Quietly walking down the hallway, Zhou Yi gradually straightened his posture again after a few steps.
No one had seen him come out of Ada's room, which naturally meant there wouldn't be any problems afterward.
After all, this was his house.
As long as he wasn't caught red-handed, he could deny everything with complete confidence.
But just as he passed by the room of his two precious daughters, one of the doors suddenly opened, and a figure stepped out.
The two met face to face—
—and both were startled.
"Natalia? Why are you here?"
Seeing Natasha Romanoff emerge from Shirley's room, Zhou Yi immediately exclaimed in surprise.
Clearly, he hadn't expected Natasha to stay overnight at his house.
"I'm here to keep Shirley company. We already agreed that I'd spend the weekend with her."
Leaning against the door with her arms crossed, Natasha looked at Zhou Yi and replied calmly.
"What I want to know is… why are you coming from that direction?"
"That direction?"
Zhou Yi instantly put on an innocent, confused expression, trying his best to look harmless.
But Natasha saw right through him with ease.
"Stop pretending. Your bedroom isn't over there."
"And if I remember correctly, that's the room belonging to that woman, Ada Wong."
Looking at Natasha's righteous expression, it almost felt as though she were a wife catching her cheating husband sneaking back home in the middle of the night.
Zhou Yi immediately felt baffled.
"Hey, if I remember correctly… this is my house, right?"
"So wherever I come from shouldn't really have anything to do with you."
"As long as it concerns Shirley, it concerns me."
Faced with Zhou Yi's rebuttal, Natasha answered with complete confidence.
"If you're really doing something weird, then I suggest you clean up after yourself properly."
"I don't want to come visit Shirley one day and hear her calling some strange woman 'Mom.'"
Hearing Natasha's logic, Zhou Yi felt an almost mystical sense of admiration.
What did she mean by not wanting Shirley to call some strange woman Mom?
Even if she had issues with Ada, there was no need to express it like this.
And somehow, the way Natasha spoke made it sound as if Zhou Yi needed her permission before getting married.
"I don't think our relationship is that close, is it?"
"And Natasha… think about what you just said. Someone who didn't know better would think you were my ex-wife."
Catching onto the highly suggestive implication, Zhou Yi immediately began teasing her.
But he quickly discovered that this sort of teasing had little effect on Natasha.
She neither looked embarrassed nor flustered.
Instead, she simply kept a cold face and answered in an almost warning-like tone.
"Ex-wife?"
"So that's what you think of me?"
"If I were your ex-wife, I guarantee your expression wouldn't be this cheerful right now."
"And let me make one thing clear—I have absolutely no interest in your messy private life."
"The only reason I'm saying all this is because I want you to consider Shirley and the others' feelings before doing anything."
Consider Shirley's feelings?
But what feelings would Shirley even have?
Listening to Natasha, Zhou Yi became increasingly confused.
He might not understand everyone else's thoughts, but when it came to his two beloved daughters, he was certain he understood at least part of what they were thinking.
After all, he hadn't casually proposed marriage to Ada on impulse.
Before making that promise, he had considered many things—
—including Shirley and Arisa's opinions.
If Ada had been the type of woman the children disliked, he never would have entertained the idea.
But the reality was the opposite.
Not only did the girls not dislike Ada—
—to some extent, they actually liked her quite a lot.
It was precisely because of this that Zhou Yi had considered the possibility seriously.
He believed that if the girls were asked to call Ada "Mother," they might not be thrilled about it, but they certainly wouldn't reject it.
Which meant Natasha's reasoning simply didn't hold up.
Using Shirley as an excuse, Natasha had very clearly expressed dissatisfaction with Zhou Yi's behavior.
Honestly, Zhou Yi couldn't understand it at all.
Was she truly thinking about Shirley?
Or was she simply upset with Ada?
Or perhaps…
…did she have some other thoughts?
Looking at Natasha's unreadable expression, Zhou Yi suddenly had a strange feeling.
It felt as though everything she said wasn't actually what she truly wanted to express.
Like acting.
You had to dig deeper to uncover the real meaning beneath the surface.
"Natalia…"
"You're not secretly in love with me, are you?"
A surprised expression slowly appeared on Zhou Yi's face as he asked the question—
—a question that was obviously not supposed to be asked.
And almost immediately, Natasha replied.
"Oh, for God's sake."
"What kind of nonsense is going on inside your head?"
"I always thought only Tony Stark had the talent to be that narcissistic."
"Looks like you're not much better than him."
