Today, Kate wore a form-fitting black dress paired with black stockings on her long legs and smooth blonde hair, exuding a cold glamour laced with an indescribable allure.
Honestly speaking, though stockings were a Western invention, they seemed far more enticing when worn by Easterners.
Truly beautiful white women with great figures often possessed more appeal without them than with them.
Kate, however, was an exception.
From Qi Li's personal experience, she possessed one kind of charm bare-legged, and an entirely different kind when she wore stockings.
At that moment, Kate paced alone in the hallway, her gaze drifting every so often toward Derek's lounge, her fingers absentmindedly unbuttoning the wrist of her leather glove.
She glanced down at the time, her eyes hardening with resolve, and was just about to make her move.
Suddenly, Qi Li's unhurried, undisguised footsteps echoed from behind her.
Startled at first, Kate quickly rearranged her expression, turned around with an intimate, sweet smile, and waved.
"Hey, Qi Li, what are you doing out here?"
Qi Li walked up to her, the corners of his mouth curving into a teasing smile.
"Couldn't help it. Someone gave her word that she'd bring me back hot dogs and cola, but then vanished without a trace. I had to come out and check for myself."
"Oh, that—" Kate immediately wore an expression of sudden realization, rushing to cover for herself. "You know how it is. So many people have poured in. The lines at the hot dog and drink stands were packed. I... was just waiting a bit before going back."
Qi Li said nothing more. He simply reached out and took Kate's slender, beautiful hands into his own.
This wasn't the first time he had taken her hands, and the awkwardness she once felt was gone.
She merely wondered, "Qi Li, what are you..."
Before she could finish—
Her light-blue pupils contracted in shock as she realized Qi Li was peeling off her glove.
Instinctively, she tried to pull her hand back.
Qi Li held her firm, sliding the glove completely off with quiet insistence. Then, one large and one small, one strong and one slender, their bare fingers intertwined and locked tightly together without any barrier between them.
Kate shuddered violently.
For the first time, her bare skin touched Qi Li's with nothing in between.
In that instant, the warmth flowing from his palm captivated her.
Yet the heavy weight of past memories surged up right behind it.
Her eyes dimmed, and she began to struggle again, still trying to wrench her hand free.
Qi Li did not let go; instead, he gripped tighter.
Gazing into her eyes, he said solemnly, "Your superpower is a part of you, Kate. Don't fear it, don't resist it, and above all, don't hate yourself for it. Try to accept it, embrace it, and master it—instead of letting it hold you captive. We are the true masters of our powers."
Kate's eyes welled with tears.
Right now, she didn't even care how Qi Li had learned about her superpower.
Staring intently at him, her voice trembled with raw, inescapable vulnerability. "But... I used it to do terrible things. I'm scared! I'm scared I'll end up hurting you too..."
The human mind was fickle by nature; even the person harboring the thoughts could never fully control them.
One second you might think to add salt, and the very next, for no reason at all, you'd think of adding sugar instead.
If Kate took off her gloves and engaged in bare skin contact with Qi Li without reservation—
Most of the time, they might be completely fine.
But no one could guarantee—not even Kate herself—that at some point in the future, an unbidden thought might flash through her mind before she could catch it, involuntarily translating into reality through her superpower.
Even if none of it was what she truly intended.
That was what Kate truly feared.
In response, Qi Li offered a gentle smile. "Then let's test it."
With that, he lifted her chilly hands and pressed them right against his cheeks, his tone breezy. "Kate, use your psychic power on me. Tell me to kiss your lips, for instance, or somewhere else. Uh, let's not make it too kinky, though. And nothing too intense—I still have to step into the ring shortly."
Hearing his playful banter, Kate laughed through her tears. Seeing the unwavering resolve in his eyes, utterly devoid of disgust, anxiety, or wariness, she finally nodded. Keeping her palms pressed against him, she took a deep breath, invoked her psychic power, and commanded, "Kiss me."
Her word was absolute command.
Kate was a psychic master: as long as her hands touched someone, she could force them to obey any command, and the effect lasted for a long time.
In a sense, the difference between her and Professor X was merely that she had to make physical contact with her hands to activate her power, whereas he possessed an all-weather, seamless, short-to-long-range mental coverage.
Yet at this very moment, Kate's superpower failed.
She had already tilted her face up slightly, her eyelashes trembling, ready to receive Qi Li's kiss.
Yet when she looked up, she saw Qi Li smiling at her, completely motionless, with no intention of following the order.
In an instant, Kate's lovely eyes widened in utter disbelief.
Then, her body trembled faintly; she tried to say something, but was too overcome with emotion to speak.
Qi Li winked at her. "Now you don't have to worry anymore, right?"
Psychic shielding—one of the superpowers Qi Li had acquired, the ultimate auxiliary talent for the physical path.
*I can't read your mind, and you can forget about reading mine.*
The absolute nemesis of psychic abilities.
Kate felt not the slightest hostility toward this; instead, a surge of joy washed over her.
She was so incredibly lucky!
Tears of joy streamed silently down her face.
Just as she was about to throw herself recklessly into his arms, Qi Li suddenly held her by the shoulders and added, "Granted, a woman quietly making sacrifices behind a man's back is commendable. Like you preparing to control Derek so he'd throw the match. But when a third party gets involved, the nature of the whole thing changes. Kate, you shouldn't have hidden this from me."
Hearing this, Kate froze, utterly flustered, guilt and anxiety flooding her eyes. "I... I'm so sorry. I only wanted to help you, really."
Qi Li caressed her lovely face, his voice softening. "It's fine. You only acted out of concern, and you didn't know what I'm capable of. It's just that next time..."
"There won't be a next time!" Kate swore to God.
Seeing this, Qi Li opened his arms. "Then what are you waiting for?"
Kate could hold back no longer and threw herself at him with all her might.
Shortly after—*crack!*
The wall shuddered a few times, spiderweb cracks spreading outward across it.
*Thud!*
A series of small craters were stamped into the marble floor.
Then came the heavy thud of a closing door.
With Kate's arms and legs wrapped tightly around him, refusing to let go, Qi Li carried her swiftly back into the lounge.
Chapter 26