Alexander Sterling returned from his business trip just in time for the school celebration.
Evelyn had to ask Amy Harper for two more days off to make time for rehearsals.
Her internship had made her almost forget about the school performance.
Now she had to cram and practice even harder.
This time, she was performing with the school dance team.
She would sing "Mother's Kiss," with choreography by the dance team.
So she rehearsed with them in the afternoon to figure out her entrance, her movements, and her final bow.
All to achieve the best performance possible.
The evening was the first full rehearsal.
Tomorrow afternoon would be the second.
Everything was moving forward step by step.
Evelyn felt a little nervous.
After all, it was her first time taking part in such an important event.
But she slowly adjusted.
By the time the rehearsal started, she was still a bit anxious, but she did a commendable job.
If she practiced more tomorrow, she would be fine.
The lead dancer was a young girl from the art department.
She praised Evelyn's singing, saying it made her feel homesick.
Evelyn felt embarrassed by the compliment.
"Is your home far away?" Evelyn asked her.
"It takes over four hours by plane. The train would run for four days and four nights," the girl replied with a smile. "I always take the train."
"That's really far. You have to wait until summer break to go back!" Evelyn sighed.
She was a local.
She had never experienced going home only once a semester.
Now that she was married and taking care of her family, plus her internship, she sometimes only went back to her mother's house once every week or two.
She felt very uncomfortable.
She couldn't imagine only going home once a year.
"If I don't go back for summer break, I go back for Chinese New Year. Once a year," the girl replied with a smile.
"No wonder you're homesick. Come on, when you graduate and start working, you can fly home when you have money."
"I've already started working part-time to earn money. I can afford my own tuition and living expenses, and I send some money home too!"
"You're amazing!" Evelyn exclaimed.
"I can't do it without effort. It's too expensive to study in the art department!" the girl replied, embarrassed.
"It doesn't matter. You're so good, you'll definitely have a bright future. Thank you for your encouragement! I heard you're interning at Sterling Group now!"
"Yes!"
"Is Sterling Group good?"
"Honestly?"
"Yes, I'll be a senior next year. I want to know about it first!" the girl replied with a smile.
"Honestly, it's hard to get in. You have to go through several rounds of interviews. It takes luck as well as skill. But you're so excellent, you have a great chance. Keep it up."
"Thank you for your encouragement. I will!" she laughed brightly.
Evelyn nodded with a smile.
Seeing this schoolgirl reminded her of Emily Hart.
She was also full of energy and ambition.
People like that were always more likely to succeed.
They were always ready for success and never missed a chance.
When Evelyn got home, Alexander had already returned.
He asked her how the rehearsal went.
Evelyn said it went very well and there should be no problem with the performance tomorrow evening.
"You don't mind if I come to see your performance tomorrow?" Alexander said to her, half-jokingly.
"Better not. If you go, I'll definitely be very nervous!" Evelyn said quickly.
"You're not nervous in front of so many people. Why are you nervous with just one more person?" Alexander asked with a smile.
"You're different from them. I can treat all of them like cabbages, but I can't treat you like one!" Evelyn said.
"I'm special?"
"Of course. You're my husband!" Evelyn said, getting embarrassed and blushing first. "I'm not going to talk to you anymore. I'm sweating all over. I'm going to take a bath first!"
With that, she turned and walked into the bedroom.
That night, Evelyn slept deeply.
Maybe because the rehearsal had tired her out.
She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Alexander didn't disturb her.
He just held her quietly and fell asleep.
The next day, Evelyn invited Charlotte Moore to attend their school's celebration and watch her performance.
"What are you performing?" Charlotte asked curiously.
"A solo of 'Mother's Kiss,'" Evelyn said.
"Really? A solo? You're going up there and singing by yourself?" Charlotte asked with a smile.
"Yes, but there are a lot of beautiful girls helping me dance!" Evelyn said with a smile.
"I can't believe it. The person who used to stutter when introducing herself on stage now dares to sing on stage. That's really impressive!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"Don't make fun of me. I'm like a duck forced onto a shelf. I have no choice," Evelyn said.
"If you didn't want to, would someone force you?"
"Why not!" Evelyn simply said that she had asked for leave before, and the whole class had voted for her to represent the class in the screening competition for the school celebration.
Charlotte was gloating on the other end of the phone.
She could barely straighten up from laughing.
"You're just a rock that only knows how to complain."
"No, it's really funny. Your classmates are so twisted. They pushed you into it. Unexpectedly, they also tapped into your potential. If I had known, when we were in middle school and our class wanted to perform, we should have pushed you into it too!"
"It's all over now. I don't think there's any chance to perform. Don't you want to come?"
"Come on, it's rare to see you on stage. It would be a pity not to go. Wait for me for half an hour. I'll get up now!"
"Go straight to the South Gate then!"
"I got it!" Charlotte replied cheerfully.
After hanging up, Evelyn sent a text message to Charlotte to remind her that she was just there to see her classmates.
She was not to tell anyone about her marriage.
After texting, Evelyn continued to practice.
There was also a dress rehearsal in the afternoon.
Everything would be basically finalized by then.
Charlotte said it would take half an hour to arrive.
But in the end, she dawdled for nearly an hour.
Not only did she arrive, but she also brought Noah Grant along.
Evelyn saw Noah and smiled awkwardly.
Then she looked at Charlotte, her eyes clearly asking, "Why did you bring Noah too?"
Charlotte pretended to look elsewhere, completely ignoring Evelyn's gaze.
"Come on, let's go in!" Evelyn had to say.
Evelyn took them to visit the school and participate in some of the celebration activities.
Later, Evelyn had to prepare for the rehearsal.
She told them to move freely and went to prepare first.
Charlotte and Noah didn't leave.
They sat under the stage, waiting to watch Evelyn's rehearsal.
"Evelyn has really changed a lot," Charlotte murmured.
"She has changed a lot," Noah echoed.
"Evelyn is really married," Charlotte said without thinking.
This time, Noah didn't respond.
"When you told me before, I didn't believe it. After all, Evelyn never told me about her marriage. At the time, I thought maybe you were just talking. But last weekend, Evelyn told me about her marriage!" Charlotte continued.