The moment he heard that, Zhou Yi instantly became dissatisfied.
What did she mean not much better than Tony?
Compared to a narcissist like Tony, he was worlds apart, okay?
Being compared to Tony immediately made Zhou Yi feel as though the sophistication of his entire life had dropped several levels.
"Come on, I was just making a guess."
"Do you really need to describe me with such vicious words?"
"Absolutely necessary."
"Because what you just said gave me goosebumps all over."
Natasha rolled her eyes while rubbing her arms as if she really had gotten goosebumps.
At that point, Zhou Yi could only raise his hands in surrender.
Clearly, he had been overly self-confident and imagining things.
"Alright, alright. My mistake."
"But don't you think the things you said leave a lot of room for misunderstanding?"
"I can guarantee that you're overthinking it."
Natasha answered firmly and decisively.
Faced with such a resolute attitude, Zhou Yi could only admit defeat.
"Okay, okay. Looks like I really was wrong."
"And… I think it's probably best if I leave now."
With a helpless smile, Zhou Yi turned and left first.
As she watched him walk away, Natasha bit lightly on her lip.
Quietly, she rubbed her ear.
There, a delicate earring stood out prominently.
At the center of the earring was a bright white gemstone.
Strangely enough, after Natasha rubbed her earlobe, the gemstone's glow seemed to dim.
And as that glow faded—
—in another location, a group of people staring at monitors collectively let out disappointed sighs.
"Looks like this plan failed too."
"As expected… even after learning the identities of these superhumans, extracting secrets from them still isn't easy."
"Maybe our expectations were too high."
"If you ask me, we should avoid provoking monsters like this whenever possible."
"We should focus our attention on the Hulk instead."
"Focus on the Hulk?"
"Do you realize how much public backlash the U.S. military is facing right now?"
"The Super Soldier Program can't continue anymore."
One voice after another filled the room after the sighing ended.
They discussed matters that sounded incredibly significant—
superheroes, super soldiers, public opinion, political policy…
But from a certain perspective, everything they said was meaningless nonsense.
At the lower end of the table sat Nick Fury with a dark expression.
Listening to the endless stream of terms pouring from their mouths, he had the overwhelming urge to flip the table.
But he knew he didn't have that right.
As long as he remained Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., he couldn't do such a thing.
Because his identity, authority, and power all came from the people sitting above him.
Even if they looked like idiots—
—even if the things they did were even more idiotic—
—as long as they were still called the World Security Council, he had to endure it.
So Nick Fury forcibly suppressed his dissatisfaction and made himself sit there obediently.
But behaving himself didn't mean others would leave him alone.
The position of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director carried enormous authority.
And not everyone was happy seeing Nick Fury sitting in that seat.
"Director Fury, what are your thoughts regarding your agent's failure?"
After the chaotic discussion quieted down, someone immediately aimed the spear at him.
"My thoughts?"
"What thoughts could I possibly have?"
"Mission failure is perfectly normal."
"Sir, you should know that nobody in this world completes every mission with one hundred percent success."
Nick Fury was no pushover.
He was a man forged through gunfire and battlefields.
Even when speaking calmly, there was always the scent of gunpowder in his words—
—and right now, his mood was terrible.
"But Director Fury…"
"The one assigned to this mission was your most elite agent."
"Even people like us have heard of the Black Widow."
Another person stood up to attack him.
Clearly, more than one member of the council was dissatisfied with Fury.
"So what?"
"Even when I was an agent myself, there was never a mission with guaranteed success."
Fury continued to counter them.
Then the man who started the criticism finally lost patience.
"What we mean, Director Fury…"
"…is that perhaps you should discipline your agents a little better."
"I believe everyone saw how she behaved."
"She looked less like an agent and more like some jealous idiot woman."
"If your agents are all like that, I honestly can't imagine any reason the mission would succeed."
Hearing that, Fury immediately widened his single remaining eye.
"First of all, let me remind you something, sir."
"This mission was assigned directly to my agent without my approval—or even my review."
"So even if it failed, that outcome is completely understandable."
"Second…"
"If all you saw was a jealous woman throwing a tantrum…"
"…then let me tell you something, sir."
"I think you should spend more time paying attention to your own family."
"Because apparently you can't even tell when a woman is acting."
"And third—"
"If you truly believe my agents are useless, then excellent."
"I can hand the surveillance mission regarding the Dawn Knight over to you."
"I'm sure the elites under your command will bring us all a pleasant surprise."
-----------------------
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