Ch. 416..420: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 416-420

Chapter 416

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 416 Louie’s father had even told him that he deserved to be beaten up.

His father explained that the person who had beaten him up was none other than the extremely rich and humble heir, Mr. Gerald Crawford from Mayberry.

Hearing that, Louie felt chills run down his spine.

He had almost brought great trouble upon himself that day.

Perhaps like his father had said, being beaten up was a good thing after all. Maybe it could even get Mr. Crawford to invest in his company.

Thus, with that possibility in mind, Louie was faced with a cocktail of surprise, fear, and joy at the same time the moment he saw Gerald.

“Gerald! So you were eating here as well!” said Louie with a chuckle as he patted his hurt bottom.

‘What.’

Cameron and the others were all thinking the same thing. They had all been eager for some drama but Louie’s reaction only left them stunned.

‘What? Why does Louie know Gerald? He even addressed Gerald in such a familiar way!’

‘How is that possible!’

“That’s right. If we weren’t, how else could we have seen you cutting the queue?” replied Gerald with a faint smile on his face.

In his mind, he was wondering if he had not beaten Louie severely enough that night.

“W-well, you see, my dad’s invested quite a bit in this place before. Because of that, I’m used to not having to queue! But don’t you worry Gerald! Your meal’s on me today! Actually, scratch that. All of your meals here in the future will be on me!” said Louie as he rubbed his hands together.

“That won’t be necessary. This lady here won’t even lower the price by a dollar for me. We aren’t being given any special gifts either. I’m afraid that this will be the last time I ever come here,” replied Gerald, a smile on his face.

“What? Give me a minute, Gerald!”

Realizing that it was the cashier lady who had offended Gerald, Louie turned to glare at her. She had been standing beside them all this time, a dumbfounded expression on her face.

“Ah! Louie, so this gentleman here is your friend!”

The cashier lady was terrified now. She began thinking up excuses in her mind as cold sweat dripped down her forehead.

‘I only treated him like that because Cameron had signaled me too! He told me to make it difficult for Gerald so I was only following his orders!’

‘Cameron’s family works in the health department so of course I wouldn’t dare disobey him!’

‘Besides, that Gerald guy looked like a loser so I didn’t think twice about it. To think that he knew you, Louie!’

Before she could even begin explaining herself, a slap was heard.

Louie’s hand left her now reddened cheek as he shouted, “How could you look down on a customer! Isn’t Gerald just here to enjoy a meal? How dare you bully a customer you’re not even familiar with! I better hear about your resignation the next time I come here!”

“But I… I only did it because…”

Her left cheek was swollen and red and in pain as she looked toward Cameron.

Cameron had already been nervous even before she looked at him. He simply pretended as if the incident had nothing to do with him as he quietly began sneaking out of the place.

He didn’t want to retreat like a coward, but the situation was a difficult one so with a great reluctance and unwillingness in his heart, he left the premise.

He regretted his actions tremendously.

As for Gerald, he exchanged a few pleasantries with Louie before finally leaving with Giya and the others.

Gerald already knew that Louie was just a rich and useless brat so he didn’t want to get too close to him.

Upon leaving the shop, they caught sight of Cameron and the others standing not too far away from them.

In the beginning, Cameron and the others had wanted to enjoy Gerald’s misfortune, but humiliation greeted them headfirst instead.

This was especially true for Cameron who had a terrible expression on his face.

“How on earth does Gerald know Louie?!” said Sully.

Her respect for Gerald had grown tremendously now.

Cameron simply sneered at her question. “He just showed Gerald a little respect! He said all that but Gerald was still the one who paid the bill in the end! It’s only a matter of respect. Don’t you know who Louie is? He would never befriend a person like Gerald!”

Cameron was brimming with jealousy.

As per usual, Gerald made up a story regarding him and Louie to casually explain what had just happened to Giya and the others.

They then left and returned to the hotel.

