"Mom, Evie brought your favorite mung bean cakes and almond crisps, perfect with tea!" Ethan Sterling quickly changed the subject.
"Evie, you shouldn't buy things when you come home," Isabella Stark said, looking at Evelyn gently.
"I heard you and my sister-in-law like them, so I picked some up on the way," Evelyn replied, a little embarrassed.
Ethan turned his head and whispered to Evelyn, "You're terrible at lying!"
The next second, Evelyn shot him a glare.
Ethan almost burst out laughing.
"Ethan, you go ahead. Evie will keep me company," Isabella said, turning to her son.
"Talk amongst yourselves. Auntie, have a nice chat with my mom," Ethan said with a smile.
But he couldn't help sighing.
He had just been dismissed by his own mother.
Ethan left the tea room. Isabella brewed tea while chatting with Evelyn.
"Evie, when did you marry Ethan? I don't remember that at all."
"Sister-in-law, I'm not married to Ethan. I'm married to Alexander. We just got the license. The wedding isn't until the end of the year," Evelyn explained patiently again.
"Oh, my memory is so bad. I always think you're my daughter-in-law!" Isabella said, shaking her head with a smile.
Evelyn laughed too.
"How does Alexander treat you?"
"Very well," Evelyn nodded.
She didn't really know if it was true. So far, they were still strangers.
"Alexander is a good kid. Responsible and caring. The whole family business rests on his shoulders now," Isabella murmured.
"Oh," Evelyn replied vaguely.
She thought that although her sister-in-law wasn't in good spirits, she was still quite reasonable.
"Now that you're married, you should have children soon. I'm old and want to hold a grandchild," Isabella continued.
Evelyn snapped back to reality.
She wasn't a sow. And she didn't want that many children.
Oh, wait. That wasn't the point.
The point was that her husband was gay.
How could she have children by herself?
It wasn't like she was the Virgin Mary.
Didn't Isabella know Alexander was gay?
Evelyn almost forgot that Ethan was gay too. Now there were only two men left in the family. One of them had to be straight, or the family line would end.
Slap. Where were her thoughts going?
Evelyn had been spacing out for a long time.
"Alexander doesn't talk much, but he's very thoughtful. If you spend time with him, you'll understand he's a man who values long-term commitment. He'll treat you well," Isabella said softly.
Evelyn could only smile and nod awkwardly.
Of course, she hoped Alexander would be kind to her. That would make her life at home easier.
But at the same time, she hoped he wouldn't be too nice. Maybe even ignore her completely. After all, he was gay. She couldn't force him to like her. That would save a lot of trouble.
But if they could be friends, that would be ideal.
She just didn't know if Alexander was a top or a bottom. If he was a bottom, they could be good sisters.
That actually sounded pretty good.
"Evie? Evie?"
"Sister-in-law, you called me?" Evelyn turned around, looking embarrassed.
"Were you thinking about Alexander?" Isabella asked with a smile.
Evelyn was stunned for a moment.
"Alexander will be home tonight. He'll come back for dinner if he doesn't work overtime."
"Oh," Evelyn smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Her thoughts were completely different from Isabella's.
But she couldn't explain that.
Evelyn had tea with Isabella all afternoon. She heard many stories about Alexander and Ethan's childhood.
Among them, Alexander was the youngest of his generation, only a few years older than Ethan. Outsiders often thought Alexander was Ethan's brother.
To defend his status and rights, Alexander insisted on taking Ethan to kindergarten every morning. He would make Ethan say goodbye to "Uncle" at the kindergarten gate. Then repeat it after school.
Once, Ethan didn't understand why he had to say goodbye to his uncle at the kindergarten gate every morning and afternoon like a little fool.
Alexander patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, saying, "The whole world needs to know you have a very young and handsome little uncle!"
That year, Ethan was four years old and in kindergarten. Alexander was in fourth grade.
Evelyn couldn't help laughing when Isabella told her these stories. What a naive person!
Later, a girl chased Alexander all the way to the Sterling family home. Alexander was very unhappy. So he took Ethan to school and made him call him "Dad."
For a while, his classmates and alumni thought he had an illegitimate child when he was fifteen years old.
Of course, Alexander got beaten up by the surviving parents of the Sterling family for that.
The more Evelyn listened, the more excited she became.
Well, it was a little unkind to laugh.
But it was so funny.
She never expected the stoic Alexander to be so precious as a child.
They talked until Violet Hayes brought boiled medicine to the tea room for Isabella to drink.
Isabella frowned and sighed. "When you get old, you're useless. Always sick."
"No, sister-in-law! You look very young. If no one introduced you, I would think you were Ethan's sister!"
