That night at dinner, Ivy Shen could tell something was off—the atmosphere was weird, and every single guy at the table was staring at her with literal wolf eyes!
Wolf eyes? Seriously, when was the last time I saw that look from them?
Did they find some new prey or something?
But when I asked, not a single one of them answered. What kind of scheme are they cooking up?
Also, where did that old man Sai—who always begs me to cook—run off to?
Tonight, I actually cooked his favorite boiled fish, just because my sister’s wounds are finally healing. Seriously, he loves this dish so much that if he catches a whiff, he’ll fly back even from seven miles away.
Plus, he’s been pestering me for days to make it. No way he doesn’t know about tonight!
So where did that old guy disappear to?
Could someone else’s cooking actually beat mine and lure him away?!
Poor Old Man Sai: “This is so unfair! If I didn’t feel so guilty, would I really be out here eating a plain bun?” He takes a dramatic bite, teary-eyed, staring at the dining room. Ah, my boiled fish~!
Meanwhile—
"I'm full." Suddenly, Eli Crane—normally the slowest eater—dropped his bowl and stood up, sounding totally off.
"Whoa, you’re done already?" Ivy blinked in surprise. He’d barely touched his food!
"You guys... just take your time." Eli looked super guilty, eyes darting everywhere but at Ivy. Whenever his gaze met any of the other six guys, they shot him death glares, like they were about to beat him up on the spot.
"Eli, you—" Ivy didn’t even get to finish her "are you okay?" before Eli vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving her totally baffled.
"What’s up with him?" Ivy muttered, confused. He’s usually so elegant, always chewing slowly and savoring every bite. Tonight is just... weird. Way too weird!
"Up to no good!" Lucian Vane grumbled, clearly annoyed.
"He’s off scheming!" Butterfly Rogue snapped, gnawing on a chicken leg, just as annoyed.
"Even if he tutors me in martial arts every day, I can’t forgive him for this!" Adrian Night mumbled into his rice.
"You all eat my food, drink my wine, and still won’t let me swap in for a night first? Hmph, I’m the emperor!" Ethan Chu, decked out in dragon robes, looked totally defeated. Seriously, I’m the one feeding you all—shouldn’t I get first dibs? Just let me go first, what’s the big deal? Stingy!
"Tomorrow night, tomorrow night..." Liam Willow munched on his fish, secretly thrilled. But the next second—"Cough, cough, cough, fish bone, fish bone!" He shot a pleading look at Lucian and Ethan, but both just gave him the stink-eye. Hmph, tomorrow night it’s finally my turn! Even little White Rabbit can be naughty!
Cough, cough, cough—fine, guess I’ll just swallow the fish bone myself. Ugh, this is torture!
Caleb Miles sat there happily clacking his abacus, grinning ear to ear, totally ignoring the drama and lost in his own calculations.
Hmm, just a few days left—plenty of time to train! Ivy definitely likes guys with abs, so I’ve gotta hit the gym and tidy myself up before my big night!
Just thinking about it, Caleb’s grin stretched from ear to ear—he was already daydreaming about that perfect night!
That night—
"Eli, you in there?" Ivy pushed open the door, calling out. She still didn’t get why all the guys were acting so weird at dinner, but she didn’t think much of it—after chatting with her sisters for a while, she’d gone for a walk and come back alone.
Tonight was supposed to be Eli Crane’s turn to share her bed, so why was the inner room totally dark?
"Mm." A voice finally answered from inside the room.
"Where are you?" Ivy didn’t see anyone, just heard his voice, so she called out again.