Chapter 760: Chapter 391: An Unexpectedly Familiar Sight (Second Update, Bonus for New Alliance Hierarch xin水晶xin)
The woman with the three-billion nickname and Ryan Sheldon both stood up.
Lawrence Winters followed suit, but she only clapped her hands without singing.
The woman nudged her gently with her elbow, signaling her to sing.
Lawrence Winters gave a peculiar smile and muttered under her breath, "...I’m afraid she can’t handle it. I better not cause a scene."
She still didn’t sing.
There were more than a hundred people in the restaurant, so with so many people singing the birthday song together, Lawrence not singing didn’t stand out.
In fact, apart from the woman and Mrs. Foster, no one even noticed that Lawrence didn’t sing the birthday song.
After the song, Ruby Sheldon held the large dinner knife and made the first cut into the birthday cake.
Professional caterers were then tasked with dividing the cake.
It was necessary for each person present to get a small piece of birthday cake.
Lawrence wasn’t interested in western cakes; she preferred local desserts, so the piece of cake in front of her remained untouched.
Autumn Stetford seemed to be keeping an eye on her and specifically asked, "Miss Winters, is the cake not to your taste?"
Lawrence slightly bowed, smiled, and said, "No, it smells delicious, but I’ve exceeded my calorie limit for today, and I really can’t eat any more."
Autumn chuckled, "Why is a young girl like you dieting? A balanced diet is better. Besides, wasting food is wrong; didn’t your parents teach you that?"
"Of course, my parents taught me. So I’ll take this cake home and eat it after exercising tomorrow," Lawrence responded with ease, navigating the conversation deftly.
Autumn gave a slight smile, "I didn’t expect Miss Winters to be so thrifty, even packing up food to take home when visiting."
Lawrence wanted to roll her eyes.
You say I’m wasting food.
Now you’re saying I shouldn’t take food home?
Saying everything both ways—why doesn’t she just ascend to heaven?
Lawrence muttered internally, outwardly she could only shrug and maintain her smile, "Lady Stetford, you’re right! We come from modest means and were taught to cherish food. This is my cake, and if I don’t eat it, it will go to waste, right?"
"Would Lady Stetford rather see it wasted than let me take it with me?"
In front of these big shots, she was completely at ease discussing her modest background, without a hint of inferiority.
This calm, composed attitude left a good impression on many of the ladies present.
Mrs. Foster was no exception.
She laughed as she spoke up for Lawrence, "Oh Autumn, you’re joking with the young ones, and they take it seriously. Come, wrap up my piece too; it’s so delicious I want to take it home and savor it."
Mrs. Sheng chimed in, "Yes, yes, pack mine as well. I want to take it home too."
If anyone else defended Lawrence, Autumn would definitely have retorted directly.
But Mrs. Foster was the exception.
She averted her gaze awkwardly, smiled, and said, "That’s great, I hope everyone can finish the cake. Share in our Betty’s good fortune; putting on three pounds each would be the best."
"Oh Autumn, you’re too much! A bite of your cake and we’ll gain three pounds! I wish you to gain ten pounds!" Mrs. Foster burst out laughing.
Autumn laughed along, and the atmosphere at the table was harmonious and lively.
Ryan Sheldon and the woman were absorbed in their conversation, oblivious to the exchange between Lawrence and Autumn.
The kitchen staff, informed of the situation, hurriedly provided some disposable recyclable paper boxes to help them pack the cake.
Aiden Sheldon had just finished smoking outside and came in.
As he walked down the aisle, he saw a waiter pushing a small cart with paper boxes on it and curiously asked, "Huh? What’s this for?"
"Mr. Sheldon, a few ladies at that table want to pack their cake, so I’m here to give them recyclable paper boxes for packing."
Aiden was taken aback, "Packing cake? Why?"
He had never thought that guests at his family’s party would pack cake to take home.
The waiter recounted what had just happened.
She and two other female waiters were specifically responsible for the table with the ladies, including Lady Stetford, and were well-informed about the incident.
After hearing the whole story, Aiden felt that Lawrence Winters was indeed capable of stirring things up.
But since Mrs. Foster supported her, he decided it was best to give in.
So he didn’t say anything and planned to return to his seat.
At that moment, Lawrence happened to turn around, making gestures to Edward Foster on the opposite side of the aisle.
Her pretty face was brimming with a smile and her posture was charming and alluring. The silhouette of her in that dress looked surprisingly familiar.
Aiden’s lips pressed tightly together.
He couldn’t quite control his legs and found himself walking toward where Lawrence was sitting, effectively blocking the view between her and Edward.
Lawrence looked up and saw Aiden standing before her.
His face was expressionless, but he didn’t seem to have ill intentions.
Lawrence had a keen sense of intuition.
She looked up at Aiden and cheerfully greeted, "Hello, Mr. Sheldon."
Aiden responded with a simple "Hmm," stared at her dress for a moment, and suddenly said, "Your dress looks familiar."
Lawrence: "..."
Whoa!
Here we go again!
Is this ever going to end?!
She had a WTF moment, debating if she should say something offensive!
Isn’t it just a dress?!
Did she inadvertently kick the Sheldon family hornets’ nest?
First Ruby, then Autumn, and now even Aiden with his cryptic remarks implied as a jab!
But it really was just a coincidence!
She simply fancied this dress by chance!
Damn Dior!
It truly screwed her over!
For the first time, Lawrence doubted her decision.
Should she have not come at all?
Despite the turmoil in her mind, she quickly stood up, somewhat helplessly, and said, "Mr. Sheldon, please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t intentionally choose the same dress as your daughter. I didn’t know your daughter also picked this style..."
Aiden was a bit puzzled, "Betty chose this dress style too? But what she’s wearing isn’t the same as yours."
He glanced back at Ruby Sheldon, sitting where he used to, and sure enough, Ruby’s dress was not the same style at all.
Lawrence was extremely embarrassed.
Really?
Aiden didn’t know about Ruby’s "carefully selected" first dress?
Wasn’t it posted on social media?!
Lawrence couldn’t help but respond with sarcasm, albeit internally.
Not far from her, Autumn watched all this unfold, tightly gripping her knife and fork, trembling slightly as she lowered her eyes, picked up a piece of cake, and placed it into her mouth, finding it tasteless.
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This is the second update, a bonus Chapter for the new Alliance Hierarch "xin水晶xin," with the third update at 7:30 PM.
Love to everyone!
