Chapter 17

Gerald could not describe the feelings he felt for Alice. Alice was really beautiful, and elegant. However, Gerald really could not tolerate her attitude because she wasn’t only very rude and arrogant but she also looked down on those who were poor. Gerald could not understand what Naomi was thinking. How could she possibly have intended to matchmake him to Alice? Therefore, Gerald really did not want to join them for lunch before he did not want the situation to turn awkward. However, he could not reject Harper’s sincere invitation as he didn’t want to let his brothers down. The place that they had decided to have lunch at was a western restaurant named Bludhaven. Naturally, Harper could not afford to host a lunch at any five-star hotel unlike the second-generation rich kids such as Danny or Yuri. The six girls from Alice’s dormitory turned up for lunch today. Moreover, the six people from Gerald’s dormitory also came with Naomi. However, since Gerald was not with the rest of the boys in the dormitory, he did not go to the lunch place with Harper and the rest of the boys. “In my opinion, Naomi, we only need the five boys from Harper’s dormitory, you, and the six of us from my dormitory to come for lunch! Having the twelve of us eat together is good enough!” Alice said as she sat in her seat as she drank her juice. The meaning behind her words was self-evident. In fact, Alice had a good impression of Harper and she felt that he was also a very stable and mature man. However, Harper’s parents were just ordinary people who were teachers in a middle school. Therefore, he was naturally not up to Alice’s standards. “Yes, I agree with Alice. Why should Gerald join us for lunch today? As soon as I see him, I start thinking about everything that he’d done last night! It’s so annoying!” Hayley also said jokingly at this time. “Okay, okay. Alice, Hayley, please stop hating on Gerald. Did you know that he’s actually a really good person if you’d just give him a chance and get to know him better?” Naomi replied as she smiled. “Yes, Gerald is really a very good guy…” Harper said immediately after. “Well, if he was really such a good person, he wouldn’t make the twelve of us sit here just to wait for him alone, would he? Don’t you think I’m right, Hayley?” Alice said as she snorted coldly. “Oh look! Gerald is here!” At this time, Naomi stood up excitedly as she waved at Gerald, gesturing for him to come over and join them at the table. “I’m sorry for being late. I had to go back to the dormitory to make an important phone call. There was something that I had to deal with.” Gerald said as he smiled at Naomi. Naomi was sitting directly opposite Alice at this time. Her eyes wandered for a moment before she stood up and pulled Gerald to her seat and said, “Gerald, sit here!” Gerald knew what Naomi was trying to do. He simply sat down without putting too much thought into it. “Jacelyn! Let’s switch seats!” Unexpectedly, Alice had a cold expression on her face as she asked one of her girlfriends to switch seats with her as soon as Gerald sat down in front of her. “Sorry, Alice! I don’t want to switch seats with you. If I sit opposite that pauper, I’m afraid that people who don’t know the truth would actually misunderstand and think that he’s my boyfriend!” “Why? Wouldn’t you be happy if Gerald was your boyfriend? He could buy you a Hermes bag worth fifty five thousand dollars! Hahaha!” “Yes, yes, Jacelyn! You should grab hold of this opportunity that is given to you!” Jacelyn Leigh was a very gorgeous girl who was very interested in fashion and makeup. As she was also from a wealthy family, she naturally despised Gerald as well. When Jacelyn heard her roommates making fun of her, she quickly replied, “If you think that Gerald is so good, then you should just ask him to be your boyfriend!” “Ahh! I give up. I surrender.” The beautiful girls stopped joking around as soon as they heard her words. They were obviously very sensitive to the fact that Gerald might actually end up being their boyfriends and they would definitely be ridiculed then! Harper and Benjamin were both a little annoyed when they heard the girls’ conversation. However, they could only endure it silently. After that, Gerald decided not to sit with Alice. “Naomi, come and sit over here. I’ll just sit at the side!” Gerald couldn’t help but laugh because he was treated like a plague in the eyes of all these beautiful girls. Even though he was a second-generation rich kid like everyone else, the treatment that he received from all the beautiful girls was totally different. Gerald had so many assets under his name, but why couldn’t he be favored by these beautiful girls? Gerald thought about using money to win these girls over but he couldn’t bring himself to do so Ahh! Gerald decided to just step aside. Naomi really wanted to mend and get rid of the misunderstanding between Alice and Gerald because she really felt that they would make a good couple. Moreover, both of them were her good friends! “Alice?” At