Chapter 93: The Master’s Words
"What do you want to eat tonight?" he asked without looking up from the papers.
"I want to eat hotpot, and I know a good place nearby." She added upon seeing the displeasure that flashed across his face, "We can try ordering the couple hotpot."
He raised an eyebrow and gently pinched her nose. "Couple hotpot?"
Baffled, she blinked back blankly. Perhaps he had misunderstood something. "Every hotpot restaurant provides a double-flavor hotpot broth option, with both spicy and non-spicy broth base. Don’t you know that?"
"Of course I do." He threw her a sideways glance before answering diffidently.
"Oh.So young master Harrington knows about it!" She believed him and nodded.
Hadley, who was in the front seat, was speechless. ’Young Master Harrington, you’re surely getting better at lying.’
Upon arriving at the hotpot restaurant, The Simmering Pot,Charlotte invited Hadley to tag along but he rejected right away.
Young Master Harrington finally had time for a date, so he surely would not allow a third party to interrupt.
Hadley nodded quickly. "It’s alright. I don’t like hotpot anyway. I’ll find something else in the restaurant next door. Take your time and enjoy the food."
Immediately, he walked out of the restaurant. Charlotte threw him a pitiful glance.
Ryan took a seat first. She thought of sitting opposite him but he quickly said with displeasure, "Come and sit right next to me. I don’t know how to do this."
This took her by surprise. "But you had it with me the last time?"
"You have the cheek to mention that?" His handsome face fell. "Did you know my stomach hurt for three days after that? Tell me, why didn’t you ask me how I was doing then? You cared about me a lot, huh?"
She almost choked on the drink. She had not asked because she thought he liked hotpot back then.
Helpless, she turned to look at the couple sitting at the next table.
The man did not stop feeding his girlfriend. "Darling, what do you want to eat next?"
"Darling, have some of this. It’s delicious."
"Darling, try this too. It’s really good."
"Darling, just sit back and relax. Let me do it."
Charlotte was crying internally.
She was so jealous.
Ryan looked in the direction she was staring and twitched his lips nonchalantly. "You’re jealous of that man?"
She did not know what to say.
Charlotte’s voice took on a flirtatious tone. "Don’t you know, Ryan, that us young women adore.. being pampered by our loved ones?"
"Oh, I’m well aware. And trust me, the one you fall for will be eager to spoil you rotten. But if he doesn’t, consider me your fierce protector – I’ll make sure he learns to treat you like the queen you are."
Her gaze shifted back to the exceptionally good- looking man sitting next to her. Alright, time to get cooking.
It occurred to him that the hotpot was quite enjoyable. Perhaps they could come again soon.
After they finished eating, Charlotte left the table to use the washroom.When she was about to leave the cubicle, she suddenly heard two women speaking by the sink.
"Did you notice earlier... The man sitting at table 9 is incredibly handsome."
"Come on, he’s even more attractive than all the male artists out there. I even secretly took a few photos."
"But his girlfriend is not that impressive."
"Agreed. Her love felt so one-sided. She kept cooking for the man but he didn’t seem to acknowledge her as much."
"Sigh, surely anyone would do anything to please that charming man."
Charlotte almost exploded with rage. Her?
Not that impressive?
One-sided love?
Would do anything to please?
Seriously? She had heard enough.
She kicked the cubicle door open. The two women were shocked into silence.
Charlotte wedged herself in between them and retrieved her lipstick.
"Did you say I don’t look that impressive?"
Carefully, she drew the lipstick over her beautiful lips. She then pressed her lips together. In an instant, she took over the washroom with her unmistakable charm.
Embarrassed, the two women turned around and intended to leave.
She grabbed their wrists at once and turned their faces toward the mirror. "Take a good look at yourself. One has obviously injected too much botox that your face muscles look overly tense. At one glance,you can see that this one here has fillers inserted in her nose. I don’t have anything against plastic surgery but even after going through that you still don’t look as pretty as me. Yet you have the cheek to criticize my natural appearance."
"That’s enough. It was just mindless gossip. Everyone has different beauty standards. There’s no need for you to come at us with personal attacks. We can practice freedom of speech." One of the women was flushed because of the insults.
"So do I. You two are obviously jealous because you don’t have a boyfriend as charming as mine. Our relationship couldn’t be better. So what if I take care of my handsome man more?"
She washed her hands and dried them with tissue. Then, she gave a snort of contempt before leaving the washroom.
Although she had stood up for herself, her good mood from before seemed to have vanished.
Women also cared about their reputation. Little did she expect that was how others regarded her.
It was all Ryan’s fault for always wanting to be served. He definitely was not a gentleman.
After sorting the bills, he waited by the door for a while before she finally reappeared.
However, she did not look too pleased. It was as if someone had offended her.
She even glared at him before leaving the restaurant.The man had no clue what was going on.
After entering the car, she kept her eyes glued on her phone without saying a word.
His brows furrowed at her behaviour.
He pulled out his phone and sent a text to the group chat he was in with his close friends. What does it mean when a woman suddenly refuses to speak?
"Brother, you got your girlfriend angry." Chase replied with an emoji.
"She is not my girlfriend, just a close friend." Ryan quickly typed back.
"Younger or older?" another person asked, their message popping up on the screen.
Ryan typed quickly: "Younger."
Chase responded: "Buy her a gift."
Few second later he again added: "Maybe another reason. Ask her if you’re concerned."
Ryan thought for a moment before typing: "Hmm."
He put his phone away and turned to Charlotte. "Charlotte..." he called out.
Charlotte leaned against the seat with her eyes closed, not responding. Ryan gently poked her shoulder.
Charlotte threw a sharp glance at him, her eyes flashing with annoyance. "Why did you suddenly stop speaking?" Ryan asked.
"It’s my wish.." Charlotte replied, her voice brief.She turned her attention back to the outside scene, gazing out the window.
"Have I done anything that upset you?" Ryan asked, concern etched in his voice.
"You came back yesterday, yet you haven’t informed me about it," Charlotte spoke up, her words laced with hurt. "Who am I to you?"
Ryan sought clarification: "You’re upset about it?"
Charlotte’s response was curt: "I have to come here before the exact date due to some reason."
Ryan tried to explain, but Charlotte cut him off: "I’m not interested in your reason."
"Let’s go to my apartment. I have something to give you." Ryan said, changing the subject.
"Not interested..at all.." Charlotte replied without looking at him.
"Hadley, drop us off at my apartment.." Ryan instructed his young assistant.
"Okay, Young Master Harrington.." Hadley responded.
Charlotte just rolled her eyes and kept quiet, pulling out her phone to type messages to Thea. Since she was online, the two were actively chatting.
"Who is the person you’re typing to?" Ryan asked, glancing at her.
"Mind your own business.." Charlotte retorted.
"We had our meal just a few minutes ago, and now you’re talking to me like this?" Ryan spoke, his tone hurt.
"Who was the one who made me do all the cooking in the restaurant?" Charlotte shot back. "And now you want to fight with me?"
"Next time, I’ll cook for you as compensation for making you do the cooking at the restaurant.." Ryan offered.
Hadley’s expression remained stoic, but a faint, telltale twitch at the corner of his mouth revealed a flicker of amusement at his young master’s remarks.
