"Is there a problem, Ms. Vance?" Alexander Sterling looked down at Evelyn and asked.
Evelyn was a smoker, and she had just met the most unreasonable man alive.
A moment ago, at the dinner table, she thought Mr. Sterling was a gentleman with depth. Now his score had dropped to negative.
"Didn't someone just say modestly that they couldn't dance?" Alexander raised the corner of his mouth slightly.
Evelyn froze for a second. Her steps faltered, and she stomped on Alexander's foot.
The next second, she looked up at him without a hint of guilt.
"I can't dance!"
Alexander laughed but didn't call her out.
He kept spinning out beautiful moves while Evelyn stepped to the beat of the music. Their coordination grew more and more natural.
Since Evelyn wasn't wearing her glasses, all her movements relied on her musical sense and Alexander's lead. This made her look more fluid and graceful.
Gradually, the perfectly matched pair became the center of attention on the dance floor.
When the song ended, Alexander took Evelyn's hand and bowed for the curtain call. Then he escorted her back to her seat.
Because Evelyn wasn't wearing her glasses, she followed Alexander closely. She wanted to keep her distance, but she was afraid of bumping into someone or tripping over something. So she had no choice but to let him guide her.
When she finally returned to her seat, Evelyn was still panting. She shot Alexander a hard glare. Alexander just laughed.
Well-versed in the principle of knowing when to stop, Alexander didn't continue teasing her. He politely thanked her and walked away.
Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief. She picked up her glass and finished the rest of the Bailey's.
After dancing and sweating, she felt incredibly thirsty now.
Just then, Charlotte returned to her seat. She looked at Evelyn with a grin and asked excitedly,
"Tell me the truth, when did you hook up with Mr. Sterling?"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Evelyn nearly choked on her cocktail. She raised her eyes and glared at Charlotte.
"Fine, it's not hooking up. When did you and Mr. Sterling start seeing each other?" Charlotte propped her chin up and asked.
"We didn't see each other. He just invited me to dance!"
"That's it?"
"What else do you want?"
"I heard my cousin say he wanted to invite you to dance, but Mr. Sterling made the first move! I thought you two had some kind of... oh, wrong, some kind of friendship!"
"No friendship at all!" Evelyn answered firmly. "Is there anything else to drink? I'm so thirsty!"
"Wait, I'll get it!" Charlotte replied, getting up to fetch the drinks.
It wasn't long before she returned with two more glasses of Long Island Iced Tea.
The two of them drank and chatted.
Evelyn noticed there wasn't much good food here, but the drinks were delicious and beautifully colored.
Just as she was about to ask Charlotte what kind of drink this was, she turned her head and saw Charlotte's face was bright red!
"Charlotte, what's wrong with you?" Evelyn asked in alarm.
"I feel dizzy!" Charlotte mumbled. The next second, she slumped onto the table.
"Wait here, I'll go get your cousin!" Evelyn said hurriedly. She had no idea what was wrong with Charlotte.
Poor Evelyn, with her eight-hundred-degree myopia, looked around. Everything was a blur!
She had no idea where Charlotte's cousin was!
"Evelyn, what's the matter?"
"Have you seen Mr. Bennett? Charlotte seems unwell!" Evelyn turned her head and saw it was Alexander. She ignored everything else and asked urgently.
"Don't worry, I'll take a look!" Alexander said, following Evelyn back to her seat. After checking Charlotte's reaction, he turned to Evelyn and said,
"Ms. Vance, you're drunk!"
"Ah?" Evelyn stared at Alexander in shock.
Just then, Lucas Bennett walked over and said with a helpless tone,
His cousin really couldn't hold her liquor. He asked Evelyn how much they had drunk.
Evelyn said they hadn't drunk much, only two drinks!
Later, Evelyn realized that Bailey's and Long Island Iced Tea weren't fruit juice. They were cocktails. It suddenly clicked.
In the end, Lucas helped carry Charlotte to the bedroom to rest.
After a while, he came downstairs and was ready to leave.
"Alexander, please see her back," Lucas said to Alexander with a smile.
Might as well do him a favor.
"No need to trouble Mr. Sterling. I can go back by myself," Evelyn quickly declined.
"No trouble at all. It's my duty!" Alexander said calmly.
Evelyn stared at him in confusion.
What duty? Did he think he was the Bennett family's driver?
In the end, Evelyn had no choice but to follow Alexander.
Because Lucas said it wasn't easy to get a taxi here. His family's driver had just taken some guests back and wouldn't return for a while. And since Lucas had been drinking, it wasn't convenient for him to drive her back. Unless Evelyn didn't mind staying in the Bennett guest room for the night.
Evelyn had to go with Alexander.
Living in a stranger's house, she would rather let Alexander drive her back to school.
