Chapter 56

"Gilmore, did you go to the wrong room?" Lan asked indirectly.

When Gilmore heard this, he realized Lan didn't want him at the dinner. This, however, was precisely what Gilmore wanted.

He smiled and said, "I heard you invited our old classmates to dinner at the Milky Way Hotel tonight, and I was lucky enough to be included. So, here I am."

Ian smiled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't invite you."

"Ian, you asked me to invite as many classmates as possible, so I invited Gilmore," Robin explained.

Ian glared at Robin. He had told Robin to invite many classmates, but he never imagined she would invite Gilmore.

"Ian, Gilmore is also our classmate," Lilian interjected, looking at Ian.

Ian hadn't expected Lilian to defend Gilmore, which made him jealous. He'd come to Oakhaven Film Academy to pursue Lilian, but she always kept him at arm's length. He'd even asked her to order dishes earlier, and she'd refused. Yet, now she was defending Gilmore, treating him better. The others also noticed Lilian's concern for Gilmore.

Despite his anger, Ian plastered on a smile. "You're right," he said to Lilian. Then, turning to Gilmore, he added, "Gilmore, please take a seat."

"Thank you, Ian," Gilmore replied with a smile.

Celia then said to Gilmore, "Gilmore, aren't you going to introduce this beauty?"

Ian and the others immediately looked at Everly, secretly admiring her beauty and, more or less, envying Gilmore. Ian, however, considered that the beautiful girl might be Gilmore's girlfriend. If Lilian knew Gilmore had a girlfriend, would she still like him? Ian knew that since entering Oakhaven Film Academy, Lilian, despite barely knowing Gilmore, had developed feelings for him. If Gilmore brought a girlfriend, Lilian would undoubtedly give up.

Thinking this, a smile spread across Ian's face. "Gilmore," he said, "when did you get such a beautiful girlfriend? Why didn't you tell us? Afraid we'd steal her?"

He firmly believed Everly was Gilmore's girlfriend and wanted Lilian to give up on him.

When Everly heard Ian call her Gilmore's girlfriend, she blushed deeply, embarrassed.

Robin, smiling, intervened, "Ian, this is Gilmore's younger sister, Everly."

"Sister!" Ian and Celia exclaimed in surprise.

Lilian, who'd been slightly disappointed, was now relieved. She looked at Gilmore and Everly, feeling indescribable joy.

"She's Gilmore's sister, not his girlfriend. I misunderstood last night," she clarified.

Gilmore looked at Ian and Celia, his gaze finally settling on Lilian's face. "That's right, she's my sister," he said, though his gaze, clear for everyone to see, was directed at Lilian. Lilian returned his gaze, and the two locked eyes like lovers.

The others realized the special connection between them and felt a pang of jealousy.

Seeing Gilmore and Lilian's loving exchange, Ian felt frustrated, wishing Gilmore would vanish.

"Well, since everyone's here, let's order," Ms. Catherine announced. She'd been in the private room for nearly an hour and was about to fall asleep. She hadn't expected Ian to be so troublesome, asking for menus and then chatting endlessly.

Ian reacted, saying, "That's right, everyone, hurry up. Don't keep Ms. Catherine waiting."

Ms. Catherine smiled awkwardly. "It's fine."

Ian ordered several dishes, each costing two or three hundred dollars—expensive for a small county. Everyone thought, "Ian really is the richest man in the county. He's so generous!" They assumed he was being generous to impress Lilian, making the lavish meal possible only because of her.

Inspired by Ian's generosity, they each ordered similarly expensive dishes. Ms. Catherine was delighted; her hard work seemed worthwhile. The meal would easily cost three or four thousand dollars.

After entering the orders on the machine, Ms. Catherine asked, "Anything else?"

Ian and the others had finished ordering, leaving Gilmore and Everly. Noticing this, Ian, keen to display his generosity to Lilian, said to Gilmore, "Gilmore, you and your sister haven't ordered yet. Order whatever you want."

Gilmore took a menu, looking at Ian. "Is that alright?" he asked. I guess you rarely eat in such a high-end hotel, poor boy, Ian thought. Despite his inner disdain, he smiled. "It's okay, order whatever you like. I can afford it."