Chapter 161: Chapter 164

Mr. Harper, who was entertaining the guests, suddenly received a call from a security guard stationed outside.

“Boss, someone from the military is here. He doesn’t have an invitation card, but he seems to have a rather high position in the military, and he made an imposing appearance. Should we let him in?”

Mr. Harper was puzzled. “Someone from the military? But we didn’t send out any invitation cards to people with military backgrounds. What’s his name?”

The security guard replied, “He said that his name is Joel Fletcher.”

Joel Fletcher?!

Richard, who overheard the name, was shocked. He immediately put down the champagne in his hand and dashed out to greet him.

After a while, Richard was seen humbly and respectfully attending to an incredibly good-looking man in military uniform.

Joel’s presence stirred up a rather large commotion at the scene, especially among the students of Bayside University.

“Oh, my! I-It’s the General!”

“Is this a sign that the Harper Family is doing exceptionally well? They actually managed to invite the General to attend this event!”

“Who’s Joel? Is he someone powerful?”

“He’s the first legitimate successor of the Fletcher Family, and he’s also the youngest Senior Colonel in our country. If nothing unexpected happens, he’s going to be the youngest Major General very soon!”

“Why would Joel come to this place? Could it be that he has some kind of relationship with the Harper Family?”

The unexpected appearance of Young Master Fletcher instantly raised the quality and level of the Harpers’ banquet sky-high.

Joel instantaneously became the center of attention of the banquet upon appearing. Everyone wished to build a connection with him. Though Richard had no idea why Joel was here, his presence today was a great honor to the Harper Family.

Moreover, due to the restriction of their identities, the Fletcher Family would usually keep a low profile, so they seldom attended this kind of banquet.

So why did Joel appear today? The imaginations of the reporters were starting to run wild.

“If it isn’t Young Master Fletcher. I’m really flattered that you came to my daughter’s birthday banquet. I really am.” Mr. Harper was beaming when he led her beautifully dressed daughter out. “Kayla, say hello to Young Master Fletcher.”

Kayla’s face reddened. Her heart raced, and she lacked the courage to even glance at Joel. With her head bowed, she intermittently peeked at him as she squeezed her gown and shyly greeted, “Hello, General.”

Joel’s the dream guy of all the girls in my grade, and everyone wishes that he would take another glance at them! When we were in military training, Joel was the only thing we talked about during our late-night chats, and it’s totally out of my expectation that he would attend my birthday banquet!

Joel coldly nodded, and his expression was impassive. “I happened to pass by, so I came in to take a look.”

Joel, in his military uniform, had an air born of menacing battlefields; it was totally incompatible with this luxurious banquet, which was filled with gorgeous, rich men and women. However, he was still undoubtedly the most dazzling man in the entire hall.

As he came uninvited, he bought a little gift from a nearby jewelry shop to make himself seem less impolite. And now was a suitable time for him to take out and hand the gift to Kayla. “Happy birthday.”

Kayla was overjoyed to the point that she almost cried. She shyly took the little present from him and thanked him while biting on her lips. “Thank you, Young Master Fletcher.”

Kayla actually received a birthday present from Joel! At that moment, everyone at the scene was stunned yet jealous of her, causing Mr. and Mrs. Harper to beam proudly.

Upon seeing the bashful Kayla and Joel in his military outfit, imagination about a romantic story between a soldier and a beautiful girl instantly popped up in the reporters’ minds. They used their cameras and enthusiastically took photos of them together with the intention to write a long story about them after they went back.

Joel must fancy Kayla, which could explain the reason he’s here. This is Kayla’s birthday banquet, and he even gave her a present in front of everyone, so this must be the truth.

Harper Family’s company was listed on the market smoothly, and they even managed to get the support of the Fletcher Family. The Harpers were going to become more successful!

Richard was secretly pleased with his sister when he saw that she actually had this kind of achievement.

Mrs. Harper had even decided on the names of Kayla and Joel’s children.

The media and the members of the upper-class gathered closely around Joel in no time.

Sophia and Stanley, who were surrounded by the reporters earlier, were suddenly left alone. They stood outside of the crowd without anyone else around them.

Stanley, who had butter all over his mouth, was shocked, “Oh, my. Why is my uncle here?”

Didn’t he refuse to come today? With my uncle here, the Harper Family definitely won’t be able to humiliate Sophia today! Stanley thought to himself in pleasure.

Upon seeing Joel, Sophia felt that every single muscle in her body was shaking.

Oh, no. Why is Joel here? Why am I having such an uneasy feeling? I can sense that something bad is about to happen!

She had the feeling that today wouldn’t be a peaceful day, so it would be better for her to go back earlier.

After all, she had had enough of showing off today.

She immediately took a few bites of the pudding, wiped her mouth, and hastily fixed her lipstick. She attempted to quietly slip off when everyone was surrounding Joel.

When Stanley saw her running away, he grabbed Nathan and chased after her. “Sophia, where are you going? Wait for me! Are you trying to escape? You can’t do this. I’ve spent all my fortune—5,000 in total —to accompany you here to show off! You can’t leave now!”

Sophia couldn’t be bothered by his 5,000 because that guy was actually very rich. Without taking the Fletcher Family into consideration, Stanley entered the gaming industry since high school, and he was also part of the national gaming team. He was known as the Robert Pattinson of the E-game industry, and he could earn a few million cash prizes every time he won a national e-game competition. Therefore, it would be impossible for him to be poor!

While Joel was surrounded by many people, his eyes flicked across the hall as he silently searched for something. Finally, he found a dash of fair ivory color among the remarkable men and women around him. It was like the white moonlight that shined on the earth, brightening up his vision. Subconsciously, he wanted to chase after it.

At that moment, Sophia was heading toward the exit. Stanley wiped his mouth before carrying Nathan and chased after her.

Unexpectedly, when they reached the door, a wave of reporters popped out from nowhere and surrounded them with their ‘weapons’. “Miss Edwards, where are you going? The person-in-charge of L/K of our country is arriving at any moment. Are you planning to escape?”

Sophia cursed inwardly, but she looked emotionless. “No comment.”

The little commotion here seemed to not have an effect on the conversations among the members of the upper-class over there. Nobody had noticed them for now.

The reporters surrounded her eagerly. “Miss Edwards, since you are planning to leave now, is it a declaration of your guilt?”

“How do you view yourself for your act of wearing high-quality fakes? Did you know that they were replicas before you wore them?”

To stop Sophia from leaving, one of the reporters even deliberately stepped on the hem of her gown. As she was wearing a sleeveless tube top gown, she dared not move when her skirt was stepped on for fear that her gown would slip down if she did.

Before she could say anything, Stanley was enraged, and he grabbed the reporter who was stepping on her skirt. “What are you doing? Put your dirty feet away! Is that something you can afford to step on?”

They would actually stoop to stepping on a girl’s skirt, so it was obvious that the reporters had received money from the Harper Family.

Since the Harper Family prefers to play dirty, I won’t be nice to them as well! Come and fight me! I have Joel supporting me. I’m not afraid of them!

Seeing that Stanley’s fist was almost thrown at the reporter’s face, Sophia suddenly patted on his shoulder and shook her head at him. “Stay calm.”

Stanley retracted his arm in displeasure. Green veins popped up on his face out of extreme rage. He pointed at Sophia’s skirt, which was firmly stepped on, and growled, “Get your filthy foot off her!”

The reporter, who was dressed in a suit, didn’t even cast him a look. He was full of himself as he knew that Stanley wouldn’t dare to look for trouble. I’m a reporter. If he has the courage to hit me, I’ll publish it in the news tomorrow and make sure that his reputation is ruined!