"l earned it myself," Ryan Thompson said calmly.
"Just you?" Jasmine scoffed, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Did you take a look in the mirror? You couldn't pay me back this morning, and now you expect us to believe you made four hundred bucks in less than half a day? Did you sell something?"
"Haha! This guy wouldn't even be worth that much if he did sell!" The whole class burst into laughter.
Seeing his classmates mock him, Ryan sighed. "Jasmine, I've already paid you back what I owed. Thanks." He then sat down at his desk.
Jasmine frowned, putting the money away. "Hey, tell me how you made five hundred bucks in just one morning!"
"I found some money," Ryan casually made up an excuse. Honestly, earning five hundred in a morning was impossible fora student like him. Everyone knew that part-time jobs usually paid around ten bucks an hour.
"Wow, you must have hit the jackpot!" Jasmine sneered, though there was a hint of envy in her voice. Other classmates gathered around, clearly intrigued. "Hey, Ryan, how much did you find?"
"Yeah, come on! We're all classmates. Just tell us how much you found!" With everyone bombarding him with questions, Ryan felt helpless and finally said,
"Five thousand bucks." "What? You found five thousand dollars? That's a month's worth of living expenses!" All the classmates were astonished, secretly grumbling to themselves about how lucky Ryan Thompson was to find five thousand bucks. Why couldn't they have found it instead? Jasmine glared at Ryan increasingly annoyed.
"Hey, why don't you return that money to its owner? Five thousand dollars is a lot! They must be worried sick! How can you be so selfish?!" With her words, other disgruntled classmates chimed in.
"Yeah, you should give the money back! How can you just keep it? What if it's someone's hard-earned monthly salary? You just took it, and now they're left with nothing!"
"That's true, but if it's a classmate's money, that's even worse. We're all broke as students! Ryan, this isn't right! What if someone reports it, and the cameras catch you? You'd be in big trouble."
"Exactly! There are cameras everywhere now. I suggest you return it voluntarily." As the classmates chattered away, Ryan could only manage a bitter smile. "I waited, but no one showed up."
"Waiting a minute or two isn't enough; you should at least wait for the owner to come back."
"If I found it, I'd wait a whole day if I had to." "What's the point? They probably did it on purpose. Five thousand bucks is a fortune for them! If it were me, l'd grab it and run!" Jasmine crossed her arms, even more upset. If she had found that money, she could have bought a decent set of makeup.
"True, talking to someone like him is just a waste of time. Forget it, I'm done." The other classmates shook their heads and returned to their seats, no longer interested in Ryan Thompson.
"Hey!" One girl stood up, unable to hold back her frustration.
"Enough already! If you found that money, would you really return it? Stop pretending! You all sound like a bunch of moral hypocrites!" This girl was Juliet, a classmate of Ryan's.
Their families were similar, so they shared a sense of camaraderie and had a decent relationship.
"What are you talking about, Juliet?"
Jasmine shot a glare at Julie , her voice dripping with arrogance. "You think this is your own opinion? Do you even have any morals? This is just wrong! If we found money, of course we would return it!"
"Exactly! It's embarrassing to be classmates with Someone who has such twisted values," chimed in another classmate, looking down on Juliet.
Juliet was furious!
Just then, the sound of high heels echoed down the hallway, accompanied by a fragrant breeze.
In walked Andria, the wife of Ryan Thompson, her long legs confidently striding in. Andria's expression was cold as she scanned the room, her eyes landing on Ryan in the corner, revealing a flash of anger.
But she wouldn't dare show it here; if her students found out Ryan was her husband, she'd be mortified.
Seeing Andria, Ryan quickly pulled Juliet down into her seat, regretting his decision to attend class today. He wondered if Andria would deliberately target him now.
Noticing the other students were indifferent, Andria frowned. "What's going on?"
"Mrs. Andria, someone found money and didn't return it! They're keeping it for themselves! Don't you think that's immoral?" Jasmine said sarcastically.
"Who found the money?" Andria's expression softened as she asked, genuinely curious. Jasmine stood up, pointing at Ryan in the corner.
"Him! Ryan Thompson!" Andria's brow immediately furrowed, her voice cold as she reprimanded,
"Ryan Thompson, why didn't you return the money?"
"I..." Ryan felt a chill run down his spine under Andria's intense gaze. He knew she was genuinely angry. He wasn't sure if other students would return the money they found, but he knew Andria would.
Despite her sharp tongue, she had a strong moral compass. "How much did you pick up?" Andria's eyes were fixed on Ryan Thompson, as if she wanted to devour him whole!
"Teacher, he picked up five thousand," Jasmine chimed in.
"Five thousand?" Andria's voice rose sharply. She strutted over on her long legs, her expression filled with disdain. "Why didn't you return that money? That could be someone's living expenses for an entire month! How can you act like this?" Ryan didn't bother to defend himself; he knew it would be pointless.
The other students snickered, some even starting to mock him openly. Ryan kept his head down, silent.
Andria's frown deepened, her face cold. "I thought being poor was one thing, but at least money should be earned honestly. With your actions, your family must be so embarrassed! You might as well plan to live off that five thousand for the rest of your life!" Ryan forced a bitter smile. Was she implying that he would be the one to embarrass himself?
"Teacher, Ryan has been waiting for the owner, but no one showed up," Juliet said softly.
"Waiting? Do you really believe that excuse, Ryan?" Andria sneered. Her mocking tone made Ryan's fists clench tightly, and he suddenly felt the urge to throw the money in his bag right at her face!
Growing up together, sharing everything, and now Andria thought he was that kind of person? Fury bubbled inside him, but he bit his tongue. He couldn't reveal that he was actually wealthy just yet.
"Ryan, this is how your life will be. A person who is greedy for small gains will never achieve anything," Andria said as she returned to the front of the class, and the other students cheered her on.
"Someone like Ryan having a bright future? That's a joke! When he finds a wife, she'll probably be driven crazy!" Jasmine added sarcastically.
"How could someone like Ryan Thompson ever find a girlfriend? Unless the girl is blind!" Laughter erupted in the classroom.
"What are you all saying?" Andria shot an angry glare at Jasmine. "Is this ever going to end? Someone found some money, and what does it have to do with you? A few comments are fine, but you keep going on and on. Are we even going to have class?"
"Teacher..." Jasmine's face flushed red as she shot a fierce glare at Ryan. Andria was known for her short temper, and the other students fell silent, not daring to speak up.
Ryan glanced at Andria a few times. This wasn't about him standing up for himself; it was because Jasmine had insulted Andria, who was technically Ryan's wife.
The rest of the class was a blur for Ryan. Andria kept her face cold, and when the bell finally rang, the class felt liberated. However, as she walked out, she shot Ryan a frosty look and said, "Ryan Thompson, come to my office!" With no choice, Ryan stood up and followed Andria out.
Once they left, the classroom buzzed with chatter. "Hmph! You found money and didn't even treat me to a meal. I hope the teacher gives you a hard time!" Jasmine sneered.
"Why should he treat you to a meal?" Juliet chimed in.
"Hey, I'm talking about my own business! What does it have to do with you? You keep defending Ryan Thompson; you wouldn't happen to like that loser, would you? Your standards must be really low!" Jasmine mocked, and the other students joined in, leaving Juliet blushing furiously.
Smack!
Back in the office, Andria pulled out five thousand dollars in cash from her bag and slapped it on the desk, disgusted. "Give the money back to him!" Ryan Thompson let out a bitter smile. After all the time they had spent together, was he really that insignificant in her eyes?
"l'll pay you back," Ryan said calmly, looking at Andria. "And by the way, I'm moving out today!"