Chapter 18

”Alice, you look like you’re in a bad mood. Is something wrong?” Quinton asked as he walked down the stairs with his hands in his pockets. Quinton felt that his heart was a little moved when he saw Alice, who appeared to be even more beautiful than she was two years ago. “I’m fine. I’m just a little disgusted by some people!” Alice then glanced at Gerald with a cold expression on his face. “Exactly! How can you just spout nonsense without knowing your own place?” Jacelyn and the other girls also seemed to hate Gerald. All of them were glaring at Gerald with a sharp expression on his face. Quinton looked at Gerald. When he came into the restaurant earlier, he seemed to have noticed that Alice was already displeased with Gerald. However, after coming down the stairs, Alice looked even more unhappy and displeased with Gerald. Was it possible…that this kid was in an ambiguous relationship with Alice? Hahaha. No, that wouldn’t be possible! Quinton knew as soon as he looked at Gerald’s outfit. The total price of all of his clothing was not more than thirty dollars! How could Alice probably be in an ambiguous relationship with someone like him? “Is there any misunderstanding between you two? Why don’t you just talk it out? You’re all classmates so you should try to get along well with one another!” Quinton smiled but his eyes were focused on Gerald at this time. “Hello, my friend. My name is Quinton. It’s nice to meet you.” After that, Quinton stretched out his hand to shake hands with Gerald, revealing a gold Rolex watch on his hand. The gold Rolex watch was extraordinary at first sight and all the girls stared at him with admiration on their faces. Gerald could immediately tell that Quinton was not sincere and he had malicious intentions instead. As he was about to shake hands with Gerald, Quinton suddenly asked with a surprise expression on his face, “Wow! My friend, what brand is your T-shirt from? I’ve not seen this brand before. Do you think it’s because I’ve just returned from abroad?” Quinton stared at Gerald as he made a jaw dropping expression on his face and his lips curled up slightly as he smirked at Gerald. Quinton wanted to impress Alice and he could tell that Alice had a very bad relationship with Gerald. So, he might as well beat this kid down with a few words. “Hahaha. It’s just an ordinary brand.” Gerald did not intend to pick an argument with Quinton. He couldn’t be bothered with someone like Quinton. To be honest, Gerald had already planned to buy clothes using the Universal Global Supreme Shopper’s Card that his sister had given to him. However, he felt that the minimum consumption of fifty thousand dollars was a little too extravagant! “Ooh. Is it really from an ordinary brand? By the way, Harold, have you seen this brand before since you’ve always been in the country?” Quinton turned around to look at his classmate. The man named Harold had blond hair and he had been busy staring at all the beautiful girls, from Alice to Hayley to Jacelyn. Harold immediately knew what Quinton meant when he asked him the question. After that, Harold shook his head before he smiled and said, “No, I’ve not seen this brand before. Would you like me to look it up on the internet?” Both of them continued their discussion in a serious manner. In fact, everyone could tell that they were just trying to mock Gerald. However, Gerald did not look embarrassed at all. At this time, Alice and the other girls had a satisfied expression on their faces as they looked at Gerald. “Hahaha! Serves him right for being jealous of Quinton! Now we get to watch other people ridiculing him for being poor!” Jacelyn said as she laughed. “After all, Quinton has just returned to the country after studying abroad. How could Gerald ever be compared to him anyway?” Alice also said in a low voice. Alice obviously knew that Quinton was ridiculing and making things difficult for Gerald because of her. However, he was doing it in an indirect manner compared to Danny. He was implying it without pointing fingers at Gerald. This made Alice very happy as she felt that Quinton was a very intelligent person. “Quinton, let me introduce you to my friends!” After glancing at Gerald, Alice quickly introduced Quinton to everyone around the table. After that, Quinton also introduced Harold to Alice and her friends. Harold’s family owned one of the biggest training academies in Mayberry City. Both of them sat down at the table and Quinton naturally sat opposite Alice. On the other hand, Harold seemed to be very interested in Jacelyn and Hayley. The girls kept staring at Quinton and Harold as they continued chatting. The original theme of the lunch today was supposed to be the development of a relationship between Harper and Hayley. Unfortunately, Quinton’s presence suddenly changed everything and this made Harper feel a little unhappy. Gerald could also tell that Harper was a little upset. He could not simply ignore this and watch as his brother was neglected. Fortunately, Gerald was already prepared for this kind of situation. Before leaving the dormitory, Gerald had already made a phone call to Zack, the manager of Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. He told him that he would like to bring a few friends there today and he asked Zack to make the necessary arrangements for him. He did not want Harper to lose face in front of Hayley today! Moreover, Gerald knew that Naomi had always wanted to visit Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. When Harold found out that Harper had invited Hayley out for lunch today, he started asking Harper all sorts of questions. He kept questioning Harper about his family background and his parents’ occupations. In other words, he was indirectly asking Harper if he was wealthy. Gerald really wanted to bring up the fact that he had already arranged for the group to go to Wayfair Mountain Entertainment after lunch. At this time, Quinton suddenly said, “By the way, I heard something when I came back to the country. I heard that the Fisher family has gone bankrupt and that they’ve lost Grand Marshall Restaurant that they used to own on Mayberry Commercial Street! My dad used to be friends with Nigel’s father, Adam