From the way the girl looked at Ethan, Arthur could tell she liked him.
However, she might not be that brave talking to someone she doesn't know.
Her gaze towards Arthur was still filled with curiosity, but she didn't dare speak to him.
"Maria, the show will start now," Ethan told her.
The girl called Maria nodded. After that, she and Ethan went behind the counter where the birthday cake was. The latter took a small microphone connected to a small speaker.
He cleared his throat and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, thanks for coming, I'm Ethan, Isla's younger brother and I will be the host."
Seeing the little boy, all of Isla's friends looked at each other, thinking that even if they weren't siblings, their qualities wouldn't differ much.
On average, when they were the same age, they still cried asking for cellphones or game consoles.
Meanwhile, there was one more person approaching Arthur, a bald man with quite a handsome face in somewhat frivolous clothing as if he didn't care about his appearance.
"It's a bit hard to recognize you because of the night, but you're the student in that viral video, right?" he asked Arthur.
The few people who heard that observed Arthur more closely and finally realized who he was.
Before he answered to confirm, the man held out his hand for a handshake.
"I'm Ang, Isla's classmate in high school and I'm also studying at Harvard," he said.
Arthur wasn't sure what the man's name meant, but since he recognized him while the others didn't, he chose to respond to him instead.
"Arthur," he answered.
However, he only replied, not returning his handshake.
Ang's face twitched slightly seeing that, but he didn't think much of it. Still smiling, he said, "You know, I like everything you have to say. Now I'm even more certain that I don't have to push myself too hard if I end up just being someone else's underling."
"That's a fine thought, but if you don't know how to be a boss, being a good underling is the only way to have a comfortable life," Arthur replied.
"Well, luckily my cravings aren't that big, being able to eat while watching anime and reading novels in my free time is enough."
"Yeah, being free is nice, I'm surprised someone like you got into Harvard."
"Hehhee, I'm lucky to be born with a slightly better than average brain, that's all." The bald man laughed.
"Anyway, there's going to be something interesting," he added, looking at Isla who was now standing behind her birthday cake. The birthday song is about to start.
On the other hand, Luke walked over to Isla.
Arthur stared at them before glancing oddly at Ang.
Something was going to happen, but the fact that Ang knew about it made Arthur think that it might be more than just Isla.
It was just that, while he could guess many things about her, he couldn't predict the actions she would take.
When Luke finally got near Isla, he clapped his hands to the tune of the birthday song.
Since it had already started, the others followed, including Ang who was standing beside Arthur. He looked excited, but Arthur remained standing still.
This doesn't mean he's anti-things like this, but different life experiences make him see things differently.
In his thousands of years of life, there were times when he struggled to increase his strength amidst his diminishing lifespan.
In that situation, he couldn't like something like birthday celebrations because every time his birthday date came, it meant his death was getting closer.
Maybe if humans on earth could predict when their lifespan would be up, they would hate their birthdays too.
Singing the birthday song by her friends, Isla's smile became wider than usual, it was clear that she was really happy.
As the song came to a close, she blew out the 21-shaped candle and then received applause from everyone.
"That's right, Isla, how about you open the gifts now?" said one of his friends.
It seemed everyone agreed as they nodded one by one.
However, at the same time, Luke suddenly took out a pink box, shaped like a heart.
Upon seeing that, everyone fell silent including Isla.
"Isla," Luke said, opening the box which actually contained a diamond ring.
He smiled as he did but on the other hand, Isla knitted her brows.
Before he could say anything, Isla spoke first. "I will not accept you!"
The fact that she was so direct made the atmosphere freeze.
Luke's expression also froze for a moment, and then smiled again.
"Yeah, I know that," he said. "However, I really like you and hope that you can become my wife in the future."
His expression was filled with expectation, it seemed he did like Isla. It was natural considering the advantages of that woman. Like Isabel, there were too many men who wanted to be her husband.
"Hehehehe..." Ang who was standing beside Arthur laughed so Arthur looked at him.
"Do you know why Isla is such an amazing woman?" he asked Arthur.
Of course, the latter couldn't say for sure as there were things he didn't know. He chose not to answer, just waited.
Meanwhile, Isla cut her birthday cake, placed it on a small plate and handed it to Ethan who, though he glanced curiously at Luke, didn't lose his composure in the least.
After that, Isla told the boy and Maria to go to the back.
"Come on..." Luke spoke again seeing Isla not responding.
"I know that you're targeting me, but now definitely isn't the time for you to do this," he said. "Your hasty actions only make me think you're deliberately trying to throw yourself at me... You know, like today's popular dramas where the main female exhibit falls for the villain she wants to defeat."
His words made Isla's friends want to cough, as if they were saying, "man, don't overestimate yourself."
Actually, seeing their expressions made Arthur a little confused. He thought they were not the least bit surprised by the intrigue, that there was a very big problem here. It was as if they all knew this beforehand, just like Ang.
"You underestimate me too much," Isla replied without averting her eyes. She kept cutting her birthday cake to share with her friends.
"No, I know you're smart, but this really isn't the time." Luke shook his head, still convinced that Isla couldn't do anything to him.
And right after he said that, a man who possessed a large build suddenly came forward. He was holding a baseball bat that he had brought out of nowhere.
"Didn't you see us?" He asked with a fixed gaze on Luke.
When the latter looked at him, the large man swung the baseball bat at Luke's face.
"You?" The man was taken aback before the baseball bat hit him in the face, knocking him down instantly.
"Hahaha..." Ang laughed again before running towards Luke.
Of course, he and the big man weren't the only ones, the others also did the same.
What they next did was gang up on Luke so he didn't have a chance to speak.
The neighbors, though somewhat surprised, did nothing, just stood there silently, watching it all in whispers.
Isla's friends didn't beat up Luke for long. They then tied his hands and feet so he couldn't move.
Upon seeing their actions, Arthur couldn't help but recall a saying; (women area beautiful as a fiction, but dangerous as a fact!)
He thought he already understood Isla. Although he was a bit unsure how she got her friends to do this.
If they knew about Isla and Luke's matter, they should understand enough the consequences of getting involved in this. After all, they weren't kids anymore, but third year university students.
Given that Europeans tend not to like getting involved in other people's affairs especially if it has consequences, getting them involved is certainly not an easy thing.
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