Chapter 313: Congratulations, You’re Perfectly Normal
The two of them were being all lovey-dovey for a little while longer. After a satisfying meal, Damien Vaughn had his arm around Cecelia Archer, and they were watching TV on the living room sofa when Cecelia’s phone rang.
It was a rare call from Zeke Walton.
It had been a while since she’d seen Zeke, so Cecelia quickly answered.
"Zeke, what’s wrong?"
"What are you up to? I’m really frustrated about something and wanted to talk. You got a minute?"
Cecelia had no idea why he was frustrated.
The rollout of his site, "Just For You," had been going exceptionally well ever since it launched. She’d heard he had even teamed up with various other brands and was in talks to get them on his platform.
It seemed he was turning a website that once only sold fruit into a comprehensive e-commerce platform.
’His business is getting bigger and bigger, so what could he possibly be frustrated about?’
"I have time. Go on, what’s wrong?"
Zeke sighed. "It’s about Amina. I don’t know what’s gotten into me lately. If I don’t see her for even a little while, I feel miserable and anxious. I had a family thing last night and had to sleep at home, and I was so on edge I couldn’t sleep a wink. Cecelia, what do you think is wrong with me? I haven’t fallen for her, have I?"
’For a grown man who was always claiming to have a crush on this person or that person to ask such a childish question... Cecelia was left speechless.’
"Well, from the way you describe it, it sounds like a possibility."
"You’re perfectly normal, Zeke. You’ve never even given it a shot with a girl, so why would you label yourself like that? You and Amina are around the same age, and you’re both single. If you like her, you should go for it."
"But I’m not sure if this is actually love. If I said I didn’t like her, that wouldn’t be true—I worry about her, I miss her. But if I said I do like her... we sleep in the same bed every night, and I don’t have any of *those* kinds of thoughts about her. I’m just so confused right now."
When it came to that, Cecelia really didn’t understand men, so she handed the phone to Damien Vaughn.
"You’re the expert on this. You explain it to him."
Damien had heard every word of their conversation.
’So, I’m not Zeke’s number one best friend anymore, huh? Cecelia is. He’s even talking to her about something this private...’
"In my experience, you’ve 100% fallen for her."
Damien’s voice suddenly cut in, startling Zeke.
"How are you with her? At this hour, what are you two..."
"We registered our marriage. From now on, I’ll be by her side every day."
"What? When did that happen? Holy crap..."
"Never mind us, let’s talk about you. I don’t think liking someone means you have to have a sexual urge for them. The deepest kind of affection is careful and restrained. All you want is for her to be happy, and you don’t think about anything else."
Cecelia: "..."
But on the other end of the line, Zeke was nodding along enthusiastically. "Yes, yes, that’s exactly how I feel! I guess I really have fallen for her. How is that possible? I used to think I had zero interest in women. Not a single one!"
Damien said, "You hang out with a bunch of guys all day and were constantly harassed by Simone Vaughn. It’s a miracle you could get interested in anyone at all. So, I guess I should congratulate your parents. They don’t have to worry about you continuing the family line anymore."
Zeke himself was thrilled for a moment.
But soon after, he sighed wistfully.
"But what good does that do? She’s so hard to win over. I doubt I even have a chance. She’s dense as a rock when it comes to romance, completely clueless. And I don’t think she likes me at all."
Damien didn’t know how to respond to that, so he handed the phone back to Cecelia.
Cecelia said, "She’s still young and has never been in a relationship, so it’s normal for her to be clueless. You just have to keep being good to her. Over time, she’ll naturally start to notice."
"But how else can I be good to her? We deliver food, chat, sleep, and eat together every single day. Other than that, any gift I buy for her, she says is a waste of money and makes me return it. You have no idea. The other day, she saw someone holding a bouquet of red roses and said they were beautiful. So I went and bought a bouquet for her, and it made her so upset she started crying."
"She said that over four hundred was enough for her family to live on for a month. Now I have no idea how to treat her right."
Cecelia completely understood Amina’s perspective.
When you’re used to being poor, you have no desires beyond basic survival. Even if you get money, you don’t know how to spend it. Your only hobby is watching the numbers in your bank account slowly go up.
And that was especially true for Amina, who was still living in poverty.
But that was a good thing, in a way. At least it showed she wasn’t materialistic.
"Zeke, do you know what the point of giving a gift is?"
Zeke thought for a moment. "To make her happy?"
"And what’s the key to making her happy?"
"Giving her something she likes?"
"Exactly. Since she doesn’t like luxury goods or expensive things, you should cater to her tastes and please her in ways she actually appreciates. Don’t you know what she wants?"
Zeke said, "Oh, I know that. She wants a house, she wants to earn more money, and she wants to bring her grandmother here to live with her. It’s not that I’m unwilling to just give her a house, but knowing her, she’d never accept it."
"Then help her earn more money every day. I agree, you shouldn’t just give her a house. The process of slowly getting what you want through your own hard work is what’s most satisfying and gives you a sense of accomplishment."
Zeke got it.
’Still, it would be so much easier to just give her the money, rather than letting a middleman take a cut,’ he thought. ’But I guess this is the only way.’
"Alright then, Cecelia. Starting tomorrow, I’ll cover all the milk tea and coffee for your department. I’ll have Amina deliver it to you every day."
"Nope. I’d gain a ton of weight. Besides, it could start rumors. People might think you’re trying to woo me. How about this: let’s all have dinner tonight, and I’ll help you sort this out with her."
Cecelia was just that resourceful; she’d come up with a great idea right on the spot.
To make the dinner happen, Zeke had to practically force Amina to clock out at seven. The two of them ordered hot pot at an open-air eatery.
When Cecelia and Damien Vaughn arrived, Amina, still in her delivery uniform, was hunched over the table practicing her English vocabulary.
This was Damien’s first time seeing Amina. ’She’s so young, earnest, and full of life,’ he thought. ’No wonder Zeke likes her.’
’She reminds me of my Cecelia.’
After a round of pleasantries, Cecelia and Damien sat down across from them.
Cecelia got straight to the point.
"I asked you to dinner tonight because there’s something I need your help with. Zeke, Vaughn and I have been looking into a new project for the past couple of days. The market prospects look great and we want to invest, but our cash is all tied up. Could you lend me some?"
Cecelia had given him the gist of her plan on WeChat before they arrived, so Zeke played along.
"You should have told me sooner! I just made an investment a couple of days ago and spent all my cash. How much do you need?"
"Whatever you can spare. A million or two if you have it, but even ten or twenty thousand would be fine. Every little bit helps. I’m not picky, I’m just in a real bind."
Zeke put on an apologetic act.
"We’ve been such good friends for so many years, it feels terrible not to lend you any... but I really don’t have it. If you don’t believe me, look at my phone. I’ve only got a little over a hundred on me right now."