Chapter 17 A Special Design

William had no idea about the internal conflict within Evelyn at this moment and continued to talk about what she could do here.
Evelyn absentmindedly looked out the window, finding nothing interesting in the surroundings. She couldn't help but ask about his hand.
"I'm fine, no need to worry," William reassured her.
"You're overthinking. I'm just afraid you'll blame me if your hand doesn't heal properly," she replied half-jokingly.
William chuckled softly, not sure what was bothering her. However, he felt good, and the dynamics between them were slowly changing for the better. These were all positive signs.
Actually, it's like a dream. Before, I silently paid attention to her, but now she's sitting next to me like this. It feels somewhat unreal. "You will definitely like it there."
When they arrived at the farmhouse, it was just noon, but Evelyn felt a bit tired. Considering the time difference, William took her to the upstairs bedroom. The room was decorated in a simple manner. Evelyn went to the bathroom to wash her face and noticed the nice bathtub. She thought it would be more comfortable to take a bath before sleeping.
No need to be polite with him. So she let the hot water run and went out to look for William, checking if there were any clothes.
William found a shirt in the wardrobe that he hadn't worn before and handed it to Evelyn. "I will bring you your clothes when I come tonight. Wear mine for now."
Even Evelyn, with her cold and proud personality, didn't know how to respond to his words. At first listen, it sounded quite ambiguous.
"I can manage on my own. Why do you have to come here tonight?" Evelyn took the clothes from William's hand.
Knowing that she was shy, William said, "I also need to sleep at night."
"But you don't necessarily have to come here."
"I can just sleep in another room." William smiled cunningly and approached quietly.
Evelyn pushed him away with a palm and turned to enter the bathroom. When she came out, William had already prepared some food and was sitting on the sofa, waiting for her while looking at a proposal document. "Done? Have something to eat before you sleep."
Evelyn didn't expect him to still be there. The shirt was a bit short for her height, exposing her snow-white long legs. Her hair was wet, and she held a towel, trying not to make too much movement while drying her hair. The shirt was too short to be worn as a dress.
William's gaze couldn't help but elevate. He couldn't help but think of the silhouette outside the bathroom when he was her assistant and now seeing the goddess in front of him wearing the shirt. He felt like his nosebleed was going to gush out.
"What are you looking at? The door is over there." Unable to hide or escape, Evelyn could only pretend to be calm and rush him out.
William put away his notebook and placed it on the sofa. He walked towards Evelyn, who stared at him and glanced at his hand. His wound had been re-bandaged and looked far better than when she had bandaged it before; it was definitely far superior to her handywork, to be precise.
William kept approaching, and Evelyn took a step back. In the end, she ended up against the cabinet, defensively picking up a towel to cover her chest.
William bypassed her and picked up the hairdryer. "I'll take this. You'll catch a cold if your hair isn't dried."
Evelyn gritted her teeth, feeling played once again.
Ignoring Evelyn's attempts to chase him away, William instead pulled her to sit on the sofa and pushed the food towards her. Then he picked up the hairdryer and started drying her hair.
Feeling that continuing to be awkward and pretentious was getting boring, Evelyn quietly ate the delicious food. William handled her hair gently with the warm hairdryer. At first, it was alright, filling her stomach, but then drowsiness hit her.
William finished drying Evelyn's hair and noticed that she was falling asleep on the sofa. He gently carried her to the bed in the room.
Evelyn, who had long fallen into a deep sleep, was gently lifted onto the bed and covered with a warm blanket. With the curtains drawn and the air conditioning set just right, William took one last lingering look at Evelyn before leaving the room.
William hadn't been to the farm in a while, thanks to the care provided by Mary and her husband. It had been over five years since he first bought the place, and if it was once a dream shared by two, it now seemed more like a story that William himself preferred not to mention.
"Mr. Chevalier," Mary emerged from the kitchen.
Mary and her husband were of American descent, while William, despite being French, only had a quarter of American heritage. However, having grown up in the United States, he felt quite at home. When he returned to France six years ago, he had a hard time adjusting, which led his mother to hire Mary and her husband to take care of him.
Later, when he purchased the farm, William naturally entrusted its management to the couple.
"Auntie, from now on, don't call me Mr. Chevalier here, call me William. Don't forget. And her name is Evelyn. When she wakes up, prepare something for her to eat and take her around. But for now, let's not disturb her sleep," William instructed before leaving.
Instead of going to the company, he headed to the villa where his senior and his team were conducting software development work. They were wrapping up the project and would soon have a test run. William couldn't help but feel nervous.
Initially, he had studied software programming, but as time went by, he gradually neglected it while focusing on learning about business management from his father. Although he had achieved some success in the software field, it wasn't anything outstanding, so giving it up didn't feel like a big loss.
"How is it going?" William asked.
"So far, so good. It all depends on the specifics later, but there's a good chance we'll surpass our original target," the senior replied.
Hearing this, William felt much more at ease. "That's great. The presentation is tomorrow. Thank you all for your hard work."
"Hard work deserves compensation," Benny, the senior, said. William added, "After this is over, I still want to stay in the U.S. Are you interested in joining my company?"
