Chapter 24 Blessed with Wealth and Beauties
Petty was in a terrible mood now. What she wanted to do was to have a big meal, as this was her way to deal with her frustration. She walked towards the cafeteria gloomily.
She would never have a meal in the school cafeteria in the past because she felt that it was too degrading for her. However, Vincent was no longer here to pay her bill. Petty was not from a rich family, and she didn't have enough money to have a good meal outside.
She saw the crowd jostling around noisily when she reached the cafeteria. She couldn't help but frown and muttered in a low voice, "It's so crowded and noisy here. It's so much worse than the restaurants that Vincent treated me to." After ordering her meal with a gloomy face, Petty found a seat. Her gaze incidentally fell on Zachary and Lauren, who were having a meal together happily not far away from her.
Anger welled up within her chest instantly. Recalling what had happened at the entrance of the library just now, Petty's face darkened, and her fury grew.
She slammed the plate on the table, causing a loud bang. Everyone, including Zachary and Lauren, turned around curiously to have a look after hearing the loud noise.
Lauren was a sensitive person. She noticed that Petty was staring at Zachary, who was sitting opposite her, with an ice-cold gaze.
"Zachary, is she your girlfriend? Do you need me to leave now?"
Zachary shook his head and said indifferently, "She's my ex-girlfriend. We do not keep in touch with each other anymore. You don't have to leave, Sister Lim."
After that, both of them looked away from Petty and continued to enjoy their meal, completely ignoring Petty's anger.
The rage in Petty's heart burnt stronger after being ignored. She uttered loudly in a sarcastic tone, "Hey, isn't this Zachary, who has just been interviewed and has become a famous person?" "He's a celebrity now. Why is he having a meal in the cafeteria?"
Zachary buried his head in his meal, completely ignoring her.
"Hey, isn't that Miss Lim? Zachary, you're such a stingy person. How can you treat Miss Lim to a meal at the cafeteria? Others will think that the students of the School of Chinese Medicine are all stingy people if they find out about this." Petty's tone was dripping with venom. Even other students who didn't know her could see that she had a grudge against Zachary.
Lauren frowned slightly and asked Zachary, "Did you offend her?"
"She used to look down on me because I am poor. She broke up with me and got into a relationship with the headmaster's son. Unfortunately, she was dumped by him and she blames me for everything," Zachary said flatly. To a woman like Petty, he didn't even bother to be angry.
"Looking down on the poor and looking up to the rich. I didn't expect such a phenomenon to happen frequently on the campus," Lauren commented.
Seeing that Zachary did not respond, Petty got more agitated. "Miss Lim, you should be careful of this poor and stingy guy. Don't be deceived by him. Your reputation will be affected if you report any false news."
Lauren couldn't bear it anymore. She turned around and said with a smile, "I think you may have a misunderstanding. I was the one who asked Zachary to treat me to a meal in the cafeteria. After all, a cafeteria is a nostalgic place for me since I have graduated a few years ago. Don't you think so?"
"Uh..."
Petty did not expect Lauren to speak out for Zachary. She was rendered speechless. Her face darkened further when she heard the other students gossiping and laughing at her.
Her face turned livid, "Miss Lim is the representative of the TV station, so she was just trying to be polite. But, someone really followed what she said. Others will say that students from the School of Chinese Medicine do not know how to respect others if they find out about this. I'm afraid the reputation of our school will be affected."
"Zachary and I made our decision to dine at the cafeteria privately. I believe it has nothing to do with the TV station or the school," Lauren explained again.
Laughter burst out from the crowd. Petty was stupefied. Bluish-green veins were visible on her forehead. However, she didn't dare to vent her anger on Lauren. She could only continue insulting Zachary.
"Miss Lim, you don't have to speak for him. He is just a poor guy who has no money nor social status. He's just lucky enough to get to know Master Sue and attended his birthday party. He becomes so arrogant after the birthday party. Miss Lim, don't be fooled, he is just a loser. I guess he can't even afford to have a meal in any restaurant outside. He's so poor!" Petty grew more agitated as she spoke.
"Are you not angry at all?" Lauren looked at Zachary and asked softly.
Zachary took a bite of his food and said lightly, "She is just like a puddle of mud. She'll not be hurt if you fight back because she is just a puddle of filthy mud. But, you will get your hands dirty."
Lauren paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes. She couldn't see through the young man in front of her. It was rare to see a youngster so mature and wise.
"You miser! Who did you say is mud? Believe it or not, I'll make you suffer. You're just a poor guy who is good at nothing. You're just dust in my eyes!" Petty continued to insult Zachary.
Out of the blue, a voice sounded from the entrance of the cafeteria. "Is Zachary Ching here?"
Then, a middle-aged man with a big belly entered the cafeteria hastily. He looked around and fixed his gaze on Zachary. He quickened his pace as he walked over.
"Mr. Ching, I have finally found you." The man extended his hands enthusiastically.
"You are..." Looking at the man greeting him eagerly, Zachary got up immediately and shook hands with him.
"Zachary, don't you remember me from the birthday party last night? I am Henric from Ricardo Real Estate," The middle-aged man introduced himself.
Zachary suddenly recalled that Henry was one of the people who got to share the refining ointment. He greeted the man immediately, "Nice to meet you, Director Lee!"
Every student there were dumbfounded as they watched Zachary chatting with Henric. Henric Lee was the director of Ricardo Real Estate, which was the biggest real estate company in Ludington City. His assets were worth at least ten billion yuan.
"Henric, wait for me..."
"Is Zachary inside? Let's hurry up..."
...
More than 20 people rushed into the cafeteria and looked at Zachary with excited eyes.
"That is Dean Liu from Topstate Hospital!"
"Director Hung from Richeous Food Company."
"Director Huang from Municipal Science & Technology Commission."
...
Looking at those eminent people, the crowd was baffled. They were all influential people in Ludington City. Why were they looking for Zachary? Who was Zachary?
"Director Lee, what on earth is going on..." Zachary glanced at the people around him and asked in confusion.
Henric held Zachary's hand and said gratefully, "Zachary, I gave my father the medicine paste last night. It only took one night for my father to recover. He was bedridden before this. But now, he is so energetic that he seems 20 years younger. He even exercised in the yard this morning!"
"They are also here to express their gratitude to you," Henric added.
"This is 100, 000 yuan as a reward for you. The password is 888888. Dr. Ching, please accept this," Director Lee took out a credit card and handed it to Zachary with both hands as he spoke.
"Please accept it," The crowd said while presenting more than 20 credit cards to Zachary.
Zachary was stunned. He waved his hand with a smile and said, "Director Lee, you're welcome. I gave the medicine paste to Master Sue, and it was Master Sue who gave it to everyone. So, I can't accept your money."
Henric insisted, "Dr. Ching, you must take the money. Otherwise, it'll be hard for us to ask for more medicine from you in the future. Also Dr. Ching, there must be a cost for you to prepare the medication. We just want to contribute some money so that you can prepare more medicine to cure more people."
Zachary agreed eventually, "Well, in this case, I'll accept it. Thank you all. I'll prepare more refining ointment and send it to all of you."
Henric saw Lauren next to him. He smiled and said immediately, "We are not going to disturb your date with Miss Lim then. Goodbye."
The others said goodbye to Zachary as well. Meanwhile, the students around them were all dumbfounded.
Petty, who was mocking Zachary's poverty just now, was stupefied when she saw that Zachary had earned more than a million yuan in just a few minutes. She was so shocked that she didn't even realize that the students around her were mocking her.