Free Web NovelChapter 325: Chapter 323: A Three-Person Date
Dusk had just begun to fall when Mia Grant grabbed her bag and headed out.
Silas Grant was waiting for her downstairs.
After her classes in the afternoon, Mia had returned to her off-campus apartment.
The restaurant Silas had booked was a private one, converted from a traditional courtyard home tucked away in a hutong. It was said to be by reservation only, serving just five tables of guests each day.
Most people didn’t even know this place existed. It was obvious that its clientele was the elite of Jynsia.
Mia had seen her fair share of courtyard homes. Kian Keller’s place was a renovated one, and the Donovan Family’s ancestral home was much larger than this restaurant.
Still, the view here was lovely.
At night, a warm, orange-yellow light shone through the latticed windows, casting patterns at their feet. Mia walked beside Silas, following a waiter deeper into the establishment.
They were led to a private room. The waiter stood guard outside the door, ensuring complete privacy.
Mia was quite surprised that Silas had chosen this place.
Noticing her confusion, Silas explained, "It’s quiet here. Good for talking."
It was true.
It was so quiet that, sitting face-to-face, they could hear each other breathe.
But the silence didn’t last long. It was soon broken.
Someone sat down in the chair next to her. Mia looked over, her hand freezing as it held her chopsticks.
"You... huh?"
Yates Donovan had appeared out of nowhere. The moment he entered, he made himself right at home, plopping into the empty seat between them.
Seeing his completely nonchalant expression, Mia actually thought he might be one of the invited guests for the evening.
But... Mia turned to look at Silas across from her. Judging by his reaction, that probably wasn’t the case.
’Unless he’s lost his mind, there’s no way he’d invite Yates to "get together" on a holiday like today.’
Silas was usually adept at hiding his emotions, but right now, the dark eyes behind his glasses had narrowed. After a moment of intense staring, he asked, "Who let you in?"
"It’s a holiday! The more the merrier," Yates said, signaling a waiter to bring another set of tableware.
"Did I ever mention? The owner of this restaurant is an old elementary school classmate of mine." That explained how he had managed to track them down so precisely.
"..."
"Ahem." Mia cleared her throat. "We’re just having a meal. Why don’t you join us?"
She picked up the serving chopsticks and placed a piece of fish on Silas’s plate, placatingly. "Go on, eat."
With the atmosphere ruined, Mia felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
Before Yates arrived, the mood had been too serious. She kept feeling like Silas was about to tell her something important.
She subconsciously recoiled from that kind of atmosphere.
Now, things were much better, much more relaxed.
The most at-ease person in the room was undoubtedly Yates Donovan. He acted as if he had no idea what holiday it was, leaning toward Mia one moment and then exchanging a few words with Silas the next.
He really did look like he was just there for the food.
Silas, on the other hand, barely touched his chopsticks the entire time. One look at his face was enough to tell he had very little appetite.
After dinner, Silas and Mia went to see a movie, and Yates shamelessly tagged along.
Silas’s expression turned completely cold.
It made sense. A private world for two had turned into a three-person date. Who could possibly smile about that?
Even a "smiling tiger" like Silas couldn’t be bothered to put on a pleasant face for him.
When the movie started, Mia found herself sitting between the two men, feeling very strange.
She hugged her popcorn, her posture perfectly upright, not daring to lean even a fraction of an inch toward either side, striving to be perfectly impartial.
By the time the two-hour movie ended, Mia couldn’t remember much of the plot. She hadn’t been paying attention at all; all she knew was that her back ached.
Silas was silent the entire time, while Yates, beside her, provided a running commentary.
One moment he was calling the male lead a scumbag, the next he was critiquing the female lead’s acting. Then he’d complain about the melodramatic plot, saying the screenwriter must have written it with their feet, before also trashing the director’s crappy camerawork.
Walking out of the theater, Mia rubbed her ears. Finally, some peace and quiet.
’It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever met a living commentary track.’
’So annoying.’
"I’m going to the restroom."
She threw away her trash and headed off in the other direction with her bag.
Silas and Yates waited for her at the theater entrance.
The two of them stood there like male models hired by the theater to attract customers.
The eyes of passersby were unconsciously drawn to them.
Fortunately, both men were long used to such attention.
"What exactly did you come back for?"
While Mia was away, Silas stared at him coldly.
Yates was looking down, playing on his phone. Hearing the question, he shrugged without even looking up. "I already told you. I came back for the holiday."
He paused, then looked up with a smile. "What’s with all the resentment? Didn’t you get a Valentine’s Day gift from her?"
As he spoke, he waved the senior-friendly phone in his hand. "Here, take a look."
"..."
Silas slapped his hand away.
Yates winced, gripping his phone tightly. "Hey, be careful. If you’re jealous, just say so. No need to get physical."
Silas stared at him for a long moment, then turned and walked away.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Yates called after him, "Is the date over?"
When Mia came out, she only saw Yates.
"Where’s my brother?"
"He left."
"Left?" Mia’s eyes widened. She looked around in disbelief, and after confirming that Silas was really gone, she asked, "Did you two have a fight?"
"Nah." Yates put his phone away, took her bag and held it casually in one hand, then took her hand with his other. "I’ll take you home."
Mia frowned, keeping pace with him while insisting, "Then why did he just leave all of a sudden?"
"How should I know? Maybe he was jealous."
"Jealous of what?"
"Jealous of how close we are. He couldn’t find a way to fit in."
"..."
Mia gave his arm a sharp twist, making Yates grimace in pain. That finally shut him up.
"Do you know what he was planning to do tonight?"
"What?"
"Propose to you."
"..." Mia was so stunned she forgot how to walk. She stumbled as he pulled her along, and if it weren’t for Yates’s quick reflexes in catching her, she would have fallen.
"Wow, what a reaction," Yates said with a gloating smile.
Mia ignored him. She knew something felt strange tonight... she just couldn’t put her finger on what.
Now, it seemed to make sense.
From the moment Silas picked her up, he had been unusually quiet. They barely spoke, and he seemed distracted.
Snapping back to reality, she met Yates’s teasing gaze and asked, "How did you know?"
"Didn’t I just tell you? The owner of that restaurant is my old elementary school classmate."
"He was going to propose there?"
"To be precise, Silas made a lot of preparations. The restaurant, the movie theater, even the top floor of the mall... any of them could have been the proposal spot."
Mia shook her head. Something still didn’t seem right.
"Something came up a few days ago. He shouldn’t be proposing to me."
"That depends."
"What do you mean?"
"If he hadn’t heard the news about Kian Keller proposing to you, he probably wouldn’t have been in such a rush."
Mia’s mind was already a mess, and his words only confused her more.
"Didn’t Kian Keller propose to you at the hotel? The news spread by their staff was that Kian filled a room with flowers and offered you a diamond ring the size of a pigeon’s egg."
Mia’s eyes widened in astonishment. ’So it wasn’t just me who thought the room’s decor looked like a proposal scene.’
