“If you calculate it by household, plus the main house deduction, it’s not that much.”
“My grandmother had four children: my father, my second aunt, my third aunt, and my fourth uncle.”
“Each of them gets one house. And I’ll need to start my own family someday. See? It’s not enough.”
“It’s just that we haven’t officially split up yet. So living together makes it look impressive.” Ethan Sterling glanced around as he spoke.
“Why hasn’t your family split up?” Evelyn asked, curious.
“Because our ancestors had a rule. No splitting the family.” Ethan answered with a straight face.
“Oh.” Evelyn nodded slowly.
“I’m lying to you!” Ethan suddenly burst out laughing.
“…” Evelyn couldn’t help rolling her eyes.
“My grandmother asked us not to split up before she leaves.”
“Actually, she’s worried that after the split, my mom and I would suffer.”
“Because my dad left suddenly.”
“I was a minor back then. My mom was a full-time housewife. She knew nothing about business.” Ethan’s playful tone vanished. He spoke calmly now.
Evelyn looked at him, apologetic.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring this up.”
“It’s fine. It’s all in the past.” Ethan smiled, waving it off.
Evelyn stared at him. She couldn’t understand how someone’s expression could shift so fast. It was like two different people.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Am I handsome?” Ethan leaned in, grinning.
Evelyn stepped back, frowning.
“Can you stop being so narcissistic?”
“I can’t help it! My natural conditions are just too good. Why shouldn’t I be narcissistic?” Ethan continued, feigning distress.
“Forget I said anything.” Evelyn waved her hand and kept walking.
“This way. I’ll show you the small garden. Or do you want to visit my house?” Ethan pointed to another path.
“Oh! I’d better not disturb your family. Let’s just look around here first.” Evelyn replied, turning back to follow the path he indicated.
The dense vegetation didn’t give a good sense of life. But it didn’t offer a clear view either.
Even though it wasn’t as green as spring, late autumn had its own charm.
“What kind of flower is this?” Evelyn pointed to clusters of pink blossoms on a trellis.
“Begonia.” Ethan answered.
“So this is a begonia flower.”
“Don’t you have them at home?”
“No. My family doesn’t really grow flowers.” Evelyn replied.
Even if they planted some, no one would take care of them. They’d die soon.
Now, their yard only had iron trees and banyan trees. Those were the easiest to keep alive. They needed no care.
“Begonias are easy to grow. But you have to clean up often. Otherwise, the petals fall everywhere.”
“Then I’ll just admire them from afar.”
“If you don’t have time to care for plants, you can grow pothos or cactus. They basically need no special attention.” Ethan continued.
“You know a lot.”
“Don’t you think I’m pretending to be a knowledgeable florist again?” Ethan said, self-mocking.
“No. I think what you said is quite true.”
“I really don’t know anything about this.”
“I just like looking at them. But if I had to keep them, I couldn’t.”
“It’s okay to have other interests. As long as you have an interest in taking care of your family. Otherwise, life will be hard.”
Evelyn turned her head to look at him.
Ethan touched his nose and smiled.
“Of course, if you like being idle, that’s another matter.”
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
“I mean, when you get married and take care of the family, you don’t have to do anything.”
“Others will do it for you.”
“So you might be idle all day, not knowing what to do.”
“If you have a little interest to kill time, it’ll pass faster.” Ethan explained.
“I want to study now. I can go out to work after graduation.” Evelyn replied.
“Is that your plan?” Ethan asked.
“Yes.” Evelyn nodded seriously.
“I advise you to give up that idea. The daughter-in-law who takes care of the family doesn’t go out to work in public.” Ethan shrugged.
“No. This isn’t a feudal society. What about gender equality?” Evelyn said, incredulous.
“If you’re willing to go out, you can discuss it with my uncle.” Ethan replied.
“Doesn’t your mother, or your sister-in-law, have to work?” Evelyn asked curiously.
“No. She can’t go out and work.”
“My mother married my father right after she came back from studying abroad.”
“She never had a chance to work at all.” Ethan replied.
“Well, what does your sister-in-law do now?” Evelyn continued.
“Do you want to see my mother?” Ethan asked.
“Yes!” Evelyn nodded.
Although she had registered with Alexander Sterling, she was only familiar with Mrs. Sterling and Ethan so far.
As for the other Sterling family members, except Alexander, she hadn’t met them.
