He snapped back to reality and said calmly, "No excuses, just eat quickly. I'm feeling a little off today, can't do anything too greasy."
"Oh..." Nora glanced at the large chicken leg in her bowl, snuck another glance at Ethan's "serious" face, but in the end, couldn't resist the temptation, quietly said okay, then lowered her head and continued nibbling in small bites.
Although Nora had recently become much more relaxed around Ethan, no longer as nervous as before, no longer at a loss for words, and had grown much more confident and been steadily improving, in this public setting, seeing Ethan drop a chicken leg into her bowl, her social anxiety still made her palms sweat.
Summer, standing nearby, rolled her eyes, thinking he really knew how to lie with a straight face.
Who would fall for such a lame excuse?
But when she saw Nora eating happily, she figured that if anyone believed it, it'd probably only be that one sweet fool.
But weren't you supposed to be chasing me? Nora's just a bystander here!
Why did all the attentive gestures end up going to Nora instead?
This script felt off.
Could it be he's playing hard to get, being deliberately cold to grab my attention?
Hey, why is it the same move again? Aren't you tired of this old trick?
Just as Summer's internal drama was hitting its peak, torn over whether to call Ethan out on his "trick"—
"Summer!" A slightly excited voice interrupted her thoughts.
A guy in a basketball jersey, his face flushed red, holding a large bouquet of tacky red roses, rushed straight to their table in front of everyone!
He took a deep breath and suddenly held the bouquet out to Summer, his voice so loud it carried across the whole second floor: "Summer! Ever since I first saw you during freshman military training, I... I fell for you! Your smile lights up something in my chest! Everything about you draws me in! I... I finally worked up the nerve to tell you today — will you be my girlfriend?"
"Boom——!"
The entire second floor of the cafeteria instantly fell silent for a split second, then erupted into an even louder commotion!
Countless eyes turned toward him like spotlights! Everyone was locked in, eager to see how Summer would respond!
Some guys even egged it on, shouting, "Say yes, say yes!"
The cafeteria staff behind the service window craned their necks too, faces lit up with curiosity.
Ethan covered his face, feeling secondhand embarrassment!
Nora's response was textbook: "Not my business, nothing to see here."
It was as if she had her own personal bubble, calmly picking up her bowl of noodles and chicken bones and quietly relocating to the empty table nearby, turning her back to the commotion, continuing to focus and happily enjoy her meal.
The world may be vast, but eating comes first!
That chicken leg smelled just too good. She felt like eating was the happiest part of her day, and nobody was going to interrupt that.
Just as Ethan was about to copy Nora's move and strategically reposition himself, Summer suddenly made her move!
Instead of panicking, she flashed an extremely "sweet" smile. Looking at the nervous, flustered guy in front of her, she asked, clear and with a hint of confusion, "Um, and you are...? Do I know you?"
Pfft——!
Ethan nearly choked on his own spit, stumbling and having to steady himself on the table.
That rejection... was absolutely brutal! Straight through the heart!
Before the guy could even process his own "who am I, where am I" confusion, Summer suddenly reached out and grabbed Ethan's arm tightly as he was trying to slip away!
Under Ethan's stunned gaze, Summer gave the frozen guy a "sweet" yet fully warning smile: "Hey, next time you bring flowers, maybe do a little background check first, okay?"
She deliberately pulled Ethan's arm closer to herself, leaning in intimately, raising her voice to make sure the onlookers could hear: "And you're doing this right in front of my boyfriend... aren't you worried you'll get your ass kicked?"
As soon as Summer said this, the whole room froze!
The guy who'd just confessed instantly went pale. He stared in disbelief at Ethan, whose arm Summer was gripping tightly, and a wave of humiliation washed over him like a tsunami.
Ethan was also caught off guard — this girl was actually using him as a shield.
Wasn't this just going to make him even more hated? But was it really going to be that easy to use Ethan like this?
In a flash, a wicked smile appeared at the corner of Ethan's mouth.
Not only did he not pull away, he stretched out his arm and, naturally and confidently, pulled Summer into his side, wrapping his arm firmly around her shoulders!
Their bodies pressed close together! The message couldn't be clearer: I'm her boyfriend.
"Wow——!" The guy saw Ethan holding Summer, and his mental defenses completely collapsed. He let out a strangled cry, covered his face, turned and bolted, even flinging the bouquet of roses to the ground on his way out.
Ethan: "..."
He watched the "face-covered sprint" disappearing behind him, his mouth twitching. Damn, this guy folded fast!
A guy who folds that easily going after someone as strong-willed as Summer? That was destined to end in heartbreak.
Coming back to his senses, Ethan let go of Summer's arm.
He instinctively glanced over at Nora beside him. Wow! This "unbothered master" had nearly scraped her bowl of noodles clean, happily sipping the broth without once lifting her head through any of it.
It was as if the whole drama that had just played out belonged to a completely different world.
Ethan shook his head helplessly and said to Summer, still riding high on her own "cleverness," and to Nora, oblivious to everything except her noodles: "You two take your time eating. I've got something to take care of, I'll head out first."
After saying that, he didn't even glance at the discarded bouquet of roses on the ground, nor did he bother to check whether Summer might be shooting him some kind of look. Ignoring the increasingly curious stares around him, he strode out with long steps, leaving the cafeteria's second floor with the air of someone who'd handled his business and was dusting off his hands.
When he got back to the dorm.
To his surprise, he found that Kevin hadn't played a single game all day, for the first time ever.
Marcus, Kevin, Derek, along with Ryan and Jake from next door, were sitting in a circle playing cards, the room buzzing with energy.
Kevin had just finished a cigarette. As soon as he saw Ethan push the door open, he grinned and came over to bum a pack: "Ethan, can you hook me up with a pack?"
Ethan didn't hold back, casually tossing him a pack.
He even smiled and handed out a cigarette to everyone in the dorm, saying it was to share the good luck around.
He hung out and joked with the guys for a while, chatting it up before heading to shower.
After showering, he came out feeling refreshed and just in time to climb into bed, ready to sleep.
There are 130 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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