Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Taking the Drink

Chapter 156: Taking the Drink

Under the warm pressure of Serena’s old classmates, Serena took her seat at the table.

Elias followed closely behind and sat beside her.

On his other side was Lucinda.

That was probably Serena’s way of keeping him from feeling too awkward. Out of everyone here, Lucinda was the least unfamiliar, since they had at least greeted each other in the hall.

After sitting down, Lucinda gave Elias a small smile. She was neither too close nor too distant, keeping the kind of polished distance that made people feel respected without feeling ignored.

With people like that, Elias usually responded with normal friendliness.

He was not a rabbit in heat. He was not interested in every woman who came near him. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Women outside his mission targets did not really tempt him.

Mostly because they were troublesome, wasted time, and, honestly, the quality did not compare to these trash women.

[System Theta: ...]

If it told the truth right now, would it get hit?

Elias had thought he would become the focus of the dinner.

After all, he was the only person here attending as someone’s lover.

But he soon realized he had overestimated himself.

The others teased Serena about him a few times, but the center of the gathering remained Serena.

That was normal.

Serena Blackwood had enough power in the business world now to make one phone call feel like weather. Saying she controlled half a commercial empire was not even much of an exaggeration.

No helping it.

She was a trash woman, but in a certain sense, she was also the chosen daughter of this world. The cheat she had been handed was just that large.

For the first time in a long while, Elias tasted being left out.

He sat there with his head lowered, eating through a table full of expensive dishes, and sighed inwardly.

"What a nostalgic feeling."

[System Theta: What are you planning to do?]

Elias looked surprised. "Oh? You can already tell I want to cause trouble?"

[System Theta: Yes.]

It understood its host better now. When he spoke like this, he was definitely about to do something.

Elias cut into a king crab croquette while saying, "I’m thinking about taking off my glasses. That should count as helping Serena save face, right? A boyfriend’s looks still matter."

[System Theta: You...]

It stopped itself.

Are you sure this isn’t because you want to hook Lucinda?

Fortunately, Elias only thought about it.

He did not actually do it.

Most of the dinner-table conversation revolved around the past.

School stories. Old embarrassments. Who had confessed to whom. Who had succeeded. Who had failed so badly that the entire table still remembered it years later.

That kind of atmosphere infected people easily.

Elias was no exception. He listened quietly.

He had always been someone who lived through stories, tasting one life after another. Other people’s lives interested him too, when they were told well enough.

Serena was the same.

She was easy to talk to tonight, or at least easy to be around. Most of the time, she listened without interrupting. Sometimes she nodded slightly. Sometimes her red lips curved into a faint smile, and the look in her eyes became unexpectedly gentle.

At one point, Serena lowered her gaze toward Elias and found him watching her.

Her expression did not change.

She only picked up a king crab croquette and placed it onto his plate with perfect naturalness.

"You seem to like this," she said. "When we go back, I can have the chef make it for you."

Elias looked at the food on his plate.

Then he looked up at Serena.

His eyes became a little complicated.

"Mm."

He nodded and answered her, then said to System Theta, "I’m starting to feel a little unwilling to separate from her."

[System Theta: !!!!!]

System Theta was shocked.

Had its host fallen for Serena Blackwood?

Had the Bureau’s ace employee finally collapsed?

Then Elias’s voice turned full of honest conflict.

"If we separate, I don’t know whether I’ll still get to eat king crab croquettes this good. What a problem."

[System Theta: ...]

It should never have doubted its host’s desire for retirement and good food.

Of course, what class reunion did not involve alcohol?

Everyone except Elias was drinking. Some people had already emptied several bottles.

The group slowly grew tipsy, and the conversation drifted from the past into the present.

Once the past and present had both been discussed, the future naturally came next.

Here, the future meant seeking Serena’s investment and support.

Elias was not surprised.

Why had Serena become the main character of the gathering?

Because someone needed her help.

After so many years apart, how could anyone make a request right away? First they had to warm up the table, stir old friendships back to life, make the atmosphere intimate enough for business to walk in wearing the mask of nostalgia.

Elias saw it clearly.

Serena saw it even more clearly.

But she did not expose anyone. She only agreed one by one.

"I’ve considered that sector before. The prospects are decent. It’s worth trying."

"That company is yours? All right. I’ll have my assistant revise the contract and add another ten percent in your favor."

"Send me the proposal tomorrow. I’ll look at it."

None of them had expected Serena to agree so decisively.

Surprise lit up their faces one after another, and soon people were raising glasses to her.

"Serena, I’ll finish mine. You do whatever you want."

"To old friends and new deals."

"You saved me this time. I owe you one."

Elias thought, a room full of international elites had somehow mastered the ugliest part of corporate toasting with terrifying skill.

Had they all been practicing this since graduation?

Serena, meanwhile, refused no one.

Her beautiful face had flushed deeply from the alcohol. Even her eyes, usually so clear and sharp, now carried a trace of drunken haze.

At this moment, Elias finally understood Serena’s plan.

So she was not testing him.

She had switched to testing Liora?

He had no idea how exactly she intended to do that. He only knew that if Serena was acting this seriously, he could not fall behind.

When Serena was about to drink yet another glass, Elias finally moved.

He reached out and gently caught her wrist.

"Hm?"

Serena’s voice was low, threaded with the warmth of alcohol. Just that one syllable was enough to linger in the ear like aged wine.

Elias’s ears almost itched.

Damn it.

Was every woman in this world designed to murder people through sound?

He looked at Serena, pressed his lips together, and shook his head.

"Don’t drink anymore..."

"Oh!" someone immediately called out. "Serena, your little boyfriend is worried about you."

His interruption did not stiffen the mood.

Instead, it revived the table, which had started to sag under too much business talk. Under everyone’s eager, amused attention, Serena smiled at Elias.

"Eli," she said, "I’m not drunk."

"You still can’t drink anymore." Elias stayed firm.

Nonsense.

After dinner, after alcohol, after they returned home, a battle was definitely waiting.

If Serena drank too much and accidentally threw up during the ride, what then?

Just imagining the disaster made Elias feel a chill of disgust.

On the surface, though, his brows drew together faintly, and a quiet plea showed in his eyes.

Serena compromised.

"Then I’ll finish this last glass, and I won’t drink after that."

Elias thought it was time to show his boyfriend power.

Under everyone’s gaze, he snatched the glass out of Serena’s hand.

"I’ll drink this one for you."