Chapter 120
“Hello, handsome sir. Thank you very much for your admiration. My name is Eva.”
Yuwen Xi stared blankly for a moment at the woman before him, who had suddenly become so demure, wearing an alluring smile. For an instant, it was as though he had returned to the past—to the time before she had lost her memory.
“George, what’s wrong?” Eva asked when she noticed his sudden daze.
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing.” Yuwen Xi came back to himself and smiled at her.
“By the way, George, I remember that the name you gave me yesterday wasn’t this one. Wasn’t it something with ‘Xi’ in it?” Eva asked curiously, her brows drawing together.
“All right, don’t frown. You’ll turn into an old woman!” Yuwen Xi teased, lightly brushing a finger across the tip of her nose.
“Hmph! How could I? I’m a youthful and invincible beauty!” Eva declared, utterly disagreeing with him and shamelessly praising herself.
Yuwen Xi shook his head indulgently. Then, suddenly remembering something, he asked, “By the way, Eva, why did you want my eyes yesterday?”
“That…” Eva seemed a little embarrassed. She scratched her head and said hesitantly, “I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved blue things. Like my sister—for the reason I love her so much is because of her sea-blue eyes. As for you… it was for the same reason. It’s just that I was in a bad mood that day, so I had a terrible temper. When I saw your blue eyes, I simply—”
She did not finish, but Yuwen Xi felt he completely understood what she meant. His heart gave a nervous little tremor. Should he feel honored?
At least the eyes she had wanted to collect belonged to him, rather than someone else’s!
There was no denying that Yuwen Xi was remarkably good at comforting himself.
“All right, Eva. Your health isn’t very good yet. Let’s go for a walk outside.” Looking at her thin, frail figure, Yuwen Xi could not help worrying.
“Mm, all right. Since I’ve been here for so many days, I haven’t really gone out at all!” Eva immediately became interested, her spirits soaring. “I’ll go change my clothes right now!”
With that, she headed toward the dressing room.
Yuwen Xi quickly caught hold of her and said awkwardly, “Eva, we’re only going for a walk in the mountains. We won’t be going outside.”
He almost did not dare look at how disappointed she would be.
“Why?” The bright, happy expression on Eva’s face instantly dimmed.
Seeing the woman he loved become sad, Yuwen Xi naturally felt no better. As Eva lowered her head dejectedly, he rolled his eyes in thought. Then, suddenly brightening, he happily seized her by the shoulders.
“Wait—I’ve thought of a wonderful place!”
“What wonderful place?” At his words, Eva immediately lifted her head. The gloom vanished from her face, and her eyes sparkled brilliantly.
“There’s a little stream in the woods. I went there alone when I was very young. The water is crystal clear, and there are even beautiful little fish!”
Yuwen Xi described it so enticingly that Eva could hardly wait to go there.
“Then let’s go now! Come on, let’s go!” she urged, reaching for his hand and trying to drag him toward the woods.
“Wait!” Yuwen Xi hurriedly stopped her before she could pull him out of the room.
“What is it? Aren’t we leaving?” Eva turned back to look at him.
Yuwen Xi smiled and glanced over her clothes. “You need to change first.” He pointed at the dress she was wearing. “That isn’t suitable.”
“Then what should I wear?” Eva frowned miserably. Why did going out have to be so complicated?
“Hmm…” Yuwen Xi thought for a moment, then led her into the dressing room. “I’ll help you choose.”
The dressing room was not very large, but it was exquisitely arranged. It contained a complete selection of clothing in all sorts of styles and designs.
Yuwen Xi stopped before a rack of casual clothes and began carefully examining the garments one by one.
Eva stood at the entrance of the dressing room, her gaze fixed on him.
This man treated her very well. The way he looked at her was unusual. He must have known her before, and they had probably shared a very close relationship.
It was just that whenever she tried to remember the past, her head felt as if it were about to split apart. The pain was unbearable.
Since he no longer brought it up, perhaps it was not so bad for them to continue getting along this way.
After careful consideration, Yuwen Xi found a suitable outfit for her. Looking pleased, he carried it over and said, “Go try this on. I’ll wait outside.”
He placed the clothes in Eva’s arms, patted her hair, and walked out.
Eva stared blankly at the clothes she was holding.
Yuwen Xi had chosen a white shirt, a pair of sky-blue overalls, and a pair of white Italian country-style sandals. The entire outfit was extremely simple.
Eva was quite satisfied. The clothes looked very comfortable, after all. She quickly changed and stepped outside.
