Chapter forty-two

Leo, standing nearby, overheard the conversation.

He stared intently at Nick.

That shameless hooligan.

Zoe realized what he meant and blushed, tightening her lips as she refused to answer and looked away.

However, when she shifted her gaze, she accidentally met Leo's eyes, making her feel even more embarrassed, so she quickly moved her gaze again.

Leo also felt a bit awkward and decided to walk faster to distance himself from the two lovebirds.

Nick had originally been teasing Zoe.

But as soon as he saw Leo, his face hardened.

He let go of Zoe's hand and instead wrapped his arm around her waist.

He knew.

Leo still had feelings for Zoe.

This was a thorn in his heart.

The Min family specialized in Fujian cuisine, which was primarily seafood-based.

Upon entering, one could see that most of the tables were filled with lobsters, crabs, clams, and other seafood.

Zoe's father loved seafood very much and they had come here together before.

Zoe subconsciously glanced at the table where they had sat before.

At that moment, a family of three was sitting there.

Zoe glanced at them briefly and then looked away.

She felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity. After what had happened last night, she had to bear it all alone.

And the only person she could rely on...

Was actually Nick.

She had no father to help her, no mother to inquire after her well-being, no grandmother to offer her assistance.

If not for Nick...

Zoe looked up at Nick.

Nick looked down at the phone and noticed her gaze. He asked, "What are you looking at?"

Zoe smiled and shook her head.

The door to the private room opened, and a group of people walked in.

The private room was on the second floor, with a glass window that overlooked the main hall below.

Nick took the menu and handed it to Zoe, allowing her to order.

Zoe stepped aside and looked at the menu with Luna.

The four boys leaned lazily against the wall, not intending to interfere and letting them order on their own.

Ellie was eager for lobster and ordered it.

Zoe ordered clam soup, while Luna ordered spicy and sour potatoes, adhering to her idea of losing weight and maintaining health.

Stella ordered a small stir-fry.

Zoe handed the menu to Nick and leaned over to say, "You guys order, we've ordered what we want."

Nick looked at her neck, which was stretched towards him, and noticed the red marks under her collar, marks he had left with his kisses in the morning. He lazily observed them as his long fingertips touched the menu. "What else do you like to eat?"

The menu had pictures, and Zoe hummed, saying, "You order what you want, I've ordered what I like."

"Just clam soup?

You're too undemanding."

Nick chuckled and lifted his hand, casually placing it on her neck, squeezing it gently as his fingertips slid over her skin.

Zoe felt itchy and didn't think much of it, pulling down his finger.

She sat upright and waited for him to order.

Nick withdrew his hand, feeling a slight itch and warmth on his fingertips. He pressed his lips and casually ordered two dishes, shark's fin and braised pork ribs.

After that, Leo and the other two ordered their dishes.

The table was soon filled with food. The shark's fin was served in small pots, and only four portions were ordered. The waiter brought them to Ellie and the other three girls.

Ellie was a bit surprised: "Eh?"

Nick rested his chin on his hand and served Zoe some food, speaking casually, "I ordered it for Zoe, but you can have some too."

Ellie: "..."

Oh, I see.

If it wasn't for Zoe, we wouldn't have any.

Stella chuckled and said, "So we should mainly thank Zoe?"

Nick hummed in agreement.

Luna immediately uncovered the lid, "Then I won't be polite. The shark's fin here is incredibly expensive."

The four small pots of shark's fin were worth ten tables of other dishes combined.

Quick, let's eat.

Noah sounded like a lemon, "Men don't deserve shark's fin?"

"You deserve it."

Leo replied, picking out the bones from another steamed fish and placing them in Noah's bowl.

This made everyone laugh.

Zoe couldn't help but laugh too, her eyes curving into a beautiful smile.

Nick turned and saw this, his face darkening slightly. He rubbed the juice from Zoe's lips with his fingertips and whispered, "Don't stare, eat quickly."

"Okay."

Nick tapped the table and glanced at Leo, who was smiling brightly.

Leo also looked over, and the two locked eyes, sparks flying. Finally, Nick smirked and turned away with a hint of contempt.

Leo: "..."

You dog of a man.

The meal lasted quite late.

The others, rarely eating such good food, ate heartily, while Nick's chopsticks hardly moved. Occasionally, he would serve Zoe some food, and Zoe would also serve him some in return. But he would only eat a little of what Zoe served him, mostly ignoring his chopsticks.

Zoe was talking to Luna and didn't notice much.

Around 2 pm.

They finally finished eating.

The table was littered with leftovers.

Full and content, they felt sleepy.

Zoe was a bit tired, her emotions fluctuating greatly from the previous night to this day, without getting a proper rest.

Nick took out his card to pay the bill.

When the receipt came out, Zoe suddenly woke up...

It's so expensive?

Nick signed the receipt expressionlessly, put down the pen, took back his card, and took Zoe's hand to leave.

The silver Mercedes drove quickly, taking them back to the school.

The black Jaguar followed behind. When they reached the north gate of the school, Noah adjusted his collar, turned to greet Nick, and got off the car.

Luna turned to Zoe and asked, "Do you want to go home for a while?"

Zoe was a bit sleepy, rubbing the tears from the corners of her eyes, she nodded, "Yeah, I want to go home. I'll come back tonight."

