Chapter 1790

[ 655 words ]

“Class over?”

“Yeah, I’m getting ready to head home.” Claire had a bit of free time today and planned to go back and research how to better condition Lucas Charles’s body before his surgery.

“Don’t go home yet. I’m almost at your campus gates. Let’s go out to eat.”

Dane was practically already there; how could she possibly say no?

“Alright, come over. I’ll wait for you at the entrance to my neighborhood.”

She chose to wait at her neighborhood entrance instead of the campus gates purely to avoid drawing attention.

However, she never expected that even at the neighborhood entrance, she couldn’t escape the gossiping aunties.

But that was a story for later.

“Sounds good.”

Dane was driving himself today. His chauffeur had clocked out, so he came to find Claire alone.

He actually really enjoyed the feeling of driving to pick her up himself.

It felt like he was just finishing work and coming to pick her up from school, like their daily lives were naturally weaving together.

On the way, Dane brought up the girl who had crashed into her with the skateboard.

Valerie Winthrop was basically political royalty. Her father was second only to Waylon Hudson’s father.

Mr. Hudson was the man in charge, making Valerie’s father the Deputy Mayor. Mr. Winthrop was considered incredibly young for such a high-ranking position. Having that kind of background meant that climbing to his current rank wasn’t just about competence; it required immense financial backing.

“Valerie is Mr. Winthrop’s only daughter.”

Claire was genuinely surprised. Was Cabinda really this small?

A random girl who crashed into her on the street turned out to have such a massive background.

“Mr. Winthrop utterly dotes on his daughter, but rumor has it she’s been a magnet for trouble since she was little.”

Claire was speechless. “…Yeah, I could tell.”

Anyone reckless enough to ride a skateboard right through a crowded university gate was bound to be a bit spoiled, a bad habit clearly indulged by her family.

“Valerie wants to take me out to dinner tomorrow night, and I agreed,” Claire casually mentioned to Dane.

Dane frowned. “If she makes you uncomfortable, don’t go.”

He didn’t know Valerie personally, but based on the background check, her reckless streak easily brought trouble to the people around her.

Claire had probably only agreed to dinner just to avoid the headache of dealing with her endless pestering.

“I won’t let myself get pushed around.”

What Claire didn’t expect, however, was that this dinner would come with its own set of dramatic surprises.

Dane took Claire to a restaurant they had never been to before.

The decor was stunning, and it clearly catered to a high-end clientele.

He ordered casually, making Claire assume he had eaten there before.

When she asked, Dane explained, “This is a place Lincoln and his girlfriend picked out.”

“He mentioned before that this restaurant was great. I looked at the list of places he gave me and most of them were too far from your campus. This one was the closest.”

“I also checked it out online. The reviews are genuinely good. Even if you filter out

the paid ones, there are plenty of solid, authentic ratings.”

Dane was usually a man of very few words, but around Claire, he always showed a completely different, talkative side.

“Let’s try it first. If the food is terrible, I’m throwing out that entire list of restaurants he gave me.”

Dane spoke softly, almost as if he were gently coaxing Claire into giving the place a chance.

Claire, however, didn’t really care where they ate.

“If it’s on the list, it must have something special about it.” At the very least, sitting by the window and watching the city skyline was

beautiful.

Claire glanced at the dishes on other tables and noticed they were gorgeously

plated. It was definitely a place that sold ‘aesthetic’ dining.

When their own food arrived, the portions were small, but the presentation was exquisite, and the taste was actually quite good.

Claire was just about to give it a positive review when she noticed Dane’s gaze drift past her, locking onto something behind her.

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