Fisher. I am trying to get him to buy over Grand Marshall Restaurant!” Alice’s eyelids twitched slightly at this time. Of course, they knew everything that happened to Nigel and the Fisher family. This was because Nigel was right beside them when everything unfolded! When the girls heard that Quinton was planning to take over Grand Marshall Restaurant, they could not help but feel extremely excited. They quickly made up their minds to become good friends with Quinton. Alice nodded slightly before she said. “Yes, we know about what happened to Nigel and his family. We heard that he offended a very influential person in Mayberry City and that’s the reason why his entire family businesses went bankrupt overnight! The Fisher family had always relied on the profits that they made from Grand Marshall Restaurant on Mayberry Commercial Street, so I really wonder what they’re going to do now that they are forced to withdraw their shares immediately.” Quinton watched in satisfaction as all the girls stared at him with admiration in their eyes. He really enjoyed the attention. He nodded before he said, “Well, my father agrees with me and he wants to take over the restaurant too. After all, everyone knows the commercial value of any businesses or shops on Mayberry Commercial Street. As long as you can open a business there, you’ll definitely make money like running water! My dad also mentioned that there is a very grand and luxurious manor there with a hot spring inside!” “Wayfair Mountain Entertainment!” Everyone was very excited when they heard the mention of the manor with the hot springs. Quinton nodded and smiled before he said, “Have any of you been there before?” When Quinton asked this question, Alice suddenly recalled how embarrassed they had been the night before. However, she didn’t want to hide the truth from Quinton. Therefore, she quickly told him about everything that happened. After listening to her explanation, Quinton smiled before he said, “Well, I really did not expect Nigel to make such a fool out of himself. Alice, since you did not manage to go into Wayfair Mountain Entertainment the last time, I can bring you there today! I just need to give my father a call.” “Ahh! Seriously? You’re the best, Brother Quinton!” Jacelyn said in a charming manner. “Of course I’m serious. Give me a minute. I’ll call my dad now.” After that, Quinton took out his cell phone before he made a phone call to his father. After explaining the situation to his father, Quinton hung up the phone immediately. “Should we head there now? I am afraid that they’ll have more guests in the afternoon. If the place is overcrowded, there is nothing that my father can do for us then.” “Okay! Sure!” All of the girls were more than willing to leave at this time. “Alright then, I will go and get the cars with Harold. We will leave in two cars.” Quinton said as he prepared to go and get the car with Harold. “But Quinton, there are seven girls so two cars would be enough for us…but what about them?” Alice asked as she pointed at Harper and the rest of the boys. Quinton looked at Harper before he asked, “Did you not drive here?” Harper shook his head and he felt very embarrassed at this time. “Forget it. We won’t be joining you guys.” Naomi felt very uncomfortable to be caught in the middle. Therefore, she said, “Well, if they aren’t going, then I don’t want to go either!” Gerald did not want Naomi to be placed in such a tough spot every time. He knew that she really wanted to go and check out Wayfair Mountain Entertainment. Therefore, he quickly said, “Naomi, you can go ahead with the rest of them first. We’ll join you later. After all, we’ve already ordered a table full of dishes!” In fact, Gerald intentionally said those words and he was targeting Alice and Hayley at this time. After all, Harper was treating them to lunch today and he had already ordered a table full of dishes but they were leaving without taking even a single bite. Gerald felt as though they were not taking Harper seriously. Being the sensitive person that she was, Alice could immediately hear the contempt in his voice as soon as she heard his words. She quickly replied, “Hahaha. You’ll come and join us later? Do you really think you’d be able to enter Wayfair Mountain Entertainment without Quinton? Moreover, why are you being so sarcastic? It’s just a table full of dishes. Do you want me to pay for the food, then?” Harper waved his hand in a hurry before he said, “No, no, you guys can just leave first. I will see you later, Hayley!” Harper glanced at Hayley. He really wished that he would be able to see her later but he knew that Alice was right. How would they possibly be able to enter Wayfair Mountain Entertainment later? After that, Alice and the rest of the girls left with Quinton and Harold. Harper was just glad that the situation did not end up as awkward as it was last night. However, after the girls left, Harper felt as though he no longer had any appetite. He felt very discouraged at this time. “Harper, don’t feel so discouraged. I said that we’ll go to the manor and I will make sure that we do so. Just trust me.” Gerald comforted Harper as he patted him gently on the shoulder. Harper smiled bitterly before he said, “I know you mean well, Gerald. Forget it. Let’s just eat and enjoy the meal before we go back to the dormitory to sleep after this!” Gerald knew that Harper simply thought that he was being stubborn. He smiled because he knew that he could not be as low-key as he wanted to be anymore. This was because he knew that most of the time, Harper and the rest of his roommates were ridiculed and humiliated because of him. Gerald was also very upset at this situation. Therefore, Gerald took out his cell phone before he called Zack. “Zack, I will head over to Wayfair Mountain Entertainment with my friends later. If it’s convenient for you, could you send two cars over here to pick me up? Zack was very respectful on the other end of the line. “Of course, Mr. Crawford. Anything for you. Could you please send me your location?” Gerald gave Zack his location over the phone before he hung up the phone immediately. Harper looked at Gerald in surprise. “Damn it, Gerald! Who did you just call?”