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In fact, the moment Penny, Ilson, and the others appeared in front of Arthur, he had already sensed that something wasn't quite right.
Even though they had done their best to erase any obvious traces about themselves and present the image of ordinary people, the posture formed through long-term training could still be seen in their bearing and movements.
If ithad only been one or two people like that, it might have felt like the classic "special forces soldier returns to the city" scenario. But an entire department, every single person carrying the same kind of presence?
This wasn't some special forces training camp. How could that possibly be normal?
So at that moment, Arthur had already grown suspicious.
To be honest, he had always found it a bit odd that Lily's job differed so greatly from what she had originally studied.
The fact that she had passed the interview so smoothly had already raised some missionions in his mind, though he hadn't taken it too seriously.
After all, he wasn't exactly familiar with how companies evaluated candidates.
But now it seemed… from the very beginning, everything had been arranged clearly for her.
Especially the name Natasha was using now, "Ms. Bess." Arthur had heard Lily mention that name more than once.
"So they've been in contact for quite a while already?" In that instant, Arthur couldn't quite sort out what he was feeling: guilt, unease, the sense that he was being a scumbag… it all seemed to be there.
Yet when everything blended together, what surfaced was a strangely subtle sense of absurdity.
None of it showed on his face. It was as if he had never met Natasha before. He stood up with Lily and her "colleagues" to welcome Ms. Bess's arrival.
Throughout the entire dinner, the only thing Arthur truly pondered was whether Natasha's workload had become too heavy.
Managing the intelligence division at Camp Lehigh already meant an enormous daily burden.
On top of that, there were the missions he occasionally entrusted to her. A day only had twenty-four hours, yet she still found time to play Lily's superior?
Even if she didn't appear at the office every day, just showing up once every two or three days was already an unexpectedly high frequency.
"A colossus or what? Does this woman not understand the concept of rest?"
Arthur sighed inwardly.
Halfway through the meal, Lily excused herself to go to the restroom.
The moment she stepped out of the private room, the entire atmosphere changed.
The laughter, the liveliness, the animated discussions, all vanished without a trace.
Aside from Natasha, everyone else's expressions became somewhat restrained and uneasy.
After all, no matter how slow the big boss might be, the moment Natasha appeared, he would understand what was going on. And facing this elusive, almost mythical Boss, Penny, Ilson, and the others couldn't help but feel nervous.
Natasha cleared her throat lightly. "Are you angry?"
Arthur glanced at her. "I have one missionion…"
Everyone, including Natasha, turned to look at him.
Arthur curled his lips. "You said family members were welcome. So where are your family members? Bring them along! How did it end up that I'm the only one attending your company gathering as a 'family member'? That girl may be easygoing, but if she weren't, anyone could see through such an obvious loophole, okay?"
Except for Natasha, everyone lowered their heads in silent self-reflection.
Natasha smiled faintly. "That was my oversight."
Hearing her say that, Arthur suddenly felt as though he had no temper left to lose.
Their relationship had long since become too complicated to clearly define. And given that she was willing to go this far for the sake of his current girlfriend, what right did he have to blame her for anything?
He let out a soft sigh and leaned back in his chair. "You've all worked hard."
"Not at all! Not at all!"
Everyone hurriedly shook their heads. Ilson's face was even flushed red. "Being able to work for you, being able to help you, I feel incredibly honored!"
Arthur looked at him in slight surprise. The guy seemed a bit too emotional.
Natasha explained, "His background is different from the others. His family all died at the hands of Hydra."
Arthur understood a little more and nodded. "What's past is past. We all have to look forward."
They talked and chatted. Some words didn't carry much real significance, but at moments like this, what else was there to do except talk?
So even things everyone already knew still had to be said sometimes.
It was enough just to say them. There was no need to worry about whether it was meaningful; there's no such thing as meaningless communication in this world.
Humans slowly grow familiar with one another through conversation. Some become friends, some become brothers, some become lovers, some become husband and wife…
So when Lily returned, she found the room still lively and animated.
Arthur hadn't been excluded by her "colleagues." Everyone was talking happily.
That made Lily especially happy. From the bottom of her heart, she felt content, one million percent satisfied with her current life.
…
…
After dinner, there were more activities planned. Arthur didn't stand out or leave early; he went along with Lily and joined them.
It was nothing more than singing and dancing.
In such an environment, Arthur felt completely at ease, even if he hadn't been present, he would still have been at ease. With a group of highly trained elites like this, protecting one "ordinary" girl anywhere wouldn't be a problem.
And if some crisis truly arose that they couldn't handle, Natasha only needed to call through her communicator, he could arrive within minutes.
By the time all the activities ended, it was already eleven at night.
Arthur settled the slightly drunk Lily into the passenger seat, then looked at Natasha. "Get some rest early."
"You too." Natasha glanced at Lily in the passenger seat. "Since you're here tonight, I let her drink. If it were any other time, I wouldn't have allowed it."
Arthur's gaze turned somewhat complicated.
Natasha smiled softly. "Don't look at me like that. I really like her. She's living the kind of life I truly wanted. A girl… should be like her. Loving someone purely, living simply, experiencing the most ordinary life, and enjoying the simplest happiness. It's wonderful."
Arthur thought for a moment before replying, "Maybe most of the time, we can only experience that kind of happiness through people like them. It makes us feel that what we're doing actually has meaning. But believe me, one day, every one of us will have a life like that."
(End of Chapter)
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