"Fine. Nice to meet you too, Leena." Claire said these words a bit reluctantly. Again she looked Leena up and down, and remained unsatisfied. Why did her brother marry such a girl? What did he see in her? He must have been blind!
"Claire, right? It's really nice to finally meet you in person. Your brother said so many nice things about you. He told me that you were a very beautiful girl with a strong personality. It seems that he's very right about that." Leena didn't mind her words, because she knew that it was not that easy to make a person like you. You had to work for it. And that was just the way it was. Not everyone was going to fall in love with you the first time you met.
Really? He rarely says nice things about me. But I can't deny his words. He's pretty much right about me." Though she still didn't like Leena, Claire couldn't help but get a little bit smug. After all, no women in this world didn't like being complimented.
Kevin looked at Leena in surprise, because he didn't even compliment his little sister once! Leena was making all those things up to get on Claire's good side. Well, she was actually very smart. In fact, the only thing he ever said about Claire was how stubborn and spoiled she was. But coming from Leena's mouth, these things all became Claire's good qualities.
"Yeah! To be honest, you are even much prettier than I expected." Leena added, looking very sincere. To be honest, if you looked more closely, Claire looked a lot like her brother, but she was more gentle and didn't have sharp angles like Kevin did.
What are you all doing here? Just come inside!" Right when Leena was still trying to make Claire like her, a loving voice interrupted them again. At the same time, a woman appeared on the stair in front of the house. She looked very nice and elegant, and had a gentle smile on her face. Well, this must be Kevin's mother. She must have heard them and couldn't wait inside any longer. So she left the house to greet them.
"Hi mom, we're back." Kevin took Leena's small hand in his, and happily walked towards his mother with her. He no longer paid attention to his little sister.
Welcome home. This must be my lovely daughter-in-law!" Shannon Long looked at Leena with loving eyes. She was fond of this girl the moment she laid her eyes on Leena. In her eyes, Leena had a lovely and sweet face, more gentle than her own daughter.
"Leena, this is mom." Leena's hand clutched Kevin's tighter and tighter, and then he squeezed Leena's hand comfortingly, trying to banish her anxiety. Though he comforted her and told her that there was nothing to worry about, she still got instantly anxious the moment she saw his mother. If she was this nervous just because she saw his mother, then how would she be when she finally saw his father later?
"Mom, hello! I'm Leena Leng." Leena felt a trace of sorrow when she called the woman in front of her mom. Because she hadn't been able to say this word for so many years. And it felt so strange when she finally said it. To be honest, she didn't expect that she would say this important word right now anyway. And she couldn't help but feel a bit sad, because her own mother had left her so long ago and would never be able to hear her call her mom again.
"Leena, right? Welcome home! Kev, come on, take her inside. It's a bit chilly out here." The more Shannon looked at Leena, the more she became fond of her. She could tell that Leena was raised right and had very good manners. And she was especially fond of her sweet smile. That was a smile that could light up the whole room and make everyone smile in return. "Hee hee!" Leena couldn't contain her laughter when she heard Shannon call Kevin by his nickname. She couldn't even imagine that a strong and macho guy like Kevin could be called by his nickname from childhood by his own mother. 'Kev.' She'd have to remember that one.
"Mom, I've already told you a thousand times! Please stop calling me Kev. I'm not a little boy anymore," Kevin retorted, feeling the heat spreading over his face. In fact, he had said the same words for many times to his mother. But he also knew that his mother would never listen to him.
"It has nothing to do with your age. No matter how old you are, you are still my son. You don't magically become someone else's son once you grow up." Shannon Long glared at her son with no real malice. He was being childish again. For God's sake, it was just a nickname! Why was he so opposed to it? Every time she called him Kev, he complained and told her to stop. He was quite insistent over such a small thing. To be honest, he should probably learn to use his tenaciousness on other important things.
"I wish," Kevin mumbled under his breath. He didn't dare to say these words out loud. Though his mother was a gentle and loving woman, she could still be tough as she wanted. If she heard his retort, she wouldn't let him off that easily.
What did you say?" Unfortunately, Shannon still heard what he said. She stopped and turned to look at him. Well, he was her son after all, she knew him quite well. Of course she had expected that Kevin couldn't keep his mouth shut like a good kid.
"What did I say? I didn't say anything! Come on, let's get inside. Or your daughter-in-law is going to catch a cold." Kevin wasn't worried about himself. He was just a bit worried that Leena wasn't used to the weather here and would catch a cold.
"Well, whose fault is that? You just couldn't keep your mouth shut." After she had said her piece, Shannon quickened her pace and walked into the house. Instead, Leena was the one who wanted to retreat, because she suddenly recalled from Kevin's words before that his father was a very serious man.
"What is it?" Feeling Leena's reluctance, Kevin couldn't help but ask.
"It's nothing." Leena smiled at him, though the smile was forced. She just didn't want to bother him with her nervousness and said those words only to try to comfort herself. In fact, she was anxious and felt like she was about to die from anxiety. Her heart thumped in her ribcage.
Claire hadn't said a word since her mother walked out. She just watched Leena's every action in silence, judging her. And now, she couldn't help but think that Leena was immature. Grown women weren't this nervous, were they? Well, it seemed that she was indeed from a very ordinary family, because she couldn't even be brave enough to face their father.