Joshua jumped to his feet, quickly straightening his clothes. He caught up with Terilynn just as she was about to leave. "Terilynn, you've misunderstood. It's not what you think…"
She sighed and said, "Joshua, I don't discriminate against gay people, but it's not kind to use my sister to cover up who you really are. You've gone out of line. And she was so worried about Sheffield that she asked me to come and check on him."
Evelyn had asked Tayson to find out where Sheffield had gone. She had called Terilynn soon after and had asked her to check if he was fine.
"No, no, no. It's not like that…" Joshua tried to explain.
But Sheffield's mind was elsewhere. He jumped up from the sofa and ran to her. "Did Evelyn really ask you to check up on me?"
His smile was so charming that Terilynn blushed and quickly nodded, "Yes. She said that Dad hit you." But, she didn't know why.
Sheffield grinned. "Please tell her that I'm feeling very miserable. Not only was I beaten to a pulp by her father, but now, I am being taken advantage of by her boyfriend too. Ask her to come and help me."
Joshua gaped at him. He really wanted to beat this man to death. He kept throwing him under the bus all the time. "Terilynn, listen to me. It's nothing like—"
"It doesn't matter. I respect your sexual orientation, but please let go of my sister, okay? Don't hurt her. She really likes you, otherwise she wouldn't have chosen to be with you. But she isn't desperate to date someone who isn't even interested in her." She stared at Joshua. Terilynn always preferred to negotiate before resorting to force.
Sheffield didn't care. All he could think about was how much Evelyn was worried about him. Before Joshua could say anything, he laughed and coaxed the little sister, "Terilynn, can you tell me Evelyn's phone number? I want to personally inform her that I'm fine."
"Evelyn's number? Don't you have it already?"
"Um … My phone was broken recently. I lost her number," he lied.
Sheffield had done everything he could to get her number, to no avail. If Terilynn gave it to him, he decided to treat her like his own sister.
Terilynn had very little social experience, and Sheffield was an expert. She didn't sense anything wrong with his request and started to give him Evelyn's phone number. "188…"
"Terilynn!" Joshua interrupted. He snorted and said, "Don't listen to him. He never had your sister's phone number. Don't give it to him."
"Joshua, would it kill you to shut up for a minute?" Sheffield was pissed.
Joshua fired back, "Would it kill you to say something nice about me for once? Terilynn, don't trust him."
Not knowing whom she should listen to, Terilynn simply nodded.
Sheffield raised his fist in an attempt to punch Joshua again.
To Terilynn's surprise, Joshua grabbed her wrist and took her outside the private booth. "Let's go. That guy has a tendency for violence."
"Really?" She was surprised. 'That handsome man has a propensity for violence? No wonder Dad beat him up.'
Sheffield wanted to chase after them, but since his buddy finally had a chance to be with the woman he loved, he let them go.
The truth was that he had a lot of ways to get Evelyn's phone number, but he didn't want to do that.
He wanted her number, but he respected her decision.
When he asked Terilynn for the number, he didn't actually think that she would oblige. But she had turned out to be so simple.
After Joshua left, Sheffield was bored in the booth. Horace had called him a few times. As he walked out of the bar, Sheffield took out his cell phone and called him back. "Horace, what's up?" he asked.
"Where are you, Sheffield? Come back right now! I've been covering for you all morning."
"How nice of you, Hor," Sheffield joked. "I'll be right back."
At the nurses' station in Y City First General Hospital
"Dr. Tang, what happened to your face?" The nurse in the nephrology department was shocked to see Sheffield's bruised face when he asked her for an ice bag and a medical kit.
"Oh my God! Did you have a fight, Dr. Tang?" another nurse asked.
Leaning against the counter lazily, he smiled and said, "Yup! I had a fight with my love rival." Carlos Huo didn't agree to his relationship with Evelyn. So, the old man was obviously his rival.
The nurse was completely attracted by his charming smile. "I can't believe that you have a rival. How about you go out with me, Dr. Tang? You won't have any rivals."
"You're so brave. You fought for your love," one of the nurses swooned.
"You're very beautiful. I don't have the guts to chase after you," Sheffield said with a wide smile.
The nurse blushed and whispered, "Dr. Tang, you are so naughty."
The nurse standing next to him asked in a low voice, "Are there many men after the dean's daughter?"
"I don't know," he answered, still smiling. He had never cared about anything related to Dollie.
"You don't know? Then, whom did you fight for?" The nurse was confused now.
"I was just kidding," he blurted out.
"Sheffield," Horace called him.
After saying goodbye to the nurses, Sheffield walked towards his office. Along the way, many people showed their concerns about his face, but he just smiled and told them that he was fine.
Staring at him, Horace asked, "Where have you been? What happened to your face? It was fine in the morning."
"Don't ask. Just fix it." He threw the first-aid kit to Horace.
Horace opened the kit and took out the medicine to treat the swelling. At the same time, the doctors in the department came to check on Sheffield.
"I'm okay. I made a small mistake and my father hit me," he told them with a faint smile.
Nobody doubted it, and they even asked him what mistake he had made to make his face look like that.
Horace asked, "I've never heard anything about your family before, and I didn't ask either. Now that this has happened, tell me, what do your parents do? I've never seen them. Do they live in another city?"
"No, they're here."
Only he knew which set of parents he was talking about.
"Oh. Did your father hit you because you skipped work?" Horace took out a cotton swab, dipped it in some medicine to dissipate the swelling and the bruises on his face. He threw him an ice bag to place on his face.
