“I’ve just come to a realization.
There’s a distinct possibility that I…”
Everly’s heart was doing the Macarena with curiosity.
Jeremy’s face was so serious, it could’ve given a statue a run for its money.
She was positive whatever he was about to say was more important than finding the last slice of pizza in the fridge.
But, of course, because Everly’s life was like a bad sitcom, the sudden shrill of a phone shattered the tension.
It was like that classic scene where the old grandpa is on his deathbed, about to reveal a huge secret to his child with “actually you are…”, and then poof he’s kick the bucket mid-sentence, leaving his poor family with a lifetime of mystery.
Everly then realized it was her phone going off.
But she was too focused on Jeremy to care.
She stared at him like a hawk eyeing its prey.
“You…
what?
Spit it out, already!”
But once again, as if the universe was playing a cruel joke on her, there was a loud knock on the door.
Everly felt like doing a triple axel out of sheer annoyance.
A voice came from the other side.
“Mr.
Shen, someone from the Tang family is here, demanding to see you.
He claims you’ve kidnapped his sister.”
Everly’s eyes went wide as saucers.
She quickly checked her phone and saw that it was Alan who’d been trying to reach her.
Jeremy let out a long, defeated sigh and stepped away from her.
“This clearly isn’t the right moment for this conversation.
Whatever it was I wanted to say…
it looks like it’ll have to wait.”
“Can’t you just tell me now?
Please, for the love of all things sane, don’t be like those idiotic main characters who keep secrets for no good reason and create a mountain of misunderstandings that last for ages!”
Everly was having none of this cliché nonsense where important revelations are stretched out over hundreds of episodes or, in real life, months on end.
She didn’t want to spend the next eternity wondering what he was going to say!
“I suppose…
this just isn’t the opportune moment…”
Jeremy’s response made Everly’s blood boil.
She looked like she was about to start a WWE match right there in the room.
Jeremy could see the storm brewing in her eyes and quickly tried to defuse the situation.
“Perhaps we could meet next week?
I’ll be swamped with assignments these next few days, and I also have to jet off abroad for some business matters.”
“Next week…?”
Hold on a sec, isn’t my birthday next week?
Despite her phone still going off like a fire alarm, a clear indication of how worried Alan was, Everly could only offer a silent apology in her head, praying that Alan would have the patience of a saint.
“Mr.
Jeremy, if I may inquire, have you been invited to the Tang family party next week?”
Jeremy fished his phone out of his pocket, started scrolling through his schedule, and then nodded.
“The Shen family has been extended an invitation, but I believe my brother will be attending on our behalf…
You’re from the Tang family, correct?
Are you some relative who’s just temporarily crashing at their place?”
He recalled that earlier, the staff member who’d slipped the necklace into Everly’s pocket had addressed her as Miss Tang, and Sylvia had also been in the shop, along with Anna, the matriarch of the Tang family.
Even now, someone from the Tang family had shown up to “rescue” her.
“I’m the Tang family’s daughter.”
Jeremy’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.
He was completely caught off guard by this revelation.
“Huh?
But I thought the Tang family only had one daughter, Sylvia Tang?”
“I’m their long-lost daughter, who was just discovered and returned to the family yesterday.”
Everly said it so casually, as if she were discussing the weather.
Jeremy was completely thrown for a loop.
He’d expected a lot of things from Everly, but this unexpected plot twist was the last thing on his list.
But then it clicked.
Anna had told the cops the necklace was planted in her daughter’s pocket, and the poor sap who got framed was Everly.
So, she was telling the truth after all.
The knocking grew more frantic, accompanied by a panicked voice.
“Mr.
Shen, security says the guy from the Tang family managed to get past them and is on his way up in the elevator!”
Everly shot Jeremy a look that could kill.
Alan would be there any second now.
“If you’d just spilled the beans earlier, we could’ve wrapped this up ages ago!
Instead, we’re wasting precious time talking about setting up a meeting to discuss something we could have already sorted out!”
Just then, Everly’s brain, which seemed to operate on a completely different wavelength from the rest of humanity, started coming up with some wild ideas.
She looked at Jeremy with a hint of suspicion.
