“Get in there!” Olivia suddenly jumped behind Ethan, wrapped her arms around his waist, and hoisted him up before striding straight into the room with him.
“No— don’t— stop—” Ethan struggled in an overly “shy” way, especially twisting his shoulders, just to enjoy the soft pressure pressing into his back a bit longer.
At the same time, a memory flashed through his mind— that time he was basically ambushed by that beautiful assassin…
He sighed silently, half in self-mockery: Why is it always me?
Getting “bullied” by gorgeous women—is this some kind of cursed fate?
“Come on, help Donna already!” Olivia plopped Ethan down at the bedside.
Still covering his face, Ethan wasn’t quite sure if it was embarrassment or plain shock.
“Haha, alright Ethan, quit pretending to be all noble! We’re begging you, just take a look already!” Chloe laughed out loud, eyes glinting with amusement.
She actually liked this new friend more and more.
Normally she couldn’t stand people who put on airs, but somehow Ethan doing it looked oddly genuine.
Like…
just the right kind of dramatic.
Finally letting his hands drop, Ethan gave Donna a somewhat dramatic, melancholic look.
So she kicked him out yesterday, now calls him back like nothing happened?
Not even a “my bad”?
Donna saw that look and felt a little awkward.
She gave a faint smile.
“Ethan, about last night… I really need to thank you.”
That counted as an apology.
Ethan nodded, satisfied.
“Donna, I was just doing what needed to be done.
Oh, and about the CPR I gave you back then, I actually had a very good reason—”
“Okay okay, drop it!” Donna quickly cut him off and shifted the topic.
“Earlier I mentioned this breakout on my skin.
Do you think you can help?”
“Yeah,” Ethan nodded seriously, “and it’s pretty effective too.”
The moment he stepped into the room, his X-ray Vision already told him the root cause and the solution.
Of course he was confident.
“Tell me!” Donna leaned forward, eyes full of hope.
Ethan pointed at her right shoulder.
“You’ve got inflammation there. A proper massage will break that up, and the acne will improve. Actually, that inflammation might even be behind your toothaches, too.”
Donna twisted her neck to look at her right shoulder.
The moment she did, she could feel the dull ache again.
But the idea of Ethan massaging her shoulder felt…
a bit too much.
After hesitating, she looked back at him.
“Ethan, can you just explain how to do it, and let Olivia do the massage?”
“Well…” Ethan scratched his short hair.
“Olivia’s got strong hands…
might be tough for a spot that delicate.”
“Excuse me?!” Olivia instantly glared at him.
“Big hands or not, show me the method—I’ll definitely manage. Don’t think you doctors are the only ones who’ve learned massage techniques. FYI, I’ve had training too!”
She shot a look at Chloe.
“Olivia’s a Tai Chi expert.
I figure Tai Chi and massage skills should go hand in hand.”
Ethan chuckled and gestured at Olivia, “Alright, Olivia, I’ll walk you through the technique.
You do it.”
Without hesitation, Olivia stepped up to Donna’s side and placed her hand on her shoulder.
“Go ahead, Ethan.”
“You might want to pull her patient gown down a bit at the shoulder,” Ethan said softly.
“Massage works better on bare skin.”
Olivia didn’t hesitate.
She gently tugged the fabric down, exposing Donna’s fair, smooth shoulder.
The sight hit Ethan like a bolt of lightning—his breath caught.
That one shoulder alone could stun a man.
What about the rest of her?
His head spun for a moment.
But then he reminded himself, hey, you’ve faced down beautiful assassins before, get a grip.
He cleared his throat and instructed, “Olivia, place your thumb behind the trapezius, and the other four fingers in front of it. Grip the point firmly. Then start kneading with thumb and fingers pressing toward each other…”
Following Ethan’s directions, Olivia began carefully massaging.
“Ah!” Donna gasped, her body tensing and eyebrows knotting.
“What happened?” Olivia froze.
“It hurts… a lot,” Donna winced.
“I’ll go softer,” Olivia muttered, flustered.
She eased up, but only managed a couple more seconds before another soft cry came from Donna, making anyone nearby ache in sympathy.
“I… I don’t think I can do this,” Olivia said, wiping sweat from her forehead.
“Ethan, you’ll have to take over…”
Donna, now visibly struggling through the pain, had beads of sweat forming on her refined nose.
She nodded slightly.
“Let him try… just, you know, be gentle, okay?”
The way she said it wasn’t direct, but the message was clear.
Olivia got the hint instantly, shooting Ethan a warning glare.
“You better keep it professional. Got it?”
Ethan gave a small nod, stepping behind Donna.
He slowly reached out his hand toward her shoulder.
Olivia didn’t take her eyes off him.
She looked as tense as if she were defusing a bomb, half-expecting his hand to drift, well…
somewhere it shouldn’t.
Chloe stood off to the side, also watching closely.
She was curious—was his massage technique really that magical?
As Ethan’s hand rested gently on Donna’s shoulder, it visibly trembled.
“What’s with the shaking?” Olivia caught it right away and frowned.
“Donna’s shoulder got static or something?””Shake?” Ethan raised an eyebrow as his fingers touched Donna’s shoulder.
He kept his cool, despite the thrill running through him.
“Your girl Olivia thinks it’s a shake, but in my book, this is called a vibration.”
“Vibration?” Olivia blinked.
“Wait, what kind of vibration?”
“You’ll figure it out,” Ethan answered casually, already starting the massage.
Olivia frowned, turning the word over in her mind.
“Since when does a massage involve… vibration?”
She glanced at Chloe, hoping for some clarity—after all, Chloe and Ethan were supposedly friends.
Chloe grinned.
“Come on, girl.
Car vibrations happen in a car…
so on a bed, obviously it’s—bed vibrations.”
“What?!” Olivia’s eyes widened like dinner plates.
Donna, hearing that, turned beet red.
She darted a glare at Chloe, her voice soft but sharp, “Vivi!”
“My bad, my bad.” Chloe pressed her palms together in mock apology, closing her eyes like she was asking for forgiveness—but couldn’t help smirking afterward.
Olivia whipped her head back toward Ethan, instantly suspicious again.
She didn’t fully trust this guy; he always gave off a bit of a dangerous vibe.
But when she saw his expression, she stalled.
Ethan had his eyes half-closed, expression calm and focused.
Strangely composed.
And with each press of his hand, his movements looked surprisingly…
professional.
Truth was, Ethan didn’t know massage techniques that well at all.
He was entirely relying on the guidance from his X-ray Vision.
Still, as his hands moved over Donna’s skin, he felt a strange heat building up from within—tingly, warm, and, honestly, kind of addictive.
What’s up with this weird energy in my hands?
Could it be tied to my X-ray Vision?
The room had gone completely quiet.
You could hear the faint sound of skin being massaged.
“Ahh…” Donna let out a breathy, soft moan, her cheeks flushing as she tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
“Ethan, don’t stop… just a bit more pressure…”
She could feel that mysterious warmth swirling around her shoulders, slowly spreading throughout her whole body.
It was euphoric, like floating on clouds.
She never wanted it to stop.
A smile curled on her lips as she nodded slowly, completely lost in the moment.
That flirtatious, half-whispered voice made Olivia’s jaw drop.
Chloe, too, was frozen in place.
As Donna’s close friends, they both knew she wasn’t the kind of girl who flirted around—especially not with guys.
She was strict with boundaries and always kept her distance.
But now?
This was not the Donna they knew.
And what followed…
was even more shocking.