Sheffield raised his eyebrows and said, "One kilo then."
"Oh, okay. Just wait for a minute." The tea expert went into the shop, either to get the tea or to call the boss.
Evelyn shot a glance at Sheffield and thought, 'As a vice department director of a hospital, his monthly bonus and dividends, combined with his salary, should be way less than the worth of a kilo of this tea.' So, she said to him, "You don't need to feel uncomfortable about the price. Since you treated me to dinner and snacks last time, consider this my treat."
Sheffield felt wounded. "Do I look that poor?" he asked, distressed.
"Yes." She nodded and said to him in all seriousness, "So, stop wearing such expensive clothes and accessories. You should save money for your wedding."
She had noticed that he had been wearing luxury brands for the past three days. Even the watch on his left wrist was worth a million dollars. His salary could be no more than tens of grand a month, which was not enough for him to squander away like this.
Sheffield scratched his short hair and said, "No, it's not like that. I do have enough money for my wedding…"
"Do you rely on your parents? To tell the truth, I am not in any position to scold you; I depend on my parents too." Everything she had today was given by her parents. She was just born rich.
"There are different kinds of dependence. Your family is rich, so there is nothing wrong with you spending your parents' money. There are young adults, whose parents don't make much money; but they still live off their family's earnings. That should be condemned." Sheffield scorned that kind of behavior. He never spent his father's money.
Evelyn listened to his smart words and thought it made sense. For the first time in her life, she no longer felt guilty about spending so much of her parents' money.
A woman in her forties or fifties walked towards them from the shop. She looked like the store owner. The lady was dressed very differently, and was followed closely by the tea expert who had a cup in his hand.
The proprietress looked at the two youngsters up and down with a smile. "Do you want to drink the best oolong tea of our plantation?"
Sheffield added casually, "Never mind me. She wants to try it, so brew the best kind."
The woman smiled at Evelyn. "Your boyfriend treats you well."
She took the opportunity to look at Evelyn from head to toe, trying to confirm whether she could afford the tea.
Evelyn didn't correct her. "Let's start brewing the tea, shall we?"
Even the proprietress, who was accustomed to all sorts of customers, was stunned by the imposing aura Evelyn gave off. It was normal for a man to have such a strong aura, but it was rare to see a woman so intimidating.
She glanced at Sheffield, who was fair and neat, and wondered if he was a kept man; a boy toy for the rich girl.
Realizing that it was wrong to think of her customers that way, the store owner grabbed the tea leaves from the tea expert beside her, and made the tea for them herself.
Sheffield was happy when Evelyn didn't deny the woman's words. It looked like he had gotten a step closer to achieving his goal.
For the next few minutes, Sheffield talked and Evelyn listened.
The proprietress didn't interrupt the conversation between the couple and waited for the payment patiently.
When Evelyn went to the ladies' room, Sheffield took out a card from his wallet and gave it to the lady. "Settle the bill, please. Send the tea leaves she just picked to my address after processing them."
The woman stared at the card blankly. He didn't even haggle. She actually had prepared herself for it.
She immediately told the tea expert next to her, "Go and get the credit card machine and write down our guest's address."
"Okay."
By the time Evelyn came back, Sheffield had already swiped his card. She saw the tea expert put away the credit card machine. "You paid the bill?" she asked.
"Yeah. The tea leaves you picked are mine now." Fearing that she would turn him down, he pointed to the leaves on the table, which had cost over $50, 000 a kilo. "I've already given them my address. So, you take these, and I get the ones you picked."
Evelyn shook her head. "No, thanks. There is more tea in our home than we can drink. You can take all of this and drink it yourself when you get home." She was telling the truth. Her family was never short of anything.
"Fine!" Sheffield replied briskly after a flip of his tongue. He didn't mind as long as she was happy.
"Let's go. I'll escort you to the car. I have somewhere to be tonight and won't be coming back, so I can't drive you back to the guesthouse." Sheffield stood up from his seat, took her hand, and told the tea expert, "Send these to my address as well."
"Yes, sir."
Evelyn stood up too. "Where are you going?" she asked.
With a sly grin, he asked, "Are you curious?"
"Forget I asked."
"Okay, okay," he said with a laugh. "Joshua is here. We're going to hang out with some friends in D City this evening. It will be too late for me to come back afterwards. How about I take you with me and introduce you to them as my girlfriend?"
Evelyn rolled her eyes and broke free of his grip. "Stay away from me."
"Okay!" Sheffield trotted to the Emperor which was parked on the side of the road. He took over Tayson's job and opened the door for her. Like an honest gentleman, he bowed and said, "Your Highness, your crystal carriage is here."
Evelyn was amused. She straightened her back and got into the car gracefully. "Step back, Little Tang."
Chuckling, he closed the door and answered, "Yes, Your Highness!"
Tayson stared at the two in astonishment. 'This man! He is so influential. Miss Huo is actually cracking jokes now!'
He took Evelyn straight back to the guesthouse.
Sheffield did not come back that night. For the next two days, he did not even show his face.
Evelyn gradually got used to life without work. 'Temporarily, ' she reminded herself.
On the third day, Evelyn planned to go to the snow mountain in D City. Before she could get into her car, she ran into Sheffield, who had just come back from outside.
As soon as he got out of the black minivan, he saw her. He closed the door of the vehicle and ran towards her, revealing his brilliant white teeth. "Evelina, are you going out? Can you give me a ride?"
Glancing at the brand-new minivan, Evelyn asked, "Don't you have a car?"
"Oh, that's my friend's. He is busy. I don't want to bother him."
Evelyn looked away and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Wherever you are going." He ran to open the door for her and gestured for her to get in respectfully. "Your ride is ready, princess!"
She smiled and got in the car.
From then on, no matter where Evelyn went, he accompanied her. To the snow mountain, and then to the cafe…
One night, Evelyn went out to buy some necessities. It was already past ten o'clock when she got back to her room. At that time, she saw a woman knocking on Sheffield's door.
She stood frozen.
