Ch 21 - The Mysterious Girl

Zara covered her face and looked at Karen in disbelief. "I can't believe you hit me because of that loser? It was obvious that I was sticking up for you."

Zara's words just now could easily have caused her to miss out on Alex's fortune. If only she could get Alex, her life would change massively for the better. For Karen, who was obsessed with marrying into a rich family, losing this opportunity just wasn't acceptable.

Zara continued, "I'm doing you a favor right now, you know."

"What are you talking about? Alex is my boyfriend now. Zara, please treat him with respect." Karen said as she walked toward Alex. She snuggled up against Alex's chest and glared at Zara.

Alex also hadn't expected Karen to stand up for him against Zara.

If he stayed here, he knew the situation would get worse, so he persuaded the two of them to make their peace with each other, and then he left.

With Alex gone, Karen gradually calmed down and started to feel a little guilty about hitting Zara.

Zara giggled when she saw that Karen didn't know how to apologize to her.

Karen saw Zara laughing and asked, "Zara, are you all right?" I just hit Zara, she thought. Why is she laughing? Has the heavy blow to her head had caused some brain damage?

"Karen, I know what you're planning. You hit me just now because you wanted Alex to listen to you, right?" Zara thought that this was Karen's plan. She rubbed her face, which was red and sore, and complained, "Look Karen, even if you wanted to get his attention, you hit me much too hard. My face is burning and numb."

Only then did Karen heave a sigh of relief. Luckily, Zara didn't seem to have any brain damage.

"All right, I did hit you too hard. Please don't hate me. Just wait, once I've got him where I want him, I'll make sure that you benefit too." Karen gently caressed Zara's face as she spoke.

Zara replied, "Of course. I know that this guy, Robert is from a rich family. When it happens, I know you'll give me thousands of dollars won't you?" Zara blinked at Karen.

However, Zara didn't realize that the person Karen was referring to was not Robert.

"Of course," Karen smiled. As long as everything works out with Alex, tens of thousands of dollars will be nothing, she thought to herself.

The two cousins quickly forgot about the previous incident.

Zara continued, "That's right. Didn't you say before that a super-rich person had been to your bank? Has he been there in the last few days? Can you get his number for me?" Zara's eyes were sparkling, her heart was filled with anticipation.

Of course, you'd chase after him. It takes luck to find such a rich man, Karen thought. "What do you want his cell phone number for?" She asked.

"It's difficult to find a rich man. Of course, I have to chase this one. I just need his contact information, then I'll do everything I can to get a date with him." Zara said thoughtfully.

"Oh." Karen considered Zara's words and became anxious. "He hasn't come in for a few days. When he does, I'll get his cell phone number for you."

"Great, thanks, Karen." Zara smiled sweetly and continued, "I really want to meet that eligible rich guy as soon as possible. I'm imagining him to be very handsome, but it doesn't matter if he isn't, as long as he has money. I want someone as rich as him by my side."

Karen secretly rejoiced. Luckily, Zara knew nothing about Alex's situation and she found that especially funny. Zara, the eligible rich guy that you dream of is Alex. You said you want to date him and yet you treat him as a nobody, she thought to herself.

**

While the two cousins were lost in their own thoughts, Alex returned to school.

By the time he arrived, it was almost 6 pm. He felt a little hungry so he went to the restaurant on campus, "Beautiful Cuisine."

"Beautiful Cuisine" was a private restaurant with several times the capacity of the campus cafeteria.

There were already quite a few students inside the restaurant. Alex walked toward the front desk and joined the line.

Then he heard someone behind him saying in a mocking voice, "Oh my God, you'd think people would look in the mirror before they step out of the house. Didn't think I'd see people like that here. A meal at this restaurant is probably like this pauper's monthly living expenses. Why would a hobo like that be willing to spend so much money on one meal? Unless it's stolen money or something!"

Damn, Alex thought to himself. All I want is to enjoy a delicious meal. Who the hell are these people? Why are they being so mean to me?

In Alex's heart, a ball of rage grew.

He turned around and saw three girls heading toward him. They were all dressed in fashionable clothes, similar to those he'd seen hipsters wearing on the street.

However, Alex did not know these three people at all. Why are they taunting me if they don't even know me? 

As Alex was puzzling over this, the three girls walked over without looking at him.

You're not talking about me, are you? Alex finally understood.

