When fate plays its hand (Miranda)

Chapter 0324

Paul, Miranda, and Winter stepped out of the restaurant.

“Paul, you’re so popular. You were surrounded by a bunch of seniors, just like fans do around their favorite idol,” Winter remarked.

“Idol?”

“Oh, it means celebrity,” she replied.

Paul chuckled. “It’s just for practical reasons. I’m not a celebrity, so linking me to them doesn’t make sense.”

Winter wrinkled her nose. “Have you been drinking? Did you drive here?”

“Just a little. I didn’t drive.”

She said, “Great. Let’s get in the car. I’ll send you and Mimi home.”

Winter drove her car to the alley entrance but couldn’t go any further. So, Miranda and Paul exited the vehicle and walked in together.

The moon was bright, and a gentle breeze brushed through the night. In the quiet alley, the soft meow of a cat occasionally broke the silence.

Paul stepped on a bag of trash and swayed slightly from the effect of the alcohol he had earlier.

okay?”

worried that the smell of alcohol on him might rub off on her, he intentionally kept

across as particularly

past, Hansel often drank and got home drunk. But

made her

Hansel, Calvin, and Zach. They lived lives

reliable and down–to–earth,

Paul that she realized how different he was. Despite being the center of attention and seemingly unreachable, he was

that success brought arrogance, but Paul shattered that belief. He had every reason to be carefree and reckless, yet

“Do researchers also need

mutual exchanges,” Paul said. “But how do we engage? Alcohol often serves as a social icebreaker, though coffee, books, art, and poetry can

+25 BONUS

Chapter 0324

how much they

about the holidays. Parents take their kids to visit relatives, and relatives visit

these interactions as simply spending time together, they don’t have to revolve around alcohol. Instead, activities like having tea, fishing,

framing it this way, these gatherings feel less socializing, right? If you stick with that first definition,

was the first time Miranda had heard that perspective, and she couldn’t resist asking, “So, does tonight’s meal count as socializing for

a way,