Or…
could it be that he’s starting to have feelings for me…?
Maybe he’s stalling because he wants to spend more time with me?
Is he deliberately dragging out this important conversation just so he can see me again?
Oh no…
Jeremy nearly choked on his own spit when he heard Everly’s crazy inner monologue.
Can this girl please stop obsessing over getting pregnant?!!!
Her mind is like a wild jungle!
And why is she being so narcissistic when she knows I have a crush on someone else?
He quickly made his way to the door to unlock it, trying to come up with something to say to distract Everly from her wild thoughts.
“If it’s your birthday next week, I’ll let my family know I’ll be attending the Tang family party too.
Since we’re friends and all.
That way, we can talk about whatever it is I need to tell you.
And I promise, no matter what interruptions come our way, I’ll tell you everything…”
He was really crossing his fingers that they’d have all the time in the world to chat later.
The real reason he couldn’t spill the beans right then wasn’t because he didn’t want to, but because of the ticking clock.
He could’ve told Everly, sure, but he knew deep down that if they got interrupted like this after she’d already heard what he had to say, she’d be even more furious.
“Friends…?
You think of me as a friend?
Hmmm…
Alright then, Jeremy.
If you don’t come clean next week, I’m going to do something really…
interesting…
to you!”
She marched right up to Jeremy and stuck out her pinky, like a little kid making a solemn vow.
Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh.
He was both amused and impressed at how casually Everly had started calling him by his first name, without even bothering to ask.
And that pinky promise…
it was so childish, but somehow it fit Everly’s quirky personality like a glove.
Maybe he should just go with the flow and play along.
He linked his pinky with Everly’s, sealing the deal.
“Okay…
Everly.
I promise.”
Everly beamed.
However, all of a sudden, she looked up at Jeremy’s head.
She’d just noticed that the screen above his head had changed from blue to gold, with the word “locked” and a padlock symbol.
The padlock had been slightly open for a moment, but now it was firmly shut again.
She was completely stunned.
What on earth did it mean that the secret Jeremy was about to reveal was so important that it was marked in gold?
And what was with that padlock?
Did it mean that Jeremy had been on the verge of telling her the secret but then changed his mind?
The juicy gossip…
had slipped through her fingers…
and she’d have to wait until next week to find out what it was…
As Everly was mourning the loss of the juicy gossip, the door suddenly burst open with a bang.
Neither Everly nor Jeremy batted an eye.
After all, they’d already been interrupted about a million times in the past ten minutes.
Alan came charging in like a bull in a china shop.
Some security guards and what looked like a secretary were hot on his heels, but they stopped dead in their tracks at the doorway.
The head of security quickly started babbling an apology to Jeremy.
“Mr.
Shen, we did our best to stop Mr.
Tang, but he caught us off guard and managed to get past.
Please accept our apologies.”
Jeremy unhooked his pinky from Everly’s and waved his hand dismissively.
“No worries.
Just close the door and scram.”
As soon as the door closed, Alan was right in front of Everly.
His handsome face was as pale as a ghost, and he was sweating like a marathon runner.
He grabbed both of Everly’s shoulders.
“Everly, are you okay?
You have no idea how worried I was when Mom called and said she and Sylvia were on their way to the police station to give statements.
Even Sylas was supposed to go as a victim.
She said you caught the stalker who was following me and our brothers, and that this person was deliberately framing you?
But the craziest thing I heard was that you were kidnapped by Jeremy Shen!
That’s why Mom sent me here to rescue you from him.
Are you hurt?
Did he do anything to you?”
Alan’s torrent of words left Jeremy speechless.
He never would have guessed that Alan, who usually barely said two words to anyone, could rattle off such a long speech.
It was clear that he really cared about his new sister.
Jeremy didn’t give Everly a chance to respond to Alan.
He just flashed a big grin at him.
“Alan, take it easy.
I didn’t lay a finger on your sister.”
Alan’s eyes narrowed into slits as he stared at Jeremy.
“Really?
That’s a hard one to swallow, Jeremy.”
It seemed like there was…
something more…
between these two.
“Are you guys friends?”
“Just classmates from elementary all the way through college.
Nothing more.”
