Joshua agreed with Sheffield on this. After all, he had walked in on the doctor having sex with Evelyn, twice—once in the nightclub and the other time in a car. "I just want to ask you what other places you haven't tried with Evelyn," he said.
"Ah, man! Too many places!" Sheffield turned off the vacuum cleaner and grabbed the mop. "I'll try it with Evelyn in many other places: a park, a riverbank, a beach, a mountain, the company, or a tree… And I want to try it on your bed too."
"My bed?" Joshua lit a cigarette. "Okay, let's take a step back. First of all, you're a pervert. You need to see a shrink. However, would you be interested in a threesome?" he added.
"Would you be interested in getting run over by my car?" Sheffield cast him a cold glare.
Joshua was rendered speechless. After all, it wasn't him that started this verbal battle.
Half an hour later
While biting into a succulent piece of meat, Gifford looked at the man with a bottle of liquor in his arms. Turning his face, he said to Joshua in a confused tone, "He is being a little weird today, don't you think?"
Joshua comfortably leaned his back on the sofa, sitting with one leg over the other and said, "Yeah. There's a picture of his woman with another man on the Internet. Everyone's been cheering them and giving them their blessings. No wonder he's acting weird today."
Gifford looked puzzled. "Why?"
"Oh, because everyone thinks that the other man is her boyfriend. Sheffield is just her secret lover that nobody knows about."
Gifford's eyes shot up in bewilderment. How could such a popular and experienced playboy like Sheffield be reduced to such a miserable state? "That woman is not simple by any means. The fact that she could convince Sheffield to willingly be her secret lover, is a testament to her unwavering deviousness." Joshua laughed.
Sheffield squinted his eyes and yelled at him, "Don't speak ill of her like that!"
"Wow! Why are you so protective of her?" Gifford pulled out a piece of roasted duck and devoured it happily.
Sheffield yawned and took another sip of wine. Pensively staring at the liquid inside the bottle, he couldn't help but think of Evelyn again. 'I miss you, Evelyn, ' he thought gloomily.
Swirling the glass of red wine casually, Joshua decided to fill Gifford in on what had happened. "Today, our Maestro Tang got stood up by his woman. Not only had he suffered the loss of money for the two first-class flight tickets, when he rushed back to look for her, he also had to watch his woman leave in another man's car."
"Really? I can see why he's so heartbroken." Gifford actually felt sorry for the loss of money of the first-class flight tickets, because he always had to buy economy class tickets each time he went back home.
"However, Sheffield is very lucky to have met this woman. He must have saved the universe in his previous life!" Joshua commented.
Gifford was confused and he wondered, 'Lucky? What's so good about that woman?' "Didn't you say that she's seeing two men at the same time? Doesn't sound very lucky to me!"
"She isn't a two-timer!" Sheffield cut in.
Gifford stared at his friend almost with awe. The doctor was either silent or defending his woman. It had to be said that Sheffield was really head over heels in love with the woman.
Joshua explained, "I didn't say anything sarcastic. She is a good girl, indeed. She has been the hottest topic of conversation on the Internet and she has many admirers. I've read some of the comments. She is the goddess in the hearts of all men and women."
"How could a two-timer be a goddess?" Gifford wasn't interested in gossip, nor did he read those trending articles on the Internet. As such, he had no idea of what Joshua was talking about.
"The truth is, she isn't dating two men at the same time. Her father doesn't like Sheffield, so he found a boyfriend for his daughter." As he said this, Joshua felt very sorry for Sheffield, who was still hugging a bottle of wine in his arms with a melancholy expression on his face.
"Oh, I see. Who on earth is this woman?" However, there was something else what made Gifford unhappy and he continued, "Ever since I got here, you guys have been talking about Sheffield's woman. I don't want to hear another word about his woman anymore. Can you find me a woman? Don't forget that I'm still single!"
"You will have to meet your friend's woman sooner or later. But why are you so anxious to find a girlfriend? I am also single." Joshua raised his glass and made a toast to Gifford.
Sheffield finished two bottles of liquor in a row, while Joshua had a glass of liquor and a bottle of red wine.
Gifford, however, didn't drink too much because he had to stay awake in case he got called up for an urgent mission.
At ten o'clock in the evening, the doorbell rang. The three men were lying on the couch lazily and none of them went to open the door.
Gifford already had an excuse prepared for such an occasion. "I've just returned from half a month's mission. I need rest more than anyone here."
Sheffield didn't say a word, mostly because he had drunk himself unconscious. He didn't even respond when Joshua kicked him.
Finally, with a bitter smile, Joshua stood up from the sofa and dragged himself to open the door. "Who could it be at this ungodly hour? Do you have an appointment with a woman, Sheffield? Wait… Could it be his beloved woman?"
When Joshua opened the door, the first thing that welcomed Evelyn was the strong stench of alcohol followed by a barely conscious Joshua.
"Hello, Evelyn!" he said, as he stood up straight. His guess was right. Just a few steps behind Evelyn stood Tayson.
Evelyn wasn't expecting to see Joshua. With a hint of embarrassment, she asked, "Where is he?"
However, before Joshua could say anything, a man rushed out of the living room. It was none other than Gifford.
Dressed in Sheffield's pajamas, Gifford stared at the visitor in stunned disbelief. "Evelyn?"
Evelyn wasn't expecting to see Gifford as well, so she was a little surprised too. "Gifford? What are you doing here?"
"Do you know each other?" Joshua was puzzled as to how they knew each other.
Evelyn nodded, "Yeah. Our parents are good friends with each other." Although, they had known each other for a long time, Evelyn hardly saw Gifford because they weren't living in the same city anymore.
"Oh, I see," said Joshua.
Then he cleared his throat and told Gifford, "Evelyn is… um…the person I was talking to you about. Sheffield's…"
Gifford was utterly shocked. No wonder Joshua said that Sheffield must have saved the whole universe in his previous life to make him so lucky in this life. As it turned out, the woman Sheffield was in love with was Evelyn. Needless to say, he needed all his luck to be with such a gorgeous woman.
"Isn't he here?" Evelyn broke the awkward silence.
"Yes, yes. Evelyn, come on in." They hurried to make way for her to come in.
The smell of wine was even stronger in the apartment. Several empty bottles of liquor and red wine were scattered on the floor. On the other side, Sheffield was lying on the sofa like a dead person. She frowned and asked, "How much wine have you guys had to drink?"
With an embarrassed smile, Joshua quickly pointed at the man on the sofa and said, "He had drunk the most. Gifford and I just had a little bit."
Gifford took a look at Joshua but didn't say anything. 'I do remember seeing him down an entire bottle all by himself.'
Joshua ran to Sheffield and kicked his long leg. "Hey man, look who's here! Get up. Evelyn is here…"
All of a sudden, Sheffield grabbed hold of Joshua's hand and yanked him.
Caught off guard, Joshua fell over Sheffield.
But luckily, before he landed on top of the drunken man, Joshua propped himself up on his hands against the sofa. Otherwise, he might have crushed the doctor to death.
Much to his surprise, Sheffield once again reached out his hands and pulled Joshua close to him, rubbing his head against his chest. "Evelyn, you're here. Give me a hug…"
Wrapped in Sheffield's arms, Joshua was at a loss for words.
Seeing such an odd scene, Gifford, Joshua and Evelyn all were rendered speechless.
Evelyn stifled her laughter and coughed. "I'm glad to see that you are all here keeping him company. Perhaps, I should leave. See you guys later."