Chapter 651 - 647: In a Relationship?

"Me?"

Hearing this, Yvonne Sterling pointed to herself and couldn’t help but laugh. "Forget it. Your Aunt Yvonne doesn’t know the first thing about running a business. I’d just cause trouble for your mom."

Cecilia Sterling knew her aunt would say that.

When she had offered to invest in a business for her mother, her mother had said the exact same thing.

Cecilia didn’t rush things this time, either. The most important thing for her aunt right now was to get well.

「Meanwhile, at the Lorcain U cafeteria.」

It was lunchtime, and the cafeteria was packed. Long lines had formed at all the popular food stalls.

"Jameson, go grab a table first. Then go get in the malatang line for Renee Reid. She has a lab class this morning, and the science building is far from the cafeteria, so she’ll probably be late."

Jameson Stone nodded. He was holding three bottles of mineral water to save their seats. "Alright, you wait here and get me an order of stir-fried pork."

Just then, Ethan Sterling looked up and saw Helen White walk in through the cafeteria entrance, heading straight for the fast-food counter.

"Senior!"

Ethan Sterling waved to get her attention. Helen White glanced over instinctively, and when she saw it was Ethan, she smiled slightly and walked over. "It’s a shame about the finals. Your teammates’ skills were a bit limited, but everyone played with a lot of passion."

"You watched it?"

Helen White raised an eyebrow and nodded. "Yeah, I was bored and had nothing else to do, so I tuned in. It was surprisingly exciting."

"We treated it as our last match, so everyone went all out. Still, we have no regrets about the results we got."

Helen White understood what Ethan meant. For the Lorcain U team, just making it to the finals was their greatest achievement in recent years. They should be content.

"The line behind you is so long. Can you get me a plate?" Helen White said, taking out her meal card. "You treated me last time, so it’s my turn. Let’s pay for both with my card!"

Ethan Sterling glanced at the card in her hand and quickly refused with a smile. "No way. I still need a favor from you, I can’t let you pay. It’s my treat today. What do you want to eat?"

"You still haven’t given up?" Helen White’s elegant brows furrowed as she replied helplessly, "Don’t waste your efforts on me. I’m not the kind of person who can be swayed by a couple of free meals."

"I’ve got time. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll come around."

Ethan’s go-with-the-flow attitude made Helen White stare at him for a few seconds before chuckling. Finally, she nodded. "Fine. You can wait, then."

"What are you having?"

"Dry pot cauliflower, loofah with edamame, and scrambled eggs with tomato."

"All vegetarian?"

"Yep. I had four egg whites this morning, and I’ll have some boiled shrimp for dinner. That’s enough protein for today."

Hearing this, Ethan pursed his lips in understanding. ’So this is what it takes. Girls with great figures are all this disciplined, calculating their daily intake with such precision.’

Not far away, Owen Griffin, sitting by the window, noticed Ethan Sterling and Helen White talking. He looked at his friend beside him and asked, "Who’s that girl? Do you guys know her?"

"Nope."

They all shook their heads. One of them, who was closest to Owen, knew he had beef with Ethan. He couldn’t help but say, "Probably his new girlfriend?"

Owen Griffin raised an eyebrow but said nothing, though his mind was already churning with nasty ideas.

The friend glanced at him and said in a low voice, "Owen, you’re not thinking of going after this girl too, are you? Seraphina’s great. There’s no need."

’Besides, with Ethan’s looks and status, he’ll never be short of girls chasing him. Trying to mess with every single one of them is just unrealistic.’

"Heh, not this time." Owen Griffin knew Seraphina was a good catch. He might have started pursuing her just to spite Ethan Sterling, but after dating for so long, he had developed some feelings for her.

It was a first for him.

He was used to playing the field and never got serious with any girl.

But even though he had some feelings for Seraphina, it never stopped him from hitting the nightclubs.

’For a man, what’s below the belt and what’s in his head have always been two different things.’

After a moment of thought, he looked at his friend. "Do some digging for me. Find out if that kid is really in a relationship."

"Sure." The friend nodded, then added, "Weren’t you putting together a campus e-sports team? Have you found enough people?"

"It’s not that fast. You guys should put some effort into it too. Ask around and see if any of the top gamers at our school are interested. Money is no object."

Just as he finished speaking, Seraphina walked over, and the group immediately fell silent.

Owen Griffin stood up, took her hand, and asked with a smile, "What took you so long? What do you want to eat today? I’ll go get in line for you."

"I’ll just have some noodles with a fried egg."

Owen nodded and eagerly went to get in line, looking like the perfect boyfriend to any onlooker.

"Seraphina, you’re really something else. When Owen is with us, we’re always the ones running errands for him."

"Exactly! Owen’s a young master. He’d only ever work like a dog for you."

As the others chimed in, Seraphina couldn’t help but blush. But to be fair, Owen Griffin really did treat her well.

She looked up just in time to see Ethan Sterling leaving the line with his food, accompanied by a girl. Seraphina was slightly taken aback, and her gaze instinctively fell on the girl.

She was tall and slender with fair skin and delicate features. Her clothes and makeup were stylish and distinctive—the kind of person who would stand out in any crowd.

’His girlfriend?’

A smile unconsciously spread across her face, as if she were genuinely happy for Ethan for finding a new girlfriend.

’At least he hasn’t been moping around because of the choice I made.’

"Senior?"

Seeing Helen White with Ethan Sterling, Jameson Stone couldn’t help but get excited. "Did you agree?"

Helen White gave him an amused look. "Agree to what?"

Before Jameson could react, Ethan cut in, "We’re just having a meal together. Hasn’t Renee Reid arrived yet?"

"She’s here!" Jameson said, looking behind Ethan.

"Sorry I’m late." Renee Reid seemed to have jogged all the way, panting slightly as she greeted them. When she saw the bowl of malatang on the table, she knew Ethan and Jameson had gotten it for her and quickly thanked them.

After the four of them sat down, Ethan Sterling finally introduced Helen White to Renee.

"Senior, you’re a National Server Marksman?"

Renee Reid was shocked to hear that the beautiful upperclassman in front of her was a "National Server Marksman."

In her experience, all the really skilled gamers were guys. The professional e-sports players were all men, too.

This was the first time she’d met a girl in real life who was this good at gaming.

"That’s right. This season, I’m currently in the top fifty for ’National Server Marksman.’"

"That’s amazing! The highest I ever got was Gold V, and I had to be carried to get there."

Jameson Stone nudged Renee Reid and whispered, "Ethan is putting together a school team, right? He wants to recruit our senior. Help us convince her."

He didn’t whisper very quietly, so everyone heard him.

Helen White said with a laugh, "Don’t bother trying to persuade me. I’m really not interested."

Seeing this, Renee Reid chimed in, "The senior already said she’s not interested. You can’t force her, can you?"