Chapter 633: Let’s Meet Alone
Chapter 633: Chapter 633: Let’s Meet Alone
"Tiberius, don’t say that about her. She only asked because she cares about me." Worried her boyfriend and best friend were about to fight, Tina placated Tiberius Lee before turning to the screen. "Chilli, I’ll call you back later. I’m hanging up now."
Tiberius Lee said unhappily, "Tina, I don’t like this friend of yours. Can you contact her less in the future? Or maybe not at all?"
Tina frowned, troubled. "Tiberius, Leila is my best friend. Please don’t talk like that, okay?"
"A friend is just a friend, but a boyfriend is the person who will spend the rest of his life with you."
"Leila isn’t just any friend." Tina’s expression grew more serious. "Besides, she didn’t even say anything just now. You were the one who suddenly got worked up."
Tiberius Lee pressed his lips together, silent for a few seconds before softening his tone. "Tina, it might just be a reflex. I feel like this Leila is always interrupting our time together. Every time I want to get a little intimate with you, a video call from her comes in."
"Don’t be jealous of Leila. When she calls me, it just means she’s thinking of me as a friend." Tina sighed. "I’m not the kind of person who ignores her best friend just because she has a boyfriend."
"Alright, alright, I get it," Tiberius Lee coaxed her. "That Leila is probably just bored because she’s single. There’s no problem if I set her up with someone to keep her busy, right?"
Tina said seriously, "Setting her up is fine, but you have to introduce her to someone good and suitable. Don’t just introduce her to any guy."
Tiberius Lee smiled, but a flash of malice glinted in his lowered eyes.
’So damn long-winded. Just have to put up with it for a few more days.’
Mia stayed in the corner, staring warily at Tiberius Lee.
What a detestable villain!
Spicy, having had the video call hung up on her, was about to explode with rage.
She wasn’t mad at Tina, but at Tiberius Lee.
"That damned liar should just explode on the spot!" she cursed, then immediately corrected herself. "No, he can’t explode on the spot. What if Tina and Mia get caught in the blast? That would be terrible!"
Spicy hugged Mimi, sighing over and over again.
After a while, her phone screen lit up.
Spicy picked up her phone and saw a message from Tina.
Tina: [Leila, are you angry? I already gave Tiberius a talking-to. I’ll treat you to dinner in a couple of days and have him apologize to you.]
Spicy snorted. "Who the hell wants his apology? Just looking at him makes me lose my appetite. How could I possibly eat?"
Muttering under her breath, her fingers flew across the screen as she typed a reply: [He doesn’t need to apologize. Are you free tomorrow? Let’s get a meal, just the two of us. Don’t tell Tiberius Lee.]
Tina: [Okay. Is tomorrow evening okay? I promised Tiberius I’d make him soup for lunch.]
Spicy: [...Okay.]
Tina was about to type something else when Tiberius Lee suddenly hugged her from behind.
Tina instinctively locked her phone and turned her head to ask, "What’s wrong?"
"Tina," Tiberius Lee said, burying his face in her hair. "I was just thinking... from now on, can you not tell other people about our business?"
"What kind of business do you mean?"
"Anything and everything between us."
Tina opened her mouth, wanting to talk things through with him properly, but she swallowed her words and replied softly, "Okay."
Only then did Tiberius Lee curve his lips into a satisfied smile. He continued, "By the way, since you’ve already quit your job, we can go to Marland early."
"Go early?" Tina frowned. "But I haven’t even finished buying all my travel gear!"
"We can just buy it slowly after we get there. I’ll cover all the expenses. Young Master Lee is paying."
"Why is Young Master Lee suddenly so generous?"
"Suddenly? Was I stingy with you before?"
"Not really. In that case, I’ll ask a friend to go shopping with me at the mall tomorrow night. I’ll see if I can find some suitable clothes."
"Fine."
***
When Renee Jennings woke up, she saw a message from Spicy, sent at three in the morning, with a time and place to meet.
She replied, then dialed Henry Stark’s number to tell him about Tina’s situation.
"This matter definitely deserves our attention," Henry Stark said, his tone growing serious. "Sawyer and I will pick you up tonight and go with you."
"Okay." Renee Jennings hung up. After washing up, she went downstairs and saw Willow wiping down the TV cabinet. "Willow, give me the cloth. If you’re bored, you can read a book or watch TV. You don’t have to do this."
"Miss Renee, I want to help with something," Willow explained softly. "My brother and I are living here; we can’t just eat and not do any work."
’Besides, if I just sit there doing nothing, I can’t help but think of Mom and want to cry.’
Renee Jennings pressed her lips together, then said in a gentle voice, "Willow, could you do me a favor, then?"
Willow nodded emphatically. "Yes! Just tell me what to do, Miss Renee."
Renee Jennings went back to her study and printed out a list of classical poems required for middle school. "Can you help me by reading these poems to the cats and dogs?"
Hearing this, a look of surprise appeared on Willow’s small face. "Read classical poems to the cats and dogs?"
"That’s right." A smile touched Renee Jennings’s lips. "The cats and dogs love to learn, too. Is that okay?"
"Yes!" Willow accepted with great seriousness. "I’ll be sure to read them well."
Renee Jennings added, "If you come across any words you don’t know, you can ask us."
"Okay!" Willow’s tone lifted, clearly pleased with her new job. "I will!"
Renee Jennings patted her on the head and turned to look at Glenn, who was sitting on the sofa, playing with a Rubik’s Cube with intense concentration.
She asked softly, "Glenn, would you like something to eat?"
Glenn looked up and shook his head gently. "Miss Renee, I don’t eat snacks. I want to get smarter."
Last night, he’d had a dream.
He saw his mother in the dream. She was covered in blood and kept telling him to take good care of his sister.
In the dream, Glenn promised his mother he would.
He had to take care of his sister. He had to become capable, and to do that, he needed to get smarter first.
When he woke up that morning, he had asked Rhea Dempsey how he could get smarter.
Rhea Dempsey had dug this Rubik’s Cube out of the toy box and told Glenn that playing with it could make him smarter.
Glenn had been playing with the Rubik’s Cube ever since breakfast, but he just couldn’t solve it.
’Getting smarter really is a hard thing to do.’
Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow and sat down in the armchair to watch him play with the cube.
After a moment, Glenn said dejectedly, "It’s so hard. Am I just going to be a dummy?"
"Give it to me." Renee Jennings held out her hand to him.
Glenn stared for two seconds before placing the hopelessly scrambled Rubik’s Cube in her palm.
Renee Jennings lowered her gaze, studying the cube for a moment. Her fair, slender fingers moved deftly, twisting the sections. The colored blocks began falling into place, and soon, a complete, solid-colored side appeared.
Glenn’s eyes widened in delighted surprise, his voice tinged with excitement. "Miss Renee, you’re amazing!"
A few minutes later, Renee Jennings handed the solved Rubik’s Cube back to Glenn and said with a light laugh, "Studying hard is how you get smarter. I think at your age, you should be in school, focusing on your studies first."
Glenn’s shoulders slumped. "But I can’t go to school."