Ada leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, and watched Zhou Yi's every move. When her scrutinizing gaze fell upon his tattered, constantly reassembling armor, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you injured?"
"Injured?" Zhou Yi grinned, his hands moving even faster as he dismantled the armor. The broken pieces were just getting in the way, and it was easier to just discard them. Soon, he stood free of the pile of scrap metal. "Don't worry," he replied to Ada's question. "It's just a minor ache, nothing serious."
After all, facing two enemies with top-tier power, it would have been strange if he hadn't sustained any injuries. But with Zhou Yi's abilities, even minor wounds would heal quickly.
Ada, however, didn't see it that way. Men always had a habit of putting on a brave face for women. In her eyes, Zhou Yi was no exception.
She had also seen the videos going viral online. While the Dawn Knight had won the battle against the three monsters with overwhelming dominance, the process hadn't been smooth at all. Otherwise, the Dawn Armor wouldn't have been so battered. She knew exactly how formidable the Dawn Armor's defensive capabilities were, and precisely because of that, she was certain Zhou Yi wasn't as unharmed as he appeared.
"Boss, while enduring pain and putting on a brave face might seem manly, if you're really hurt, I hope you'll tell me. After all, you were up against *those things*. No one would judge you."
Ada deliberately softened her tone, adopting a gentleness she rarely showed. Zhou Yi immediately felt out of his depth. Ada was usually cold, aloof, and proud, even towards her boss. She loved sarcasm, sparring with others, and stirring up trouble. Zhou Yi had seen many people crumble under her sharp tongue. In his eyes, this former female spy was a black rose with thorns—alluring and captivating, but forbidding anyone to touch her carelessly.
So when Ada suddenly displayed such tenderness, Zhou Yi found himself truly unable to gauge her true intentions. Did this woman, whom no one had ever seen through, genuinely care about him, or did she have ulterior motives? He was curious, so he couldn't resist probing.
"You're concerned about me? That's quite rare. May I ask why?"
Ada playfully rolled her eyes at him. With her intelligence, she understood Zhou Yi's meaning perfectly. But having nothing to hide, she answered directly.
"My entire future depends on you. Isn't it natural for me to care about you?"
"Oh. Is that so?" Zhou Yi remained skeptical, but he knew that even if he pressed further, he wouldn't get anything more from Ada. So he abandoned the useless probing. "Don't worry, I'm not that fragile. In fact, I feel better than ever!"
To have suddenly grasped the secret of time and fully released everything he had suppressed—this had put Zhou Yi in an abnormally good state, so good it was almost visible to the naked eye.
"Are you sure, Boss? You don't seem as well as you're letting on."
Ada pointed this out, even leaning closer to touch Zhou Yi's forehead as if checking for a fever.
Zhou Yi caught her hand, stopping her childish gesture. "I know my own condition perfectly well. Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm just... excited. It's rare to encounter an enemy who suits me so well."
As he spoke, Zhou Yi couldn't help but recall that feeling of unleashing his full power, the visceral thrill of flesh meeting flesh that was utterly irresistible to a man with a tiger in his heart.
"Just excited, huh? Well, I have a way to help you... relax." Ada chuckled softly at his words, tugged Zhou Yi forward a couple of steps, and then pressed him into the chair in his study.
Zhou Yi preferred a minimalist style, so his study chair wasn't particularly large. This allowed Ada to easily reach his head and neck from behind. She gently began kneading his scalp with both hands.
Ada's soft and slender fingers kneaded Zhou Yi's temples with a peculiar technique, bringing him a profound sense of relaxation. The velvety touch of her fingertips, coupled with a faint, cold floral scent lingering at the tip of his nose, gradually soothed the wild heat surging through his blood.
For Zhou Yi, this was a rare and precious indulgence. The mental exhilaration followed by tranquil relaxation after such intense stimulation was a truly refreshing sensory experience. And when the person providing this service was a cold, aloof beauty with an air of mystery, it was even easier to become intoxicated.
Zhou Yi trusted Ada almost completely. This allowed him to fully immerse himself in the pleasure, without concern for anything else. As Ada continued her movements, he grew increasingly astonished by her masterful skill. The technique that relaxed both body and mind was nearly on par with any spa treatment he had ever experienced. He couldn't help but marvel:
"Ada, your technique is incredible. I never knew you had such talent. If you ever opened a massage center, I'd buy it out in a heartbeat."
"Should I book the whole place? That way, I'd be serving only you, right?" Ada smiled as her fingers began to trace the contours of Zhou Yi's skull, then moved to his neck. "I thought I'd forgotten this technique. I never imagined I'd still have occasion to use it."
"Hmm?" Zhou Yi, his eyes still closed, hummed softly through his nose, a sound that conveyed his curiosity. Ada fell silent for a moment before beginning her story.
"When I was a child, my family ran a Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic in Chinatown. My mother was an orthopedic specialist, and she taught me so much back then. I learned this technique from her."
"And then?" Hearing Ada suddenly share her personal history, Zhou Yi focused his attention. This meant good news: Ada was finally willing to open up to him. Sharing one's secrets was the only way to truly bridge the distance between people. It was a fundamental law of human connection.
"And then?" As she reached this point, the grip on Ada's hand tightened noticeably. Though Zhou Yi felt nothing from the pressure, he sensed the shift in her emotions, as if he already knew the ending.
"Then, a massive fire engulfed my family's clinic and my loved ones, leaving me the sole survivor. I ended up in an orphanage, but I never expected it to be an organization's special facility for cultivating talent. I spent ten years there, and that's how I became who I am today!"
Zhou Yi could imagine how a teenage girl would feel after losing all her family overnight. He understood even better the agony of being trained like a cold-blooded machine for ten years. As a father of two, his heart genuinely ached for Ada's plight. He knew all too well how dark and hopeless those years must have been for her during her formative years.
Unable to resist, he took her hand and began to transfer his warmth, little by little.
"I'm so sorry, Ada. I had no idea you'd been through such a painful experience."
Ada allowed Zhou Yi to hold her hand, her usual smile still gracing her face.
"I've already let that go. To be honest, I just needed someone to talk to. You know, keeping certain things bottled up inside is never comfortable. Now, I feel so much better!"
"I'm glad you feel that way, Ada! If there's anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask. Anything at all."
This was the greatest promise Zhou Yi could make. Even if Ada were to ask him for a boon now, like immortality, he wouldn't hesitate.
Since Ada had opened her heart and shared her inner turmoil with him, it meant she had truly opened herself to him. True sincerity was priceless, and for someone like her, Zhou Yi would never be stingy with sharing what he had.
"Anything at all?" Ada drew out her words playfully, leaning close to Zhou Yi's ear.
"Of course. I always keep my word." Zhou Yi reassured her, confident in his promise. To this day, he had never broken a single vow. Compared to scumbags like Tony, he was practically a flawless paragon of virtue, forged from pure gold.
"You know, as a woman, what I want isn't as complicated as what you men desire," Ada whispered into Zhou Yi's ear in a voice so soft it was almost a murmur. The gentle, almost chanting tone made his bones tingle.
At that moment, Zhou Yi felt something else. A cold hand, smooth as jade, began to slide down his neck, its soft skin pressing against his muscles as if trying to absorb the heat from his body.
This sensation instantly turned his previously calm mood into a boiling frenzy. He quickly pressed down on Ada's hand, which was still resting on his chest, and said in a hoarse voice, "Ada, stop. You're playing with fire!"
"I'm already playing with fire. What, is that not allowed?"
The woman's triumphant laugh echoed through the study, signaling that the night's events would not end so easily.
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