Chapter 4: Evelyn Johnson

The sudden call made Ethan Jones's eyes light up as he remembered his plans.

He promptly descended the stairs and, upon reaching the living room, saw a girl with a handbag entering the house.

The girl wore a bell-shaped hat, and her thick, orange-red hair cascaded over her shoulders.

She was dressed in a white sweatshirt with "ERA" printed on the left sleeve and "PEACE" on the right, paired with snug, deep blue jeans and brown and white saddle shoes.

At first glance, she radiated a vibrant energy.

Seeing Thomas and Linda approaching, the girl immediately opened her arms and gave them a warm hug.

"Dad! Linda! I've missed you so much!"

"We've missed you too, Evelyn."

Thomas and Linda kissed the girl's cheeks, openly displaying their affection.

Linda added, "Oh, Evelyn, you're just in time. I've prepared dinner—crab with treasures and clam chowder. Oh, and remember how you said that the California rolls from that Japanese restaurant in San Francisco were great? I specially asked someone to find out that their rolls use processed avocado instead of sashimi, which makes them incredibly crispy. I tried making some myself, so go wash your hands."

"Really?" The girl's eyes brightened. "I absolutely love you, Linda!"

"I love you too, dear."

As the girl bounced towards the dining room, Ethan, who had been standing behind Thomas and Linda, came into her view.

When Evelyn finally turned her gaze towards Ethan, he responded with a cheerful smile and greeted her, "Hi, Evelyn, good evening."

"I'm not good, Ethan."

However, the girl immediately lost her smile and adopted a stern expression.

Her demeanor was as if Ethan had wronged her grievously.

"How can you speak to Ethan like that?" Thomas asked, visibly displeased.

"He is your brother," he emphasized.

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"

Thomas's words made Evelyn raise her voice and roll her eyes, "I know! Ethan is my brother! But I don't want to be the sister of such an idiot! Okay?"

With that, she turned and went upstairs.

Her abrupt departure left Thomas's face frozen in anger, and Linda tried to ease the tension. "Evelyn, dinner's ready."

"I'm not eating! Just seeing him is enough to make me furious!" Evelyn shouted.

She stomped her foot in frustration.

The "thump-thump-thump" of the wooden stairs groaning under the strain was almost a lament.

This display of temper infuriated Thomas, who shouted, "If you won't eat, so be it! Missing one meal won't kill you!"

He then turned to Ethan and Linda. "Let's go eat."

Ethan lifted his head and glanced upstairs.

The momentary disappearance of Evelyn's figure made him raise an eyebrow.

As Thomas had mentioned, Evelyn was indeed his sister, or rather, the sister of the original owner of this body, but their relationship...

Well, according to the original owner's memories, their relationship wasn't always so strained.

Evelyn Johnson, born in 1954, was the daughter of Thomas Johnson and his late wife. Evelyn's mother died of a mucormycosis infection in the same year Evelyn was born.

Thomas, heartbroken by the loss of his beloved wife and lacking parenting experience, entrusted the care of the child to Linda, who worked on their orchard. Through this, Linda and Thomas developed feelings for each other, and Linda naturally became Evelyn's stepmother.

Since Evelyn was raised by Linda from a young age, their bond was very strong. Furthermore, Linda, who couldn't have children of her own, and Thomas, who had no biological children, treated Evelyn as their own, eliminating any worries typical in wealthy families.

Thus, when Ethan Jones was brought in by Linda after his parents' death, Evelyn took great care of her little brother, going to and from school with him, doing homework together, and having their father, Thomas, enroll them in the same extracurricular activities. Evelyn even accompanied Ethan to karate and horseback riding classes, and they attended SAT prep classes together.

To Evelyn, if all went well, Ethan Jones would attend a good university with her help since she had applied a year earlier and entered Stanford.

However, to her dismay, Ethan abandoned his studies after high school, heeding some anti-intellectual rhetoric and plunging into society.

This behavior infuriated Evelyn, and for the next three years, she gave Ethan the cold shoulder.

Ethan, having crossed over into this body, actually agreed with Evelyn's actions.

After all, he knew that Evelyn and Aunt Linda were right.

Education might not be the only opportunity to change one's fate, but it is certainly the simplest choice for altering one's life. While a degree might not represent a person's abilities, it shows that the individual has passed numerous assessments.

Thus, after crossing over, Ethan attempted to mend his relationship with his unblinded sister, but the progress seemed unsatisfactory.

With a sigh, he followed his aunt and uncle into the dining room.

Due to the tension, Thomas was unusually stern at dinner, his face long and sour.

As the head of the family, he remained silent, and neither Linda nor Ethan could find the right moment to speak. When the atmosphere became unbearable, Linda finally stood up.

She placed the warm, approximately two-pound treasure crab into a serving dish, then ladled a bowl of clam chowder and took a California roll, saying, "I'll take this to her."

"Let me do it," Ethan suggested.

"You?" Linda asked, surprised.

Even Thomas cast a questioning look at him.

"Yes, I'll go."

Ethan smiled and candidly said, "Actually, we all know why Evelyn has been angry with me all these years. She thinks my decision to abandon college was childish and immature. Although I still believe that school may not be right for me, I must admit that I was rather headstrong in handling the situation back then. I owe her an apology, so I'll go…"

"Oh, Ethan…"

Linda bit her lip, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Heh heh…"

Thomas smiled, giving Ethan a gentle pat on the back.

"Go on, young man. You're like a Texas cowboy now! Though I detest those fools!"

Their support encouraged Ethan to carry the food upstairs. Facing the closed door, he held the tray with one hand and knocked.

After a few knocks, a brief inquiry came from inside.

"Who?"

"It's me."

"…"

After a two-second pause, a voice replied.

"Get lost, I don't want to see you."

Evelyn's calm tone and irritated words were a perfect blend.

Hearing the phrase "get lost," Ethan couldn't help but laugh, leaning against the door and saying, "Evelyn, I know you've been angry with me all these years, but I'm here today to celebrate with you."

"I'm free. I was expelled from Miroha."

"Because of Nolan Bushnell."

Ethan's words received no response.

Yet, he remained undeterred and continued, "You know, they initially didn't want to offer me compensation. They tried to intimidate me into leaving the company on the pretext that I caused great losses."

"But I held my ground and turned the intimidation back on them, scaring them into giving me 2N+1 in compensation."

Ethan paused briefly.

Seeing there was still no reaction, he added with a smile, "Do you know what I used to scare them? It was what you said to Thomas a month ago."

"Remember how Thomas complained about the Japanese Business Association trying to lower our navel orange purchase prices at the dinner table? You said it was a test by Liben to gain autonomy. I used that argument to accuse them of foreign capital attempting to erode our industry, forcing them to compensate me."

"Honestly, education really broadens one's perspective and opens one's mind."

"You were right."

With that, Ethan paused.

After a couple of seconds, a voice from inside said, "The door isn't locked."

Ethan grinned widely.

When he opened the door, the room's interior was revealed.

It was a nearly 200-square-foot square room with windows on both the north and south sides.

Under the southern window was a bed with a Barbara Streisand poster on the headboard, and a wardrobe was placed next to it.

Correspondingly, under the northern window, there was a desk and a bookshelf filled with books, and atop it, there were numerous cassette tapes.

At that moment, Evelyn sat at the desk, engrossed in a book under the bright light.

Perhaps Evelyn didn't want Ethan to see what she was reading, or perhaps she was simply starving.

When she heard footsteps behind her, she quickly closed the book and pushed it to the edge of the desk.

This action allowed Ethan to see the book's cover.

It was a yellow-background magazine with a blue label.

The title at the top read—

Popular Electronics.