“Forget it. Let’s wait for another time!” Ethan waved his hand again.
“Ethan Sterling, you’re teasing me!” Evelyn was furious.
“I’m not teasing you. I’m just afraid you’ll be scared by my mother.” Ethan said seriously.
“What do you mean?” Evelyn frowned.
“After my father left, my mother’s spirit hasn’t been very good.”
“Oh.” Evelyn replied. She suddenly didn’t know what to say.
“Let’s go. I’ll show you other plants. There are many rare ones in my garden.” Ethan changed the subject.
Evelyn found it hard to say anything more. She quietly followed Ethan.
Earlier, Evelyn thought Ethan was a terrible guide. Even at his own home, he didn’t know how to introduce things.
But now, in the garden, Ethan talked a lot. And everything he said was well-founded. Not like his usual rambling nonsense.
“This osmanthus tree was planted the year my little uncle was born. It’s the same age as him!” Ethan pointed to a tree. “See? There are words on it.”
Evelyn moved closer. Sure enough, there were two blurry words carved into the trunk.
“What is it? I can’t see clearly.”
“It’s okay. You can think about it later. Look at it more often.”
Evelyn wanted to roll her eyes. Couldn’t he just tell her what it was?
Did she get a prize for guessing?
“This was my little uncle’s first travel notes. He wrote it when he was just learning calligraphy before primary school.”
“That’s uncivilized behavior.”
“Yes! Evelyn, wait for my little uncle to come back. You should educate him thoroughly!” Ethan started talking nonsense again.
“Do you think I can educate your little uncle?” Evelyn asked him.
Ethan immediately laughed. Then he sighed and shook his head.
“Looking at your eloquence, I guess there’s no hope.”
“By the way, my little uncle is a standard beast.”
“On the surface, he looks elegant and gentle. But in reality, he’s extremely strong and ruthless.”
“I think you’d better listen to him. Don’t have any intention of resisting. Or you’ll be abused!”
“How can anyone slander his own little uncle like this?” Evelyn was speechless.
“Good advice is hard to hear! Anyway, don’t fall in love with my little uncle. Or you’ll suffer.” Ethan waved his hand.
“As if I’m going to fall in love with him!” Evelyn said with a smile.
Ethan held his chin and looked at her.
“Unless a woman doesn’t like men, she won’t fall in love with my little uncle.”
Evelyn ignored him. She walked straight ahead to enjoy the garden’s beauty.
Ethan stood still, watching her back. He murmured to himself.
“I can’t scare you like this. What’s your heart made of? So tough.”
Evelyn was just looking at the flowers and plants. She didn’t hear Ethan muttering.
After visiting the garden, they reached the carp pond.
“You have so many fish in your family!”
“Yes. A little makes a lot.” Ethan nodded.
“Is it for food?” Evelyn asked again, her eyes sparkling.
Ethan suddenly choked.
“These are koi. They’re raised for good luck. Not for eating!”
“Oh.” Evelyn replied. She quickly put her hands together and bowed.
Ethan burst out laughing.
How could there be such a funny person!
Evelyn turned her head and looked at him. She was a little angry.
“He’s not tricking me again, is he?”
“No, no. It’s true!” Ethan smiled and shook his head.
“Ethan Sterling, how old are you?”
“Nineteen. What’s the matter?”
“I think you look like a nine-year-old!”
“…” Another personal attack!
Although they didn’t visit the whole house, it still took a lot of time.
Evelyn was worried that Chloe would come back and not find her at Sterling Manor. So she planned to go back.
“Ethan, thank you for your time.”
“Now, it’s almost time for me to go back to Sterling Manor.”
“Otherwise, Chloe will come looking for me. If she can’t find me, it’s not good.” Evelyn said to him.
“Just call her.” Ethan replied.
“I don’t have a cell phone!”
“Anyway, I think I’m not in a hurry for now.”
“That’s true! Let’s go. I’ll take you back. So you won’t get lost on the unfamiliar road.”
“Thank you.” Evelyn replied.
She really couldn’t find her way back to Sterling Manor.
Ethan walked Evelyn back to Sterling Manor. He didn’t leave directly. Instead, he followed her inside.
Then he took out tea from the refrigerator. He went to the tea table, sat down, and started boiling water to make tea.
Clearly, he often came to his little uncle’s place. He was familiar with the house.
Well, it was his home. But she didn’t live here.