Chapter 868:

“Gavin told me Edward was his friend,” Elyse recalled firmly. She was sure of her memory.

Cody nodded. “Yes, Edward and Gavin are friends. They connected through Simon and me. Since they’re different ages, they’ve never competed against each other.”

Elyse touched her chin, now fully understanding the connection to Edward’s mentor.

“By the way, Edward is here too. Would you like to meet him?” Simon sipped his drink, smirked, and added, “He’s been moping around all day after finishing second. He just started feeling hungry and went to the food area.”

Elyse paused. Realizing she needed to discuss more with Edward, she nodded and decided to look for him.

Elyse said to Cody, “Mr. Tucker, I’m heading out to meet Edward.”

Cody nodded and smiled warmly. “Enjoy yourself. Grab a bite if you’re hungry. I’ve got some friends coming by.”

Elyse softly acknowledged, “Okay.” She turned to Irving. “Irving, will you join me?”

“No, I’ll stay here. Go ahead,” Irving replied, settling next to Cody.

“Alright then, I’ll go alone,” Elyse stated, then turned and briskly walked away.

As she departed, Simon remarked to Cody, “Elyse sure follows orders well. I wish Edward was as compliant.”

Cody laughed. “Let it go. Edward’s just full of character. A loss might actually do him some good—keep him from getting too cocky.”

Simon glanced around nervously. “Does Elyse have a boyfriend? Maybe she and Edward could talk and bond?”

Cody’s expression clouded momentarily. “Stay out of their personal affairs,” he cautioned sternly.

Simon chuckled awkwardly. “Just thinking of mixing things up a bit.”

Meanwhile, Elyse reached the food section and spotted Edward fervently tearing into a chicken leg. He was plowing through chicken legs, alternating bites with sips of red wine, his zeal unfazed by his recent defeat. Observing him, Elyse couldn’t reconcile his voracious eating with the image of someone disheartened by a loss.

After polishing off the chicken legs, Edward reached for some grilled shrimp. Just as he was about to grab some, Elyse approached and inquired, “Do you know where I might find some lamb chops?”

Edward paused, his face clouding over as he muttered, “How should I know where the lamb chops are? I’m not really hungry. Just picking at things.”

Catching the pretense in his tone, Elyse smiled slightly and teased, “I just watched you happily devouring those chicken legs. No need to play it down with me.”

Caught off guard, Edward quickly grabbed his wine glass, covering his embarrassment, and retorted, “Why didn’t you mention you were here? Watching me in secret? Could it be…” he boldly inquired, “You like me?”