They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 463: Thinking Of Anybody Else But Me

“Third. During training, don’t mention Carl. Or Somto. Or anyone else. This space is mine. Yours. Not theirs.”

Nnenna tilted her head slightly at that one. Strange. Was he that strict with everyone? She couldn’t imagine someone being this sensitive about her talking to Carl or Somto. Unless…

She shook the thought off. Not her business.

“Fourth,” he went on, voice tight. “No personal questions. No small talk. If you want to learn, learn. Don’t waste time trying to understand me.”

O-kay, she thought, a bit awkward now. Definitely not a people person.

“Fifth,” he added, eyes flicking to her training clothes, “always wear gear suitable for training. Loose. Practical. No distractions. Just like you’re wearing now.”

Nnenna looked down at her outfit, plain, breathable, nothing flashy. Why was that even a rule? She didn’t ask, just nodded silently. Decency and modesty was always her style.

Arthur paused longer before the next rule.

“Sixth… don’t look at me for encouragement. I’m not here to make you feel good. If you’re tired, push through it. If you fail, do better next time. But don’t expect me to… cheerlead.”

That one actually made her frown slightly. She hadn’t expected cheerleading, just training. Was he projecting something onto her?

Still, she kept quiet.

“Seventh” Arthur added, his voice cooling to a controlled calm, “once training begins, you will treat this as the only priority. No distractions, no excuses, no…other interests.”

He didn’t elaborate, but his eyes flicked to her face and away so quickly she wondered if she had imagined it.

“Eighth” He went on “training ends strictly at 7 a.m. You are dismissed the moment the time is up. After that, we do not discuss what happened during practice. It stays here.”

hands shook a bit as she absorbed every word. Something about the rules felt heavier than mere discipline, as though he

nodded silently, holding his gaze just a moment longer out

close to Carl,

for a moment.

“Understood.”

once, expression unreadable again. He turned without another word and walked toward

Focused. Determined. And just a

this training might be…

center of the training

pull his thoughts back to the work. Focus, he

need to loosen your muscles. A

nodded briskly, tightening her ponytail. She looked perfectly unbothered, which, he told himself, was

“Follow my lead.”

pace and demonstrated the first stretch: feet apart, hands

“Hold it. Breathe.”

extend, the simple motion making something tighten across his chest. Ridiculous. He corrected

thirty,” he ordered

began counting aloud in her calm, even

stretch, lowering to touch

Keep your knees

forward with the same fluid focus. He found himself glancing, too often, just to see if

looked determined, hair sliding over her shoulder. She most likely wasn’t thinking about him at all. Probably thinking about Somto, or Carl, or her goals, or anything but the

sequence: side lunges, shoulder rotations, slow neck rolls. Every time he corrected

shoulders,” he said as she tilted her

“Yes, Sensei.”