Chapter 12
In the end, I still couldn’t truly escape Evren.]]
No matter how many almost heartless words I said, he always acted as if he’d never heard them, appearing in my life with unwavering persistence.
Only when his startup company in America had some temporary crisis would he briefly leave Germany, fly back to New York, handle everything, then return at an incredible speed.[]
But this time, he seemed to be gone for a really long time. So long that I almost thought he wouldn’t come back.
So when the doorbell rang, I didn’t think much and casually opened the door.
Evren stood at the entrance, holding a large paper bag that faintly gave off a delicious aroma. The German autumn wind had tousled his hair slightly, but he still looked composed.]
He had a slight smile at the corner of his mouth and naturally stepped forward, trying to come in:[]
“Sonia, tonight we’re having spicy braised beef ribs and handmade cornbread, okay? I know you’ve been too busy with your thesis to eat properly these past few days, so’l specially flew to Dresden to find an authentic Southern–style American deli–“[]
He didn’t finish his sentence and stopped abruptly.[]
Because he finally saw someone else standing behind me.[]
Blonde hair, blue eyes, with sharp, defined features, broad shoulders, muscular build, still wearing a workout jacket from the gym.[]
He was casually leaning against my kitchen counter, holding a glass of orange juice, looking relaxed but with an unmistakably bold presence.[]
Evren paused for a moment, his gaze sharply sweeping over the man before turning to me.
His tone was as calm as always, but his eyes were already an invisible storm:[]
“Sonia, who is he?”
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In this moment, his entire demeanor quickly became cold and aggressive, as if the air itself had frozen.[]
I had no doubt that if there were a gun here, Evren would fire immediately–then use his intelligence capable of challenging the entire European judicial system to calmly cover everything up.[]
Seeing I didn’t respond, his gaze suddenly wavered. He stiffly adjusted his hair and collar, forcing a smile that looked worse than crying:[]
“You don’t like me anymore, do you? Not even… not even my face?“[]
I rolled my eyes, truly speechless: “Classmate.“[]
The blonde boy was putting drinks in my refrigerator and laughed when he heard “classmate“: “She’s that cold to everyone. Don’t take it personally, bro.”
Then more people came out of my apartment–two Asian girls and three German local students.
They were my current study group partners. We’d just finished a long literature discussion and were about to relax.]
Someone looked at the paper bag in Evren’s hand and asked: “Wow, is that braised ribs? Are you Sonia’s friend? Or her boyfriend?“[]
Before I could deny it, Evren was already pushing his way in with the bag of American food.]
He answered confidently: “Used to be. Now… I’m trying to reapply for that position.“[]
The group burst into laughter.]
Chapter 12
Evren looked at these unfamiliar smiling faces, and his cold demeanor suddenly dissipated somewhat.[]
He walked into the kitchen, skillfully plating the food while saying to me in a low voice:[]
“I know you said you didn’t want to see me anymore, but you haven’t eaten dinner today. I’m betting you won’t waste this pot of braised beef ribs.“[]
As it turned out, our entire group ate that meal together. The food Evren brought successfully conquered a group of picky graduate students.[]
After dinner, someone sighed: “If he opened a pop–up food truck, there’d definitely be long lines.”
I glanced at hi
sideways.]
Evren raised at me, smiling with complete confidence: “If that would make
u forgive me, I’d even consider offering membership cards.”
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