Chapter 1306: Oh, love.

Meanwhile...

Ginnie and Hugo stared at each other, confusion evident on their faces. They were at the restaurant for two different reasons. Hugo was here for a free meal, sponsored by his rich "friend" Max. Ginnie, on the other hand, was here because Max had asked her to meet him.

Both of them were here because of Max, but they hadn’t expected to see each other.

"Ginnie!" Hugo recovered first, raising his fist in a cheerful gesture. "Good to see you!"

"Senior Hugo!" Ginnie grinned back, excitement flickering in her eyes as she gave him a fist bump and casually sat across from him. "Senior Hugo, what are you doing here? Are you lost or something? I don’t think you can afford the food here, considering you don’t have money."

Hugo frowned. "Hey, you didn’t have to rub that in."

"Haha." She laughed. "Lucky for you, I’m here. I can pay for it."

"And this is why it’s good to have really, really good friends! Hahaha!" Hugo laughed loudly, earning a few glances from the other diners in the fine dining restaurant.

"Senior Hugo, I don’t think we should be loud here," Ginnie murmured, lowering her head slightly and pressing a hand to the side of her mouth as she whispered. "This is a fine dining restaurant."

"Fine dining... right. This is a library with food," Hugo muttered, his face souring. But the expression didn’t last long—tonight, he’d eat to his heart’s content, courtesy of Max.

"Anyway, what are you doing here, Senior Hugo?" Ginnie asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Me? Well, Max said he had some free food. So I came," he shrugged.

Ginnie’s face twisted slightly. Hugo had said that with such a straight face, completely unconcerned about pride or ego. She wasn’t sure if that was admirable or just ridiculous.

"What about you?" Hugo returned, tilting his head. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Max asked me to meet him here because he wanted to discuss something with me," she muttered, pulling out her phone. "Wait, let me call him."

Ginnie didn’t think much about having Hugo around. Maybe Max had invited him to make the meeting less awkward. With Hugo in the mix, things were bound to be a little ridiculous—but not uncomfortable. Besides, she preferred having a third party.

If people saw her and Max dining together in a place like this, they might assume it was a date. And that was the last thing she wanted. After all, she managed a professional basketball team, while Max owned a different one. People were quick to jump to conclusions, and she didn’t want any misunderstandings.

"Hey, Max, I’m already here," Ginnie said when the line connected, glancing at Hugo. "And Senior Hugo is already here. Where are you?"

A deep furrow appeared between her brows as she listened to Max’s response.

"Hey, Ginnie. I’m really sorry. I know I told you I had something important to discuss with you, but something came up. I can’t make it tonight. Maybe another time?" Max’s voice was hurried. "Anyway, I gotta go. I have a plane to catch."

Before Ginnie could respond, Max ended the call, leaving her staring at her phone in confusion. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to Hugo and smiled awkwardly.

"I don’t think he’s going to make it," she said. "He said he had an emergency."

Hugo rocked his head nonchalantly. "Doesn’t matter, right? I’m still ordering food on his tab."

"Haha..." Ginnie let out an awkward laugh. "Well—"

"Wait. Don’t tell me you’re leaving without eating?" Hugo frowned, catching the hesitation in her expression. "You’re already here. Let’s eat together."

"Senior Hugo, aren’t you bothered that we’re having dinner together? Just the two of us?"

"And why would that bother me?" he blinked innocently. "Is it a requirement to eat alone? Or does this table need more than two people? I can call First Brother if you like."

"What I’m saying is that this looks like a date!" Ginnie intoned. "People might think we’re on a date... in those clothes and in these clothes."

Hugo instinctively glanced down at himself—just a loose gray shirt and jeans. Then he looked at Ginnie, who seemed like she had just come from training, with only a jacket covering her sportswear. They both turned their eyes to the rest of the restaurant, taking in the men in suits and the women in sparkly dresses.

"...Or not?" Ginnie shrugged nonchalantly while Hugo rocked his head. "I guess let’s just order?"

"I already did when I got here. You should order yours." Hugo jerked his chin toward the menu. "Also, why do you care what people think? Your opinion should matter more than theirs. So, let’s eat to our heart’s content."

"I was just messing with you," she quipped.

"Man... I fell for it!"

Ginnie chuckled, completely at ease with Hugo. If anything, he felt like a big brother to her. Hugo might not have pursued basketball professionally, but he had once loved the sport. And whenever Hugo liked something, he focused on it intensely until he mastered it.

It was no surprise that he had risen through the ranks at a young age. If Hugo was interested in something, he became very good at it.

He had helped Ginnie when she decided to pursue basketball after graduation. Even when he was at the base, they kept in touch—he gave her advice and she gave him updates, and messages from the team.

As Ginnie placed her order, she and Hugo chatted, their faces bright with smiles. Their attire might not have matched the restaurant’s dress code, but they were undoubtedly the liveliest guests there.

Little did they know, while they enjoyed each other’s company, Max was also in the restaurant—on the second floor, watching them from the railing. His chest tightened as he observed the smile on Ginnie’s face while Hugo, no doubt, said something ridiculous.

’It’s alright, Max,’ he told himself, sighing heavily. ’It’s... alright. Just look at how happy she is. That’s what you want.’

Even so, watching her smile so brightly and laugh as if there was no tomorrow brought this heaviness in his heart. He dramatically closed his eyes and took a deep breath, turning away to let those two get closer without him in the picture.

Oh, love.