"Yeah! Let's go!" Leena reached out and straightened Claire's clothes a little. From a design point of view, the dress that Claire just showed was not bad, but it was not suited for the theme of this competition. And the chosen fabrics were not flawless, which negatively affected the texture of the dress. Even so, Leena still gave it a decent score with a slight bias.
"Leena, I can't believe that you're the brand designer for LN. But why didn't you ever mention this before?" Claire pouted and voiced her displeasure.
"It's not something worth bragging about. Why would I mention it? Though you should tell me why you are here at the competition!" The two walked by the pool as they spoke. Since the venue was specifically used for a fashion show, all kinds of set pieces were in place. The pool was entirely used as a background for something like a swimwear show. The design was made according to the standards of a model walkway incorporated with the water element.
"Leena, sorry! I lied. Actually I did this only as a favor for Louisa's friend. The models who promised to walk for her dropped out all of a sudden, so I filled in when they couldn't find any other models. I was afraid that my brother wouldn't agree if he found out. That was why I hid this from you on purpose," Claire said quite apologetically. She also chuckled at herself as she was not sure if she should still consider Louisa as her sister. After all their relationship was very much on thin ice.
"Even if that's the case, you should have told me! I really thought you were at the mansion, recuperating. That's why I didn't even dare disturb you." Leena was feeling down tonight. Last night, a man broke her heart. The hurt and pain were so much that they had lingered till now. Since then, she didn't hear anything back from him. Maybe because she was not the one he loved? Was that why she was never treated seriously? Since there was no love, why would he care for her feelings? And without love, why would there be any concern for her at all? A painful smile appeared on Leena's face. Although her heart was drowning in tears, she had to look up and smile.
"Alright, it's all my fault. I apologize, okay? Say, my brother didn't come with you?" Claire raised her head and looked around. She couldn't see her brother, but she understood that it would not be convenient for him to show up on such an occasion.
"He's busy with some things. Come with me later! You don't need to go back to the mansion." Leena casually changed the subject. At this moment, she didn't want to talk about Kevin, though she was somewhat conflicted. She was really worried about him, yet she was afraid that anyone would bring the subject up to her. She felt like an ostrich burying her head in the sand.
Louisa was glaring at Leena with envy, but the more she thought about her, the angrier she got. Louisa couldn't bear the fact that Leena beat her both in love life and in career. Was it simply because of her beautiful, seductive face? Louisa couldn't stomach Leena's confidence. With that thought, she strode towards her.
"Leena Leng, you must have played some tricks just now, right? Otherwise it was impossible for us to be disqualified from entering the next round of competition. You must be making this personal to get back at me." Louisa intrusively stepped between Leena and Claire, staring at Leena in the most condescending tone.
"Louisa, do you think you are even worth my making it personal?" Leena raised her eyebrows, unfazed. 'Louisa is truly a mad dog biting whatever comes within her sight,' Leena thought. She wasn't provoking her in anyway, yet Louisa came forward looking for humiliation. Since Louisa made her choice, Leena was not planning on holding back.
"What's that supposed to mean? You're saying that I, a daughter of a military commander, am not as good as you, a lowly girl from a business family?" Louisa looked down and smirked. She wanted Leena to know that in ancient times, business people were nothing more than peddlers at the lowliest level of the totem pole of careers. It was unacceptable for her to see Leena acting so pompously.
"Ha! Louisa, the reason why I don't want to tussle with you is exactly my respect for your father the commander. I look up to the old man as a hero. He is my husband's superior officer after all, but that doesn't mean that you share that same respect. So don't always come in front of me looking for a fight. I'm going to be the hard pill that you wouldn't want to swallow." Leena always followed the rule of staying in her own lane as long as no one offended her. However, Louisa seemed to be oblivious to her own worst qualities. She was just so insistent on being disgraced, almost as if she enjoyed the humiliation.
"Tsk! Nobody asked you to respect him. What's more, my father is not a fan of hypocrites who suck up to him, so why don't you just save it? Stop acting so high and mighty." If it weren't for the reporters and the prominent figures in the venue, Leena would have ripped Louisa's nasty mouth off her face.
"If that's the case, then please leave! Do yourself a favor and stop squeezing yourself into places where you are not wanted." Leena didn't care that Louisa was barking. She might have been bitten by the bitch, but she was not going to bite back.