Dollie felt ignored by everyone at the table. Losing her appetite and patience, she whispered to Sheffield, "I'm full. I have classes to attend in the afternoon. Shall we leave?"
Sheffield didn't refuse. He took a tissue and wiped his mouth. Feigning a casual look, he said to the other three, "Enjoy your meal. I have to drop Dollie back at school."
"Bye bye, handsome," Terilynn sang playfully with a smile.
Sheffield returned the smile, and then looked at Evelyn. "I got to go. Bye."
Evelyn froze, but she remained silent.
Joshua stood up and told Evelyn, "I'll see them off. Will be back soon."
"Okay," Terilynn replied instead, waving her hand at him.
The three of them left the table together. On their way to Sheffield's car, the men slowed down their pace and walked further away from Dollie. Joshua whispered, "Buddy, I really had no idea who she was or that she was your woman."
"I know." Sheffield could tell.
Joshua had done nothing wrong. If it weren't him, there would have been another man on a blind date with Evelyn.
"Cheer up, man. Don't be so crestfallen. And if you want to win her heart, you should keep your distance from Dollie. If I were Evelyn, I wouldn't choose to date you either if you were with another woman," Joshua said in all earnestness.
"I know what I'm doing," Sheffield nodded.
"All right, just saying. Anyway, you gotta work harder than ever to buy the best gemstone in the world." 'A girl like Evelyn indeed deserves the best, ' Joshua thought, remembering their conversation from the other day.
With a sneer on his face, Sheffield muttered, "Let's hope she'll accept it."
Joshua patted him on the shoulder. "She likes you."
"How do you know that?"
Joshua flashed the gloomy doctor a mysterious smile. "Trust me. Now off you go. I need to get back to Evelyn. I'll take care of her for you. Don't worry."
"Fine. But remember, she's mine. Know your boundaries," Sheffield reminded his friend in a serious tone.
"Oh, I don't know. I might snatch her away from you," Joshua teased.
Sheffield sluggishly echoed his joke. "Then, we will be sworn enemies from that point."
Joshua waved at him as he stood at the gate of the restaurant. "Best friends becoming sworn enemies because of a beautiful woman. It's not too bad. I'm in," he said with a wink.
"Fuck you!" Sheffield cursed and left without looking back.
When Joshua returned to their table, Evelyn was staring blankly at the food in front of her.
He figured what was on her mind. "Ladies, are you enjoying the food?" he asked.
Terilynn nodded, "It's good, but we're tired of eating here all the time. I suggest you treat Evelyn to some Chinese food next time. You never get tired of some good Chinese cuisine."
The corner of his mouth twitched. This was the best Western restaurant in Y City. The average bill came up to thousands or even ten thousand dollars. Joshua couldn't believe his ears. The younger daughter of the Huo family casually said that they were already tired of eating the food at this ridiculously expensive place. 'She really is... frank...and cute, ' Joshua thought.
After lunch, Joshua offered to drive them home. But Evelyn declined. "Please don't bother, Mr. Fan. I drove here myself. May I have a private word with you?" she asked.
Terilynn walked to the other side of the booth to answer a phone call. Joshua nodded, "Sure."
They moved further away from Terilynn. Then, Evelyn said, "I'm guessing that you are constantly being urged by your family to get married, right? I have an idea. We could be together for the time being. That way, our parents will stop nagging us."
Joshua chuckled. "Why only for the time being? Why can't we have a long-term relationship?"
After a short pause, Evelyn replied bluntly, "I don't like you, Mr. Fan. If you don't agree to my suggestion, then just forget that I said it."
At that moment, Joshua became truly aware of the pain Sheffield had felt when he was turned down by this woman.
"I see. All right, I agree to your deal," he said with a curt nod.
Evelyn nodded back. "Well then, let's try to get along while we are at it, Mr. Fan."
As she was about to walk away, Joshua called, "Miss Huo."
She turned around to look at him.
With his hands in his pockets, he said, "The relationship between Sheffield and Dollie is not what you think it is. And Sheffield is not as frivolous as you think he is. He is an exceptional man, in so many ways. And although he used to have a lot of women around him, there was never a woman who could drive him crazy like you do. Miss Huo, if you like him, please try not to be so indifferent towards him."
With that, he smiled at her politely and walked out of the restaurant.
The next afternoon, at Y City First General Hospital
Sheffield was consulting with other doctors over a patient when a nurse called him on his phone. "Dr. Tang, someone is here to see you."
"Who is it?"
"He didn't give a name. I have never seen him. Could you come down for a moment?"
Sheffield sighed and excused himself from the meeting.
In the corridor, Tayson was waiting for him.
Sheffield remembered what Evelyn had told him the previous afternoon.
He casually loosened his tie and walked up to the bodyguard. After scanning around, he asked, "Where is she?"
Tayson took out a brocade box and replied, "Miss Huo is at the company. She asked me to return this to you."
His response was just as Sheffield had expected. He knew she wouldn't come, but he didn't take the brocade box from Tayson. "I gave this to her. How can I take it back now? If she doesn't want it, ask her to throw it away."
"She said that it was very expensive. She wanted you to sell it and get yourself a girlfriend."
The doctor said with a faint smile, "Your lady is so concerned about my marriage. Thank her for me."
Tayson didn't respond.
With his hands still in the pockets of the white gown, Sheffield stepped back and said, "If she wants to return it to me, ask her to come and give it to me directly."
"Miss Huo is with Mr. Fan now. Please give up on her, Dr. Tang."
Sheffield knitted his brows and stared at Tayson. "What do you mean?"
"After Miss Huo returned from her date yesterday, she told her parents that she had a good time with Mr. Fan and had decided to date him."
Sheffield's heart was crushed.
In the Fan family residence
Sheffield rang the doorbell. A housemaid opened the door for him. She smiled at him and said, "Hello, Mr. Tang."
"Hello, Auntie Abby. Is Joshua home?"
The housemaid stepped aside and said, "Mr. Fan is sleeping upstairs. You can go to his room."
Sheffield was a frequent visitor, so the housemaid was familiar with him.
"Okay. Thank you, Auntie Abby," Sheffield said politely.
He then walked to the innermost room on the second floor, and pushed open the door without knocking.
Joshua was sound asleep in the large bed, covered with a grey bed sheet and a fluffy quilt. Sheffield walked to the bed and shouted, "Joshua Fan!"
Joshua woke up with a start and opened one of his eyes, shouting, "Get out, man!"
Sheffield removed his quilt and threw it aside. Underneath, the man was completely naked. Sheffield rolled his eyes and then chided, "Didn't I tell you to change your habit of sleeping naked?"
"Fuck off! Why don't you learn to knock first?" Joshua pulled the quilt over himself to cover his naked body