This new rookie seems a bit different from what they imagined.

*

Williansen Barness had an experimental paper undone and needed to return to check data, so it ended up with Nathalie Quinlan, Wincent Sullivan, and Agnes Baker going to eat together.

The three of them arrived at Ocean Pavilion.

As Amadeus Yancey said, Nathalie Quinlan mentioned her name, and soon someone led them inside.

Ocean Pavilion is divided into two areas: the outer hall and private rooms.

The hall needs no explanation.

It’s the place where regular guests dine.

The most challenging spots to reserve at Ocean Pavilion are the private rooms; generally, those who can secure them have a certain status in Inderia.

Both Wincent Sullivan and Agnes Baker had been to Ocean Pavilion several times with friends, and they always sat in the outer hall.

This time, they also thought Nathalie Quinlan had reserved the hall.

To their surprise, they were led into a spacious private room, where a waiter quickly brought up a pot of Pre-Rain Longjing and courteously handed them the menu.

Each person received a menu.

The menu felt quite substantial in hand. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Wincent Sullivan and Agnes Baker felt somewhat dizzy throughout, until they saw the girl ordering a few dishes, putting down the menu, raising her eyebrow at them, speaking softly and calmly: "Whatever you want to eat, feel free to order. Don’t hold back because of me."

"Ah, alright." Wincent Sullivan and Agnes Baker finally snapped back to reality.

Each of them ordered two cheaper dishes, and quickly returned the menu to the waiter.

The waiter poured tea for the three, took the menu, and respectfully left.

Only after the waiter had left.

Agnes Baker brought a cup of tea to her mouth, coughed to cover up her surprise and curiosity, and asked: "Nathalie Quinlan, do you... know the owner of Ocean Pavilion?"

Wincent Sullivan wasn’t as naturally sociable as Agnes Baker, but was also curious about this, instinctively looking towards the girl.

Nathalie Quinlan picked up the teapot, poured the tea from her cup into the plate beside her to rinse the cup, refilled it slowly, and leisurely held the cup, appearing somewhat casual: "No, I don’t know him."

"Then how did you get a private room reservation at Ocean Pavilion? It’s hard to book a private room here, requiring a month’s advance booking. I thought you knew the owner." Agnes Baker, straightforward and forthright, blurted out her curiosity without holding back, her expression clearly showing it’s just curiosity, no malice.

Wincent Sullivan touched his nose, explaining for Agnes Baker: "Nathalie Quinlan, don’t take it to heart, it’s just her personality—she’s curious and asked casually. You don’t have to answer."

"A friend helped me with the reservation; I don’t know if he knows the owner here." As she calmly answered, she had already placed down the teapot by the time he finished speaking.

She didn’t seem like someone inherently sociable, but after Wincent Sullivan realized this, he reacted, smiled at her in a friendly manner: "I see."

Soon, the dishes started arriving one after another.

The dishes ordered by Wincent Sullivan and Agnes Baker were relatively inexpensive, all from the latter part of the menu.

Even so, they knew the prices at Ocean Pavilion; anyhow, the meal wouldn’t be cheap.

As Nathalie Quinlan’s dishes arrived.

Wincent Sullivan and Agnes Baker noticed that Nathalie Quinlan ordered quite a lot of dishes.

Both sweet and savory, clearly not knowing their taste preferences, catered to both intentionally.

Seeing the table full of dishes, especially noticing the detail of each dish served, Wincent Sullivan felt the unfamiliarity in his heart completely fade away.