Chapter 166: Let Me Show You One
"Of course," Keith looked around and caught someone. He raised a thoughtful smile and turned to his lady, "Let me show you one."
He lifted her to stand up and walked over to a couple that had just entered.
From the intimacy of this man and this woman, they were obviously in a loving relationship. Seeing them coming, she quickly said something to him and reached out her arms excitedly to Keith. The man next to her also smiled and shook hands with Keith.
Janice was in the German alumni with Keith back in university. Moreover, it was she and her long-time boyfriend Kevin that happened to see Ada and Keith on the hiking route an hour before they had that accident. Their information was a great help for the police in narrowing their search.
For Keith, Janice was a savior.
But thinking of that hike, Keith frowned invisibly.
"This is Cathryn, I guess?" Janice's eyes were shining full of joy in the middle of her thick, sparkly eyeliners. She joked to Cathryn, "I understand now why he'd been hiding on that island all the time. I wouldn't leave this angel for the world."
To Cathryn's surprise, Janice spoke English with an impeccable New York Accent.
Cathryn hugged her as well and shook Kevin's hand, "You are so kind."
"Janice is a German teacher," Keith said to Cathryn, "She teaches in an Upper East high school, and you can ask her for some help."
"Oh well," Janice said naughtily, "Do you want me to chat with her every day? I can't guarantee that I can resist her charm, or she's mine."
Her innocuous tone made both men laugh. Keith answered, "Try as you want, I'll have Kevin with me."
Janice's face fell pretentiously, "I know that there is something between you guys!"
Surprised and amused by their jokes, Cathryn laughed and felt closer to this chic couple.
They were invited as guests, and after a short chat, they excused Keith and Cathryn to receive new ones. While watching their backs and passing a cocktail to his lady, Kevin remarked reassuringly. "She does look like Ada."
"And look is the only thing they share," Janice said coldly. "The spirit is just too different."
Just a few minutes before 8 o'clock now, Cathryn had been looking around searching for her shadow, thinking that Ada might have found an excuse not to come.
She was getting tired, too, after all the socializing.
Their vigorous afternoon exercise was still too intense for her. Cathryn had a sore back and weakened legs. And Keith managed to find an armchair for her to sit down on.
His uncle Theodore was calling him down, Keith quickly responded and told Cathryn, "Stay here, I'll get you some company."
"I'm not so introverted," Cathryn laughed. "Go ahead."
Keith got up to his uncle. As far as Cathryn could see, the family empire was looking to pass to Keith after Theodore's future retirement. Now that he had run a successful Stark Industries, it was enough to prove his capability, he was also the only one in the young Clarkson's with a business ambition.
Although it was not announced, Keith could feel it. However, if he really inherits the family empire, he may have to spend most of his time in Europe.
He didn't know if Cathryn would get used to it.
Keith thought as he talked to Theodore and his friends and looked at Cathryn from time to time. She was looking up and talking to a few young ladies with a gorgeous smile on her cheeks.
Cathryn could talk to most of them in English, but still, somehow, she'd meet some cultural shock. As they were trying to figure out awkwardly what each other was talking about while smiling frantically, a slow, tender kid-ish voice rose behind them.
"She's asking what you did as a job."
Despite the tenderness, the tone was as sophisticated as she could imagine of a kid. Cathryn turned back and met that pair of blue and bright eyes of Luis.
Gratefully smiling at him, Cathryn said, "I was an actress," to her new acquaintance in English.
With Luis's translation, Cathryn could communicate much better with the quests here, and they soon got to know each other happily.
After sending away the ladies for some drinks, Cathryn went back to sit down next to Luis. The little boy was dressed in a fitted blue suit and with a red bow tie. His hair was meticulously combed, quite a bit of a young master look.
Luis is old-fashioned with his age. He is only seven years old this year. While other seven-year-olds were having their time being naughty, he was reading his illustration book at such a lovely dinner. And reading his book at the same time, he gave Cathryn a 5-minute translation.
Cathryn glanced over at the book and was surprised to find it was a picture book of "Chinese Idiom Stories."
It was surprising for a young German boy like he was to be so fluent in the Chinese language. Cathryn suddenly felt a strong admiration.
"Thank you, Luis." Cathryn gives him a grateful look for the translation just now.
Luis nodded a little, still expressionless. When Cathryn was about to get up again, he handed the book to her.
Cathryn looked back at him, and the boy's eyes flashed an uncomfortable pleading.
"It has no pinyin. Can you read it for me?"
Cathryn Riley: "..."
Cathryn read for a long while and found that most stories were strange to her. She got interested in them too and started discussing the plots and characters with her little nephew.
She realized that this seven-year-old boy knew more of the country's history than she did. Moreover, although there was no phonetics, Luis had already figured everything out.
He had his private teacher, and he only asked her to read for him so that she would have something else to do other than coping with the strangers here.
Realizing this, Cathryn felt a warm glow in her heart and reached out to pat his hair. Luis instinctively attempted to dodge but then calmed down and let her.
"Oh my goodness, that precious head made of gold! I can't believe you are so generous now, Luis! Am I allowed to touch it too, or is it just for Cathryn here?" Sophia flashed in as she had just come back from school and changed her school uniform.