Arthur Evans's Calculations
Helen Parker stared at Arthur Evans's face, and the more she looked, the more she thought her son was truly handsome.
The Evans family, in fact, was blessed with good looks. The best-looking was, of course, Lily Evans, followed by May Parker. Arthur Evans, being a man who rarely did farm work and spent his days studying, was different from the other Evans men whose rough hands and sunburnt faces came from working the fields.
Arthur Evans had the classic look of a scholarly pretty boy—just the type to fool young girls.
Helen Parker gazed at her son, instantly forgetting how she had just scolded Lily Evans for shamelessly letting Egghead seduce Leonard Li. Now, her mind began to scheme: What if her own son got close to Leonard Li...
Wouldn't his future be limitless?
Arthur Evans saw Helen Parker not rushing to light the fire and cook, but instead staring at him like a fool. He snapped, "Mom, why are you slacking off? The whole family is waiting for you to make dinner!"
Helen Parker snapped back to reality, exclaiming, and looked at Arthur Evans with some hesitation. "Arthur, I just discovered a huge secret about Lily Evans's family..."
As soon as he heard it was about Lily Evans, Arthur Evans perked up. "What secret?" he asked.
Helen Parker rubbed her hands, then told Arthur Evans about what she'd seen between Lucky's cousin Egghead and Leonard Li. She spoke vaguely, hinting that if another man could get close to Leonard Li, then so could Arthur Evans.
After hearing this, Arthur Evans's eyes flickered with all sorts of complicated emotions. He said to Helen Parker, "Mom, I get it. Go make dinner now."
Helen Parker answered and went off to light the fire and make dinner.
Arthur Evans returned to his room, sat at his desk with a gloomy face, and gritted his teeth. He thought, after all these years of hard study, aiming to become a top scholar, was he now supposed to trade his looks for a future?
Arthur Evans was steeped in the classics, and his old-fashioned thinking was even more rigid than the most pedantic scholars. He had always looked down on those who used their looks to gain favor, especially men serving other men with their charms—it disgusted him.
But Arthur Evans still coveted Leonard Li's power.
Leonard Li, heir of Huainan, would one day be Lord Huainan—a true royal prince, cousin to the emperor, living a life of luxury. If Arthur Evans could get close to Leonard Li, he'd save himself thirty years of struggle!
Arthur Evans squinted, already daydreaming about moving into the Huainan Prince’s mansion, commanding a swarm of servants, feasting on delicacies, and wearing fine silks.
That taste... Arthur Evans looked around at his bare room and thought about the coarse rice and turnip dinner soon to come. Taking a deep breath, he made up his mind: he would swallow his pride and cozy up to Leonard Li, the heir of Huainan!
Meanwhile, Leonard Li had been dragged all over by Sean Hayes outside, frozen like a dog, never expecting a scheming, penniless man would set his sights on him.
"Egghead, are you trying to freeze me to death?" Leonard Li’s feet were numb with cold, while Sean Hayes seemed bursting with energy, unfazed by the chill. Leonard Li frowned, "Why aren’t you cold? Are you some kind of monster?!"
Sean Hayes chuckled, "I’ve trained in martial arts since I was young, inside and out. My internal strength isn’t as good as General Alexander Hayes’s, but I can handle the cold and heat. Your Highness, if you’re cold, why not... slip your hands into my coat? I’ll warm you up!"
"Pah!" Leonard Li spat on the ground. "Let’s go, hurry home! I’m freezing to death!"
Sean Hayes checked the time—he’d kept Leonard Li out for ages. It was time to head back.
Something was off with General Alexander Hayes these past few days—Sean Hayes just hoped he wouldn’t run into any bad luck.