"Ashley, Sandra, what are you two talking about?" Paul shouted with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I didn't say anything wrong; this delivery guy is just too poor to join us for dinner!"
"And we've had so many class gatherings, yet he has never been to any of them."
Ashley rolled her eyes and replied.
"James is short on money; I'll cover for him; don't humiliate him like this!" Tyler seemed unable to bear the humiliation and spoke up.
"Since you're so rich, Tyler, why don't you cover my expenses too!" Michael, with a blank expression, shouted upon hearing Tyler's words.
Tyler glanced at Michael, a hint of conflict flashing in his eyes.
Although Tyler's family had some money, it was incomparable to Michael's.
So he could only stay silent.
"I'll cover James's expenses; we're all classmates; we should avoid confrontation." Donna seemed unable to bear it and couldn't help but frown and shout.
"Donna, you don't need to cover the expenses; I have the money!" James said it calmly right then.
His classmates were all stunned when they heard James's words because they never expected that James would agree to attend the gathering today, a change from his usual self!
James was now a junior, having spent three years with his classmates, James never attended any of the gatherings, simply because he didn't have the money.
Upon hearing James claim he had money, Michael chuckled and remarked, "The delivery guy actually has money to join the gathering. James, why don't you treat the class to a meal today?"
"Mr. Brown, stop kidding, if this poor guy can treat everyone to a meal, I'll eat feces right away!"
Just then, a greasy and perverted man shouted arrogantly.
"Well, since everyone wants me to treat them to a meal, I'll do it!" James made the claim in a calm tone.
The perverted man's smile froze upon hearing James's words.
The surrounding classmates were also very surprised; no one had expected that James would actually agree to Michael's request.
Michael looked puzzled upon hearing James offer to treat everyone to a meal.
He couldn't understand how a poor guy who was willing to deliver food for money suddenly seemed like a different person now, willing to spend money to treat everyone to a meal.
Jennifer also looked at James, feeling shocked at his claim. But she quickly realized that James must be pretending to have money to treat everyone to a meal; he couldn't possibly afford it.
Thinking this, Jennifer considered herself lucky to have broken up with James.
Otherwise, if she were caught in this situation with James, she would have been very embarrassed.
In her eyes, James was a person who had no ambition. Not only broke was he broke, but also liked to pretend to be rich.
"James, what's gotten into you today?" Paul was also very puzzled at this point.
"I don't know, maybe his girlfriend left him for someone else and he felt bad, so he reluctantly agreed," Tyler whispered, then said, "Treating the class to a meal outside is not too expensive. We can split it between the two of us!"
"Yes! We can afford it! One thousand dollar each"
Paul nodded, still feeling some sympathy for James.
"James, what's up with you today? Not only are you going to the gathering, but you're also treating everyone to a meal, are you just boasting!" Ashley mocked James disdainfully.
"Yeah, if you really treat everyone to a meal, Kenneth Thompson will have to eat feces!" Sandra followed.
Kenneth was the perverted man who said he would eat feces if James were to treat everyone to a meal.
"Of course, it's just a meal, right?"
James replied calmly, then looked at Kenneth and said, "When are you going to perform your feces-eating act for everyone?"
"If you dare to treat, I dare to eat! But you won't take us to eat at a street food cart, will you?" Kenneth said disdainfully to James.
"James has finally treated everyone to a meal, how could it be a street food cart. It must be Azure Pavilion!" Michael chimed in.
"Azure Pavilion!"
James shook his head upon hearing Michael's words.
"Yes, James, if you take us to Azure Pavilion for dinner today, I'll eat feces for everyone to see!" Kenneth quickly added after recovering from the shock.
"James, what do you say? Since you want to treat everyone to a meal, Azure Pavilion should be no problem, right?" Michael asked with a sly smile.
"No problem! Azure Pavilion it is!" James replied calmly.
Upon hearing this, the classmates were shocked once again!
They all knew that Azure Pavilion was a top-notch establishment with chefs who were all highly skilled.
To treat the whole class to a meal, there would cost at least forty to fifty thousand dollars, something James definitely couldn't afford.
"James, are you out of your mind? He shouldn't have agreed to this."
Paul whispered in shock. If it were a street food cart, he and Tyler could chip in, but if it were Azure Pavilion, even if they pooled their resources, they couldn't afford it.
"I agreed to a gathering in Azure Pavilion, albeit with one condition."
Just then, James suddenly spoke up.
"What condition is it?" Michael asked James.
"How about we split the cost of treating the whole class to dinner at Azure Pavilion today, each of us paying half?"
"Fifty-fifty!"
Michael sneered, saying disdainfully, "No problem, we'll each pay half of the class's dinner expenses today!"
"Mr. Brown, you're really cool!"
"Yay! We will go to Azure Pavilion for dinner!"
The classmates erupted in cheers upon hearing Michael's words, as dining at Azure Pavilion with so many people would cost at least fifty thousand dollars.
Even if the bill were split, it'd still be around twenty thousand dollars. Although Michael felt a bit reluctant, it didn't mean he couldn't come up with the money. On the contrary, he felt that James wouldn't be able to come up with the money.
"James, I'll see what you'll do when it's time to pay the bill!"
Michael watched James's back with a sinister smile.