At this time, Athena's emotional excitement was indeed a bit uncontrollable, but it was only natural. You could not imagine the despair and terror a helpless girl felt when controlled by a villainous scoundrel. Franklin's frightful aura left her suffocating with fear.

Her dreams, her efforts, everything she had persisted in, and even her life itself would be shattered beneath Franklin's destructive touch.

The girl was utterly desolate at that time, her vacant eyes devoid of life. But just as the world grew dim, a dark streak appeared before her. It was a superhero's aura, a faint glow in the darkness that radiated throughout her body. It bathed her in warmth and swept away Franklin's terrifying aura like a cool draft, causing her fear to subside, her trembling to cease. Athena would never forget that prideful silhouette.

At that moment, time seemed to freeze. At that moment, tears blurred her vision, she would never forget his piercing gaze, as profound as the infinite cosmos, as sharp as a shooting star. She would never forget his words.

'Who's going to pay for your arrogance?'

What a cool line it was...

Indeed, he was cool, especially when she remembered his response to her at their first meeting: 'Take back your pity.'

Only when two shadowy figures became one did Athena realize that he had come to repay an old favor, a favor that was worth every penny of the 100 G coins he had paid.

But from the end of the fight to the man in black's departure, Athena couldn't find any trace of him. Even a multitude of surveillance tapes did her no good. Her superhero seemed to have vanished from Alpha altogether.

After searching for a long time, she had to leave Alpha.

Whenever she thought about their encounter, Athena would feel a profound sense of loss. The assassin in black was a man of few words, but he proved his dedication through his actions. 'I remember that favor,' she thought, feeling that she understood his uniqueness. He was simple but not plain, a man whose heart stirred hers.

Sadly, he disappeared from her world forever. Yes, he would not reappear because he had already repaid that favor.

But, as if fate enjoyed playing tricks on people, just when Athena thought she might never encounter him again for the rest of her life, today, in the rural town of Champion's Arena, she saw him—the one who had plagued her dreams.

The unexpected joy left Athena completely at a loss. She didn't know how to start a conversation or what to say. There was so much she wanted to express. She had imagined their reunion countless times.

However, when the man was sitting in front of her in real life, she found that she, who was usually composed and confident, suddenly became a bit timid. 'I'm so stupid,' she thought.

Her heart was beating fast at this point, and she could even clearly feel the pulsation of her heart.

Normally, she didn't like to act like a superstar, but now her voice was raised due to her excitement. Athena quickly covered her mouth apologetically and began to apologize repeatedly, afraid of making him annoyed: "I'm... I'm sorry, I... I just..."

"Uh, there's no need to apologize that many times. And besides, you've done nothing wrong to be sorry about," Feng Yi responded awkwardly.

"Right, right...." Athena nodded earnestly, observing the man continuously behind her sunglasses, an extremely impolite behavior. She had so many thoughts but didn't know where to start. Should they talk about their first meeting or the moment he saved her? Or should they discuss their life goals or their dreams for their other halves?

She felt somewhat insecure, which was entirely unlike her usual mature and serene demeanor, and said: "Sir, could you please tell me your name?" Suddenly realizing that might be impolite, she added: "I, my name is…"

"Well, just call me Feng Yi. And your name should be Athena, right?"

"Actually…" Athena faltered but eventually she nodded without saying more. Although, knowing his name made her overwhelmed with contentment, she now knew how to find him in the future. At this point, Athena realized she had been staring at Feng Yi the entire time, she briskly averted her eyes: "Sir—no, Feng Yi, thank you for last time. I really want to thank you."

Athena was cut off by Feng Yi. "Ah, I think it's me who should be grateful. You have a kind heart. We've settled our past debts, so we're even now," Feng Yi hesitated, unaware of how to prolong such an insubstantial conversation. He quickly changed the subject, "There's really no need to go out of your way just to say that."

"No, it's not like that. Actually…" Athena hesitated a bit, then said: "I... I want to be friends with you..."

"Ah? Friends... you want to be friends?" Feng Yi almost spit out his drink in shock. This time, he was the baffled one. It wasn't so much the directness of Athena's words as the fact that a world-renowned superstar was suggesting friendship with him, an average Joe.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.