“Oh my god! Why is Gerald staying in such a grand hotel?”

Since Tammy and the others had not entered the hotel earlier, the little cousin was shocked when they stepped through its front doors for the first time.

What more, Gerald had spent a lot of money just on the meal they were treated to earlier. He also knew a lot of people. Tammy and the other distant relatives were constantly surprised the longer they stayed around Gerald.

As they went further into the hotel, a few men tried to gain Giya’s affection. However, they gave up immediately the moment they knew that they first had to rival Gerald. They were nothing compared to him.

Once they got into their room, Gerald put his phone on the coffee table to wash some fruits for them.

“Oh my god! Tammy! Tammy come look! Look at the phone Gerald’s been using!”

The little cousin picked the phone up to show her, an expression of surprise on her face.

Tammy was equally stunned.

‘That phone could easily amount to two to three thousand dollars… Why would Gerald have it?’

At that moment, his phone began to ring.

“…Hmm? The most beloved Mila? Who is this person?” said the little cousin as she looked at the caller ID. She was dumbfounded by the discovery.

Chapter 417

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 417 The little cousin’s surprise turned into a sneer. “Who is this ‘most beloved’ Mila? Doesn’t he like you most Giya? Let’s see who she is!”

Giya couldn’t react fast enough and before she could stop her, the little cousin had already answered Mila’s call.

“Hello? Who is this?” asked the little cousin.

“What? You’re definitely not Gerald’s girlfriend. Stop spouting nonsense!”

Even though she said that, the little cousin was stunned.

She then looked toward Giya before saying, “Giya! This girl’s saying that she’s Gerald’s girlfriend!”

“That’s quite enough, Felicia! Hand me the phone immediately!”

Giya then snatched the phone from her and hung up immediately.

Giya, for one, definitely knew who Mila was. She was Gerald’s girlfriend who was in a long-distance relationship with him.

However, that was all Giya knew about Mila. She had been quite curious about what Mila was like in person ever since she knew about her existence.

Still, it would be inappropriate for her to say anything else at the moment.

“Felicia, what did you say? What did that other girl say again?” asked Tammy as she confirmed with Felicia if she had heard right.

Felicia simply sneered again. “I asked her who she was and she said that she was Gerald’s girlfriend! She even asked me where Gerald was!”

Felicia spoke as if she had just uncovered a great secret.

“Giya, do you know that girl?” asked Tammy as rage brewed in her mind.

‘What the actual f*ck! How sleazy is this guy! To get Giya to be his girlfriend is no easy feat and yet look at him! How bold and absolutely disgusting! To think that he still dares to fool around with other women when he already has Giya!’

“What are you all talking about? I have some fruits with me!”

At that moment, Gerald finally came back, holding a plate of fruits in his hands.

“To hell with the fruits! Who’s this Mila, Gerald! You better have a good explanation!” sneered Tammy.

She snatched the phone from Giya and held on to it as she glared daggers at Gerald.

Gerald didn’t even know how to begin explaining the situation.

Mila was his actual girlfriend of course.

“It had never crossed my mind that you were such a vile and disloyal man! How dare you treat Giya this way!” scolded Felicia next.

“That’s enough! Don’t scold him anymore! I already knew about this and… And let me just admit that we’ve never been a couple!”

There was no use hiding it anymore so Giya simply shouted the truth out.

“…What? You two aren’t a couple? Oh god, then why are you living with him if you’re not his girlfriend?” asked Tammy, shocked.

“I did it so that no one would get suspicious! I needed Gerald’s cooperation to lie to my dad, otherwise, he would definitely continue to force me!” explained Giya truthfully.

“You scared me half to death! I thought you really had become Gerald’s girlfriend! But I guess it really is impossible. It’s a little hard to believe that since Gerald’s been treating you so well today even though he already has a girlfriend. He’s even given you so many expensive things!” said Tammy as she glared at Gerald.

Women hated vile and disloyal men.

