They all left the kitchen and went to change out of their work clothes. Afterwards, they walked out to the front of the resort where Jayden was chatting with Ann. The two men started chatting among themselves as they walked closer.
''Doesn't the CEO and Miss Ann look good together?''
''Yes, one is handsome and rich, the other is beautiful and well-mannered''
''As a man, I feel so jealous of the CEO right now. He is working with such a beauty''
''Ever, you are here?'' Jayden asked after looking up and seeing her with the two men.
''Hi, CEO''
''Hi CEO'' The two men greeted Jayden.
''Everyone has worked hard'' Jayden said and looked at Ever, she was indifferent and he somehow felt she was cold towards him. Weren't things good between them? Why was she suddenly acting distant?
''If everyone is ready, shall we go?'' Ann asked.
''Sure, sure'' the men answered and went forth to open the door of the backseat. Jayden also opened the front seat ready to ask Ever to join him when he saw her getting quickly into the backseat.
''Thank you'' Ever muttered to the man holding the door as she got in to sit at the far end, the two men joined her leaving Jayden and Ann outside.
''Jayden, let's go''
''Get in'' he said to Ann and went over to the other side to drive. Ann looked at him meaningfully before joining him in the front seat.
Jayden kept glancing at Ever from the rare view as he drove out towards the island night market area. Ever had her eyes glued to her phone with a set of portable handless head phones plucked into her ears.
''Miss Ever is so diligent, still watching cooking lessons right after working'' the man sitting next to Ever said after seeing the cooking lessons video she was watching on her phone.
''Cooking is one of the most difficult things to do. Knowing how to cook and also knowing how to preserve the food to keep it fresh till the guest is ready to eat it are all skills that a chef must have especially for people majoring in deserts and pastry, it takes years to master a particular skill as different new dishes and the way of creating them comes out almost every day. I specially admire Miss Ever because she always tries her best to make the most delectable deserts every time'' Ann said at the front seat as she glanced between Jayden and Ever.
''Indeed, you are worthy to be call the assistant of the CEO. You not only know things about your field, you even know what goes on in the kitchen, You must also be a good cook yourself?'' the man sitting by the door asked.
''Well, I do know a little but my culinary skills can't measure up to Miss Ever since she is a natural in that field'' Ann answered and looked at Ever whose gaze never went off her screen, it was almost like she couldn't hear their chatter but Jayden who sat at the driver's seat knew very well. There were only two things that would make Ever quiet and alienate herself from interacting with people. It either when she was extremely pissed off or when she simply wanted to treat the other person as non-existent. So he wondered which kind of mood she was in currently because no one messed with her when she was in either of those two moods.
Looking ahead, he found a parking space and pulled over into the slot and turned to them, ''we are here''
Everyone got down and they started walking towards the food joint which was a truck parked by the seaside. Night time at Neo Island was always like a tourist centre as a lot of people only displayed their goods during that time. It was a place with lots of tourists' attraction, so many people from the city usually visited there. Jayden took out his phone as they walked towards the truck, he went into their group chat and saw a lot of messages, but they were mostly from Channing and Jade ganging up on Amber berating her on getting drunk after her breakup. He subconsciously looked towards Ever's direction, did she also get wasted like that after breaking up with him?
Ever chuckled as she also checked her messages. She couldn't help but shake her head. Channing and Jade were the best at scolding people. They had none to zero sympathy and wouldn't care to filter their words before speaking bluntly about something.
''Ever, we are here'' Jayden held Ever's trench coat and pulled her over to their table after seeing that she was immersed on her phone and was walking farther away. Ever nodded her head and took a seat in the middle of the two men while Jayden and Ann sat together.
The middle aged woman running the truck walked over to them with a smile, ''are you here to eat?''
''Aunt, I was the one who made the call earlier on to reserve the seafood'' Ann said to the woman and she nodded, remembering the call.
''I remember'' she said, 'I will get on it right away. You can wait for just 5 minutes. I will get my husband to serve you some rice wine while you wait''
''Thank you, aunt'' Ann replied and the woman turned to look at Ever whose gaze was on her phone as she replied to the messages. Upon sensing someone's gaze on her, she looked up and the woman smiled.
''You have beautiful eyes and a pretty smile'' she said to Ever who stared at her with a bright smile.
''Aunt, you are not bad yourself'' Ever said, putting the phone away, ''your husband must have been worried during the early days of your marriage, right? Because his wife is too beautiful''
''You are a sweet talker too, I like you already'' the woman said and patted Ever's shoulder adding, ''you shouldn't be so glued to your phone. Look into everyone's eyes. I would be looking into the eyes of every handsome man if I had eyes like you, under the dim light, your eyes looked like the shape of the moon, I noticed you the first time you all arrived but you had your eyes on your phone, so I thought it was sad not letting other people see the beauty in you''
''Aunt, I'm sorry about that. I won't touch the phone again'' Ever said to the woman and she nodded.
''That's good, can you hold your alcohol well, our rice wine is highly potent''
''Do you have honey tea?'' Ever asked.
''Yes, we do. should I serve you that one instead?''
''Yes, honey tea will do, thank you''
''You go ahead and chat with your colleagues, aunt will bring you the rice wine and the honey tea'' the woman said and went away.
Ever looked up and saw Jayden looking at her and she asked, ''why are you looking at me?'' her question was casual and yet sounded like a friend asking another a harmless question.
''Because you are pretty'' Jayden said and Ever coughed. ''the woman said it, that your eyes looked like the shape of the moon, so I was also curious. She was right after all'' he added and Ever flushed.
''Stop messing with me'' Ever said. Their actions sounded like they were flirting in the eyes of the three people that were seated with them. especially, Ann who felt an increasing sense of envy seeing them act that way in front of her. She wrapped her hand tightly around the glass of water that was in front of her.
''Do you know each other? You seem casual like friends?'' one of the men asked and Ann quickly chipped in.
''The CEO and Miss Ever are childhood friends''
''Oh, I see. No wonder, I felt that your interaction was rather good. Childhood sweethearts''
''No, we are just friends, just friends'' Ever corrected the man sitting by her left side.
'"She is right, we are just friends for now'' Jayden said and Ever glared at him while mouthing a cuss.
''For now? Usually when a man says 'for now', it means he has other plans'' the men teased Ever.
''Don't mind whatever he is saying''
''Ladies and gentlemen, here you are. This is the rice wine for you three and our special guest who requested honey tea. The woman's husband arrived with a silver tray of three small bowls of rice wine and a mug of honey tea for Ever.
''Special guest?'' Ann asked the man after hearing his statement.
''Yes, it seems my wife has taken a liking to moon eyes over here and asked me to serve her well'' he said and turned to look at Ever.
''Moon eyes? Me?'' Ever asked and pointed at her nose making the man to laugh.
''Yes, you. You don't know why she called you moon eyes, right? I will tell you later on. Before you leave, make sure you see me'' the man said and walked away.
Ever stared at the two couple at the truck curiously. She wasn't the only one, Ann was also looking at them wondering what they found in Ever.
Their seafood was brought to them and they started eating afterwards.