Chapter 1972


    Cicely''s smile faded slightly. She fell silent for a while, withdrew her hand from her chin, and leaned


    back in her chair, a smile still ying on her lips as she nced sideways at a boy sitting next to


    Kane. "Do you like girlfriends who are pretty and low-maintenance?"


    Caught off-guard by the sudden question, the boy hesitated before nodding his head. "I suppose."


    Cicely''s lips twitched into a smile as she turned back to Kane, "You too, right?"


    Kane crossed his legs and leaned against the back of his chair, replying without a second thought,


    "Of course."


    Watching his carefree, almost rakish demeanor, Cicely let out a soft chuckle. "So, who do you think


    I''m better suited for? Him or you?"


    Kane nced at the boy who had just been questioned by Cicely and grimaced, hastily gesturing


    with his hand to stop her. "Whoa, hold up! I would''ve chased after you in the past, but now you''re


    Seth''s girl. Bros before... well, you know. Don''t make me cross the line."d2


    Cicely remained in the same pose, her expression unchanged, "So, you mean I''m more suited for


    him."


    Kane''s forehead twitched, "Please, let''s drop it." If Seth got wind of this conversation, there was no


    telling how dark his mood would be.


    "Why?" Cicely asked, her smile yful and innocent. "Actually, it''s not just you and him. I think most


    guys like their girlfriends to be good-looking and hassle-free. Someone they can show off for a bit of


    prestige, someone who gives them their absolute freedom. Capable of taking care of themselves,


    even pampering their man to no end, not making a fuss, and obedient. If he''s pleased, he might


    show some gratitude; if not, it''s better you''re out of sight, at his beck and call. Um.., what else?"


    Her tone was light and airy, seemingly unserious, yet it sent a chill down the spines of everyone


    around. Everything she said seemed right, but on second thought, something felt off.


    "When you think about it, Seth''s not really any different from the rest of you."


    Kane felt a cold sweat forming. He sensed he had walked into the line of fire.


    There must be something going on between Cicely and Seth. What bad luck that he had to bring up


    Seth in front of her at this very moment. He felt he couldn''t continue this conversation with Cicely;


    she was a bit too much to handle.


    Rose and Ollie came over, each holding a ss of juice. Just as they sat down next to Kane, he


    quickly said: "Howe you only got some for yourselves? What about mine? I''m thirsty too."


    Rose nced at him, "You didn''t say you wanted anything."


    "And who drove you here for over an hour? Have you no conscience?"


    Not wanting to bicker, Rose dismissed him, "Go get whatever you want. My treat."


    Kane stood up quickly, eager to escape.


    Rose took his seat by the floor-to-ceiling window, directly opposite Cicely, with a vast sea of flowers


    visible outside.


    Ollie followed Kane to snag some ice cream.


    Rose was in her usual simple attire: a white T-shirt and blue jeans, her long hair tied into a neat


    bun, looking both efficient and fresh. Despite being ady from the well-off Davis family of P City,


    she didn''t carry herself with an air of entitlement when she was out and about. Her upbringing,


    however, was evident in her poised demeanor.


    She was famously good friends with the Summers family''s daughter—a girl known for her chill,


    almost cold, exterior. It was surprising to see such a warm friendship between them.


    Rose watched Cicely stand up and take a seat beside her. Rose looked at her warily, "What''s up?"


    Cicely propped her face with her hand, smiling carelessly, "Can''t I sit next to you if there''s nothing


    up?"


    Rose took a sip of her juice, turned to her with a light smile, "When have you ever had room in your


    eyes for anyone without a reason?"


    Cicely blinked and thenughed. "Sounds like I''m a pretty bad person."


    "Not particrly."


    Cicely looked at her with a nonchnt smile and said no more.


    Forget it. That was someone else''s friend.


    *


    Joel returned from ordering, carrying a transparent ss bowl and ced it in front of Cicely. It


    contained several scoops of ice cream in pink, white, yellow, green, purple, and brown, all mixed


    together, drizzled with syrup, and garnished.


    All content is ? N0velDrama.Org.


    "Lunch might take a bit longer, and I wasn''t sure which vor you''d like, so leave anything you don''t


    want to eat."


    Perhaps noticing Cicely hadn''t made a move, Joel added, "I heard sweets can cheer up girls when


    they''re down, and ice cream works even better."


    The surrounding crowd started to tease.


    "Joel, I''m feeling down today too."


    "Me as well."


    Joel shook his head, ignoring their yfulmotion, and said, "Go order. It''s on me."


    A few girls cheered and happily went to ce their orders.


    Kane returned with his juice, overhearing a snippet of conversation from a group of passing girls


    that stuck with him. "I''m telling you, Joel has a thing for Cicely. He really knows how to cheer a girl


    up. If I were her, even if he were just my boyfriend, I''d find it hard not to fall for him."


    Confused, Kane returned to find Cicely sitting opposite Rose, scooping up ice cream. He


    remembered seeing someone walking away with a bowl of ice cream but hadn''t realized that Cicely


    would end up being the recipient.


    He raised an eyebrow. Things were getting interesting.


    As the lunch was served, Joel directed the waitstaff with a cool demeanor, though Kane noticed a


    few dishes were deliberately ced in front of Cicely. Despite the subtle orchestration, Cicely only


    picked at a few dishes in front of her.


    The pampered princess likely wasn''t used to eating out, her expression initially showing some


    resistance. She had tried a bit of everything on the menu, but in the end, he''d mostly stuck to a few


    favorites.


    After setting down his fork, Kane slouched in the chair across from Cicely,zily holding his phone in


    one hand while scrolling through the barrage of messages from various contacts. He opened a chat


    with Seth and snapped a picture of the spread on their table, sending it off. He then resumed


    responding to others, but after a minute, it was as if his message to Seth had sunk to the bottom of


    the ocean.


    Kane clicked his tongue in annoyance, muttering under his breath about Seth being a pain in the


    neck. His slender fingers tapped on the screen, firing off another message to Seth.


    [Just curious, out of this whole spread, can you guess which dishes are Cicely''s favorites?]