"Of course, he holds some amount of power. They are rich, after all. Calvert and his father visit my dad often. Last time, they gave my mom a set of gemstone jewelry. Besides, Langston Ji is friends with Vernon, the gang leader... Wait a minute! You know Vernon too, don't you?" Joshua asked. Sheffield never talked about his private affairs to others. But as his best friends, Joshua and Gifford were the ones who knew him the best.
A wide smile crept across the doctor's face. "I see. Things have become more interesting. Looks like we do share a connection. Vernon only told me that he knew Langston, but he didn't mention that they were friends. I don't think the two of them are on good terms," Sheffield analyzed.
"All right, I've told you all I know about Calvert. Now it's your turn to tell me why you are inquiring about him." Joshua was always curious about Sheffield, his mysterious friend. He wanted to get to the bottom of everything that concerned him.
"Because..." Sheffield grinned, and then announced, "From this moment on, Calvert is my rival." He was determined to make Evelyn his. Nobody could snatch her away from him now.
Joshua sighed. He wondered how Calvert had offended this man. Nonetheless, he decided to drop the subject. "Want to get a drink tonight?"
"No. You should leave. I have something important to do."
"What? Something more important than me? Your best friend?" Joshua pulled a long face.
Sheffield flashed a playful smile. "Your friend is trying his best to get himself a wife."
Joshua choked. "What? Sheffield Tang, are you serious about this girl?" His eyes widened in shock. This was huge news.
"Yes. I have never taken the initiative to hit on a girl. But this time, I did. And I'm serious about her," he said firmly.
Joshua reminded him, "You still have four years left before you reach thirty. You better get a hold on yourself."
Sheffield understood what he was hinting at. About a year ago, he and his friends had gotten drunk and sworn to each other that they wouldn't get married until they were in their thirties.
The one who broke the rules of the game would have to spend his night before the wedding with another woman.
Sheffield, being only twenty-six years old, had never expected that he would meet Evelyn just a year after this promise was made. He fell in love with her at first sight, and even had the urge to marry her.
'Love comes like a tornado, ' he thought.
After some thought, he said, "It'll be fine. I'll live with her first, and then, when I turn thirty, we will get married." 'Evelina will be thirty-three by then. Would she be willing to wait that long?' He already began to imagine their future together.
Joshua snorted and patted his shoulder. "Do let me see your future wife. I'm so curious about what kind of woman she is. Even a playboy like you has fallen for her and is even willing to tie the knot. She must be a goddess of some sort."
"Not yet," he said gloomily. She hadn't really agreed to be his girlfriend for the next ten days. Still a long way to go. He didn't want to push her too much, and scare her away.
When Evelyn woke up, it was already dark outside. She looked at the time; it was half past eight.
She had agreed to go out for dinner with Sheffield, but they didn't decide on a time. She hadn't set the alarm and thanks to the tiring trip to the Elephant Valley, she had slept for almost four hours.
After freshening up, Evelyn came out of her room. Tayson was sitting alone on the windowsill.
When he heard her come out, he jumped off the windowsill and strode over to his boss, ready for orders.
Evelyn hesitated for a second and asked, "Which room is he in?"
Tayson knew whom she was talking about. "He left his room two hours ago."
"Not back yet?"
"No."
Evelyn nodded with a dash of disappointment on her face.
She ignored the strange feeling in her heart and went downstairs.
As soon as she walked out of the guesthouse, a figure suddenly sprang up from nowhere and greeted, "Hi!"
Tayson thought that it was an attacker and was about to launch a hard blow. But when the light hit his face, he stopped.
Sheffield stood in front of them, gnawing on a flower.
He took the flower out of his mouth and handed it to Evelyn. "Sleeping beauty, you are finally up."
Evelyn rolled her eyes and stared at the flower in his hand.
"This is a special narcissus that only grows in D City. I traveled thirty kilometers to pick this flower for you. Please, take it." He gallantly offered it to her again.
'He traveled thirty kilometers just to pick a flower?' She was beyond surprised.
Evelyn took the flower from him and breathed in the fragrance. It smelled good.
Sheffield was glad that she accepted the flower without any complaints. With his hands in his pockets, he said, "You must be hungry. Come on. I'll treat you to a huge meal tonight. We'll have fried haw apple, bean paste cake, beggar's chicken, steamed rice roll, braised vegetables..." He went on and on with the list of dishes they were going to eat.
Evelyn was hungry to begin with. With him rambling on about all these delicious food, her stomach rumbled loudly.
Sheffield heard the rumbling sound and grinned. In an instant, he grabbed hold of her wrist and began to walk. "Come on. After having dinner, we'll go for some drinks in a pub."
That night, Evelyn ate a variety of food that she had never even heard of before. Despite her being a germophobe, she didn't refuse any food that came from Sheffield.
She had just taken a bite of the fried haw apple when he bought a rice cake for her. Both of her hands were full, so he picked a piece of rice cake and held it to her lips. "Try this. I didn't get the chance to taste it the last time I was here."
Evelyn opened her mouth slightly and ate the rice cake. After swallowing it, she asked, "You've been here before?"
No wonder he knew the place so well.
"Yes, this is my third time here. But I was here for something else back then. This time, it is purely for fun."
"I see."
Right then, her phone rang. It was Debbie. She slid her fingers across the screen and answered, "Hi, Mom."
"Evelyn, how are you? Are you in bed already?"
"I'm fine, Mom. I'm still outside," she answered honestly.
Sheffield remained silent because he knew that it was her mom on the other end. But, he continued feeding her the rice cake.
Evelyn wasn't used to being fed, but gradually, she gulped down the food like it was the most natural thing.
"It's over nine now. Are you still hanging out? Are you having dinner?" Debbie could hear her daughter chewing on something.
She was curious. Evelyn never talked while she ate. She had been away from home for only two days, and she had already changed so much. Debbie wondered if it was because she felt free outside.
"Yes. There are a lot of street foods in this city."
"Are they delicious?" Evelyn seldom ate such street foods. Now, she had begun to eat them as well.
"Yes, very much."
"All right, Evelyn. Take care of yourself."
"I will, Mom. How are the others doing? Is Grandma sleeping?" Sheffield led her to a quiet place and sat down. He put all the snacks in front of her.
"Not yet. Your grandma is waiting for me to report to her about you. She asked me to remind you of your safety. She is always worried."
"Tayson is with me. I'll be okay. Please ask her not to worry so much."