Chapter 728: Chapter 728: Two Years Later

"Perfectly gene-edited humans can live about thirty years longer than ordinary people, and their aging is also delayed. Rhys Chase is the best example. Although he isn’t a one-hundred-percent perfect specimen, you really can’t tell his age." Ronan Kendrick knew what Evelyn Ford was worried about. Unless they were disfigured or wore makeup, they wouldn’t show any signs of aging for a long time.

Evelyn Ford rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the lake. "Do you think people will start to have their suspicions?"

"Like what?"

"That we’ve taken some elixir of immortality, and they’ll want to slice us up for research."

Ronan Kendrick raised an eyebrow. "I doubt it."

"Ronan Kendrick, in another two years, I’m planning to have everyone leave the space. They’re all good people, but I’m worried that if things go on like this, they’ll become too dependent on me."

Evelyn Ford sighed. "Once a secret is known by many people, it’s not a secret anymore."

"I’ll help you. Don’t worry."

Ronan Kendrick took her hand. "You still have me."

「Two years later.」

Evelyn Ford had bought the house next to the courtyard. To make visiting easier, they had knocked a doorway through the wall. Quincy, Wyatt Vaughn, Miles Vaughn, Joelle Finch, and Zoe all moved next door, while the others continued to live in the courtyard house.

Being unemployed, Evelyn Ford had recently become obsessed with fishing. She had great luck, always returning with a hefty catch. Although Ronan Kendrick disliked fishing, he always tagged along to carry her bucket and prepare the bait. To put it bluntly, he was afraid some clueless guy would try to hit on her. After all, just last time, even with him standing right there, some young man had come up to ask for Evelyn’s name. If she hadn’t stopped him, he would have beaten the guy so badly his own parents wouldn’t recognize him.

Ronan Kendrick had been troubled by many things lately. A man’s confidence tends to drop after thirty-five, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that Evelyn Ford didn’t like him anymore.

Evelyn Ford didn’t notice his mood at all. To her, fishing was the most important thing in the world. For anyone, man or woman, once you get hooked on fishing, it’s just like gambling—completely impossible to quit.

Unless her arms and legs were broken, she had to go out fishing every day, rain or shine.

"Evelyn Ford’s hobbies are so different from ours. My Wyatt Vaughn has gotten into playing cards recently. She goes to the courtyard’s community center to play every day. In one month, she lost a whole bag of gold beans. I couldn’t make in six months what she loses in a single night."

Quincy sighed. "I have to go home and cook. Otherwise, when Wyatt Vaughn comes back later and doesn’t see any food, she might yell at me."

Miles Vaughn, beside him, stood up as well. "You should count yourself lucky. Wyatt Vaughn is just playing cards with some of the older ladies. Besides, isn’t the money you earn for her to spend anyway? My Joelle Finch is even more ridiculous. She does Tai Chi with a group of old men in the morning and goes square dancing with the grannies at night. I told her she had a lot of energy, and she got mad at me for being sarcastic."

No one expected that a good girl like Joelle Finch would have such an intense rebellious streak.

Facing everyone’s gloating expressions, Miles Vaughn rolled his eyes irritably. "I have a wife. You don’t."

The smiles on the faces of Ethan Dawson, Peter Owens, and Liam Sterling—the group’s perpetual bachelors—instantly vanished.

Officer Graham quickly added fuel to the fire. "You three should start looking for partners. Someone was just asking me about your ages yesterday. Especially you, Ethan. You’re getting on in years, and you’re still not thinking about settling down? In a few more years, no one will want you."

Ethan Dawson used to say he would be a bachelor for life, but in the last two years, he’d softened his stance. He no longer minded the neighborhood elders setting him up, but unfortunately, he still hadn’t met the right person.

Peter Owens, however, remained resolute. He just loved the carefree, unrestrained life of being single. It seemed he was determined to reign as a bachelor for life.