Isabella shook her head with a smile. "I'm old. Now I have to drink these bitter things every day."
"This is traditional Chinese medicine. Although it's bitter, it has few side effects. It's good for your health to recuperate with it. I used to drink Chinese medicine for a while," Evelyn said, studying the bowl of medicinal juice.
She actually wanted to comfort Isabella but didn't know how. So she gave an example.
"You drank Chinese medicine too? What was wrong?" Isabella looked at Evelyn with concern.
"Yes. My sister-in-law might find this funny. There was a time when my mother thought I was too stupid. She took me to see a Chinese medicine doctor. She wanted to improve my IQ or something."
"You're such a smart girl. You didn't need that!" Isabella suddenly laughed.
"I might be the type that develops late. My parents were worried about my IQ before."
Isabella smiled and shook her head. "They don't worry now."
"They're not as worried now as before," Evelyn said, laughing.
Later, Isabella drank the Chinese medicine. She talked with Evelyn for a while longer. Now she was a little sleepy and wanted to go back to her room to rest.
She asked Harper Bell to take Evelyn back to Sterling Manor to rest. Evelyn was to stay at the Sterling family home for dinner.
"Harper, you should take care of my sister-in-law. I can go by myself," Evelyn said.
"It's just a short walk. I'll send the young lady over first, then come back to take care of her," Harper said with a smile.
Evelyn couldn't refuse. She had to nod and follow Harper out of Rose Garden Villa.
From Rose Garden Villa to Sterling Manor was a long walk.
If Harper hadn't led the way, Evelyn might have gotten lost.
After arriving at Sterling Manor, Harper went back to Rose Garden Villa.
Evelyn sat alone in the living room on the first floor of Sterling Manor. She felt bored.
It wasn't time for dinner yet. It wasn't convenient to take a nap in the dormitory or at home.
Evelyn could only sit on the sofa, chin propped up, staring into space. She had already brought a book to read.
Later, her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. She nodded like a chicken pecking rice.
Eventually, she was so sleepy that she fell asleep on the sofa.
Alexander Sterling came home from the company after work.
There was a dinner party in the evening. But his mother had made an urgent call. She asked him to come home for dinner because Evelyn would be eating at home tonight.
It was time for him to accompany Evelyn for a while.
Alexander gave a wry smile. He didn't know why a grown woman coming to his home needed his personal company.
Thinking of Evelyn at Lucas Bennett's reception, Alexander couldn't help but raise his lips.
Life with a funny little girl seemed like it wouldn't be a boring thing.
After the vice president attended the dinner on his behalf, Alexander went straight home after work.
First, he went to the living room of the main house. He met his mother. She told him Evelyn was at Sterling Manor. She asked him to come pick her up for dinner.
Alexander had to go get her.
Sterling Manor was built later. It could be considered the wedding room prepared by the Sterling family for Alexander.
Originally, it was to be built on an empty lot next to Rose Garden Villa. It would have been adjacent to Rose Garden Villa.
But Alexander preferred the land, surrounding environment, and view of Sterling Manor. Finally, after the family invited an expert to see it, they agreed to build Sterling Manor here.
This was also why the houses of the two brothers of the Sterling family were not connected.
Alexander walked into the living room. The room was a little dark.
It was already dark outside, but there was no light in the room.
Alexander frowned slightly. He turned on the light. He thought Evelyn wasn't here.
The next second, he saw Evelyn curled up on the sofa. She couldn't fall off. She was sleeping soundly. Her clothes had rolled up, revealing her belly.
It reminded Alexander of a white fish.
He went upstairs and grabbed a blanket. He called his mother to report first.
"Mom, Evie is still taking a nap. We'll be late."
"She's taking a nap. Don't wake her up. When she wakes up, you can come to dinner. Take good care of Evie," Eleanor Sterling said with a smile on the other end of the phone.
"I know," Alexander frowned.
How could there be such a big difference in treatment?
In his mother's eyes, he was a bullying image.
She was deeply afraid that he would bully her lovely and weak daughter-in-law.
As a matter of fact, Evelyn looked like a docile rabbit on the surface. But in essence, she was a cat with sharp claws.
After Alexander finished the phone call, he came downstairs with the blanket. He covered Evelyn. Then he sat down on a single sofa. He read a newspaper and waited for Evelyn to wake up naturally.
Evelyn didn't know how long she had slept. When she woke up, she stretched lazily. When she touched the back of the sofa, she realized she wasn't in the dormitory.
She suddenly opened her eyes. She saw the ceiling. The next second, she sat up.
She looked around. She remembered she was in the house at Sterling Manor.