"Something like that," Sheffield replied.
Horace let the topic go, sensing that he didn't want to talk about it.
After running away with Terilynn from the private booth, Joshua got into the elevator with her and loosened his grip on her wrist. "Shall we go somewhere else? I have to talk to you about something."
Terilynn straightened her sleeves and looked at him in confusion. "What do we have to talk about?"
Joshua replied, "I want to talk about your sister and also explain what you just saw."
"Um, I don't think that's necessary." Terilynn walked out of the elevator and Joshua followed. She felt like he was acting really weird.
"It really is necessary," he insisted as he caught up to her. If she had misunderstood him, then his love would end before it even started.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Just break up with my sister as soon as possible!" she said, respecting his secret.
Joshua looked at her helplessly. "No, listen to me. I like women. I'm not gay. Did you see my face? Sheffield beat me up. If he loved me, would he do this to me? And…" He was too ashamed to continue, but he had to make it clear to her. "Although I have never done it, I'm clearly aware of my sexual orientation."
'Done it? Done what?'
His serious expression made her want to believe him. "Fine, I understand. I have to get back to school now. Bye."
"It's almost noon. Let's have lunch together. I remember you like Chinese, right? I know a good restaurant around here." He looked at her with a kind of yearning she wasn't comfortable with.
"No way. You are my brother-in-law. We have to avoid arousing gossip," she refused bluntly. There was something clearly off about this man.
But Joshua couldn't give up yet. "Terilynn, you know that I met your sister on a blind date, right?"
"I know that."
"Well, your sister doesn't love me. You know that too, don't you?" he explained patiently.
She fell silent, wondering if Evelyn's behavior had been that obvious.
"To be honest, I love someone else too. So, you don't have to worry about gossips. I will break up with Evelyn tomorrow."
"You haven't broken up yet." Terilynn couldn't do anything to create a misunderstanding between her and her sister.
"How about this? I'll treat you to a meal and you can tell me more about your sister. What do you think?" he proposed.
"If that's what you want, why don't you just invite her to lunch?"
Joshua compromised, "Fine, I'll call her." He didn't mind inviting Evelyn if that would mean he could have some time with Terilynn.
He called her. "Evelyn, I'm with Terilynn right now. Would you like to have lunch with us?"
"Lunch? I'm sorry. I have three lunch appointments today. You guys go ahead," she said, declining his offer without a second thought.
Joshua glanced at Terilynn and said into the phone, "Your sister is worried that you might misunderstand."
"Let me talk to her."
Joshua gave the phone to Terilynn. "Eve," she said.
"I'm busy. Could you accompany Mr. Fan to lunch? I'm sorry that I can't join you today," Evelyn asked while reading a file in her office.
'Mr. Fan? Evelyn doesn't call him by his given name? They are like strangers…' After a moment's hesitation, Terilynn shifted her gaze away from Joshua and whispered to Evelyn, "Eve, why does he insist on inviting me to lunch? He also said that he wanted to know more about you. He's acting very strange."
Evelyn pondered over that for a second. She smiled and persuaded her little sister, "Don't overthink. He's a good man. Why don't you try and get to know him a little?"
"But he is your boyfriend."
"Never mind that. Go have lunch with him. I have to go now. I'm already running late for my appointment. Don't think too much about it, okay? It's just lunch. Have fun." Evelyn hung up without waiting for her response.
Terilynn just stood there. She stared at the phone and then at Joshua. 'Is this really appropriate?'
Half an hour later, they entered a Chinese restaurant.
Terilynn asked the restaurant manager to bring an ice pack for Joshua, whose face was now completely black and blue.
At first, Joshua tried to stick to topics about Evelyn. "So, is Evelyn always so busy?" he asked.
"Yes. She just returned after attending the autumn fashion show, and my father has already given her a lot of work to take care of."
"Oh. What about you? What do you like to do in your spare time?" He used the serving chopsticks to serve food for her.
"Thank you. Um…I like to just hang around and do some shopping. But Evelyn is different. She always has stuff delivered to our house. She is too busy to shop."
"Oh, I see. Would you like me to go shopping with you next time?" Joshua asked, hoping to get another date with her.
Terilynn sighed. "I don't think that's a good idea. Although Evelyn is in fall with someone, our father won't agree to that relationship. She will get engaged to you, just as my father wishes. So no matter what happens, you must treat her well. And I do think that she will like you as time passes."
"Oh…" He solemnly took a bite of the food.
Terilynn squinted her eyes and looked at the man in front of her with a smile. "You know, my mother has a nickname for Evelyn. She gave it to her when she was little. Guess what it is."
"Nickname?"
"Yes."
"Eve?" he asked after a moment's pause. Sheffield called her that way.
"No, Dad calls her by that name. Mom often calls her Piggy!" She laughed out loud. "It's probably hard for you to imagine that my sister, who is so aloof, has such a funny nickname, huh?" Only Debbie still called Evelyn "Piggy" from time to time. Every time Evelyn heard it, she would remind her mom to stop calling her that.
Joshua laughed, not because of Evelyn's nickname, but because of the bright smile on Terilynn's face. "Cute," he commented.
"My mother can't help calling her by that name. Evelyn protests all the time, but Mom never listens."
Even after lunch, she continued to talk about her sister. Joshua interrupted, "Terilynn?"
"Hmm?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Are you with Tayson now?" He really wanted to know.
Terilynn froze. She took a sip of the juice and said in a low voice, "No. He's getting married to someone else." She pretended to be indifferent and asked him, "Does the whole world know that I like Tayson?"
He reckoned that she was wondering how he knew it.
"I saw you that night at the bar, when you were drunk. I guessed the rest," he replied honestly.
