"We were talking about something related to France. What's wrong, Claire?" Leena raised her head, still not looking at Louisa. She made no reply to Louisa's taunt, as if the latter didn't exist at all.
Nothing. I just couldn't make out what you two were talking about." Leena and Gerard talked in barely comprehensible French, so Claire couldn't understand what they were saying.
"Excuse me. I have to answer this call," Leena interrupted, giving Claire an apologetic smile. She picked up the phone that was on the table. She had been afraid to miss Kevin's call and so hadn't put the phone in her pocket.
"Where are you, Nana? I'll come and pick you up." Leena heard Kevin's anxious voice as soon as she answered the call.
"Are you finished with work? We're in the teahouse next to the hotel. You will find us when you come over," Leena answered, her heart bubbling with happiness. Her cheery voice cut Louisa to the quick.
"Yeah. I know where the teahouse is. I'll be there soon. See you later." Kevin put the phone in his pocket and hurriedly walked through the crowd.
Leena pouted. Kevin was not affectionate by nature, but he shouldn't have hung up the phone so abruptly. She hadn't even replied back.
"Who's coming?" Claire was curious. A deep frown marred her face when she heard the word "hotel". She wondered if Louisa's suspicions were true.
"Kevin is nearby. He'll be here in a minute." Leena let out a long breath. The thought of explaining Gerard's presence to Kevin once they got home gave her a terrible headache. However, she couldn't hide this from him, or it might result in a serious misunderstanding.
"What? My brother is coming? Oh no! I've bought so many things! He'll definitely jump on me when he sees them!" In anxiety, Claire looked at the big bags placed on the chair next to her. She wished she could hide them somewhere.
"Relax. You can say they are gifts from me," Leena said with a grin. She knew that Kevin wouldn't get angry about the clothes that Claire had bought. He knew very well that girls loved to dress up.
Louisa took pleasure in Claire's nervousness and looked forward to seeing Kevin fly into a rage. Kevin rejected her so cruelly, so why shouldn't she enjoy this spectacle? She wanted to give him an eye for an eye for what he had done.
Kevin didn't arrive until 10 minutes later. Claire and Louisa's presence quite surprised him.
"Hello, Kevin," Claire greeted Kevin in an ingratiating tone. It seemed that she was trying to hide something.
"Well! What trouble did you make this time?" Kevin asked immediately, frowning at her. He knew his sister well. Her servile smile meant that she was guilty.
"I didn't. You're asking that as if I make mistakes often." Claire pouted, giving voice to her grievance.
"Then why do you look like you're trying to get on my good side?" Kevin sat down next to Leena and picked up the cup of tea she had just filled.
"Err… It looks like I gave myself away," Claire said as the smile died on her lips. As the saying went, a guilty person always gave himself away by merely protesting his innocence. Claire let the cat out of the bag herself.
"Where is Daisy? Why didn't she come along with you?" Leena had thought that Daisy would arrive too, so she was disappointed to find her missing.
Ah. She had to go back to the army base and report the mission to the commander. But how are you feeling? Have you calmed down? Are you still scared?" Kevin didn't look at Louisa at all, let alone say hello to her.
"Oh. I wanted to invite her to tea," Leena ignored his concerns and clicked her teeth. She hadn't hung out with Daisy in a long time.
"That's all right. You can invite her next time. How did you guys run into each other?" Kevin looked at the big shopping bags next to Claire and furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't say anything.
"It was a mere coincidence. How else would we have met?" Claire felt like an outsider listening to their conversation. She had no idea of the people and things they were talking about.
Gerard, how do you like S City?" Kevin asked suddenly, jerking his head in Gerard's direction. Kevin did not feel threatened by him. He had no clue that Gerard was his rival in love.
"Not bad, but I haven't gotten to explore it yet." Gerard regarded Leena thoughtfully. He realized that she had been waiting for Kevin to arrive. The thought made him feel bitter. Leena said previously that she didn't love him anymore, so Gerard could do nothing about it.
"Well, why not stroll around S City? There are many wonderful tourist spots here. Some places also have a long history attached to them." It was great to have friends coming from afar. Kevin was full of friendliness and hospitality.
I will. I'm just afraid that Mignonne would get tired." Gerard's smile had a hint of bitterness in it. He took a sip of tea from his cup to hide his sorrow.
"Don't worry about that. Claire can join you. The more the merrier. It's her first time in S City too. You both can keep each other company." Kevin didn't think it was a big deal. Listening to him, the others wondered if he was trying to bring Gerard and Claire closer.