Evelyn replied flatly, "Any date is okay by me."
Things were a little awkward. It was a pretty straightforward question. Calvert decided to make sure all this went smoothly. "The 20th then. I'll reserve the venue for the engagement party. Don't worry about a thing, Evelyn. Uncle Carlos, Aunt Debbie, anything you want to see at the party? Maybe a memorial to a loved one? A family crest, perhaps?"
"No, I'll leave it to you." Carlos was unreadable. The whole time the two families were discussing the engagement, he acted as amiable as a gentleman. He gave no advice, and made no requests.
Debbie looked at Evelyn and curled her lips. "Evelyn is not ostentatious at all. Maybe just invite a few close friends. We can wait and hold a major ceremony for the wedding."
'There won't be a wedding, not if I have anything to say about it, ' Debbie murmured to herself.
Calvert replied obediently, "Okay. I know what Evelyn likes, so I'll make sure that she enjoys it. It's her night, after all."
Rowena remained silent as a deer. She gritted her teeth and looked at Evelyn, who had been staring at her phone the whole time. She thought it was so unfair to Calvert.
They were discussing their engagement, but Evelyn acted like she didn't care at all. How could she disrespect the Ji family like that?
Later on that evening, the Ji family left the Huo's. As soon as they got into the car, Ally began to complain to Langston. "I don't understand what Calvert sees in her. Look at the way she acts. She looks down her nose at us. She doesn't respect her elders. She made it look like we were desperate to get married. She's rich and hot. So what? She messes around with a gigolo and leaves a trail of dead boyfriends in her wake. It's an honor for Calvert to marry her, to think highly of her. She doesn't deserve him at all. She really pisses me off!"
She heard from Rowena that Evelyn had been dating a doctor.
Calvert sat there behind the wheel, concentrating on the road. He didn't say a word.
Langston was a henpecked husband. Despite his wife's constant nagging, he just said, "We should look at the big picture. The Huos are a big deal. Tons of influence and money. If we can make the marriage work with Evelyn and Calvert, the Ji family will be unstoppable."
No one would offend Carlos Huo. Langston couldn't be happier to have a marriage alliance with the Huos.
Looking at the man in the driver's seat, Rowena gently said, "So Calvert, you're really dead set on Evelyn? You want to marry this woman even though she's dating another guy?"
The look in Calvert's eyes turned gloomy. "We're not married yet, so she can do what she wants. Besides, he won't be in the picture once we're married. If you don't date before you're married, how are you supposed to know what you want?" But that was now. Once Evelyn and Calvert were engaged, she better not be cheating on him with Sheffield.
His words left Rowena flabbergasted. "Oh come on. You know she's just sleeping around. She'll probably do the same when you're married—"
"Shut up, Rowena!" As Calvert didn't want to pursue this line of thinking anymore, he snapped at her. It worked.
Clenching her lower lip, Rowena didn't say another word.
When Ally saw her daughter's unhappy look, she got upset. Taking a breath to keep her cool, she said, "Hey. I know I'm not your biological mom, but we're family. I raised you like my own, and Rowena thinks of you as a brother. She's just looking out for you."
'As a brother?' Rowena knew very well she didn't.
The gloom on Calvert's face became more pronounced. "I need you to butt out of my relationship with Evelyn. Who I date is my business. Now Rowena, on the other hand, is about ready to start dating. I'd keep an eye on her if I were you."
"Calvert!" Rowena called sadly. He knew very well how she felt about him. Why did he still treat her like this?
Knowing she was sad, Calvert said nothing more. He didn't even cast a glance her way.
Then there was an uncomfortable silence in the car. Everyone was thinking about something.
It was the morning of the 8th when Evelyn finally saw Sheffield again.
He drove to her apartment and picked her up. He told her they were going to visit someone important.
She had to wait until they got there, but by the time they pulled up in front of the place, Evelyn figured it out.
In fact, only a few people in the city knew Vernon's last name. Most people just called him Vernon.
But Sheffield knew it. Vernon told him once. His full name was Vernon Yuan.
The guy had never been married, but he'd dated a lot of women.
As time went by, fewer and fewer women were interested. Now, he was all alone. Because they all heard that Vernon would never get married.
Sheffield knew why his master didn't want to marry. Actually, Vernon didn't intend to tell anyone, but Sheffield managed to wrangle the secret out of him.
When Vernon was young, he hurt a woman, thanks to his ignorance. She died because of him, and he vowed at the woman's gravesite that he would never marry anyone else. He was only too happy to sleep with women, but none of them interested him enough to make him break his vow.
Later, he learned medical skills from the same master as Mooney.
This was the first time Evelyn met the legendary Vernon. She was nervous. The man was an influential elder, and this was his place. She felt like she was meeting one of Sheffield's parents, and worried whether the old man would like her. The idea made her feel ridiculous, but she couldn't put the thought out of her mind.
The young apprentice opened the door and warmly led them to the living room. Inside, Vernon was sitting on the sofa. That morning, Sheffield had told him that he was going to bring a woman by to visit him, so he had been expecting them. He had prepared food and drinks. He even went to the market early that morning and bought some food to cook.
"Hi Master, I'm here to wish you a happy New Year! Have you prepared the red packets?"
Sheffield shouted before he even entered the living room.
Vernon wanted to give him a kick, but since Evelyn was present, he gave up on that thought. He watched the young couple walk into the living room hand in hand.
Sheffield didn't let go of Evelyn's hand until they were standing in front of Vernon. He bowed his head, cupped his hands and said with deep respect, "Happy New Year, Master!"
Evelyn hadn't expected him to greet his master this way. She should greet the old man too, but now, she didn't know what to do at all.
Ignoring Sheffield, Vernon turned to look at Evelyn and said with a broad smile, "And you must be Evelyn."
Evelyn nodded and said politely, "Yes, Mr. Yuan. I'm Evelyn Huo. Happy New Year. I wish you health and a long life." She pulled Sheffield to her and reminded him to give the gifts to Vernon.
She was graceful without trying. Vernon liked her. He waved his hand and said, "You don't have to call me Mr. Yuan. If you like, you can call me 'Grandpa'! I'd like to have a granddaughter like you!"
"Okay, Grandpa."
"Hi, Master. Evelyn bought these for you. I wanted to buy them for you, but she paid the bill herself. I got pretty bent about it," Sheffield said as he gave the gifts to the old man.