Chapter 37

Evelyn stretched again and glanced out the window. It was dark outside. The streetlights were on. She couldn’t help but sigh. Then she thought of Alexander. Why wasn’t he back yet? Should she go to the main house for dinner alone? Or wait for him? Forget it. She’d go upstairs and wash her face first. She had to decide soon. No matter what, she couldn’t see Mrs. Sterling looking like this. Evelyn went upstairs and walked into Alexander’s bedroom. She wanted to use his bathroom. She froze when she heard the sound of running water. Why was there water running? Had he forgotten to turn off the tap? Without thinking, she walked over and opened the door. A scream suddenly echoed through the second floor of Sterling Manor. Alexander stared at Evelyn. At the same time, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself. “Shut up!” he growled. “Ah! Ah! Pervert! Hooligan! Villain!” Evelyn cried, covering her eyes. “If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll throw you out of here,” Alexander said in a low voice. The scene felt strangely familiar. Like it had happened somewhere before. Then she remembered. That time she went to a KTV with a client. A kid had burst into the men’s room and screamed just like she was doing now. The more Alexander looked at her, the more he was sure. The girl in front of him was the same one from that day. Evelyn immediately shut up. She heard him say he would throw her out. “Evelyn, my mother and the others are waiting for us to have dinner. We need to go,” Alexander said after she quieted down. Why did her voice sound so familiar? He felt like he had heard it before. She opened her eyes and saw his dripping chest. She couldn’t help but swallow. She was terrified. Her gaze moved up slowly. When she saw Alexander’s face, Evelyn’s eyes went wide. “How can it be you?” “Why can’t it be me?” Alexander asked, amused. “You’re Alexander Sterling!” Evelyn couldn’t believe it. Wasn’t the Alexander she saw in the mirror at her cousin’s house the same person? It was the same person! Alexander looked at her like she was crazy. Finally, he ignored her and walked toward the dressing room. “How could it be you? How could you be Alexander Sterling?” “Are you the Alexander Sterling who registered for marriage with me?” “By the way, did you recognize me that day?” “Why didn’t you tell me you were Alexander Sterling?” Alexander stopped. Evelyn didn’t stop in time and bumped into his back. She stumbled backward, waving her arms and screaming. Alexander caught her and pulled her into his arms. He pressed her face against his chest to stop her screaming. Evelyn didn’t fall. She was relieved. She struggled to lift her head and found herself in Alexander’s arms. She started screaming again. He pressed her face down again. This happened several times. Evelyn felt like she was going crazy. Finally, she broke free from his arms. She pushed up her glasses, looking alert and embarrassed. She glared at him and asked, “What do you want to do?” “You’re too noisy. I want to get dressed. Are you sure you want to follow me?” Alexander frowned. “You—change! Now!” Evelyn was shy and angry. Her face turned red and then white. That was all she could say. Alexander had already entered the dressing room. Evelyn stood at the door, stomping her feet in anger. She had no way to deal with him. It was so terrible! Alexander got dressed and came out of the dressing room. Evelyn was still standing at the door. She was looking down, showing only the top of her head. She didn’t know what she was thinking. “Let’s go. Everyone is waiting for us,” Alexander said as he walked toward the door. “Where are we going?” Evelyn, who had been thinking about how to deal with Alexander, suddenly came back to her senses. She looked at him and asked. “Dinner. They’re waiting for us.” “Oh!” Evelyn answered and followed him out. After a few steps, she remembered she had come into the bathroom to wash her face and fix her hair. “Wait for me. I need to wash my face!” Evelyn said. She went back to the sink, turned on the tap, cupped the water, and started washing her face. Alexander frowned. “There’s a full set of new toiletries in the cabinet.” Then he walked straight out of the bathroom. Evelyn wiped the water from her face with her hand. The next second, she understood what he meant. She wiped her face twice more, then bent down to open the cabinet. She took out a towel. After washing her face and combing her hair, Evelyn walked out of the bathroom. Alexander was standing by the window, looking at the scenery outside. He heard her and turned to look at her. They were only a few meters apart, staring at each other. Evelyn was a