Chapter 20: Private Coaching

Xu Zhou was caught completely off guard. The immense force pitched him forward, and he stumbled.

Ethan reacted in a flash. Through Xu Zhou’s uniform jacket, his right hand pressed down firmly on his shoulder.

The pressure was enormous, like an exact iron clamp. Even through the fabric, the heat was so intense that Xu Zhou’s spine snapped tight.

“Your shoulders are too stiff. Relax.”

Ethan’s low voice reached him from above.

His fingertips on Xu Zhou’s shoulder closed a little, and the calluses pressed through the shirt with unmistakable force.

Xu Zhou turned his head in discomfort and tried to pull his hand back.

But during that earlier tug, Ethan’s other hand was already locked around his wrist.

Five fingers tightened with an almost absolute restraint. Every weak attempt to pull away was crushed on the spot.

Tick. Tick.

The metronome echoed through the quiet dance studio with cold, steady regularity.

“Step back with the beat.”

Ethan’s order was cold. He controlled Xu Zhou’s movement from the arm and forced him one step back.

Xu Zhou retreated. The moment his right foot landed, the silver chain lined with lambskin around his ankle let out a low, dull ring.

Ethan moved in wide steps. His black leather shoe settled precisely beside Xu Zhou’s foot. As their footwork crossed, the long, crisp cuff of his trousers swept coldly over the silver chain.

It was a silent declaration that Gu Yanli’s traces were going to be covered completely.

Being trapped under two forms of control at once drove Xu Zhou past his patience. He deliberately broke the rhythm.

The moment Ethan came closer again, Xu Zhou stomped down hard with his right foot, aiming at Ethan’s spotless shoe without any mercy.

But Ethan had already seen it coming.

In the split second before Xu Zhou’s heel could land, Ethan wrenched the arm on his shoulder and swung him through a clean, forceful half circle.

The centrifugal force hit. Xu Zhou’s foot struck only air.

He lost his balance and crashed into the tall full-length mirror.

A dull thud.

His back pressed against the ice-cold glass.

Ethan braced one hand on the mirror beside Xu Zhou’s ear. His tall frame formed an airtight wall, sealing Xu Zhou in his shadow.

The two of them were too close. Xu Zhou could hear Ethan’s heart beating heavily.

Ethan drove one long leg forward, planted his shoe against Xu Zhou’s foot, and locked off every possible escape.

The mirror exposed the danger of their standoff.

Ethan dipped his head. Dark gold hair brushed across Xu Zhou’s forehead.

In those gray-blue eyes, usually as quiet as stagnant water, a deep crack split through the frozen surface, and an obsession that made people’s hearts race surged out.

“You deliberately hit the wrong beat and acted carelessly. Five points are taken off your daily grade.”

Ethan’s low voice was at close range. His cool breath brushed Xu Zhou’s ear.

His voice was hoarse, but he still delivered the judgment in the most rigid possible way.

“Your withdrawal application is denied, junior. Starting today, you will be in this room at twelve thirty every afternoon. I will be the one to give you… personal coaching.”

Xu Zhou kept his back against the mirror. The cold from the glass and the warmth of Ethan’s body made a sharp contrast.

He lifted a hand and pushed at Ethan’s hard shoulder.

Ethan did not move.

Xu Zhou stopped struggling. He let his shoulders go loose and drained the tension from his limbs.

He raised his head slightly. His bangs were a mess, and the corners of his eyes were reddened with a purely physical flush.

“President,” he breathed out softly, complaint in his nose. “You’re gripping too hard.”

He poked one finger into Ethan’s chest through the shirt. “My wrist hurts.”

There was no hysterical resistance, just a spoiled, wronged sound, and combined with that arrestingly pretty face, it made Ethan’s pupils contract sharply.

Ethan’s airtight rationality could withstand open defiance, but in front of that light complaint, it short-circuited at once.

The fingers locked around Xu Zhou’s wrist loosened half an inch without Ethan noticing.

Xu Zhou turned away in one smooth motion and slipped out through the gap between Ethan’s arm and the mirror.

He smoothed the wrinkled hem of his uniform jacket and straightened his collar.

“I’ll accept whatever punishment comes with the coaching.”

He brushed the dust off his sleeve, and his tone was completely different from a moment ago.

“But it can’t be today. My legs are sore, and I have to go rest. Besides, tonight is the opening game. Senior Mateo asked me to sit in the family section. To keep the student council from spending the weekend handling a violent incident, I need to be there.”

The door was yanked open and slammed shut.

In the practice room, only the metronome was left ticking.

Ethan stood alone before the tall mirror.

He looked down at his empty right hand, feeling the warmth of that wrist still lingering on his fingertips.

“The family section…”

He murmured the phrase low and rough.

An aggressive darkness and chill surged fully through those gray-blue eyes.

He picked up the white gloves from the piano lid and put them back on with a blank face, covering the fingertips that had started to tremble over that complaint.

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