Tayson pulled another hundred from his wallet and handed it to Sheffield. Sheffield took it with a smirk and put it into his pocket. "I'll use this to treat you to something else next time," he said to Evelyn.
'He is a smooth operator," she figured.
Sheffield produced his employee card and said, "See? I'm not a bad guy. I have a proper job. I'm a deputy director at Y City First General Hospital. The faculty of our hospital came for a trip here. I was only curious about you. Isn't it normal for a guy to be curious about a beautiful woman like you?"
Evelyn looked at his employee card. His name was in red. Sheffield Tang.
As he held out the card, she noticed his hands—long fingers and fair skin. Perfect for holding scalpels.
Tayson had been wary of Sheffield the whole time. He cautioned in a whisper, "Miss, we've come all this way for you to relax. Please don't stress yourself out on such trivial matters. I'll check him out."
As Carlos Huo's eldest child, Evelyn had been born into a powerful and wealthy family and had grown up under ultra-protection, which had eventually shaped her sensitivity to security. Even on a trip, she couldn't put her guard down.
She didn't respond to Tayson's concern, and elegantly took a bite of the Red Hot Candy Apple.
A little candy was left on her lips after she took the bite. Sheffield noticed it and handed her a tissue from his pocket.
"You got candy on your lips," he said, pointing to her mouth.
Despite the fact that Sheffield was very much interested in her, he didn't want to look too eager. After handing her the tissue, he smiled and said, "Have fun. Bye."
He was vigorous. And there was a tinge of mischief in his smile. For a moment, Evelyn was charmed.
He really did leave and she didn't see him again until after she returned to the guesthouse.
When they got back to her room, Tayson handed her a file. "Miss Huo, he wasn't lying. His name is Sheffield Tang. 26 years old. He is indeed the deputy director of the nephrology department of Y City First General Hospital. He graduated from an American medical school. And from what we have learnt so far, he isn't a dangerous individual. And he came here before us."
This trip was a last-minute decision; there was no way that Sheffield could have known about it beforehand. So, his meeting with her couldn't have been premeditated.
"The only problem with him is that there are too many women around him. He is no boyfriend material," Tayson added cautiously.
Sheffield's bright, upturned eyes looked like peach blossoms when he wasn't smiling; and when he was, they were like two crescents. Those eyes alone were enough to make any woman fall under his spell.
'The deputy director of the nephrology department?' Evelyn wondered, ignoring what Tayson had said at the end. She thumbed through the thin folder and muttered, "He is only 26 years old, and he is already the deputy director of one of the best hospitals in the city." 'He must be capable.'
Tayson pointed out, "He had already published five internationally acknowledged papers before his graduation. He could have gotten into a better paid job."
In some sense, the number of published papers reflected a person's capability and intelligence.
'Five papers? That's impressive...'
After a quick glance, Evelyn closed the file, her eyes betraying no emotions. "I see. That will be all."
Tayson excused himself. As soon as he stepped out of Evelyn's room, he ran into Sheffield in the hallway. The latter had just come upstairs. With his hands tucked into his pockets, he whistled as he walked straight on.
At first, he walked past Evelyn's room without noticing Tayson. Two steps further on, the whistling stopped. He paused and retreated backwards until he was at Evelyn's door. He peeked through the crack.
Tayson was just closing the door behind him, but he was quick enough to catch a glimpse of the woman inside the room.
He was sure that it was Evelyn.
"Hey, dude!" He reached out to put his hand on Tayson's shoulder. Before he could make contact, Tayson grabbed his wrist and was well on his way to teach the doctor a good lesson. Sheffield tried to fight, but soon, both his arms were twisted behind his back.
"Aargh!" he screamed so loud that the whole floor heard him. Evelyn's other bodyguards stayed in the next room.
Alarmed by the scream, one of them ran out of the room to check what was going on.
When he saw that it was Tayson and Sheffield, and it was Sheffield who was being beaten up, the bodyguard withdrew and closed the door.
Sheffield didn't care that there were other people around. He continued to shout as loud as he could. "Ow! Ow! Easy! I'm a doctor. If you break my hands, how am I supposed to save people?"
Tayson looked at his own hands. 'Does it really hurt that much? I'm barely exerting any strength.'
"Argh! My hands are broken! Somebody help me!" He went on howling.
"Shut up!" Tayson snarled in annoyance, glaring at the man who was whining like a little girl. He wished he could just gag him and drop him somewhere far.
Sheffield shut his mouth for a split second. Then he began again, "Help! Help!"
The door next to them flew open. "What's going on here?" Evelyn asked with a frosty face.
His purpose achieved, Sheffield grinned. "Your bodyguard is trying to break my hands."
Evelyn looked at the two and told Tayson, "Let go of him."
Tayson followed her orders. "I'm sorry, miss, that you were disturbed."
Sheffield walked up to her and winked playfully. "Wow! My hands don't hurt anymore. It's a miracle." He wriggled his wrists to show her that he was fine.
"Good night!" he said and with that, he put his hands back in his pockets and strutted towards his room.
"Why was he here?" Evelyn asked once Sheffield was out of sight.
"I don't know," Tayson replied. When Sheffield had tried to touch him, he had made his move reflexively.
Evelyn went back to her room without any further questions.
Without the clamor and fast pace of the city, she did get some peace in this place. That evening, she called her parents and she was evidently in a better mood than when she had started her trip.
Evelyn slept in the next morning. When she woke up, it was already past nine.
After breakfast, she decided to go to the nearest attraction—Elephant Valley.
The road became much narrower as it approached the scenic spot. Cars couldn't go any further. So, the visitors could only get there by taking the sightseeing car.
When Evelyn reached the pick-up area, a huge group was already gathered there, and none of them had the sense to line up as they waited impatiently.
When a sightseeing car finally arrived, the crowd swarmed in and scrambled to get in.
The operator had to raise his voice to try and keep order. But no one cared. No one listened to him.
Evelyn frowned at the crazy scene. "Miss Huo, I can charter a car for you," Tayson said to her.
"Okay," she agreed.
No sooner had Tayson left than Sheffield showed up. Evelyn didn't see where he had come from; he had popped out of nowhere. He was wearing a casual pink jacket.
As he approached her, she could smell the mint scent on him. "Are you going to Elephant Valley?" he asked.
Evelyn met his amorous eyes and nodded.
"I have arranged a car to get there. Care to join me?"
"No, I—" She was about to turn him down, but he grabbed her hand. Startled, Evelyn's heart thumped.
His hand was big and warm, almost completely enveloping hers.