Chapter 1265: She’s into the uncle, not the nephew

Meanwhile...

Lily squeezed herself into the quiet corner of the nightclub, typing on her phone. "Where the hell is he?" she wondered irritably.

[To: Max

Are you coming or what? I’m getting drunk! I swear, if you don’t come, I don’t think I’ll be of any help tonight!]

She waited patiently for Max’s reply, but nothing.

Lily clicked her tongue in irritation, glancing at their chat log. Since the party started, Max hadn’t been responding. She’d sent him five messages throughout the night, but he was just leaving her on read.

"Goodness," she muttered, clicking her tongue again while shaking her head. "He’s really hopeless. Don’t tell me he cowered last minute?"

A look of disappointment swirled in her eyes as she thought about it. After a sigh, Lily looked around at the party she’d spontaneously thrown, just for Max and Ginnie to get closer. She’d even gone so far as to invite Hugo!

"He’s going to be single his entire life... or get married in a loveless marriage," she spat, closing her phone and pushing the thought aside. "Oh well, if he cowered, then that’s not my problem. He probably doesn’t deserve Ginnie, after all."

Lily walked away from her spot to join some of her friends. However, just as she did, a group of three ladies appeared in front of her and began chatting happily with her. Lily smiled at them, but her gaze drifted over to where Ginnie and Grace were drinking happily.

Grace and Ginnie seemed to be having fun, laughing together while talking. It also looked like they’d already had a few drinks, given how pinkish their cheeks were.

Lily stayed quiet, the cheerful chatter coming from the three ladies growing more distant in her ears. Her mind wandered as her eyes lingered on Ginnie.

Ginnie had been single since birth.

It wasn’t like Lily was lying when she said Ginnie had been in unrequited love for years. Throughout middle school, high school, and even university, Ginnie had a huge crush on someone. There were times when Ginnie would bake cookies or chocolates the day before Valentine’s Day for her friends and the guy she liked. But they often ended up eating them together.

Ginnie never dared to confess to the guy she liked.

No matter how much Lily encouraged her, Ginnie would just smile meekly and offer to eat the chocolates together. But now, Ginnie had moved on and was fine being alone. She wouldn’t even mention the guy she once liked, and she wouldn’t even flinch if he was around.

Even so... after finding out that the guy Ginnie had liked in the past had actually been harboring feelings for her, Lily thought it was a great idea to play cupid.

Another shallow breath slipped past Lily’s lips as she smacked them together, then faced the three ladies before her. "It’s really good to see you, and I’m glad you girls are having fun. Anyway, I just need to make a call — enjoy the rest of the night!"

With that, Lily excused herself to call Max again. This time, her determination was much stronger. But as she walked away, a familiar figure entered the scene. Turning her head, her eyes glinted.

"Senior Hugo!" she exclaimed, as Hugo scanned the crowd with a bit of confusion on his face. Lily pursed her lips, quickly sent Max a message, then rushed toward Hugo. "Senior Hugo! You came!"

Hugo raised an eyebrow and turned his eyes to her voice, smiling when he saw Lily approaching.

"Hey," Hugo greeted, raising his fist for a fist bump, which Lily slapped lightly for a high-five. "So, this is a party, huh? I thought it was going to be a small one."

"I rented the whole club for this," Lily shared with a knowing tone, making him scrunch his face. "What?"

"Lily, you should really think about your finances," he said. "Throwing a party just because you’re sad... you might need a financial advisor."

Despite the booming bass, music, and people’s cheers, Lily heard him loud and clear. Her face twisted in disbelief that she was being lectured about finances by the broke guy, who was the poorest among his siblings, just because he didn’t know how to manage his money.

"I’m just saying," he added with a shrug. "Learn from my mistakes."

Lily flashed him a grin. "Don’t worry, Senior Hugo. You make a lot of mistakes, so I’ll just learn from your next hundred."

"Well..." Hugo shrugged and looked around. "Damn... I don’t know anyone here."

"There!" Lily pointed in a direction. "Ginnie and Grace are over there. I mean, let’s go. I’m done exchanging pleasantries, so let’s go!"

Hugo raised an eyebrow and glanced at where Lily was pointing. He shrugged nonchalantly, not really minding whether he knew the people or not. Hugo could be very social, unlike Atlas, who was allergic to everything with a heartbeat, or Slater, who just sassed everyone whenever he wasn’t in the mood.

Besides, he came here for free drinks!

With that thought, Hugo followed Lily toward Ginnie and Grace.

"Yo!" he greeted with a raised hand as Ginnie and Grace turned to face him. "Nice to see you again, Ginnie. And..."

He trailed off when his eyes landed on Grace. "Grace! Penny’s friend!"

"Hugo Bennet," Grace remarked as she scooted over, making space for Hugo and Lily. "Come, join us... and have fun drinking for free."

"Hell yeah, I would." He briefly raised his eyebrows and joined them. Casting Grace a look, he grinned. He knew her — though they weren’t close, they had met through Penny. Much to his surprise, when he sat down, Grace moved closer to him.

"Woah." He instinctively leaned back. "I came to drink tonight, not get splashed with water."

Grace chuckled, leaning her arm on the table and twisting her body to face him. "You’re not my type, but I’d like to tell you something."

Hugo blinked a few times, watching the mischievous smirk on Grace’s face. Ginnie, seated across from them, tilted her head, darting her eyes between them until Lily caught her attention.

"Ginnie," Lily, sitting beside Ginnie, giggled. "Let’s have fun tonight, okay?"

"Uh... I’m already having fun...?" Ginnie muttered, a bit confused. However, she didn’t dwell on it and simply shrugged. But she did notice Hugo’s expression after Grace whispered something to him.

’Didn’t she say she’s into the uncle, not the nephew?’Ginnie wondered, observing Grace and Hugo. ’Is this a thing for lawyers? I’m getting confused.’