Chapter 51: Why Is She Here?
’Julian Faulkner?’
Vivian Lowell frowned when she saw the incoming call.
A few hours ago, after Vivian told Julian not to worry about her tonight, he had replied half an hour later with a single word: "Okay."
She had just arrived at the bar back then.
She had thought he was still busy and truly didn’t have time for her.
’Why is he calling again?’
Listening to the noise all around her, Vivian answered the phone anyway.
"Hello?"
She spoke into the phone, and Julian’s voice quickly came from the other end. His tone was level and concise as he asked, "Where are you?"
"..."
The question made Vivian feel a little guilty.
’Why does Julian always have to "catch" me!’
"At a bar."
Vivian closed her eyes. For some reason, she didn’t want to lie to Julian. Besides, it wasn’t like she was doing anything wrong.
On the other end of the line, Julian didn’t answer after hearing her.
Vivian thought maybe it was too noisy on her end, or the call had dropped due to bad reception. She lifted her phone to check, but she still had a signal and the call was connected.
"Julian?"
Vivian called his name again.
This time, Julian finally replied. He asked, "What are you doing at a bar? Did something happen?"
Thinking about what happened today, Vivian felt a sense of helplessness.
She glanced at Eleanor Rhodes, who was in a bit of a daze from the alcohol, her head swaying along to the underclassman singing on stage. "Julian," she said.
"Something came up today, so I’m here with Tanya. Don’t worry, I won’t drink too much. I’ll remember to come home tonight, and I’ll tell you about it then, okay?"
"Okay."
Julian answered quickly.
’Did he... did his tone just sound a little obedient?’
Vivian was so shaken by this thought that she nearly froze.
Then, Julian said, "I’m hanging up now."
"Okay."
Vivian agreed softly and lowered her phone.
However, she realized that although Julian said he was hanging up, he hadn’t.
She raised it and said "hello" twice more, but there was no response from Julian. Vivian had no choice but to hang up first and stop thinking about him.
「In the private room of the restaurant across from the bar.」
Julian Faulkner glanced at the Maotai liquor, of which he’d only had a few sips. He then heard two "hellos" from the phone on the table, followed by a busy signal.
"Come pack this up."
He said to Vance Wyatt, then packed up his laptop, ready to go home.
"Yes, President Faulkner."
Vance Wyatt put down the last piece of Peking duck he had just finished and followed Julian downstairs. He got the car ready to head back to the Faulkner estate.
「Before they left.」
Vance Wyatt glanced in the direction of the bar and asked, "President Faulkner, aren’t we waiting for the missus? She and her friend took a taxi here today."
"What if—"
He didn’t even get to finish his sentence.
Vance Wyatt realized Julian was giving him a hostile look.
Vance Wyatt instantly fell silent.
’Right, I can’t question a decision President Faulkner has made.’
But still, ’President Faulkner is acting so strange tonight.’
’He followed the missus to the bar, obviously a little angry, but instead of going in to find her, he found a restaurant across the street to have dinner.’
’And you couldn’t even call it dinner. President Faulkner ordered a bottle of Maotai and just drank, barely touching the Peking duck.’
’That Peking duck was so delicious!’
Vance Wyatt felt quite satisfied. Even though he found his boss very strange, he didn’t really mind.
’Heh.’
’I can tell President Faulkner cares a lot about the missus. Knowing that is enough. If I can get on her good side in the future, my career is set!’
「Back in the bar.」
Not long after Vivian hung up, the underclassman finished his song.
He came down from the stage and walked over to Vivian and Eleanor. He had clearly noticed how much Eleanor had been drinking and asked, "Senior, how could you—"
"Is your injury any better? You should drink less when you’re hurt. If you want to hear me sing next time, the school is having a singing competition next month. You can come listen to me then!"
"You won’t even have to pay. That tip you gave just now could have requested a lot of songs."
Eleanor found the underclassman’s words quite amusing. She smiled and asked, "Are you worried about my money?"
The underclassman’s face flushed, and he looked a little embarrassed. He nodded, then added, "Well... not entirely. Maybe it’s because I don’t have much money myself, so it just seems like a waste."
"I didn’t mean to interfere or anything, Senior. Please don’t mind me."
Fearing he had made Eleanor uncomfortable, the underclassman quickly tried to explain himself.
The smile on Eleanor’s lips only deepened, tinged with self-mockery. "Look at you," she said. "I haven’t even said anything, and you’re already rushing to explain."
