“I haven’t gone anywhere. I stayed back in Waltz City,” Zayn replied evenly. “Ah, is that so? We haven’t seen each other for such a long time, and I can see that you’ve grown much taller. I remember you used to be a shorty standing at the height of my chest in the past, hahaha.”Shepherd began ridiculing Zayn with a jesting expression on his face. He assumed that he was very good at judging others and he could tell at one glance now that Zayn had certainly been doing poorly over the years. In fact, Zayn was even a goner一that was why he was dressed so shabbily when attending a reunion like this. Zayn furrowed his brows ever so slightly. He came to the reunion today with anticipation and joy. He was planning on having a good time reminiscing about the good old days with his friends and was even looking to help out the friends who were facing difficulties in life. He did not expect meeting the class president would put him in a foul mood. When they were in junior high, Zayn was not
“Hey… Aren’t you—Zayn Larson?” One of the women cried out curiously.“Zayn Larson—oh, I remember now! The laureate of our humble little class!”“Yo, are my eyes playing tricks on me? Zayn Larson is here? I thought he went abroad!”“Hey, wait a sec… Isn’t Larson a son of the ultra-rich? The hell is he doing wearing something like that?”As soon as the crowd noticed him, a new wave of discussion filled the hall. They began chattering and commenting amongst themselves as they gathered around him. It did not take long for them to notice how shabby the man’s clothes were—he was without an expensive watch, or a golden necklace, or any other accessories that gave a nod to his wealth. Zayn looked like a poor NPC, and that fact was even more amplified when compared to the other guests and their shiny, dazzling showboating.Shepard jostled Zayn from behind in an attempt to push him deeper into the crowd. “Don’t just stand there like a mouth-breather! Say hi to your old friends! Look, they’r
Shepard froze. He was at a loss for words. Zayn was right! The man had done nothing except standing there, with not a finger laid on Shepard himself. It really was his own doing that made him fall.Shepard was sure that Zayn knew, though. He must have done this on purpose to embarrass him! Heck, he could see the contempt and disdain in Zayn’s eyes already! It was very infuriating—he swore he was going to get back on him later!The other onlookers began to approach them, with two of the men helping Shepard up to his feet, looking at him questioningly. “The hell’s wrong with you, Day? That was one nasty fall, man.”“Bruh, did you come here completely wasted already?”Shepard was hard-pressed to even answer them—he had no idea how to articulate the annoyance and embarrassment. In the end, he could only shoot Zayn a glare; it was the most he could do as a warning this time, seeing he was in no position to shout at him.Zayn smirked in disdain and disregarded his threat completely.Th
A woman who was covered in luxurious accoutrements from head to toe approached them with a look of scorn.“You’re joking, right, Lola? He’s a trust-fund kid! Y’know, with rich-*ss parents and whatnot? There’s no way someone like that would be coming here with a scooter like some broke *ss. You’re joking!”“Yea, I ain’t falling for this one, mate. Zayn was the richest guy in class back then! He came to school in his luxury car driven by his butler like he’s the goddamned son of Bruce Wayne! He’s 100% a different class from us peasants.”“But! But, hear me out, it’s not like family wealth could go on forever, right? There are a boatload of rich social elites folding their businesses because they couldn’t run it. Some even managed to spend all of their fortune and inheritance within a few years!”The crowd was quite taken aback by Lola’s words. Their discussion went on, the participants seemingly defending Zayn out of good faith, but it became clear from their tone that they were gloa
Fortunately, Kaiser’s attitude did not fluctuate at all. Zayn’s apparent downfall was undeserving of a call for his contempt. Still, it was strange to not find Kaiser or Roxanne Harrison after scanning the venue. Were those two not the first ones to arrive? Where were they, then?Just then, he heard shuffling footsteps echoing from outside, followed by an explosion of fanfare out of the venue’s usherettes. He turned to the source and immediately found himself staring at Kaiser and Roxanne, who were walking toward the interior with a group of bodyguards flanking them.“Look! It’s Roxanne!”“Oh my God! Now that’s Ms. Harrison to you! She’s getting more beautiful by the year! I swear she looks like one of these really gorgeous stars on the big screen! Whoever gets to date that fine, bodacious chick is gonna be the luckiest bastard in the world!”“Uh, duh! As if Roxanne isn’t the CEO of several companies with her net-worth climbing to the millions! She’s a goddamn powerhouse who shatte
There was no doubt that all eyes were on Roxanne tonight. Her movements were regaled with rapt attention from all of the guests.Working under Roxanne for years had fostered a deep-seated deference in Kaiser’s bones. As soon as he saw the young woman approaching them, he leaped out of his comfortable, lazy recline and stood tall before bidding her a greeting.Roxanne scanned Zayn nonchalantly before flashing him a smile. “Zayn Larson! It’s been a while.”The bystanders were noticeably behooved by her apparent act of courtesy. Words about her arrogance preceded her, and there were tales of her conceit magnified as her business became booming. And yet, here she was, the infamous diva greeting Zayn by her own accord.It was out of her character to do so, unless—her old flames for Zayn had not been put off after all.How lucky of him. How very, very lucky of him to have attracted the attention of someone so above. They would have done anything for fortune like that! She was a rising,
Roxanne’s remark caused a wave of envy to flood the room, and it was all directed at Zayn. What did Zayn do to deserve such good luck, huh? How did he manage to gain the favoritism of Roxanne?Shepherd could not bear to listen anymore so he hastily walked over and said, “Roxanne, stop mocking Zayn. Look at him, does he look like a business owner? Moreover, he came to the reunion tonight on an electric scooter, I bet he makes a few hundred bucks a month only, hah-hah.”He spoke so loudly with an expression that made him look like he was joking. In reality, he was humiliating Zayn and it made everyone at the scene sneer at Zayn upon hearing that. The corners of Roxanne’s lips curled up ever so slightly as well into a smile.The more Zayn was there, the more disappointed he was at them. He had not expected that the old friends from his past would turn into these snobbish people. He could not be bothered to pay attention to them anymore so he said to Kaiser right away, “Kaiser, I stil
Kaiser was so agitated that he lost his temper. His entire face was flushed with anger. The sight of him was terrifying. On the other hand, his reaction scared numerous people indeed. It was because he assumed an inferior mannerism over the years. Even though he was working a proper job, he worked as Roxanne’s chauffeur. As time passed, everyone took him lightly and assumed that he was just a driver and that he was on a different level as compared to the rest of them. In addition, Kaiser did behave inferiorly. He would alway handle the chores during the reunion usually and everyone was used to him acting like a lowly servant. They had never expected that he would lose his temper like this and had the audacity to shout at them. On the other hand, Zayn was stunned as well. He looked at Kaiser in a daze. Frankly, he felt rather touched in his heart. Kaiser was an old friend to him similarly yet there was such a huge difference between him and Shepherd. It could be said that Kaiser