this time, a man’s voice suddenly sounded. A tall and handsome boy dressed in branded clothing from head to toe approached their table and he looked at Alice with a surprised expression in his eyes. “Are you Quinton Ziegler?” Alice was also stunned. She touched her hair before she stood up with a sweet and pleasant smile on her face. “Yes, Alice. I haven’t seen you in over two years and you’re really looking more and more beautiful. I almost couldn’t recognize you,” Quinton replied as he smiled. “By the way, Quinton, didn’t your dad send you abroad to study? When did you return home?” “I came back two days ago and I was just asking around for your contact information! By the way, did you manage to resolve the incident that you got into at Emperor Karaoke Bar? Our high school classmate, Desmond, called me and told me that you ran into some trouble there!” Quinton said with a concerned expression on his face. At this time, Alice covered her mouth in shock. Alice’s roommates had also come to a sudden realization. “Ahh! Quinton, were you the one who helped us resolve the issue last night?” Alice was very surprised. In fact, Quinton had really wanted to help Alice out last night and he even asked his father to call the manager of the karaoke bar, Flynn. However, Flynn did not pick up the phone. When Quinton heard Alice asking him if he was the one who resolved this matter on their behalf, he did not think too much about it. Instead, he simply nodded as he said, “Well, I asked my dad to help me deal with it.” Alice felt very proud and excited at this time. Women were always the ones with the most pride and vanity! Right now, Alice felt as though all her doubts had already been cleared. It turned out that the person who had helped them to resolve the problem was not Nigel or anyone else that they had contacted last night. Instead, her childhood friend, Quinton, actually turned out to be the one able to calm Brother Flynn down and get him to waive the damages for them. Alice used to be really close to Quinton in the past because of the friendship between their fathers. However, as Quinton’s family business grew bigger and bigger, his father decided to send him abroad to further his studies. Naturally, both of them no longer kept in touch after he left. Unexpectedly, Quinton had actually done her such a big favor as soon as he returned to the country. Moreover, Alice had no doubts that the Ziegler family would definitely be able to deal with someone like Flynn. “Quinton, thank you so much for what you did for me!” Alice was really very happy and grateful. When Gerald saw how thankful Alice was towards Quinton, he could not help but feel a little uneasy. He had just gotten rid of Nigel but the fruits of his victory were now stolen by this guy named Quinton. Gerald had really wanted to tell them that he was the one who helped them to resolve the issue last night. He was the one who had gotten them out of that situation! However, he knew that Alice would only hate and despise him more if he spoke up now. Therefore, Gerald decided to keep quiet because he did not want to get into another argument with Alice. He thought he should just let it go. “I’m here to attend a birthday party organized by one of my high school friends. The birthday party is held upstairs. Alice, I will come down and chat with you again after giving a toast to my friend! You can also introduce your friends to me later!” After that, Quinton smiled and bowed slightly as he looked at all the beautiful girls before he excused himself like a gentleman. “Wow! He’s really very handsome!” “Alice, how do you know him? “Alice, does he have a girlfriend?” Jacelyn and the other girls were very curious at this time. Alice proudly replied, “Quinton is a really amazing guy! Do you know the Southern Food Industries? That’s his family business and they are a tycoon in the food industry!” “Wow! The Southern Food Industries is a public listed company and it is rated as one of the top companies in Mayberry City! That’s really incredible.” All the girls started discussing this matter amongst themselves. “Didn’t the news mention that Southern Food Industries is currently facing capital and financial issues?” Gerald had been quietly listening in on their conversation but when he heard their conversation, he wanted to contribute to the topic. As soon as he spoke up, the atmosphere around the table became cold within seconds. At this time, Alice glared at Gerald with a furious expression on her face. “What do you mean by that? Isn’t it common for huge businesses and industries to face capital and financial problems? Why are you so jealous?” “Some people are just like this. They are jealous and envious of others and they seize every opportunity to target their weakness and shortcomings to put them down. Such people are really disgusting!” Jacelyn replied in a contemptuous manner. Gerald’s sentence almost started a war… “Alice!” Fortunately, Quinton and one of his classmates started walking down the stairs at this time…