The three girls from The Plastics hadn't eaten Mike's homemade Texas brisket in a long time.
Thanks to Tina today, it was a rare sight to see Mike in the kitchen, so the three girls followed him to help out.
However, it wasn't long before the three girls, feeling they couldn't be of much help, turned their attention to Mike, who was seriously cooking.
Fortunately, there were no outsiders here, so the three girls' actions became more and more out of line.
A simple flavorful brisket took over an hour to make.
By the time Mike came out with the brisket, Tina had already finished washing up and was sitting in the dining room wearing a white bathrobe.
Her healthy complexion was subtly revealed, giving her a unique kind of beauty.
Beside her, Lena, who had also changed her clothes, was chatting with her.
"You must be starving. Come and taste if my cooking has improved." Mike smiled and placed the brisket in front of the girl, while also getting a bottle of red wine from a nearby shelf.
At this moment, the three members of The Plastics came out, each carrying a few small dishes.
"What's wrong with them?" Tina noticed the three girls unconsciously wiping their mouths, so she asked suspiciously.
"Don't mind them. Those three must have been secretly eating in the kitchen just now." Mike ignored the glares from the three girls of The Plastics and naturally sat down opposite Tina.
The long dining table meant that the distance between them when sitting face to face was not far.
It was only then that Tina clearly saw that the three girls of The Plastics, sitting next to Mike, had even redder faces than her own, who had just bathed.
Their lips were like peaches.
Even if Tina was slow to react, she realized that she had asked a foolish question earlier.
It was clear that The Plastics' "secret eating" was definitely not the legitimate kind.
"To welcome our old friend Tina back, let's raise our glasses!" Mike raised his red wine, speaking at the right time to shift Tina's awkwardness.
Afterward, the girl discovered that after a few years, Mike's brisket skills had improved by leaps and bounds.
It was better than any brisket she had ever tasted before.
Nowadays, Mike's powerful physique inherently came with acute five senses, coupled with his superb cooking skills. With the two complementing each other, it was no problem for him to call himself a "Chef God" now.
The enjoyment of the food made Tina, who was already a bit hungry, begin to feast.
Even the romantic guesses she had in her mind earlier were temporarily cast aside.
Unlike the girl's hearty eating style, The Plastics, sitting opposite Mike, had their minds completely elsewhere than on the brisket feast.
As if to get back at Mike for his earlier loose tongue, the three girls, with a tacit understanding, continuously made small movements under the table towards Mike.
Unfortunately, the three "fools" were still no match for Mike.
"Why aren't you eating?" After passing the initial hunger period, Tina also noticed the strange expressions on the faces of the four people opposite her.
Especially Regina and the other two, whose faces were even redder than before.
"It's nothing, we're not hungry," Mike smiled and said dotingly, "You've come a long way, eat more."
"Alright, alright..." Tina took a sip of red wine, her expression growing even stranger.
Finally, to verify her suspicions, the girl suddenly lowered her head and looked under the table.
Four pairs of legs were sitting properly, with nothing amiss.
Then the girl looked up again, trying to discern something from Mike and the others' faces, but still found nothing.
The four of them were also sitting exceptionally upright.
However, their expressions indicated that something must have happened secretly between them.
The girl, not believing it, lowered her head again to look under the table.
"Tina, what's wrong? Is something amiss?" The girl's strange behavior naturally caught Mike's attention.
However, it was impossible for the other party to catch him in the act.
"No, nothing, I dropped my cutlery, I'm looking for it..." The woman's strong sixth sense, and Mike's untimely gentle expression, made Tina realize she had been "played."
So, she had a flash of inspiration, intentionally dropped her knife and fork to the floor, and then completely ducked under the table.
...
Soon Mike felt a small hand moving up his calf.
Tina, in her bathrobe, had somehow knelt smilingly in front of Mike.
This action was very bold, and even with the tablecloth covering them, the three girls of The Plastics sitting next to Mike could see it with just a slight turn of their heads.
Yet, these three acted as if they were blind, tacitly pretending not to see what was happening under the table.
Oh, so this is how we're playing, huh?