Although she seemed to be at odds with this Mr. Sterling, there was no past grievance or recent hatred. Mr. Sterling probably wouldn't do anything to her.
Besides, she just needed him to drop her off at a nearby subway station or a place where she could catch a taxi.
Evelyn thanked Lucas and followed Alexander out of the Bennett villa.
After getting into Alexander's car and fastening her seatbelt, Evelyn turned her head to thank him politely,
"Thank you, Mr. Sterling."
Even though she didn't feel very familiar with Alexander, and he was sometimes gentlemanly and sometimes rude, it didn't matter. Since he was giving her a ride, she should thank him.
"You're welcome!" Alexander turned his head and gave her a meaningful look. He replied faintly.
After driving out of the Bennett villa, the car began to speed up. Evelyn was pushed back into her seat.
Startled, she grabbed the armrest and said in a trembling voice,
"Mr. Sterling, could you please slow down? I... I get carsick!"
Evelyn had come up with the worst excuse.
Right now, it wasn't about carsickness. It was about saving her life.
Alexander lowered the speed and asked,
"Is this okay?"
"Could you slow down a little more?" Evelyn frowned and asked carefully.
Alexander had to slow down again.
"Thank you, that's fine!" Evelyn said with a sigh of relief.
"Evelyn, are you messing with me? On Harbor Avenue, you want me to drive at a turtle's pace of 40 kilometers per hour! You might as well get out and run back!" Alexander said with a straight face.
"You run at 40 kilometers per hour for me to see. I'll run back!" Evelyn replied calmly, looking at him.
Alexander glanced at her, both angry and amused.
This little girl looked silly, but sometimes she was sharp and quick-witted.
"Did your father never teach you not to provoke a drunk driver?" Alexander teased her on purpose.
"Are you drunk driving?" Evelyn's eyes widened immediately.
"Do you think people who come to this kind of party only drink juice and mineral water?"
"Stop, stop! I want to get out. I'll run back!" Evelyn cried.
Alexander stopped the car. He rested his hands on the steering wheel, looked at Evelyn leisurely, and asked,
"Are you sure?"
"I'm very sure. I can't joke with my life!" Evelyn said firmly.
"Ha ha!" Alexander burst out laughing.
Evelyn glared at him, ready to open the door and get out.
If she had known, she wouldn't have come to her cousin's cocktail party just for the food and Charlotte.
Now she was walking back in a deserted place where even birds didn't shit. Who knew if something would happen?
Should she call the police for help?
Forget it, she shouldn't waste public resources.
She'd better call her sister for help.
But the door wouldn't open.
Evelyn turned to Alexander and said,
"Please unlock the door. I want to get out."
"Evelyn, there's no village ahead and no shop behind. Are you sure it's safe to get off here?" Alexander asked leisurely.
"Safer than riding in a car with a drunk driver!"
Alexander laughed again. Seeing this little girl's serious face, she didn't look like she was joking.
If he kept teasing her, she would be pushed to the edge and bite him. So he stopped.
"Don't worry. If I were really drunk, I wouldn't have agreed to take you back. I was just joking with you!"
After Alexander finished, he started the engine and drove on. The speed wasn't fast, but it wasn't as slow as 40 kilometers per hour either.
"So childish!" Evelyn couldn't help whispering.
"What did you say?" Alexander didn't hear clearly. He turned to look at her and asked.
"Nothing. Did you really not drink?" Evelyn asked again.
"Yes, but only two drinks. The alcohol wore off long ago."
"Are you sure?" Evelyn asked hesitantly.
"Do you want me to take you to the hospital to draw blood for a breathalyzer test?" Alexander was a bit annoyed.
"No, then... just focus on driving and take me back to school safely. Actually, forget it. You'd better drop me off somewhere I can catch a taxi!"
"At this hour, are you sure a single girl alone is safer than in my car?"
"Then I can call my sister to pick me up!" Evelyn said, taking out her phone from her bag. "Where is it convenient for you to drop me off, Mr. Sterling?"
"I'm not very familiar with this road. I'll tell you when we get there!"
"Thank you, Mr. Sterling!" Evelyn replied quietly. Suddenly, she felt a wave of drowsiness.
She could only call her sister after getting off the car.
After drinking two cocktails, although she wasn't drunk, she felt sleepy easily. With the smooth speed of the car and the soft music playing, Evelyn soon fell asleep.
"Evelyn..."
"Hmm..." Evelyn muttered.
She wanted to turn over and continue sleeping. The next second, she hit the window. The pain made her cry out.
"Why are you so careless?"
Alexander frowned and rubbed Evelyn's head.
"At least I didn't hit my head and become an idiot!" Evelyn whispered. The next second, she suddenly realized something was wrong. How could there be a male voice in the dormitory? She turned her head in fright. The corner of her lip brushed against Alexander's chin as he checked if she was hurt. Evelyn was shocked.