Using his masterful skill in acting cute,
paired with those wet, peach blossom eyes that clearly said 'if you don't help me, you'll be the murderer of your boyfriend,' Victor finally managed to wheedle his way into 'copying' the summer homework.
In truth, Wednesday and Enid had long since taken high-definition photos of their completed assignments, sorted them into categories, and stored them in an encrypted album on their phones.
As for who this was prepared for?
The answer was as self-evident as one of Nick Wilde's corny jokes.
When Victor, with the help of the rabbit talisman's super speed, had 'copied and pasted' all the blanks in almost the blink of an eye, and only then belatedly realized this fact—
Immense gratitude and relief instantly transformed him into an overly excited Labrador.
"Wahh! You guys are the best! I knew you wouldn't leave me to die!"
Choking up, and without a care for his image, he tightly pulled both Wednesday and Enid, who were standing beside him, into a hug.
Without giving them a chance to refuse, he planted several forceful, loud kisses of gratitude—mixed with a bit of snot and tears—on their cheeks, foreheads, and even their hair.
The sheer scale of the movement and the intensity of the emotion were comparable to a family reunion scene where long-lost relatives are finally found.
A few minutes later, the town's street presented the following scene:
Wednesday walked expressionlessly at the front along the curb, her gaze fixed straight ahead, her pace fifteen percent faster than usual, radiating an aura ten degrees colder than her normal chill.
Upon closer inspection, several rather conspicuous light red strawberry marks adorned her pale, delicate cheeks—
These were the 'evidence of the crime' left by Victor's over-excited, overly forceful kisses moments ago.
Enid, struggling to hold back laughter, followed beside Wednesday, her mouth twitching, occasionally sneaking glances at the marks on her friend's face before hurriedly pressing her lips together.
Her eyes were filled with the struggle of 'I want to laugh but I must hold it in.'
Victor trailed at the very back, head hanging low, wearing a look of guilt and fawning, his eyes drifting every so often towards the icy figure ahead.
His mind was frantically scrolling through various survival strategies on 'How to Appease the Dark Queen's Wrath.'
Seeing Wednesday walk faster and faster, Victor finally mustered his courage, jogged two steps forward, cautiously extended two fingers, and gently tugged at the corner of Wednesday's clothes.
"Wednesday... I'm sorry~"
His voice was so soft it could wring out honey, the ending dragged out long, filled with ample penitence and fawning.
Wednesday's steps halted. She slowly turned her head, her deep-pool-like eyes landing calmly and expressionlessly on Victor's face.
She didn't speak, merely lifting her chin slightly, making those strawberry marks even clearer in the sunlight.
Victor felt his scalp tingle under her gaze, his Adam's apple involuntarily bobbing.
After a few seconds of silence, Wednesday finally spoke in her unique, clear voice—cold as ice shards rubbing together—deliberately enunciating each word:
"Victor Black."
She had even used his full name.
"You had better pray devoutly that these marks completely disappear before the opening ceremony."
She paused, the corner of her mouth lifting into an extremely faint yet spine-chilling curve.
"Otherwise, I wouldn't mind recommending a... highly active, keenly perceptive live specimen for the upcoming human anatomy practical class."
Victor: "!!!"
He instantly froze in place, feeling a chill run down his spine.
He could already picture the terrifying scene: himself lying on the dissection table, Wednesday holding a scalpel, wearing a face of'scientific inquiry' focus, gently asking him, "Does this hurt?"
"It'll fade! It'll definitely fade!"
Victor immediately swore to the heavens, his tone unprecedentedly sincere.
"I'll go back and put ice packs on it for you! Rub it with magic potion! I guarantee it'll vanish without a trace!"
"Alright, alright, Victor didn't mean it~ And besides, you actually look quite cute like this, pfft—"
Enid tried hard to keep a straight face, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, her eyes curved into crescents, attempting to smooth Things over for Victor.
But that line, "And besides, you actually look quite cute like this, pfft—"
completely exposed her nature of enjoying the spectacle and not minding a bigger mess, a perfect act of adding fuel to the fire.
