After she placed the burning incense in the censer, Evelyn took a stack of money from her purse and put it in the collection box before she left.
There were many things that were new to her, many things that she never saw in Y City. Evelyn couldn't help herself. She was drawn to the souvenirs.
"Tayson, I'm kinda thirsty." She forgot to bring her water bottle with her when she left the car, and there wasn't a convenience store in sight.
After checking her surroundings with concern, Tayson accidentally saw a man smiling at Evelyn from a distance. "Wait here. I'll get your water. I'll be back soon," he said. "
Okay." Evelyn waited for him under a bodhi tree.
As she took her phone from her bag, a shabbily-dressed old woman walked towards her. "Miss…"
Evelyn raised her head and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Ahem! Ahem! Miss, can you do me a favor?" The old woman looked to be in her eighties. Her voice was thin and reedy once she cleared her throat. She was too weak to stand on her crutch. She looked pitiful.
"What is it?" 'Did she want money?' Evelyn was ready to give her some.
The old lady said with a smile, "I want to bring some food for my granddaughter, but I don't have the money for the bus, and I can't go on foot." She looked at her crutch with disdain. "Can you go for me? Ahem…" The old woman didn't seem to be in good health. She kept coughing.
After a short pause, Evelyn answered, "I don't know. Your daughter might be out of my way."
"There's only one road out of town. She's just past the checkpoints at the border." She showed Evelyn the backpack. "It's not too heavy. There's not a lot in there. I made some buns for her, and I packed some sugar and a few other things. Will you please help me?"
'The border checkpoints?' Evelyn knew about the border checkpoints. When they arrived in town, there were a few lines waiting to be inspected, and it took them twenty minutes to get through the checkpoint. All kinds of people crossed the border, so the inspectors were quite strict.
"So how do I get a hold of your granddaughter?" Evelyn was too kind to turn her down.
The old woman handed her the backpack and smiled kindly. "Thank you, miss. You are a good person. I have her teacher's phone number…" "
Wait!" When Evelyn was looking at her slightly worn-out backpack, a familiar male voice rang in her ears.
She turned around to see who it was. It was Sheffield.
He grabbed the rather heavy backpack from Evelyn's hand and gave it back to the old woman. "Sorry, we can't help you!"
The old woman looked like she was going to cry. "Who are you? She promised! Please, help me!"
"I'm her friend. You need to find someone else because we're not leaving the town today," Sheffield said with an expressionless face.
All of Evelyn's regard for Sheffield left after he turned down the old woman. In a cold voice, she said, "I'm going back this afternoon, Sheffield."
Instead of answering her, Sheffield stood in front of her and tried to drive the old woman away. "Hey, lady! Scram! She has a bodyguard! You're lucky, I like you. But her bodyguard? He doesn't like anybody."
Tears streamed down the old woman's face. "All right! Ahem! Ahem!"
Disappointed in him, Evelyn walked around Sheffield to confront him, and said angrily, "I can make my own decisions, guy! Did I ask you to do it for me?"
"No, it's not like that…"
"Cut the crap. I don't want anything to do with you! You're not special, not romantic. Just mean!" Then she strode off.
When Tayson ran towards them with a bottle of water, Evelyn told him coldly, "See that guy over there? If he comes any closer, get rid of him!"
"Evelina, it is not like what you think. Listen to me. That old woman…"
Evelyn furrowed her eyebrows. 'He called her "that old woman"? What a jerk!'
"I'm sorry," Tayson said, trying to block Sheffield from approaching her.
Sheffield had no choice but to give up. After all, she didn't help the old woman and now she wouldn't be in trouble. It wasn't a total loss.
Evelyn wasn't in a good mood because of what had happened, so she wanted to go back after lunch.
Tayson drove her back. When they were on the road to the checkpoints, there was a traffic jam, like usual. But this time was different. A young man was crouching on the ground, crying, holding his head.
When they finally were at the head of the line, Evelyn rolled down the car window and looked at the crying boy.
Next to him, there were a number of border patrol officers, surrounding him and a backpack on the ground. The backpack looked familiar.
Evelyn looked at it again. She remembered it was the one that the old woman had asked her to bring to her granddaughter this morning.
She quickly asked one of the officials checking the trunk of their car, "What's wrong with him?"
The officer looked at her and explained, "He was trying to get a lot of contraband through the border. He insisted that he was helping an old woman. We asked him to tell us what she looked like. Although he gave a description, how do we know he's not lying? He'll tell the truth, even if we have to take him to an interrogation room."
Evelyn broke out in a cold sweat as she stared at the opened backpack. Buns were scattered on the ground. She asked, "Is that his backpack?"
"Yes." The officer found nothing unusual in their car. He signaled them to hand over their ID cards. Then Tayson closed the car trunk and went to fetch his own ID.
In a panic, Evelyn handed her ID card over to the officer, and her mind was full of Sheffield's erratic behavior.
It turned out that he had already known this wasn't a good idea.
But she didn't want to listen to his explanation.
She added, "What if you can't find the old lady he was talking about?"
The officer looked at her again and then at her ID card carefully. "You ask a lot of questions, you know that?"
"I'm just curious. Forget I said anything."
Considering she was a woman with no criminal record, the officer told her kindly, "Old lady or no old lady, he's in trouble. For what he had on him, that's good for at least six or seven years in prison."
"What if there was proof he was doing this as a favor to someone else? What if he didn't know?" Evelyn asked.
The officer returned her ID card and peered at her suspiciously. "Sounds like you know something we don't."
Tayson walked up to her. "Miss, we're in a hurry." He looked at the officer. "Forgive her, she's not well."
Evelyn looked at the boy, who was broken down crying. He just looked like an ordinary college student. If they locked him up for a few years, his life would be ruined only because he was willing to help others.
That could turn him bitter and angry at the world. 'No, I can't let this happen!' she thought with a firm expression.
Without rolling up the window, Evelyn left the car and told the officer with a stern look in her eyes, "I think I can prove he's innocent."
The officer was rendered speechless.
In the Huo family's villa
Matthew had just come back from school. When he saw Carlos walking into the house, a break from the man's week-long business trip, he said, "Dad, you're finally back. I have something to discuss with you. What do you think about an all-in-one desk?"
