Chapter 101: Julie’s Game
For a moment, Nicholas’ heart skipped a beat, and he stopped in his tracks, but only for a slight second.
He quickly regained his composure, his gaze shifting towards Tianzun. "What are you talking about?"
Tianzun chuckled, his lips rising into a small smile. "Don’t worry, I’ve confirmed my curiosity. I’ll be going to my room. I have no interest in dinner anymore," Tianzun said with a calm smile as he increased his pace, walking past Selena and the others.
"Hey!" Julie yelled as he suddenly moved between her and Selena, but Tianzun didn’t even turn to look at her as he continued onward, his habit gown sweeping the floor as he continued with a measured gait.
He entered the see-through pod of the elevator, his eyes still closed with a smile as he scanned his ID on the scanner.
Nicholas’ gaze remained fixed on him, a deep frown settling across his face as he watched the elevator descend.
’How did he know?’
The question echoed in his mind. ’Was it his ability... or something else entirely?’
"Hey, did he just ditch us? Why would he do that?" Light complained.
"Such a creepy guy. I don’t like him. He’s not fun," Julie added, rolling her eyes as she thought of him.
"Because you didn’t get the chance to get him on your stream," Thinker muttered by her side.
Julie shot a glance at him, pointing at him fiercely, about to argue, but her brain seemed to buffer for a second before she turned away.
"Well... you’re not wrong. If you don’t appear on my stream, you’re not cool. His loss." she said, flinging her long auburn hair to her back with a scoff.
Thinker sighed in exasperation.
Selena had her brows knitted as she turned to Nicholas.
"What was he talking about?"
Nicholas gave her a casual shrug.
"I have no idea."
Selena had a disappointed look on her face. She’d completely expected to get valuable information from him, only for him to just walk away and leave them midway.
Selena took a deep breath.
"Let’s keep going. The others are leaving us behind," she said as she noticed the others had already put quite some distance between them.
Nicholas looked back at the elevator Tianzun had taken then instinctively looked around the hallway. No one else seemed to have reacted. No suspicious glances. No whispers.
Just normal conversation. If Tianzun had truly seen through him... then, for now, he appeared to be the only one.
....
In no time, they got to the dining hall.
It was a grand hall, with several chairs and tables placed in small sets around each other.
The chefs and the waiters stood in a straight line, awaiting the guests as they took their different seats. It didn’t take long before everyone was finally settled.
The waiters quickly moved into action, carrying their lists with them to every table.
Soft music played in the background.
"What would you want to have, sir?" the young lady said, her hands shaking slightly as she handed Nicholas the menu. Her eyes glittered as she stared at him.
’Oh my God! It’s Phantom.’
Nicholas didn’t bother with her shaky hands as he took the menu from her. He scanned through it, and true to what Selena had said earlier, the dishes were endless, with so many things to pick from.
He’d traveled through so many countries that very little on the menu felt unfamiliar. His decent occupation in his past life had allowed him that luxury.
Nicholas scanned through the menu, and in the end, he got a few things he wanted to try out, and the lady went off to get the things he’d requested.
The aroma of different dishes wafted through the air, thick and alluring, so much so that almost everyone in the hall was left drooling from the scent.
The waiters got back to the table and placed their orders in front of them.
The steaming beef stroganoff was placed before Nicholas. The presentation alone made him hesitate. It almost seemed like a waste to ruin something that looked this good.
The thinly sliced, sear-fried beef rested atop a bowl of rice, its rich broth slowly soaking into every grain.
Nicholas didn’t waste any time as he took a fork, digging it into the beef. As it touched his mouth, the beef melted like butter.
Rich, savory flavors exploded across his tongue the moment he bit into the beef. Warmth spread through his body as though he’d stepped into a steaming hot spring infused with rich beef broth.
He felt a surge of emotion, an inexplicable feeling of relaxation exploding through his body.
"This is sooo good! This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten!" Julie said, the feeling of euphoria taking her through the fence.
Selena chuckled at their reactions. They all looked like they’d gone drunk from eating just one spoonful. Even Nicholas had closed his eyes, lost in euphoria.
Her soft chuckle quickly dragged them back to reality.
"Sir William’s cooking and baking are second to none. Honestly... they’re probably too good." she said, taking a bite of her own and a moment to savour the taste before she continued.
"Of course, that’s thanks to his ability. It’s been a limitation to his career in a way, since you’re only allowed to eat his food once a year. Thanks to research from Doctor Cho, it showed that repeated consumption creates a dependency far stronger than most known narcotics. It’s honestly worse than cocaine. So enjoy the taste now; you might not get a second," Selena said as she took another forkful.
’I thought as much... There’s still no way he’s better than Marina.’ Nicholas thought as he looked down at the steaming beef stew.
Julie’s hands moved in a flash as she cleared her plate, her stomach forming a large bulge.
[....: Why does it feel like I can smell the food through my phone?! I want to have a taste!]
[Will_1631: Why does the streamer girl get to eat that delicious dish?! I could swap places with her!]
[Tylerman: Well, fk! Now I’m hungry.]
[Luke_white_2361: Peach Fairy! Die so I can swap places with you!]
[Phantom32: Fr, all she does is hide behind the camera! She doesn’t deserve to be there. Take me instead.]
Seeing the notifications, Julie’s expression went sore.
’Why do I feel like my viewers want me dead?’
[IBEY: What’s that noisy twerp doing there?! It should be me.]
[Peach Fairy: 😈 It was delicious. Bet y’all will never have the same feeling in your lives! See you on the other side, bitches!]
[Martrigg: Guys! The twerp’s becoming arrogant!]
[Peach Fairy: You can come stream the convention then... Oh, I forgot you can’t! Hehehe, see y’all later... I’ve got to go.]
Julie grinned as she sent the message, turning off her camera. If it were a few months back, she would’ve been scared to leave such comments, but now things had changed.
’They have no right to hate on me! With Phantom on my side, they’ll have to keep coming back whether they like it or not!’ Julie couldn’t help but grin as the thought crossed her mind.
Everyone was done eating, and the waiters came back to clear the plates, placing a bottle of wine on each table.
It was finally time to relax, chill, and discuss amongst themselves.
Chatters filled the room as the people entered into several discussions.
Julie stared around, seeing all the tables laughing and sharing experiences. Then she slowly turned her gaze back to her own table.
Selena was on her tab, probably dealing with some business of the Association.
Nicholas sat as though they’d forced him to be there, slumped in his chair and waiting for the entire event to end.
Thinker had disappeared into his own world, while Light could only stare helplessly at what had to be the dullest table in the entire dining hall.
"Ahhhh! C’mon, y’all are so boring. Let’s play a game or something. See? We’re the only ones doing nothing!" Julie yelled out in frustration.
Selena glanced at her, tearing her eyes away from her screen.
"I’m doing something," she said, gesturing at the tab in her hand.
"Tsk! Now’s not the time to work! We should be having fun," Julie snapped back.
"Oh? So what do you suggest we do? Hope it’s not some stupid content for your stream," Thinker asked, staring at her blankly.
"Shut up. Like I’d want you to appear on my stream," Julie shot back at him.
The two went back and forth with insults until Selena cut them off.
"If you don’t have any suggestions, then I guess we should just leave... I mean, we could go now."
"No! I have a suggestion. Let’s play a game."
"A game?" Selena asked with a suspicious tone.
Nicholas raised a brow.
Knowing Julie... this couldn’t possibly end well.
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