Evelyn Harris certainly knew he was just eating, but the problem was that when he ate, the aroma would waft everywhere, and the smell of meat even drifted into her courtyard. For someone who hadn’t tasted meat in months, how was she supposed to bear this?

Evelyn Harris’s pretty face was tinged with anger as she snapped, “Go eat somewhere else!”

“Why should I?” James Thompson shook his head. “This is my home. What’s wrong with me eating in my own house?”

“You’re affecting me!” Evelyn Harris grew even angrier, using James Thompson’s own words from that morning to retort.

“Why does it only affect you and not anyone else?” James Thompson countered in kind, secretly hoping she wouldn’t calm down—whether or not he could condense his second soul depended entirely on her...

“You bastard!”

“You’re being unreasonable!”

“You’re doing this on purpose!”

“Is it wrong for me to eat in my own home?”

“You’re just trying to get back at me!”

“What happened this morning was my fault. To show my apology, how about I treat you two ladies to a meal today...”

The little maid’s face lit up with joy. Looking at the roasted meat on the stone slab, she said happily, “Yes, yes...”

James Thompson conveniently guided her joy over to himself.

Evelyn Harris glared at him angrily and said, “Even if I, Evelyn Harris, die and jump down from here, I will never eat a single bite of your food!”

...

In the courtyard, Evelyn Harris was so angry she stamped her feet, her chest heaving, her face slightly flushed as she panted, “I’m so mad, I’m so mad! He’s doing this on purpose, he must be doing this on purpose!”

The young maid looked up innocently and said, “Miss, but I think what he said isn’t wrong...”

Evelyn Harris glared at her. “Whose side are you on?”

“Of course I’m on your side, Miss...” The maid quickly patted her chest gently and said, “Don’t be angry, Miss. It’s bad for your health to get upset...”

Evelyn Harris’s chest continued to rise and fall, clearly still furious. Suddenly, she held her forehead and said, “Wanwan, help me back to my room to rest. I feel a bit dizzy...”

At last, there was no more noise from next door, and James Thompson could no longer draw any anger, so he slowly stopped his guiding technique.

He had thought that anger would be harder to obtain than joy, but it turned out that making a woman angry was so easy. If that woman named Evelyn Harris got this mad at him every day, wouldn’t his second soul condense even faster than the first?

Of course, everything must be done in moderation. James Thompson couldn’t just keep drawing from her alone.

Though the seven emotions are part of human nature, they can also harm the body. Excessive joy, sorrow, or anger are all bad for one’s health. With James Thompson’s unrestrained method of drawing, he would greatly deplete her body, and in just a few days, she’d be drained to the point she couldn’t even get out of bed...

Moderate guiding was for cultivation; excessive draining was just stealing yin to replenish yang. For the sake of his own life, he could only wrong that young lady a little.

To show his apology, James Thompson specially roasted a full plate of meat and knocked on the courtyard gate next door.

The one who opened the door was the little maid with an oval face and a bit of baby fat on her chin. She looked at the roasted meat in James Thompson’s hand, swallowed a few times, and timidly asked, “Young master, is there something you need?”

James Thompson smiled and said, “I am James Thompson, and I’ve come to apologize to Miss Liu. This is a small gift—I hope she’ll accept it...”

Handing the plate of roasted meat to the little maid, James Thompson returned to his own courtyard. Just across the wall, the little maid pushed open Evelyn Harris’s door and said, “Miss, that young master named James Thompson just came to apologize. He brought us this...”

Evelyn Harris waved her hand impatiently and said, “Take it away, take it away. I don’t want to see anything from him!”

“Oh...”

The little maid replied softly, then went out to the courtyard alone. She sat at the stone table, tasted a piece of pork belly, and her expression froze.

“So... so delicious...”

She picked up the plate with both hands and hurriedly ran back to Evelyn Harris’s room, saying, “Miss, you have to try this! I’ve never eaten anything so tasty...”

Evelyn Harris glanced at her and said, “I’m not eating. You say everything edible is delicious...”

The little maid handed her the chopsticks and said, “It’s true, Miss! Just try one piece—just one piece won’t make you fat...”

Evelyn Harris wanted to refuse again, but her right hand moved on its own, reaching out to take the chopsticks.

She hadn’t eaten anything all day, her stomach was already growling with hunger, and the aroma before her kept tempting her. Under the lure of that scent, she even forgot about maintaining her figure for a moment, forgot about that hateful constable...

She slowly reached out and picked up a piece of roasted meat.

Then a second piece.

A third piece.

...

“Miss, Miss...”

“Miss, you finished it all...”

“Wuwu, Miss, I only got one piece...”

It wasn’t until the little maid’s aggrieved, tearful voice reached her ears that Evelyn Harris suddenly snapped back to her senses.

She touched her stomach and finally realized that the plan she had stuck to for months had just, in that moment, completely failed.