Mason Lawson slowly walked over and stood before the young woman, a hint of reproach in his tone. "It’s so late. You’re not home, and you didn’t think to tell an adult?"

When he said the word "home," Eve Vaughn felt a sudden rush of grievance and heartache.

Her eyes, rimmed with red, made her look like a wounded fawn. She whispered, "I was afraid you were still angry, so... so I didn’t dare go back."

After she spoke, tears streamed down her face like pearls from a broken string.

Mason Lawson’s expression softened a little. He turned and walked toward his car, and Eve Vaughn trailed slowly behind him.

Once in the car, the young woman was still crying. She sat silently in the passenger seat, looking like a pitiful little thing.

Ever since Joanna Sullivan had left, Mason Lawson hadn’t had any intimate female companions. He was three years out of practice when it came to comforting a crying girl.

Especially now. With the young woman’s eyes red as she silently shed tears, Mason Lawson wanted to comfort her but couldn’t find the words.

In the end, the words that came out were, "What are you crying for? I came all the way out here to get you this late. Are you saying I’m the one who’s wronged you?"

Eve Vaughn finally spoke. "Of course I feel wronged! To celebrate Uncle Mason’s birthday, I practiced the piano every day. My teacher said I wasn’t good enough, so I just kept practicing and practicing! Look, I’ve even got calluses on my fingers!"

She held out her hands for him to see, accusing him indignantly. "It’s not like I tried to make you angry on purpose, so why did you have to treat me like that? Do you really think I want to be someone else’s shadow?!"

The young woman cried so hard she could barely breathe, letting out all her pent-up frustration.

’After all, she was innocent in all this!’

It had been Eric Kendall’s idea. She had only wanted to do something nice to repay Mason Lawson. Who knew she would step on such a landmine?

Mason Lawson watched her with his dark, deep eyes and said, "If you didn’t want to, why did you do it? Did Eric Kendall hold a knife to your throat?"

Eve Vaughn was rendered speechless. She sobbed, "He didn’t force me, but how was I supposed to know it would make you angry, Uncle Mason? Men are impossible to figure out! I’m never celebrating your birthday again!"

Mason Lawson finally let out a helpless but fond chuckle, as if he were completely powerless against the young woman before him.

He reached out to wipe away her tears, his rough thumb brushing against her smooth, fair cheek.

Eve Vaughn’s face grew inexplicably hot. Remembering his fury from the night before, she couldn’t help but flinch.

Mason Lawson paused. He withdrew his hand, leaned back against the seat, and didn’t start the car for a long time.

After a moment, his gaze grew distant, lost in some memory.

"Three years ago, Joanna Sullivan and I had a great relationship; we were at the point of getting married. She was the one who first brought up marriage, and I agreed. Our parents set a date, and we’d even sent out the wedding invitations. But at that time, a world-class dance troupe was recruiting, and there was only one spot available for all of China. She beat out countless competitors and finally earned her place in that troupe, just as she’d always dreamed.

"But that troupe had an unwritten rule: once a member got married, they had to leave. She never told me about this. Instead, she just suddenly left the day before our wedding. She wouldn’t answer her phone or reply to my messages, leaving me all alone to clean up the mess here. I have never been so humiliated in my entire life!"

Eve Vaughn listened quietly. She could only imagine the anger and humiliation a man as proud and aloof as Mason Lawson must have felt after being stood up at the altar.

Mason Lawson gave a self-deprecating laugh. "She’s just that kind of person—always does whatever she wants, very self-centered, never thinking about the consequences. I never imagined that my woman—Mason Lawson’s woman—would actually run away from our wedding. It took me three whole years to slowly begin to let it go. Do you really think dressing up to look like her would be a pleasant surprise for me?"

Eve Vaughn said guiltily, "Uncle Mason, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know about all that. We just thought... we thought you still missed her a lot, and that’s why..."

’Even so,’ Eve Vaughn thought, ’the deeper the hate, the deeper the love must have been. Subconsciously, Mason Lawson still saw Joanna Sullivan as ’his woman.’ The way he’d said it just now had sounded so natural, so matter-of-fact.’

That realization sent an inexplicable, bitter pang through Eve Vaughn’s heart.

Seeing the young woman beside him still moping with her head down, Mason Lawson assumed she still didn’t understand why he had been so angry the day before.

So, he said lightly, "What if, for your next birthday, I showed up to celebrate dressed as Julian Lawson? How would you feel?"

The moment she heard that, Eve Vaughn’s head snapped up, her lovely face flushed with anger. She said through gritted teeth, "I’d kick you all the way to outer space! What a cursed thought!"

After she said it, she broke into a laugh.

’Because she was imagining Mason Lawson dressed up as Julian Lawson, and how ridiculous that would look!’

At the thought, her laughter grew even more unrestrained.

After a long moment, she realized the man’s deep, ambiguous gaze was fixed on her face.

She had no idea how infectious her pure, clear laughter had been just now.

’For the first time, Mason Lawson thought that youth wasn’t so bad. Naive and childish, perhaps, but pure.’

Under his gaze, Eve Vaughn’s smile froze, and she stared blankly at Mason Lawson.

Their eyes met, and a quiet, intimate tension began to build steadily inside the car.

Mason Lawson’s well-defined fingers landed on her cheek as he gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He slowly leaned toward her, his warm breath drawing ever closer.

Eve Vaughn involuntarily held her breath, her fingertips curling slightly.

Until his lips met hers, exploring them gently.

In that instant, Eve Vaughn felt a firework suddenly explode in her head—overwhelming, but brilliant.

She even forgot to resist, allowing his long fingers to caress her cheek with a soft, delicate touch.

The girl’s inexperience made the man begin to lose control, yet as if afraid of scaring her, he deepened the kiss with restraint.

Not until the young woman in his arms let out a soft murmur did he slowly pull away.

By now, Eve Vaughn’s face was beet red.

She could even see her own flustered, helpless reflection in the man’s dark pupils.

Mason Lawson looked at her and said, word by word, "Eve Vaughn, you are you. You don’t need to imitate anyone to please me."

Under the young woman’s dazed gaze, the passion in his expression slowly receded, replaced by his usual calm composure.

Then, as he started the car, he added, "From now on, don’t listen to any of Eric Kendall’s nonsense, understand?"

"Oh."

Eve Vaughn nodded obediently.

The car had already driven some distance, but Eve Vaughn still hadn’t recovered from the kiss.

’It wasn’t the first time Mason Lawson had kissed her, but all the other times had felt tinged with humiliation, like he was bullying her.’

’But this time... this time was different.’

’From this moment on, Eve Vaughn realized she could no longer think of Mason Lawson as just an elder, as just her ’Uncle Mason.’’