Chapter 833

After Andrew and Melina waited for a while, the rest of the team finished changing and came out. The basketball club members were all men, and even the support staff were men. There used to be a female assistant in the club. But after she got involved with two players at the same time and caused a big fight, the captain decided not to recruit any more women. However, that didn't stop plenty of girls from wanting to join every year. After all, the club was full of tall guys, and quite a few of them were good-looking. At this moment, surrounded by all these guys, Melina looked tiny in comparison. The team members were chatting among themselves. "I'm telling you, that guy who kept trying to injure people on the court today has done it at other matches too. He just didn't get away with it this time. Next time we play against him, we need to teach him a lesson." "Hey, the game's over. Why are we still talking about it? Let's talk about food! I'm starving!" "I'm getting skewers of beef, chicken wings, grilled shrimp, lamb chops, and grilled vegetables..." "Dude, you ordered everything for yourself. Let the rest of us pick something too! But yeah, that barbecue place across from campus is great. Their spicy dishes are famous." Andrew, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke. "Let's get some less spicy skewers." Someone instinctively responded, "You don't eat spicy food? Barbecue isn't the same without the spicy sauces." Before Andrew could reply, Wyatt quickly jumped in. "Are you guys forgetting Melina? She's delicate and gentle, not like all of you who drown everything in spice. Just order some less spicy ones. My parents also get both spicy and less spicy when they have barbecue." If Wyatt had known that Melina could easily flip a guy over her shoulder in a fight, he probably wouldn't have called her delicate and gentle. Someone laughed. "Wyatt, why do you sound like you're defending them the way you'd defend your parents?" Wyatt blinked in surprise. "Wait, no way! I just think they remind me of my parents. Maybe I got a little too invested. Nope—can't do that. I have to dial it back. I can't act like I'm their son!" Everyone burst into laughter. Even Melina couldn't help but smile. Only Andrew didn't laugh. After all, he could tell that Melina wasn't really happy. Soon, the group arrived at the barbecue restaurant. Since there were too many people, they needed two tables. But no one wanted to split up, so they combined the tables into one big setup. Two trays were placed in the center. The side closest to Melina had mild marinades for grilling, while the other side was filled with spicy sauces. Everyone started ordering. "We've only got a budget of a hundred bucks from our club funds. With this many people, what if we go over?" "If we go over, we just split the bill. No big deal." A couple of guys hesitated. They had already paid their club fees, and their budgets were tight this month. If the bill went too high, it would be a problem. Just then, Andrew spoke, "Order whatever you want. I'll cover the bill tonight." "Andrew, do you have any idea how much we eat? This is going to be expensive." "Yeah, man. It's nice of you, but you've got a girlfriend to take care of too. How much do you even get as an allowance each month?" Andrew hadn't thought about it that way. He had only noticed that Melina had been looking at the menu very seriously, clearly tempted, but had put it down once she heard about the budget. Now that everyone was talking, he suddenly realized that he wasn't the president of Wentworth Corporation. He was just a guest student sitting among them. After a pause, he explained, "I invest on my own. I make about 50 grand a month, so I don't need to rely on my family's money." The table went silent.