Sheffield sat straight and took Evelyn's hand, sending her a playful smile. "Don't listen to the old man. I've always been a good boy. He just enjoys badmouthing me."
"Yeah, right!" Evelyn rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Silly boy, do you still eat herbs?"
"No!" He was not as stupid now.
"Can you show me around the yard?" The place was full of the fragrance of herbs. Evelyn couldn't wait to see more of it.
"No problem!" Sheffield smiled and kissed her on her cheeks, grabbing her hand to walk out of the living room.
Herbs were spread across Vernon's yard. The boy apprentice was drying them. When he saw Evelyn and Sheffield coming over, he greeted them warmly.
Sheffield softly nodded at the boy and turned to Evelyn. "Honey, this is Wolf." The boy frowned and cast a protesting glance at him. "It's Wolfberry," Sheffield corrected himself.
'Wolfberry?' Evelyn quietly pulled Sheffield's sleeve and stared at him. "Stop making fun of him. It's rude!"
Before Sheffield could say anything, the boy apprentice hastily waved his hand. "It's fine. Sheffield is a senior to me. It's okay for him to say whatever he wants."
Evelyn was rendered speechless. 'This boy is so obedient.'
Sheffield had a smile on his face but didn't say anything else.
He showed Evelyn around the yard and explained to her the Chinese medicine she was curious about.
When Wolfberry walked into the backyard garden, Sheffield began telling her about the boy. "Wolfberry is an orphan. My master brought him back from the door of the orphanage when he was eleven. He's nineteen now. My master was willing to pay for his education, but he didn't want to go to school. He wasn't even willing to work anywhere outside the yard. Instead, he stayed here with my master every day to guard it, especially with master going out every now and then. Wolfberry is gentle and kind. If you ever treat him nicely, he would be deeply touched. And he has a good temper as well. I often gave him gifts before, so he sees me as his own brother! But he doesn't talk much. He is a thinker."
"Why do you call him Wolfberry?" She suspected that Sheffield had given the boy that name as a joke.
"He has a name, but he likes eating Chinese wolfberries a lot. I call him Wolfberry every time I see him eating them." Vernon used to call Wolfberry by his name, but in time, Sheffield rubbed off on him, and he also started calling the boy Wolfberry too.
'Like eating Chinese wolfberries? It's really a special hobby.'
They had a rich lunch. Vernon cooked many Sichuan dishes. He had asked Sheffield about Evelyn's taste before cooking.
She liked to eat spicy food, so Vernon used pepper in every dish.
He had prepared six dishes for the four of them. Just as Sheffield and Evelyn entered the room, a fragrance rich with an aroma filled their noses.
The boy apprentice had wanted to take his bowl to the backyard, squatting down and eating alone there, but Sheffield gripped his clothes and stopped him. "Where are you going? Sit down. There are no outsiders here."
The boy stole a glance at Evelyn timidly and then looked away. "I have food in my bowl. I can eat in the backyard," he said to Sheffield.
Evelyn sensed how fidgety the boy was around her. She touched her own face and asked, "Am I scary?" He seemed afraid of her.
The boy shook his head at once and his face turned red with anxiety. "No, no, you're pretty..."
Evelyn was amused. "Then stay here and eat." To show her sincerity, she picked up a drumstick for him.
The boy jerked up when he saw a hand placing food in his bowl. He raised his frightened eyes and bowed at Evelyn. "Thank you very much..." He lowered his head to eat silently.
"He can pick up food himself," Sheffield complained jealously, rolling his eyes at the boy. 'My wife should only be nice to me.'
Jealousy filled the air. Evelyn picked up some vegetables and placed them in his bowl. "Here. Eat." 'He is such a big baby!'
"Why does he get meat and I get vegetables? It's unfair! Don't you know I like meat? Especially that of a Piggy?" Sheffield protested.
'Piggy? There is an overtone in his words!' Evelyn didn't have to say anything. She cast a sideways glance at him, and the lukewarm look in her eyes was enough to make him lower his head and eat the vegetables. "I've changed my mind. Vegetables are delicious too," he said.
Vernon, who was smoking, let out a light chuckle. "I knew he would be a henpecked husband."
Evelyn's face blushed to her ears. The corners of Sheffield's lips lifted and he nodded. "Master, you're right! And well said. Here, this fish eye is for you as a reward."
Vernon liked eating fish eyes, and few people knew that.
He put down his pipe and ate the fish eye. His stomach calmed down in satisfaction but grumbled again when he stared at another fish eye. "That one is mine too!"
Sheffield put the other fish eye into his bowl, and said as if he were coaxing a little child, "All right, all right. It's yours, and it's all yours. Come on, eat!"
"Go away. Eat your food! I have my hands. You don't have to pick up food for me. Just take good care of Evelyn."
"Okay, Master!"
Sheffield and Evelyn stayed for tea after lunch. They chatted for a bit and left Vernon's place since the latter wanted to take a nap.
After a long time, they finally reached the office building. The car stopped at the roadside near the entrance. It had been a few seconds, but Evelyn didn't get out the car. She had many thoughts swimming around her mind. She pressed her lips into a thin line and sneaked a glance at Sheffield, who was also looking intensely at her. Evelyn's heartbeat rang faster against her chest. She knew she had to tell him, but it was so hard.
Sheffield couldn't see her troubled expressions anymore and decided to speak first. "Go ahead! Say it."
Ever since they went to Vernon's house this morning, she had been anxious and wanted to tell him something. Sheffield had observed the rapid changes in her expressions for a long time. Even though she didn't act the same way in front of others, Evelyn started to be anxious again. In his heart, he was troubled too.
"I..." Evelyn took a deep breath to calm herself down. "On the 20th, I'm getting engaged to Calvert."
No one could imagine how difficult it was for her to finish that sentence.
Unexpectedly, Sheffield just nodded and said, "Okay."
Evelyn was so shocked that she couldn't find words to speak. 'Doesn't he care?'
Sheffield calculated the time in his mind and told her, "Good news will be released about my research that day. Evelyn, wait for my good news." He would have the money to buy her everything she liked.
She didn't know what to say.
"Well, my good girl, go to the office. Take care of yourself!" As usual, he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.
Sheffield's eyes followed her as she disappeared inside the building, and his smile disappeared.
'Evelyn, why don't you give me some hope?
Why don't you ask me to wait for you? You know I will, no matter how long it will take.'
He talked to Joshua on the phone before heading over to his apartment.
When he arrived home, he saw Joshua playing with his phone on the couch. The voice of the door disturbed Joshua. He looked up for a bit and busied himself on his phone again. "You missed me?"
Sheffield couldn't bother to reply at this moment. "Evelyn is getting engaged."
Joshua stopped playing, and his face was filled with shock. "What did you say?"
Sheffield smiled bitterly. "Isn't this something expected? Why are you so surprised?"
Joshua thought about it. 'Since the day I had a blind date with Evelyn, Sheffield might have mentally prepared himself for her to be engaged to another man.'