Seeing Wednesday's already icy expression seem to freeze over another three degrees, Victor's heart sank. His survival instinct instantly skyrocketed, urgently needing something significant enough to divert the Dark Queen's attention.
His eyes rolled, then he suddenly pointed at a luxury hearse that had just pulled over by the roadside—a vehicle with hard, clean lines, entirely black, its design so classical it looked like it had just driven out of a Gothic castle—exclaiming with exaggerated surprise as if he'd discovered a new continent:
"Wednesday! Look! This car looks just like the one your family has!"
While shouting, to add credibility, he practically pressed his face against the window, pretending to carefully examine the scene behind the dark glass, continuing with his over-the-top acting:
"Wow! Look! That beautiful lady inside looks exactly like your mo..."
His voice suddenly cut off. The last word, "ther," was swallowed hard, turning into a short, surprised "Huh?"
Because that dark-tinted car window, right before his eyes, descended without warning, silently and smoothly.
Behind the window was none other than the stunningly beautiful, pale-as-the-moon face of Mrs. Morticia Addams, wearing a mysterious, faint smile.
Her deep-set eyes rested with interest on Victor's face, which was almost pressed against the glass and filled with astonishment.
A glance into the car revealed, wow, the whole family was mobilized—
Gomez Addams grinning with a mouthful of white teeth, Pugsley in the passenger seat holding the severed hand Thing, looking curious, and Lurch, the butler, in the driver's seat.
"Thank you for the compliment, Victor."
Mrs. Morticia's red lips parted slightly, her voice lazy and magnetic, like aged wine.
"Your mouth is as sweet as ever."
"Mother."
Wednesday called out calmly and without inflection, a form of greeting.
As for Victor, his brain seemed to still be processing the sudden shock of this 'family portrait,' and he followed dazedly, murmuring, "Mother..."
Instantly, all eyes inside and outside the car focused squarely on Victor.
Victor snapped back to reality, his cheeks flushing crimson to the tips of his ears, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.
He let out a couple of awkward, dry laughs, not knowing where to put his hands and feet.
"Uh... I mean... Long time no see, Mrs. Morticia! You look more radiant than ever!"
Mrs. Morticia gave an elegant, slight nod, her sharp gaze then landing on the not-yet-faded light red marks on Wednesday's face.
As if just noticing them, she asked with a touch of appropriate concern:
"Wednesday, your face... what happened?"
Wednesday didn't even lift an eyelid, her gaze slanting sideways towards Victor, who was trying to make himself as small as possible, her tone as cold as a frozen lake.
"An allergic reaction to color. To a certain... abundantly existing yellow waste product."
Victor immediately lowered his head, pretending to have developed a profound scientific interest in the busy ant colony in the cracks of the sidewalk bricks beneath his feet, focusing as intently as if he were counting their legs.
"I see."
Mrs. Morticia nodded as if suddenly understanding, a knowing, slightly mischievous smile appearing on her face.
"I thought perhaps you were allergic to Victor's kisses."
Wednesday's expression instantly grew several degrees colder, visibly so, as if the air around her had crystallized into ice.
Gomez let out a hearty laugh from the driver's seat:
"Ha! dear, I told you young people have their own ways of expressing passion!"
Seeing the atmosphere sliding towards an even more bizarre direction, Mrs. Morticia timely offered an invitation with a smile.
"Alright now, let's not stand by the roadside. Get in the car, we can give you a ride to school for registration."
Wednesday didn't object. She directly pulled open the rear door and got in first, her posture as elegantly cold and aloof as ever.
Only, as she got in, her elbow seemed to 'accidentally' bump into Victor, who was still frozen in place.
Victor grimaced, rubbing his sore ribs.
Under Enid's sympathetic look of 'good luck to you' and her stifled laughter, he steeled himself and, like a prisoner awaiting sentencing, reluctantly squeezed into the car.
The door slammed shut with a 'thump,' carrying this group, each with their own thoughts, towards the unknown and inevitably tumultuous school life of the new semester.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"