There was a knock on the door before a waiter came in, carrying ten glasses of milk. Debra was stunned by this and said, "But I didn't order milk."
"I ordered it." It was Austin who spoke up. His face was cold, but the tone of his voice was very warm. "Drinking wine is bad for the stomach. But milk can form a protective layer over your gastric mucus. As a result, it reduces the harmful effects of alcohol to your stomach. That's why you should drink milk first before wine."
"Thank you, Austin!"
"Austin, you are so kind."
Everyone then took a glass of milk with a smile. Austin turned to look at Michelle and said, "Always remember to drink a glass of milk first before taking wine in the future."
The others knew that Michelle and Austin got along well, so they didn't pay much attention to them. Lydia was the only one who seemed to notice this brief interaction. She stopped drinking milk for a moment, and then began to sip slowly.
Others might not know Austin very well, but she did. He was the type of guy who always helped his classmates whenever they asked for it. But he was not a person who would initiate friendship first.
In the past three years, the only time she saw him take the initiative was whenever he was with Michelle. He never did it publicly or directly. It was always in a subtle way like this situation with the milk.
The reason why Lydia noticed all these things was because she also paid too much attention to Austin. In a way, she treated him differently compared to other guys.
In fact, she just ordered bottles of Evian mineral water for the entire class just so she could bring one to Austin. She had seen him drinking one before. And it was then she realized how expensive it was. It almost cost her half of the money she earned in a month.
Austin never told his classmates about his family background. However, Lydia had seen him get in a luxury car on the way back home. There was even a driver who opened up the door for him and treated him respectfully.
She didn't know much about cars, but she memorized the logo and searched for it online. It was apparently a Bentley which was worth around two to three million.
Even with all her money, she knew she couldn't afford a Bentley. She was only able to save up enough to finish high school. And when she went to college, she had to pay the tuition with a student loan. She also had to rely on scholarships and part-time jobs in between.
It was then that she realized just how wide the gap was between her and Austin. As a result, she had to hide all her feelings for him carefully.
Later on, she grew closer to Austin. But it was only because they helped each other in their professional courses, and she could get good grades in the end.
A woman's sixth sense was usually very accurate. When Austin asked her about Michelle, she already knew that he liked Michelle. His feelings had lasted for three years.
He even made sure that Michelle wouldn't fail her exams by outlining key points for everyone in the class. Back then, his face turned livid with anger while trying to explain everything to Michelle. But then, he just closed his eyes for a while and waited for himself to calm down. Upon opening his eyes again, he patiently explained everything to the top.
But as soon as he realized that she wasn't even concentrating on her studies, he stopped forcing her to learn everything and just let her recite the important points.
Lydia had always known that Austin liked Michelle just as how she liked him. They had been secretly in love with the other person for three years, but they decided to keep their feelings to themselves.
Lydia took a deep breath and said with a smile, "Don't drink too much later, Michelle. Believe it or not, I'll leave you on the street if you get drunk."
"Well, I don't believe you. You said the same thing to me last time." Michelle held up her arms proudly and raised up her glass. "Cheers!"
"If you want to do it, then do it yourself. I won't be joining you. I will only take a sip." Lydia took only a small sip of her drink, while Michelle took a big one of hers. She then shook her head with satisfaction.
Leon only smiled and said nothing.
Nobody drank that much. After all, they still needed to keep a clear head while singing and playing games. Once the table was cleared away, the room became more spacious. They all contentedly sat on the sofa.
As expected, Rainy was the first to hog the microphone. She sang a song with her boyfriend.
Michelle was sitting on the sofa, clapping her hands along the music. Leon raised his chin to look at the stage and said, "Michelle, why don't you sing a song? I haven't heard you sing yet."
As soon as he said this, the others all turned to stare at him. They all looked at him as if he was a monster.
Even Michelle had the same expression. "Are you sure you really want to hear me sing, Leon?"
"Is there anything wrong with what I said?" Leon glanced at everyone else before turning back to Michelle. "Do you sing badly?"
"Well, not really." Michelle blinked. "It's just not pleasant to hear."
Leon was speechless
He couldn't see how those were different at all.
"If you really want to listen, I can try singing a song for you," Michelle said.
The others
rolled their eyes secretly.
They didn't want to hear her sing.
As Michelle tried to get up, Debra grabbed her arm and said, "No, no. Let's just play games instead."
But Michelle insisted. "I actually know how to sing."
"You can't!" Aron stopped her as well. "Let's just play games. If you don't want something complicated, we can just play with dices. Whoever gets the smallest number will be punished. Or we can just play truth or dare. Just please don't sing!"
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: You Are The Apple of My Eyes