Chapter 41: Legendary aim

May’s heart jumped. Her leg under the table jerked back—only for Ace’s foot to hook around her ankle with just enough pressure to pin it in place.

"No ventilation in here. It’s stuffy."

She tugged at her collar, voice a little thin.

Ray narrowed his eyes. His gaze swept across her, then landed on Ace.

Ace was leisurely wiping his mouth, expression pure and harmless. "Boss is right. It is a bit warm."

Under the table, he didn’t pull back. Instead, he slid another inch higher along the inner side of her knee. May sucked in a sharp breath and barely managed to keep from making a sound.

Ace, you silly man!

The forbidden thrill shot up her spine like electricity. On one side was the overbearing boss’s examining stare; on the other was the smiling madman’s secret invasion. She felt her reason dancing right on the edge of a cliff.

Right then, Jack, who had been focused entirely on his food, raised his head.

Those not-particularly-sharp eyes moved back and forth between Ace and May. Something seemed off.

Just now Ace used his foot... and the woman’s face turned red. That looked like a good way to get closer?

The pure-hearted, red-faced bear’s logic circuit took a bizarre wrong turn at that exact moment.

Jack swallowed the large mouthful of beef, then secretly stretched his foot under the table. He wanted to copy Ace—just brush the little sister’s other knee to show a bit of concern.

Unfortunately, with his build, the legs were too long and the feet too big. The moment he stretched out, he missed the target completely and went straight past.

Thud!

A solid, muffled impact.

"Fuck!!!"

Mitch had just stuffed a ham sausage into his mouth and hadn’t even chewed twice. His entire body shot up from the bench; the fork in his hand flew. He clutched the inner side of his thigh, face the color of pig liver, tears nearly springing out.

"Jack! What the fuck are you doing?!"

Everyone jumped at the sudden chaos.

Ace’s foot under the table vanished instantly. Ray also stood in a flash; the water bottle in his hand was crushed flat with a single squeeze.

Jack froze solid. His bronze face turned crimson at a speed visible to the naked eye, the red climbing all the way down his neck. He hurriedly retracted the offending long leg, rubbed both hands hard against his knees, and stammered an explanation:

"I... I missed. I just wanted... wanted to touch May’s knee... Who knew I’d kick Mitch instead."

The cabin stayed dead silent for three full seconds.

"Pfft—" Alex was the first to break. A mouthful of water sprayed across Ace’s back. He slapped his thigh and howled with laughter.

"Holy shit, Jack, that aim is legendary. Trying to flirt and ending up kicking Mitch’s family jewels—I give that move a perfect score."

Mitch was still sucking in cold air through gritted teeth, pointing at Jack while cursing. "You dumb bear! I almost thought my bloodline ended right there! If you wanted to touch the girl, just say so—why the hell did you kick me?!"

Jack looked as wronged as a two-hundred-jin child. "I saw Ace... Ace seemed to touch her just now, and the little sister looked happy. I also wanted to..."

The moment the words left his mouth, the air solidified.

Mitch’s cursing cut off mid-sentence. Alex’s smile froze on his face.

Every pair of eyes snapped toward Ace in perfect unison.

Ace calmly wiped away the water Alex had sprayed onto him with a napkin, showing not the slightest embarrassment. He adjusted a pair of glasses that didn’t actually exist, eyes curving.

"Jack, food can be eaten carelessly. Feet cannot be stretched carelessly. May’s legs are thin—what I did was protection. That size of foot of yours going over there is demolition."

Jack looked even more wronged. He lowered his head and said nothing, simply attacking his food with the spoon in furious silence.

Mitch rubbed the root of his thigh, dropped back onto the bench, and kept muttering curses. "Fucking animals, the lot of you. Can’t even eat a meal in peace."

Only Ray remained silent.

He looked down on the entire scene from above. That hard, cold face showed neither anger nor amusement, yet May could feel the killing intent rolling off him—heavier than when he had faced the zombie horde earlier.

He didn’t glance at Jack or Mitch. His gaze pinned itself straight onto Ace’s face.

Ace acted as if he noticed nothing. He picked up a piece of luncheon meat, chewed it slowly, and even arched an eyebrow at Ray.

The veins on the back of Ray’s hand stood out sharply. His knuckles cracked under the pressure of his grip.

A fierce sense of crisis slammed into him.

In the past, these men had always brawled and joked without a second thought. Now, inside this cramped cabin, the simple addition of one girl had turned the air sticky with undercurrents.

She was too attractive.

Ace’s madness, Jack’s simplicity, Mitch’s temper, Alex’s slyness—every hard man who usually decided life and death with a single stroke had turned into a peacock in heat, each using his own methods to get closer to her.

Ray dragged in a deep breath and forced the irritation back down. He yanked the bench between her and the table.

"Move back."

The order came out rough.

May was forced to shift half an inch. Her thigh pressed tightly against Ray’s solid arm. The mixed scent of sweat and pure male heat from his body instantly drowned out the faint medicinal bitterness that clung to Ace.

Without making a show of it, Ray’s arm settled across the side of her face, completely cutting off Ace’s line of sight.

"From now on, during meals," he said coldly, eyes sweeping the group, "anyone who tries any under-table tricks again will have their legs broken by me."

Ace let out a soft laugh and raised both hands above the table in a show of perfect obedience. "Whatever Boss says."

Yet the corner of his eye still slipped past Ray’s broad shoulder and landed with perfect accuracy on the even more pronounced curve of May’s chest, now pressed tighter by Ray’s proximity. He bit his lower lip.

Trapped in the middle, May felt this meal was more exhausting than actual combat.