William genuinely did not know that seeing such a notification on WhatsApp meant that he had been removed by the other person. Looking at the message on WhatsApp, he turned his head and asked Alice, “What does it mean on WhatsApp when it says, ‘you are not friends with her yet, please send a friend verification request first’?”
Alice froze for half a second before bursting into laughter, “You got deleted from someone’s friend list?”
A smile tugged at the corner of William’s mouth as he realized that friends added on WhatsApp could indeed be deleted.
But it was rather obvious; this wholly negated any possibility of him and Lucy being together.
After all, Lucy was just interested in him; there wasn’t any deep emotional foundation between them. It would be strange if she didn’t delete him after what he said directly earlier.
Sitting across from them, Evelyn was also stunned when she heard William’s question.
Just tonight, Lucy had gone to dinner with William. They were just talking about confessing feelings, so why suddenly delete him as a friend?
Her confusion did not last long, as Lucy had already called her.
“Alice, I’m going to take a call.” Knowing that Lucy was calling to talk about William, she informed Alice before moving aside to take the call.
Once Evelyn left, Alice’s curiosity piqued: “Master, who deleted you from their friend list?”
William said indifferently, “Evelyn’s friend Lucy.”
“Lucy?” Alice didn’t know who Lucy was but still asked, “Why did she remove you from her friend list?”
William did not avoid the question, saying, “I just said that there is a girl I like, and it’s not her.”
“Cough cough!” Alice coughed twice and asked, “So, did that girl confess her feelings to you?”
William muttered, “No.”
“Hahaha! She didn’t even confess and you rejected her; you really are ruthless!” Alice laughed heartily, “Master, it would be strange if she didn’t delete you!”
William gave her a cold glance, and Alice immediately stopped talking.
Taking a deep breath to stabilize her emotions, Alice said, “William, nothing is settled between you and Evelyn yet. Now you’ve offended her close friend; this will only make your relationship even more difficult.”
“What do you mean?” William’s past dating approaches were always very straightforward and simple; he did not quite understand the current complicated emotional entanglements. He believed that as long as he fell for someone, their relationship could develop smoothly.
Alice gently explained, “William, didn’t you know? Nowadays, when women are choosing a partner, their friends’ opinions are very important. In fact, sometimes their opinions can be even more important than those of their family members.”
“Even more important than their family’s opinions?” William scoffed, finding modern love perspectives absurd and laughable.
Seeing his disdainful smile, Alice couldn’t help but worry about his road to love. His disregard for the opinion of a girlfriend’s friends could possibly bring troubles to his future love life.
She just hoped that by that time, William would be able to realize the gravity of the situation and make timely adjustments.
Soon, Evelyn received a call from Lucy. On the other end of the line, Lucy ranted furiously and continuously, albeit without showing any signs of a broken heart or serious disappointment, nor did she express any severe emotional distress.
For her, William no longer seemed as perfect as he had before. All his merits appeared to have vanished, leaving only points worthy of ridicule. Listening to her best friend furiously denounce various aspects of William, Evelyn also began to harbor negative views of him.
“So that’s how it is.”
Lucy indeed had some affection for William, but she had not yet had the chance to express it clearly. Yet William rejected her like this, wasn’t this just too arrogant?
What an egotistical person, to reject someone even before they have confessed.
Evelyn sneaked a peek at William, having decided in her heart to stand with her good friend.
Alice also noticed the change in Evelyn’s expression. She knew that it must be Lucy on the other end of the phone, and deep inside, she understood that her respected master might have gotten himself into an emotional predicament at this point.
Alice said, “Master, you say you won’t confess, nor do anything proactive. Dragging things out this way, when will you be able to win over my Evelyn?”
William responded with a calm expression, “Taking it slow is also a kind of sincerity.”
Hmm?
Alice was at a loss for how to refute this; after all, everyone has different understandings and approaches to handling such matters.
When Evelyn returned, she merely pretended as if nothing had happened, and once the barbecue arrived, she began eating silently.
“By the way, Evelyn, do you have class tomorrow afternoon?” Alice was really fed up; both William and Evelyn were eating silently, not speaking. To an outsider, it might look as if they were enemies. It was left to her to break the deadlock.
Evelyn lifted her head and said, “No, I don’t have class. What’s up?” ．
“Oh, I have three tickets to an art exhibition; let’s all go together tomorrow.” Alice was thoroughly leveraging this opportunity, as her master didn’t know how to ask Evelyn out, she took the initiative to do so.
William asked, “Is it the York Brimstone exhibition?”
Earlier today during a social gathering, William had heard David inviting Lila to York Brimstone’s exhibition. It seemed improbable that there would be two art exhibitions in New York City on the same day.
“Ma… Yes, you know the master York Brimstone too?” Alice excitedly asked, nearly addressing him as her master outright.
William nodded, saying, “I’ve heard of him.”
He had only heard about him today, in fact.
He was familiar with many renowned painters from different eras, many of whom had even received his guidance.
William wouldn’t dare claim his painting skills were supremely excellent, but even his casual doodles were filled with a special artistic atmosphere that was beyond the reach of ordinary people. The art depth and delicate handling of emotions embodied in his works evidently surpassed the general understanding.
“Mr. Brimstone is a highly respected oil painting master in the New York art scene; each of his pieces is worth collecting. I heard that there will be a charity auction in SoHo tomorrow, with all proceeds going to the children in the impoverished areas of New York City,” Alice said. “To be honest, if I wasn’t so busy with med school, I would really love to learn painting.”
“You want to learn painting?” William looked at her somewhat surprised. Alice, as his apprentice, now admired other artists so much. Although he felt slightly uncomfortable inside, he just considered painting as a way of entertainment and relaxation. William thought, perhaps he should go and see what was so special about this so-called contemporary master.
What he needed to do now was to try and reduce his various skills to a level that could be accepted in this current era.
It was always better to maintain a low profile as a person, but William was simply too strong. Sometimes unconsciously doing something might yield shockingly extraordinary results.
Alice squinted her eyes, stealing a glance at William, and said with a teasing smile, “Of course, I’d learn if someone teaches me.”
As long as William was willing to teach, she was eager to learn, regardless of what it was.