The Return Of the Invincible Heiress
Chapter 166

Chapter 166: Chapter 166

Avery listened quietly as a cacophony of gossip reached her ears. "How many men is she flirting with? Is she trying to win over all the handsome guys?" "Alaric isn’t like those flirty boys. He’s just a simple guy who loves basketball. Avery, please just let him go." "Alaric said that anyone who wants to pursue Avery has to get through him first. Anyone who can’t beat him in basketball is out, and I really feel sorry for him." "Guys like Alaric, who only know how to play sports and study, can’t compete with a cunning girl like Avery..."

Avery remained calm and unbothered, while Alaric was furious. He stepped in front of Avery, hands on his hips, glaring at the crowd. "What? I’m willingly being Avery’s toy! Are you jealous? No matter how jealous you get, she’ll never look at you. You can just stew in your jealousy." His words struck a nerve with his female admirers.

A beautiful girl stepped forward, challenging Avery. "Avery, do you like Alaric?"

Avery poked her head out from behind Alaric and replied, "I like him."

Alaric instantly beamed, his chin lifted high, looking as if he had just won the lottery.

The pretty girl pressed on, "Is he your boyfriend?"

Avery shook her head. "Nope."

The girl continued, "So do you plan to make him your boyfriend?"

Avery shook her head again. "He can’t be my boyfriend."

A wave of disapproval and disdain rippled through the crowd as they exchanged glances at Avery’s words. The pretty girl smirked, turning to Alaric. "Did you hear that? So many girls are chasing you, yet you choose to be Avery’s devoted servant. Avery doesn’t even want you. How embarrassing!"

The crowd’s gazes toward Alaric turned complex, disappointment evident in their eyes. Alaric’s expression darkened, and he prepared to retort.

But Avery smiled and spoke up first. "No matter how you try to provoke our relationship, it’s useless because..." She raised her voice, dropping a bombshell: "Alaric is my brother. We share the same parents."

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent. Everyone froze, astonished as they stared at her and Alaric. Even the beautiful girl was left speechless, unable to respond. Only Alaric frowned, wrapping his arm around Avery’s shoulder, looking hurt. "Avery, how could you reveal that? We agreed this was our secret, and we can’t let anyone at school know. Now, many boys will be vying for Avery’s attention."

He hadn’t even had the chance to protect Avery yet. He couldn’t let others take her away. His buddies, after a brief shock, rushed over, playfully hitting him. "Come on, Alaric, you didn’t introduce us to your sister!" "We’re all good buddies. Do you really think we’d bully your sister?" "Avery, we’re sorry! If we had known you were Alaric’s sister, we wouldn’t have believed those ridiculous rumors online," a young man said.

"It’s fine," Avery cheerfully waved her hand, addressing the onlookers. "Guys, if you easily believe hearsay, you’ll end up looking foolish and get lectured, just like now."

The crowd was embarrassed, especially the pretty girl, who flushed with anger. "Are you ashamed of being siblings? Why hide it and make people misunderstand?"

This time, Alaric retorted sarcastically, "I was afraid of girls like you bothering me, which is why I said that. But I never expected you all would spread rumors about Avery out of jealousy. That’s my mistake. I’ll learn to guard against you in the future."

The crowd erupted in laughter. The pretty girl stomped her foot angrily before storming off.

Alaric felt pleased again, shaking Avery’s arm. "Avery, are you hungry? Let’s go eat. I’ll treat you."

His friends chimed in. "For the first time eating with your sister, we won’t let you pay. It’s on us!"

A group of people surrounded Alaric and Avery as they left.

On the second floor of a nearby fruit tea shop, a few beautiful girls watched the scene below with grim expressions. "Who would have thought Alaric is Avery’s brother? He probably won’t bother with girls anymore now." "Avery is so possessive. She definitely won’t let any girl steal her brother away. Daisy, you’ve got pressure now."

Zoe scanned the area and pretended to be surprised. "I heard the Carter family is quite poor. If Alaric is Avery’s brother, then his family background must not be great either."

"Has anyone been to Alaric’s home? Is his family really that poor?" The girls exchanged glances. "Alaric wins scholarships every year, coaches kids in basketball and tennis, and sometimes trains with club members. But he dresses simply and doesn’t enjoy travel, entertainment, or dating. Everyone says his family must be struggling, which is why he works. He rarely talks about his home, just says a real man should earn his keep and feels embarrassed to spend family money. No one ever thought his family might actually be poor."

Zoe looked at one of the girls. "Daisy, your family is doing well. If Alaric’s family is poor, your parents wouldn’t agree to you dating him, right?"

Zoe had just joined the drama club, and these girls were all members. The requirements to join the Rosemont University drama club were quite high. Most members were the campus’s beauties or top students. Having only joined a few days ago, Zoe had already figured out the dynamics and selected these girls for her schemes.

Zoe had high emotional intelligence, knew how to read the room, and was generous with her actions. She also mentioned that she had a fiancé she loved, which helped ease the tension and win over the other girls’ goodwill and acceptance.

Among these girls, some were prone to jealousy, especially when they saw someone smarter, prettier, or from a better background than themselves. They tended to gossip behind people’s backs. Some were overly vain or ambitious, always striving to climb the social ladder. They would suck up to wealthy students while distancing themselves from those who were less fortunate.

Then there was Daisy Gardner, who openly admired Alaric. Hearing that Alaric and Avery seemed close made Daisy view Avery as a rival, spreading rumors about her. Now, discovering they were siblings left her feeling conflicted, both jealous that Avery had all of Alaric’s attention and concerned that Avery might retaliate.

When she heard Zoe’s question, Daisy self-soothed. "Alaric is so handsome and skilled at basketball. He’s bound to become famous and won’t have money problems later."

Zoe pondered for a moment. "You need to know your opponent well to conquer them. Why not find an opportunity to visit the Carter family?" She spoke genuinely yet with ulterior motives. "Perhaps the Carter family is actually wealthy? Or maybe Alaric’s parents will like you?"

Daisy was intrigued. "I want to visit his house, but I’m afraid he won’t take me."

"You can’t go alone," Zoe feigned deep thought. "Alaric has a group of buddies, right? One of them can ask him to help bring you and a few others along to Alaric’s house. You can’t go alone."

The girls nodded in agreement. "That makes sense. Alaric is very loyal. If his friends want to visit his house, he won’t have a reason to refuse unless his home is really shameful."

Daisy said with a smile, "I’ll ask Alaric’s friend tomorrow to ensure he helps us out."

Zoe replied, "Take a few more people, both boys and girls. That’ll make it lively and avoid any awkwardness." The more people who went, the more witnesses there would be to the Carter family’s poverty, and the more likely it was for word of their poverty to spread.

With so many people, it was likely some would intentionally try to discredit the Carter family. Thinking of this, Zoe smirked cunningly to herself.

Daisy asked, "Why don’t you come along?"

Zoe shook her head. "I’m not as good as Avery, having gone to the same high school. She wouldn’t look at someone like me. I’ll pass."

The girls felt relieved but also praised her. "If the Carter family is poor, there probably won’t be anything fun for us. We can go and come back to tell you."

Zoe sneered, "Alright, take plenty of pictures while you’re there. I want to see what kind of family can raise a guy as handsome as Alaric."