[Chapter 16]
Gerald accidentally swept the broom over the girl's feet.
She was wearing a pair of white shoes and her calves were extremely fair. She was also carefully listening to Victor as he talked about his car, her full attention on Victor's words.
Unexpectedly, Gerald had actually swept the dirty broom over her shoes, smearing dust all over her white shoes.
She couldn't help but scream when she realized what was happening.
Her scream unexpectedly attracted the attention of Whitney, Victor, and the others who were in the auditorium at this time.
"What's wrong, Mila?"
Whitney hurried over before she asked Mila with a concerned expression on her face.
Victor also rushed over to Mila immediately.
"No, no, I'm fine. There's no problem at all."
Mila Smith tucked her hair behind her ear and she took out some wet wipes before she leaned down and attempted to wipe the dust off from her shoes.
However, the more she tried to wipe her shoes, the dirtier they got.
Mila was also obsessed with cleanliness. Therefore, she couldn't help but frown when she saw the mess on her white shoes.
"Gerald, did you do that to Mila's shoes?" Whitney asked as she glared at Gerald.
She had a cold and aggressive expression on her face.
Moreover, Victor was also very angry at this time.
"Damn it, you pauper! Do you know how much Mila's shoes cost? You'll never be able to afford to pay for it!"
After that, Victor stepped forward before he grabbed Gerald by his collar.
"No, no, it wasn't him!"
When Mila saw that Victor was about to beat Gerald up, she quickly stepped forward to dissuade him.
In fact, Mila had already been paying some attention to Gerald for a long time. She felt that he was a very different person compared to everyone else.
Moreover, she could tell that he was not from a rich family background.
Perhaps that was the reason why Victor and the rest of the boys were always bullying him.
However, despite being bullied and humiliated all the time, Mila could not see the slightest look of inferiority in Gerald's eyes. He was completely indifferent and the fact that he was poor didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.
Gerald always had a very humble and sincere look on his face.
Even if Mila wanted to lose her temper, she couldn't bring herself to do so.
Therefore, Mila quickly stood up for Gerald when she saw that Victor was going to beat him up.
"Don't worry, Mila! We should at least make sure that this pauper pays you back for your shoes!" Victor replied in a vicious manner.
Mila was not from the Language Department, but she was a student from the Broadcasting and Media Department instead.
However, she had been friends with Whitney ever since they were young and the reason why she came over to the auditorium today was because she wanted to have some fun.
Though Victor liked Whitney, he was even more interested in her best friend, Mila.
"Oh, no! There's no need for him to pay me back for the shoes. I'll just go back to the dormitory and change into another pair of shoes!" Mila said in a hurry.
She also nodded slightly at Gerald.
"You're lucky today, kid!" Victor said as he glared at Gerald. In fact, Victor was glad that he was able to act as the hero in front of the two beautiful girls today.
When he saw that Mila was about to leave, he quickly approached her.
"By the way, Mila, why don't we go out and have a meal together after you change into a new pair of shoes? After all, everyone must be tired from the rehearsal today. I'll treat everyone to a meal at Orchard Gardens!"
"Wow! Orchard Gardens? I heard that the fruit salad and steak there is really delicious but dining there is also really expensive!"
"Brother Victor, I'd like to come too!"
All the girls were excited as soon as Victor said that he would be buying Mila a meal at Orchard Gardens.
"Sure!" Victor replied as he clasped his hands together.
At this time, Whitney grabbed Mila's hand before she smiled and said, "Mila, we'll wait below your dormitory for you!"
In fact, Gerald could tell that Mila did not feel like going at all.
However, Mila could tell that everyone was very excited to go there and Victor had just had a clash with Gerald because of her.
Therefore, she could not bring herself to turn down his invitation.
Mila nodded slightly.
"Okay, I will drive! See you guys there!"
Victor was very excited that his strategy to ask Mila out seemed to have succeeded. Therefore, he glanced at Gerald before he walked out of the auditorium.
Whitney turned and looked at Gerald before she said, "What are you looking at, Gerald? Do you really think that you are invited to join us for lunch too? Let me tell you, your subsidy isn't confirmed yet! You'd better stay back and make sure you clean up this auditorium properly! Otherwise, I'll make sure to teach you a lesson when I return!"
Gerald kept quiet as Victor and Whitney continued taunting him in tandem.
In fact, he was very angry at this time.
However, he knew that he would not gain anything from losing his temper and he would only be giving Victor the opportunity to beat him up.
It was really unwise to ask for a beating. Therefore, Gerald decided to just let it go.
"Come on, Mila! Let's enjoy the ride in Victor's new Audi A6 later!"
Whitney pulled Mila out of the auditorium after glaring at Gerald with a contemptuous expression on her face.
The other people also walked out of the auditorium, one after the other.
They would definitely not be able to get there in one car so Gerald couldn't help but wonder how they would be getting there.
Gerald thought to himself as he cleaned up the mess that they had left behind.
Should he get a car too?
He continued thinking to himself.
When Gerald was done cleaning up the auditorium, it was almost noon.
At this time, Gerald suddenly received an incoming phone call.
It was a phone call from Harper, the head of his dormitory.
"Gerald, are you done cleaning up the auditorium?"
Gerald nodded. "Yes."
"Is Whitney crazy? We've already discussed this matter among ourselves and we've decided that if she dares reject your subsidy application, we'll bring this matter up to the chancellor!"
Gerald felt warmth in his heart as he said, "Thank you for looking out for me!"
"Gerald, if you're free, come and join us for lunch!"
Harper invited Gerald for lunch but Gerald could hear the sudden change in his tone.
It sounded as though Harper was a little embarrassed.
Gerald was so close to Harper and he naturally knew that there was something amiss. This man was usually very manly, so why did he sound so embarrassed and shy today?
"Will there be anyone else joining us today?" Gerald could not help but asked with a weary smile on his face.
"Bingo! Gerald, do you remember the girl named Hayley who was with Alice at Naomi's birthday party last night?"
All the girls from Alice's dormitories attended Naomi's birthday celebration last night.
Gerald had a vague impression of Hayley Ians. She had short hair and she looked very cute and petite.
However, her character and personality was similar to Alice's.
She kept rolling her eyes at Gerald last night even though she did not say anything at all.
"Yes, I know who she is. Why? Did you ask her out?" Gerald asked with a surprised expression on his face.
"Well, I was heading back to the dormitory after class today when I ran into her. She lost her cell phone in the cafeteria and I offered to help her look for it. Fortunately, I'm quite familiar with some of the workers in the cafeteria. After checking out the CCTV and looking around the cafeteria, we finally found her cell phone!"
"I felt that it was fate because I was actually pretty interested in her when I met her last night. Therefore, I mustered up the courage to ask her out for lunch with me and my friends today. She agreed immediately!"
Harper was extremely excited over the other end of the line.
To be honest, Gerald was very happy for Harper when he heard his words.
However, Gerald really didn't feel like going out with Alice and her friends.
He simply couldn't tolerate them rolling their eyes at him!
"That's great, brother! I wish you all the best! I think I'll just skip lunch because I don't want to be a light bulb!" Gerald replied as he laughed.
"Damn it! How could you do this to me, Gerald? All our brothers have already agreed to come with me. Moreover, Naomi will also be there today! It seems as though Naomi is going to introduce someone very important to you today. If you seize this opportunity and make the most out of it, you might be able to turn your life around in an instant!"
Harper was also very concerned about Gerald.
"A very important person?"
Gerald could not help but think to himself, 'Damn it. Don't tell me that Alice will also be there today?'