It was clear that Gerald had that label on him now.

“That’s enough, Tammy. Didn’t your mom call earlier? Asking you to go home immediately? And you need to promise to keep this a secret for me. Please don’t meddle with Gerald’s business!” said Giya in a persuading tone.

Eventually, Giya managed to persuade them to leave.

Only Gerald and Giya were left in the room now.

Chapter 418

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 418 It definitely took Gerald a while to explain the entire situation properly to Mila.

By the time he was done, Mila was no longer angry.

Gerald sighed. He had never anticipated for that crazy girl to actually pick up and answer his phone.

He was stuck in an extremely awkward position now.

“Say, Gerald, do have a seat… I have something I want to ask you,” said Giya as she looked toward him. On her face was a demure smile.

“I’m fine standing. What’s your question?”

“Do you really like Mila that much?”

“Of course I do!” replied Gerald without hesitation.

Giya took in a deep breath before continuing. “Then, if that’s the case, why did you give me such an expensive gift in the first place? In case you weren’t aware, when I learned that it was the most priceless gift your family could offer, I was touched beyond compare!”

“I’ve never been in a relationship before, Gerald. Though many other men have given me expensive gifts before, those gifts were different from yours. Your gift was meaningful. And to tell you the truth, to me, you’re different from the other men.”

Deep inside, Giya knew that she was trying to win Gerald’s affection.

She couldn’t explain why. She was just in love with him.

Initially, she had thought that his long-distance relationship girlfriend posed no threat to her. However, Giya now realized how much Gerald cared for her.

Gerald on the other hand, was filled with self-reproach at that moment.

He knew that the dragon jade bracelet was never his family’s heirloom.

However, back at university that day, he couldn’t just say that for fear that his identity would be exposed. His lies became the truth that day, at least for those who heard it.

He had lied because he had assumed back then that he was nothing but a loser compared to Giya, Tammy, and the others.

His logic was that there was no way that they would ever feel anything for him.

What more, lying wouldn’t matter since he had also assumed that he would never have to contact any of them again once the jade bracelet had been handed over.

Never could he have imagined the complex chain of events that would soon follow and eventually lead to this very day.

Now here he was, in a room together with Giya. A Giya who had misunderstood his intentions from the moment he had given her the bracelet.

It was getting too messy. Gerald knew he couldn’t hide the fact from Giya any longer. It was useless to even hide his identity from her at this point.

Gerald took in a deep breath before saying, “The truth is, Giya, I lied to you. The dragon jade bracelet is not a family heirloom like what you and the other girls thought. I bought two bracelets from the shop,

the dragon jade bracelet being one of them. You were supposed to receive the other, as I just wanted to compensate for the one I broke.”

“However, I somehow mixed the two up and gave you the wrong one,” he said as he left the room. He came back soon after along with the two jade bracelets and placed them in front of Giya.

He didn’t want Giya to believe the lie any longer. With the proof in front of her now, she definitely couldn’t.

Giya bit her lower lip softly before smiling bitterly. She nodded slowly.

“So that’s the entire story… No man would ever be that stupid and give his family heirloom to a girl he barely even knew! I guess I’ve just been overthinking everything!”

Gerald looked down with a sigh. The weight on his chest had been lifted. It felt relieving to finally be able to clear things up with her.

“Alright then Gerald, I won’t be disturbing you anymore. I’ve given it some thought and I know that I’ll only end up troubling you more by staying here. I really shouldn’t worry my dad too much either. Though Yacob has numerous flaws, at least I can trust that he’ll be sincere. I’ve decided. I’m going home now.”

As soon as she ended her sentence, she stood up immediately and began packing her things up.

Giya had made up her mind. She would return home to be engaged to Yacob.

Gerald felt uneasy but who was he to stop her?

He had Mila now. What right did he have to have ambiguous relationships with other women? With that thought in his head, he chose not to stop her.

