Raven saw that Celina and Theodore had finished talking, yet he still came running over to pester her, and she immediately felt uneasy. So after greeting him, she quickly grabbed a broom, trying to slip away. But Theodore was faster, catching her hand. "Where are you going?" Raven glanced at the hand he was holding and tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong. Left with no choice, she stood there and replied reluctantly. "Since you and Madam are done talking, I need to go clean the dance studio." There was still that broken cup she had not cleaned up yet! Theodore did not let go. Instead, he turned to the other maid in the room and ordered, "You go." "Alright." The older maid quickly grabbed the cleaning tools and headed out, sneaking one last nosy look at Raven stuck in the utility room with Theodore. Tsk tsk, was this about to turn into one of those 'rich CEO falls for the maid' stories? All the irritation Raven had been bottling up finally spilled over. She slammed the broom down and raised her voice. "Mr. Theodore, what exactly do you want?" However, Theodore did not seem bothered by her anger at all. Still gripping her hand, he answered casually, "Told you already, I want you to be my girlfriend." Raven stopped avoiding and met his gaze. "Mr. Theodore, we're not from the same world. I don't deserve you. You'd better look elsewhere." Theodore pressed his lips together. "Tsk, you're pretty hard to win over." That nearly made Raven laugh out of anger. "Hard to win over? When have you ever tried to win me over?" He looked genuinely puzzled. "I've been chasing you this whole time. Can't you tell?" Raven was speechless. This eccentric heir thought that just saying 'be my girlfriend' counted as chasing? Not that it mattered—whatever his way of 'courting,' she was not interested in getting tangled up with him. So she firmly said, "Don't waste your time. I'm still young, I don't want to date." He studied her and muttered, "You really are quite a bit younger than I am." Just as Raven let out a sigh of relief and tried to pull her hand free, he added, "The younger, the better for training. Good. I've decided—it'll be you. You have plenty of potential." Raven was speechless. She honestly could not understand why this man was so obsessed with turning her into some kind of fighter. Didn't his family already have enough bodyguards? His grip was starting to hurt. "Mr. Theodore, let's talk this out properly. Let go first." Theodore noticed her reddening wrist and finally released her. "My name's Theodore." "Mr. Theodore, you ... " "Call me Theodore." Raven took a deep breath. Talking to him felt impossible. However, if it was just a name, fine. She glanced around, making sure no one else was there, and said, "Alright, Theodore." Satisfied, he nodded. She went on, "I may be young, but I'm already twenty-two. Starting martial arts now is too late for me."He paused to think for a moment. "True. Kids who aren't adults yet pick it up better." Raven quickly nodded. "Exactly! So I really ... " He cut her off. "But I'm not about to date a kid either. You're still more suitable for me." He paused, his eyes sweeping over her face. "You're pretty. Barely good enough for me. With my training, you'll do well. Who knows—you might even surpass me someday." Raven did not know what to say. "Why are you so set on having a girlfriend who fights?" For once, he actually explained with some patience. "Because my girlfriend should be the best." Raven frowned. "And what does fighting have to do with being the best?" She had never once heard of a man whose standard for a partner was 'good at fighting.' Theodore leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "Doesn't matter? Then what kind of woman do you think counts as excellent?" Raven thought about it. "Successful in her career, educated, well-mannered, elegant, from a good family, kind and virtuous ... there are countless standards. But I've never heard anyone say being good with a gun was one of them." Theodore shrugged. "Those were old standards. In the apocalypse, strength is what matters." He thought of Natalie's sharp decisiveness, the way she could cut people down without hesitation, and his lips curled. Then he looked at Raven, his voice taking on a persuasive edge. "Don't you want to be strong?" Raven looked at his blond hair, keeping silent.Of course, she wanted strength. But she knew that nothing in this world came for free. Every gift had a hidden price tag. And her instincts told her this Theodore was dangerous. Her instincts had never been wrong. He waited a while, but when she gave no answer, he straightened from the wall and grabbed her wrist again. "Come on, training time." "Wait," Raven said quickly, "I've got something to say." Realizing there was no escape, she decided to yield. If it meant learning martial arts and how to shoot, then so be it. In chaotic times, having a skill to protect herself could only be a good thing.