"If you don't have any special requests, I'll pick the place," Alexander said, glancing at Evie.
"Sure!" Evie barely heard him.
Her mind was stuck on one thing. She was wearing contact lenses that cost over ten thousand dollars.
She couldn't shake the feeling that with such expensive lenses, her vision was so sharp she could see through walls.
Her heart raced.
If she dropped them by accident, she'd be out a fortune.
Evie was still obsessing over the contacts. She never imagined that after leaving the optical shop, Alexander would take her to a Japanese restaurant.
She followed him inside and sat down in a private room. Only then did she realize where they were.
She froze.
The things she hated most were raw fish, sashimi, grilled eel.
Almost nothing on the Japanese menu appealed to her.
But she'd already told Alexander he could decide. It was too awkward to say anything now.
After they settled into the room, she sat down and started looking at the menu.
Evie scanned for something cooked, something with broth. Finally, she spotted the seafood udon noodles.
She pointed at it quickly. "I'll have this! This one right here!"
Then she closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter.
Alexander raised an eyebrow. "You want udon noodles?"
"Yeah, I love noodles in soup!" Evie nodded with a smile.
He didn't say anything else.
After the waiter left, Alexander looked at her. "When does the competition start?"
"Huh?" Evie blinked, surprised.
"Ethan said you're competing tomorrow. What time?"
"No, no. It's my turn tomorrow afternoon!" Evie replied awkwardly.
She cursed Ethan in her head.
That big mouth!
"Do you want me to come cheer you on?" Alexander asked.
"No, no!" Evie waved her hands frantically.
The next second, she realized how rude that sounded.
She forced a stiff smile and tried to explain. "It's just a preliminary round for the school anniversary. I don't even have any confidence in myself."
"Confidence comes from strength. I have no talent. My classmates pushed me into this," Evie said, her face falling.
For someone with no special skills, talking about confidence felt pointless.
"Sounds like everyone has high expectations for you."
"Actually, nobody wanted to go. On voting day, I asked for leave. So my classmates voted for me," Evie muttered, pouting.
Her class was the type that was usually scattered but got extremely united at critical moments.
Especially when it came to dragging someone down with them.
Alexander smirked. "Then perform well. Don't let your classmates down."
"Right now, I just hope I don't embarrass the class too much. That's all I'm asking for," Evie said, resting her chin on her hand.
"What's your act?"
"Singing." It was the simplest option.
Anyone could sing. It was just a matter of how badly they'd butcher it.
"What song?"
"Umbrella Love. It's a Minnan song."
"Can you sing it for me first?"
"Now?" Evie's eyes went wide.
"After dinner. We'll go back and you can sing."
"But I'm a terrible singer. You won't like it!" Evie said, embarrassed.
"I won't know until I hear it."
"What if I scare you away?" Evie asked hesitantly, her eyes wide.
"We already have the marriage certificate. Where would I go?" Alexander replied lightly.
Evie stared at him, speechless.
For the rest of the meal, Evie ate her seafood udon noodles.
Her mood was like a typhoon day. Storm clouds mixed with thunder and lightning.
What was happening?
Her family was going bankrupt. She'd asked for leave to go home. Instead, the whole class voted for her to represent them in the school anniversary preliminaries. She'd finally learned a Minnan song. And now Alexander wanted her to sing it for him first.
What could he even hear?
Could he understand it?
A thousand horses were stampeding through Evie's mind. She bit down hard on a shrimp in her noodles.
Alexander looked at her. "You eat shrimp without peeling them?"
"Can't!" Evie answered, still grinding her teeth.
Right now, she could chew through bone.
Shrimp shells were nothing.
Then she saw Alexander's chopsticks reach into her bowl.
He picked up the remaining prawns and put them on a plate.
Evie stared at his actions, screaming inside.
Those were her shrimp! Was he going to steal them?
Was there no humanity left?
Then she watched him peel the shrimp shells. His movements were skilled and infuriatingly elegant.
Evie's attention shifted from her shrimp to his slender fingers.
Those hands shouldn't be peeling shrimp. They should be playing piano.
"Do you like them?" Alexander asked, noticing her stare.
