Chapter 55 Drunk

Charles walked out of the airport nonchalantly with Vivian in tow. Vivian, who was crying uncontrollably, had yet to realize the severity of the situation. She was still immersed in her own sadness.

Charles squeezed Vivian into the car and, seeing that she was still shedding tears, felt somewhat helpless. He had never comforted a girl like this before. All he could do was hand her a tissue and wipe away her tears. "Stop crying, okay?"

As soon as he spoke up, Charles was surprised by his own actions. Vivian, with tearful eyes, looked at him in disbelief. How could he be so gentle? He always mocked her, and yet now he was speaking so kindly? It seemed that men had no resistance to tears. Despite feeling heartbroken, she took note of this.

"Evelyn is pregnant," Vivian decided to confide in Charles, feeling burdened by such a huge secret. "I don't know how to help her. I...I can't do anything for her..."

Charles reached out and embraced Vivian, having already guessed the truth. This silly girl was always worrying about Evelyn's well-being, to the point of nearly wearing out all her recipe books. But now he understood, and he was happy that she chose to share this with him. "You've done well. She will only be grateful to you, never blame you."

Vivian listened quietly as he spoke these comforting words in her ear. It was the best solace she could hope for. Their moment was interrupted when Vivian noticed a paparazzo not far away, pointing a camera at them. She quickly withdrew her hand and nestled against Charles's chest. "There's a journalist!"

Charles played along and said, "Let's go."

In the end, the next day's newspaper covered the airport send-off event, but the photos only showed Vivian and Charles...Evelyn's part was naturally missing. For the first time, Charles made a call to his family for such a trivial matter.

"Thank you."

"It's nothing. Why don't we withdraw together? What's the point of including Evelyn's photos? After all, she's a celebrity. Just take the pictures."

Charles looked at the silly girl on the couch, who was talking to Evelyn on the phone. If Evelyn's image were exposed to the public, Vivian would probably cry for days. But withdrawing the news together would be too boring. "It's nothing, Dad. I'll come back another day for dinner."

"Don't bother coming back without your girlfriend. So, your mom won't be busy."

Charles felt helpless, but he could only say okay before hanging up the phone. After meeting them just once, they already liked her so much? It seemed that she was the one for him.

Sitting on the couch with his legs crossed, Vivian just ended her call when Charles approached. Her big eyes were fixed on him. "Great! Evelyn likes it there. She just arrived and seems a little uncomfortable. I need to visit her. I wonder if my classmates have been of any help..."

Charles sealed her chattering mouth with a kiss, and Vivian's heart once again lost control. She didn't know where to place her hands, and even after Charles let go, she remained stunned. He used to be her idol, after all. This unexpected turn of events was truly surprising.

Pressing his forehead against hers, Charles looked into her eyes, his unbelievably long eyelashes not belonging in an idol drama. Why was he looking at her like this? "Your Evelyn is settled now, what about me?"

Vivian took a step back, realizing she might have gone too far.

Separated by distance, Vivian's brain started working, straightening her posture as she sat upright at one end of the sofa. "I-I didn't mean for you to be caught by someone. Besides, you can just leave, right? Who told you to come up directly?" Vivian didn't know what kind of feeling this was.

Charles moved a bit closer to her. "Is it so difficult for you to thank me?" His gaze remained intense. Under such scrutiny, Vivian felt at a loss for words. Charles then spoke softly, with a hint of disappointment, "What are you afraid of?"

Being pressed for an answer like this, Vivian couldn't pretend anymore. "I-I don't know, do you? It feels so unreal. From the moment I first saw you until now, everything..."

"I understand. So, it can be confirmed; you don't dislike me, that's good enough." Charles smiled lightly, with a slight upward curve of his lips and those beautiful peach blossom eyes. It was reminiscent of a scene from a movie displayed on a large screen at a train station, a scene that ended with unfulfilled revenge and family hatred.

Thinking this, Vivian felt a tinge of wickedness within herself. How could she associate such tragic events? Charles could tell from her expression that she had drifted off somewhere again.

"I'll be joining the crew soon, and I'll be back in about two weeks." Charles said.

Upon hearing this, Vivian immediately reacted and nodded, "Alright."

Charles held onto her chin firmly, "Alright?"

Vivian hurriedly waved her hand, "Not alright, not alright, not at all."

As soon as Charles released his grip, Vivian leaned in closer. Since she would be sending him off soon, there was no point in dwelling on it too much for now. "So, where are you going? Isn't two weeks too short for a film? What are you shooting this time?"

Observing her expression, Charles knew she must be thrilled inside. "Napa Valley Film Studios. After two weeks, there's a promotional event that I can't miss."