"So silly, aren’t you?"
The underclassman didn’t speak, his eyes exceptionally clear.
Watching from the side, Vivian felt a prick in her heart.
She could tell.
Eleanor was actually talking about herself.
When she used to be with Henry Sterling, she had been just like that—always so careful with her words, afraid she might say the wrong thing and make him unhappy.
Although, Henry had a good temper, so Eleanor usually didn’t have to worry so much.
Seeing the underclassman stay and talk with Eleanor, who was even willing to tease him a little, made Vivian feel slightly more at ease.
She called a waiter over to take away the rest of Eleanor’s unfinished drink.
She didn’t look like she wanted to drink anymore.
It was perfect. They could chat a little more and then leave. Eleanor needed to go home and get a good night’s sleep; she still had things waiting for her at the hospital.
Vivian believed that Eleanor wasn’t the type to stay demoralized for long.
As Vivian watched the waiter clear the table and leave, her gaze swept across the bar, and she suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
’Is that... Rachel Faulkner?’
Vivian was a little surprised to see Rachel.
If she remembered correctly, she’d heard from Ms. Shaw that Rachel had been busy socializing lately, going out with the young masters and ladies of Aethelburg’s elite circle.
She was hitting it off with them and was close to fitting right in.
’But now...’
Rachel came into the bar accompanied by an ordinarily dressed man who looked to be in his thirties.
The man had an average appearance, and Vivian didn’t recognize him. He couldn’t be one of the rich young men from their circle.
’Who is he?’
Watching him interact with Rachel, Vivian got the feeling they had more of a business relationship.
The man was very polite to Rachel, almost to the point of being obsequious.
’Strange.’
Vivian couldn’t quite figure it out. Just then, she saw Rachel and the man enter one of the bar’s private rooms, disappearing from her sight.
"Senior."
Just as Vivian was watching them disappear, the underclassman called out to her.
He was now supporting Eleanor, who had become quite groggy.
Eleanor was mumbling that she was sleepy and wanted to go home. Some guys nearby were looking to hit on her, and the underclassman, afraid someone might bother her, said to Vivian, "Let’s take Eleanor home!"
"Okay."
Vivian agreed, and together with the underclassman, they supported Eleanor on both sides and left the bar.
The air outside seemed much fresher.
Vivian took a deep breath. Seeing the underclassman earnestly hailing a taxi, she suddenly found him quite charming. "You know," she said, "I don’t think I ever got your name."
"You’re a student at Aethelburg University, so you should be able to find plenty of part-time jobs. A bar like this can have a pretty shady crowd, so why do you work here?"
Hearing this, the underclassman gave a helpless smile and explained, "My name is Evan Lowell. I used to be a tutor, but then... something happened."
"So I found this part-time job at the bar. Don’t worry, Senior. I’ve almost earned enough for this semester’s tuition. With my scholarship, I’ll have no problem covering my meals, either."
"I won’t be working part-time anymore after that. I’ll go back to focusing on my studies."
Vivian nodded. "Aethelburg University is a great school. Study hard, and you’ll have a bright future ahead of you."
Evan Lowell nodded earnestly as well.
Just then, a taxi pulled up. After Evan and Vivian helped Eleanor into the car, he left.
Vivian took Eleanor back to the Rhodes Family home.
Mrs. Rhodes was frantic. Eleanor was out so late and wasn’t answering her phone; she had been on the verge of calling the police.
Vivian’s nose tingled with emotion seeing her so worried. "Ma’am, I’m so sorry," she said. "We were out singing with a few classmates, and Tanya fell asleep after just a couple of drinks. I’m really sorry!"
When Mrs. Rhodes heard they were out with classmates, she couldn’t bring herself to scold them. "Alright, alright. Vivian, thank you so much for taking care of Tanya."
"It’s very late. Do you still have to go home? I can have our driver take you."
Vivian shook her head and pointed to the taxi that was still waiting. "No need, Ma’am. I took a taxi here, so I can just take it back."
"Alright then!"
Mrs. Rhodes still wanted to see Vivian off properly, but she couldn’t while supporting Eleanor. She had to ask the housekeeper to come and get some fruit from the fridge for Vivian to take home.
"You’re a good child, eat lots of fruit! Take care on your way! It’s dark out, so let us know you got home safely!"
"I will, Ma’am."
Vivian waved, a smile playing on her lips, and then she left.
’It must be so nice to have a mother who cares so much.’
’Tanya... she’ll get better soon, right?’