“She’s really cute!” Alexander nodded, agreeing with Ethan.
Ethan laughed even harder.
It was rare for his humorless uncle to appreciate someone like Evelyn.
“But you don’t stand a chance.” Alexander looked up at Ethan, slowly twisting the knife.
“Come on, Uncle. You’re overthinking it. He’s gay, okay? Gay. Do you get it? I only like men!”
Ethan waved his hand, grinning.
“I’m heading home now. Don’t stay up too late working. You’ve got to make money, but you also need to keep your wife company. See ya!”
“Get home safe.” Alexander nodded.
Thinking about Ethan claiming to be gay, he couldn’t help but shake his head. That brat would joke about anything.
After Ethan left, Alexander went back to working overtime. Remembering Ethan’s words, he smiled, shook his head, and closed the folder.
On Friday afternoon, Evelyn’s mother called to ask if she was coming home for the weekend.
Evelyn said there was a school event on Saturday, so she wouldn’t be back this week.
She still hadn’t figured out how to tell her family she’d moved into Alexander’s apartment.
Her mother asked if she had enough spending money.
Evelyn said she did, and asked if her mother was short on cash again.
Her mother awkwardly said she didn’t want to buy anything in particular.
Then she gave a few words of advice and hung up.
Evelyn was focused on tomorrow’s competition.
After class that afternoon, she went back to the dorm and kept practicing the song.
She had the melody down, but she needed to work on the pronunciation.
After all, she didn’t know Minnan dialect. She was just imitating the sounds.
But Emily and Stella thought Evelyn was already singing really well.
“Is it too good?” Evelyn hesitated, asking.
“You’re so on point you’ll keep our class’s reputation. What more do you want? We’re not just trying to comfort you, don’t overthink it!” Emily teased, shrugging.
Evelyn smiled and nodded. “Okay, good.”
“Stella, don’t you think Evelyn sings with so much emotion? Is it because she’s been through something?” Emily asked Stella, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed.
“It’s true. Only someone who’s experienced it can really understand the meaning of love.”
“What are you two saying?” Evelyn looked at them helplessly.
“But now that I think about it, I haven’t seen anyone trying to chase Evelyn.”
“Even if they had the heart, they wouldn’t have the guts. They’d at least need to match her family’s wealth.”
“Right, I almost forgot. Evelyn’s family is loaded. Only the children of rich families are worthy of her.”
“That’s what I’m saying. You can’t just casually talk about being from the same social class.”
Evelyn looked at Emily and Stella with a tearful expression. “Our family almost went bankrupt a while ago, but you didn’t know that.”
“Almost. That means it hasn’t happened yet. So you’re still a rich girl!” Emily shot back.
Evelyn was speechless.
“Yeah, let’s all complain about the boys who are going to try to win Evelyn over.”
“Stop it. Do you want me to practice this song well or not?”
Emily and Stella burst out laughing.
Just then, Evelyn’s phone rang. She picked it up and saw it was Alexander calling. She hesitated, then went to the balcony to answer. “Hello?”
“Evelyn, it’s Alexander.” His slightly low voice came through the phone.
“I know it’s you. What’s up?” Evelyn asked awkwardly.
“Dinner together tonight. I’ll be at your school gate in half an hour. Should I come in and pick you up, or will you come out?” Alexander asked.
“Huh?” Evelyn froze for a second, then quickly snapped back. “I’ll just come out. Which gate are you going to?”
“The main gate.”
“Okay, I’ll change and come out.” Evelyn agreed.
After hanging up, she went into the dorm, picked out an outfit from the wardrobe, and went to the bathroom to shower and change.
Coming out of the bathroom, Evelyn tidied up her bag and said to Emily and Stella, who were still in bed, “I can’t have dinner with you guys tonight. I have to go out for a bit.”
“Who are you going on a date with?” Emily winked, grinning.
“No, a relative came to see me.” Evelyn answered guiltily.
“Go on, go on. Don’t forget about tomorrow’s competition. We’ll be there to cheer you on!” Stella said.
“I know!” Evelyn replied.
She waved, grabbed her bag, and walked out of the dorm.
Evelyn went to the school gate and looked around. She didn’t see Alexander’s car. She stood patiently under the sycamore tree, waiting.
After a while, a figure approached. Evelyn turned her head, habitually pushing up her glasses. She saw the other person’s collar, then looked up. She saw Alexander’s expressionless face.
“Hi.” Evelyn said awkwardly.
“How bad is your eyesight?” Alexander took the glasses off Evelyn’s nose and asked.
“Over eight hundred.” Evelyn squinted.
“Why don’t you wear contacts?”
“It’s more convenient.”
