"I am advising you to desist from this insane idea before you start looking. In case you become the butt of someone's joke." Kevin didn't mean to look down upon his own sister. He thought Claire aimed too high, and it would get hard for her to find her footing in such a highly competitive society.
"I'm not that bad. It doesn't matter. I have talent in management and I studied that abroad," Claire said, pouting. She displayed strong objection to her brother's remarks.
Come on. You? Talent? I bet you got your diploma after wasting away years at college," Kevin made this conclusion based on his sister's playful personality.
"How would that be possible? I entered college because of my efforts. Sure, it was not a well-known college, but, generally speaking, I spent my years there just like any other regular student," Claire replied, frowning. That entrance exam was one eternal scar for her! Especially since the major she had chosen was a high-end one.
"Like you said, you just spent your years there. I doubt if you learnt anything useful," Kevin said. He never considered his sister to be great in studies, since her scores at school never went beyond 80. It was obvious that she was lazy at studying. Leena didn't make any comment on their bickering and just smiled breezily. She was aware of Claire's dissatisfaction with her. Leena wasn't so stupid that she'd intervene in this argument. It was wise to protect herself from something that unfavorable.
Wow! Brother, this is a fabulous house! What a great design! It's really classy. You must have spent a lot of money and energy on it!" Claire praised. She was stunned by the interiors of Kevin's house as she walked in. When they had left for S City, Claire had assumed that she would live at the army base upon arriving here. But to her surprise, she was to live in this glorious apartment. She didn't want to leave here ever from this moment onward.
"Is it so fabulous? I don't think so!" Kevin said, looking around. He then realized that Claire was speaking the truth. He admitted that Leena had made some changes in this house. She had bought some fancy furniture for him.
"You bet. All the furniture here is costly, you can tell it's luxurious." Claire jumped onto the soft couch with glee, her hands gliding across the cloth. She made a satisfied murmur of admiration. Although their house in Capital City was beautiful, it was still different from here. Maybe it was because of the new furniture. This house was splendid but not flashy.
"Claire, you can sleep in the guest room on this floor. I'll go and clean it. Then you can move in there, okay?" Leena asked for Claire's opinion, fearing that she would be dissatisfied with the arrangement.
What about upstairs? No guest room there?" Claire glanced at the stairs, wondering about the rooms on that floor.
"No. There's only a guest room here," Leena replied decisively. She didn't want Claire to live upstairs with them, even if they had a guest room there. Leena would feel uncomfortable living with her.
"Well, okay! I have no choice then," Claire said in frustration. In her opinion, living upstairs was far more preferable to living down here.
Leena pursed her lips and turned around, walking toward the guest room. She needed to see if anything needed to be arranged. Although Claire was never happy with her, for Kevin's sake, Leena would still look after her. An old saying said, "Love me, love my dog." When it came to Kevin, no matter what difficulties Leena had to face, she would confront them all while smiling.
"Claire, put your luggage in your room. We'll go out for dinner then," Kevin announced before taking his and Leena's luggage upstairs. He didn't wait for Claire's response.
"Okay, I'll do that right away." Claire was excited to hear that they were going to have dinner outside. When they were in Capital City, they got almost no opportunities to go out for dinner, because they ate at home every day.
Leena didn't need to do much cleaning or make arrangements. She only needed to spread the sheets for Claire. Every room in this house was kept neat and tidy, so there should be no problem living here.
This room?" Claire asked, frowning. She looked around, finding it to be neat and comfortable, although it wasn't as big as her room at the house in Capital City. She could manage to live here.
"Yep! Your clothes can be put in this wardrobe. If you need anything else, please let me know. I'll set it up for you." Leena looked at the big bed with its new covers in satisfaction. They were all her favorite colors. She hoped Claire would like it, since they were of similar age and probably had the same aesthetic sense.
"Got it. You talk too much. You can go now! I'm gonna get changed," Claire said impatiently, waving Leena away.
"All right. Suit yourself," Leena said, before walking out and closing the door behind her. She didn't expect Claire to appreciate what she had done for her, but she still felt a bit hurt when she was treated by Claire so lousily.
As she walked into the living room, Leena instantly felt better, even though she didn't see Kevin around. She knew he was probably putting their luggage upstairs. Leena walked straight into the kitchen to see what ingredients in the refrigerator she could use to cook. Otherwise she might need to do some shopping.
As she stared at the empty refrigerator, Leena put a hand on her forehead. She couldn't help but laugh at herself. She had such a bad memory! She had emptied the refrigerator before they had left for Capital City, in case the items went stale when they came back. She had totally forgotten about that. She must have forgotten to bring back her brain with her from Capital City too.
Leena looked at her watch. 'It is still early for dinner, so I'd better use this time to drive out and buy some groceries.' With this thought, she trotted upstairs. Her bags had all been carried up there by Kevin. Besides, she needed to fetch her car keys too. Lee took her Audi Pikes Peak Quattro to drive Louisa home. Leena guessed her car wouldn't be back for a while.
Nana, is everything arranged for Claire?" Kevin asked when he saw Leena come in. He was busy unpacking their luggage. Leena halted in her footsteps when she heard the nickname on Kevin's lips. Why was he suddenly calling her that? He used to call her by her name before, like everyone else.
"Um! Yes. There is no food in the refrigerator, so I'm going out to buy some groceries," Leena said. She had no intention of asking him to go with her. After all, she wasn't some fragile little princess in this house. She had gotten used to this kind of life. Kevin wasn't home often, so she had learnt to do a lot of things on her own.
"Don't bother. We'll go out for dinner later. All of us are very tired after the day-long trip, so don't exert yourself." Kevin stopped her with his hand on her arm. Although he was only responsible for eating, he didn't want his wife to exhaust herself by cooking for them.
We're going out for dinner? That's not a bad idea. Fine. It's on me tonight." Leena accepted Kevin's suggestion with pleasure. She was really tired, and she didn't really feel like cooking for dinner.