The atmosphere at the table froze once again.
Everyone looked at Elesa in surprise. None of them had expected her to say that!
What did she mean?
Was she standing up for Xia You?
If that was really the case, then... was this truly her first time meeting Xia You?
They turned their astonished gazes back to Xia You, only to find the same bewilderment on his face.
Naturally, Xia You had no idea what was going on either. He had never expected Elesa to be so "loyal"!
Even Cynthia looked at Elesa in astonishment, the hand holding her water glass stiffening slightly.
"What?"
She, too, had never expected Elesa to be so direct, even offensively so, in bringing this question out into the open.
An ex-boyfriend she still had feelings for?
She really dared to say that!
That description sparked an inexplicable anger in Cynthia, along with the embarrassment and irritation of having her private feelings exposed. For the first time, she took a proper look at the woman sitting diagonally across from her.
"Miss Elesa," Cynthia's voice cooled, a Champion's authority unconsciously radiating from her, utterly unlike her usual elegant composure. "Your imagination is rather too active. Xia You and I are merely friends. Reminding him to mind his boundaries is simply my duty as a friend. You, on the other hand, seem so concerned about our relationship that you're even making these baseless assumptions. Aren't you being a little... overly helpful?"
She deliberately stressed "baseless" and "overly helpful," making her counterattack unmistakable.
Elesa, however, seemed not to feel the oppressive atmosphere. She tilted her head slightly, still wearing that elegant, faintly provocative supermodel's smile, though her gaze was as sharp as lightning. "Oh? Just friends? All I heard in what you said was a very strong... desire