"I love both," Evelyn replied casually. Her dad had specially furnished a collection room for her. In there, she had all sorts of gemstones and jewelry, made of different precious metals.
"I see. I must try harder to win you over then; I could happily live off you," Sheffield said casually.
Evelyn didn't mind his joke. "I suggest you stay in the renal transplant department. You will earn more there than in the nephrology department."
"Oh? Are you worried that I can't afford to support you?" He laughed out loud.
Evelyn felt her face burn red with embarrassment. She retorted, "I don't need you to support me. I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, I hardly earn anything at the hospital. Please, have some mercy on the poor doctor. Keep me as your gigolo."
She smirked. "Dr. Tang, are you kidding me? You're wearing clothing from an international brand. I don't believe that you need to live off a woman."
He lifted her body a bit higher, making her lie more comfortably on his back before replying, "This is just a fake."
'A fake?' It was one of the luxury brands bankrolled by ZL Group. She could easily tell a fake from the real thing. "I work for ZL Group," she said coldly.
Her words silenced Sheffield at once.
He was indeed wearing an international brand of clothing that was under ZL Group, with top-notch quality and a very high price.
"Cat got your tongue?" Evelyn continued to make fun of him and tilted her head to look at his profile.
Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead. She pulled out a tissue from her purse and wiped his face.
"I was just wondering if I should tell you the truth. I borrowed these from a friend."
She didn't buy it. "Oh? Your friend is so generous. But Dr. Tang, as far as I know, most doctors are clean freaks, and you seem to be one of them too. Could you really wear other people's clothes?"
Sheffield was distracted by her gentle hand movements on his face. He didn't feel tired of carrying her on his back; in fact, he was more energetic than ever. "Has anyone ever told you that you are a smart woman?"
"Yes. My father. He always says I'm smarter than my younger brother." But Evelyn knew that Matthew was way smarter than her. Carlos only said that to irritate his son.
She felt comfortable lying on Sheffield's broad back. Moreover, he didn't pant at all after carrying her all the way down the hill. She figured that he was stronger than he looked.
"I am fine now. Put me down." Her legs didn't feel sore anymore.
"Never mind. We are almost at the exit. How about we go out for dinner tonight after getting some rest at the guesthouse?" He didn't want to tire her out by dragging her along with him all day long.
Evelyn nodded, "Okay."
On their way back to the guesthouse, Evelyn's phone rang again. She decided to pick it up this time. In an impatient tone, she said, "Calvert, that's enough already!"
"Evelyn, I'm in Y City now. Let's talk face to face," the man on the other end said calmly.
She closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. "Sorry, I'm not in Y City at the moment. And I don't think there's anything for us to talk about."
"Where are you? I'll come to you."
When she didn't reply, he continued, "Evelyn, Rowena wants to apologize to you. She didn't mean to say all those things. She's still young. Please don't take her words to heart. I've already taught her a lesson."
She silently listened to him, unconvinced by his words. 'Calvert taught his dear sister a lesson? Impossible!' "Yeah, you're right. She's only 21; an undergraduate who is very young," she said with a scorn and slowly moved a bit farther away from Sheffield. She then continued in a low voice, "Forget about what she said. You already know about her feelings for you. Calvert, I'm tired. Please, let me go. Let's move on."
Calvert was a bossy and stubborn man. They easily flew into quarrels when they were together. Evelyn found it tiring to sustain their relationship.
"I'm her brother. No matter how she feels about me, nothing is gonna happen between us."
"You're not related by blood," she reminded him coldly.
Calvert inhaled deeply. "Evelyn, listen. I won't agree to our breakup."
"That's not my problem. It's not like we're an item anymore. And…" Evelyn paused, her eyes fixed on the man who was now busy playing games on his phone. "I have a new boyfriend."
Silence engulfed them as she dropped those words.
After a moment, Calvert finally spoke. "Evelyn, since when did you become so childish? Do you think I am a fool?"
Evelyn made eye contact with Sheffield. She moved closer to him, covered the speaker of her phone and whispered in his ear, "Do me a favor. I agree to be your girlfriend for ten days."
Sheffield's eyes lit like Christmas. Excited, he put his phone away in a jiffy, ignoring whatever games he was playing, and grabbed her phone. As he put it to his ear, he said loudly to Evelyn, "Babe, who's on the phone?" And then, he said into the phone, "Hello, who is this?"
'B-babe?' Evelyn gaped at him; she already regretted her decision to involve him. Accepting to be his girlfriend for ten days might end up being the biggest mistake she had ever done.
There was no response from the other side. Sheffield looked at the phone screen and asked again, "Hello? The line is still connected. Are you there? Who is this?"
Finally, Calvert's voice came. "I'm her boyfriend."
"Boyfriend? I'm her husband. Who do you think is more important to her?" he provoked.
Evelyn's lips twitched. She reached out for her phone, trying to take it back.
But Sheffield dodged and continued, "I'm warning you, don't call my wife again! Stop harassing her!"
Calvert sneered, "Don't try to fool me. I know Eve well. She wouldn't be with someone like you."
'Eve?' Sheffield's face turned sour. 'Damn! How dare he call her so intimately! I haven't had a chance to call her that way, ' he cursed in his mind. "What do you mean 'someone like me'? I can make her laugh. Can you? I saw how annoyed she was when you called her."
Evelyn frowned. 'Was that so obvious on my face?'
Calvert fell silent again.
As far as he knew, Evelyn only laughed when she was with her family. Other times, she was cold and mostly difficult to approach.
"And keep your so-called sister away from her. Don't come anywhere near my wife again, or else, you'll have to face the consequences." Sheffield hung up on him.
Evelyn patted her forehead, feeling helpless. She scowled, "Sheffield… You shouldn't have provoked him like that. He's…"
Sheffield returned the phone to her, clicked his tongue and said playfully, "I don't care who that asshole is. He was wrong to harass a woman."
"Calvert Ji… is the only son of his family." His father had married Rowena's mother.
'Oh. The Ji family?' Sheffield thought. "You mean, that guy is Langston Ji's son? The diamond businessman?" Most people in Y City knew that the rich diamond family had only one son in this generation.
"Yes." Evelyn was worried that Sheffield would be in big trouble since he had offended Calvert openly.
After all, he was only a doctor, while the Ji family held a high place in the city. It would be a piece of cake for Calvert to deal with a mere doctor.
Sheffield drew closer to her and asked in a tender voice, "Are you worried about me?"
Evelyn didn't hide her worries; she nodded seriously.
He smiled and sat back in his seat, with his legs crossed. "Don't worry. If you meet him again, please pass on my message to him. If he ever calls you again, I, your dearest husband, will carve his kidneys out and sell them."
Evelyn rolled her eyes at him.
