She had been caught up in the moment.

She couldn’t bear to let Nathan Lockwood look bad when he had already taken ninety-nine steps, with only her last one remaining.

Her arms were wrapped around his neck. Nathan Lockwood’s steps were steady as he carried Zoe Pierce on his back, walking toward her room one step at a time.

"Zoe Pierce, can you turn your head a different way?"

Her mind was blank when she heard Nathan Lockwood’s voice from in front of her.

How should she put it? It sounded a little... hoarse?

Chase Shaw approached from behind. "What’s wrong?" He had heard Nathan Lockwood.

Nathan Lockwood tilted his head back, his peach-blossom eyes glancing at him. His Adam’s apple bobbed. "It tickles."

Her every breath fanned across the back of his neck.

Her body was pressed completely against his, a soft, warm wave, swaying and shifting, teasingly close yet distant.

Zoe Pierce belatedly realized Nathan Lockwood was having a slightly abnormal reaction. She was both shocked and annoyed. ’There are so many people around...’

Chase Shaw’s brow furrowed. "How about I carry her instead?"

Nathan Lockwood didn’t even have to think about it. "No need."

There were only a few steps left.

Zoe Pierce didn’t dare bury her face in Nathan Lockwood’s back anymore. Instead, she lifted her head, feigning composure as she gripped the fabric on his shoulders, even controlling the rhythm of her breathing.

Fortunately, the ordeal didn’t last too long. When she was finally sitting on her bed, Zoe Pierce felt the heart that had been caught in her throat finally settle.

Her gaze met Nathan Lockwood’s, only to see him wearing an unreadable half-smile.

’This guy...’

’He’s really the worst...’

Teacher Reid still checked Zoe Pierce’s condition, which was about what Director Quinn had determined. "Today’s intensity was too high, causing muscle fatigue. Lactic acid might build up. I have a few videos here you can follow."

"Alternatively, I can give you a massage to help alleviate it."

Nathan Lockwood’s expression immediately shifted from a half-smile to a frown. "Teacher Reid, just send them to us. We’ll massage her."

Even Erin Xavier couldn’t accept it. Even though he knew Teacher Reid was a Beta, he was still a male.

In real life, there were occasional instances of Betas and Omegas getting together.

"That’s right, Teacher Reid. Leave it to us. We guarantee Zoe Pierce will be perfectly fine tomorrow," Erin Xavier said with a wide smile.

Teacher Reid’s gaze turned to Zoe Pierce. Seeing her nod, he sent some deep-stretch massage techniques from his Intelligent Brain to Nathan Lockwood and the others.

They were usually experienced with stretching; it was only because today’s physical exertion had been so great that she was in this state.

And they couldn’t use any devices.

They could only use the most traditional methods.

After giving his instructions, Miles Sherman was in charge of seeing Director Quinn and Teacher Reid off.

The three Alphas—Nathan Lockwood, Chase Shaw, and Erin Xavier—were left in the room.

Nathan Lockwood’s gaze swept over Chase Shaw and Erin Xavier before finally settling on Chase. "You massage her legs. I’ll take her arms."

Erin Xavier looked anxious. "What about me?"

"Just stay put."

’On what grounds?’ Erin Xavier’s eyes widened in disbelief.

But no one paid him any mind.

He pulled over a chair, crossed his legs, and watched from the side with a displeased expression.

"Oof... it hurts... HSSS..."

"Don’t... don’t touch there... It’s so sore... It’s too ticklish... Ah..."

Miles Sherman came upstairs and was standing at the door when he suddenly heard muffled, ambiguous-sounding sobs coming from inside.

His mind went blank for a second. He abruptly pushed the door open, only to see Zoe Pierce still fully clothed, her fingers clutching the bedsheets. Her small face was flushed, her eyes welled with tears as she dodged the hands of Chase Shaw and Nathan Lockwood. "You don’t have to massage me anymore..."

As his senses slowly returned, Miles Sherman’s fingers trembled. He glanced at Erin Xavier, who was laughing on the side. "What’s going on?"

