Chapter 540 Making dinner
Lucas scratched his nose with an awkward chuckle, finding it a bit much to handle when the topic of his sister's menstrual cycle was thrown into the conversation.
Natalie's anger towards Oliver simmered beneath the surface for snatching her stuff without reason. She gave him a sidelong glance and offered a terse word, “Thanks.”
The others exchanged puzzled looks, unsure what to make of this divorced couple. There was an awkward tension between them, yet Oliver seemed to harbor some concern for Natalie. Or perhaps it wasn't concern. After all, she was his ex-wife and current partner. God forbid her discomfort affects their work.
Mia gripped Ethan's arm, her eyes dancing with excitement. "Did you see that? "
Ethan cursed under his breath, second-guessing his life choices. "Mia, what was I thinking when I agreed to marry you?"
Mia huffed, "Joyless old man!"
"Lilian, he treats you like that?" Sharon whispered conspiratorially to Lilian. Ever since she found out about Lilian's real identity, she'd been keen to get in her good graces—or at least, avoid her animosity.
"Treats me how?" Lilian was utterly baffled. They barely knew each other, and Sharon had even picked a fight with her before. Now the audacity to chit-chat with her?
"You know... giving you Natalie's cast-offs," Sharon hinted, lowering her voice suggestively. "Is this how Mr. Windsor treats his cousin? Seems a bit..."
"Are you out of your mind?" Lilian cut her off.
Sharon gaped at Lilian, her brain churning in confusion.
Lilian thought to herself, even before her cousin got involved with Natalie, she was never handed anything as simple as ice cream!
That item wasn't just something left behind by Natalie. It was a token bought by Lucas for his sister, then snatched by Oliver from Natalie—a mix of Lucas's fraternal affection, Oliver's marital concern, and his familial care for her. It was nothing short of a divine treat!
"Lilian, is there some misunderstanding between us?" Sharon attempted to maintain a smile, even as embarrassment crept over her face.
"There's no misunderstanding," Lilian said, shaking her head and counting off on her fingers. "First, you spread rumors about Natalie, and second, the moment I arrived, you started targeting me. Everyone knows it."
Sharon clenched her jaw, biting back words of discomfort.
Had she known earlier that Lilian wasn't just an assistant but also Oliver's cousin and backed by the powerful and distinguished Mercer family, would she have dared to target her? It was Lilian's own fault for being so secretive about her identity!
A few heiresses nearby nearly burst into laughter at the scene.
After discovering Lilian's true status, they too were interested in befriending her, but they certainly wouldn't throw themselves at her like Sharon did.
It just goes to show, a different class sees the world differently.
The staff were tallying up the items each pair had found, with treasure chests sorted into fifteen piles beside each team.
"Natalie, you...?" Mia was flabbergasted. Oliver never gave them a single clue, so how on earth did Natalie end up with nine chests surrounding her!
"She's a freakin' machine," Barrett grumbled, his face impassive. See? He wasn't the only one who thought Natalie was superhuman.
"Lucas found eleven chests... you siblings are terrifying," Cadence said. She sat next to Lilian during the quiz, where they exchanged comments, and clearly remembered Lilian only getting two questions right.
There were only fifteen chests listed for each team.
All eyes turned to Natalie and Lucas, gawking as if they were looking at otherworldly creatures, their gazes filled with an insane curiosity: How did you do it?
Natalie said, producing an ancient city map and the short story. "Even without direct clues, you can find most things using the story and map. For instance, the story mentions certain locations that correspond to places here in the old city... and these lines from a poetry are references to street names, landmarks, or old shop names in the city—just search those areas. "
The crowd responded with silence.
What the heck?
"How did you even think of that?" Barrett had watched Natalie's miraculous process firsthand. Why didn't it occur to him?
"Natalie is brilliant!" Lilian retorted with a proud tilt of her cute chin, basking in the glory by proxy.
Barrett pressed Lucas with a hint of stubborn curiosity, "Did you figure it out the same way?"
Lucas's coy gaze lifted from Lilian, still flirting with a smile. In a good mood, he elaborated, "Haven't you guys noticed that everyone has a different story in hand? If it was just junk, why create fifteen unique tales for fifteen people?"
Natalie chuckled and nodded in agreement with Lucas's line of thought.
The other young masters remained silent, their expressions blank.
Those old men and women with nothing better to do sure have the leisure to set up some sort of couple's summer camp to 'foster broken bonds'—complete with an event planner and a live broadcast crew. Is it really such a rarity to spin fifteen different yarns for fifteen people?
That's pretty much a standard affair!
"Natalie, is this your strategy to win?" Oliver suddenly chimed in with an air of sarcasm after a stretch of silence.
Natalie was baffled. Why was he suddenly acting so peculiar? Was she to be blamed for her cleverness?
"Jerk!" She couldn't hold back and muttered under her breath.
Those standing close to them were startled. Had Natalie just called Oliver a jerk?
But Oliver, unfazed, just gave Natalie a cold glance.
Left speechless, Natalie almost choked with fury, gritting her teeth, "Oliver, can you be any more shameless?"
"I'm sure it could—with your proper guidance."
“When did I ever teach you to be shameless?”
Those who had braced for Oliver's fury towards Natalie were now scratching their heads in confusion: What's going on here? Why does this divorced couple seem to have such a flirtation?
It felt more like a tangled episode of a couple's drama.
Susan clutched her sleeve tightly, summoning all her strength to maintain a facade of calm.
Off to the side, Leonard stood inconspicuously, his gaze seemingly as curious as the others’ when scrutinized Natalie. But a closer look would reveal a flicker of surprise and an indescribable frenzy in his eyes, as if... he'd stumbled upon a fascinating new toy.
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