In the end, Evie listened to Em’s advice and picked an English song.
She played that song on repeat all afternoon, trying to find the right feel.
“Didn’t you get eliminated in the first round? Don’t practice like that,” Em said out loud.
“I can’t make it too obvious. That would be disrespectful to the school event. And it would make our class look shameless.” Evie took off her earphones and turned around.
“Well, with your amazing sense of collective honor, keep up the good work!” Em patted Evie’s shoulder and grinned.
Evie put her earphones back on. A few seconds later, she took them off again and asked Em, “If I work this hard, and the other classes are worse, could I accidentally make it to the semifinals?”
“Very likely!” Em nodded.
Evie suddenly felt depressed.
Was that a good thing or a bad thing?
Forget it. She didn’t have that kind of talent anyway. As long as she didn’t end up last, she’d be fine.
After thinking that, she put her earphones back on and kept listening to the song.
Charlie was supposed to pick her up at six-thirty, so Evie started getting ready at five-thirty.
Getting ready meant putting on something nice for someone else’s party.
She didn’t want to wear a dress. Dresses weren’t her style, and they made eating difficult.
So Evie chose a cute long sweater, paired it with leggings and boots, and topped it off with a knitted hat. She looked adorable!
“Evie, are you all dressed up for a date?” Stella had just come back from her own date. She looked Evie up and down, curious.
“No. A friend from elementary school is having a family party. I’m going with her to eat!” Evie smiled.
“Ha, that’s great! Free food!” Stella nodded with a grin.
“I’m heading out now. Wish me a good meal tonight!”
“Have a good dinner!” Stella said directly.
“I wish you gain two pounds!” Em added.
Evie almost tripped over the doorstep. She turned and glared at Em.
“Don’t worry. I’m naturally beautiful. I can’t get fat!”
Em pretended to throw up. Evie and Stella burst out laughing.
“I have to go, or I’ll be late and miss the good food! Bye!”
“Bye!”
Evie walked toward the south gate. She arrived ten minutes early.
At six-thirty, Charlie still wasn’t there. At six-forty, still no sign of her.
Evie thought that if Charlie didn’t show up soon, she would freeze to death.
She should have brought her down jacket.
She pulled out her phone and called Charlie.
“Honey, I’ll be there in a minute. Don’t get impatient. Wait for me to pick you up!” Charlie’s voice came through the phone.
Evie had no choice but to wait patiently.
Well, free food wasn’t so easy to get.
Charlie finally showed up at the south gate just before seven.
It had taken her nearly twenty minutes to get there!
Evie was almost frozen solid.
Once she got in the car, she turned the heater on full blast. She finally started to warm up.
“You said you’d be here soon!”
“Traffic jam! It was moving slower than ten kilometers per hour. Slower than riding a bike! What could I do?” Charlie smiled. Then she looked Evie up and down. “You look so pretty today. You’ll definitely catch my cousin’s attention!”
“Charlie, can we just eat and skip the gossip?” Evie asked, looking at her helplessly.
“Of course! We’re professionals!
But it’s also fun to have a little fun on the side.
If you really became my cousin’s girlfriend in the future, that would be even better!” Charlie said with a laugh.
“You think too much!
Who was it that needed my help before?
Now you’re talking about your cousin.
When did you become a matchmaker?”
“Ha, right. I forgot. You have a promise with someone!”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Don’t make jokes like that.
Can we go now?” Evie asked, a little annoyed.
“Let’s go right now!” Charlie said with a smile.
But the so-called traffic jam on the way back was a lie. The road was clear the whole way!
“Is that what you call a traffic jam?” Evie couldn’t help complaining.
“It was a traffic jam just now. It just cleared up!” Charlie replied with a smile. “Evie, when we get to my cousin’s house, you’ll come with me to change clothes and do my makeup. Then I’ll take you to dinner!”
“Okay, but don’t take too long with your makeup. By the time we get there, there’ll only be leftovers!”
“Don’t worry. The party doesn’t start until eight.”
“It starts at eight, and you told me to wait for you at the school gate at six-thirty!” Evie’s eyes widened as she stared at Charlie.
“It’s better to be early than late! Think about what you want to eat tonight.” Charlie brushed off her hair.
“…” Evie was speechless for a long time.
That was just great!
They arrived at Charlie’s cousin Lucas’s house.
It was definitely a more impressive house than her own.
