Chapter 13 Birthday Gift
At the entrance of the banquet hall, there were security guards to check the invitation card of the visitor.
Wendy had took great pains for her daughter to get in touch with people from the upper class. She made a great effort to get the invitation.
They finally entered the banquet hall, and many people had already come.
The banquet hall was western style. A large turntable was placed on the left, and various flowers were filled in the middle of the table. On the table, there were various desserts, fruits and wine, for you to choose.
Tables and chairs were set on the right. People could sit there to eat and talk with each other.
There was also a small stage and an open space for people to dance. Many people had gathered there.
The banquet hall boomed with low, cheerful jazz music, which was played live by a band.
In the background music, the well-dressed and handsome waiter shuttled back and forth in the hall, with a tray in his hand holding wine glasses.
"Mr. and Mrs. Song, congratulations!" they greeted before they entered the hall.
Mr. and Mrs. Song smiled, "It's our pleasure to have you here! Come in, please. Enjoy yourself!"
Wendy walked inside with a smile. Soon she saw some acquainted ladies chatting in the open space. She said to Alaina, "You go and give the gift to the young master of the Song family personally and play with them. Don't displease him."
With the gift prepared by Wendy in hand, Alina began to search around the hall for Joseph.
She was stretching her neck to look around when suddenly someone patted her on the shoulder.
"Alaina, I almost couldn't recognize you!"
Alina turned around. It was Rose's desk mate Emma.
"Emma!"
"Why are you here? Didn't you say you didn't like Joseph?" Emma was a quick-tempered girl who never liked to beat around the bush. She looked at the gift box in Alina's hand while speaking. She said she didn't like him, but she prepared the birthday gift carefully. She seemed to be lying.
Alina sighed, "If I tell you that my mother forced me here, do you believe me?"
Obviously, Emma didn't believe her. She put her arm around Alina's neck and said, "You don't have to explain. If you don't want our classmates to know it, I can keep it a secret for you." Alina was tired of the subject and just said, "Up to you. By the way, do you know where Joseph is? I have to give him the birthday gift."
If Wendy saw the gift box was still in her hand, she would definitely scold her again.
Emma patted her chest and said, "I know. He's not in this hall. Come on, I'll show you to him."
She took Alina to the left of the stage, where there were two small doors. She pushed the one on the right and led her in.
Inside was a small entertainment room where there were billiards, card tables and game machines. A crowd of boys and girls were playing in it. Joseph was playing billiards with some boys. He wore a smart suit, and his hair was pulled back. He played with a handsome posture. "Bang!" He didn't make it.
A good posture didn't help.
Emma pulled Alina to Joseph and pushed her forward, "Joseph, someone is sending you a birthday gift," she said.
All eyes were on Alina at once.
She smiled slightly and said to Joseph, "Happy Birthday! Here's a birthday gift for you."
Joseph poked at the ground with his club. When he saw her dressed up, he was stunned for a moment. Then he quickly put on an expression of disdain and said, "Oh, it's my schoolmate from the B class. I jus said it carelessly. I didn't expect you to come."
Most of the people in the club were Joseph's classmates and some were from rich families. Those who played billiards with him were all students from Ming Hua High School.
So they all knew what the B class was, and there was a look of disdain on their faces.
Emma didn't expect Joseph to laugh at Alaina in front of so many people. Emma's face turned pale. She was the one who brought Alina here, so she felt so sorry for her.
Besides, did he forget that she was in the B class, too?
The smile on Alina's face slowly faded away.
She came here with his permission, but she didn't understand why Joseph humiliated her on purpose?
If he didn't want to see her, he could stop her from coming. Why did he embarrass her like this? Luckily she was not a girl of sixteen, or she would have died of shame and anger if she had been so humiliated by her schoolmate!
Emma couldn't stand it anymore. She stepped forward, scowled and said, "Joseph, we are schoolmates. It's rude of you to talk like that!"
Joseph glanced at her but didn't take it seriously. With a malicious smile, he said, "This is your birthday gift? Let me open it and see what it is."
As he spoke, he reached out and took the gift box from Alina.
In fact, Alina really wanted to put the gift box on his face, but she was a sensible woman and wouldn't make a fuss about the trifles with a little boy.
Joseph grabbed the box and rudely tore off the outer package. Inside was a beautiful iron box. He opened the cover of the box, and a faint milk fragrance came into his nose.
Cookies of three colors were neatly arranged in the box, and each piece was in perfect shape. From the color and aroma, one could tell that the person who made the cookies had put a lot of thought into it. Joseph glanced at Alina with a smug and somewhat meaningful smile. "Come on, guys. Have a taste of these cookies."
"Wow, the girl gave you cookies! She must make it herself!" A girl standing not far away from Joseph walked over and picked up a piece from the box with her fingers. She tasted it and said exaggeratedly, "You made it with your heart. It's sweet!"
Then each of them took one piece from the box.
After they finished eating, a boy winked and said, "Wow, it's very delicious."
"Joseph, you are so lucky. A girl gave you a homemade cake, and now you get homemade cookies. You are really a girl's idol!"
Joseph tried one too. It was undeniable that it was crispy and delicious. It was even better than that made in some pastry shops.
However, Joseph was only thinking about embarrassing Alina, and he would not admit it.
