"You didn't know? She killed a patient. She prescribed counterfeit medication where real drugs were necessary. And the patient died. Think I haven't asked someone to help her? Now she's in deep enough doo-doo where I can't help her. What do you know? You're just a kid!"
Sheffield breathed heavily as he digested his father's words. 'Mom's patient died because of her? And she prescribed counterfeit medication?' Not until then did he know why his mother was locked up. "That's impossible! My mother would never do anything like that!"
His father sighed heavily and said, "It's true. Even I couldn't save her."
But they were a couple, and his father did what he could to help Ingrid. She had been sentenced to fifteen years in prison. But she got out after serving two years for good behavior.
Prison wasn't kind to her. She never was able to get a good night's sleep, and her dietary habits suffered. She was under a lot of stress, which affected her health.
Not long after she was released, Ingrid died.
That year, Sheffield was eleven. Despite the young age, he had tasted the bitterness of the world. In order to make a name for himself, by this time, he had fought in the streets for 3 years. He did well in school, though, and was about to skip the third year of junior high.
He had to bury his mother all by himself
Seven days after his mother died, three million dollars was wired into his account.
Since he was a minor, Sheffield's father checked the account and found out. He asked where the money came from.
"I earned it," Sheffield said nonchalantly.
An eleven-year-old child netted three million, just like that; it shocked everyone in the Tang family.
Sheffield was smart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have skipped grades continuously and was ready to jump from grade 8 to grade 10 at the age of 11.
But no one believed he could make three million.
So Sheffield's father did what he felt he had to, and grabbed a whip. Then he asked, "How did you make that much? Are you involved with some bad people?"
"I designed something and auctioned it off," he explained indifferently.
"What did you design?"
"A weapon!"
No one believed that. His father used the whip on him. The old man cursed him, saying he earned dirty money just like his mother.
After that, they didn't send Sheffield to America, but he continued his studies in Y City.
His life changed again when he was 16. His father whipped him again over a scandal and sent him to M Country. He stayed there for a few years, and later went abroad for further study. During that time, the Tang family had left him alone.
Those years were far from uneventful. When Mooney, Sheffield's grandfather, passed away, he handed his medical notes to Sheffield. In order to escape being hunted down, Sheffield burned the notebook after memorizing the contents of the book, and then broke all connections with the Tang family.
But Sheffield didn't tell Evelyn about this. He only told her things about his mother, and said that he had buried his mother himself.
He didn't tell her how he felt at that time, but his sadness was obvious to anyone.
After listening to what he said, Evelyn could sort of understand why Sheffield was trying to get close to Sidell. It must have something to do with what happened to his mother.
For a long while, Sheffield said nothing. Evelyn tried to ask, "So, you want to clear your mom's name?"
She was smart. Sheffield fiddled with her Cat's Eye ring and casually replied, "Why not?"
Evelyn took a deep breath. It had been more than ten years. It would not be easy to reverse the verdict. "How can I help?" she asked. She truly cared.
Hearing what she said, the sadness drained out of him. He pulled the woman into his arms and she settled into his lap. Evelyn struggled to rise, but Sheffield wrapped his arms tight around her waist. "You don't need to help me. Just trust me. I only love you. I won't love anyone except you," he said.
With a red face, Evelyn glared at him. "Can't you tell me this without keeping me trapped like this?"
"No, this is for our ears only. What if someone else hears us?"
Evelyn pinched his right hand. She had just realized that this was a glass room. She scanned her surroundings. Luckily, she didn't see anyone around.
"Are you so afraid of people seeing us?" asked Sheffield with a chuckle.
"Of course, I have a boyfriend!"
"Ooohh…" he drawled. "What do you think Joshua will say if I take a picture of us and send it to him?"
Evelyn rolled her eyes and snapped, "Why don't you send it to my dad and see what he'll say?"
The smile on Sheffield's lips froze. "Forget it. I'm so handsome that my future father-in-law feels threatened by my appearance. He never liked me. I'd better stay away from him."
Evelyn wanted to laugh. "You're so conceited."
Sheffield pulled her closer and kissed her lips. "Do you think your man is handsome?"
Evelyn couldn't stand him anymore. "Are you going to eat or not?"
"All right, let's eat," Sheffield said immediately, not wanting to anger her. "But I need to do something before dinner, otherwise my meal won't sit well."
With the girl in his arms, it was a rare chance. He wouldn't waste it.
"What?" As soon as she finished speaking, he kissed her.
It was no ordinary kiss, but a French kiss.
With the stars, the flowers, and solitude, romance was in the air.
A few minutes later, he pressed his face against her chest and said softly, "Evelyn, I want more."
She answered out of breath, "Here? Think about what will happen by morning… Scratch that, we'd go viral in a heartbeat." S
heffield smiled in her arms. "Then never mind. I'm a guy. I don't care who sees me naked. But I'm the only man in the world who gets to see your body."
'Only he gets to see my body?' Evelyn was becoming more and more convinced that Sheffield was overbearing. Her lips curled into a smile. She pretended to be angry and chided, "Then let go of me!"
Despite his mood, he watched Evelyn collect herself before having dinner again.
After dinner, on the way to the parking lot, Sheffield insisted on putting his arm around Evelyn's waist. But she didn't like public displays of affection. While they were arguing about this in a low voice, someone called Evelyn.
"Evelyn!"
When Evelyn heard the voice, the smile on her face instantly disappeared. She stopped in her tracks but didn't turn around. "Miss Ji, what's up?"
Sheffield kept his arm around her waist. He turned his head to see who it was.
A man and a woman stood at the door to the restaurant.
He didn't recognize the woman. She was average-looking, well-dressed and with light makeup.
He had met the man before. It was none other than Evelyn's ex-boyfriend, Calvert Ji!
