Chapter 480 Pretty Sir
Seeing how Alicia was going to leave with Josephine, the director of the orphanage immediately rushed after them and explained, “There is nothing wrong with the boy, but we do have trouble communicating with him because he is of Otharian and Vietnamese descent. From our sources, he used to be raised in Vietnam. He must have reacted so aggressively because he couldn’t mentally cope after changing a location and being abandoned.”
“How did he get all the injuries on his body?” Alicia questioned.
The director hesitantly replied, “He has been showing subtle tendencies to self-harm after he came here.”
Alicia’s eyes seemed to darken after she heard the director’s words. Seeing that, the director looked resigned as he sighed, “We have been trying to treat his self-harming tendencies, but it will take time to get rid of psychological issues. The woman who sent the boy here has requested us to continue treating him, or—or else she will have the promised donation sent to some other orphanage—”
The director’s words were cut off by the sound of a car door being slammed shut. Watching the gray sedan leave, the man slowly straightened his torso as his gaze turned cold.
——
The air in Melrose City on Valentine’s Day was thick with an unexplainable feeling of romance when evening came. Most of the people sauntering about on the street were walking hand-in-hand in pairs, and yet Angie looked as though she had a tail following closely behind her. Alex was always a few steps away as he maintained his distance from her. Angie couldn’t get rid of him even if she wanted to, and he didn’t have the courage to get closer to her.
“Pretty sir, did you make your girlfriend angry? Would you like some flowers to cheer her up?”
An adorable young girl suddenly grasped onto the leg of Alex’s pants. Blinking her eyes, she shoved some flowers in Alex’s face.
“I am sorry, I—” A sneeze erupted as he hurriedly explained himself. “I am allergic—” He sneezed again. “To pollen!” As he pushed the flowers away from his face, Angie took the opportunity to make her escape. Alex immediately followed after her when he realized what she had done.
The little girl who had been left behind could only shake her head and sigh, “What a stingy person. You can’t possibly get a girl with a handsome face alone.”
Alex showed no signs of giving up even as he went a distance to chase after her. He tried to maintain a distance of 3 meters away from her as he smiled and asked loudly, “Are you hungry? Why don’t I buy you a meal? You can continue running off after that.”
Angie rested her hands on her waist while gasping for air. Alex’s words suddenly made her realize that the man had no idea that she was running away from him. He even seemed entertained by this whole game of cat and mouse they were having.
“Fine.” Angie combed through her hair with her fingers before putting on a tough front. “Let me buy you a meal. We can have a talk.”
Angie proceeded to choose an affordable Otharian restaurant whose business seemed rather slow today. Along with a few dishes, she also ordered a bottle of vodka for Alex.
The waiter first served them a plate of peanuts, and he then opened the vodka bottle. He poured Alex a glass, but when he turned to look at Angie, the young woman wordlessly refused to be served the alcohol.
The sharp scent of alcohol hit Alex’s nostrils before the vodka even touched his mouth. He instinctively reacted by sucking in a deep breath before taking a sip. Immediately, his face began to contort because of the spicy sensation in his mouth. “我不喜欢不能喝酒的人。”
“I don’t like people who can’t drink.”
Angie suddenly coldly threw that sentence when Alex was about to put down his glass. A frown immediately appeared on his face after that, and he gulped down the remaining content in the glass. Seeing that, Angie let out a satisfied smile and poured him another glass.
“I have to leave tomorrow.”
His voice came out tired and disappointed after he drank his second glass of vodka. The alcohol was making his face red, but he looked just like a sad child when he lowered his gaze.
“I know that your father is unsatisfied with me. I admit that I wasn’t a good person before.”
After the third glass went down his throat, his head began to feel heavy. The waiter who was serving them a bowl of sliced pork kindly reminded him, “This alcohol is potent. Please drink it slowly.”
Angie’s long lashes seemed to tremble under the dim light after she heard the words.
“My father?” she carefully asked.
Alex leaned back into the dark-colored backrest of his seat and nodded. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat disgusted looking at the shiny gloss of the dish. He then took another shot to wash off the distaste in his mouth.
“Your father is amazing. He did an in-depth background check on my whole family. He even found out about the time I got into a fight and got detained. That was my friend, Enrique. We aren’t friends anymore—”
His gentle voice started to quiver, and he had to bury his face in his palms to calm himself down before he lifted his gaze again. He poured a fifth glass for himself. Unexpectedly, Angie took the bottle over and poured herself one before she shot the whole thing down.
“What else did he say?”
Angie could feel the blood flowing urgently like boiling water in her head. The tipsy Alex didn’t notice how calm Angie’s voice had gotten at this point.
“He said that he isn’t against us dating, but he isn’t very satisfied with me—” His words faltered as he began to sway left and right.
The waiter continued to serve grilled duck, braised pork belly, pork innards, fried pork, and vegetables to the table. He was caught by surprise when his eyes landed on the blond-haired, blue-eyed young foreigner.
“Lady,” he exclaimed. “He can’t keep drinking like this. He will get alcohol poisoning!”
Alex was in the midst of reaching for the vodka bottle and pouring himself another glass with his eyes closed when Angie snatched it away from him and indulged the throat-burning drink herself. Her face had gradually turned pink after her second glass of vodka.
Alex was already spewing random English words now, scaring the waiter who was serving them. Angie drank her last glass of vodka and wiped her mouth before she slurred, “Please get me a taxi, thank you.”
Her swaying body took a while to become still as she stood up. She frowned and looked at Alex, who was lying on the couch with his face toward the ceiling. Half of his body had already slipped underneath the table.
“Hey, get up,” she said as she lightly slapped him on his cheeks.
The man drunkenly lifted his hand to block her advances, but just then, he lost his hold on the seat, and he slid right under the chair.
Angie made a few attempts to pull him back up, but she was no match for the man over 5 feet 10. She continued trying before she eventually became too weak to continue.
Angie patted the helpless waiter on his shoulder and suggested, “Can you call a few people to help me out? I will pay you.”
However, the waiter’s eyes had gotten as wide as saucers as he let out intelligible noises and pointed behind Angie.
Her hand was still on the waiter’s shoulder when a voice rang out, “Take him to the car.” As Angie heard that, her grip unconsciously tightened, making the frail-looking waiter’s face twist in pain. He managed to struggle out of her grasp, and when he did, he scurried away and hid behind the counter.
“What is wrong? Scared to look at me?”
The crisp and gentle voice sounded behind her. She didn’t even need to turn to look at the man to know the haughty expression on his face. He would most probably have a form-fitting suit on without the necktie, and the first button of his dress shirt would be undone, giving him a carefree air. He would probably also have his hands in the pockets of his suit pants as his usually-gentle eyes coldly gazed at her.
Angie tried her best to look calm on the surface, and when she turned around and scrutinized the man, a smile immediately appeared on her face. He didn’t look much different from how she imagined him to be.
“Elijah,” she greeted.
“Let’s get in the car first.”
He then moved to hold her hand, only for her to duck. However, he didn’t seem embarrassed by the rejection and merely waved to his assistant standing behind him.
“Bring him to the hospital. I will drive back myself,” he told the assistant.
“I will come along,” Angie announced as she followed after the assistant.
She had already gotten into the van the assistant was going to drive when Elijah removed her from the vehicle.
“You will be coming home with me.”
