His Belated Love for the Abandoned Ex-Wife Chapter 82: A Mysterious Hickey

The next morning...

Iris slowly woke up. She rubbed her eyes and squinted toward the balcony.

The curtains were shut tight, and bright light from outside peeked through the gaps.

It was so bright. It didn't feel like early morning at all.

She sat up in a hurry, grabbed her phone from the nightstand, and checked the time.

It was already 11:30 in the morning!

Why didn't my alarm go off?

Iris pulled back the covers and got out of bed. She noticed there were no slippers on the floor, and she was still in yesterday's clothes.

She sat quietly for a few seconds.

Her thoughts started to clear up.

Yesterday, she went to the medical exchange with Julian, then had dinner with the hospital leaders.

She vaguely remembered drinking a little at the restaurant and falling asleep on Julian's arm, tired.

After that, everything went blank.

She must have gotten drunk again, and Julian took her home.

Iris scratched her head, covered her face, took a deep breath, and felt really frustrated.

What if she acted silly when she was drunk and embarrassed herself in front of him?

Iris got up, nervous, grabbed clean clothes, and went to the bathroom to clean up.

She took a bath and washed her hair.

When she stood in front of the mirror drying her hair, she noticed a faint red mark on her neck, right near her earlobe.

She reached out to touch it. It didn't look like a mosquito bite, and it didn't itch or hurt at all.

Why was there a little red spot?

She didn't think much about it.

Iris dried her hair, put it up in a ponytail, changed into clothes for going out, and left her room.

The living room was just as clean and tidy as always.

The only difference was that all her chores were already done, and there was a breakfast on the dining table.

Clearly, Julian hadn't expected her to sleep until noon. He only made her breakfast.

Iris wasn't picky. She ate the egg sandwich and boiled broccoli on the table and then washed the dishes.

She took two oranges from the fridge, put them in her bag, and headed out.

It was already past one in the afternoon when she got back to the research institute.

Zoe and the other employees were all on their lunch break.

Iris walked into the office and woke Zoe up from her nap.

Zoe got up from the recliner, looked at her sleepily, and said, "Iris, why didn't you come this morning? Did something happen?"

"I drank too much last night and slept until noon," Iris said, setting her bag down. She took two oranges from her bag, put one on the table, and tossed the other to Zoe.

Zoe caught the orange, stood up from the recliner, rubbed it, and walked over to her. "How'd the business go?"

Iris smiled big, her face lighting up. "Health Bio got noticed by a lot of big hospital leaders. We didn't make any deals, but we got plenty of chances."

Zoe looked confused, leaned against her desk, and said, "I don't get it."

Iris looked up at her. "It means our drugs can get into hospitals and compete with other drug companies. No need for tricks, just our own strength."

Zoe had sharp eyes. She spotted the red mark on Iris's neck, frowned, leaned in, and touched her neck gently with her finger. "Did a mosquito bite you?"

Iris stiffened a little, confused too.

"It's not even puffy," Zoe said, touching it again. "Does it itch?"

"No. I saw it when I took a bath this morning. I'm confused why it's red too."

Zoe suddenly covered her mouth and stared at Iris with wide eyes.

Iris got scared by her over-the-top expression. "What's wrong?"

Zoe pressed her lips together, smiled, and teased her. "You and Julian had a pretty late night, didn't you? That's why you slept until noon."

Iris's cheeks turned pink. She muttered unhappily, "What are you talking about?"

Zoe pointed at her neck. "That's definitely a hickey."

Iris stiffened up, her heart racing. She touched her neck, nervous and shy. "No way. You've never been kissed. How do you know it's a hickey?"

"I don't have a boyfriend, but I watch a lot of couple videos online," Zoe said, pulling out her phone and searching for neck hickey pictures.

Iris stood up nervously, leaned next to her, and looked at the phone carefully with her.

Both 26-year-old women spent all their time studying and working. Their entertainment was boring. They knew what a hickey was, but they'd never been kissed, so they weren't sure what it looked like.

Once they saw the similar pictures online, Iris covered her neck and panicked.

Her face was red and hot. She was flustered and didn't know what to do as she looked at Zoe.

Zoe snickered and teased her. "What's it like to kiss someone?"

Iris shook her head. Her whole body felt hot. "I don't know. I can't remember anything."

Zoe patted her hand. "Ask Julian when you get home tonight."

Iris sat down on her chair, too shy to move.

Zoe walked away while watching a short video, dragging her words out. "Julian! Why'd you have to kiss her when she wasn't sober?"

When Iris heard that, she covered her face with her hands, closed her eyes, and tried hard to remember.

Oh no! What important thing did I forget?

Why can't I remember anything after getting drunk?

Night came, and the research institute was lit up bright.

In the lab, Iris wore a white lab coat and a mask. She sat in front of the one-way mirror and watched what was inside the big cage.