The Secretly Rich Man

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 561

“Lolita?” said Gerald as he couldn’t help but smile.

He treated the girl like a younger sister. Lolita grew up with both Gerald and Xeno. She was also somewhat related to Xeno’s family.

Unlike Gerald and Xeno, Lolita had a pretty good family background. Her family owned a shop in town, specializing in making cakes and snacks. Because of that, she usually lived in town, rarely ever coming home.

Since Gerald and Xeno were still paupers who couldn’t even afford any good clothes back then, Lolita rarely played with both of them.

She didn’t talk to them much either, even though they were all classmates from the same elementary school. In short, there wasn’t much interaction between the two boys and her at all. One could say that it was similar to Gerald’s relationship with Queeny.

Unlike Queeny, however, they started interacting and forming a friendship late in junior high school.

In their first and second grade, Lolita coincidentally continued to share the same class with Gerald and Xeno. Even then, both parties still rarely interacted.

Things changed, however, when they were in their third grade.

Lolita had gotten into a fight with another girl then, and it was a huge one.

After school that day, Lolita’s way home was blocked by several ruffians from the same grade. The girl had ordered them to give Lolita some trouble to teach her a lesson.

However, Gerald and Xeno had seen what they were up to, and they led Lolita away from them.

Though Gerald was still a nobody back then, Xeno was famous for his fights at school.

When the group of ruffians saw him, they didn’t dare to do anything to the trio. In short, they had saved Lolita from a world of trouble that day.

From that day onwards, Lolita treated both Gerald and Xeno nicely, and they became friends just like that.

She would always secretly buy cigarettes for Xeno. As for Gerald, she would bring him cakes and pastries.

When they reached the age of high school, Lolita found that she had been admitted into the Third High School. It was considered to be the worst high school in the county.

Since none of them had cell phones when they were in high school, they couldn’t keep in constant contact with each other. They would only get a chance to get together and chat during New Year.

“When did you get back? Why didn’t you send me a text message or something?” complained Lolita.

“I’ve just been back for a few days! I’ve been wandering around town and the county. To be honest, I was just about to ask Xeno for your phone number!” replied Gerald as he smiled.

He wasn’t lying about that either. After all, he was planning to invite her over to celebrate his birthday with him too.

“Humph! Well at least you haven’t forgotten about me yet! By the way, aren’t you up to date with the messages in our junior high school class group chat? …Actually, wait. I don’t think you’re in it. But either way, today’s Chase’s birthday! He’s said that he wanted all our old classmates to get together since we haven’t met each other in such a long time.”

“Since he was going to host a birthday celebration anyway, he decided to make it a class gathering as well to kill two birds with one stone! Even our junior high school class teacher and English teacher will be attending today. Will you join us?” asked Lolita.

“Mr. Weiss will be attending as well? Hasn’t he already retired this year?” asked Gerald as he tried to recall who Chase was.

Though he had trouble remembering who the classmate was, Gerald could easily remember his class teacher, Mr. Carson Weiss. In fact, the memory of his teacher was very clear.

Mr. Weiss had been a particularly kind teacher who taught him the Weston dialect.

Back then, Gerald had a very difficult time at home and he couldn’t even afford to pay for his own textbooks. Mr. Weiss had always been there to help him, even going so far as to pay for Gerald’s textbook with his own money.

Gerald could still remember those scenes clearly in his mind.

In his first two years of university, Gerald would live a frugal lifestyle just so that he could save up some money. When he returned to his hometown for the New Year’s, regardless of how expensive it was, he would always bring some gifts with him whenever he visited Mr. Weiss. In the past two years, however, Gerald found it hard to even afford to pay for his own tuition fees. He was in such a destitute state back then that he couldn’t even visit Mr. Weiss at all.

“I heard that Mr. Weiss fell critically ill last year… Is he doing alright now?” asked Gerald.

“He’s recovered from that a long time ago. How else could he possibly have agreed to attend Chase’s birthday celebration today?”

“Actually, stop asking so many questions! You’ll be able to ask him personally when you meet him face to face later! He’s always thought very highly of you and Xeno, even from back then! He’ll definitely be very pleased to see you today. Though we’ve arranged to meet up at eight, you can bet that Mr. Weiss will definitely come earlier than that just so that he can chat more with us!”

“That’s great to hear! However, I don’t think I’ll be able to participate in the gathering,” said Gerald somewhat embarrassedly.

