Shane declined a few n who wanted to chat with him on the pretense of not wanting to talk business.
Sitting with Audrey in a corner at a small round table, he watched her nibble on so pastries and asked, "How do you want to spend your birthday?"
He could sense the slight envy hidden in her eyes.
And he didn’t like seeing his woman envy others.
Audrey put down her small spoon, glanced at him, and said, "I usually spend it at ho."
"No friends invited over?"
"Just close classmates, but so middle and high school friends are out of town or abroad. We’re not in touch as often anymore, and it feels like we’re in different circles. Even if we et, the topics we talk about are different."
Shane thought her words sounded a bit lancholic, so he said, "It’s normal. Just cherish the people around you now. Your current roommates are pretty good; having a few close friends is enough."
Audrey nodded in agreent, preferring to spend her birthday simply and with those she loves, rather than with a bunch of insincere "friends."
Soti after seven, people gradually arrived.
Audrey was almost full with the snacks and fruit juice.
"Shane, Quentin and the others are missing a player for their card ga inside. Why not join them?" Clarissa ca over and called out to Shane directly.
Before Shane could decline, Clarissa moved behind Audrey, placing her hands on Audrey’s shoulders in a friendly gesture, and smiled, "You usually keep an eye on Audrey at ho. Now that you’re out, don’t keep watching her. She won’t get lost here. Go play cards, and I’ll take Audrey to sing and chat. Last ti at my wedding, I heard Audrey sing, and she was pretty good."
Audrey wasn’t sure what Clarissa was up to, but she wasn’t naive enough to follow Clarissa’s arrangents. Still, she didn’t want to seem too clingy to Shane, so she said, "What card ga are they playing? I’d like to try. Honey, how about we join them?"
Hearing Audrey’s interest, Shane said, "Let’s go if you want to."
Clarissa chuckled, "That’s fine, it’s just that room is full of n and the smoke sll is quite strong. I was worried it might not be good for Audrey, so I didn’t plan on having her join."
Shane stood up with Audrey, wrapped an arm around her, and softly replied, "Just have them not smoke."
Coming from anyone else, this would probably be asking for a punch, but Shane had the knack.
He could make everyone amiably choose not to smoke in the card room. It seed like everyone respected him, and with Audrey joining, everyone was quite happy.
After all, even though Shane’s lovely wife was well-known, not many had actually seen her in person. People were more curious about Audrey than Shane.
As soon as Audrey and Shane took their seats, Clarissa brought Simon in: "Alright, I got Simon here. We’re all set, right?"
Quentin smiled and asked Clarissa, after Simon took a seat next to him, "Audrey’s playing too. Do you want to give it a try?"
Clarissa laughed, "I’m not very good yet. You play a couple of rounds, and I’ll watch and learn."
Quentin agreed, "Sure."
Saying this, Quentin got up and moved a chair over for Clarissa to sit down.
From words to actions, even a glance, it was clear that Quentin truly dotes on Clarissa.
Many n are willing to spend money for their wife’s birthday, but few have the patience to trouble themselves with organizing a birthday party by hand.
So might think about getting a gift to casually settle it, while inviting a bunch of friends is costly and exhausting.
But Quentin allows Clarissa to have her way, as long as she’s happy with it.
Audrey felt it was a pity for Quentin in her heart; such a good man, yet he couldn’t see the true nature of the person by his side.
The card ga began.
Shane sat closely next to Audrey, acting as her "advisor."
Simon was at an angle across from Audrey, still his usual witty and humorous self.
The atmosphere at the table was quite nice, with no one caring too much about winning or losing, just having fun.
Audrey wasn’t lucky with cards and got a bad hand; no matter how sharp Shane’s mind was, there was not much he could do.
After playing for more than an hour, the number of rounds won could be counted on one hand.
"You play, I’m going to the bathroom." Audrey drew a bad hand and lost the will to keep playing, handing the ss over to Shane.
Shane took the cards from her and asked, "Do you know where the bathroom is?"
"I’ll ask around and figure it out."
Not far away, Clarissa said, "Turn left when you step out, and go straight to the end of the hallway; that’s where the bathroom is, there’s a sign. Sis, keep an eye out."
Audrey politely said "thank you" to Clarissa in front of others before grabbing her bag and leaving.
Shane reminded, "Co back right after. Don’t wander off."
"Got it."
After leaving the card room, Audrey followed Clarissa’s directions and spotted the washroom sign right away.
Most people were gathered in the card room, playing cards or gas, leaving the hallway empty.
The carpet on the floor muffled the sound of her high heels.
"I’m celebrating a friend’s birthday outside now. You play by yourself first, I’ll find you later, okay?"
"Okay, be good. I’ll hang up now."
Before rounding the corner, Audrey heard a man answering a phone call.
Turning the corner, she saw a man in a checkered suit standing by the sink, on the phone.
Watching through the mirror beside the sink, she caught a glimpse of the man’s face. He seed about twenty-five or twenty-six and wasn’t bad-looking.
From the phone call, it seed like he was sweet-talking his girlfriend.
Audrey didn’t pay much attention, continuing towards the won’s restroom.
Clarissa was born around 10:30 at night, so they decided to celebrate her birthday at that ti.
The card ga ended at 10 o’clock. Though Shane’s luck and skill were decent towards the end, Audrey had lost too much before, so they only managed to recover part of the loss, nothing major.
And it was Shane’s money they were losing.
"I’ve seen you so busy every day, yet you seem so talented with everything. How co?"
Shane replied seriously, "Because life isn’t easy."
Audrey looked up at him and said, "That doesn’t sound like sothing you’d say."
Shane: "What do you think I should say, then?"
Audrey imitated his tone, "There’s a lot more that I can do."
Shane chuckled, "You know too well."
Audrey lifted her head proudly, "Of course."
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