Lynne snapped her attention back to him. "Sorry, I was just curious."


    Joshua sat down on the sofa. "Well then, Ms. Cameron, you may begin."


    Composing herself, Lynne started exining how to create opportunities for ambiguous physical contact. As she spoke, she nced at Joshua several times and saw that he was listening with rapt attention.


    After about half an hour, she said, "Joshua, we''ve covered the theory, but we need to practice. After all, opportunities like these sometimes onlye once. If you miss it, who knows when the next one will be? Why don''t we give it a try? To get familiar with the flow?"


    Joshua''s longshes fluttered. "Oh? How do you propose we do that?"


    Lynne decided to take it slow, like a frog in gradually warming water. "We just talked about the move where you steady Star and then smoothly pull her into your arms, right? Let''s try that one first."


    A faint smile touched Joshua''s lips as he slowly rose to his feet. "Alright."


    As Lynne gazed at his handsome face and tall, powerful frame, she licked her mouth.


    She knew from her father''s file on him that he was a formidable martial artist, currently unmatched. A man like that had to have incredible stamina, right? Her mind flooded with fantasies, and her heart began to pound.


    She swallowed hard. "Okay, let''s start. I''ll pretend to identally fall, and you just catch me in your arms."


    "Understood," Joshua nodded.


    Lynne feigned a twisted ankle and intentionally stumbled toward him. She had it all nned out: the moment he caught her, she would kiss him. With her skills, she was sure she could make him addicted to her, desperate for more.


    It was a beautiful n.


    But a secondter, she mmed hard onto the floor.


    From above, she heard Joshua''s slightly apologetic voice. "My apologies, Ms. Cameron. I was lost in thought and forgot to catch you. Could you perhaps fall again?"


    Lynne hadn''t expected him to miss, and the fall was genuinely painful. She struggled on the ground for a moment, finally managing to stand up while clutching her aching back.


    Seeing Joshua watching her with cold indifference, she couldn''t help but protest, "Joshua, you could at least help me up."


    "I''m afraid if I help you now, I''ll lose the authentic feel for the movementter," he replied. "It wouldn''t achieve the desired effect."


    It sounded off, yet not entirely impossible.


    Lynne took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Fine. Let''s try one more time."


    This time, to avoid another painfulnding, she controlled her


    momentum, ensuring that even if he


    missed again, it wouldn''t hurt as


    much. But just as she began to fall,


    sharp pain shot through her foet Her body pitched forward uncontrobly, crashing into the nearby coffee table.


    With a tremendous CRACK, the ss table shattered. The food from the lunchboxes spilled all over her covering her face and clothes Shards of ss and broken


    ceramics embedded themselves in her skin. A few pieces sliced across her face.


    Lynne let out a piercing scream. "Aaaah!"


    Through her pain-filled vision, she saw Joshua''s handsome, puzzled face looking down at her. "Ms. Cameron," he asked, is this the Courtship method you intended to teach me?"