When he had one cookie, he handed the box over with a look of disgust. "It is just so-so. Whoever likes it, take it!"
"Just so-so? Let me try it." Out of nowhere Sam appeared. Wearing a decent suit, he still had a bright smile on his face. "Hey, isn't this Alaina? You look gorgeous today!"
"Hello, Sam." Alina smiled politely, looking distant.
She had thought that Sam was a bright, kind boy and had a crush on him. When she had been humiliated by Joseph, he had stood not far away for a long time with his back to her, having no intention of rescuing her.
It was not until then that Alina realized that perhaps he was not as friendly as he looked.
After taking a bite of a cookie, Sam winked at Joseph and said, "I think it tastes good." Then he turned to look at Alina and asked with a serious look, "You must have made it yourself, haven't you?" With a smile on her lips, Alina answered in a sweet voice, "No. I have a bag of flour that is about to expire, so I had the family cook make it into cookies. Because I thought it was good, I packed a box. Anyway, it's the thought that counts. Since Joseph doesn't like it, he can throw it away. It will expire in two days. It's not a waste to throw it away."
The smile on Sam's face froze as he held the cookie in her hand. He didn't know whether he should eat it or not.
Joseph didn't expect that she would give him the cookies which were going to expire. Thinking that he had just eaten one of them, his face darkened. He then threw the box on the table in disgust.
The other students who had eaten the cookies also turned pale, especially the girl who had praised Alina. She immediately covered her mouth and ran away.
She must have thrown up in the washing room because she ate the most.
Looking at their expression, Alina felt happy. 'Why do you guys bully me? Do you think I'm so easy to bully?'
"Well, happy birthday to you! Enjoy yourself. I'll go out first." She had already given him the gift and given him the best wishes. Now that she had done her job, she didn't want to stay here and be laughed at. Emma was holding back her laughter until she walked out of the room. She laughed out loud, "Alaina, I didn't expect you to be so funny. Those guys from class 125 looked too bad! By the way, is that box of cookies really about to expire?"
She had eaten a piece just now.
"No, I lied."
"You also lied to them when you said the cook made it?"
"No."
They talked as they walked towards the turntable. Then they started to eat.
Wendy, who was just socializing with ladies, noticed that her daughter and a girl were holding two plates and eating very fast. She could not help hating her daughter.
It was a great chance to make friends, but her daughter just ate alone. She was so angry!
"Alaina, did you give the gift to Joseph?" Seeing that her daughter did not leave the table to socialize, Wendy could not help but walk over.
Upon hearing Wendy's voice, Alina suddenly felt terrible. Then, she turned around and gave her a sweet smile, "Mom, why are you here? Are you hungry? The desserts are very delicious." "I'm not hungry. You've been eating here for a long time!" Wendy was complaining.
But Alina pretended not to hear her complaint. "No, I just had a few cakes. Mom, this is my classmate, Emma Yang."
She thought that Wendy should show some respect to her in the presence of her classmate.
"Good evening, auntie." Emma greeted to Wendy with a smile.
Wendy glanced at her, and found that she was dressed in a most ordinary way without any valuable jewelry. At once she looked at her with a hint of arrogance in her eyes.
"Good evening." She nodded indifferently and said, "I'm sorry. I have something to say to my daughter in private..."
"I'll take a break over there. Take your time." Emma walked away.
It was totally out of Alina's expectation that Wendy would get Emma away directly. So, she asked with a poker face, "What do you want to say?"
Frowning, Wendy lowered her voice, "What did I tell you when we came? It's such a good chance for you. You don't go to talk to him but just stay here eating. Are you going to piss me off?"
"I've already sent him the gift as well as my best wishes. But he just ignored me. What can I do? I can't follow him and irritate him, right?" Alina replied confidently, as if she had tried her best anyway.
Wendy looked exasperated at her. "He doesn't want to talk to you. Why don't you find an opportunity to talk to him! He is the young master of the Song family. There must be a lot of girls who like him. You should take the initiative!"
Alina was about to roll her eyes. What did she say? She had dignity too, okay?
Of course, she could only say it in her mind, and she couldn't say it in front of Wendy. So she lowered her head and pretended to be depressed. "I'd like to take the initiative, but I need to be given the chance!" "Chances are for people who are well prepared. Don't be discouraged. Mom will help you." Seeing her daughter in low spirits, Wendy patted her on the shoulder to comfort her.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Emma sitting at the table. She quickly changed her tone, "From now on, don't stay with your female classmates who are from poor families. They don't deserve your attention."
'Is it good to be so snobbish?'
Ding... Ding... Ding... Suddenly the bell rang three times.
After the bell, everyone stopped talking and looked at the stage.
Mr. Song had stood on the stage with a microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending the party today! Today is my son's sixteenth birthday. The last time we held such a big party for him was when he was one hundred days old. I didn't expect that he would come of age in the blink of an eye..."
Mr. Song spoke for about six or seven minutes, and soon invited Joseph to the stage.
The boy was dressed in a decent suit and looked more handsome under the light. With a smile on his face, he took over the microphone and made a speech calmly.
Joseph's performance won the approval of the elders.
Families with daughters were already considering the possibility of marriage with the Song family.
Then Mr. and Mrs. Song introduced Joseph to every guest.
Soon, they came to the circle where Wendy stayed.☐☐☐☐☐☐☐