Leap OF Fate

Chapter 27

Serene felt powerless when Dylan kindly requested to make Justin his plus one. She was famished,

and all she wanted was to have a steaming bowl of miso ramen. She no longer protested Dylan's Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

request.

They took Justin’s Maybach. She sat in the back passenger seat while Dylan sat shotgun with Justin,

who drove.

As the car was getting out of the basement parking, Dylan, in his signature energetic voice asked,

“What do you want to eat, Shen?”

She no longer had to think about this question. Serene immediately blurted, “Japanese.”

“Excuse me, what?” Of course Dylan knew what she meant, but he wanted to tease her.

“Japanese. Japanese food, ramen to be exact.” Serene rolled her eyes at him, to which Dylan just gave

a crisp, jovial laugh.

Throughout this exchange, one person’s hand was tightly gripping the steering wheel. It was too tight

that veins popped at the back of his hands. He wanted to kick Dylan out of the car.

Justin drove to Hotel Le Grande for the best Japanese restaurant in Hyacinth Bay. Inside the private

room, both men sat on the same side of the table, while Serene sat opposite them.

She tried to act as cool as she can, doing her best to ignore Justin and focus on the gregarious person

sitting beside him. She glanced at the menu and enumerated the dishes she wanted.

“Did you order for three?” Dylan amusedly looked at her, shaking his head in disbelief that a person

with a frame as petite as hers can eat that much. Serene did not bother answering him and just rolled

her eyes, earning chuckles from Dylan.

“You must really like Japanese cuisine.” It was Justin. His voice was calm, as he looked at her not with

amusement but with curiosity.

Serene smiled at him and answered, “Yes, it’s my comfort food.”

After a while, their orders arrived. Serene’s orders almost occupied a quarter of the spacious table.

Dylan still cannot help but shake his head in disbelief. Ignoring him, Serene picked up her chopsticks

and dove into her ramen.

The moment the hot noodles’ aroma hit her nose, she got lost in her own world. She sniffed deeply and

slurped her noodles. She took her first bite with her eyes closed to appreciate the flavor of her ramen.

Indeed, this is the best ramen she had!

Justin took in all her facial expression. It amused him that a mere bowl of ramen can make her look so

happy. She looked like a child on Christmas morning. A gentle smile tugged the corner of her lips.

“By the way, Shen…” Dylan broke his sentence as he cleared his throat. “Did Mary also come to

Hyacinth Bay?” He smiled at her sweetly, then gave her a playful wink.

“No, she’s very busy lately. She opened her own clothing line.”

“Oh, really, what kind?”

“Swimwear” She answered him while she chewed on her ramen.

“Oh, nice!” He said and nodded in agreement.

“Yup! It’s her life’s dream!” Serene’s eyes were shining from the pride she felt for her bestie.

Justin noticed Serene looked enthusiastic at the mention of Mary’s name, so he asked, “You and Mary

seem to have known each other a long time.”

“Yes, since we were in diapers!” Seeing him with an eyebrow slightly raised, she continued, “Our

parents were friends, and we live close to each other.”

He just nodded and sipped from his cup without breaking eye contact with her. It’s rare for the two of

them to have a normal conversation. Justin just wanted to enjoy the moment.

“What about you two, how long have you known each other?” Her voice was devoid of her usual

sarcasm or doubt, rather, her tone was light and was even wearing a smile.

“Almost the same.” It was Dylan who answered before he took a gyoza from one of Serene’s plates,

which earned sharp stares from Justin. Dylan simply shrugged his shoulders. “We both modelled.”

Serene’s jaw dropped as she looked at Justin. “You did?” Her voice was high pitched from her disbelief.

He simply smiled at her. Serene’s heart skipped a bit when she saw him smile. Her reaction puzzled

her, but she just smiled back at him.

“Speaking of modelling, since your bestie has a swimwear line, ever thought of modelling for her?”

Leave it to Dylan to come up with the most interesting questions.

“I’ll walk for her, yes.” She matter-of-factly answered to which Dylan just responded with a raised

eyebrow and a meaningful smile. Justin merely looked at her with unreadable eyes.

They finished their meal smoothly, to Serene’s surprise. Justin offered to drop her off at the hotel she’s

staying to, which she agreed. Dylan already left, telling them he had somewhere to go and would just

be taking a taxi. Serene doubted the authenticity of Dylan’s excuse, but she said nothing.