Matthew was bewildered by Carlos' question, his face even darker.
Sheffield, however, was frightened. He didn't think Carlos was joking. To prevent any further misunderstandings, he stopped smiling and said seriously, "No, Uncle Carlos. You misunderstood us. I'm not gay. Now Matthew is a good-looking guy, but I prefer girls, like the lovely Evelyn."
Carlos cast a scornful glance at his son and commented, "At least you have good taste. Evelyn is much more skilled, much better-looking than Matthew."
Matthew was used to being compared unfavorably to his siblings. He snapped, "Yeah. She's better than me, and I'm better than you."
Carlos' eyebrows furrowed. "Ask Sheffield. He'll tell you who is more handsome: you, or me."
'How do I choose? Whoever I don't pick will be mad at me.' Sheffield swallowed his saliva nervously. That wasn't an easy question to answer.
"At least I'm not a big baby like you!" For the past couple years, Matthew saw that his dad was becoming more and more childlike. He lost his temper easily, throwing a tantrum when he didn't get his way. He often did things that were completely out of character for him.
Sheffield preferred to keep his mouth shut. It was a terrible battle, this conflict between father and son. And he preferred not to get hit by a stray metaphorical bullet.
Matthew continued, "You're always pretending you're better than me. But if you're so good, why didn't you know that the company's security system has been hacked?"
"What?" Carlos was taken aback. "Who did it? Was it you?"
"No. That guy." Matthew pointed to Sheffield, who was peeling nuts for Evelyn.
"Is he…" 'Star Anise?'
Before Carlos could say the name, Matthew interrupted him. "Star Anise? No. He's the hacker's disciple, Eleven."
Carlos looked at Sheffield with suspicion.
The smiling doctor played dumb. "No, I didn't break into it at all. I just found some loopholes that my master taught me. Don't worry, your security is still airtight."
Evelyn overheard their conversation. She asked timidly, "Are you really…Star Anise's disciple?"
Instead of admitting it or denying it, he just told her, "Some other time. But not now." If he got a chance, he would tell her everything.
He wouldn't tell anyone else, but Evelyn was special. She had the right to know everything about him.
The fact that Sheffield was Star Anise's disciple prompted Evelyn's mind to wander.
She recalled the time when her computer was infected by a virus. She didn't believe that Sheffield could fix it for her. In fact, Evelyn told him to just go home.
Now she realized that it might be him who had fixed it.
She was uncomfortable when she thought about it. Sheffield was a hacker, and she hadn't realized it at all.
Before long, dinner was ready. This mealtime was fairly lively, because Sheffield was friendly and easy to talk to. He had a quick wit and that devilish smile.
During the meal, Sheffield put a slice of meat in Evelyn's bowl and whispered in her ear, "I want a son, but I'm worried. Our father treats Matthew like shit. I don't want that for our son. Not at all." Boys were not popular in the Huo family. Sheffield decided maybe they should try for a daughter instead.
With a complicated look in her eyes, Evelyn answered in a low voice, "You can have a daughter, but…" She took a quick breath and continued, "Maybe with another woman."
The more she thought about it, the more she felt heartbroken.
The expression on his face remained the same, but no one knew what was on his mind. "What? Why are you saying that? I want a daughter with you," he said firmly.
He was not interested in having a baby with anyone else.
Evelyn went on eating dinner absentmindedly. Debbie kept dishing up food for Sheffield while talking to him enthusiastically, which made Carlos quite jealous.
After dinner, Sheffield said he was going to go for a walk with Evelyn. Carlos didn't say anything, and Debbie agreed. "Are you staying here, or driving to a park?"
"Well…a park or something. We'll find somewhere to go," Sheffield replied decisively.
"Coming back tonight?" Debbie asked again.
Before Sheffield could answer this time, somebody coughed near Debbie.
"Ahem…ahem…" It was Carlos coughing, a hint of warning obvious in the sound.
Actually, Sheffield didn't want to drive Evelyn back to the manor at all. But it was Lunar New Year's Eve, so he had to give up the idea. "Don't worry, Aunt Debbie. I'll get her home, safe and sound."
"Okay, then you can go. Be safe out there."
"Okay." Then Sheffield looked at the sister and brother who were headed upstairs and asked, "Matthew, Terilynn, would you like to join us?"
Matthew glanced at him and didn't say a word.
Terilynn smiled and waved at him. "I'm not going to be your third wheel. If I want to go out later, I'll drag Matthew with me."
Unexpectedly, Matthew said to Sheffield, "When you bring Evelyn back, let me know. We should hang out, preferably not here."
The others were all confused and couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Debbie asked, "Why would you want to do that?"
"We have things to talk about." Matthew turned to Sheffield again. "Clean up your guest room."
'It is Lunar New Year's Eve, and my brother-in-law wants to stay in my apartment instead of staying home?' Sheffield was utterly confused. However, he could somehow guess what was on the younger man's mind, so he nodded quickly, "No problem! You can crash at my place if you need to!"
After Sheffield and Evelyn left, Carlos followed his son, who was walking upstairs. "Why don't you want to stick around here?" 'First Evelyn, and now Matthew. Why are my children so obsessed with Sheffield?' Carlos thought.
They chatted while walking. "I'm free for a bit. I've made some adjustments to my schedule." He would only stay in Y City for five more days and then fly back to America. He already had a tight schedule.
"Remember we're going to visit Uncle Wesley on the third day of the Spring Festival. The elders, too, because it's the right thing to do." Since Wesley and his family lived in A Country, the two families didn't have many chances to meet, except special days like the Spring Festival.
"Makes sense." It had become a habit for those two families. Either the Huo family would fly out to visit, or the Li family would come to Y City on the third day of the Spring Festival. Matthew also knew that they had to visit Carlos' old friends during the Spring Festival, so he'd already factored this into his plans.
Miranda and Debbie were chatting in the living room. With a broad smile, Miranda said, "Have you noticed the look in Sheffield's eyes? He hardly took his eyes off Evelyn. I think he really likes the girl."
"Of course I noticed it. Evelyn was the same way. Although she didn't speak much, she's almost a different person around him." Evelyn was no longer a cold and distant CEO when Sheffield was near. She looked more feminine, and less sure of herself.
Like a wife being well protected by her husband. Yes! Debbie was sure Evelyn looked like a spoiled wife in front of Sheffield.
"Then what is Carlos doing? He knows Evelyn and Sheffield like each other. Why is he still forcing her to get engaged to Calvert?" Miranda had never taken an interest in family affairs before. Carlos handled everything.
