?<strong>Chapter 868:</strong>


    “Gavin told me Edward was his friend,” Elyse recalled firmly. She was sure of her memory.


    Cody nodded and exined, “Yes, Edward and Gavin are friends. They connected through Simon and me. Since they’re different ages, they’ve neverpeted against each other.”


    Elyse touched her chin, now fully understanding the connection to Edward’s mentor.


    “By the way, Edward is here too. Would you like to meet him?” Simon sipped his drink, smirked, and added, “He’s been moping around all day after finishing second. He just started feeling hungry and went off to the food area.”


    Elyse paused to think for a moment. Realizing she needed to discuss more with Edward, she nodded in agreement and decided to look for him.


    Elyse said to Cody, “Mr. Tucker, I’m heading out to meet Edward.”


    Cody nodded and smiled warmly. “Enjoy yourself. Grab a bite if you’re hungry. I’ve got some friendsing by.”


    Elyse acknowledged softly, “Okay.” She then turned to Irving with a quiet inquiry, “Irving, will you join me?”


    “No, I’ll stay here. Go ahead,” Irving replied, settling next to Cody with little intention of moving.


    “Alright then, I’ll go alone,” Elyse stated, then turned and briskly walked away.


    As she departed, Simon remarked to Cody, “Elyse sure follows orders well. I wish Edward was aspliant.”


    Cody let out augh. “Let it go. Edward’s just full of character. A loss might actually do him some good—keep him from getting too cocky.”


    Simon nced around nervously before probing, “Does Elyse have a boyfriend? Maybe she and Edward could talk and bond?”


    Cody’s expression clouded momentarily. “Stay out of their personal affairs,” he cautioned sternly.


    Simon chuckled awkwardly, “Just thinking of mixing things up a bit.”


    Meanwhile, Elyse reached the food section and spotted Edward fervently tearing into a chicken leg.


    Edward was plowing through chicken legs, alternating bites with sips of red wine, his zeal unfazed by his recent defeat. Observing him, Elyse couldn’t reconcile his voracious eating with the image of someone disheartened by a loss.


    After polishing off the chicken legs, Edward reached for some grilled shrimp. Just as he was about to grab a few, Elyse approached and inquired, “Do you know where I might find somemb chops?”


    Edward paused, his face clouding over as he muttered, “How should I know where themb chops are? I’m not really hungry. Just picking at things.”


    Catching the pretense in his tone, Elyse offered a slight smile and teased, “I just watched you happily devouring those chicken legs. No need to y it down with me.”


    Caught off guard, Edward quickly grabbed his wine ss, covering his embarrassment, and retorted, “Why didn’t you mention you were here? Watching me in secret? Could it be…” boldly, he inquired, “You like me?”


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