The three girls walked to the front of the restaurant and stood in front of a fourth girl. The three girls crossed their arms and chewed gum as they scanned the girl with disdain.

Alex looked at the fourth girl with interest. Her clothes were obviously old and cheap. She was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans that had been in style seven or eight years ago, and a pair of canvas shoes that had been washed until they'd faded to white.

"Everyone, look at this girl. Her name is Debbie Stonehill, and she's the poorest person in our class. Every year, she gets the scholarship because she's so poor and look at what she's spending it on. Eating at the most expensive restaurant on campus. She's totally shameless." One of the girls said, mockingly.

Another continued, "Debbie, don't you feel embarrassed? You're really poor, right? But now you actually came here to eat and spend the school's money."

"You are shameless, aren't you? Fine, let's see if you can take what's coming to you." Another of the girls threatened.

Then, the three girls started pulling Debbie's hair. One of them was holding her by the hand, while another grabbed Debbie's hair and pulled her back as hard as she could.

Debbie was no match for the three of them. She struggled but could not break free. She was on the verge of falling down.

Alex could finally see Debbie's face clearly. She was pale and was wearing no makeup, but she was very pretty. Her thin lips were tightly pursed, and her eyes were closed. No matter how the three girls tortured her, she didn't make a sound.

In the end, Debbie was thrown to the ground by the three of them.

"Serves you right for being scum." The three girls smirked and looked down at Debbie who'd fallen to the floor.

As Debbie was lying on the floor the waiter came to take her order. He cautiously asked her if she still wanted to order anything.

Debbie crawled up from the ground, looked at the waiter, and said, "Please bring me two plates of seafood risotto and two bottles of Evian. I'll take them with me."

The Seafood Risotto costs 25 dollars per serving, and the Evian costs 20 dollars a bottle. Even in comparison to all the other extravagant dishes on the menu, these choices were considered particularly expensive.

When the others heard how expensive Debbie's order was, they became very annoyed with her.

"She deserves to be beaten up for spending so much of her grant," one of them shouted.

"I can't even afford to drink Evian. I didn't think that a poor person could drink it. I want to tell everyone at school so everyone will hate her."

"She's going to eat two servings at once. She must be a reincarnated hungry ghost, right?"

Debbie didn't seem to care at all when she heard the ridicule from others. Her gaze was fixed on the chef who was cooking at the window.

The two seafood risottos were soon ready. Debbie paid and quickly walked out with the food and bottles of Evian mineral water.

Watching the girl leave, Alex sighed to himself. That girl was really pretty, he thought. And she knows how to enjoy herself. Her family's living conditions must be so bad that she's prepared to use the grant money to enjoy such expensive food.

Then he heard one of the girls say, "Oh, there's another pauper here. Look everyone. Doesn't he look like he should be with Debbie? Look at the clothes he's wearing. He's perfect for her."

As Alex turned around, he saw the three girls pointing at him.

He'd already seen how cruel they were so he didn't want to get into an argument with them. He finished eating and quickly left the restaurant.

When he walked out, Alex could see Debbie's back. Why did this girl buy two servings for herself? He wondered. Alex was intrigued and followed behind Debbie, keeping pace with her.

He followed her all the way to the school's Ramsey Lake.

At this time, there was no one else near the lake. The setting sun shone on the surface of the lake, sparkling and flickering with golden threads. It was especially beautiful.

Alex hid behind a tree and watched Debbie.

She placed the two cartons of risotto and the bottles of mineral water on a rock. Then she sat on the ground beside the rock and slowly started to eat the food.

As she ate, two streams of tears flowed from her eyes. Alex could even hear her sniffing.

Could it be that she's never eaten such an expensive meal and was moved to tears today? He wondered. No one usually brings food to eat by the lake. She's definitely acting strangely.

After watching Debbie for a while, he was ready to leave.

Suddenly, he saw Debbie put down her food and slowly stand up.

Surely, you're not going to leave all your trash now you've finished eating? Alex said to himself. This girl is a real punk. 

However, Debbie didn't leave. Instead, she knelt on the ground, deliberately facing the northeast and started to pray.

What was going on? Why did she have to kneel down and pray after eating? Alex wondered.

Then Debbie stood up and walked quickly toward the lake.

Is she trying to kill herself? The thought flashed through Alex's mind.

Debbie's actions gave him an answer. He watched as she walked to the edge of the lake and jumped into the water with a "plop."