"Oh, you don't have to. It's just a birthday present. It was nothing."
Kevin drove carefully. He'd been in the field with the Falcon platoon for too long. So it was quite late when he got off work and drove back home. Leena wasn't home and he was alone. So he didn't rush home -- no one was waiting for him there.
"No. I have to thank you in person. The gift you sent to me is so expensive. I have to treat you to a meal. Don't turn it down, please. Don't you like me? Or why are you refusing my invitation?" Louisa pursed her lips slightly. She tried hard to persuade Kevin to accept her invitation.
"Oh, no, that's not it at all. Miss Ye, don't get me wrong." Kevin frowned and pulled into the parking lot of a supermarket. He got out of the car and went into the store, phone in hand.
"You see what I'm talking about? Miss Ye! That's not my name! That's so distant. Just call me Louisa!" Louisa was born into a political family. So she was willful and obstinate -- it was in her bones and blood. What was more, she had been a party-girl. Therefore, she always showed her strong personality through her words. It was an excellent excuse to ask Kevin out on a date with her. Well, she considered it a date. She would never let the chance go.
"Ok! I'll go for it when I am not busy." Hearing Louisa insist on having a meal with him, Kevin had no other option but to accept it. In his eyes, she was so arrogant and willful, just like his sister.
"Now that we're going out to eat, I'll definitely find out a time when you have time. It's a deal, Kevin. You can't go back on your word," Louisa said in a smart and teasing voice. But Kevin could not help shivering at her words. He liked the way Leena spoke more. Oh, Leena, yeah. Why did he think of her again? Was he missing her?
"Ok! Bye!" Having nothing more to say, Kevin finished the conversation and walked through the aisles of the supermarket. He went to the produce section to get some veggies. Just as what Leena had said, he had to buy food and cook for himself when she was not home.
"Yeah.
See you!" Louisa knew she could not push him too much because he might stop liking her. So she hung up like she was supposed to when he said bye, even though she wanted to stay on the line. The second she hung up, she went to her wardrobe to pick the dress for her date with Kevin. She was desperate to have a meal with him. Her fondness for the major general was completely obvious by the way she acted.
Kevin hung up and put his cell phone back to his pocket. His handsome appearance soon attracted everyone's attention. After all, the olive-green military uniform on him was extremely eye-catching, plus his handsome face, he was sure to turn some heads. But he made no response as if nothing happened to him. He went to the shelf to carefully pick out the things he was going to buy. As a matter of fact, he could have lived in the residential room in the army base when Leena wasn't home. But he could not let their home stay empty as if no one lived there. Leena wouldn't like it, and she always stayed there when he was out on some mission, didn't she?
The sky went completely dark and the night had fallen when he finished shopping. His phone rang again. Kevin decided not to answer the call until he got in the car. It turned out someone from the Leng House made the call. He was quite surprised at it because he rarely received any phone from there.
"Hello! This is Kevin Gu." Kevin would always treat calls from the Leng House with caution. He stayed silent and didn't start the car, waiting for the response on the other end.
"Kevin, This is Dad." A gentle and kind voice sounded from the phone. It was Lloyd, Leena's father speaking. Kevin immediately straightened his back and became extremely serious.
Yes, it's Kevin, Dad. What can I do for you?" Kevin replied in a respectful manner. His father-in-law never called him. So Kevin was quite curious why he called so late.
"Oh, here's the thing. Are you done with work? If you are, come and have dinner with me! I'm alone too, the same as you." Lloyd wanted to call him in the morning. But he was afraid that Kevin was busy at that time. So he decided to give him a call when the night fell, considering that Kevin might have finished his job at that time.
"Dad, it's already so late now and you haven't had dinner?" Taking a look at his watch, Kevin found that it was about 8 o'clock. It was not good for a senior's health to have dinner so late.
"Not yet! Have you?" Lloyd did not expect that. He frowned slightly, wondering whether he called too late.
"Not yet. I'm heading home, Dad. How about this? I'll change the way and go there. Probably I'll be there in 20 minutes." Before he finished what he was saying, Kevin started the engine. The car left the parking spot and headed for the Leng House gradually. He would love to have dinner with his father-in-law.
"Okay, I'll wait for you. Take care and drive slowly. Don't be in a rush." Lloyd cackled with joy. Obviously, he was very satisfied with Kevin as his son-in-law. Probably every man had a dream of becoming a soldier to protect his country and his family. So when he couldn't find a way to make his dream come true, he was extremely delighted to see other close family member live his dream. Kevin was such a comfort to Lloyd.
I see, Dad. See you soon."
Kevin hung up. He didn't want to keep his father-in-law waiting for too long, so he stepped a little bit harder on the gas to speed up. Soon the car disappeared among the traffic stream.
It took about 20 minutes for Kevin to reach the Leng House, just like Kevin had promised. Kevin pulled up the car and stepped out. Lloyd had been standing in the garden and waiting for him for a while.
"Dad, why don't you go inside? It's cold outside." Kevin walked quickly toward Lloyd at the sight of him. It was late now and he felt somewhat guilty for having made Lloyd wait outside, no matter Lloyd volunteered it or not.
"It's okay. It's good for me to get some air outside. Come and let's go inside! It's already late. You must be starving!" Lloyd walked toward the house first. He became more satisfied with Kevin seeing his powerful posture. After all, it was the first time that Lloyd saw Kevin in a military uniform and there were passionate flashes gleaming through Lloyd's eyes. He was so happy to see Kevin that even his pace sped up.