him again and again, loving it to pieces. "Arthur, do you like me?" I mumbled. "What else would it be?" He kept a straight face, but his body was honest. His two arms locked me in tight, leaving no room for my hands to cause mischief. "Did you come over to try the wristbands?" I was speechless. "They really are for Waffles!" He clearly didn't take my words to heart. With a flex of his arms, he hoisted me up just like I hold Waffles and dumped me onto the couch. "We didn't finish the movie last time. You watch it first; I'm going to change clothes." Actually, I wasn't particularly interested in that movie. I just wanted an excuse to ask Arthur out. Unfortunately, my company had a big project right then, and I worked overtime for half a month straight, so we didn't get to go to the theater. I didn't expect him to keep remembering it. I sat cross-legged holding the remote, browsing the list for a movie to watch. Arthur sat down beside me, and the couch dipped slightly. Losing my balance, I tipped right over toward him. He stretched out his long arm and very naturally looped me into his embrace. "Throwing yourself at me?" My ears burned bright red from his hot breath. My hand jerked, and I didn't even know what movie I clicked into. Until Arthur's voice, speaking through gritted teeth, echoed. "Penny! Parker! What do you mean by making me watch this?" I looked closely. The title "Challengers" was incredibly prominent on the screen. The background image was a promotional poster of two guys and one girl hugging intimately. "No! My hand just slipped, I don't know how I clicked it!" "Is that so? You sure have a lot of 'coincidences' surrounding you."
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