Chapter 20

Megan grinned mischievously, then playfully said, “Had to be the demigod superior for ages to let that out.”

“It really wasn’t necessary. I posted a bit too much on Deklok.”

“Oh, if I’d known about you, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep! I always…”

Zayn watched the enthusiastic, playful young woman before him, and his thoughts wandered to Julie. Julie’s concern for him was always superficial, but Megan seemed to truly care.

He reached out to pull her into a hug. “Thank you for last night. You even made me hangover tea.”

Megan froze. “Hangover tea?”

Zayn smirked, then opened his eyes slightly. “Didn’t you make it?”

She quickly recovered. “I just learned how to make it. I’m not great at it yet.”

After taking Megan out for breakfast, Zayn dropped her off at the university. When she was about to get out of the car, Megan clung to him, reluctant to leave.

Zayn chuckled. “Alright, be good and go to class. After your class, I’ll take you somewhere nice for dinner, okay?”

Just then, he noticed a familiar figure stepping off a bus—Julie.

Was she just returning to the university? So she had gone back to the dorm overnight?

Suppressing the urge to confront her, Zayn reassured Megan and watched her walk onto campus. Looking back at Julie’s dorm building, he saw that she had already disappeared. He unexpectedly found himself driving to Julie’s dorm building, staring at the floor where she stayed. After a while, he saw Julie appear on the balcony, seemingly on a phone call with someone. Instinctively, he slouched in his seat, not wanting to be seen.

Only when she returned inside did he sit up, leaning back in his chair. He exhaled in frustration and drove away.

When Julie returned to her dorm, she got a call from Amaya inviting her to lunch. Before long, she grabbed Luca’s shawl, intending to return it today.

The two friends met at a restaurant they frequented.

Julie thought it was just a girls’ outing, but to her surprise, Amaya’s boyfriend was there too. The guy wore a black puffer jacket and jeans, topped with a blue knit cap.

No wonder Amaya was so smitten. He seemed exactly like her type.

He greeted Julie, and Julie awkwardly smiled in response.

Amaya linked her arm with Julie’s and whispered, “How’s my boyfriend?”

Julie noted, “Pretty good, huh?”

“Not bad. By the way, what’s his name?”

The man, hearing Amaya mention him, eagerly introduced himself, “Ms. Somers, my name’s Christian Lake.”

Julie awkwardly smiled again. “Uh, you can just call me Julie.”

Christian flashed a bright smile at her, then affectionately linked arms with Amaya, resting his head on her shoulder. Julie felt awkward and wanted to slip away but couldn’t bring herself to say it. Instead, she texted Amaya.

“You two lovebirds are having dinner together. What am I doing here and where?”

“Aww, I just wanted to introduce him to you.”

Julie glanced at Amaya’s reply and then looked up, giving Christian a forced smile.

Christian suddenly asked, “Ms. Somers, what about your other friend?”

Julie flinched when she heard him address her.

He asked, “Whoa, ha?”

Before she could get an answer, Amaya’s phone rang.

She picked it up. “Hey, are you here? Oh, say, I’ll go get you.” As she spoke, Amaya stood up and walked toward the door.

Since she left, the private room was left with just Julie and Christian. The atmosphere grew a bit awkward.

Julie pulled out her phone and opened WhatsApp. After seeing Lucian’s message from the night before, she hesitated and sent him a sticker. Almost immediately, Lucian replied.

“You’re only replying now?”

Julie looked at the sticker Lucian had sent and couldn’t help but laugh.

At that moment, Christian’s calm voice interrupted, “Ms. Somers, what are you laughing at?”

Julie felt uneasy hearing him call her “Ms. Somers” again.

Christian smiled awkwardly. “Julie, let’s exchange…”

Julie was speechless. She thought he was a bit forward. He was Amaya’s boyfriend, yet he wanted to add her on WhatsApp when Amaya wasn’t around.

Julie speculated about Christian’s intentions.

Even so, she smiled and said, “Sure!”

Christian was about to pass Julie his phone when she said, “You can ask Amaya for my number.”

His smile instantly disappeared. The final was clear. He could only laugh awkwardly and nod.

Julie returned her attention to her phone. Seeing Lucian hadn’t replied yet, she sent him several more stickers. Sighing, she edited her message:

“I’ll return your scarf to you today. Do you have time?”

As soon as she hit send, a location pin popped up. It was the address of Fuller Group. So, Lucian wanted her to come to his office?

“Amaya, guess who’s here?”

Just as Julie was thinking about it, Amaya’s voice came from the door. Julie looked up, and when she saw who was with Amaya, she froze. She hadn’t expected to be caught in Amaya’s little…trap.

Zachary walked over with a smile. “Hello, long time no see.”

Julie felt a little awkward. The last time Zachary invited her out, she rejected him. She hadn’t expected Amaya to set her up like this.

She shot Amaya a glare.

Amaya chuckled awkwardly. “Oh, since everyone’s free, we might as well grab a meal. We’re all old friends, right?”

Zachary casually sat beside Julie, then asked, “I heard you broke up with Zayn?”

Julie didn’t expect him to jump straight into such a sensitive topic.

She awkwardly replied, “Yeah, we broke up.”

Zachary smiled. “It’s probably for the best. Zayn wasn’t right for you.”

Not wanting to dwell on it, Julie changed the subject. “I thought you were staying abroad?”

“There’s no place like home,” he replied before his gaze shifted to Christian.

Zachary sized up the young man across from him, raising an eyebrow at Amaya. “Amaya, is this your boyfriend?”

Amaya linked arms with Christian, smiling sweetly. “Yes, let me introduce you. Christian, this is Zachary, my senior.”

Christian greeted Zachary obediently, “Hello, Zachary.”

Suddenly, Amaya stood up. “Oh, I just remembered an important file at the office. I need to go get it, sorry! You guys go ahead and eat. We’ll catch up next time.” She then pulled Christian toward the door.

Julie saw right through Amaya’s plan. She stood up as well. “Actually, I have something to take care of too. How about we go together?”

Amaya froze and awkwardly glanced at Zachary, who was still seated.

Zachary chuckled. “Am I that scary? Everyone’s skipping dinner one by one?”

Julie awkwardly looked at Amaya, but she gestured for her to sit back down.

Just as the two were in a standoff, a ringtone broke the silence. Recognizing the familiar tone, Julie quickly pulled out her phone.

It was Lucian.

She answered, “Hello?”

Lucian’s pleasant voice came through. “Did you see my message?”

Julie realized she had forgotten to reply earlier as she was interrupted by Amaya.

“Sorry, I forgot to reply.”

“It’s fine. Are you coming over now?”

Julie glanced at Amaya, who had already sat down. It was impossible to leave now.

“I’m having lunch with my friends. I’ll come to see you afterward.”

There was a brief pause before Lucian replied softly, “It’s fine. I’ll wait for you. Enjoy your meal.”