Chapter 75
People like Benjamin are born at the top of the pyramid.
The biggest hardship he's ever faced in his life was probably pursuing Evelyn.
He really had no clue how to win a girl's heart, so it made sense that he'd ask someone for help.
But...
Evelyn pressed her lips together and glanced at the necklace on the coffee table.
"I don't like this necklace."
His expression was complicated.
With just a little thought, he understood what she meant. At lunch, she had said the necklace was beautiful, and she loved it, so why didn't she like it now?
That confusion suddenly filled his heart with a strange emotion.
"Don't you dare ask Celeste why!"
"I won't."
He answered quickly, but the confusion in his eyes didn't fade.
Clearly, Benjamin, who was so sharp at the negotiating table, was completely clueless when it came to dating.
She took a deep breath and asked, "You intended to make me happy?"
"Of course."
"Then you should pick a gift yourself."
"If I pick it, you probably won't like it."
His brow furrowed, obviously recalling some unpleasant memory.
He had given her plenty of things before, all delicate and expensive, but she hadn't liked a single one.
He had finally given her a necklace she seemed satisfied with, and now this happened.
"How is that the same?"
Evelyn looked at him and snorted, "Before, I didn't like you, so naturally, I didn't like anything you gave me. Now it's different."
She liked him, so now she'd like his gifts?
He stared at her for a while, but the furrow in his brow didn't smooth out.
"What's the problem?"
"Does the gift itself really change based on whether you like someone or not?"
"The thing is the same, but when different people give it, the effect is different."
Seeing his half-understanding expression, she said directly, "Even if this hadn't happened today, once I found out someone else picked the necklace for you, I wouldn't have liked it."
Liking depends on intention?
Benjamin looked at the necklace on the table, which had never changed, and fell into deep thought.
"Anyway, just remember, if you give it to me, I'll like it."
"Are you sure?"
She wasn't that sure either.
After all, Benjamin's taste wasn't exactly easy to accept.
If he gave her something weird, she'd have a hard time saying she liked it against her conscience.
But...
She had to train her own man herself; she absolutely couldn't let others do it.
"If I don't like it, you can exchange it. But having someone else do this—does that mean you don't want to put in the effort? That you're just going through the motions with me?"
She seemed still angry, but no longer had that silent, unresponsive look from before.
Benjamin understood—she wasn't angry anymore.
His palm gently caressed her face, his voice calm as usual, "Okay, I'll pick gifts for you myself. Are you satisfied with Celeste's explanation?"
This question could extend to many things.
Whether Celeste had schemed in this matter or if it was truly an accident, he didn't care.
What mattered was what Evelyn thought.
If she didn't care, then the matter would end here.
If she did care, then Celeste would have to leave.
Was it necessary?
Evelyn also managed a company and understood that even though Celeste had family backing, the fact that she could advise Benjamin showed she was capable.
People like Celeste were needed by any company.
More importantly, with Benjamin's looks and status, plenty of people liked him.
Should she drive away everyone who showed interest in him?
"Let's just call it an accident."
The next evening, Benjamin handed her a paper bag.
"A replacement gift."
"Gifts still need to be made up for."
She huffed with dissatisfaction, but her expression was clearly pleased.
After opening it, she found a bottle of perfume inside.
"Nice scent." She sprayed some, her smile obvious. "Didn't expect you to notice this kind of thing."
Seeing the smile on her face, he relaxed too.
"I picked it at the counter. This scent isn't too strong."
It seemed most men didn't really like scented things.
But some things really didn't need to be said.
Considering he had carefully selected it and even endured the strong scent, she'd forgive him.
But verbally, she still had to tease him a bit.
"So you specially changed clothes before coming home to avoid getting perfume on you? I thought you were doing something outside, trying to cover it up."
He looked at her and chuckled softly. The atmosphere in the room was very warm.
As the date for Evelyn's performance as the principal dancer of the White Group ballet company approached, she spent most of her time practicing in the dance studio.
Her fundamentals had been trained since childhood, so naturally, that wasn't a problem.
After working up a sweat and showering, she walked out of the dance studio and immediately spotted Samuel.
Both Samuel and Benjamin were the type who stood out in a crowd.
Thinking of their relationship, she still walked over. "Mr. Harris."
He narrowed his eyes, seeming not to have expected to run into her here.
The next second, he smiled playfully.
"Is Ms. Thomas practicing for the performance? Then you and Benjamin must have less time together these days, right?"
Both Evelyn and Benjamin were busy people.
When they got busy, naturally, they only had mornings and evenings to see each other, which was indeed less than before.
But without time to overthink things, Evelyn actually felt their relationship was healthier.
"We see each other every day. That's not little." She thought he was concerned about their time together and didn't think much of it.
"Is that so?"
His smile deepened. "I'm going to the White Group. Why don't you come along?"
He glanced at his watch. "You could have dinner with him."
"No need."
Evelyn instinctively wanted to refuse.
She felt that no matter how good Benjamin and Samuel's relationship was, she and Samuel didn't need to get too close.
Besides, showing up to see Benjamin out of the blue felt weird somehow.
The next second, Samuel suddenly laughed out loud.
"Why not? Maybe you could even catch him in the act."
Catch him in the act?
Celeste?
Her heart immediately became complicated, and without thinking much, she got into Samuel's car.
But as the car merged into traffic, she felt a bit regretful.
"Is Celeste your relative?"
"Yes."
Samuel had a cigarette in his mouth, his right hand on the steering wheel, answering casually. "She's my third uncle's daughter. Very capable. The family hopes she can hook up with Benjamin to make the relationship between our families more solid."
Samuel really wasn't holding anything back.
But after the necklace incident, she was quite accepting of this and didn't take it to heart.
"You go up."
After Samuel dropped her off at the White Group Branch, he didn't even get out of the car. She was shocked.
"You're not going?"
"Catch someone cheating, it's better to keep it small."
Samuel left her with a mysterious smile and drove off, leaving Evelyn bewildered.
Catch someone cheating... Samuel kept repeating this. Could there really be a problem?
No matter how many times she told herself not to believe such jokes, her heart couldn't help but waver.
When she stood in front of Benjamin's office door again, she actually felt a bit afraid to push it open.