Faced with the others' "indulgence" and the teasing under the table, Mike also grew bolder.
And it was quite stimulating, actually...
But before Mike could make a move, Tina, under the table, showed a mischievous smile, then pinched Mike's thigh hard with her small hand, and quickly scurried back.
Everything happened very quickly...
When Tina sat back down with her knife and fork, Mike also timely showed a pained expression, so that the girl could feel a sense of accomplishment.
Beside them were the suppressed smiles of the three girls from The Plastics; they had clearly seen the scene of Mike being put in a difficult spot under the table.
Similarly, they all knew how promiscuous Mike was, and Tina was an "old acquaintance." So, everything that just happened seemed to them like a unique kind of fun.
Only the little maid Lena was the only "honest person" in the room, completely unaware of what was happening under the table.
At this moment, she looked at Mike's "pained" expression and asked with concern, "Mike, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I was just scratched by a little cat from somewhere." Mike casually made an excuse, trying to brush it off.
"Ah, is there a little cat in the room?" Perhaps Mike's performance was too realistic, or perhaps Lena's mind hadn't caught up.
She actually turned her head and looked around the room, not even sparing a glance under the table.
The girl's actions seemed very out of place in the current situation.
The three girls of The Plastics had managed to hold back their laughter at Mike's discomfited expression earlier. But now, Lena's adorable innocence made them burst out laughing.
"Lena, you're too easy to fool! Does everything Mike says just become true?" The outspoken Regina almost cried from laughter.
So Lena could only look to Mike for help, wanting to know something.
Clearly, the "little maid" also sensed that the atmosphere in the room was not right at the moment.
"Alright, the little cat has been scared away by you. As a hero, eat more!" Mike looked at Lena's innocent expression, smiled, and didn't offer much explanation.
He even got up and cut a piece of brisket, placing it in her bowl as encouragement.
"Tell me about your situation, what are your plans for coming here this time? And how's your parents' research going?" Mike sat down and turned to Tina, getting down to business.
When it came to the main topic, he actually didn't support the girl continuing to do wildlife research with her parents; that job was entirely for public good, constantly running around in the wild, not making money, and being hard.
"If you have a suitable job for me here, I can choose to stay..." Tina replied vaguely.
The truth was, for a large company like King Investment Group, it was very easy to keep someone.
It just depended on Mike's thoughts.
Moreover, Tina this time, strictly speaking, was also driven out by her parents.
The girl was already twenty-three this year, an age where she should be planning her life properly. Continuing to run around in the wild like before, not even seeing another person, was not a good idea.
It could be said that the girl's parents had put a lot of thought into this.
"Is that so?" Mike certainly didn't want the girl to leave, so he said, "Coincidentally, I have a very promising job here that needs you."
"It's also a job that helps others..."
Managing the relief stations under King Investment Group was very important for Mike to collect Power of Faith.
"I have no problem." Without waiting for Mike to explain the job details, Tina agreed.
Clearly, the girl had come for Mike this time, or rather, she trusted Mike greatly.
This was a mutual journey for both of them.
"That's good. Afterward, I'll have Chris arrange for someone to hand over the relief station work to you." Mike smiled knowingly.
"Oh, and before I left, my parents asked me to tell you something: thank you for your support of their wildlife research these past few years." Tina's expression, on the other hand, became more serious.
It was mentioned earlier that wildlife research doesn't make money, especially private research, which would be even more difficult without financial support from someone.
What a coincidence, Mike happened to not be short on money and was willing to do charity work, plus with Tina's connection, he naturally supported Tina's parents' outdoor research endeavors.
This support lasted for five or six years.
As long as Tina wasn't foolish, she could understand Mike's intentions in doing so.
"Lena, you've eaten enough. Come on, let's take you for a walk to help digest..." On the other side, Regina, as someone who had been through it, still remembered her friendship with Tina from back then.
Therefore, seeing that the other party's emotions were already in place, Regina was naturally happy to create some opportunities for her.
Mike, sitting firmly like a fisherman, couldn't help but give the girl a thumbs-up with his eyes as he watched Regina thoughtfully pull the other young ladies away.