These two words, suddenly ringing out, made Sophie’s heart contract sharply.
Realizing something, she was stunned as she came back to her senses, and sure enough, she saw Nora Scott who had just walked in.
Sophie and Lily, still in shock, did not notice that the two attendants originally intending to welcome Nora had stopped in their tracks and stepped aside.
Entering the door and hearing the shout, Nora halted her steps briefly, raised her eyes to sweep around, and upon seeing Sophie and Lily, a playful smile curled her lips.
"Do you two know each other?" Nora raised an eyebrow.
Sophie nodded slightly and greeted softly, "Hello."
At the side, Lily’s thoughts whirled, her expression briefly dark and resentful before returning to calm.
She might have initially recalled Nora’s help, but due to Nora, Lily’s career had plummeted. Recently, not only did she lose many resources, but her popularity also dropped significantly.
Narrowing her eyes, Lily spoke in a seemingly friendly yet disdainful tone, "What brings you here?"
Virtue Retreat was not an ordinary restaurant; it was extremely expensive and frequented by the upper class.
Not quite the right tier.
Could it be that she maintains a high-and-mighty front but secretly...
Nora chuckled lightly, "Here for a meal, is there a problem?"
Hiding her malice, Lily deliberately asked, "Alone?"
Deep down, Lily didn’t believe she came alone. Who would come to Virtue Retreat just for a meal?
Nora replied offhandedly, lazily, and lifted her leg to head to the reception.
Lily gritted her teeth, still thinking of how to stop her, expose her, and sneer a few times, when she heard Sophie speak—
Nora paused slightly.
"If you’re alone, why not join us for a meal?" Sophie smiled gently, paused, and continued, "The three of us happen to know each other, so it won’t be awkward. I think, um, we seem to have quite a fate, and I’d like to make a friend of you."
Briefly astonished, Lily looked at Sophie with admiration.
However, at the moment, Sophie was entirely devoid of the ’alone’ aspect. Her mind was filled with thoughts of the ’storyboards’ and ’Henry Chapman’.
Nora cast an analyzing gaze over.
Lily stepped closer, deliberately adding, "Since you’re alone, join us. After all, whether there’s one more or one less person, it’s just a meal."
Nora squinted her eyes.
These two, each harboring their own intentions...
"Alright." Nora raised her brows slightly, a smile at her lips, "Who’s treating?"
Lily froze for a second, then hurriedly said before Sophie, "I’ll treat."
Sophie paused, her gaze flitting back and forth on Nora, feeling somewhat nervous.
Delicate Tattoo Studio.
Shop owner Michael Quinn appeared before the pristinely styled Pedro Langley, sporting granny gray disheveled hair and dressed flamboyantly.
"Are you the one getting a tattoo?"
As he approached, Michael grabbed an apple from the coffee table fruit tray, tossed it up, and sat on the single sofa.
Pedro observed him for a moment.
Very young, around twenty-five or six, hair sprayed with gel, messily styled, a shiny earring on the left. Black long-sleeved T-shirt adorned with a skull, accompanied by several seemingly exquisite yet obtrusive silver chains, covered his hands with rings, though his fingers were slender and quite pretty.
Radiating a youthful vibe.
Pedro pressed down his dissatisfaction and confirmed.
Biting into the apple, Michael crossed his legs, saying, "Let me tell you upfront, I’m the shop owner, prices are steep."
Pedro was somewhat surprised at how he managed to make such a normal sentence sound like "I’m the shop’s star attraction".
Seeing the customer’s aloof attitude, devoid of desire for conversation, Michael raised his chin, "What do you want to get tattooed?"
Pedro took out his phone, pulled up an image, and handed it over.
"Same spot, something similar."
Michael took the phone suspiciously, glanced at it, and was immediately stunned.
Slowly swallowing the apple, he raised an eyebrow at Pedro, eyes brimming with a mischievous smile, "Nora’s admirer?"
Seeing Pedro’s expression was somewhat nuanced, Michael considered him embarrassed, "That tattoo of hers, I did it. How she is, she attracts too much romance. A few have come, wanting the same design. But they all gave up later."
At this, Michael chuckled, his body leaning slightly forward, elbows resting on his knees.
He asked, "Do you know the origin of her tattoo?"
Pedro’s expression remained unchanged, calmly saying, "I know."
"I was about to tell you... know?"
Now it was Michael’s turn to be bewildered, the smile on his face gradually fading.
His malicious interest was thoroughly thwarted, leaving him full of frustration and disappointment.
Thinking it over, Michael remained unwilling to give up, seeming to confirm, he pursued, "You know it was done on the day she broke up, for her first love?"
Michael hissed, contemplating perhaps this person was a bit obsessed, pondering a moment, he tapped his fingers on the coffee table surface, saying, "Make sure, removing a tattoo is quite painful. With this tattoo, indirectly, you’ve etched her first love’s mark."
Chattering on noisily, Pedro grew quite impatient, expressionless, he said, "I am her first love."
Michael’s eyes widened in shock immediately.
Seeing, seeing... seeing ghosts!
Inside the private room, the ordered dishes were laid on the table one after another.
Lily’s gaze swept over Nora inconspicuously.
Is Nora really not expecting anyone?
Coming alone to Virtue Retreat for a meal?
With Nora’s current leisurely and carefree demeanor, Lily practically suspected—Nora learned that she and Sophie had an appointment here, and came deliberately to scrounge a meal here.
"Miss Scott, what is your current profession?"
Having exhausted the polite remarks, Sophie hesitated repeatedly before actively questioning Nora.
"Finance." Nora replied flatly.
Lily’s tongue was burned by the freshly tasted mushroom soup.
Sophie was also taken aback for a moment.
The two almost simultaneously looked up: so you have a proper profession?
Sophie pursed her lips, her smile somewhat stiff.
"Hear Henry Chapman mentioned you’re a cartoonist?" Nora asked.
Sophie’s face whitened by two shades.
Lily inwardly sneered: deliberately mentioning Henry Chapman, trying to flaunt before Sophie?
Glancing sideways, observing Sophie’s lip-biting gesture, Lily steadied herself, proactively introducing, "Sophie is a student at Capital Uni, History Department, now in her fourth year. Cartooning is a side job, but she is quite known in the comic circle."
Capital Uni is among the top universities in the country, enough to make someone like Nora, who never went to university, envious.
Lily coldly watched Nora.
Yet, she failed to see the surprise and envy on Nora’s face as expected.
Nora looked at Lily oddly.
Despite being a first-tier star, although her career is currently troubled, facing a university student and cartoonist from Capital Uni... wasn’t her attitude overly ’friendly’?
Listening to Lily’s introduction, Sophie slowly let out a breath, then raised her head, lips curving into a faint smile, asking, "Miss Scott, do you like cartoons?"