As he sent Giya off, he thought that the incident was now truly over.

He could finally focus all his attention on the investment of Serene County.

Sometime later, Gerald received a call…

 

Chapter 419

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 419 It was a call from Morgana.

She told him that the gathering for high school friends was going to be held that afternoon.

Morgana had simply called to remind him about the event and to tell him to be there early.

It had been three days since Gerald had last eaten a meal at Mead Hall.

So Giya had been gone for three days now.

Morgana had elaborated on the event the day before. Soon, many of their classmates would start their internships or work.

Therefore, the gathering was planned for old friends to catch up with one another while they were still here.

At first, Gerald had not wanted to participate. However, Gerald had attended an opening ceremony for a newly invested company the day before. As he was about to leave, he bumped into Morgana and a few others who had gone to the carnival to have some fun.

Tagging along with Morgana was another female high school friend by the name of XellaJaquin.

She was their assistant monitor back then and she was definitely one of the class beauties. She was excellent in her academics as well. Similar to the old Sharon, she had always had a good relationship with Gerald who shared an equally good academic performance.

Gerald found out that Xella had returned to Serene County for future prospects. She seemed to have also found a nice job there.

The moment they saw Gerald, they tried their best to invite him over as well.

Gerald found it hard to reject so many people so he ended up promising that he would go.

After telling Morgana he hadn’t forgotten, he hung up.

A few seconds later, he received a message on his phone. It was Xella.

“So when are we going, Gerald?”

Gerald knew that she lived in Serene County. Actually, it wasn’t too far off from the hotel Gerald was currently staying in.

On the day they met, Gerald had joked that they should go to the gathering together.

However, he hadn’t expected Xella to agree to that.

“I’ll be right there soon!” replied Gerald.

“No need to rush. I need another forty minutes to wash my hair and some other things. Let’s meet up at the Tranquil Road bus stop later!”

“No problem!”

Though Xella used to be the assistant class monitor, she was a quiet and gentle girl who rarely talked.

She just liked to study and her friends in class were mostly the more studious people.

A good example would be how she didn’t like talking to people like Cameron—who had a powerful family background—and Waylon Letts—who was the wealthiest in class—since they were both quite mischievous. Money and power just weren’t how she chose her friends.

Meeting her again, however, Gerald could see that Xella had undergone some big changes from when they had last met years ago.

The way she presented herself, she had become quite optimistic and capable. She was even able to joke with the others, much unlike her past self.

It seemed that girls would naturally change after experiencing different things in society.

Ignoring all that, something much more important was on Gerald’s mind. He remembered back when he had an ambiguous relationship with Xella at the start of their junior year.

She had been with him not because of his charm.

Back then, Gerald was still considerably handsome. However, the things that mattered to her was his honesty and his studious nature. Adding to that, he also liked to listen to a group of girls—which she was a part of—when they told him things. As a result, an ambiguous relationship blossomed between the two.

However, his ambiguous relationship with Xella lasted only for a short while. It ended not too long after.

Shaking his head, he batted the old memories away before taking his car key out.

Gerald then drove his Mercedes-Benz G-Class to the Tranquil Road bus stop.

He didn’t need to keep a low profile anymore since he was no longer in the university.

Besides, he wasn’t driving the car to show off. He simply needed a vehicle to get somewhere.

He knew that there was a chance that Sharon and Lilian might be at the gathering as well. Though they didn’t know who his true identity was, they at least already knew that he was rich. Knowing that, Gerald didn’t think too much about them.

When he arrived at the bus stop, there was still half an hour left before the appointed time.

Since he still had some time before she arrived, he parked his car at a nearby parking lot.

He then went to a coffee shop to buy two cups of coffee before finally walking toward the bus stop to wait for Xella.

“Gerald?”

While sitting there, he heard a female voice call out to him.

Gerald turned around.

Before him, was a girl intimately locking arms with a man. Both of them were wearing sunglasses and they were dressed up fashionably.

