Ace blinked.
Once.
Twice.
And thrice.
Then his shoulders slumped as he exhaled a slow breath.
"…You really rehearsed that whole 'It was me, Sa Rah' bit, didn't you?"
Sarah's smug grin twitched, ever so slightly. "What?"
"I mean," he gestured lazily, "the dramatic pause, the lean-in, the villain monologue with that smug little smirk, everything is textbook stuff. You've clearly been dying to say that line for months."
Her eyes narrowed. "Mock me all you want. It doesn't change the truth and your situation."
"Oh, I truly believe you," Ace said with a solemn nod. "Clearly, you have planned everything well. Like let's say, how you definitely meant to blow me up and leave me half dead in a ditch. Or how you absolutely foresaw me awakening a system and surviving multiple assassination attempts with zero cultivation."
She opened her mouth, but Ace wasn't finished yet.
"No, no—don't get me wrong. Ten out of ten for effort. But here's the thing…"
