"Young people don't always shoot off their mouths like that. You're actually younger than her, you know, but you are always polite and respect other people. She's left in the dust compared to you," griped Kevin. He couldn't see what Claire's problem was, and couldn't see that he was just making it worse. Now it seemed even more like Leena's fault, and she could blame the gal for everything. Everything.

  Leena felt dizzy after Kevin said this. What did he think he was doing? She found him more of a hindrance than a helper. All he was doing was adding fuel to the fire, and Claire would hate her more. Aghast, she pinched Kevin's waist forcibly to stop him from digging an even deeper hole.

  "Hey! What are you doing?" Kevin whipped his head around to look at her while stroking his sore spot in astonishment. She had pinched him so hard that he felt like he'd been bitten! He couldn't believe that she actually hurt him. Where was his gentle and caring woman? Did she mean to do this?

  "Sorry, just a stray thread on your shirt, and I just plucked it away. I guess I grabbed too much," Leena replied lamely. Obviously, she was lying through her teeth. But she needed to think of something quickly, and some way to let him know without Claire's knowledge. If he continued to trash Claire like that, it might destroy everything Leena had done to try and get on her good side.

  "Seems that you hate this thread a lot. So now I'm collateral damage," grumbled Kevin, rolling his eyes. He was sure that she was pinching him, and that was not how you grabbed a stray thread.

  "Hah! I said I was sorry," said Leena, smiling disarmingly. However, she was actually gnashing her teeth. She had really wanted to pinch him harder until he passed out, so that he would not utter a single silly word to complicate the matter.

  "So where are we headed? The department store, the shopping mall, or t

  od nature and was sensible enough most of the time. She was only spoiled by people around her and became self-centered, knowing that she would not be blamed no matter what she said or did.

  "I knew you were a freeloader and wouldn't come along for nothing. But let me put it straight. Don't even think about an extravagant spending spree," Kevin said. Honestly, he didn't know how much money was on his card, but he knew his credit limit was not small. For one thing, Blue Enchantress was doing well and he could expect a high dividend. For another, Hoyle was a reliable friend, and was unlikely to rip him off. So he was sure that he had earned a lot.

  "Alright then, scrooge!" Claire mumbled. But she was clever enough to see that Kevin had agreed, so she was chuckling to herself though she couldn't resist complaining. She was in no hurry to find a job after graduation this year. Without a salary, her wallet had been empty.

  "Don't pretend that you don't have any pocket money. Today's a great day to use it. What's the matter? Saving it for a rainy day? Don't tell me that you are keeping it for your dowry." Kevin teased. For all he knew, Claire got a lot of pocket money every month. She was not going to tell him that she had spent all of that now.