"Like them!" Evie answered reflexively.
Alexander placed the plate in front of her. On the clean dish were several peeled shrimp. Then he rang a bell to call the waiter.
Evie looked down at the peeled shrimp. After a moment, she came back to herself. "These are for me?"
"You don't know how to peel them, do you? Eat," Alexander said softly, his voice rare and gentle.
Evie felt flattered. She ate a shrimp.
It tasted amazing.
The depression and gloom from before vanished.
The waiter came in. Alexander ordered another plate of boiled shrimp.
For the next few minutes, Evie happily ate the shrimp Alexander had peeled for her.
She felt like a boat drifting on a calm, quiet sea.
But Alexander didn't let her finish the whole plate.
If she liked them, he said, she could order them often in the future. But she couldn't eat too much at once.
"Okay," Evie said, licking her lips. She was still a little unsatisfied, but she nodded obediently.
Just because he'd peeled those shrimp for her, she followed him out of the restaurant in a daze.
When they arrived at the villa, Alexander led her straight to the second floor. Only then did Evie realize she'd come here with him.
She looked around. "Alexander, where is this?"
"Sterling Manor," Alexander answered as he unbuttoned his jacket.
Why were they at Sterling Manor?
Was he really going to make her sing here?
Oh my God.
"You... you really want to hear me sing?" Evie hesitated, then turned to ask him.
The next second, she wanted to slap herself.
Why did she bring up singing?!
Maybe Alexander had forgotten about it. Maybe he had something else to do.
Evie felt panicked.
Alexander looked back at her. "It's a rehearsal. Don't be nervous."
"Sit down first. I'm going to take a bath."
Evie nodded reflexively and watched him enter the bedroom. Then she snapped out of it.
Why did he need to take a bath and change clothes just to listen to her sing?
He just wanted to bathe first. It had nothing to do with her singing.
Evie looked around the room. The design of Sterling Manor was grand, clearly done by famous artists.
Her family used to have a villa too. It was by the sea. Back then, her mother had pressured her father to buy it to show off their wealth.
In reality, they barely lived there. But every month, they had to pay property fees and all kinds of maintenance costs. It was expensive.
Later, when housing prices skyrocketed, they sold it and made a profit.
Her mother had been proud of that for a long time.
But her family's old villa couldn't compare to the Sterling family's.
It wasn't even in the same league.
Standing in the second-floor living room now, she had a wide view. Even though it was night and the light wasn't as good as daytime, the scene had its own charm. The night was mesmerizing.
But she didn't have the mood to enjoy the night view. She was going to have to sing for Alexander soon.
When Evie thought about that, her head felt like it was going to explode. She slumped onto the sofa.
She checked the time. She didn't know if Alexander planned to drive her back to the dorm after she sang.
If he didn't, should she text Emily and tell her she wasn't coming back tonight?
Just as Evie was struggling, her phone rang.
It was Charlotte.
Evie answered. "Hey, you called at just the right time!"
"Don't you miss me? I'm calling to check in. What are your plans for the weekend?" Charlotte asked with a smile on the other end.
"I have something at school tomorrow. What's up?"
"Tomorrow's Saturday. You still have class?"
"No class, but there's a school activity I have to attend."
"Your school is so cruel!"
Evie nodded unconsciously. She felt the same way.
But the cruelest part was that her classmates had all voted for her to represent the class in the competition.
Otherwise, she'd be relaxing in the dorm right now. She wouldn't have to worry about singing for Alexander later.
"We're going to have a barbecue tomorrow. We wanted to invite you! Looks like you'll miss out," Charlotte said with some regret.
"I can't make it tomorrow. You planned it on purpose, didn't you?"
"I swear, I just called you tonight."
"Well, I really can't make it. Eat some for me! Who are you going with?"
"Just our classmates. You're allowed to bring family members!" Charlotte said, laughing.
"Do you think that last sentence was useful?" Evie suddenly sighed.
She couldn't bring Alexander with her.
"Why wouldn't it be useful? You don't have to bring a boyfriend. You can bring a friend! I'm bringing my cousin!" Charlotte said cheerfully.
Evie forced a laugh.
"Tell me honestly. What's your real intention?"