Take My Breath Away

Matthew was bewildered by Carlos' question, his face even darker.

Sheffield, however, was frightened. He didn't think Carlos was joking. To prevent any further misunderstandings, he stopped smiling and said seriously, "No, Uncle Carlos. You misunderstood us. I'm not gay. Now Matthew is a good-looking guy, but I prefer girls, like the lovely Evelyn."

Carlos cast a scornful glance at his son and commented, "At least you have good taste. Evelyn is much more skilled, much better-looking than Matthew."

Matthew was used to being compared unfavorably to his siblings. He snapped, "Yeah. She's better than me, and I'm better than you."

Carlos' eyebrows furrowed. "Ask Sheffield. He'll tell you who is more handsome: you, or me."

'How do I choose? Whoever I don't pick will be mad at me.' Sheffield swallowed his saliva nervously. That wasn't an easy question to answer.

"At least I'm not a big baby like you!" For the past couple years, Matthew saw that his dad was becoming more and more childlike. He lost his temper easily, throwing a tantrum when he didn't get his way. He often did things that were completely out of character for him.

Sheffield preferred to keep his mouth shut. It was a terrible battle, this conflict between father and son. And he preferred not to get hit by a stray metaphorical bullet.

Matthew continued, "You're always pretending you're better than me. But if you're so good, why didn't you know that the company's security system has been hacked?"

"What?" Carlos was taken aback. "Who did it? Was it you?"

"No. That guy." Matthew pointed to Sheffield, who was peeling nuts for Evelyn.

"Is he..." 'Star Anise?'

Before Carlos could say the name, Matthew interrupted him. "Star Anise? No. He's the hacker's disciple, Eleven."

Carlos looked at Sheffield with suspicion.

The smiling doctor played dumb. "No, I didn't break into it at all. I just found some loopholes that my master taught me. Don't worry, your security is still airtight."

Evelyn overheard their conversation. She asked timidly, "Are you really...Star Anise's disciple?"

Instead of admitting it or denying it, he just told her, "Some other time. But not now." If he got a chance, he would

n fly back to America. He already had a tight schedule.

"Remember we're going to visit Uncle Wesley on the third day of the Spring Festival. The elders, too, because it's the right thing to do." Since Wesley and his family lived in A Country, the two families didn't have many chances to meet, except special days like the Spring Festival.

"Makes sense." It had become a habit for those two families. Either the Huo family would fly out to visit, or the Li family would come to Y City on the third day of the Spring Festival. Matthew also knew that they had to visit Carlos' old friends during the Spring Festival, so he'd already factored this into his plans.

Miranda and Debbie were chatting in the living room. With a broad smile, Miranda said, "Have you noticed the look in Sheffield's eyes? He hardly took his eyes off Evelyn. I think he really likes the girl."

"Of course I noticed it. Evelyn was the same way. Although she didn't speak much, she's almost a different person around him." Evelyn was no longer a cold and distant CEO when Sheffield was near. She looked more feminine, and less sure of herself.

Like a wife being well protected by her husband. Yes! Debbie was sure Evelyn looked like a spoiled wife in front of Sheffield.

"Then what is Carlos doing? He knows Evelyn and Sheffield like each other. Why is he still forcing her to get engaged to Calvert?" Miranda had never taken an interest in family affairs before. Carlos handled everything.