When Yuwen Xi saw her emerge so soon, he looked her up and down and nodded with satisfaction. He went over, took her hand, and led her to the dressing table. Picking up a comb, he began arranging her long hair.
Before long, he had woven her hair into two thick braids that hung over her chest, tying them with two blue ribbons.
Eva stared at her reflection in the mirror without blinking.
“I never imagined you could even do hair!”
“Mm. Being a man is difficult, and being a good man is even more difficult!” Yuwen Xi teased with a smile. “If I didn’t increase my own ‘value,’ how could I ever win myself a good wife?”
“My goodness! Thank heavens I’m not a man!” Eva exclaimed when she heard this.
“What? Do you think being a man is difficult?” Yuwen Xi asked. As he spoke, he went back into the dressing room, took out a straw hat in an Italian country style, and placed it on Eva’s head.
“Yes! I never imagined that being a good man would require knowing how to style a woman’s hair!” Eva continued loudly in disbelief. “This straw hat is lovely. Your taste is exactly to my liking!”
“Of course. If you want to win the girl you fancy, you have to put some thought into it. Otherwise, how could you ever carry your beauty home?”
As he spoke, Yuwen Xi looked at Eva meaningfully through the mirror.
His gaze made Eva’s face flush crimson. She could not help lowering her head, afraid to meet his eyes again.
The sight of her rosy cheeks jolted Yuwen Xi’s heart. He looked away, smiling, then bent down and extended his right hand before her. With impeccable gentlemanly grace, he said, “Beautiful lady, would you accept my invitation and take a walk with me?”
Hearing his invitation, Eva’s spirits soared. She rose and faced him, placing her delicate hand in his.
“I would be delighted, handsome sir.”
“Then let us be off.”
Yuwen Xi stood, took Eva’s hand, and led her toward the door.
“And where are you two off to?”
They had barely stepped out of the room when Mr. Weiting, who happened to be coming downstairs, spotted them and stopped them.
Yuwen Xi’s expression darkened at the sight of him, though he did not become openly rude. He merely said coldly, “We’re going for a walk in the woods behind the house.”
Then he cast Mr. Weiting a sidelong glance before looking away, his tone rising slightly. “What? Do you object?”
Before Mr. Weiting could answer, Yuwen Xi turned his gaze back to him, this time with a faint but unmistakable hint of mockery.
“Or are we required to report every single thing we do to you?”
Seeing that Yuwen Xi remained as cold as ever, Mr. Weiting sighed inwardly. On the surface, however, he looked unconcerned—even unjustly accused.
“George, how can you accuse me like that?” he asked, shaking his head sadly. Then, with an aggrieved expression, he continued, “I only wanted to ask whether there was anything you needed me to prepare for you.”
Eva looked at the elegant, aristocratic man before her. Though he was nearing fifty, he had lost none of his distinguished charm. Seeing him make such an amusing expression, she could not help smiling.
“You little imp. You see me and don’t even greet me? How impolite!”
Though his words sounded scolding, his tone was affectionate. Eva was momentarily taken aback.
Mr. Weiting reached out to pat her hair, but when his hand touched the straw hat on her head, the corner of his mouth twitched.
Seeing this, Eva giggled. She removed the hat, then obediently ducked her head beneath his palm and rubbed against it herself.
Watching her playful antics, Mr. Weiting burst into hearty laughter.
“What a mischievous little girl!”
“Thank you for the compliment!” Eva replied with a beaming smile.
“You should call me Father, little one.” Mr. Weiting’s words carried a meaningful undertone, and he glanced at Yuwen Xi from the corner of his eye.
“Father?” Eva tilted her head as though considering it. Then she said, “But I think calling you Father sounds so serious.” She looked him up and down several times with her violet eyes. “Besides, you clearly look so young. Calling you that would make you sound old.”
Eva shook her head earnestly as she spoke. Even Yuwen Xi could not help staring at her curiously.
“Then what would you like to call me?” Mr. Weiting asked with great interest, clearly looking forward to her answer.
“Hmm…” Eva lowered her head and thought seriously for a moment. Then she looked up at him with a radiant smile.
“I heard that you were once a count. So I’ll call you Count!”
“Count?”
“Count?”
Both Yuwen Xi and Mr. Weiting were startled. Neither of them had expected Eva to know that.
Over the years, as he had gradually withdrawn from public life, no one had called him “Count” for a very long time. Hearing the title now stirred a wave of nostalgia in him.
“How did you know?” Mr. Weiting asked, meaning how she had learned his former title.
Eva did not answer him directly. Instead, she walked several circles around him.
[Three moves remaining, 3G reading-page bottom banner: varcpro_id="u1439360";]
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