Luna glanced at Nick, who was lazily leaning against the seat playing with his phone, and smiled, "Let's see if you can come back tonight."

Zoe followed Luna's gaze with a helpless expression.

Luna pushed open the car door and walked into the north gate with Noah.

Nick pressed his phone's screen to black and said to Zoe, "Come sit in the front passenger seat."

After saying that, he got out of the car and reached out to her.

Zoe hummed and leaned closer, allowing him to lead her out of the car and switch to the front passenger seat.

It was a bit sunny outside, and Nick impatiently adjusted his collar before getting into the driver's seat, starting the car, and driving out of the north gate of the school.

Zoe felt sleepy.

All the way to the old downtown area of East China, Nick glanced outside the community and saw that there were no parking spaces.

He said, "Stop at my apartment complex, and we'll walk the rest of the way."

Zoe nodded with a hum.

Her apartment complex was indeed shabby.

After parking the car, the two of them walked across the bridge and returned to Zoe's home.

As soon as they entered the door,

Nick hugged Zoe's waist from behind and whispered, "Make me a bowl of noodles. I didn't eat enough for lunch."

His breath was right next to Zoe's ear, making her feel a little ticklish. She turned her head slightly and met his narrow eyes. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Hmm?"

Zoe asked, "You didn't eat much just now?"

Nick snorted, "I was just taking care of you."

Zoe blushed. During the meal, she hardly moved her chopsticks, and he was the one feeding her.

She wasn't picky about food, so she ate whatever he put on her plate, without noticing if he had eaten or not.

"Alright, sit for a while. I'll check the fridge."

After the New Year, the fridge was no longer as empty as before.

Zoe bent down to search and found eggs, some sausages, and tofu cubes. She was accustomed to growing onions in the kitchen, so they could be used as seasoning. She took the noodles and went into the kitchen.

Nick sat on the sofa with the remote control in his hand, leaning his elbow on his knee and lazily flipping through TV channels.

Zoe looked out from the half-open kitchen and saw Nick's figure on the sofa.

Suddenly, she felt that the house had come alive, at least it felt much better than when she lived alone.

She boiled water, cooked the noodles, cut onions, and sausages. She also fried the eggs first, wrapped them with tofu cubes, added a bit of lard and sesame oil, and then put the noodles in. After sprinkling with onions, it was ready to be served after a brief boil.

As she stirred the soup, she tasted it.

Just then, her phone rang in her pocket. Zoe put down the spoon, turned down the heat, and glanced at the phone.

The call was from one of the restaurants given to her by her grandmother in Dongshi City.

Since Zoe didn't have much stake in the restaurant, she rarely interfered with its affairs.

The sudden call made her dare not delay, so she answered, "Hello, Manager."

The manager's crisp voice came from the other end, "Zoe, you're back in school now?"

Zoe nodded and smiled, "Yes, I started school yesterday, but the formal classes will begin a few days later."

The manager chuckled briefly and then said, "Zoe, did your mother tell you anything?"

"What?"

When it came to Lindsay, Zoe felt a little cautious. The manager sighed helplessly, "She came today and wanted to see the restaurant's shares, but aren't they supposed to be yours?

So I didn't show her the share certificate. She said she was just checking for you. What's the matter?

Don't you trust me anymore?

Your grandmother never looked at the books before, so why do you want to do it now?"

Since Zoe rarely interfered with the restaurant's affairs and the manager knew her grandmother's generation well, Zoe rarely looked at the books. The manager would transfer a fixed amount of money to her every month, and Zoe never questioned the amount.

She hadn't managed the restaurant for years, and her stake was small, so it was reasonable for someone to buy her small share if they wanted to.

Zoe tightened her grip on the phone, and her vision became blurry. "I'm sorry, Manager. Don't show her the books. I don't want to see them either. Just tell her it's my decision."

The manager sighed, "You should talk to your mother yourself. I can't say anything to her."

Zoe felt a lump in her throat as she recall the chaotic events of the past two days.

When she woke up in the morning and opened her phone, there were no messages from Lindsay. She was struggling to survive in Haishi City, while Lindsay was over there calculating and wanting to check the books. Zoe's voice lowered, "Alright, I'll call her."

The shopkeeper nodded, satisfied. "Alright, thank you for your help. Whenever your mother comes, I always treat her well and haven't neglected her in any way. However, in this matter, what she did wasn't reasonable, and I can't justify agreeing to it."

"Okay, thank you, shopkeeper."

After that, Zoe hung up the phone and pressed her phone against the stove. Her vision was blurred, not sure if it was caused by the steam from the soup or not...

Nick flipped through several TV channels, but there wasn't anything interesting to watch. He then threw the remote control aside, lazily leaning back, and glanced towards the kitchen.

He saw Zoe standing in front of the stove, not sure what she was thinking... She even reached up to touch the corner of her eye...

Nick narrowed his eyes, suddenly getting up from the sofa and walking into the kitchen. He turned her around and immediately noticed the redness in her eyes. Her watery eyes seemed on the verge of tears.

His pupils tightened, and his throat moved as he cupped her face and leaned down to kiss away a tear from the corner of her eye.

"Besides me, who else deserves you to cry like this?"