The three of them continued their late-night meal until eleven o’clock in the evening. Alice originally intended to drive them home, but Evelyn preferred to cycle so that it would be more convenient for her to get to school the next day.
Naturally, William accompanied Evelyn, as always, cherishing their time alone together.
Alice, of course, wouldn’t intrude on their private time, sensibly choosing to drive home alone.
As the two headed back, Evelyn remarked, “William, I didn’t expect that you could eat so much.”
Back at the barbecue restaurant, they had ordered a substantial amount of food, of which Alice and Evelyn didn’t consume much. William had eaten the remainder, particularly enjoying the meat dishes. Evelyn felt they were too greasy just watching him eat, yet despite his eating habits, William maintained a great physique.
It was important to note that before their late-night snack, William had attended a mixer where, according to Lucy’s later description, he nearly ate from the moment he arrived at the restaurant until he left.
Having eaten so much and still being able to eat significantly afterwards was indeed terrifying.
“As far as eating goes, I’m on the lesser side; there are people who eat even more than I do,” William found that modern people truly exhibited more restraint in eating compared to the past.
In the past, during farming or wars, it was often said, “the more you eat, the more you can work,” and people indeed had much larger appetites compared to those in the modern era.
“Who else could possibly eat more than you?” Evelyn teased. She wasn’t really angry with William, but she felt he had been somewhat excessive towards Lucy.
William laughed, “You’ve heard of Paul Bunyan, right? It’s said that he could eat a small hill’s worth of beans and use an entire lake’s water to accompany his meal in a single sitting. Converted to today’s human standards, that would be eating well over 100 pounds.”
Evelyn didn’t know where William heard these strange stories and could only respond with a laugh, “I think that’s clearly a legend. How could a normal person possibly eat that much?”
William said provocatively, “Oh, you doubt that I can eat that much?”
Evelyn rolled her eyes, “I indeed doubt it.”
William confidently declared, “If you don’t believe me, we can have a big stomach king competition one day.”
“You go find other people willing to participate yourself,” Evelyn felt that William was just boasting. Besides, was such a competition really meaningful?
“Don’t worry, I know my own limits when it comes to eating,” William assured.
Regardless, Evelyn couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer and, gathering her courage, she probed deeper, “I just wanted to ask, why did you reject Lucy?” It was a question that touched the core of her concerns.
William stated with conviction, “If I don’t have feelings for her, it’s right to reject her. What’s wrong with that?”
“But…” Evelyn said, visibly frustrated, “Lucy never confessed her feelings for you, to begin with.” 𝐞𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.
William explained, “Then there was no rejection. I simply informed her that I already have someone I like.”
“But you must have noticed that Lucy has feelings for you, right?” Evelyn continued, her voice tinged with frustration. “Couldn’t you have rejected her a bit more gently?” Evelyn was at a loss about how to deal with William. While she couldn’t pinpoint anything technically wrong with what he was saying, she couldn’t help but feel aggrieved for Lucy.
William retorted, posing his own question: “So do you think I should have waited for her to confess before rejecting her? Or should I have given her some hope, intentionally leading her on?”
“…” Evelyn found herself speechless for a moment.
Upon noticing Lucy’s subtle hints, William had promptly and firmly rejected her. Labeling him as cold-hearted didn’t seem entirely correct.
If William had remained silent, allowing Lucy to fall deeper before rejecting her or not rejecting her at all, just stringing her along, wouldn’t that be even more hateful?
At least for today, after being rejected, Lucy only scolded William a few times without falling into despair. Evelyn believed that it wouldn’t take long before Lucy finds another attractive young man to catch her eye.
After a prolonged silence, Evelyn asked, “So, do you like Lila or Lana?”
“I like both,” William replied without hesitation.
“You jerk! If I recorded what you just said and sent it to them, you’d be done for.” Evelyn couldn’t pinpoint why, but she suddenly felt a sense of relief. She had impulsively asked a question she hadn’t planned on and immediately regretted it after the words left her mouth.
What if William had responded saying that the person he liked was her? That would have been incredibly awkward.
“Go ahead and send it to them,” William said, nonchalantly. “Both of them are good-looking; it’s only natural to appreciate beauty.”
William felt that confessing his affection for Evelyn at this juncture would perhaps mean they couldn’t meet again in the future.
More importantly, he was still unclear about what he actually liked about Evelyn.
Indeed, her face had become too familiar to him. Whenever they were together, even if they didn’t speak or do anything, he would feel an inexplicable sense of peace and reassurance.
He found himself in a conundrum, unable to determine whether he was simply unable to forget someone from his past, or if he truly had feelings for the vibrant individual before him.
This question had actually troubled William for many years now, only that previously, every time had gone extremely smoothly, as if this person, who seemed to have reincarnated tens of thousands of years, should naturally be with him.
But this time, it seemed a bit different.
The two were neighbors after all, so naturally, there wasn’t a reluctant farewell. When they arrived at Evelyn’s front door, William also stopped his bicycle.
At this time, Nathaniel was still asleep, but the lights in the house were on, awaiting Evelyn’s return.
Elderly people don’t doze off much at night, and with a family member not yet home, there was an unavoidable sense of unease, all the more because Evelyn was a young girl.
Hearing the noise outside, Nathaniel opened the door and couldn’t help but smile when he saw William returning with Evelyn.
Although he hadn’t spent much time with William, an inexplicable sense of closeness led him to believe that William was a good person.
Watching Evelyn enter the yard, William greeted Nathaniel before heading home.
His house was now filled with many new appliances, and William had spent the entire night figuring them out, constantly consulting his phone for guidance on how to use these devices.
After familiarizing himself with the use of these appliances, even William couldn’t help but marvel at the rapid advancement of human civilization.
He quickly got the hang of the refrigerator, the TV, the massage chair, and the multi-functional bed, but the one thing he couldn’t quite understand was the computer.
It was only when the sky was getting light, William returned to the yard, and dozed off for a while on a chair under the plane tree. Soon, Amy walked into the yard holding a bowl of noodles.
“Mr. Johnson, would you like some noodles?” The noodles in Amy’s bowl were accompanied by some simple condiments, and she was enjoying them thoroughly.
William sat up and took a look at the noodles in her bowl, noticing that she had already separated them into several segments, and there was hardly any left in the bowl.
“I certainly want to eat, give me some!” William extended his hand.
Amy paused slightly, glanced at the noodles in the bowl and then at William. After hesitating for a moment, she said, “But I’ve already started eating this.”
William froze momentarily before asking, “Is there any more?”
“Go make some yourself in the kitchen! You’re such a lazy person!” After saying this, Amy quickly finished off the remaining noodles in the bowl. Then, looking at William, she remarked, “You surely have some noodles at your place, right?”