NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32: Worried
"Okay, okay, I get it. Let's buy a house first, then a car," Harry replied with a smile.
"Ding Ling Ding Ding..."
At that moment, a cell phone rang. Wanting to continue questioning Harry, Wanda took out her phone and muttered, "This girl, I bet she's asking for money again."
After answering the phone, Wanda said directly, "Elena, when are you coming home? It's already past 8 o'clock! It's not safe for a girl to be out this late!"
"Sister... I... I drank a little... I feel a bit dizzy... You... come and get me..."
Harry listened closely. Elena voice on the phone was slurred; she seemed drunk.
The background noise was chaotic, with the voices of a boy and several girls urging Elena to drink.
Harry's brow furrowed immediately.
"Elena! How could you drink? What are you doing? You've gone too far today!" Wanda scolded her sister angrily.
"Sister... I want to go home... come and get me... hurry up..." Elena's voice sounded impatient and anxious.
"Elena, where are you?" Harry took the phone from Wanda and asked gently.
"Brother-in-law... I... I'm... at... Restaurant 108 of the Grand Court Hotel... Oh! I don't want to drink anymore!! You guys go away!!..." Elena answered in a daze. In the background, a boy's voice and several girls' voices urged her to drink, creating a noisy commotion.
Harry could only make out that she was at Restaurant 108 of the Grand Court Hotel.
"Okay, I'll come get you right away. Don't drink anymore and don't go anywhere. Wait for me!"
Before Harry could finish, the call ended abruptly.
Harry frowned in anger, handed the phone back to Wanda, and said, "From the sound of it, someone is pressuring her to drink. I'd better go and bring her back!"
"Brother-in-law, what's wrong? Has that girl Elena gotten into trouble again?" Clara walked over curiously and asked.
"Elena is drunk. I'm going to pick her up now," Harry explained briefly. He hurried into the garage, stepped on the accelerator, and sped off toward the Grand Court Hotel.
Harry, having experienced high school and college, was no stranger to such situations.
Elena is beautiful, excels in her studies, and, most importantly, is very naive.
At such student gatherings, there are always boys who like her but can't have her, and they might have ulterior motives.
Even her so-called friends and classmates might not have good intentions.
The sting of a wasp is the most venomous, and the heart of a woman can be the most malicious. Compared to her peers, Elena is too outstanding. Some girls are jealous of her beauty and academic success, and it's likely they are playing tricks on her.
The more Harry thought about what he had witnessed in high school, the more anxious he became. He pressed the accelerator, and the car roared forward.
Grand Court Hotel, Private Dining Room 108.
A beautiful and glamorous young woman snatched Elena's phone. She had long wavy hair, a delicate and charming face, and was dressed fashionably with heavy makeup.
She exuded the charm of an internet celebrity—seductive yet maintaining a hint of innocence. However, the smirk on her face as she looked at Elena carried a trace of malice.
"Elena, seriously? We're all about to graduate soon, and after that, we'll be scattered all over the country, rarely getting a chance to meet again. It's a rare occasion for us to have a class reunion, but you're always on your phone. You're really killing the vibe! Come on, let's have another drink, just the two of us!"
This young woman was named Jia, one of the renowned beauties of their school.
However, compared to Elena—who not only had outstanding academic achievements but also possessed a pure and elegant beauty—Jia's heavily made-up appearance seemed far less natural, giving off a somewhat gaudy aura.
Elena was indisputably regarded as the school's most beautiful girl by all the male students.
Meanwhile, Jia, who had an extremely strong sense of vanity, could only play second fiddle.
Even the guy she had been pursuing for a long time had always secretly admired Elena instead.
This filled Jia with jealousy and resentment toward Elena.
On the surface, Jia treated Elena as a "sister" and often acted as if she was looking out for her.
However, deep down, she harbored hatred and constantly schemed to lead Elena astray—to make her grades drop and ruin her reputation so that her crush would finally give up on Elena.
"Elena, don't be such a buzzkill. Here, I'll personally toast you. You're not going to refuse me, are you?"
A tall and lean, handsome young man approached Elena with a smile, holding a glass of red wine. He exchanged a quick, knowing glance with Jia before handing Elena her glass, speaking with an air of authority.
"Elena, give me some face and drink one more glass. If you do, I'll have my driver take you home."
This young man was Jian, a wealthy second-generation heir and one of the school's infamous troublemakers. The delinquent students in the school all addressed him as "boss."
It was Jian who organized this class reunion, covering all the expenses himself.
Many female students admired and adored him, but he had his eyes set only on Elena.
Even after being rejected by her countless times—despite direct refusals and even warnings from teachers—he refused to give up.
With the college entrance exams approaching, Jian knew that once they graduated, his poor academic performance would make it impossible for him to pursue the top-achieving Elena.
So, he had carefully orchestrated this setup, bribing several of Elena's so-called "good friends" to get her drunk. His goal? To take advantage of her and ensure she had no choice but to be with him.
All the girls present were aware of his plan.
Only the innocent Elena had no idea that she had already become their prey.
"Elena, you're so talented! Your future is bright. With our grades, we'll probably only get into an average university. But once you're at Oxford or Stanford University, don't forget about us!"
Another girl joined in, her hair tied in a ponytail, her body slightly chubby, and her face marked with acne.