"Napa Valley Film Studios? Is it a movie or a TV drama? Who's the female lead?" Vivian bombarded him with questions.

Charles waved for her to come closer and pointed to a spot. Without much thought, Vivian approached. Little did she know that Charles would pull her into his embrace. "A period drama, it's a TV drama. The female lead is Lena."

Vivian was already excited, her heart pounding. As soon as she heard Lena's name, she forgot about everything else. "Lena?! Can I visit the set?" She had watched a romantic drama that Charles and Lena acted together at home, and it had made her heart flutter. Lena's character in the drama was incredibly cute, and her beauty could captivate anyone.

Charles couldn't communicate with someone like her anymore. "We're in a relationship, remember that."

Vivian looked at his expression, as if she understood something. Was she too concerned about Lena?

"Is she really beautiful?" Vivian muttered softly, then looked at Charles. Her face grew increasingly unpleasant. After racking her brain, she finally understood. "So, you have feelings for her?"

"Kissing scene?" Vivian tried harder to show a bit of jealousy.

Charles's expression eased a little, and Vivian finally understood. She took advantage of the situation, "Then I must visit the set!"

Since visiting the set was her goal, the rest was not important. Just the thought of Lena made Vivian very happy. Maybe she could see her in person. "I don't care, I don't care!"

"Tomorrow accompany me home for dinner, and I'll take you there. How about that?" Charles said.

As soon as Vivian heard about going home for dinner, she had a headache and a troubled expression on her face. "Can we not go? It's so awkward, I don't even know what to do!"

"With me around, what's there to be afraid of?" Charles asked.

"You're such a pity as an actor, so good at scheming. You should do business instead. You'll definitely earn a lot," Vivian sarcastically taunted him.

Only then did Charles remember that he hadn't talked to her about his family yet. "My dad is in business, but I don't want to inherit it."

Before Vivian could be astonished, her familiar ringtone sounded, and she began searching for her phone. She said with understanding, "I guess it must be Antonio."

With accuracy, Charles picked up the phone from among a pile of pillows, glanced at the name on it, and handed it to Vivian.

"Antonio, what's wrong..." Her words were cut off by a sudden shout from the other side.

"Vivian! What did you do for Evelyn? What ideas did you give her? Where is she?" Antonio was going crazy. Evelyn sent him a text, saying she didn't need to deal with the contract anymore and had resigned from the company. She didn't have any plans to come back. Dialing her number resulted in a disconnected line.

"Antonio, Evelyn just wanted to take a break and relax. I didn't do anything, really!" Vivian hurriedly explained.

"Then where is she now?" Antonio asked directly.

Vivian couldn't come up with a reasonable answer, and Charles reached out to take the phone. Vivian quickly snatched it back. "I don't know either."

"You sent her to the airport yesterday, and you still don't know?" Antonio furrowed his brow.

Vivian had actually forgotten. Yesterday's events were even livestreamed, but she still planned to play dumb. "Evelyn didn't tell me anything. She left as soon as she arrived at the airport. She didn't let me send her off. Otherwise, I wouldn't have cried like that!"

Antonio wanted to say something else, but Vivian didn't give him a chance. "She's really unhappy lately and in a bad state, so she just went to relax. Don't worry, when she wants to come back, she will. The signal here is not very good..." She quickly hung up the phone.

Charles looked at her like this and couldn't help but be speechless. It was clear that she often told lies.

As soon as Étienne saw the photos of Vivian and Charles at the airport, he vaguely knew that Evelyn had already left the country. "Leo, have you found out where she went?"

Leo shook his head, "There were too many flights at that time, and the records have been erased."

Leo didn't delve into it further. He felt that this woman was too dangerous for Étienne. Since she left on her own accord, it was probably for the best.

Étienne understood perfectly. Tiredly pinching the bridge of his nose, perhaps this was her choice. Even so, he was resentful. How could she be so heartless? She didn't even want a child. Did having a child with him make Evelyn reject it like this? It turns out that not loving someone meant anything was possible.

For a brief moment, Étienne felt a hint of regret. Would everything be better if he hadn't gotten close to the real her, if he didn't love her like this? But in life, where would one get a chance to start over?

If they were to meet again in this lifetime, who knows what kind of scene it would be.

Continuously for a week, every late night, Sophie and Leo would search all the bars in the city to find Étienne, who was drunk, and bring him home. He endured like this, persistently going to work during the day and endlessly getting drunk at night.

Finally, Sophie found Étienne in a small bar. He had collapsed at the bar counter, murmuring Evelyn's name. Sophie walked over and softly called out to him, "Étienne, let's go home. Is that okay?"

Étienne vaguely saw a figure and pulled her into his arms, "How could you be so heartless?"