Though her eyes were hidden, the rest of her face was beautiful. She even had a nice figure going for her. The man, on the other hand, looked slightly displeasing to the eye to be absolutely honest. He was short, plump, and ugly. His face was filled with pockmarks too.

Despite them looking like night and day, they appeared to be a couple.

Chapter 420

Gerald Crawford:The Secretly Rich Man Novel (Invisible or Poorest) Chapter 420 “What, it’s only been a few years, Gerald. Have you already forgotten about me?” said the girl as she removed her sunglasses.

“You’re Rae!” said Gerald, recognizing her immediately.

After hearing him say that, her partner took his sunglasses off as well. Gerald immediately realized who he was after that.

His name was Heath Seaver. His classmates liked calling him ‘tycoon’ since he definitely looked the part. He was actually quite rich back when they were still in school. However, he was also famously known for trying to gain the affection of up to ten girls back then, though he was rejected more than fifteen times.

How was that possible? It was because some of the girls rejected him twice!

The issue always boiled down to his face having too many pockmarks.

Aside from that, he had suffered from a high fever once when he was young, so his reactions were always a bit slower compared to the others.

When it came to bullying back then, the victims were always either Gerald or him. Both of them suffered the same misfortune.

And what about Rae Walker?

She had been a beauty even back then.

She was from the school’s art team and she danced Latin just like Lilian.

However, compared to Lilian, she was way more attractive and seductive.

Gerald still remembered how much Rae had enjoyed herself during the schooling years. There were always several people trying to gain her affection. As a result, she had been in love many, many times.

Some of the boys she dated had rich family backgrounds and were quite famous in school.

Others were from the school’s sports team. Back then, they all looked like they would become celebrities one day.

Rae had even dated handsome gangsters from outside their school before.

During that period, a few magnificent motorcycles could always be seen parked at the entrance of the school during weekends. It meant that she was going out on a date, and it always made for a spectacular scene.

It was a surprise to Gerald that she would end up being together with the tycoon after graduating from high school.

His surprise was obvious to them as his eyes were wide open.

“What are you staring at? Actually, I never expected to see you attending the gathering! It’s really been quite a while since we’ve last met!” said Rae as she placed a hand on Heath’s shoulder while rolling her eyes at Gerald.

“It truly has been. Both of you are even together now!” replied Gerald with a smile.

Rae simply sneered. “That’s right, we are. What about it? He loves me very much and that’s all that matters. He even owns a few shops in the county town!”

Gerald couldn’t tell whether she was trying to show off, but she really liked talking.

Seeing that he had gone quiet, Rae showed a smug expression on her face as she locked her arms with Heath’s again.

She could sense Gerald’s astonishment at how the tycoon and her were a couple now.

Gerald couldn’t deny that he was slightly jealous.

However, it wasn’t about love. Gerald and Heath were both losers at heart. However, one of them had a beautiful girlfriend now while the other remained the same.

With that in mind, anyone would be unhappy about that.

Rae enjoyed seeing Gerald’s mood sour.

“Xella will be here soon. Let’s go together!” said Gerald as he smiled bitterly while shaking his head.

Rae simply sneered again. “We’re definitely not taking the bus. We’re just waiting for our ride here. Jason and the others will be picking us up later. That’s only because the tycoon hasn’t had the time to get his driving license yet. Otherwise, we would have bought a car by now!” replied Rae.

“I see!”

It was unpleasant talking to her so he spent the remaining time chatting idly with them.

It was sometime later when he heard a female voice calling out to him.

“Gerald!”

Looking up, he saw her standing opposite the road, a parasol in hand. Her body appeared slim and tall, and her shoulder-length curls were red. She was walking toward him now.

The closer she came, the more attention she received from the other men waiting at the bus stop. Their eyes were glued onto her.

With her beauty and grace, who could blame them?

The woman who now stood before Gerald, was none other than Xella.