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 562

“Oh? Are you busy or something? Oh! Don’t worry, it’ll be Chase’s treat today! Even if we have to settle our own bills, I’ll back you up, alright?” said Lolita as she assumed Gerald’s worries.

Naturally, it wasn’t about monetary issues. It was just that Gerald still had to celebrate his own birthday today!

Even if Gerald turned her invitation down, it wouldn’t matter much to Lolita. However, since he now knew that Mr. Weiss would be attending as well, he couldn’t help but feel like he would be letting his ex-teacher down if he didn’t join the gathering.

“No, it’s not about the money… In all honesty, I was originally planning to invite you to celebrate my birthday with me today! But since you’ve mentioned Mr. Weiss, how about this? I’ll just go along with you to have a brief chat with him. After that, I’ll return and get back to my own celebration!” replied Gerald.

“…Oh? It’s your birthday today? Well this is embarrassing! Alright, I think your plan sounds good. We’ll go there, have a chat with Mr. Weiss and the rest of our classmates, then we’ll leave together and celebrate your birthday! What about Xeno? Have you already invited him?” asked Lolita.

“I have, but he’s told me that he can only come over at noon. His business is still new after all, and he hasn’t had the time to hire more employees yet. He has to deal with so many things!”

“Alright! And yeah, he’s really impressive now! Though my dad used to look down on his family, he personally brought some gifts over to them yesterday!” replied Lolita, slightly enviously.

Gerald simply nodded without adding anything to that.

By the time their plans were finalized, it was nearing eight o’clock.

Both of them then rushed to the designated restaurant in town. Since Gerald lived in the main village, the main street in town was within walking distance.

Meanwhile, several of their former junior high classmates were already at the restaurant’s entrance.

They were all gathered together as they chatted among themselves. After all, wasn’t this the purpose of all class reunions? Meetings like these would always be very cordial.

The contents of their conversations mostly regarded their current status quos as well as ample reminiscing of their shared pasts.

“Look there! Lolita’s here!” said a few classmates as they pointed toward her and Gerald.

“…Huh? That’s Gerald right? Well d*mn! I didn’t think that he’d be here today!”

“Hahaha! I know right? I thought he had already disappeared off the face of the earth. Nobody would have expected to see him here today!”

“You know, I heard some news that Gerald lived a miserable life in university. He was even struggling to pay for his own tuition fees! Another friend of mine told me that when he was having a meal with his own friend in Mayberry City, he saw Gerald washing the dishes in the kitchen! It was too embarrassing for him to even go up to Gerald and say hello!”

“Heh, he’s always been poor after all. He doesn’t really have a choice but to take on any jobs he can find!”

When everyone saw Gerald, he immediately became the main topic of their conversations and they simply laughed.

Within the group, one of the girls clearly stood out among her other classmates due to her outstanding temperament. She was just chatting with her friends when she heard Gerald’s name being mentioned.

She immediately felt goosebumps on her skin as she blushed and turned to look at Gerald who was still walking over.

“Hehe… You used to be in a relationship with Gerald, right Sherry? Don’t even try to deny that both of you used to date!” said one of the girls as she covered her mouth with a hand, trying not to laugh.

“Don’t go spouting nonsense! When were we ever in a relationship?” replied Sherry as her cheeks became as red as tomatoes.

“Both of you were definitely in a relationship at one point. I can still remember you exchanging letters with him! You used to be very close to Gerald!” added the same girl from before.

“That’s not true…!” replied Sherry in a softer tone.

“Sherry, don’t you remember why Xeno beat someone up…? Hehe… Anyway, let’s forget about that. Let’s just talk about something else!”

Realizing that she had almost stepped on a landmine, the girl quickly tried to change the topic as she stuck her tongue out rather awkwardly.

“By the way, are you still seeing the guy who tried to beat Gerald up back then?” asked another girl.

“We’ve stopped seeing each other a long time ago…” replied Sherry as she blushed.

After saying that, she turned to look at Gerald again. She hadn’t met him for the past six years.

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 563

When Gerald was finally close enough, he started greeting the classmates who came over to say hello to him.

He also saw Sherry, and Gerald couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed as well.

After all, both of them had dated before in the past. Though they technically hadn’t truly dated, the relationship they shared back then was similar enough to dating.

In short, it had been quite an ambiguous relationship.

Sherry had also been the reason why Yale, the school bully, set his eyes on Gerald in the first place.

Everyone knew what happened next. In the end, Sherry got together with Yale.

