"You should focus on your own husband. Stop meddling in other people's business!" Ethan Sterling snapped.
"Hmph, no good deed goes unpunished!" Evie muttered.
She didn't want to argue with Ethan anymore.
She started walking forward.
"Where are you going?" Ethan demanded.
"None of your business. I'm just walking. Why are you so forgetful? Is it early-onset Alzheimer's?"
"You're the one with Alzheimer's! Your whole family has it!"
"My family includes you, doesn't it?" Evie shot back.
Ethan choked on her words.
He turned his face away, sulking.
Evie looked at him and smiled.
He was acting like a child.
She hummed a tune and kept walking.
After a while, Ethan was still standing there.
"What's wrong with you? Did you get dumped?" Evie asked.
"You're the one who got dumped!" Ethan retorted.
"I'm married. How could I get dumped?" Evie said, exasperated.
"Big deal, being married!"
"It is a big deal!" Evie laughed.
She sat down on the empty bench next to him.
Ethan was startled.
He instinctively moved aside.
He fell right off the bench.
Evie was shocked at first.
Then she saw his clumsy fall and burst out laughing.
Ethan was dazed from the fall.
Then he felt humiliated.
Seeing Evie's glee, he got angry.
"What's so funny? Huh? You heartless jerk!"
"Okay, okay, I'll stop. Who's bothering you?" Evie asked, still smiling. "Tell Auntie Evie. I'll help you sort it out."
"What can you do for me?" Ethan sneered.
"How would I know if I can't help unless you tell me?" Evie said.
"If you really want to help, stay away from me. Leave me alone. That would be a huge help!" Ethan said angrily.
"Oh!" Evie replied.
Then she added, "Fine, I'll leave you alone. Don't be so down. Nothing is that serious. Go home and get some sleep. If you still can't figure it out tomorrow, your uncle will be back soon. He can help you."
Ethan watched Evie walk away with her head down.
He felt he had been too harsh.
But he couldn't bring himself to apologize.
He just called out stiffly, "Hey!"
Evie stopped and turned around.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Nothing. It's late. You should go rest too," Ethan said coldly.
Evie smiled immediately.
She waved at him.
"Don't be sad. Go home and sleep. Good night!"
Then she headed back to Sterling Manor.
By the time she got back, Evie was already sleepy.
She washed up and climbed straight into bed.
She fell asleep quickly.
At dawn, she had a dream.
When she woke up, she couldn't remember what it was about.
But she was in a great mood.
She felt like she had found a treasure.
So she sent a text to Alexander.
"Hey, honey, the sun is up. Time to get up and exercise!"
A moment later, Alexander called.
Evie smiled. "You're up so early!"
"I'm still at work," Alexander said.
"Oh, I forgot we have jet lag now!" Evie laughed.
"It's Sunday. Why are you up so early?" Alexander asked.
"I don't know. I just woke up and got out of bed," Evie replied.
"Did you miss me?" Alexander asked with a smile.
"A little bit," Evie said shyly.
"It seems I can come back the day after tomorrow."
"I was going to come back early to take care of my little piggy. But now I don't have to rush."
"Alright, alright. I miss you a lot. Finish your work and come back soon!" Evie admitted.
Alexander laughed.
"You're so childish!" Evie muttered.
"I miss you so much," Alexander admitted bluntly.
"Don't think too much. Focus on your work," Evie said with a smile.
"Okay. What are your plans for today?"
"I'm going back to my parents' house."
"Have the driver take you."
"I know. Don't worry about me. Work hard. Call me when you're free."
"Okay."
After hanging up with Alexander, Evie tied up her hair and went downstairs for breakfast.
When Evie got to her parents' house, she found out her parents had gone to the temple early in the morning to burn incense.
They weren't home.
Victoria had also gone out early.
It was rare that she hadn't called ahead to say she was coming.
She felt a bit disappointed.
She had to stay on the couch, watching TV and eating fruit, waiting for them to come back.
But it was almost noon, and they still hadn't returned.
Evie had to call her mother.
Her mother said they wouldn't be back until evening.
She told Evie to have the nanny cook for her.
Sigh. No one wanted her.
Evie had no appetite.
She thought she might as well go back to school to see Emily and Stella.
They could have lunch together.
So she left home and headed straight to school.
"Emily, are you at school?" Evie called.
"Yeah, I'm in the dorm. Are you coming?" Emily said.
"I'm on my way. Wait for me. Let's have lunch together! Is Stella there too? Call her!"
"Stella didn't come back this weekend. It's just me!"
"Then wait for me. Let's go together! I'm almost there. Or you can come to the south gate!"
"Okay. If you get there first, wait for me. I need to change!"
"Okay!"
After making plans with Emily, Evie put away her phone.
At the south gate, Evie saw Emily waiting for her.
She got out of the car across the street from the south gate.
Evie crossed the crosswalk and called out, "Emily!"
Emily looked up and saw Evie.
She walked over quickly. "Why are you so slow? I thought you'd be here waiting for me!"
"I was almost at school when I called you. But you know waiting for the traffic light takes forever! Didn't you say you needed to change? How are you so fast?" Evie replied with a smile.
"It just so happened the class monitor was about to go out, so I asked him to take it out for me. What do you want for lunch?" Emily asked, linking her arm with Evie's.
"I want to eat a lot of things. I'm just afraid I'll eat too much!" Evie said, tilting her head.
"You're such a foodie!" Emily said with a laugh.