Chapter 12 Class Reunion
The woman with sunglasses chimed in mockingly, "Did you hear that? You should go far away. There's a McDonald's across the street. That's where you belong!"
Ryder furrowed his brow. Wasn't this harassment going too far?
Just as he was about to retort, a familiar and disdainful voice sounded, "Ryder, what are you doing here?"
Hearing the voice, Ryder looked over and saw Tim walking out of the restaurant.
Only then did Ryder remember that Tim had sent a message in the group chat earlier, saying that he would treat their classmates to dinner at The Pint House tonight.
What a coincidence to run into each other again!
Tim approached Ryder and frowned, admonishing him, "The company policy states that work ends at six o’clock. It’s not even six yet, and you’ve sneaked out. You just got introduced to the job, and you're already leaving early. What audacity!"
Ryder was speechless.
He thought to himself that this guy really knew how to put on a show!
Since that's the case, he decided to play along with him and see how he acted all high and mighty.
So he retorted, "If work ends at six, did you take leave to come early?"
Tim looked down on Ryder arrogantly and said, "I have the privilege to come early."
"I’m in charge of personnel. So what if I don't take leave? I command you to go back to the company and quickly write a self-criticism. Otherwise, I will deduct your salary!"
At this moment, the woman wearing sunglasses took them off and said mockingly, "I thought this person looked familiar. So it's that underwear thief, Ryder!"
"Harper?" Ryder was slightly stunned.
Harper Taylor was the artistic committee member in his high school class, and both her figure and appearance were good. In high school, she smoked, fought, had tattoos, and dated outsiders. In the senior year's physical examination, she was even found to have been pregnant before. But even with all that, she had a much better reputation at school compared to Ryder.
Because Harper had injected so much hyaluronic acid into her face and was wearing sunglasses, Ryder failed to recognize her.
"No wonder it's you. After all these years, your temper is still so bad!" Ryder couldn't help muttering.
Harper glared, "What did you say? Do you believe that I can find some people to deal with you?"
Tim intervened, "Harper, why bother with this kind of waste? Our classmates are all waiting inside to see how the class beauty has changed!"
Harper pretended to be shy and playfully slapped Tim. "What class beauty? I'm already an auntie!"
Although she said that, the proud smile on her face couldn't stop.
"If you're an auntie, then there are no young girls left in this world!" Tim deliberately leaned close to Harper and brushed her waist with his arm.
She didn't refuse and twisted her waist with a seductive glance.
Suddenly, Harper thought of something, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. She said to Tim, "Since it's a class reunion, why not bring him in too?"
Tim hesitated a bit.
To be honest, he didn't want to bring Ryder in.
Firstly, the Whatsapp incident in the morning was caused by Ryder, and he was worried that someone might bring it up and cause trouble later.
Secondly, he had already spent quite a bit of money today to impress his classmates with a meal, and if he brought Ryder in, it would be an additional expense.
Harper deliberately rubbed Tim's arm, coquettishly saying, "As the class monitor, you're so generous. Don't you want our classmates to witness the 'charisma' of our old classmate?"
Tim squinted his eyes and enjoyed her affection.
After a moment of thought, he realized that bringing Ryder in and mocking him would enhance his own success. It wouldn't be a loss!
He turned to Ryder and said, "Consider yourself lucky. Write the self-criticism tomorrow. For now, come inside with me to mingle and have a meal."
Harper also spoke up, "What are you still standing around for? If you don't come in, you'll embarrass us in front of our classmates!"
"Fine, I'll go in!" Ryder actually wanted to see what tricks they were up to.
He followed Tim and Harper into the restaurant.
As they walked past the entrance of the restaurant, Ryder clearly heard a receptionist sneer, "Poor people would go to any banquet. They have no shame."
Ryder didn't bother to argue.
He took out his phone and called Sophie.
A group of three people arrived at a private room on the second floor.
Tim pushed open the door and shouted, "Guess who's here, everyone?"
Inside the private room were ten classmates, six boys and four girls.
When the boys saw Harper, they immediately stood up and showered her with compliments and praises.
Mostly about her good figure and how she had become more and more beautiful.