Gerald had earlier wondered whether she would be here at the gathering as well.

It would be extremely awkward and embarrassing to meet her today. After all, he hated her. He hated her a lot.

Though Xeno and Gerald had done everything because of her, she still decided to be with their rival instead.

Xeno lost his opportunity to continue studying. And it was all because of her.

How couldn’t it be awkward for Gerald? He wasn’t even sure what kind of attitude he should show toward her at this point!

Even though they had been quite close to each other before that incident, both of them completely stopped talking to each other after it happened.

Should Gerald strive to take revenge on her?

realized that it was her own choice to be with him in the end. That had nothing to do

he really wanted to settle the score, he should look for

up, he simply decided to ignore

quite ruthless. Gerald didn’t even bother to come over and say hello to you at all! By the way, Sherry, doesn’t Gerald seem to have a pretty good temperament now? What more, he’s dressed so well now!

but feel slightly uncomfortable when she heard someone else praising Gerald. It felt as though someone had just landed a mental

one who had dumped him. If he was truly living a better life now, of course she would feel

pretty

teacher and Miss Yahn are here!” shouted

restaurant’s entrance. As the back door opened, an old man in his sixties stepped out. It was Mr. Weiss

the age of twenty-seven. She was equally mature, sexy, and beautiful. Bearing a very good temperament herself, the woman in question was Kristen

she taught them, she had just graduated from university at the age of twenty-two. She was a replacement teacher

and youth, she got along easily with her

toward her. He didn’t

he saw Mr. Weiss however, he immediately ran

you! Why didn’t you come visit me in

Mr. Weiss saw Gerald, his wrinkled face was immediately filled with joy. As he spoke, he

of both Gerald and Xeno in the past, and Gerald had never

then quickly explained why he hadn’t been

working as now? Why’re you dressed so pretentiously?” said Kirsten as she skimmed a glance at Gerald. She had

him and Gerald. Though Gerald hadn’t been directly involved with it, the friend of her

was his own fault for

would consistently make things difficult for both Xeno and Gerald who were simply

her earlier. After hearing her remark, he simply looked

“Gerald, you’re an adult now so you can drink alcohol! Why don’t we

“Mr. Weiss, wait…”

Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or

Gerald was about to say something, he was promptly cut off by another

giving me a lot of face for attending! I’ve already made all the necessary arrangements

Weiss and Kristen. With a smile on his face, he walked over to both of them before saying, “Mr. Weiss! Miss Yahn! Welcome, let’s go

Gerald so

here. Can’t you see that our class teacher is already here?”

beside him, Chase

their classmates were taken aback when they saw this, and this included

was apparently in

get more awkward the longer he stayed

now because Mr.

Weiss about

room, the

topic shared by most of the conversations, was

the

finished high school. He had learned about the ins and

wealth to buy himself two big trucks. Now, he’s started his

peers in the county, he was definitely doing very well. It was no wonder why Sherry

a blessing for Sherry to be able to be together with Chase now. She must be enjoying the life of a lady boss now!

I guess that’s why she’s

the classmates were talking about

the way, Gerald, what are you doing now?” asked Chase out of

and Gerald didn’t have many notable interactions back in junior high,

for a boyfriend to express hate toward his girlfriend’s ex, and this was exactly what Chase was

Seeing

was looking at Gerald as

just doing my own business!” replied

Oh god, Gerald’s actually started his

few female classmates immediately burst out

business are you running? Are you

same? Gerald, it’s not like we’re trying to put you down, but you should

one who asked that question. She then sneered before adding, “I’m not trying to pick a bone with you or Xeno, but even though both of you have really good grades, the two of you are at the bottom of society! Do you know why? It’s because both of you have no connections. You even

her sentence as she

now. He’s opened his own large automobile trading

He was really lucky since the Dream Investment Group decided to invest

couldn’t help

their capital and investment! When

which, Chase, didn’t you inform Xeno about the gathering today?” asked Mr. Weiss quickly to change the subject, sensing the awkwardness in the

No I didn’t! I don’t really keep in touch with him,”

your attention now, Chase! You’re actually not the only one celebrating your birthday today! You share the same birthday with another of our classmates!” said one of the

Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest)

classmate is celebrating their birthday today too?” asked Chase as he smiled with a slightly raised

back to Xeno, when I told him about the celebration, Xeno told me that he wasn’t free to attend

pretty honest and straightforward

wasn’t cut out for studying, he immediately started working for his

now

us it was your birthday today too, Kirk? Well

it’s your birthday today too! Everyone, let’s add Kirk on WeChat so that we can each give him a

their classmates, the crowd

I was your age, I had to prepare my own gifts to

We can just send red envelopes to settle everything! From birthdays, to wedding celebrations!” replied the girls as they

Kirk!

you so much, everyone! I really hadn’t expected

all his classmates, Kirk was feeling extremely flattered. He kept thanking them over

birth date, someone else does as well! Have you all already forgotten who else used to celebrate his birthday on the same day as Chase

Nobody really

the classmates

is today too! He’s always celebrated his birthday on the same day as Chase. Three

“Oh, so it’s Gerald!”

nodded to acknowledge that they

there’s going to be some activities in Fuenti later in the afternoon. Let’s go over there and have some fun!

don’t we all go there to enjoy ourselves

to agree

later in the afternoon too! Now let’s see if we have enough space to carpool everyone to save on

was done and there were just enough

found that one extra person wouldn’t be able

awkward! There’s one person left and it really isn’t worth renting a cab just for a single person!” said

before saying, “If that’s the case, then Gerald shouldn’t join us. He has his business to attend to anyway, so if he comes along, we’ll only be stopping him from doing his work!”

right. I think Gerald shouldn’t come along

to invite you over to my own birthday banquet today, but it seems that that idea would be inconvenient now. I’ll come meet you in the next two days. I’ll be

on now if you’re busy!” said Mr. Weiss who knew that everyone was ridiculing and making fun of Gerald. He was aware that it would only continue to become more difficult for Gerald

Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel

and she nodded before

Mr. Weiss? What a load of bullshit! What about us?

just because we didn’t wish you a happy

It’s not that I don’t want to wish you a happy birthday through Line, but I really don’t want your number on my phone in

“D*mn! Roasted!”

that, everyone began laughing. Laughing at him seemed to be their

be the bigger person and just left

as she watched them leave. Throughout the gathering, she had been watching Gerald the entire time. She felt that Gerald

Did you hear what they said? Even Miss Yahn is still on to you! If I wasn’t this

waste your energy on them!” said Gerald as he continued pulling Lolita’s

minutes later, both of them reached their

you want me to cook for you? Just so you know, I’m pretty

self-esteem was now in shambles. She took the blame personally since she was the one who had invited him to the gathering. She then continued, “Let’s just forget

old days indeed!” replied Gerald with a smile. “However, I won’t be celebrating my birthday at

mean just the hotel!” said Lolita in a slight panic just thinking about it. “How could you even have managed to make a reservation

place either. From what Gerald had expected, there wouldn’t be any more than thirty people attending his birthday celebration. However, Zack could have

let’s go, it’s already eight! We

we get there? Fuenti’s quite far away from here!” asked Lolita

ride’s in that alley over there. I’ll drive it out and then we can go pick up the Winters!” said Gerald as he shook

Lolita was left utterly shocked when she

A6? Is this your car, Gerald?” asked Lolita,

mine in the hotel when we get there!” replied Gerald with a smile. He

Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible

in the car as they headed for Fuenti. It

hawkers had congregated at Sunny Springs’s entrance. After all,

lively!’ Gerald thought to

all the way to the hotel, and dozens of employees

of hosting something on such a grand scale. It

manage to make a reservation, Gerald? It’s impossible for me to even

right, sonny! Let’s just find a nice little diner to celebrate. Better yet, your momma could cook

worry about any of that, we’ll still be celebrating here!” said Gerald with a

nothing to hide anymore. The celebration was made for him, and him alone.

you doing here?” asked

Francis! You didn’t tell us that your grandparents were coming! We could’ve told the employees to let them in. We only got in because of our leader too!” said one of

as you said, we’re only here because of our leader. It’s not like we’re here for work, but could we even ask for something like that? Since my parents

here to celebrate Gerald’s birthday. Speaking of which, where are your parents now?” asked Mr. Winters

Then why are all of you even here? This

his grandparents were. To him, Gerald had brought the two of them—who were both obviously clueless—over despite knowing full well

here?” asked Boss, his annoyance reflected in his tone. All of a sudden, the entire family seemed to

it was a celebration for some powerful figure. Not only was the celebration being hosted in the

was also the perfect opportunity for them to expand their network. This

as he explained the situation to the rest

you! As if someone like you could ever celebrate your birthday here!” said Sandrilla as