After Alexander finished his noodles, he fell silent. No more tricks.
Evelyn couldn't understand his thinking.
If she was hungry, she ate first. Nothing else mattered until her stomach was full.
Alexander had energy for other things.
Evelyn's face flushed at the thought. She busied herself with picking up more noodles to distract herself.
Alexander finished one bowl. Evelyn took it and filled another for him. "Why didn't you crack two eggs? I left them on the counter. Didn't you see them?"
"I don't like eggs. I didn't want to cook them."
"Oh." Evelyn nodded.
It wasn't that she disliked eggs. She just preferred fried eggs. Sometimes she would fry two sunny-side up.
They ate in silence after that. Both focused on their noodles.
After eating, Evelyn cleaned up. She took the dishes downstairs to wash them.
When she came back up, Alexander stood by the window. He was smoking, staring outside.
Evelyn wanted to tell him to smoke less. The words were on her lips, but she held them back.
She walked over and sat on the sofa to rest. She couldn't go to bed right after eating.
Alexander saw her come up. He put out his cigarette and sat down beside her.
"Alexander, you smoke too much," Evelyn said.
"I know." He nodded.
"Can you quit?" she hesitated.
"It's hard. If you really hate it, I'll try."
"It's not about me hating it. Smoking is bad for your health."
"It's bad for the baby too. I'll smoke less. I'll try to quit." He smiled.
Evelyn nodded.
Alexander put his arm around her shoulder. Neither of them spoke.
They sat together quietly, enjoying the rare peace. It was almost midnight before they went to bed.
On Youth Day, Secretary Amy told Evelyn she could take a half day off.
Evelyn was confused at first. "Is this part of the Labor Day holiday?"
She had worked overtime yesterday for the overseas branch. Labor Day was supposed to be a three-day holiday.
"No, it's Youth Day. If you're under twenty-eight, you get a half day off," Amy explained.
"That's a holiday?" Evelyn asked happily.
"Yes. It's nice to be young. More holidays." Chloe Parker smiled.
"It's even better to be young and a woman. There's Women's Day on March eighth." Madison Campbell sighed.
Everyone laughed.
Evelyn hadn't planned to do anything. She thought she would just work at the company.
Then she got a call from Charlotte. Evelyn decided to use her half day off to go shopping with her.
She called Alexander to report. She couldn't help showing off about her half day off.
"I didn't know the company had that holiday," Alexander said, surprised.
"That's because you're old. You don't get it after twenty-eight. It's Youth Day." Evelyn emphasized.
"I never got it when I was young either."
"Maybe because you're the boss. People think you can take a holiday anytime. So they don't tell you." Evelyn laughed.
"Well, you little piggy can enjoy Youth Day. How are you spending your afternoon?"
"I'm going shopping with Charlotte. I'm calling to tell you."
"Are you sure you're telling me? Not showing off?" Alexander teased.
"Of course not." Evelyn refused to admit it, even if her heart knew she was.
"It doesn't matter. It means my wife is young. A few years ago, there was Children's Day." Alexander kept teasing.
Evelyn was speechless.
"Have fun. Be safe. Don't have so much fun you can't come home early tonight," Alexander said.
"I know." Evelyn smiled. "You go back to work. Bye!"
She hung up quickly, afraid Alexander would bite her.
"What are you laughing at? So lewdly." A voice came from behind.
Evelyn was startled. She rolled her eyes. "You're the one laughing lewdly."
"I want to laugh lewdly. But no one appreciates me." Charlotte leaned her chin on Evelyn's shoulder.
Evelyn couldn't help but laugh. "Nonsense. Let's go. Where do you want to go? I'm here to accompany you today."
"Speaking of which, you have time to go shopping with me? Didn't you work overtime two days ago?" Charlotte seemed surprised.
"It's a half day off this afternoon."
"Comp time?"
"No. It's because of Youth Day."
"What does that have to do with you?"
"Of course it does. I'm under twenty-eight. I get a half day off." Evelyn replied triumphantly.
"There are such benefits?"
"Of course. When you graduate and come back, you can apply for a job at Sterling Group." Evelyn took the chance to recruit.
"Go away. I'm not working for your husband." Charlotte waved her hand.
"It's not working for my husband. It's growing with Sterling Group."
"Don't talk about my ideals. My ideal is to shop, sleep, eat, and spend money."
"If you work for Sterling Group, it's easy to realize that ideal."
"You're advertising for your husband's company. Ah, a girl can't stay. A married daughter is like water spilled." Charlotte sighed dramatically. "To tell you the truth, you better get married after graduation. Otherwise, in your eyes, I'm afraid I won't find a mother-in-law in the future."
"Screw you. What are you saying?" Charlotte couldn't help but laugh.
Evelyn laughed too. "Really. I'm always afraid your standards are too high. It'll be hard to find a mother-in-law in the future."
"Your standards aren't just high. You got married and took care of your family as soon as you got married."
"I can't help it."
"If I get cheap, I'll be good. Hmph. I'll cut you into eight sections. I won't contact you anymore." Charlotte made a cutting motion, her mouth pouting.
Evelyn looked at Charlotte with a smile. She didn't tell her that she was forced to marry Alexander. She didn't expect the result to be full of surprises.
If she told Charlotte, knowing her personality, she wouldn't care about the result. She would only think that her family sold her directly at the beginning.
So it was better not to say anything. Let Charlotte think she and Alexander fell in love and got married freely. There was nothing wrong with that.
They chatted as they strolled. They had no specific goal. They just wandered around.