"Leena blushed and felt shy as she watched Kevin. She felt a strong impulse to pull her foot back. Kevin was the second man who had held her foot so closely. The first was Mr. Cold. The situation here made her feel a bit awkward.
"Don't move. It's blue already. I'm gonna apply the medicine on your foot a little more and it's gonna be painful. Are you ready?" Kevin frowned, looking at the wound on her instep. He thought, 'well. Her hand and foot are really burned. Looks like it hurts, too. How did she get this unlucky?'
"Um!" Leena said and nodded. Actually, she wasn't sure about it, because she didn't know what exactly "painful" meant. How much pain? She felt worried, but still forced out a word.
Relax. I'll just need a few seconds." Feeling how stiff Leena was, Kevin loosened his grip some, hoping to hurt her ankle less.
Ah! It hurts!" Kevin put a few drops of the medicinal liquor on his hands, but the minute when he rubbed it on her instep, Leena cried out loudly. It was obvious she was in deep pain and burst into a flood of tears, which she had tried to hold back for a long time.
"Does it hurt a lot? Please don't cry. I'll try to be more gentle. Can we do more?" Kevin couldn't help feeling tense at the sight of Leena's face wet with tears. He thought if he didn't do it for her now, she would suffer from even more pain in the future. So he decided to get it done although he didn't like her reactions.
Leena automatically nodded her agreement after Kevin said those sweet and soothing words to her -- although she was reluctant. Meanwhile, she felt a little ashamed as well, because she couldn't even bear the pain. With her permission, this time Kevin did it with less strength but faster. So he finished before Leena could cry out in pain.
"All done?" Leena asked. She had her eyes closed the whole time. She avoided watching, because she would feel more pain. She didn't open her bright and clear eyes until she felt it was done. She was even cuter and more delicate after crying.
Yes! All done. I'll wash my hands now. Just sit here and try to relax." Kevin said and stood up, the olive green uniform on him making him more charming and exude a kind of hot-blooded man's righteousness.
Leena stood up cautiously after Kevin left her sight. Feeling pain when her scalded foot stepped on the floor, she still chose to move to the kitchen in baby steps when thinking of the burnt food.
"Leena. What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to sit?" Kevin cried anxiously when he saw Leena approach the kitchen, which startled her. She froze in place and turned around, looking at him with an innocent face.
I'm not done cooking yet." Leena bit her lip and said to herself: 'Oh my god! Help me! Why am I so miserable now, like a bullied little wife? Where is my fearless personality? Why do I become so unsure of myself in front of Kevin?'
"Sit tight and don't move. The rest is on me." Kevin rushed towards her and picked her up in his arms again. This time he didn't carry her to the couch, but set her on the chair next to the dinner table.
"You? Cook? Are you sure about this?" Leena asked, gazing at Kevin hesitantly. She didn't mean to doubt him. But she had seen many people who were ignorant when it came to cooking. It was a vanishing skill. Weren't the CEOs or elites around her good examples? They were all magnates in business, but when it came to cooking, they were all chicken.
"What? Don't you believe in my cooking? Not as good as yours, but it won't be too bad. Just wait. I'll show you later." Not sure about his motives, he couldn't help himself rubbing her tiny nose with his finger when he saw her cute and naive face. Then he walked to the stove with a delighted smile.
In fact, Leena had finished preparing most of the food items, so Kevin didn't have any trouble cooking. What he needed to do was to fry various stuff together. In a word, he was just finishing up what Leena was doing. Leena waited, her attitude skeptical. She had Kevin's assurance, but he was really the child of high-ranking officials. He had it easy, not having to cook like a common man. So how could he know what he was doing? Now that she wasn't allowed to move, she had to wait and see what would happen. She hoped his cooking wouldn't be as bad as she thought. Then she wouldn't have to mistreat her own stomach.
She could accept anything, good or bad, but when it came to her food, she was extremely serious. There were good reasons why she learned how to cook. Monotony was one reason, but the main reason was that she was very particular about food. Since she was abroad, her menu was limited. She couldn't stand the Western-style food anymore, so she took steps to teach herself how to cook the dishes she liked.
"Here comes the food! Try it. See if it's any good, " Kevin said. He served all the food he cooked, and looked at Leena expectantly. He didn't consider himself to be a gourmet chef, but he thought he was not bad at cooking. He beat out all the other cooks in the military family community. He would have snagged the top rank, except Daisy was actually better.
Um! They look good. Color's nice. Don't know what they'll taste like." Leena took the chopsticks, picked up the nearest Stewed Chicken Wing in Ginger Coca-cola, put it into her mouth and chewed slowly. It tasted so tender and soft that Leena gave him a thumb up. His cooking ability was no doubt very good. This tasted so good, he was something of an expert.