Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 465 - 382: The Woman Who Attacked at Night_2
Ivanka said faintly that women understand better what other women want and need.
Link asked, "What is needed?"
Ivanka replied, "Men."
Ding!
The elevator door opened, and the two returned to the apartment. As soon as they entered the living room, Link heard the tinkling of piano keys and a sad, low female voice singing "Dancing With Your Ghost."
Yelling at the sky
Shouting toward the heavens
Screaming at the world
Crying out in all directions
Baby, why'd you go away?
Baby, why did you have to leave me?
I'm still your girl
I am still your girl
I stay up all night
I stay up all night
Tell myself I'm alright
I tell myself everything is fine
Baby, you're just harder to see than most
...
The singing voice was beautifully sad, ethereal and desolate, like a ghost singing in the bleak Palace of Versailles, utterly stunning.
After listening to it once, Link thought it was better than his own rendition and even more touching than the original.
Entering living room three, a woman with long, curly hair sat at the Steinway piano, singing and playing.
Her thick hair cascaded down like a waterfall, revealing her delicate, fair shoulders on either side. She was dressed coolly, wearing a white tube top and silk shorts, her chest and hips nearly matching Ivanka's in scale.
"When did Lana get here?"
Link turned to Ivanka.
"She's been here since noon; she was sleeping in the bedroom when you arrived," Ivanka said, taking off her shoes.
"Her singing is too negative, bordering on depressive. As her BFF and boss, haven't you thought about helping her?"
"Only a man can help her with that, why don't you give it a try?" Ivanka encouraged.
Link shook his head; he had heard some things about Lana's situation.
Lana once dated a street racer when she was eighteen or nineteen; during a race, he had an accident where his head was crushed by a tire. She underwent a year of psychological counseling afterwards.
At twenty, she finally began to come out from under the shadow of that relationship and found a singer boyfriend with shared interests. Yet within a year, her second boyfriend died in a car accident, which she witnessed firsthand. The trauma deepened her psychological scars, making her very sensitive to words related to boyfriends and cars, bordering on phobic.
The continuous blows brought Lana's spirits down, causing the songs she sang and wrote to resemble dirges.
Of the 14 songs on her second album "Born To Die," apart from the two by Link, the other 12 she wrote herself, each more morose than the last.
With "Dancing With Your Ghost," one could play her album from start to finish at a funeral without needing to change the track.
"Hey, Lana, can I request a song?"
Link shouted.
Lana looked back at him, her long eyelashes fluttering as she smiled and said, "What song would you like to hear?"
"How about 'Here With You'?"
This song was one of the lead tracks from his third album; because of its upbeat melody and positive lyrics, it had many similarities to "Young and Beautiful," and was also considered a cheerful version of that song.
Link hoped this song would influence Lana's mood.
"OK!"
Lana adjusted herself and began to sing and play along.
To all my friends
To all my dear friends
The night is young
The night is yet unwaxed
the music's loud
The music is ringing
They playing our song
They are lost in the music we created
Nowhere else that I belong
...
After listening, Link couldn't help but look disappointed; a cheery song, when sung by Lana, still carried the aura of a mournful one.
Ivanka smiled faintly, reminding him that Jennifer Lawrence had arrived.
Link and Ivanka greeted Jennifer at the elevator entrance.
Upon meeting, Ivanka took the initiative to greet Jennifer, who also smiled politely in response, glancing at Link.
The atmosphere between the two women wasn't awkward.
But Link felt incredibly awkward as he followed behind them, unsure whether to walk in front or behind them. Walking in the middle and holding one's hand appeared to be an option, but the mood wasn't right; it felt like trying to climb stairs that weren't there and risking hitting his head.
When the three of them reached the living room, Lana, upon seeing Jennifer, also seemed surprised; then looked at Link and smiled mischievously.
At that point, Link also realized that inviting Jennifer here might not have been a good idea.
After Jennifer's arrival, the specially ordered seafood feast was brought to the dining table by the servers.
The four of them sat at a long dining table.
Link sat at the head of the table, with Ivanka, Jennifer, and Lana on either side. As they ate, the three women chatted about movies, music, and fashion, leaving Link without an opportunity to interject. Once, when they were discussing movies, he tried to chime in, but the three women stopped talking to listen to him alone.
Link wasn't used to being the head of the household, and suddenly being placed in this position was somewhat overwhelming for him.
To avoid awkwardness, after he finished speaking, he kept quiet for the rest of the meal, quietly eating his seafood and thinking that with both Jennifer and Ivanka present, something might happen that night, so he ate more abalone, oysters, and geoduck.
However, when it came time to go to sleep, everything was different from what he had expected. It was out of the question that Ivanka and Lana would share a bed with him, and Jennifer had no intention of sleeping with him either, so he was alone for the night.
This situation reminded him of an old saying: one monk will shoulder two buckets of water, two monks will share the load, but three monks will have no water to drink.
Link was the bald monk with no water to drink; seeing the three women each return to their rooms, he had no choice but to suppress the vigorous fire inside him and go to sleep.
But in the middle of the night...
He dreamt he was trapped in a cold, damp swamp with his legs sinking in.
The more he struggled to lift his legs, the deeper he sank.
As he gradually woke up, he found a woman in his arms.
Long, dense curls with a faint, icy fragrance.
A curvaceous figure.
Not quite as sleek as Ivanka's but fuller and more mature than Jennifer's.
He was taken aback.
Just as he was about to speak, she kissed him.
Whispering in his ear, "I'm sorry, I really like you," along with a bashful sob.
Link withdrew his hand, which had been pushing her away, and completely succumbed to the bottomless swamp of the dream.
The next day when he woke up, however, his arms were empty, and he was still alone in bed.
Last night's swamp seemed only to exist in his dream.
The next day he continued his routine of running, training, and shooting movies. Jennifer finished her work here and returned to Los Angeles to continue shooting "X-Men 4."
The only change was that Link became a bit more cautious while driving.
On his way to the set, a black man suddenly darted out in an alley, startling him. As he braked to avoid the man, he was rear-ended by another car, and his vehicle's front end hit a fire hydrant, soaking both him and the car.
During the collision, he couldn't help but think of the rain-soaked swamp from the night before, feeling last night's woman had been somewhat mystical.
"Link, look here, we've started shooting, buckle up."
Director Joe Johnston from the "Captain America" crew called out.
"OK!"
Link rubbed his face and said.
"Scene 14, shot 2, take 2, Action!"
"Captain America" continued filming, with Steve Smith finally joining the army under Dr. Erskine's tutelage and partaking in the ongoing Super Soldier project.
After using the "Super Soldier Formula," his physique underwent a dramatic transformation. He became taller, stronger, and his endurance, speed, reflexes, and intelligence were all top-notch.
"Steve, how do you feel?"
In the lab, Dr. Erskine asked.
Link, lying in the experiment chamber, chuckled: "Feels pretty good."
"That's penicillin!"
Dr. Erskine patted his shoulder as the staff announced the start of the experiment.
Link watched Agent Carter's retreating figure, a flash of determination in his blue eyes.
"Five, four, three, two, one! Begin!"
The staff began the injection, and the chamber's syringe advanced in tandem. Link's eyes widened as he gritted his teeth tightly and grunted in pain, while the lights in the laboratory flickered.
"Cut!"
"That's a keeper, let's do another!"
"Link, you're about to transform, put some more into it, I believe you can do even better," Director Joe Johnston exclaimed.
"OK!"
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Link lay on the bed, took a deep breath, and gathered his spirit to continue the performance.
