“Go, I’m not for you! If you don’t listen to your elders, you’ll suffer!” Uncle Richard sighed.
Then he opened the door and walked out of Ethan Sterling’s office.
After the office door clicked shut, Ethan stared at it.
He thought his little uncle must have fallen for Evie.
Sure, she could be annoying and weird sometimes.
But she was the kind of person who warmed your heart easily.
He hoped his uncle and Evie would be happy together.
Evie returned to the secretarial office and busied herself for a while.
Soon, it was almost noon.
Everyone was winding down, getting ready for lunch.
Ella Baker joked with Evie, saying she hadn’t been stunned by Ethan’s beauty when she saw him.
“He really is gorgeous!” Evie replied with a smile.
“You’d better not let Mr. Sterling hear that. He’ll get mad!” Amy Harper looked up and explained.
“Oh!” Evie answered.
Ethan really hated being called beautiful.
But he was gay, so it was normal for him to be pretty, right?
“What did Mr. Sterling want you for?” Chloe Parker followed the gossip.
“To tidy up!” Evie said.
“His assistant quit not long ago. Sometimes he can’t handle everything himself.”
“Why did his assistant resign?” Evie joined in.
“I’ll tell you in secret. Don’t tell anyone!”
“Okay!”
“Apparently, the assistant tried to get fresh with Mr. Sterling, and he fired him in a rage!”
Evie was stunned for a moment.
Then she couldn’t help laughing the next second.
Well, it was a bit mean, but she couldn’t help laughing at the thought of Ethan being harassed.
“That’s so heartless!” Madison Campbell looked up and joked. “If a female colleague got harassed, I bet you’d be outraged!”
“That’s true!” Evie nodded. “After all, women are the vulnerable group.”
“So you’re saying because Mr. Sterling is a man, he deserves to be harassed?”
“No, it’s just an accident. Alas, it’s all because of his beauty!” Evie sighed.
Everyone burst out laughing.
“I didn’t know Evie was such a treasure!” Ella Baker said with a smile.
Amy Harper looked up at Evie and couldn’t help smiling.
Evie laughed too.
After working in the secretarial office for a while, she had become less formal than at first.
Sometimes when people joked and chatted, she joined in.
Maybe it was because she was naturally funny.
Many times, Evie didn’t mean to amuse them, but what she said always made them laugh.
Just like her comment just now.
At noon, since it was her first day, she hadn’t brought lunch.
They all went downstairs to the staff cafeteria.
“Evie, you have a good appetite!” Ella Baker sighed as she watched Evie eat heartily.
“I’m really hungry. I need to eat more so I have the strength to work this afternoon!” Evie looked up and said with a smile.
“It’s good to be young. Like Evie, everything is full of life, even the way she eats!” Amy Harper said with a smile.
“Indeed. How old are you, Evie?” Chloe Parker asked.
“I’ll be twenty-two on New Year’s Day.” Evie looked up to reply.
“Is that her real age?”
“It’s her lunar age.”
“She hasn’t even had her birthday yet. She’s only twenty! There’s a generation gap between us!” Amy Harper replied.
“I’m older!” Evie said with a smile.
“You still look mature. A few days ago, someone from another department asked me if the intern in your office was eighteen!” Ella Baker said with a smile.
“Just tell them she’s only sixteen!” Chloe Parker said with a smile.
“Then our company would be employing child labor!”
Evie listened to the two secretaries bantering and said, “Do I really look that young?”
“You really don’t look like a twenty-year-old!” Amy Harper answered.
“Evie doesn’t have a boyfriend yet. Want us to introduce you to someone?” Ella Baker said half-jokingly.
“No, no!” Evie quickly waved her hand in refusal.
“Are you not satisfied with who we’d introduce?”
“No, it’s not that. I just can’t fall in love!” Evie replied.
“Why? Does your family not want you to date before you graduate?”
“Evie is such a good girl. She listens to her family!” Chloe Parker said with a smile.
Evie had to smile, not knowing how to answer.
Luckily, the topic shifted to something else.
Otherwise, Evie wouldn’t have known how to handle it.
It seemed that a secret marriage wasn’t so easy!
Today, Evie left work on time and went to the vegetable market on the way.
Before that, she had gone to the supermarket to buy groceries.
Last week, when she went home to learn how to make soup from her mother, her mother mentioned that if she had time, she should go to the vegetable market.
There were many fresh vegetables there.
She wanted to go back and cook soup for Alexander.
Because he had a party tonight, he would be home later.
Besides, she got off work early today, so she went to the vegetable market on the way.
The market was divided into a morning market and an evening market.
This was just the time for the evening market.
It was bustling with people buying vegetables.
Actually, Evie wasn’t very good at picking out food.
But she had one advantage: she wasn’t afraid to ask.
So if she wanted to buy something and someone else was buying it too, she would ask for advice.
Right now, she was picking out fish heads.
She didn’t know which one was better, so she asked an auntie, “Sister, how do I pick a good fish head?”
“Little girl, are you helping your mother buy groceries? A fresh fish head has bright red gills. If they’re a little pale, it’s been sitting out for a while. The fish head should be plump but not too big. This one isn’t bad!” The shopping auntie turned her head, took a look at Evie, and then enthusiastically taught her.
“Okay, thank you. I’ll take this one.” Evie answered with a smile.
She wasn’t buying vegetables for her mother.
She was buying them for her own family!
“This fish head is great stewed with gastrodia elata or tofu. Stewed with gastrodia elata, it’s good for the brain!” the shopping auntie continued to recommend.
“Where can I buy gastrodia elata?” Evie asked quickly.
“Some pharmacies sell it. It’s very convenient!”
“Thank you, sister!” Evie replied with a smile.
After buying the fish head and paying for it, Evie bought some vegetables and fruit.
Carrying a big bag, she walked out of the vegetable market.
It was very convenient because the driver was there to pick her up.
When the driver saw her coming out, he went up to help her carry the bag and put it in the trunk.
On the way back, they passed a pharmacy.
Evie went in and bought some gastrodia elata.
After returning to Sterling Manor, she was busy in the kitchen.
She cleaned the fish head and the gastrodia elata.
After preparing everything, Evie first searched online for a recipe for gastrodia elata stewed fish head.
Then she called her mother for advice.
“Evie, have you checked recently?” Amelia Vance asked on the other end of the phone.
“Checked for what?” Evie asked, a little stunned.
“Are you pregnant? If you are, don’t eat food with Chinese medicine in it!” Amelia reminded.
Evie was immediately embarrassed.
Her face turned red to the roots of her ears.
She replied awkwardly, “Not yet!”
“Oh!” Amelia answered, her tone full of disappointment.