Chapter 791

Alexander Vance's gaze immediately swept over.

His brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes revealing clear displeasure.

A strong sense of crisis instantly surged in his heart.

But Evelyn Ross was staring intently at Elian Cross.

This face…

With such outstanding looks, how could she have no impression at all?

As she was pondering, Elian Cross spoke.

"Le Jardin Secret."

"Private Room Five."

Evelyn was stunned.

She looked at Elian Cross incredulously, scrutinizing him from head to toe several times.

Then, she released her grip.

Once free, Elian Cross immediately began coughing violently.

Seeing this, Alexander also released the subordinate he was restraining.

The subordinate rushed over to support Elian Cross.

"Sir, are you alright?"

Elian Cross waved his hand weakly, collapsing onto the sofa.

Alexander turned to Evelyn, his eyes questioning.

"You know him?"

Evelyn was still examining Elian Cross.

"You are… that Mr. Cross from Private Room Five?"

Elian Cross's eyes lit up, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

"That's right."

Evelyn was momentarily speechless.

Alexander cleared his throat and pressed further. "What Mr. Cross?"

Before Evelyn could answer, the young follower beside Elian Cross eagerly spoke up.

"Our sir has had anorexia since childhood."

"He couldn't eat anything, became emaciated beyond recognition."

"At six feet tall, he once weighed only ninety pounds, looking no different from a skeleton."

"The Cross family searched the world for food he could tolerate."

"Five years ago, in San Francisco at Le Jardin Secret, he tasted the dishes made by the head chef."

"That was the first time he found something he could eat."

"Since then, the sir has gone there once every week."

"Relying on that one meal, he slowly regained some weight, painstakingly reaching one hundred and twenty pounds."

"But four months ago, the head chef of Le Jardin Secret suddenly disappeared."

The follower looked at Evelyn, his tone urgent.

"We asked Le Jardin Secret about who the head chef and owner were, but they absolutely refused to say."

"After immense effort, we finally traced it to you, Mrs. Vance."

"Then we heard that Mrs. Vance had fallen into the sea and died four months ago."

"We thought then, this is it, with no one to cook, wouldn't the sir starve to death?"

"Later, we wanted to check the Vance residence to see if there were any seasonings or things left behind by Miss Ross."

"But we learned that Mr. Vance was deeply devoted to Mrs. Vance, not even acknowledging her death at the funeral."

"After Mrs. Vance's accident, Mr. Vance came to New York and never returned."

"Our sir reasoned that for Mr. Vance to not even return for the seventh-day or twenty-first-day memorials, there must be someone more important in New York."

"So we followed the trail to New York and found Mr. Vance."

"But Mr. Vance operates too discreetly; we couldn't find his residence."

"Until recently, when the Vance family incident made the news, we finally pinpointed the location."

"After following to the Vance residence, we discovered Mr. Vance was actually engaged to Miss Grace Valentine of the Valentine family."

"Our sir found it strange then—Grace Valentine and Evelyn Ross, how could the names be so similar?"

"So he directly investigated Grace Valentine and found the Valentine family."

"But we were afraid you wouldn't admit your identity, so we came up with this method to test."

"We didn't expect you to actually fall for it."

After speaking, the follower quickly hid behind Elian Cross.

Elian Cross, having caught his breath, looked at Evelyn.

"Miss Ross, I was presumptuous."

"But I truly had no other choice."

He was breathing heavily, his face pale.

"I haven't had a proper meal in four months."

"If this continues, I will surely die."

"I had to make you admit your identity, and then… beg you to cook a meal."

The follower behind him immediately clasped his hands in a pleading gesture.

"Miss Ross, please save our sir!"

"In these four months, he's dropped from one hundred and twenty pounds back to one hundred pounds."

"Look at him, he's so thin now a gust of wind could knock him over…"

Evelyn was at a loss for words.

She studied Elian Cross carefully.

Private Room Five at Le Jardin Secret did indeed have a guest who spent a fortune weekly to eat one meal.

The other party had indeed mentioned having anorexia.

That's why later, no matter how busy Evelyn was, she insisted on going to Le Jardin Secret once a week to cook a meal.

This tradition continued.

The head chef's meals became highly sought after, with only two tables served per week.

One table reserved for Mr. Cross.

The other table was sold publicly, but it was advertised as only one table available.

Scarcity drives value; it was said her table, once secured, could be resold for astronomical prices…

She remembered the first time she saw that Mr. Cross, he was skeletal, with almost no flesh on his face, truly like a skeleton.

Looking closely now, this Elian Cross before her did bear some resemblance in his features.

Who would have thought that with a bit more flesh on his face, this person could be so handsome…

As Evelyn was inwardly marveling, a figure suddenly stepped in front of her.

Alexander cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice.

"You came here just for a meal?"

Elian Cross quickly nodded.

"Yes, yes, the 'Sterling' in my Chinese name refers to Miss Evelyn Ross!"

"It's definitely not Miss Grace Valentine."

"Miss Evelyn Ross's cooking gave me a second life. I will never forget you."

Evelyn gave a slight smile.

"No need to be so polite."

"It's necessary, it is."

Elian Cross sighed, his tone sincere.

"Miss Ross, I truly cannot live without you."

"So, may I presumptuously request to come for a meal once a week?"

Alexander's expression instantly darkened.

Elian Cross tentatively amended.

"Then… once every two weeks?"

Alexander's face grew even darker.

Elian Cross gritted his teeth.

"Once a month, that's the absolute minimum."

"My body can't hold out any longer."

Alexander remained silent.

Evelyn also didn't know how to respond for a moment.

Alexander narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Elian Cross.

"You're sure you're really just here for a meal?"