Outside the guesthouse, Evelyn watched the tourists come and go around the old town, her eyes empty. She started to wonder what she had come here for.
She wanted to go sightseeing, but she didn't know where to start.
When was the last time she had gone shopping? A couple years ago, she guessed. She couldn't quite remember. If she needed something, she would have it delivered to her home or office. So, she didn't need to go shopping on her own.
And she hadn't traveled for years either. Her father treated her like a delicate vase and never allowed her to go on business trips. As a result, she seldom had the chance to leave Y City.
"Hi!" A man's cheerful voice broke her train of thought.
She saw the man whom she had just seen in the lounge hall. He was looking at her with a wide smile on his face.
Another man and two women were standing next to him.
Evelyn didn't respond.
"How about I buy you dinner? I know some delicious local food places around here," he offered. Sheffield always had many women by his side, but he had never tried to woo anyone before. Women willingly chased after him.
However, he couldn't help but take a fancy towards this woman. The moment she left the guesthouse, he followed after her.
Evelyn cast a cold glance at him, still saying nothing.
Sheffield's heart skipped a beat. 'I have met her three times now, yet she still hasn't said a word. Is she…mute?
How unfortunate!'
While Sheffield was wondering if Evelyn was dumb, Tayson walked over and stood between them. He cast a warning glance at Sheffield, his eyes burning with a murderous aura.
The man beside Sheffield asked him in a whisper, "You know her?"
Sheffield shook his head. He didn't know her, but he wanted to.
"Oh, I get it. You want to bang her." Horace's eyes widened and a wide smirk spread across his face.
Sheffield shook his head again. 'I want more than that.
I want to marry her and make her mine alone. I want to be the reason behind her smile every day. I want to make love to her until she begs me to stop.'
"Sheffield! Are we having dinner or not? I'm starving!"
Horace's voice brought him back to his senses. He shook off the weird thoughts in his mind. He couldn't imagine marrying someone whom he had just met.
A wise man had once said that marriage was the grave of love. He was only twenty-six; he was not ready to step into the grave yet.
Evelyn walked around the old town, gazing at the food stalls at both sides of the road. She wondered whether the snacks would taste any good.
'If only Terilynn was here. She would have bought so many snacks, and I could have safely tried some, ' she thought.
"What's for dinner?" she asked without turning around.
"We haven't pre-arranged anything. Your mom said that you could eat whatever you wanted," Tayson replied, knowing Evelyn was talking to him.
She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him in disbelief. "Really? Grandma and Dad have no objections?"
"That's what I have been told, miss."
'That's a surprise!'
she thought and continued to walk ahead.
Evelyn was like a child who was visiting the night market for the first time. With wide eyes, she stared curiously at the snacks all around her. The eagerness was obvious on her face, but she didn't stop to buy any of them.
A familiar voice came from behind her. "Hello! I would like two of the tamarind cakes."
Evelyn turned around and saw the man from earlier standing before a nearby stall.
"Here you are."
Sheffield fished his phone out of his pocket, scanned the payment code and paid for the cakes. He took one cake from the stall owner and pointed at Evelyn. "Give the other one to her," he instructed.
"All right."
Evelyn looked at him in confusion. Sheffield gave her a wide grin. "Try it. The tamarind cake is sweet and sour at the same time. And it's good for your liver too. You'll love it."
Evelyn, however, looked away and started walking forward, completely ignoring his existence.
'Huh? Why is she so cold to me?' Sheffield felt his heart break. He took the other cake from the stall owner and ran after her.
Tayson blocked his path, his eyes stone cold. "C'mon dude, you saw it. The owner just packed the cakes. I didn't drug them or anything. I'm not a bad guy, okay? She looks so pitiful. I can clearly see that she wants to taste the cake. She can't speak, so I bought one for her."
Evelyn suddenly stopped, turned around and stared sharply at Sheffield. "Could you just shut up?" she spat coldly.
'Eh? She is not dumb at all!' Sheffield shut his mouth obediently.
'This woman is perfect.'
He put the two cakes on his left palm, cut a small piece with a plastic fork and put it into his mouth. "Hmm…yummy! It's also really smooth. And if I just give it a second, it starts melting in my mouth. Yup! It tastes like heaven. Wanna try?"
Evelyn rolled her eyes and left.
Tayson walked after her. Sheffield kept pace with Tayson and said, "If you don't eat any of the local food, then you really can't be called tourists. Believe me, the snacks here are worth trying. I can tell…"
Evelyn had never met a man who talked so much, nor had a man dared to bug her like this one.
Tayson stopped and warned him, "I'll give you one second to get outta here. If you are still in my arm's length after that, I won't spare you."
"Come on, dude! All right, all right. I'm leaving."
Sheffield did stay away from Tayson, but he was now standing in front of Evelyn. "There is a stall not far away from here selling Red Hot Candy Apples. Remember to give it a try."
Before Tayson could get ahold of him, Sheffield ran into the crowd.
Before long, Evelyn saw the stall he had mentioned. People had lined up in front of it. Sheffield was in the queue as well. He flashed an ear-to-ear grin and waved at her. "Want one? I'll buy it for you." Then he added, ignoring the other women's disdainful looks, "You should pay for it, though. It's not my treat."
Evelyn turned to Tayson. "Miss, do you want me to get rid of him?" he asked in a low voice.
"I want to try that." She finally mustered up some courage to say it.
Tayson was stunned for a moment. After confirming that the stall was relatively clean, he nodded, "Okay."
Sheffield cut the queue and walked to the head of the line. He took out a hundred-dollar bill and gave it to the girl in the front.
"Do you mind giving your candy apple to me?" he asked with a charming smile.
The girl was mesmerized by him, and without any hesitation, she gave hers to him.
Sheffield took it from her and winked. "Thanks."
Then, he quickly trotted towards Evelyn. "Here you are," he offered with a wide grin.
Evelyn looked at the candy apple. Instead of taking it, she asked in a cold voice, "What's your purpose?"
"What?"
"Your purpose."
He was amused by her suspicion. "You think I have a purpose to get close to you?"
"Don't you?" she asked in reply.
Every man getting close to her had their own reason; she was just a means to an end.
Sheffield raised the food box to her again. "Eat while it's still warm. I want to show you something."
After some hesitation, she took it and signaled Tayson with her eyes.
Tayson took his wallet out of his pocket and gave a hundred-dollar bill to Sheffield.
Sheffield didn't seem to mind at all. He put the bill in his pocket and said with a grin, "I need another hundred. I had to give the girl in the front of the queue a hundred AND a big smile. So, I need another hundred for my smile. It's not too much to ask, is it?"
Evelyn and Tayson were rendered speechless.
