Chapter 2871

"It's our turn now since you've given her your gift already," Lulu teased.

"Of course," Stanley said, not in the least surprised by how others had come to know about Tia's birthday.

He felt that Nicole knew that today was Tia's birthday, and that she had seen her plan to surprise from a mile away. If his guess was correct, Nicole had informed others of the occasion and its purpose. "You've all prepared gifts too?" Tia asked, her eyes widening in surprise.

The last thing she had expected him to do was throw her a surprise party by inviting all of their close friends to celebrate her birthday this year. The only other thing she did not see coming was that they had shown up bearing gifts.

"Of course we did. Preparing gifts is a must for such an important occasion," Lulu replied, before handing her gift to Tia.

After everyone had given the items they had prepared to Tia, Preston lowered his head awkwardly and apologized. "Sorry, I didn't prepare any."

"Did no one tell you?" Samuel asked, a little taken aback.

He knew the kind of person Preston was, and that the latter coming empty-handed was a result of him being genuinely oblivious to the purpose of this occasion rather than being a cheapskate. "Yeah, no one did," Preston said, his eyes downcast.

He wondered why everyone was aware of Tia's birthday except for him.

Seizing the opportunity to tease him, Lulu raised her eyebrows. "Well, maybe it's because you don't have a girlfriend?"

They had gotten to know about Tia's birthday through frequent and casual chats with one another. Nobody had made any official announcements, so they had accidentally forgotten to inform Preston. "Are you trying to eat my heart out?" Preston argued.

After all, it was not his fault that he did not have a girlfriend, and Lulu's jibes at the dinner table had only served to embarrass him further.

"Well, that's unlikely," Lulu said, shrugging her shoulders. "I was just reminding you that you still have a responsibility to shoulder."

Understanding what Lulu was implying, Preston helplessly turned to Nicole, his eyes narrowed in discomfort. "Can you count me out like you did for Ellar? I'm begging you."

If they continued mounting all of that pressure on him, he would find the responsibility too overwhelming for him to shoulder.

Frowning, Ellar retorted in disapproval. "Hey, I'm not throwing anyone under the bus here. Besides, I'll soon have a girlfriend."

After he had said his piece, Ellar unconsciously glanced over at Patricia. 'If Patricia won't be my girlfriend, I'll stay single forever.'

Preston's expression soured in an instant, and he murmured, "Why do I feel like I'm the only one being left out?"

That one single sentence from him got the entire crowd roaring and guffawing, making the atmosphere in the room even merrier than it had been.

Amid the gales of roaring laughter, Patricia was the only one who remained solemn. Her head was hanging low, as if she was lost in thought. She had seen through Ellar's intentions, but she did not know how to proceed without scarring him in the process. She was thinking of ways to let Ellar know that they could never be a couple.

"Sorry, I didn't know it was your birthday today. I have not prepared anything for you either," Cindy suddenly admitted.

However, she did not regret her choice of following Martin over. She even went on to glare at him, resenting him for not telling her what the celebration was all about. If he had done so, she would have prepared something.

"Oh, it's alright. No worries," Tia said, pleasantly surprised by the fresh, new face before her.

"I'll make it up to you the next time," Cindy promised, feeling that it was the best she could do to not be rude.

Shaking her head, Tia instantly declined the offer. "There's really no need for that. I really am happy that everyone is here today."

Being the only young woman in her early twenties at the table, this was Tia's first birthday celebration of such a grand scale, which had been nothing short of lively. To make things better, she even got to celebrate it with so many close friends and Stanley himself. It would be hard for her to not be satisfied by what they had done for her this evening.

"No, no," Cindy insisted.

Tia raised her hand, about to further her objections when Martin stopped her. "It's alright, Tia."

Martin knew Cindy would definitely make it up to her if she wanted to. After having spent a decent amount of time with Cindy, Martin had gotten to know how stubborn she was.

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