Those sounds had nearly triggered a stress response in him.

But Erin Xavier, watching Zoe Pierce practically twist herself into a pretzel, hadn’t sensed anything ambiguous at all. On the contrary, he was dying of laughter. Wiping away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes, Erin said, "A massage. Zoe said Nathan and Chase were being too rough and ticklish."

He had originally thought this would be a pleasant task, but the moment Nathan Lockwood started, Zoe Pierce’s body tensed up like a drawn bowstring. Then, as soon as Chase put his hands on her, she cried out in alarm.

She didn’t even give them a chance to react before the tears started falling.

It left both Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw completely bewildered.

But she quickly composed herself, took a few deep breaths, and told them to continue, saying she would endure it.

As it turned out, she couldn’t.

On the not-so-large bed, she dodged left and right, her body instinctively trying to escape.

Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw were like hawks, and she was like a little chick trying to hide. The moment they caught her, before they could even do anything, she would start crying and laughing at the same time.

The whole bed was now a complete mess.

Erin Xavier’s earlier disappointment had completely turned into amusement. "Zoe Pierce, what is wrong with you?"

Even Chase Shaw was getting a headache from Zoe Pierce’s antics. He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing his temples. "What are you dodging for?"

He was afraid of hurting her but also afraid he couldn’t hold her still. It was a real dilemma.

Zoe Pierce just felt that this whole ordeal had made her even more tired. A tear from the corner of her eye streamed down her cheek. "It’s too ticklish. I can’t control it."

She didn’t want to be like this either. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

She hadn’t expected that her body from her past life on Earth—the one that was ticklish all over and couldn’t be massaged—would be the same in this life.

The moment they pressed down, it was sore, and then came an uncontrollable ticklishness that made her want to laugh.

Sore, painful, and ticklish all at once—it was even more despair-inducing than the training.

Those first few presses, with the two of them holding her down, felt like her head was going to split open.

Any hint of ambiguity was gone, replaced by a single thought consuming her entire being.

Escape.

The result was this whole dramatic scene.

She curled up, wrapped herself in the blanket, and collapsed onto the pillow. "Let’s just leave it. We’ll deal with it tomorrow."

Unless she massaged herself, it would be the same no matter who did it. The problem was, she was too tired to move right now.

This was one of the downsides of getting used to advanced technology. Zoe Pierce used to use a Treatment Device, which was simple and easy. Now, it was like someone rich suddenly becoming poor; she couldn’t adapt.

Just then, Miles Sherman walked over.

"Let me try." He had been watching the video on Nathan Lockwood’s device for a bit, and now he looked at Zoe Pierce.

Zoe Pierce wanted to tell Miles Sherman not to bother, but Nathan Lockwood had already moved aside to let him through.

’Alright, I’ll try just one more time at most.’

Hugging a pillow, Zoe Pierce extended her leg again.

Unlike Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw, Miles Sherman didn’t start pressing down right away. Instead, he touched a few points on Zoe Pierce’s muscles and waited. After a moment, seeing her expression gradually relax, he slowly and precisely applied pressure.

It was completely unexpected for Zoe Pierce.

There was none of that aching soreness or ticklishness that made her want to run.

In fact, it was quite comfortable.

Zoe Pierce didn’t try to escape.

Miles Sherman looked at her. "Hope Sherman is very ticklish too. She usually doesn’t let anyone touch her."

But as her closest older brother, Miles Sherman had studied it a bit. Sometimes when he was playing with his little sister, he would pay attention to her reactions.

Properly massaging a child’s tense muscles is good for their development.

So, over time, Miles Sherman had developed his own technique. Sometimes, when he saw Hope Sherman was tired from playing, he would give her a quick massage to help her feel more comfortable.

Now, applied to Zoe Pierce, it was just as effective.

He looked at Zoe. "Tell me if it’s uncomfortable."

Leaning against the headboard and hugging her pillow, Zoe Pierce couldn’t lie. Her voice softened. "It’s not."