But it wasn’t flashy. It was a kind of understated luxury.
After getting out of the car, Charlie and Evie entered through the side door and went straight upstairs.
Charlie lived abroad all year round, so she rarely came home. Every time she returned, she stayed with her relatives at the Lucas’s house for a few days.
“Evie, do you think I look better in this one, or this one, or this one?” Charlie laid out three dresses on the bed and asked Evie to help her choose.
Evie was dazzled. Finally, she pointed to a smoky gray dress. “That one’s nice, but I prefer this little black dress!”
“Honey, you’re making me look so old and rustic in that smoky gray one!” Charlie protested immediately.
“Then pick the white one!”
“No, it’s too common!”
Evie turned and stared at Charlie. “Then why did you ask me to choose?”
“I actually like all three, but I can only wear one.” Charlie said innocently.
“Why don’t you wear this goose-yellow one? It matches what I’m wearing. We’ll look good together.” Evie finally suggested.
“Honey, that’s a great idea!” Charlie hugged Evie and gave her a kiss. Then she took the goose-yellow dress into the bathroom and changed.
Evie was finally defeated by Charlie.
She had wanted that dress from the beginning. She just needed a little affirmation!
After changing, Charlie started doing her makeup.
She thought Evie’s bare face was too plain. It was a waste of such a pretty face. So she helped Evie put on some light makeup.
Evie frowned as she looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t feel like herself.
“Don’t wear those glasses. They’re so ugly!” Charlie took off Evie’s glasses.
“I can’t see anything without them.” Evie tried to get them back.
“Just follow me! After you say hello to my cousins, you can put them back on!” Charlie tucked the glasses behind her back.
Evie felt like crying. She should have worn her contact lenses.
Everyone had been staring at her glasses lately. It was really annoying!
In the end, Evie had no choice but to walk out of the room with Charlie, seeing the world through a hazy blur.
“Charlie, I think I’d better wear my glasses.” Evie felt a little insecure.
“Why? You’re wasting your beautiful face!”
“If I wear them, won’t it make you look like you’ve fallen in love?”
“It would only lower my standards for friends.” Charlie complained.
“…” Evie was defeated again.
The stairs in Lucas’s house were a 360-degree circular staircase. Evie walked down with Charlie, keeping her eyes fixed on the steps. She was terrified of losing her balance and rolling down.
That would be a memorable entrance!
Charlie looked around, searching for her cousin.
“Hey, who’s that handsome guy next to my cousin?”
Evie followed Charlie’s gaze.
She couldn’t see anything clearly. Just some blurry figures.
She really needed to think about getting laser eye surgery or buying some contact lenses.
After they reached the bottom of the stairs, Evie heard Charlie say, “I’ll introduce you to my cousin!”
Charlie grabbed Evie’s arm and pulled her toward where her cousin was standing.
Poor Evie couldn’t see anything. She could only follow Charlie blindly.
“Cousin—”
When Evie heard Charlie’s gentle call, she didn’t react in time. Charlie’s excited movement made her lose her balance. She stumbled forward.
Charlie gasped and covered her mouth. She watched Evie fall right in front of the handsome man next to her cousin.
Evie’s mind went blank. She couldn’t process what had just happened.
“Are you alright, miss?”
A shadow fell over her. Then a slender hand reached out in front of her.
“I’m fine!” Evie grabbed the hand reflexively and stood up. It felt like an electric shock.
After a moment, she realized she was holding a man’s hand. She quickly let go and said, embarrassed, “Thank you.”
Thank goodness she had worn pants today. Otherwise, she would have been completely humiliated.
“That’s a unique way to make an entrance, beauty!” Lucas looked at Evie and joked.
“Evie, what did you do?” Charlie asked, turning around.
“Nothing!” Evie shook her head. Luckily, she had fallen on the carpet. She was just a little confused, but it didn’t hurt.
“That’s good!” Charlie breathed a sigh of relief.
“Charlie, aren’t you going to introduce us?” Lucas said again.
“Oh, I almost forgot!” Charlie smiled. Then she took Evie’s arm and introduced her. “Cousin, this is my junior high school classmate and my best friend, Evie Vance! Evie, this handsome man with elegant manners is my cousin, Lucas Bennett.”
“Hello, Mr. Bennett. I’m sorry for intruding. I hope I’m not disturbing you.” Evie said awkwardly.