Chapter 17

The Sincerity

Lena looked at one of the books displayed in the fiction section. She just visited the DVD store and decided to stop by the book store to find some books that were made into movies. She wanted to read and made comparison between the book and movie like she always do.

She had spend almost twenty minutes trying to decide on whether to buy another book as well, she decided to buy both and walked towards the cashier. Looking towards her watch she decided that she had enough time to grab a drink before getting on the subway.

She walked to the nearest drink shop and ordered an ice milk tea to go, she never expected to see anyone but she did and it was someone she really did not expect to meet.

“Lena!” She heard the women’s voice greeting her, Lena immediately walked over towards her and her husband to greet the two properly.

“Hello Mrs. Wu, Mr. Wu” Lena immediately greeted and gave the two an almost 90 degree bow.

“How are you Lena? Are you here alone?” Mrs. Wu asks curious while looking behind Lena.

Lena nods her head, “I’m alone” she answers and Mrs. Wu then asked why she wasn’t with Kris. Lena could only made up excuses, “He’s busy today beside I was just here to grab a few books” She showed the shopping bag she was holding.

“Well, would you like to join us for lunch?” Mrs. Wu asked and Lena immediately showed hesitation.

“It would be nice to get to know you better Lena” Mr. Wu now spoke and Lena could not find logic, reasonable reason to give if she were to refuse their invitation.

Lena could only nod and then followed Kris’ parents as they walked in one of the restaurant. As soon as they reached the table, Lena sat opposite Kris’ parents and had let them decide what to order.

“I am really curious, Lena. How exactly did you meet Yi Fan?” Mrs. Wu suddenly asks a question however, both Kris and Lena managed to discuss over this little facts, usual questions by themselves.

“We were class mates a few years ago but we lost contact when I moved out” Lena explain slowly and the fact is she weren’t lying, it was the truth.

“Where did you moved out?” Mr. Wu now asks, trying to understand why his son has feelings for the lady in front of him.

“I moved to Singapore for a few years” Lena answered without hesitation and both Mr. and Mrs. Wu could sense that she was telling the truth. “I was there to further my studies” Lena then continued before they could ask why she moved out.

“What was your major then?” Mr. Wu asked, wanting to know more about Lena. He was mainly trying to see whether she was suitable for Kris.

“I majored in Education, Primary Education to be exact” Lena then muttered thanks to the waiter who had sent the foods in.

“So you are a teacher then” Mrs. Wu now was surprised, the two had forgot to ask Kris what Lena did and they never really asked any questions regarding her to Kris.

“Yes” Lena smiled, proud of her occupation and that earned a smile from both Kris’ parents. What Kris’ parents were most curious about was whether Lena knew who Kris’ exactly was, his background and all those little things that he has.

“How do you feel about Yi Fan’s work? Do you think you can handle it when he doesn’t have time to come home?” Mr. Wu now asks, Lena almost open her eyes wide but manage to pull off a normal expression at the last minute.

“I believe Yi Fan’s a professional, I am sure he can differentiate time between work and family” Lena didn’t know whether it was the right answer to give, she was a little clueless about Kris’ work, all she knew was Kris was taking over his father’s position in their company.

“But what if, he doesn’t have the time and work requires him to focus his time on projects?” Mr. Wu continued to ask Lena on her opinions.

“I’ll give him the time he needs but I am sure Yi Fan knows what comes first” Lena was almost sweating; she wondered how Kris was able to deal with his parents. She even started to wonder how married people went through this process.

Mrs. Wu nodded, “I am sure you understand that we need to give men time for their works and that women focus more on the household matters” She continued and Lena was starting to become uncomfortable with the conversation but decided it was best to be honest with Kris’ parents.

“I think household matters are decisions made by both the men and women, household works as well” Lena now said without realizing that she just shocked both Kris’ parents over the little boldness she shown.

“Are you going to let Yi Fan wash the dishes, Lena?” Mrs. Wu asks and Lena looked up to both of them. She knew now that it was a test and she needs to ace the test.

“If he wants to do the dishes then he can, I won’t force it on him” Lena answered and she was now starting to feel more and tenser. The questions didn’t end there.

“Why exactly haven’t you accepted Yi Fan, Lena?” Mr. Wu now asked the big question, Lena had never imagined this question will be posed and for that, Lena had to think instantaneously, she was trying to find the right words and tried to make everything sound rational however, nothing came onto her mind but just honest words and she didn’t know whether it was right to say it out loud.

“I feel like I am not yet ready to take that big step, I am just afraid that I will be a big disappointment to Yi Fan. I don’t communicate well with people and I can be very offensive at times and I feel that Yi Fan deserves someone better.” Lena was now being honest. “I just want the best for Yi Fan” Lena then added and it was one of the most sincere feelings she had for Kris.

“You must really like our Yi Fan” Mrs. Wu smiled towards Lena when she felt the sincere emotion from Lena. Lena however was dazed with what she had just pointed. Lena was starting to re-trace what she had felt. Maybe she did have a feeling for Yi Fan, maybe but she wasn’t willing to let that out in the open yet.