Chapter 63: You Think Too Much
“What did you do?” Joshua asked softly.
“I...” Kenny was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. He sighed helplessly and got up to open the door.
“He thought you were joking with us when you said you were bringing your girlfriend,” Isaac gloated as he whispered, “so he asked VanessaYoung to come here.”
“Why didn’t you stop him?” Joshua asked calmly.
“Why should I stop him?” Isaac looked as if he expected the worst.
Hazel felt overwhelmed.
Their words clearly said that the relationship between Vanessa, who was about to arrive, and Joshua was not simple.
The door opened, and a woman came in.
Hazel looked at her curiously. She was stunning, with exquisite make-up. Apparently, she had taken her time to make sure she was perfectly dressed. It seemed she was Vanessa with a gentle and virtuous personality.
Vanessa greeted several people in the room with a polite smile.
“Brother Joshua.” Vanessa looked at Joshua with more intimacy.
Hazel looked at Joshua, only to find he was calm without any guilt.
“I heard you brought another woman this time. Won’t you introduce us?” Vanessa chuckled.
Another... Even if Hazel was rather slow, she could hear the meaning of Vanessa’s words.
“Vanessa, no-nonsense.” Kenny seemed to be trying to save his mistake, and he quickly said, “This is really Joshua’s girlfriend. Her name is Hazel Crowe. Sister-in-law, this is Vanessa Young. We are good friends who grew up together.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Vanessa looked as if she had said something wrong, and she said quickly, “It was Joshua who has brought a lot of women with him and said they were his girlfriends before. But I think he must have just been trying to deceive us. Hazel, don’t think too much into it.”
Hazel’s mouth twitched. Persuading her not to think much? She was clearly afraid that she would not think enough.
She had no feelings for Vanessa, to begin with, but now she had a pretty bad impression of her. Besides, when she thought she might have had something with Joshua, she felt a bit unhappy.
“Well, I won’t think much.” She smiled softly. “I don't mind or care about Joshua’s past, but you can rest assured that he will not have other girlfriends because I’ll be the last.”
Vanessa’s face became a little unpleasant, and a faint chill flashed across her eyes.
Isaac couldn’t help laughing, but then he looked at Hazel with much sadness and bitterness.
Surprised by her comment, Joshua looked at her wearing an innocent smile.
She actually had hit back before he could explain to her. A smile curving his lips, he gently held her hand.
Hazel stared at him, her hand suddenly pinching his.
“All right. Everybody, have a seat,” Aware of the awkwardness of the atmosphere, Kenny said quickly.
“I never,” Joshuawhispered in Hazel’s ear.
“Never what?” Hazel clenched her teeth.
“Never brought another woman here,” he said. “Believe me.”
“Ha.” She sneered.
“If you don’t believe me, I’ll kiss you.” Joshua’s eyes twinkled.
“I believe you, I believe you.” She blushed in shame.
All of the people sat down, and the waiters began to serve.
They talked over dinner. Vanessa talked kindly to the other people, and from time to time, she talked to Joshua about work or the past.
Joshua occasionally replied, but most of the time, he kept out of the conversation.
Hazel didn’t interrupt. She was focused on the big table of delicacies; the food was absolutely delicious. She had to say that all of them really knew how to enjoy themselves.
“Try this.” Joshua put a tender piece of fish in front of Hazel. He made sure to carefully take the fishbone out before putting it on her plate. He began to shell the shrimp.
Vanessa watched Joshua’s movements. She clenched her chopsticks in her hand with hatred.
The next moment, she asked with a gentle smile, “You don’t talk very much, Hazel?”
Hazel gulped down the food in her mouth and took a sip of water. “You’re free to talk, I'm busy enjoying a delightful meal.”
There was a touch of anger in Vanessa’s eyes, but the next moment, she said apologetically, “Ah, you don’t understand what we're talking about, and don’t you know what to say? I’m sorry, but we have a good relationship. We usually chat like this. That’s all.”
Hazel suddenly realized that Vanessa was reminding her that they isolated her.
She looked up, speechless. Why couldn’t Vanessa be quiet even at dinner?
Vanessa wasn’t very polite to her, which Hazel thought was a misunderstanding. But now, it seemed that Vanessa was really aiming at her.
Hazel didn’t like to get into difficult situations, but she was never afraid of anything.
“You got me wrong,” she said with a smile. “My family has rules when it comes to meals, we don’t talk while eating. So, I don't really like to speak at dinner. It's very impolite. The most important part of a meal is to enjoy the delicious food, and that cannot be done if I am speaking.”
Vanessa’s face became nasty instantly. Hazel actually said she was uneducated in a roundabout way.
“Joshua, did Ipiss Hazel off?” Vanessa looked at Joshua with an aggrieved look.
“You think too much. Hazel carries her heart on her sleeve. Besides,” with a soft smile, Joshua put the peeled shrimp in Hazel’s bowl, “she’s right.”
Vanessa’s face was even more unsightly. Was Joshua actually on Hazel’s side?
The other three men were even more unpredictable. Isaac had a clear bias towards Hazel, Chuck was uncommunicative, and Kenny was too honest.
In an instant, the whole private room was quiet, and they began to eat in silence.
Vanessa was very irritated, but she could not help it. She was trying to isolate Hazel, but instead, she was actually being isolated by Hazel.
When the dinner was finally over, Vanessa said first, “We hadn’t been together for a long time, and we meet Hazel today. Let's just have a good time and celebrate, shall we?”
Hazel was nervous. What was Vanessa up to?
But no matter what she planned to do, her proposal was what others wanted. The three men cheered, saying yes.
“Do you want to play?” Joshua looked at Hazel.
Hazel hesitated.
She could see that Vanessa was rather close to them. She could not disappoint them because she disliked Vanessa.
“Playing what?” Hazel asked.
“Truth or dare.” Vanessa proposed.