Two boys even whistled.
The girls looked at her with envy written all over their faces.
Harper thoroughly enjoyed this atmosphere, acting like a proud little peacock as she walked over and sat down, swaying her hips.
Then, one classmate suddenly asked, "Isn't that Ryder at the entrance? Why did he come along?"
This sentence caught everyone's attention, and they started to complain:
"Seeing someone like him, I suddenly lost my appetite!"
"I heard his sister needs surgery and she is in the hospital. He probably came here today to borrow money!"
"We have to be vigilant and keep an eye on our wallets. If he can't borrow any money, he might steal. He was a thief back in high school!"
"Yeah, he even stole girls' underwear. Such a perverted guy!"
Everyone freely discussed these matters. The people present there heard everything clearly.
Tim listened and felt relieved, but he maintained a gentlemanly appearance and raised his hand to signal, "Please, let's not say such things any more. After all, we were classmates. We can't just ignore Ryder if he's fallen to the bottom of society. I just happened to arrange a job for him at our company today, so I brought him along for a meal."
A female classmate asked, "What job did you arrange for Ryder?"
Tim said loudly, "Cleaning the toilets, two thousand dollars a month!"
Everyone burst into laughter, holding their stomachs. "Haha, cleaning toilets really suits him!"
"Two thousand dollars a month? That's such a huge salary. It's not enough for me to buy cosmetics even for a month!"
However, at this moment, a girl suddenly interrupted the mocking from everyone, saying, "Can you all please stop? We're here for a class reunion. Is it fun to make fun of others?"
The girl who spoke had beautiful features, a wheatish skin tone, and was dressed casually in jeans which concealed her perfect figure. She was over 1.7 meters tall.
Her shiny black hair reached her shoulders, and she exuded a unique elegance.
Lily Turner!
Ryder's high school classmate.
The biggest impression Ryder had of her was her athletic abilities back then, with her short hair and a carefree personality like a tomboy.
When someone pursued her, they ended up being beaten and crying. She was known as the Queen Bee of Houston High School!
Because of that, many boys would avoid her in school.
But at that time, Ryder had a good relationship with her. Especially when Ryder was wrongly accused of stealing money and underwear, Lily was the only one who stood up for him.
However, not long after that, she somehow decided to transfer schools for reasons unknown. They never contacted each other again.
Never did they expect that after all these years, Lily would undergo such a drastic change and become a stunning beauty!
With Lily's words, many classmates looked away.
The sneering ceased, indicating that Ryder was still somewhat influential as the reigning queen of Houston High defended him. Although nobody mocked Ryder, no one welcomed her either, so he didn't have a seat next to them. In the end, Lily took the initiative to let Ryder sit beside her.
As everyone took their seats, they began discussing various topics.
Among the male students, the conversation was led by Tim, mostly about work, salary, and acquaintances with important figures.
The female students, led by Harper, mostly discussed makeup, buying handbags, and which sister had a wealthy boyfriend.
This so-called class reunion was nothing more than a show-off competition. Ryder didn't join their conversation. Instead, he chatted with Lily privately.
Ryder noticed that the tomboy who used to be so lively and energetic had now become more ladylike.
However, her personality remained unchanged, with an aversion to evil and disdain towards Ryder's classmates.
Several male classmates tried to get close to her, but they were all met with Lily's scornful eyes.
Seeing this, Ryder could only smile and comfort her to stay calm. Soon after, the homeroom teacher, Teacher Blair, arrived.
Greetings were exchanged between the teacher and students, and small talk ensued. Ryder stood up and politely greeted Teacher Blair.
However, the teacher completely ignored him. As a result, Ryder became the target of ridicule once again by his classmates.
After another ten minutes, the door to the private room was pushed open, and a woman rushed in hurriedly.
She wore a white dress and had a stunning presence. She looked beautiful.
"Sorry for being late, there was some traffic on the way!"
Upon seeing this woman, Ryder's gaze froze.
The person who had walked in was none other than Charlotte Thompson, his high school desk mate and former class flower with whom he had a brief romantic interest that ended with a misunderstanding.
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