"Of course I will, Daddy! I'm already here, right? Oh, I missed you so much!" Leena rushed to her dad's arms and hugged Lloyd tightly. A daughter could never grow up in her father's eyes and Leena had remained as lovely and adorable as how she had been when she was a kid. On the other hand, Claire was stunned upon seeing Leena's reaction. She had never seen her sister-in-law as cute and lively like this. Leena was different tonight and it baffled Claire.
"I miss you too, Leena! Now, let me take a closer look at my little princess. Did you take good care of yourself while I was away? Did you eat enough every day? Come closer, I need to see if you have gained weight or lost weight," Lloyd was trying his best to sound serious. Nonetheless, he just couldn't stop smiling since seeing his baby girl. He was so focused on his daughter that he didn't even notice Claire, who was still standing there.
"Of course I gained weight! Look at my face. I look much rounder than before, right?" Leena said and then puffed her cheeks playfully while blinking cutely at her dad. She tried to make her face look like a plump round apple to prove her saying of gaining weight.
Awww... Then you must have not missed me at all! How can you eat so well if you really miss me?" Lloyd pretended to facepalm and then acted just as playful as his daughter. He found it very interesting to make fun of his daugher sometimes. They might be joking with each other but the love between the two was just impossible to hide.
"Urr. You're so bad, Daddy! How could you treat me like this?" Leena pouted her lips and pretended to be unhappy. She knew her dad. Lloyd could always find a reason to blame her regardless of what her answer was. He would definitely blame Kevin for not taking care of her if she had said that she lost weight. Thus, whatever her answer was would still be wrong. It was only then that Lloyd turned and noticed Claire who was still standing frozen on her feet. "Oh! You never said that we were having a guest tonight. This lady must be…"
"Oh geez! I almost forget to introduce her. Dad, this is Claire Gu. She is Kevin's younger sister. You could call her Claire," Leena addressed to Lloyd immediately. Then she turned to Claire and introduced Lloyd to her, "Claire, this is my father, Lloyd Leng." Leena stuck her tongue out in a funny way to cover for her carelessness. She had been so busy talking with her father and forgot about Claire too.
"Good evening, Mr. Leng! Nice to meet you! I hope you're having a wonderful evening." greeted Claire politely as they shook hands with each other. She could always behave and keep her good manners in front of the elders, especially to those unfamiliar ones. She was even blushing while talking to Lloyd since this was the first time they met.
"Good evening, Claire! Nice to meet you! You're my family too since you're Leena's sister-in-law. Feel free and help yourself as this is your home too. We're all casual people. Thus, you can always be free as you want." replied Lloyd kindly. Claire's act of sensibility made him fond of her too.
"Okay, thank you very much, Mr. Leng," said Claire. She might seem calm while talking but she was very nervous. This was the first time for her to meet someone so rich. Never had she met anyone who had a higher social status than her father, Nathan Gu. Claire bet that Leena must feel the same when she met her dad, Nathan Gu, for the first time.
"Where are Duke and Belinda? Haven't they been back?" asked Leena as she took a look around the house. She secretly sighed in relief as she confirmed that the two were not home yet. She preferred not to see Duke because she knew that he would bombard her with lessons as soon as he saw her.
They are almost here. They shouldn't take long. Come on, let's get into the hall first. Let's wait for them there," said Lloyd. He walked into the hall with his little princess by his side as his arm was held tightly by Leena.
Claire, come on in! addressed Leene as she turned to Claire. Leena was always such a considerate person. She didn't want Claire to feel uncomfortable in this unfamiliar environment. She was the host tonight and Claire was her guest so she felt responsible to take good care of her.
"Claire, do you want something to drink? I'll ask them to bring it for you," said Lloyd. He began to make himself a qualified host of tonight's family gathering. He liked Kevin, his son-in-law a lot so he held a good opinion to Claire too. He thought that being Kevin's sister made Claire share the same virtues as her brother.
"Oh! No, thank you, Mr. Leng," replied Claire. Frankly speaking, she did feel a little uncomfortable. The overwhelming decoration of the hall was beyond she could imagine. She had thought that Kevin's apartment decoration was luxurious. It couldn't be matched to the Leng's house decoration though. Everything was aristocratic. Even the smallest ornament here was screaming luxury. This noble palace made Kevin's apartment look like a humble place.