Pedro Langley's approach was so direct that the waiter who wanted to greet them stopped in his tracks.
Nora Scott stood still, watching Pedro Langley walk up to her.
"Have you eaten?"
No small talk, no pleasantries, straight to the point, decisive and straightforward.
Without hesitation, Nora replied, "No."
With his eyebrows relaxing, Pedro didn't give her time to react and said, "Then let's eat together."
His tone was steady and calm, the conversation flowed extremely smoothly, decisively and cleanly, naturally brushing aside all other problems, not giving Nora any other options.
The logic was smooth, all the way through, and there wasn't a single flaw to be found.
"..."
Nora couldn't find a reason to decline for a while.
While thinking of an excuse, another figure came over and asked with a smile, "Do you have friends?"
"No."
"Then come join us, we're only two people." The man smiled like a spring breeze, his voice rich and mellow.
Unable to resist his pleasant voice, Nora glanced at him.
He was rather good-looking, with well-defined facial features, eyebrows as if painted with ink, enchanting phoenix eyes with a hidden smile, lacking the sense of distance, easily resulting in a favorable impression. He wore a crisp casual suit, appeared energetic, with a gentle and amiable demeanor.
"Forgot to introduce myself," the man courteously extended a hand to Nora, introducing himself, "Hello, my name is Camilo Nogueira, a friend of Pedro."
"...Oh, I'm Nora Scott."
Nora wasn't very interested, but she extended her hand as well.
However, just as they were about to touch, Pedro Langley suddenly took a step forward, blocking Camilo's hand, making Nora's outreached movement fall into emptiness.
With a sideways glance at Nora, Pedro dropped two words, "Let's go."
Nora: "..." Wait, when did she agree?
Camilo: "..." Bro, could you be any more obvious?
Pedro didn't give Nora a chance to refuse, striding ahead, widening the distance in the blink of an eye.
Wisely retracting his hand, Camilo raised his phoenix eyes, smiling gently and kindly, said, "Miss Scott, Pedro's temper isn't very good. However, having a meal together shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Nora raised an eyebrow.
Is this how you undermine a friend?
*
The private room was elegant, with a retro decor, adorned with antiques and calligraphy, filled with style.
A large round table, Nora and Camilo sat on either side, while Pedro pulled out the wooden chair in the middle, sitting down without psychological pressure when he saw Nora giving him a sidelong glance.
The waiter handed the menu to Pedro, and he opened a page, asking Nora, "What do you feel like eating?"
"Anything's fine."
At Virtue Retreat, she had gotten tired of the few dishes she liked.
Pedro paused, giving her a deep look.
Realizing something was off, Nora belatedly remembered her 'picky eating' problem, her response just now seemed inappropriate. However, it didn't matter, Nora maintained a calm and composed demeanor, showing no signs of guilt.
With a slight curve of his lips, Pedro withdrew his gaze, then ordered the dishes himself.
He named several dishes, all of which were Nora's favorites.
Camilo listened from the side, pondering that this wasn't Pedro's usual taste, could it be...
Just as he thought of this, Camilo was about to look at Nora, but saw that Pedro quickly closed the menu, handing it back to the waiter after reporting the names of the dishes.
Camilo laughed, both angry and amused, "Won't you let me order a few dishes?"
Pedro turned to ask him, "Who's treating?"
Tapping his fingers lightly on the table, Camilo's smile remained amiable, "I am."
Pedro replied, "Then just be responsible for paying. If you're not interested in eating, you can leave now."
"..."
Such bridge-burning, lust-driven behavior momentarily stunned the usually unflappable Camilo, his expression showing some surprise.
Seeing this scene, Nora's mind was a jumble of thoughts, after a while, she looked away, pretending to know nothing.
Camilo sighed inwardly, sensing the undercurrent between the two, for once choosing not to cause trouble, and swallowed this grievance.
Soon, the dishes were served.
Camilo was shocked to find that Pedro Langley, who never served anyone, actually took the initiative to scoop a bowl of rice, and handed it to Nora with a natural familiarity.
If this were someone else, the sharp-tongued Pedro, instead of offering a serious rebuke, would at least have made a cutting remark—
"Are your hands broken?"
This woman named Nora, what background does she have to control Pedro Langley so well, yet remain completely oblivious?
Unable to hold back, Camilo chuckled with a rather helpless look, exchanged a meaningful glance with Pedro.
Pedro ignored it, treating him like air.
Camilo: "..."
Picking up her chopsticks, Nora tasted a piece of stir-fried meat, chewed it slowly, then suddenly asked, "Does Bruno's matter have anything to do with you?"
"..."
Pedro did not respond.
However, with such a question, if there was no response, it was tantamount to an admission.
Putting some rice into her mouth, Nora chewed slowly, puzzled, and furrowed her brow, "What exactly do you want?"
His eyes gradually deepened, with an undercurrent flowing, Pedro's gaze lingered on her brows for a moment, then he slowly spoke, "Do good deeds for others, and all your wishes will be fulfilled."
Nora was a bit dumbfounded, recalling the previous 'act of kindness', so she asked, "Have you started believing in Buddhism?"
"...No."
Nodding, Nora found it hard to continue the conversation, so she said, "Well, it's about time, right?"
"Don't know."
"...Oh."
Nora simply lowered her head to eat.
As they chatted, the conversation unexpectedly came to a standstill, something Camilo didn't anticipate. He sat there, both speechless and amused, but ultimately, lacking many friends, loyally picked up the conversation.
The topics varied, sometimes touching on Nora, who would say a few words in response.
The dining atmosphere gradually warmed up.
After finishing most of her bowl of rice, the phone in Nora's pocket suddenly vibrated, she put down her chopsticks and took out her phone.
It was a call from Lily Turner.
Having time to call probably meant the talk was over and discovering she wasn't waiting by the door.
Not answering, Nora told the two, "I'm done eating, I have something to do and need to leave first."
Camilo opened his mouth to ask, but Pedro beat him to it with a simple "Mm," ending the conversation.
Nora then left early.
As the door to the private room closed, Camilo also put down his bowl and chopsticks, asking curiously, "What's going on?"
"Nothing."
"This is nothing?" Camilo thought he should have recorded Pedro's indulgent demeanor as evidence, chuckling softly, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table, teasing, "Master Pedro, seriously reflect on this, do you believe it when you say there's nothing going on?"
Pedro gave him a faint glance, expressionless, "Full, go pay the bill."
"..."
Camilo was speechless for a moment.
Seeing he couldn't get any information out, he had no choice but to give up, resignedly calling the waiter to settle the bill.
The waiter came in, smiling gracefully and politely, with a soft and friendly tone, "Gentlemen, today's meal is complimentary."
This was surprising...
After coming to Virtue Retreat so many times, he'd never encountered a complimentary situation.
Camilo was taken aback, and asked, "Why?"
The waiter explained, "Here's the thing. At Virtue Retreat, any friends brought by Miss Scott have their bills waived."
"..."