Chapter 320: This Female Lead Isn’t Quite Right
The hairs on the back of Aurora Donovan’s neck stood up, and a shiver ran through him.
’Damn it, how could I have forgotten about that!’
Fortunately, Arabella Donovan quickly came up with an excuse for him.
’But Third Brother only seemed to say that Julian Spencer was involved with a girl from our university. He didn’t say who she was. Maybe he just happened to hear about it and doesn’t know she’s the female lead?’
Aurora Donovan’s spirits lifted. ’Yes, yes, that’s it! Exactly!’
In truth, Arabella had no intention of getting bogged down in the details. It didn’t matter who had told her brother, nor did it matter if he knew the girl dating Julian Spencer was Summer Vance. What was important was that he understood Julian Spencer was a scoundrel not worth getting close to. And also...
"Brother, let’s not go home just yet. I need you to come with me somewhere else."
"Where to?"
"The coffee shop on West Anville Road."
Aurora Donovan gave her a suspicious look. "What are you going over there for?"
’Of course I’m going to see if my hardworking, transmigrated female lead is beyond saving.’
If she remembered correctly, Summer Vance was constantly working part-time jobs to pay back the medical fees she owed Julian Spencer. When she didn’t have classes, she would even work two jobs in one day.
She worked part-time at a coffee shop during the day and tutored at night.
The university semester hadn’t started yet, and with nowhere else to go, Summer Vance and her grandmother were stuck in the city. So, as expected, she was most likely working at that coffee shop right now.
Arabella’s guess wasn’t far from the truth.
When they pulled up to the coffee shop, they saw a waitress in uniform standing behind the counter, taking a customer’s order with a warm smile.
Aurora Donovan stared at the waitress for a while. He thought she was just average-looking, not nearly as pretty as his Serena. He had no idea what The Providence’s criteria for choosing protagonists were.
While Aurora Donovan’s mind was wandering, Arabella was staring intently at the girl, her brow furrowed in thought.
’Huh? Something seems a little off about this female lead!’
’Off? Could it be that this so-called female protagonist has a problem, too?’
Aurora Donovan’s hand tightened on the steering wheel, his focus sharpening to an unprecedented degree.
But after waiting for a long time without hearing anything more from Arabella, he was surprised when she nimbly unbuckled her seatbelt and told him to get out.
"Third Brother, come on, let’s go take a look."
As if waking from a dream, Aurora Donovan quickly got out of the car and followed right behind Arabella.
The two entered the coffee shop and made a beeline for the counter. Summer Vance froze for a moment when she saw them.
A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, but she quickly composed herself and put on a professional smile. "What can I get for you two?"
"I’ll have a freshly brewed coffee. What about you, Third Brother?"
"I’m good with anything. I’ll have the same as you."
"Two freshly brewed coffees, then."
"Alright. Please wait over there for a moment." Summer Vance pointed to a relatively quiet, empty corner, motioning for them to take a seat.
Arabella observed her up close for a while, certain answers already forming in her mind. Satisfied, she pulled Aurora Donovan away from the counter.
At this hour, the shop wasn’t crowded, and Summer Vance was the only employee working the front.
They had been seated for five or six minutes before she reappeared before them, carrying their steaming hot coffee.
It was worth noting that the tray she placed before them held not only their two cups of coffee, but also two small fruit and cream cakes.
Aurora Donovan was surprised to see the cakes. "These aren’t ours, are they? We didn’t order them."
"Actually, you’re our 100th customer since we reopened after the New Year. This is a small gift from our manager to mark the occasion, a little something to thank our loyal patrons."
The excuse sounded pretty flimsy, but most people wouldn’t question it. After all, who would turn down something free?
It wasn’t like she was forcing them to buy anything. It was free, so why not take it?
But Arabella wasn’t most people. She shot a meaningful glance at her brother before turning her eyes back to Summer Vance, a faint, unreadable smile on her face. "The 100th customer, you say? How lucky for us. But I have a question I’m curious about. Would you mind answering it?"
"Please, ask."
"This ’100th customer’—are you counting by order or by person?"
Summer Vance froze, her expression changing. "Well..."
"If you’re counting by order, that’s one thing. But if you’re counting by person, there should only be one 100th customer, yet you’ve brought us two cakes."
"It’s by order. Yes, we count by order. Some customers order several drinks at once, and we can’t be sure how many people are in their party, so we just go by the order number. Yours was the 100th order, and since there are two of you, you get two cakes."
"I see." Arabella rested her chin in her hands, not letting her off the hook. "So, when you say ’100th customer,’ you actually mean ’100th order,’ not the 100th person. Is that right?"
"...Yes."
"And did your shop post an announcement about this promotion beforehand?"
"An... announcement?" Summer Vance faltered, then quickly shook her head. "No, no. It’s a hidden bonus. We didn’t advertise it."
"Such a great promotional opportunity, and your shop doesn’t even take advantage of it." Arabella pulled out her phone with an exaggerated flourish. "Tell you what. My brother and I have a lot of friends on our socials. Especially my brother—he’s a top student at Brynn University, and his friends list is full of academic aces from all over the country."
Suddenly being put on the spot, Aurora Donovan’s expression stiffened. He met Summer Vance’s surprised gaze and gave an awkward nod.
"So we won’t just eat these cakes for free. In a minute, my brother and I will take pictures and post them online. We’ll tell everyone to come check this place out. Who knows, maybe they can unlock the hidden bonus for the 200th, 300th, 400th, or even the 1,000th order."
"You’ll get more business, and they’ll have fun joining in. It’s a win-win. The more, the merrier, right? Wouldn’t that be great?"
Arabella might have been pleased, but Summer Vance went completely rigid upon hearing her words.
No one knew better than she did where these two cakes had really come from. If a flood of customers really showed up because of Arabella’s social media post, it would inevitably attract the attention of the manager and other employees.
When the manager investigated and found out she was the source of the problem, the consequences...
"Serena, stop it."
Aurora Donovan could also tell there was more to this story. He gave Arabella a discreet tug, worried this "female lead" would become enraged by the humiliation and do something unexpected to hurt his sister.
But Arabella wasn’t scared in the least. Her eyes shone as she stared at Summer Vance, as if trying to see right through her.
"Miss, you’d better just tell the truth. Otherwise, we can’t possibly accept this unsolicited freebie."