As they left the restaurant, he made sure to walk a bit under the eaves to avoid being seen from upstairs. Once they reached the parking lot, Hode drove Gwen to her building.

"I'll head back now," Gwen said, looking wistfully at Hode.

"Yeah, go back and have a good chat with your dad; he must miss you a lot." Hode nodded hurriedly. He was already running late and needed to get home quickly.

"If you have time, remember to find me." The next moment, Gwen wrapped her arms around Hode's waist, resting her head on his chest. After a while, she blushed and ran upstairs.

"Finally done." Hode breathed out, still savoring the lingering warmth in his embrace.

[Ding! Your relationship with Gwen is rapidly heating up!*

[Reward Obtained: Shadow Army—Ninja Team!*

[Shadow Army—Ninja Team: You can summon ninjas from the Shadow Army, completely obedient to the summoner!*

"Shadow Army?!" Hode was overjoyed. He never expected to receive such a reward. It seemed little Gwen was becoming his lucky star.

Ding dong! Just then, Hode's phone vibrated slightly.

[Wanda: Are you almost there?*

"Damn, I'm going to be late!"

Hode glanced at the time, his lips twitching slightly.

Hode: "There's some traffic on the way; I'll be there soon!"

Hode hurried back to the car and drove quickly toward the restaurant.

"It's eight ten."

After getting out of the car, Hode looked at the time and shook his head in frustration.

It seems his time management skills still need improvement; otherwise, he should have arrived right on time.

After adjusting his attire, Hode finally stepped into the restaurant.

The waiter inside froze when he saw Hode enter.

The previous customer had just left, so why were they back?

Ignoring the waiter, Hode headed straight up to the second floor.

As he pushed open the door, he saw Wanda sitting by the window in a deep red dress.

"Was there a lot of traffic?"

"I should have asked you to meet in the afternoon; driving for so long must have tired you out."

Seeing Hode, Wanda pulled out the chair beside her, her eyes filled with concern.

"For the sake of having dinner with you, a bit of traffic is nothing."

Hode shook his head slightly, sitting down next to Wanda with a calm demeanor.

"Isn't the view here beautiful?"

Once Hode settled, Wanda suddenly reached over and took his hand.

At that moment, her lips curved into a smile.

In that instant, she felt grateful to have someone she cherished.

"Yeah, the scenery is lovely."

Hode nodded, but unfortunately, he had already seen it before.

"Every time I pass by here, I hope to have someone by my side to enjoy it with me."

As she spoke, Wanda rested her head on Hode's shoulder, but her eyes widened in surprise the next moment: "Your shirt... it smells like a woman's perfume?"

She could clearly smell the fragrance on Hode, and it was definitely not a men's cologne.

Oh no!

Hode's heart skipped a beat; he had just hugged Gwen earlier, and now the perfume scent was on him.

He hadn't expected Wanda to lean in so closely tonight.

"I rushed over and accidentally bumped into a girl. It must be her perfume," Hode said, forcing himself to stay calm and sounding nonchalant.

"Oh."

Wanda didn't suspect anything; instead, she replied, "Well, don't rush next time. I can wait for you."

Knock, knock, knock!

A blonde waitress pushed open the booth door: "You two, your food is ready."

But when she looked up and saw Hode, she was momentarily stunned.

Isn't this the same customer who rushed in earlier?!

Seeing Hode and Wanda together made her eyes widen in shock.

Hode instantly sensed trouble.

Seriously, did they really want to see the Scarlet Witch show up?

"Alright, hurry up and bring out the other dishes," he urged, waving his hand to get her to move quickly, hoping she wouldn't let anything slip!

However, before she left, she shot him a meaningful glance.

"Hode, what's wrong with you today? You seem a bit off."

Wanda keenly noticed that something was amiss with Hode.

Especially with her mastery of chaos magic, she was even more sensitive to emotional fluctuations.

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