Alan shot back the answer so fast, clearly he was afraid of being labeled Jeremy’s friend.
Jeremy let out a snort, fully aware of what Alan was trying to imply with that answer.
He couldn’t resist the urge to mess with Alan a bit.
“Alan’s fibbing.
We’re as thick as thieves.
Just look at how we’ve managed to end up in the same school for over a dozen years.
That’s not just coincidence, is it?”
Alan shot Jeremy a withering glare, but then decided to ignore him and focus on Everly.
“He really didn’t do anything, did he?
I was so worried I’d be too late-”
Alan suddenly clammed up when he caught wind of Everly’s thoughts.
Alan…
he barged in way too soon…
We were right in the middle of discussing something super important that now has to be put on hold…
but I’m still glad he’s here..from the way Alan’s acting all protective, he seems like he’ll be an amazing uncle to our nonuplets…
I can already picture him as the overly indulgent uncle, just like in those novels, and he’ll probably keep asking me years later, ‘Are you really sure you don’t want to tell Jeremy about your nine kids?’ I can see him doing that while holding his niece who looks just like Jeremy.
“……?????”
Both men stood there, their brains seemingly short-circuiting for a split second before going into full meltdown mode.
No…
nonuplets???!!!
Alan looked like he was about to keel over, but his eyes were blazing with fury.
Meanwhile, Jeremy felt like his head was about to explode.
He had this overwhelming urge to shake Everly until her teeth rattled.
Could this girl just stop fantasizing about their hypothetical children like they’re real?!
And why on earth did she keep upping the number of their supposed children every single time?
Did Everly actually think he was that…
fertile…
or was she on some kind of mission to create a small town of their own?
After nonuplets, were they going to have even more babies next time, maybe a dozen or so?
Wait a minute, why was he even entertaining the idea that these kids were real?
Had he caught Everly’s crazy imagination bug?!!!
He desperately hoped that Alan couldn’t hear Everly’s thoughts, but one look at Alan, who had now let go of Everly’s shoulders and was gripping Jeremy’s collar like a vice, and he knew that Everly’s thoughts were somehow broadcasting to everyone within earshot.
Alan was practically spitting fire as he snarled at Jeremy.
“You…
are you out of your mind?!!!
Everly is still a kid herself, and you…
you…
you somehow managed to put…
these…
nine…
ba…
bies inside her?
How long have you been in contact with Everly?
Did you kidnap her because you were planning to secretly go to the hospital to check on your nonuplets, and I ruined your little plan?
But wait, she mentioned hiding the kids…
don’t tell me you wanted to abort them, and that’s why she’s trying to keep them a secret from you?”
Jeremy let out a long, exasperated sigh and tried to pry Alan’s fingers off his collar.
Everly was definitely Alan’s sister, all right.
They both had imaginations that were way too vivid for their own good!
“Of course not!
That sister of yours…
she’s got a mind of her own…”
Everly, who had been fully immersed in her dramatic fantasy of being the tragic female lead who runs away after getting pregnant with nonuplets but is supported by her kind brother, Alan, finally snapped out of her daydream.
She gaped in shock when she saw Alan suddenly lunging at Jeremy and grabbing his collar.
Unfortunately, her head had been so filled with her own made-up story that she’d completely missed their intense conversation.
Otherwise, she would have realized right away that everyone could now hear her every thought!
She wanted to forcefully separate the two of them, but knowing how strong she was, she was afraid of accidentally hurting them.
So instead, she wrapped her arms around Alan’s body from behind and started tugging him away from Jeremy.
Jeremy let out a huge sigh of relief when Everly managed to pull Alan back.
“Hey, what’s with the sudden brawl, you two?”
“Everly, did he seriously not do anything to you?”
Alan’s voice was practically cracking with desperation.
In his panic, he completely forgot his usual aversion to Everly’s touch and accidentally held onto the hands she had wrapped around his waist.
“Of course not.
He’s a perfect gentleman-”
And then, just like it had done twice already that afternoon, the screen popped up again.
Since this was yet another unexpected event, Everly certainly didn’t anticipate her gossip system to spring back to life.
Once more, her eyes went wide as saucers as she read the text floating above Alan’s head.