Chapter 100 1/1

In the wake of Julie’s silence, Blaine continued, “I heard from Lace that you opened your own studio. Is that true?” Julie nodded with a smile. “That’s right. We just opened for business today!” “As expected of the woman I regard as my younger sister! Amazing!” exclaimed Blaine, giving her a thumbs-up. Julie blushed, her cheeks dusting faintly. She shot him a faint smile and waved a dismissive hand. “It’s nothing so great.” Just then, Lester piped up curiously, “What kind of business are you running, Jules?” Julie quickly pulled out a few leaflets from her bag and handed them to him, explaining enthusiastically, “Take a look at this. If you need anything, feel free to contact me anytime. I’ll give you a discount!” Lester reached out to take the leaflet. After reading it, he exclaimed in surprise, “You have a really broad range of services!” Julie nodded slightly, saying shyly, “That’s right. We just opened for business, after all, so we’re still in the exploratory stage.” Lester carefully put the leaflet away before asking, “How about we add each other on WhatsApp so that it’ll be easier for us to communicate in the future?” Julie immediately took out her phone excitedly, opened her WhatsApp, and added him to her contacts. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and a waiter pushed a cart into the room. Lester shouted eagerly, “The food we ordered has finally arrived!” He turned to Hal and said hesitantly, “Uh, the oysters you ordered are here.” Hal was immersed in a game of poker and showed no intention of looking up. He simply waved dismissively and said, “Just put it aside for now. I’m in the middle of playing poker.” Lester looked displeased and asked angrily, “Are you going to eat it or not, Hal? If you aren’t, I’m going to throw it away.” Hal sighed in exasperation and said soothingly, “Come on. Don’t be in such a hurry to throw it away, my friend. Just let me finish this game of poker first.” Lester’s expression softened slightly, and he smiled faintly. Then, as if showing off a precious collection, he pushed the dish Lucian had specially ordered for Julie in front of her and urged passionately, “Hurry up and try this, Jules.” Julie nodded lightly. After quietly muttering her thanks, she picked up a plate and started eating. Blaine, sitting next to her, glanced at the oysters. He subconsciously reached out to take some, but before he could touch them, Lester vehemently smacked the back of his hand. “Hey, what are you trying to do?” he asked. “Order your own if you want some.” Blaine clicked his tongue, saying teasingly, “I say, you’re acting strangely today, Esty.” Lester’s eyes flickered guiltily, but he bit the bullet and retorted, “How so?” Blaine smiled faintly and didn’t respond, simply gazing silently at Lester. His eyes seemed to say that he had seen through everything. Lester felt goosebumps rising along his arms under that gaze and involuntarily avoided it, mumbling, “Eat it if you want. I hope you choke on those oysters.” Blaine leaned back against the couch, a small smile playing on his lips. “Forget it,” he drawled. “It’s not mine, so I’ll pass.” He leisurely picked up his phone and started scrolling. Not long after, Hal stood up from the poker table and approached Blaine. He extended his hand in invitation, saying, “Let’s play a couple rounds, Blaine.” Blaine shook his head, waving Hal off. “No thanks. I’ll pass.” He turned to Julie and asked softly, a gentle smile on his face, “Want to play a few rounds of cards, Juju?” Julie immediately refused. “No thanks. I don’t know how to play poker.” Blaine gazed at her, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smile as he urged, “Come on. It’s all just fun and games. Let’s go. I’d much rather not linger around here being an unwelcome third wheel.”