Chapter 1310: That was talent

At the same time...

"Still not full?" Ginnie asked curiously, watching Hugo pick his teeth with a toothpick.

Hugo snapped his eyes toward her and sighed. "I’m not hungry, but I’m also not full. I still want that cheeseburger."

She laughed, glancing at the food left on her plate. "Do you want this?"

"You’re full?" he asked in disbelief.

She shrugged. "I don’t like it."

"Nah, you should finish it." Shaking his head, Hugo kept the toothpick between his teeth and pointed a finger at her. "Ginnie, since you’re with the basketball team—even if you don’t play—you should eat plenty. Like, look at you! This toothpick has more fat than you."

"That is wood," she corrected, picking up her fork. "I also want some cheeseburgers."

"Should we buy one after this?"

Her brows rose as she blinked. "Are you... buying?"

"Yep." He nodded, then pulled out a handful of coins from his jacket. "I have plenty of money, Ginnie."

"That’s not plenty of money. That’s plenty of coins."

"Just finish your food. We’re buying a buy-one-take-one deal." As he spoke, Hugo started stacking the coins in front of him, counting how much he had left.

Ginnie, on the other hand, chewed a slice of meat while watching him. Even now, she was amused by how Hugo lived like this. It felt... pathetic. She bit her tongue to stop herself from saying anything that might come off as rude.

’I’ve always known he was broke,’ she thought. ’But I never realized he was this broke.’

A shallow laugh escaped her as she shook her head, thinking about her own financial struggles. Although she earned a decent amount from the team, money could still be tight. She supported her parents in the countryside, and since they were older, they required regular medical care.

It wasn’t like she was an only child—she had a brother. But he had just graduated, thanks to her, since she helped put him through school even before she started earning. On top of that, she had relatives who treated her like a walking bank.

Thinking about her past financial crises, Ginnie found herself in awe of Hugo. She could never be this reckless. Yet here he was, shamelessly counting his coins after eating a free meal.

’Maybe that’s it—the lack of shame,’ she thought, chuckling. ’I should start living with less shame too.’

After all, she understood why Hugo didn’t care what others thought of him—even what she thought of him while he counted his coins. At the end of the day, despite his bad financial decisions, he wasn’t hurting anyone but himself. He wasn’t trampling on other people’s lives, and the money he spent was always from honest work.

"See?" Hugo’s excited voice snapped her out of her thoughts. He grinned proudly. "We can buy three burgers. If we go to the place I’m thinking of, they do a buy-one-get-one deal. That means I can eat—wait, five. You’re eating one."

"You really aren’t full," she noted before laughing. "It’s okay. I can buy you five so you can eat nine."

Hugo shook his head and raised his hand over the table. "I’m buying, Ginnie. Don’t hurt my pride as the big brother here."

"You have pride?"

"Hey, it may not look like it, but I do. I’m a soldier! I carry our country’s flag on my shoulder."

"Oh."

"Now hurry up so we can go."

"Alright." She nodded and continued eating slowly. Then she glanced up at him. "Are you sure you don’t want any more? You can help me finish this."

Hugo thought for a moment before picking up a slice from her plate. As soon as he tossed the meat into his mouth, he blinked and looked at her.

"Oh." He chewed. "I didn’t use a fork."

Ginnie laughed. "It’s alright. I wasn’t born with a golden spoon like you, so it doesn’t bother me."

Hugo just stared at her and smiled. Surely, Ginnie was likable. If he had done that to someone else, they would’ve given him the whole plate instead. Only Penny wouldn’t mind—because no matter what, her food was her food. She could share, but it was still hers, even if it fell on the ground.

******

After their "fancy" dinner, Hugo and Ginnie rode his motorbike to the burger joint he mentioned. Hugo bought three orders and got six burgers in total. He gave Ginnie one and ate the rest.

Since Ginnie had already eaten quite a bit, she took her time with her burger. Hugo, on the other hand, devoured three before finally slowing down.

Seated on his parked motorbike while Hugo leaned against it, he couldn’t help but glance at her.

"Hey," he called. "You don’t like it?"

Ginnie snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him. "I do. It’s surprisingly good. I’m just taking my time since we just ate."

"Ahh..." Hugo nodded as he took a huge bite. "Then why were you staring at the road like that?"

"I was just... it’s nothing." She smiled. "Just had a long day."

"Are you sure? Since we’re already here, you can tell me."

Ginnie’s smile stretched slightly as she stared at him. After a small, defeated laugh, she shrugged.

"Just a little worried, that’s all."

"Worried about who?"

"Max."

"Why would you be worried about that guy?"

"Because he said he had an emergency, and he sounded like he was in a hurry earlier," she explained. "I just hope it’s nothing serious. He sound pretty anxious when he called and asked me to come to the restaurant."

Hugo shrugged indifferently. "I wasn’t even expecting him to show up."

"Huh? Why’s that?"

"Because he told me he couldn’t make it to his reservation, so he asked me to take his place."

"When did he tell you that?"

"This morning."

"Huh?" Ginnie furrowed her brows. "He didn’t tell me the same thing this morning."

Hugo blinked mid-bite, while Ginnie narrowed her eyes slightly.

"That’s weird," she muttered. "Why didn’t you mention it earlier when I called him?"

"Well, because I thought he changed his mind and was coming."

"Oh." Ginnie rocked her head before giving him a knowing look. "I just had a ridiculous thought, but I guess that’s not it."

Hugo tilted his head. "What is it?"

"That he set us up on a date," she said, raising a brow. "The dinner, and now this. If we were even slightly romantically interested in each other, this would look like a date."

"Nope, it’s not." Hugo shook his head seriously. "Ginnie, I’ve been on countless dates before. And trust me, this isn’t one of them. If it were, you’d have splashed water on me and handed me money. You did neither, so it’s not a date."

Then he casually patted the top of her head. "It’s alright. I’m sure you just don’t know these things yet."

Ginnie stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. Of all the things he just said...

"You ruined all those countless dates?" she asked, disbelief clear in her voice. "Wow... that’s both ridiculous and impressive."

That was a talent.