As for Liam Sterling, he had his eye on Zoe’s teacher. She was twenty-four, not only beautiful but also reportedly knew various Self-defense Skills. The last time Liam went to pick up Zoe and Annie from school, the teacher mistook him for a bad guy and pinned him to the ground with a shoulder throw. Lately, Liam had been running to the school every day, and each time he went, he would pick a few of the flowers Evelyn Ford had planted. If Evelyn weren’t so lost in her own world to notice the picked flowers, the grass on Liam’s grave would probably be two meters high by now.

"Mr. Dawson is too picky. His standards are too high. With anyone younger, he feels like a cradle robber. But the thing is, most single women older than him already have kids and just stay cooped up at home all day. Does he expect a wife to just fall out of the sky?"

Ethan Dawson glanced at Quincy. "I’m not being picky."

"If you’re not being picky, then why did you refuse when that lady introduced her daughter to you?"

Ethan Dawson’s expression soured. "That girl is twelve years younger than me."

"Age shouldn’t be an issue. Isn’t Quincy more than ten years older than Wyatt Vaughn?" Officer Graham also disapproved of Ethan Dawson being so fussy. It wasn’t like he was shopping for vegetables.

"And that’s why Wyatt Vaughn resents Quincy now."

The moment Ethan Dawson said that, Quincy wasn’t having it.

"There’s no way Wyatt Vaughn resents me! Ethan Dawson, you’re just jealous."

"Jealous of your hair loss? Envious of your beer belly?"

"What beer belly? I’ve just gained a little weight lately, that’s all. It’ll come off in a few days. And yeah, my hair is thinning, but I’m not going bald on top!"

"Look in the mirror if you don’t believe me. Not even Evelyn Ford can save you with her miracle pills this time. When a man reaches middle age, the toughest part of his body is his mouth." When it came to a venomous tongue, no one could beat Ethan Dawson. Normally, he was quiet and unassuming, but when he started laying into someone, his words could be lethal.

And sure enough, Quincy was already so furious he was at a loss for words.

Evelyn Ford, Wyatt Vaughn, and Joelle Finch had just returned to see several grown men squabbling in the courtyard. Ronan Kendrick was lying on a bench, fanning himself with a cattail fan. The others were bickering, and it looked like they were about to start throwing punches at any moment.

Evelyn Ford tsked, pushed open the gate, and walked in. She hadn’t gone fishing today; instead, she went to the grasslands with a neighbor to dig for wild vegetables, which was why Ronan Kendrick hadn’t gone with her.

As she entered the courtyard carrying two bags of wild vegetables, Ronan Kendrick’s eyes shot open, a look of pleasant surprise on his face. The bickering men fell silent.

"You haven’t picked up the kids yet?" Wyatt Vaughn looked around and didn’t see Zoe. Just as she looked ready to explode, Quincy quickly pulled her toward the house next door.

"Liam Sterling went to pick them up. You must be tired from playing cards all day, right? Let’s go home and have some tea first. What do you want for dinner tonight?"

Miles Vaughn also stepped forward to lead Joelle Finch away. And just like that, the courtyard fell silent?

"What were you guys talking about just now? It looked like you were about to start a fight."

"Mr. Dawson said Quincy was losing his hair and getting fat. Quincy got mad from the embarrassment, and they started to argue."

After hearing Peter Owens’s words, Evelyn Ford looked at Ethan Dawson, speechless.

"Quincy’s hair has been falling out a lot these past two years. He’s been worried he might have a terminal illness, and you’re still making fun of him for it."

Seeing Ethan Dawson look guilty, Evelyn Ford waved dismissively. "Still, you’re not one to attack people unprovoked. Quincy must have been asking for it. Next time, just punch him."

Ronan Kendrick looked at Evelyn Ford, crestfallen. In the past, she would always greet him the moment she came home, but today, she had completely ignored him.

’It’s just as I thought. She doesn’t love me anymore.’

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