Arc 3 Devica Part 9
1130 Words
Devica PART 9
Nephrite canceled his book-buying plans and rescheduled it for the next day. He would be an i***t if he let such generosity pass.
After the meal, they were led to the indoor sports complex, private movie theater, private pool, hair salon and body spa, and other facilities inside the building. At the end of the day, they were even given a free dinner, giving them the chance to watch the beautiful night skyline. They really had a great time.
Nephrite went ahead to the bookstore the next day. As he lined up at the counter after successfully acquiring the references he needed, he saw one of the staff clerks put new magazines at the stand.
The familiar handsome face and blue phoenix eyes caught his attention right away.
Without further thinking, he grabbed a copy of the business magazine with Dylan as the cover model.
Unlike most of the business magazine cover Nephrite saw before with close-up shots and plain background images, Dylan’s shot looked more like an artistic stolen shot.
Dylan was looking at his laptop in the photo. His face was serious, giving it a vibe that he was actually working and not in a photoshoot. The background even looked like a real office with a nice view of the cityscape outside the glass wall.
Neatly stacked papers were piled at the side of the table and a red cup of coffee near him. A part of the leaves of a potted indoor plant at the corner of the room was also captured in the photo.
It really looked as if it was taken while he was working.
However, the photo obviously had a perfect lighting set, enhancing every important detail. It showed that a professional photographer worked to get the shot done.
The photographer managed to highlight Dylan’s assets. Especially his eyes.
Dylan’s eyes appeared like crystal clear blue water in the photo. It was mesmerizing and alluring.
Nephrite left the shop happy. He was not aware that only thirty minutes after he left, all the magazine supplies for that issue got out of stock from that shop.
Days passed by in peace and quiet.
Howard would call him once in a while, pretending to be a good elder. Lin Ye would also call him sometimes to check how he was. and invited him to have a meal a few times.
Vio created a group chat for the three of them.
Like Camilla expected, Dylan asked everyone’s basic details from her uncle.
[Pink Camellia Princess](Camilla): My uncle even thought that Mr. Wezel liked me. I was like, ‘Uncle, dream on! If Mr. Wezel had a crush on someone that time, it was as clear as the day that it was not with me. :ROLF:
[Number One Violet](Vio): How was it possible? You’re the only girl in our group.
[Pink Camellia Princess]: For someone who preferred the same gender, you’re pretty dumb aren’t you? Anyway, he obviously likes Raven!
[Soaring Jade Raven](Nephrite): Why me?
[Pink Camellia Princess]: :eyeroll: Are you blind, my friend? Haven’t you seen how reluctant he was to let go of your hand?
Vio became energized by the topic.
[Number One Violet]: Right! I forgot about that! Mr. Wezel even used that old pick-up line. :ROLF: Even treated us well after that.
[Soaring Jade Raven]: You guys, I think he really just thought he met me before, Don’t give meaning to it. And his treatment was probably to make us forget that awkward situation. Didn’t we actually forget about it?
Aside from that, if there was someone who had a crush on who after that day, it was probably me, Nephrite sighed as he stared at the magazine leaning on the wall beside his laptop.
“Well, what can I do? I’m just a normal human to begin with. It’s hard not to get attracted to such a handsome face.”
It’s just a crush on a celebrity, anyway. Nothing’s wrong.
Nephrite stared at the magazine and contemplated for a bit. In the end, he picked up one of the reference books he bought and started reading it instead.
_______
Like that, two weeks had passed.
Nephrite left early for the cafe’s staff meeting.
The cafe was already fully furnished and a bookshelf full of comics and novels was placed behind the counter.
Mary introduced Nephrite to her partner. “Raven, I would like you to meet my partner, Xion. His mom made all our recipes in our cafe.”
They shook hands. “Mary praised your cooking skills so much that I almost got jealous,” Xion said smiling.
Nephrite gave an awkward smile, “Does that mean I’m fired?”
The three of them laughed. “If you don’t mind, let’s try out how you follow my mom’s recipe later. Since you’re not part of the role-playing staff, we can leave them while we make food and let everyone taste test it as lunch.”
Nephrite chuckled, “You wanted them to serve as guinea pigs?”
“How can they be guinea pigs? They’re lucky to get to taste your food,” Mary said with confidence..
There were a total of eight staff who attended the meeting. Two of them were Xion’s cousins while one was Mary’s relative. Five applied online.
With one look, everyone had their own charm. It was obvious that they were carefully selected.
They discussed the rules and regulations for all employees, work health and safety, and other standards, Xion excused himself and Nephrite to start cooking.
“Let’s all see our head chef’s cooking skills,” Xion told them.
Synonymous with ‘free meal’, everyone roared energetically.
Xion helped Nephrite prepare the ingredients.
As they busied themselves, Nephrite could not help but ask, “Marcus won’t come today?”
Mary mentioned to Xion that she and Marcus tried Raven’s cooking before. “Oh, yes. He had some things to handle.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Marcus actually doesn't need to attend the meeting. He and Mary have been best friends since middle school. He was just helping out.”
“Sure seems like they're close,” Nephrite commented. He did not know much but he was aware that there was nothing simple about Marcus’ identity.
“Yes.” Even if Marcus fell out with his family lately for insisting to take a teaching preparation program, he still did not like to accept Mary’s money as help. Instead, he rather takes this job to earn money even if it does not match his image. Xion wanted to tell him.
Instead, he said, “He was arranging his requirements for the teaching preparation program.”
“He wants to be a teacher?” Nephrite asked, surprised.
- Writer
