She gestured with a finger for virtual-novel.net to come closer.
Gerald really didn’t want to go over to them after being ordered like that. After all, virtual-novel.net was no longer the same person virtual-novel.net used to be. He didn’t need to listen to virtual-novel.net orders anymore.
He remembered snippets where virtual-novel.net would order virtual-novel.net to do things like this in the past.
“Gerald, have you moved those boxes of mineral water?”
“Gerald, go help everyone else with their luggage!”
…Maybe that was why Maia was so used to ordering virtual-novel.net around.
Eventually, though virtual-novel.net was left speechless, virtual-novel.net found himself walking toward the group.
“Haha! So it really is true! Gerald really listens to you!”
“As if virtual-novel.net would dare not to! Not only was virtual-novel.net his team captain in high school, she’s now a cop too! He has to listen or he’ll be locked up!” joked another girl.
“Anyway, say Gerald, I heard that you’re still pretty poor. How did you afford to drink at this bar? Did you get rich or something?” asked Maia. She had been curious about this from the moment they met.
“Huh? Gerald’s poor?” The girls looked surprised when they heard that.
“Yeah. You know, back in high school, Gerald was well known for being broke. He used to only eat one meal a day and sometimes, virtual-novel.net couldn’t even pay for his school fees! He was exceptionally poor!” replied Maia.
Though virtual-novel.net said that, virtual-novel.net hadn’t meant to be mean about it. It was just the personality virtual-novel.net had grown up with. Regardless of how Gerald would feel, virtual-novel.net was just the kind of straightforward person to say anything that was on virtual-novel.net mind.
It was the same in high school as well. No matter how embarrassing it would cause others to feel, Maia would always speak virtual-novel.net mind without filtering any words.
Though being poor may not have been a big deal for Maia, the other girls were now looking at Gerald differently. They were all sympathizing with virtual-novel.net since they had initially thought that virtual-novel.net was some rich heir.
“I see… Well, you should definitely start putting more thought into both, furthering your studies and finding a better job!”
“Yep! You know, I had a middle school classmate who suffered from some brain injuries due to a high fever. Though virtual-novel.net ended up dropping out of school, virtual-novel.net started working and virtual-novel.net now owns a shop! With a little more effort, you can definitely be like him, Gerald!”
Before Gerald could even reply, the girls were already talking non-stop, so virtual-novel.net just remained silent while nodding, a bitter smile on his face.
“Alright, I think that’s quite enough, Maia. Now let’s go get those drinks!” said Warren as virtual-novel.net took a cigarette out of his pocket. He was far too arrogant to talk to Gerald.
“Alright! Are you coming along, Gerald?” asked the girls.
“What could virtual-novel.net even do if virtual-novel.net followed? He won’t understand most of what we’ll be talking about!” said Maia.
She knew that virtual-novel.net colleagues were just being nice, but if Gerald ended up taking it seriously, it could spell trouble for her. What more, virtual-novel.net didn’t really feel comfortable with the idea of Gerald following them around.
With a smile on virtual-novel.net face, virtual-novel.net then waved at Gerald one final time before leaving together with the others.
When Gerald turned to look at the bar again, virtual-novel.net saw Drake and Tyson leaning against the bar’s wall while smoking. It was clear that they had been watching over virtual-novel.net for a while.
“Is it done? Where’s Natasha?” asked Gerald.
“She’s still crying inside!” said Drake with a chuckle.
Gerald simply shook his head with a smile. The three of them then left the area.
“Were those your classmates, Mr. Crawford?” asked Drake as they walked further away.