Love at First Sight? Mr. Harrison Has Been Scheming All Along-Chapter 10: Want Some Shrimp? I’ll Peel for You
Rory’s heart tightened.
The Harrington Family had provided her with the same educational opportunities as Miles Harrison.
For so many years, Miles had always told her to be grateful to the Harrington Family, and to be grateful to him.
And she had agreed with all of these.
For the first time, someone had said that it was only right for the Harrington Family to treat her well.
For the first time, someone had implied that she didn’t owe the Harrington Family. The Harrington Family owed her!
Lucy was the first to react, and repeated what she had just said. "I’m sorry, I didn’t understand the situation the moment ago. Rory, you should have dinner with us. We’re going to be family, after all."
Her voice was the same as before—saccharine sweet and full of innocence.
Miles spoke up first. "Rory’s had a long day at work. Let’s not keep her."
Rory found his words laughable.
’So now he remembers I’ve had a long day? Why didn’t he think of that when he randomly ordered me to come deliver his clothes?’
Rory was exhausted after a long day and truly had no interest in this meal.
But since Miles didn’t want her to stay, she was determined to follow that.
"Well, I have to eat dinner anyway, so I might as well stay."
Rory looked at Lucy and offered a smile.
Miles couldn’t help but frown.
His uncle had been the one to suggest this dinner, and he had only agreed to deal with Lucy Shaw.
In his eyes, meeting his uncle didn’t really count as meeting the family.
And he certainly didn’t want Rory to witness this meeting.
The four of them followed the waiter into a private room.
The dinner had likely been planned as a small affair, so the table in the room wasn’t large. Four chairs fit perfectly around it.
Rory was seated to Sean’s right.
Miles placed his phone on Sean’s left side before heading to the restroom to change his shirt.
When he returned, Rory instinctively glanced over and noticed that of the two neck accessories she had brought, he had chosen the tie.
The silk scarf would have been more suitable...
Just as Rory was thinking about this, her view was blocked by the restaurant’s heavy, ornate menu.
"Go ahead and order."
Sean’s voice was flat, betraying no emotion.
Rory’s gaze fell on the menu, and after just one glance, she couldn’t help but gasp.
The first page featured a cold appetizer that, from the picture, appeared to be purely vegetarian.
And the price was 88 yuan!
’These prices...’
Rory gently pushed the menu away. "I’m fine with anything."
Faced with prices like these, she couldn’t bring herself to order.
Miles, sitting on the other side of the round table, was completely unsurprised by Rory’s behavior. "She’s always like this. It’s pointless to ask. She doesn’t have any favorites. Whenever we eat out, it’s always ’anything is fine’."
Lucy leaned in and chimed, "I do! I’d love to have this."
"Alright, I’ll order it for you."
Miles’s voice was filled with obvious favoritism and affection.
Rory lowered her eyes to the glass in front of her. It was filled with high-quality tea, and the liquid was a beautiful, clear, and bright yellow-green.
She couldn’t be bothered to defend herself.
Sean flipped through the menu a few times, then leaned slightly toward her and asked, "Do you like Boiled Beef in Chili Oil? They use M12 Wagyu for this dish here. The meat is quite tender and delicious."
Rory nodded twice. "Okay, thank you."
Sean turned two more pages. "This Typhoon Shelter Shrimp looks good too. Do you like it?"
Rory nodded twice again.
Miles watched the entire exchange.
He and Rory had been friends for many years and a couple for four.
Rory had always been very beautiful, and as she grew older, she blossomed into a breathtakingly lovely woman.
But in all those years, he had never seen Rory get close to any other man.
Even when someone at school confessed their feelings to her, she would reject them immediately and decisively, ad gave them no opportunity whatsoever.
This was the first time in twenty years that he had seen Rory speak so intimately with another man.
Even if that man was his uncle.
And even though he was certain there was no possibility of anything happening between his uncle and Rory, he still felt extremely uncomfortable.
That discomfort dissipated after Rory agreed to both of the spicy dishes Sean suggested.
Miles was certain that Rory couldn’t handle spicy food.
’She’s definitely going to find herself in an awkward situation soon.’
After they finished ordering, the waiter came over to pour wine for the group.
When he reached Rory, she quickly refused. "I have a surgery tomorrow, I can’t drink."
The two Mr. Harrisons present both knew she was scheduled to operate on Charlotte tomorrow, so neither of them pressed her.
Soon, the dishes began to arrive one after another.
When the Boiled Beef in Chili Oil arrived, Miles was the first to declare, "I can’t handle any spice at all, and Lucy doesn’t like spicy food either."
As he spoke, he turned the lazy Susan to place the dish in front of Sean and Rory.
Rory picked up her chopsticks and looked at Sean.
"You first." Sean made a welcoming gesture. "We’re family, no need to be polite."
Only then did Rory use her chopsticks to pick up a large slice of beef, coated in the red broth and dotted with specks of peppercorn. She placed it on her plate and began to eat with her head lowered.
Miles sat opposite her, staring intently.
He was just waiting to see how Rory would handle the consequences of her bravado.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get the result he was expecting.
After eating the entire slice of beef, Rory’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
Miles was getting antsy. "Rory, you can eat spicy food? How come I never knew that?"
Rory looked up at the man across from her and said earnestly, "Young Master Harrison, we’re not that close. There was no need to tell you something like that."
"You’re my..."
Miles propped both hands on the table. The word "girlfriend" was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back down.
Just then, the waiter brought in the Typhoon Shelter Shrimp.
Sean got up and went to the restroom.
After he sat back down, he turned his head to ask Rory, "Would you like some shrimp? I’ll peel them for you."
The moment the words left his mouth, the entire private room fell silent.
It wasn’t just Miles. Even Rory was stunned.
’Sean Harrison just said...’
’He wants to peel shrimp for me?’
Rory took half a second to process this, then shook her head frantically. "No, that’s alright, I can peel it myself." Feeling her refusal wasn’t sincere enough, she asked in return, "Or... how about I peel them for you?"
Sean reached out, picked up a shrimp, and began twisting off its head. "Dr. Linden, these hands have to perform surgery on my mother tomorrow. They can’t suffer any injuries today. So, something like peeling shrimp is best left to me."
"It’s really no problem."
"Anything concerning my family is of the utmost importance."
As Sean spoke, he finished peeling a shrimp and placed it on Rory’s plate.
Miles sat across from them, his chest tight with frustration.
He knew his uncle’s reasoning was perfectly logical, but he just couldn’t accept someone treating Rory this way.
Sitting right next to Miles, Lucy could hardly miss the expression on his face.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
A rhythmic knock at the door broke the awkward atmosphere in the room.
Sean’s assistant entered, bent down, and whispered a few words to him.
After the assistant left, Sean looked up and announced, "What a coincidence. Miss Shaw’s father is also dining here. I had my assistant invite him over."
Lucy nodded eagerly. "Of course, that’s fine."
Miles’s face, however, was etched with displeasure.
His plan for the day was just to go through the motions and appease Lucy Shaw.
’If Mr. Shaw meets my uncle, isn’t that basically like our parents are meeting?’
’That will make it harder to break up with Lucy later on.’