“We still have some time. I’ll take you to get a new pair of glasses first, then we’ll go to dinner.” Alexander handed the glasses back to Evelyn and walked toward the parking spot.
Evelyn quickly put her glasses back on and followed him. “My glasses are fine. I’ve just gotten used to them!” she trotted to explain.
Alexander looked back at Evelyn and didn’t say anything.
Evelyn didn’t quite understand what that meaningful look meant.
She pursed her lips and silently followed Alexander.
At Alexander’s parking spot, he pressed the remote and got into the car.
Evelyn walked around to the passenger side and got in.
“What do you want to eat?”
“Anything is fine. You decide!” Evelyn said simply.
She didn’t know Alexander’s taste, so she thought it was better not to make decisions.
Besides, she wasn’t picky. She’d eat whatever he ate.
Alexander didn’t say anything more. He drove to the optical shop first.
The car was quiet except for the music.
Evelyn thought Alexander must be a nostalgic person, because all the songs he listened to were old ones. She couldn’t help but turn her head and secretly peek at him.
With her poor vision, she had to lift her head.
Well, Alexander was really tall. Sometimes when she looked straight ahead, she couldn’t even see his face.
No wonder he chose this kind of off-road vehicle that wasn’t popular in the city. It had more space.
Right now, Alexander was holding the steering wheel, looking ahead, driving attentively. His face was expressionless.
He was tall and usually rough-looking.
But Alexander wasn’t.
Actually, his facial features were very good. They were full of depth, and the lines were very beautiful.
Especially in this dim light, his profile looked like a statue with perfect lines.
“Are you half?” Evelyn blurted out.
Alexander turned to look at Evelyn at that moment.
Evelyn was so embarrassed.
She didn’t know what had just happened. That sentence just popped out of her mind.
Actually, she just thought Alexander looked like he might be half.
“My great-grandmother was Norwegian.” Alexander said.
“So you really are half!” Evelyn said in surprise.
She hadn’t expected to be right.
Alexander didn’t respond to Evelyn’s words. He found a parking spot near an optical shop and stopped.
Evelyn was still immersed in the surprise that Alexander was half. She didn’t react, just sat in her seat.
Until Alexander unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.
After a long moment, Evelyn suddenly snapped back to reality. She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out.
“What do we want to eat?” Evelyn carried her bag, walking to Alexander’s side and asking.
“Let’s get your glasses first.” Alexander said and walked toward the optical shop.
Evelyn quickly followed. She realized her short legs were a disadvantage. If someone walked, she had to trot.
Catching up to Alexander, she was about to say there was no need to waste money on contacts. The next second, she saw Alexander’s slight frown and automatically fell silent.
Was he in a bad mood today?
Otherwise, why would he come to school to find her?
She’d better not provoke him.
After entering the optical shop, Alexander asked the sales assistant to help Evelyn choose a pair of contact lenses.
The assistant first checked Evelyn’s eyes to see if she was suitable for contacts, then checked her prescription.
Alexander sat on the sofa, waiting.
After the check-up, the assistant recommended two types of contacts for Evelyn. One was rigid, which caused less damage to the eyes, but the price was relatively high, and the size was smaller, making it easy to lose.
The other was soft, with a more favorable price, and came in a variety of colors.
“What’s the price difference?” Evelyn asked the key question.
She didn’t know if she had enough money for a pair of contacts.
“The rigid ones are twelve thousand. The soft ones are over a hundred, over two hundred, or over three hundred.”
“Twelve thousand?” Evelyn thought she’d heard wrong. Were these contacts inlaid with diamonds?
“Yes, this kind of rigid contact lens is only imported. It’s better and has less impact on the eyes.” The assistant recommended, but her gaze kept drifting to Alexander on the sofa.
“Get her a pair of the rigid ones.” Alexander looked up and calmly replied.
“I don’t have that much money!” Evelyn turned her head and said anxiously.
“You don’t have money. Your husband does.” Alexander looked directly at her, saying each word deliberately.
Evelyn froze for a moment. The next second, her face flushed all the way to her ears.
Then, the assistant looked at Alexander first, then at Evelyn. She came back to herself and answered with a smile.
She turned around and got a pair of rigid contact lenses for Evelyn. Then she patiently and gently explained how to wear them and how to maintain them. She complimented Evelyn on her beautiful eyes, saying it would be a shame to cover them with frames.
Evelyn didn’t hear a word.
It kept echoing in her mind.
A pair of contact lenses cost over ten thousand.
Wearing the contacts, carrying the accessories from the optical shop, Evelyn walked out of the shop with Alexander.
After getting in the car, Evelyn was still thinking about her ten-thousand-dollar contact lenses.
She was still thinking about them.