Orient Club was one of the top three clubs in Orient City. The annual membership fee alone was ten million, and a single visit easily cost at least a million.
Many high-ranking officials, renowned trainers, and celebrities chose the club as their go-to place for private discussions and important deals.
The fact that this club operated in Orient City on such a large scale was naturally due to the substantial influence of those behind it.
The club was run by a local family of Orient City, a mid-tier family that was subordinate to the Hearth family. Over half of the club's profits went straight to the Hearth family.
At this moment, in the largest private room of the club, Julian, Pierce, Rowan, Asher, and Ember were seated together.
"Pfft—"
"So, you and Ember are cousins?"
When Rowan learned that Ember's grandmother was actually the biological younger sister of Julian's maternal grandfather—making her Julian's grand-aunt—he spat out the wine he had just sipped.
Fortunately, he turned his head in time, or the entire table of dishes would have been ruined.
"Mhm."
Julian nodded faintly.
In contrast to Julian's calm demeanor, Ember was much more enthusiastic. With a teasing smile, she said, "My Champion cousin, you've got to have my back from now on. If I ever get bullied, you must teach that person a harsh lesson."
Julian didn't bother replying. He clearly had no intention of entertaining this woman's shamelessness.
"She knew from the moment we met. I only found out recently," Julian added.
At that, the other three finally understood why Julian was so cold toward Ember.
Their gazes toward Ember shifted subtly.
This woman was not to be trifled with—she'd even played with ambiguity toward her own cousin, albeit a distant one.
"So the reason you did all that before… was just to see Julian's reaction when he found out you were his cousin?" Asher asked curiously.
"Why else? If not for that, why wouldn't I flirt with all three of you?" Ember winked at Asher.
Under the influence of alcohol, Ember's cheeks were flushed, her breath soft, and her charm even more captivating than usual.
Asher shuddered and immediately snapped back to clarity. He couldn't afford to be bewitched by this woman—otherwise, he'd end up like Julian.
Just imagine how awkward it would be: not knowing the truth, your cousin flirts with you. The excitement you felt in the moment would be matched only by the embarrassment afterward.
"What, are you done already?"
Seeing Asher shudder, Ember couldn't help but laugh teasingly.
Asher understood instantly, his face darkening. When this woman started "driving," men really stood no chance—especially since Ember was exceptionally beautiful. Most men wouldn't be able to resist her when she turned on the charm.
"I don't want to talk to you. I'm eating. Mmm…"
Only then did Asher realize that almost all the dishes on the table were already gone—and he'd barely eaten a few bites himself. Then he looked over and saw Celebi and Jirachi, the two little gluttons, devouring everything like starving wolves.
"Julian, how long have you starved them?" Asher asked, pointing at them in disbelief.
"Three hours ago, they already finished a box of fried chicken, a pizza, two large orders of fries, and two cups of milk tea," Julian said casually, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary—he was already used to it.
Jirachi had completely been led astray by Celebi.
Ever since Celebi had taken Jirachi in as its "little brother," Julian had known it was only a matter of time before the poor thing turned out just like it.
Now, Jirachi had become the perfect little troublemaker—eating, drinking, sleeping, staying up late gaming, lying to Julian, and being annoyingly good at pretending to be innocent.
Basically, a perfect replica of Celebi.
"Good thing you're rich," Rowan said, watching the two eat. "Otherwise, they'd eat you into bankruptcy."
Watching them made Rowan's own appetite rise, and he quickly grabbed a few bites himself.
Meanwhile, Pierce peeled a shrimp and handed it to Jirachi, who accepted it happily and thought, 'Huh, this human's pretty nice.'
Then Pierce watched, dumbfounded, as Jirachi placed the entire plate of shrimp in front of him, as if to say, "You keep peeling, I'll keep eating."
He had just been promoted to a 'designated shrimp-peeling tool.'
"Hahaha! Jirachi is so cute! Cousin, can I hug it?"
Ember was already addicted to calling Julian "cousin," not even bothering with Julian's name anymore.
"If it agrees, you can," Julian said, glancing at her—while secretly sending a telepathic message to Jirachi: "Spit on her."
Jirachi obediently spat at Ember and made a funny face, then flew over to Julian and settled proudly in his lap.
Julian patted its head in satisfaction and said to Ember, "Looks like it doesn't want to."
"You bast**d! It was you who told Jirachi to spit at me, wasn't it?"
Ember grumpily wiped her face with a tissue.
"You can hold Celebi instead."
But Ember said with disdain, "I don't want to hold that fat thing."
So Celebi also spat at Ember.
'It's one thing for Julian to call me fat—I can take it since he's my provider. But what right do you have to call me fat? Did I eat your rice or your chicken legs?'
"Ahhh! Julian!!!"
Ember was really going crazy.
In a way, though, being spat on by a Mythical Pokémon and a First-class Legendary was almost an honor—something few humans could claim.
Of course, Julian had no intention of revealing Jirachi's true status as a First-class Legendary.
"Julian, order another full table of dishes! I'm only half full!" Celebi said, patting its belly proudly as it floated in front of Julian's plate.
Apparently, 'half full' still meant it could eat another entire table's worth.
The chefs at this club were genuinely skilled. Even though Julian's taste buds had been spoiled by Slowking and Love, he had to admit the food here was pretty good.
It was about seventy percent as good as what Slowking made.
He waved to a nearby waitress.
The young woman hurried over, her expression full of excitement.
'It's Champion Walker! My friends are going to be so jealous when I tell them!'
Even though she was used to seeing celebrities, officials, and even Elite trainers, she couldn't keep her composure when facing Julian.
"Please bring another set of the dishes we just had."
"Julian, the Coke is finished too," Celebi reminded.
"And two large bottles of Coke."
The waitress quickly nodded.
Then, she asked in a low voice, "Um… Champion Walker, would it be alright if I took a photo with you afterward?"
As a staff member here, she wasn't supposed to do this—it could cost her her job. But this was Julian! She figured it was worth getting fired for.
Julian nodded.
He'd always been fairly accommodating toward his fans.
Watching the waitress walk away with a flushed, excited face, Ember teased, "As expected of our Champion Walker, the nation's heartthrob. Wherever you go, the fangirls follow."
"That waitress is pretty cute, too. How about it? Want her to keep you company tonight? I bet she'd even pay for the privilege."
"There were even those rumors online," she continued with a laugh, "about some rich women offering three hundred million just to spend one night with you."
The table burst into laughter at that—it was true. That particular piece of gossip had once gone viral. Julian himself had seen it at the time, of course, he had ignored it.
Celebi even tried to convince him to accept the offer—after all, 300 million could buy so much fried chicken, fries, and happy meals!
Julian response was to give it a good spanking.
*****
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