Norman Sutton glared at his mate beside him, saying, "When did I say she was my girlfriend?"
The other three buddies exchanged skeptical looks, and then the guy with glasses sitting opposite Norman Sutton said, "Stop fooling us. If she’s not your girlfriend, would she travel all the way abroad to watch your match? Plus, you didn’t hang out with us those days. Who doesn’t know you were off enjoying a world for two?"
Norman Sutton waved his hand dismissively, "You guys know nothing. I can’t explain it to you."
The three of them exchanged smiles, each with an expression of seeing through without saying it.
Norman Sutton lowered his head to browse the nu, when suddenly the guy next to him gently nudged him with his elbow, saying, "Hey, your rival in love seems to have shown up."
Another guy teased, "Looks pretty handso."
The guy with glasses: "Walked over, it should be that guy."
Norman Sutton looked up curiously, and sure enough, saw a man in a dark blue suit walk to Lana Holloway’s table.
Tall and handso, he seed to belong to the gentlemanly and mature type that young girls find quite appealing.
Watching the man sit down opposite Lana Holloway, Lana’s back was turned to him, so he couldn’t see her expression, only noticing that the man smiled and said sothing to Lana Holloway.
While observing, the guy with glasses sighed, saying, "Ah, looks like this sister-in-law might be hard to keep."
Norman Sutton suddenly snapped back to reality, glaring at a few of them, saying, "Who’s your sister-in-law? I guess none of you are in the mood to eat."
"No, no, no, the great Norman rarely treats, we have been hungry since noon waiting for this al."
Norman Sutton rolled his eyes at them and tossed the nu to them. While he strongly denied any relationship with Lana Holloway, his eyes disobediently kept glancing in her direction.
Though he could only see the back of Lana Holloway’s head, seeing the man’s face remain smiling, it felt like the two should be having a pretty good chat.
For the sake of face, Norman Sutton had to hold back his temper.
The two tables had their dishes served about simultaneously, and Norman Sutton, whose intention clearly wasn’t in the drink, appeared uncharacteristically absent-minded, not actively engaging in the topics the other three buddies were chatting about.
The three buddies, on the other hand, despite having seen through the situation, pretended to talk about gas, all waiting for a good show to unfold.
Lana Holloway, on her first blind date, inevitably felt sowhat awkward.
Sitting nervously yet politely, she didn’t know what topics to initiate, almost only responding to whatever the other party asked.
"Not used to the food?"
While cutting the steak, Lana Holloway paused and looked up at Justin Jewell, replying with a dry smile, "...Not really, just not used to having Western food often."
Justin Jewell apologized, "Sorry, I took the liberty since I didn’t know your preferences beforehand."
Lana Holloway shook her head with a smile, "It’s okay, I’m not a picky eater, and it’s quite tasty."
Justin Jewell: "Next ti, you decide the place. I usually eat randomly by myself, so I don’t really know what’s best to eat at various places."
Hearing Justin Jewell ntion a future al, Lana Holloway gave an awkward smile, pursed her lips, and took a sip of red wine from the glass beside her.
Though not her first ti drinking, compared to Candy’s sweet juice, she still wasn’t quite accustod to the taste of alcohol, so she barely wetted her lips before putting the glass down.
Justin Jewell then asked, "Do you have any plans after dinner?"
Lana Holloway hesitated, shaking her head, "I usually watch TV dramas at ho."
Justin Jewell: "Then... let’s catch a movie together later."
Lana Holloway scratched her head, considering she ca for a blind date and the person seed okay; she didn’t know much, couldn’t say she had a strong liking, but felt no aversion either.
He actively invited her, and it wasn’t polite to refuse, so after a brief hesitation, she nodded and said, "Sure."
"Ding dong—"
The phone placed at the table’s edge lit up its screen in response. Lana Holloway glanced at the phone’s screen and saw Norman Sutton’s WhatsApp avatar in the lock screen notification bar. She didn’t bother to look closely at the ssage Norman Sutton sent and quickly pressed the lock screen button on the phone’s side, then flipped the phone face down on the table.
Justin Jewell noticed her action but didn’t ask any questions that might make Lana Holloway feel awkward, simply smiled gently, saying, "It’s okay, attend to your ssage."
"It’s not any important ssage; it’s okay whether I reply or not..." Before she could finish, the phone continued to ring several tis.
Justin Jewell heard it, thoughtfully saying, "It seems like there might be sothing urgent. Better give it a check."
Apologetically smiling, Lana Holloway reached for the phone. She knew all too well that Norman Sutton’s texting style was the "bombardnt" approach; you think he has serious business, but upon opening, you realize it’s all nonsense, possibly repeated several tis until you reply.
And with Norman Sutton being at the blind date site himself, Lana Holloway was even less inclined to believe he would send any good ssages.
Sure enough, opening the chat page, she was greeted by a series of sarcasm from Norman Sutton.
Norman Sutton: "Having a good chat, huh? t your match?"
Norman Sutton: "Is that what kind of guy you like?"
Norman Sutton: "Well, fits your conditions anyway."
Norman Sutton: "Lucky he’s not picky about you, you can’t afford to be choosy."
Upon reading these words, Lana Holloway lost the impulse to reply, directly setting the phone to silent mode, placing it beside her seat, without once turning to glance at Norman Sutton sitting behind her.
Behind her, Norman Sutton watched as Lana Holloway picked up her phone to check the ssages, yet he didn’t even receive a reply before she set the phone aside, continuing to eat as if nothing happened.
Making Norman Sutton increasingly agitated, extrely irritated.
Justin Jewell and Lana Holloway discussed and decided on the movie for tonight, then bought tickets on their phones.
The two were almost done eating, and since it would take so ti to reach the cinema, they didn’t linger long in the restaurant after finishing their al. Justin Jewell went to settle the bill at the cashier, while Lana Holloway, not wanting any eye contact with Norman Sutton, directly stepped outside the restaurant to wait for Justin Jewell.
When Norman Sutton saw Lana Holloway leave, he finally couldn’t hold back anymore. He put down his chopsticks, picked up the down jacket hanging on the back of his chair, grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth while heading to the cashier, "You guys continue eating, I’m going to pay the bill."
The three buddies teased in succession.
"Great Norman, abandoning us now?"
"Great Norman is off to do serious business, doesn’t have ti to hang out and drink with you here!"
"Said he didn’t like the girl, thought he really had that calmness."
"Cheer up, great Norman; we’re all waiting to drink at your wedding!"
Norman Sutton completely pretended not to hear, hurriedly settled the bill, and left the restaurant.
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