little distracted. A poem came to mind. The stranger is like jade, unparalleled in the world. Before this, either she wasn’t wearing her glasses and couldn’t see clearly, or she was too busy fighting with Alexander to pay attention to him. At this moment, standing here and looking at him quietly, Evelyn finally understood why her mother had praised his looks on the day they registered. Later, when her sister chatted with her, she asked if Alexander was handsome. It turned out this man really was that handsome. As the saying goes, a little more would be a demon, a little less would be too soft. He was as gentle as jade. Unfortunately, this man was gay! It proved the saying right. The best men were either gay or already married! “How long are you going to stare into space?” Alexander finally said. “I’m not staring into space!” Evelyn came back to her senses. She whispered, pushed up her glasses, and walked over. Alexander didn’t say anything more. They walked out of Sterling Manor and headed to the main house for dinner. Along the way, she followed him quietly. She put her hands behind her back, kept her head down, and hopped behind him. “Evelyn.” “Huh?” Evelyn looked up and bumped into Alexander’s back the next second. Her nose was almost flattened. Worse, her glasses hurt her brow bone. Evelyn held her glasses and groaned in pain. Alexander turned around. He held Evelyn with one hand and took off her glasses with the other. “My glasses!” Evelyn tried to grab them back. Alexander held the glasses up high. “Don’t wear them!” Evelyn protested and tried to take them back. Alexander threw her glasses into the lotus pond. “My glasses!” Evelyn exclaimed. She watched her glasses draw a blurry arc in the air. Then she heard a splash. They were gone. “What are you doing? Without my glasses, I’m like a blind person. I can’t see anything clearly!” Evelyn turned her head, glared at Alexander, and shouted. “I’ll be your eyes,” Alexander answered calmly. “You think you’re the captain!” Evelyn couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “What do you mean?” Alexander frowned. “Forget it. I told you, we have a generation gap!” Alexander slowly raised the corner of his mouth. He let go of Evelyn and walked forward. “Ah? Wait for me!” Evelyn quickly followed. She almost fell. She quickly grabbed Alexander’s arm. Anyway, he was gay. Gay. Gay. So it didn’t matter! Alexander turned to look at her. She had a small face that said, “You can’t leave me!” At that moment, she finally realized how tall Alexander was. She was just tugging at him, and he didn’t move at all. He stood like a tree and sat like a bell. Alexander didn’t say anything. He led Evelyn toward the main house. At first, he walked at his usual pace. After a few steps, he noticed that Evelyn’s short legs had to trot to keep up with him. He had to slow down. He matched her pace, almost like a slow-motion movie. “Don’t you have class today?” Alexander asked. “I had class in the morning, not in the afternoon. I chatted with my sister-in-law all afternoon!” Evelyn couldn’t help showing off. Alexander looked at her and asked faintly, “Aren’t you afraid of her?” “My sister-in-law is very nice. Why would I be afraid of her?” Evelyn looked at him, confused. Alexander touched his nose and said nothing. “How curious are you?” Evelyn asked. “Taller than you,” Alexander said, looking at her. Evelyn was speechless. Wasn’t that obvious? If he were as tall as her, at one meter sixty, he would be disabled. “It’s great to be taller than me!” Evelyn muttered. “What?” Alexander looked down at her. “Nothing. I just want to know how tall you are. You look really tall!” Evelyn asked with a smile. “How tall are you?” Alexander asked. “One meter sixty-seven,” Evelyn answered truthfully. “I’m one meter eighty-eight.” “...” Evelyn was speechless again. What did that mean? “It seems we really do have a generation gap,” Alexander said slowly. Evelyn secretly rolled her eyes. There really was a big generation gap. She was so mature, and he was so childish. Who said he was mature, prudent, intelligent, and responsible? What kind of eyes did those people have? The next second, she saw a faint smile on Alexander’s lips. Her soul floated away. So this was what attracted her! “Evelyn.” “Huh?” “If we don’t leave now, we’ll only be having breakfast.” “Huh? Oh!” Evelyn responded. Was Alexander implying she was walking too slowly? If she walked from here to the main house, would it be dawn? Hmph. Just because she was shorter than him didn’t mean she couldn’t speed up! Oh, forget it. It wasn’t a little shorter. It was a lot shorter. It was really more irritating than anything else. It was a lot shorter.