"Is the Chevalier Group planning to venture into the internet sector?" Benny asked.
"That's the plan. Moreover, I'm considering starting something new, and it seems like the online gaming market is a better choice."
"Your programming skills may not be exceptional, but you do have a keen eye for business opportunities."
"That's why we make a perfect match," William replied.
With so many things to attend to for the presentation, William couldn't make it back to the farm in time. They settled for dinner at the company instead.
Evelyn was enjoying herself as well. After waking up in the afternoon, she had the chance to taste Mary's cooking and savored every bite. Mary had specially prepared a simple meal using the organic vegetables grown on the farm, and it was delicious. The two of them ate and chatted happily.
"How did Miss Bennett meet Mr. Brown?" Mary curiously asked.
"We met through work," William replied.
"I see. Mr. Brown doesn't talk much or smile often, but he seems to be different around Miss Bennett."
"Miss Bennett is different," Mary said, smiling at Evelyn.
"Have you been working here all along?" Evelyn couldn't help but change the topic.
"Yeah, when Mr. Brown bought this place, I took charge of managing it. My husband also works here, and we live in the house over there at night," Mary said, pointing to another smaller but beautiful house nearby. "Do you want to go out and take a look later? There's a glass greenhouse over there, and it's beautiful at night."
Evelyn nodded in agreement. After dinner, Mary tidied up in the kitchen while Evelyn waited for her in the yard, taking the opportunity to explore the farm. It was dark all around, making it difficult to see, but in the darkness, her senses seemed to be heightened, capturing the fragrant smell of grass and the earth.
Having grown up in the town, Evelyn was familiar with this kind of smell that permeated the streets, fields, and forests. It gave her a moment of illusion.
"It's cooler at night. Put on a jacket," Mary said, walking over with William's jacket. It wouldn't be appropriate for her to give Miss Bennett her own clothes, so she took William's instead. "It's Mr. Brown's jacket."
With the jacket on, Evelyn and Mary walked towards the greenhouse. The lights along the way weren't too bright, and their footsteps treaded on soft grass, which was incredibly comfortable. Evelyn loved it here. Out of all her trips to France, whether for work or leisure, this particular visit was the most special and happiest.
When they arrived at the greenhouse, Evelyn waited for Mary to light up the lamps. Standing in the cool breeze, her heart couldn't help but feel anticipation. Gradually, the lights inside the greenhouse illuminated, and it was difficult to describe her emotions. It was like opening a music box from her childhood and seeing a beautiful scene.
The glass reflected the outside lights, while the inside was dimly lit, complementing each other. Mary opened the door and let Evelyn enter first. The small greenhouse was filled with various flowers, brightly colored and subtly shaded, arranged in a natural and harmonious way.
This reminded her of a long time ago when she watched Hayao Miyazaki's animation film, "Spirited Away." It was like the road Chihiro walked hand-in-hand with Haku, the white dragon. It was truly beautiful. Even the scent seemed to be carefully blended, intense but not overpowering. In the center of the glass greenhouse was a round wooden table, with a crystal chandelier on the table, echoing the pendant light pouring down from the dome of the greenhouse. The shattered crystal decorations refracted the delicate light. Everything was just so beautiful.
"In fact, everything on the farm was designed by Mr. Brown. This greenhouse has been modified many times to become what it is now," Mary explained.
"He's very imaginative," Evelyn nodded.
"Yes, indeed. But Mr. Brown was initially very dedicated, and once it was done, he didn't pay as much attention to it. He has rarely been here for over a year now," Mary said, noticing Evelyn's blank expression and quickly adding, "The weather has been good recently, and there are also flower fields on the farm. We can go take a look tomorrow."
Evelyn nodded. "Has he ever brought anyone here?"
"You mean Mr. Brown? No, he hasn't. He did mention it was a gift for someone during the design process, but he never mentioned who."
"After that, no one came for many years," Mary said, realizing she might have said the wrong thing and quickly adding, "Miss Bennett was the first."
Evelyn certainly wasn't naive enough to believe that it was a gift for her. She only felt envy that William had put so much thought into preparing such an exquisite and unique gift for someone, that person must be very important to him.
Suddenly, she lost interest in looking at these things. "Hmm, it's getting late. Let's go."
"Okay." They went back and went to sleep early.
William tried calling but didn't get an answer. He had to call Mary to find out that she was already resting.
"Why, did you bring a beauty and still have to work overtime at the company at night?" Odile asked.
William looked at Odile leaning against the door frame. "Why are you here so late?"
"Just wanted to see if you were really infatuated. Thankfully, it's not too serious, and you're still preparing for tomorrow's presentation," Odile said with a sneer.
"Is mocking me your amusement?" William stared at the computer, without really looking at her. Odile felt frustrated. Even if she fawns over him, he doesn't seem to care. She felt sulky.
She went to the pantry and brought a cup of coffee, walking in and placing it in front of William. "To freshen up."
"You're so strict. Can't I drink coffee brought by other ladies?" Odile said when she received no response.
This time, William looked up, glancing at her, and took the coffee, taking a sip. "That's enough, go rest."
William didn't understand why she was acting strange. He thought she was just in a bad mood, so he casually dismissed her.