Chapter 50: Amy's Intention
With shrewdness and fearlessness in his eyes, Vincent asked the question everyone was curious about, "What's wrong? You don't allow anyone to shake hands with her or drink with her. There's nothing wrong with the wine."
Edward said, "There's something wrong with you."
Vincent was helpless. At this moment, Amy had stood behind Jane and asked, "Miss Cooper, what would you like to drink?"
Jane stood up and politely replied, "Thank you. Where is the water? I can take it myself."
Amy smiled and said, "It's okay. Sit down and I'll get it for you."
Vincent said, "Jane is Henry's private teacher, so we're friends now. Today is my birthday. No matter what, we should have a drink. Jane, am I right?"
Jane sat beside Edward and said with a faint smile, "Yes, I'll toast with water. Happy birthday."
Vincent replied, "You can drink water. Let Edward drink the wine for you."
Jane glanced at Edward and thought he would retort. To her surprise, he raised his glass generously, clinked his glass with Vincent's, and said, "Many happy returns of the day."
Vincent said with a smile, "Thank you."
They both gulped down the wine. The wine in Edward's glass was twice that of others.
Someone joked, "Will Edward drink all the wine for Miss Cooper?"
"Hey, don't say that. He never cares about women."
Vincent said, "You don't know about Edward. Don't you know he's the most eligible bachelor?"
Jane knew what he meant, but most people didn't understand why Vincent mentioned this. They kept asking, and a woman took the initiative to mention Jane, "Miss Cooper, you're a teacher, aren't you? You must know what he means. Explain to us."
Jane smiled but did not speak. Edward looked slightly down, and he was as expressionless as ever. Amy happened to come over. She patted the woman on the shoulder and said, "Since you don't understand, go back and read more books."
People in this circle were good at observing others' speech and behavior. The woman noticed that Amy was giving her a way out and realized that she had talked too much, so she immediately stopped talking and kept a low profile.
Amy handed the water to Jane. Jane thanked her.
They would say some dirty jokes from time to time. Seeing that Henry had finished eating, Vincent said, "Let the driver take you back."
Henry was bored, so he got up and left.
Jane looked at him with envy. It was more than ten o'clock at night. She wanted to go back.
Vincent could tell she wanted to leave and said, "It's still early. Stay here and play for a while."
Jane smiled and nodded. Edward hadn't said anything, so she couldn't say recklessly that she wanted to leave. Edward didn't let her drink and took care of her, which made her feel secure, and she wasn't uneasy.
After Henry left, these people no longer restrained themselves. They laughed and made noises. Jane didn't remember who started it, but everyone took turns to toast her. She could only toast with water, but drinking too much water made her uncomfortable, too. Several minutes later, Edward couldn't bear to see her like this and said, "Come on. Drink with me."
Vincent didn't hesitate and raised his glass first, "Bravo!"
Edward was generous, and he never turned against his friends. Since Jane sat at this table, she should be sociable. He could stop her from drinking, but he had to drink for her, or they would complain about him.
It was rare to catch an opportunity to ply Edward with a drink all year round. They toasted to him in turn. Jane couldn't bear it and whispered to Edward, "Why don't I toast to them?"
She wanted to stop these people from doing this. Edward leaned toward her and said in a low voice, "Don't try to change them with kindness. They are all heartless. Once you start to drink, they'll make you be dead drunk."
They were neither far nor close to each other, but the atmosphere was ambiguous. She could smell mellow alcohol in his warm breath, and she immediately became vigilant. Yes, everyone in the room was not easy to deal with. What was she thinking about?
Edward was not easy to deal with, either. Although he took good care of her all night, he was Edward, one of the evilest people in S City.
Jane calmed down. Edward drank nearly two bottles of red wine in a short time. The more he drank, the calmer he became. He leaned against the back of his chair, mocking that they were no match for him.
Perhaps it was because he was too composed. Someone waved his hand and said, "Oh, no, I need to rest."
Then he put his arm on the shoulder of the woman beside him and said with a smile, "Today is Vincent's birthday. Aren't you going to perform to liven things up?"
The woman smiled and said, "Of course. For today, I've prepared for six months."
Someone exposed her, "Come on. You didn't even know Vincent six months ago."
Vincent rested his chin on his hand and said with smiles in his eyes, "We're fated to know each other. Don't care about when we met."
The woman said, "I'm so touched. To make Vincent happy, we have to bring all our energies to perform."
While talking, all the women stood up except Jane.
They walked forward, and someone said, "Where are you going? Aren't you going to do a striptease?"
Amy looked back and smiled, "Stop kidding. Miss Cooper is still here."
The man immediately looked at Jane and apologized with a smile, "I'm sorry, Miss Cooper..."
Jane smiled and replied, "It's all right. I can take a joke."
Edward suddenly said aside, "But you're easily amused."
Vincent grinned, "Jane, tell me the truth. Do you have an unpleasant time in the Smith family?"
Jane shook her head, "No, I enjoy my work there."
Vincent said, "You meet Edward every day. Could this make you happy?"
Jane did not answer the question, "Do you feel unhappy when you're with Mr. Smith?"
Vincent said without thinking, "of course I'm unhappy. Can't you see that we're all forcing a smile?"
Jane shook her head solemnly, "No."
Vincent said more seriously than her, "Because you sit far away from me. Come closer and look at me more carefully."
Edward glanced at him and said, "If you don't want to celebrate your birthday the next year, just say it."
Vincent said, "What's wrong? Do you want to hold me a funeral the same day next year?"
While they were talking glibly, those women had come back in formal dresses. They were all sexy and graceful, and they walked elegantly. Most importantly, they were holding musical instruments in their hands.
There were stringed instruments, wind instruments, percussion instruments, and some musical instruments Jane didn't know.
They took chairs and put them in the living room. Amy was in the lead position. She wore a dark green dress and held a stringed instrument in her hand. Her long curly hair had been twisted into a bun, and the hair hanging at random in her ears made her beautiful face look more charming.
Jane didn't expect these entertainment women to be versatile. They were gifted in many ways.
Amy sang while playing the instrument. Even Jane's heart was melted, not to mention these men. It was Vincent's birthday, but Jane found that Amy had been staring at Edward who was smoking beside her.