Chapter 154 - Clever Fox
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After a few more minutes of consoling the lovely Celesta, she recovered to her usual state somehow and then departed to fetch Isla at the airport.
Hmm... It's just me left here now. It's getting kind of dark out there, too. What should I do?
I mean, Celesta must have prepared a feast for Isla's return, and I don't feel like napping in the meantime, not to mention the sleep I already caught up on in the plane earlier.
Just as I was contemplating my next action, my phone in my pocket vibrated twice. Opening it to check, I found a text message from someone that I hadn't heard from in a while.
'Carene, I saw you return just earlier. Do you mind dropping by for a bit? I have some new clothes to try on~'
Sis Lin... it's Sis Lin! Oh, God. I almost forgot about her after the journey back home.
No, I must not miss this golden chance of our steamy reunion! Ah, I mean... yeah, I must help her judge the clothes she had bought. As a good neighbour, I must help her.
Hmm, hmmm, appreciating beautiful things could only be the right thing to do. And, you know... maybe I could lend her a hand, just in case she needs it?
Without waiting for my resolve to be shaken by sound logic, I ran out of the house and opened the front door of Sis Lin's house with my key.
Now, now... where would she be in this big house? In the bathroom, taking a nice little shower?? In the bedroom... trying out the clothes? Or, in the Kitchen... in a 'special' apron??
Man, this suspense is killing me! I would love to 'communicate' with her in all those places!
...
A taxi slowly came to a stop in front of the Airport. Celesta paid the fare and sprinted towards the Arrivals Area.
The anticipation and delight of seeing her Mother again was something very hard to suppress for her.
Before she had left for the trip, she had not been in the right state of mind. But, upon hearing the frequent reports from Carene, Celesta was sure that her Mother was now feeling better than ever before.
She just couldn't help but look forward to seeing her bright and happy smile directed at her once more.
With just a few minutes left before the plane's arrival, Celesta glanced around herself casually, when she noticed someone else, someone familiar, standing some distance from her.
As Celesta approached the said person, she curiously enquired,
"Karime? Why are you still here? Didn't you go back home with Lara and Carene?"
Karime looked a little surprised to see Celesta coming over to stand next to her. She scratched her cheek as embarrassment crept on her and replied,
"Uh... about that, I kind of wanted to welcome the Landlady as she returned and didn't feel like waiting at home, so after dropping off the others, I came back alone."
Celesta looked a bit moved by the concern for her Mother reflected in Karime's voice as she remarked,
"That's great to hear. But, aren't you tired from the long flight? I heard that you girls had a tough schedule rushing about everywhere. Also, thank you for worrying about my Mother so much. Especially for your effort these past few days. It must have been difficult to take the time off your schedule to do this for her, right?"
Karime coughed twice to hide her embarrassment as she muttered to herself,
"... dealing with that spoiled little princess was way more exhausting than anything..."
"Did you say something??"
"N-No, nothing noteworthy! Aha... hahaha..."
Karime tried to brush off her weird thoughts. Meanwhile, her eyes kept impatiently searching for her goddess within the arriving crowd.
Although she had gained a favorable impression of Celesta recently, her feelings towards Isla couldn't be shaken by anything. She still yearned to capture the heart of her 'one true Goddess'.
Celesta took her eyes off Karime and began to concentrate ahead as well, as soon her effort was rewarded. She spotted a familiar figure walking towards her from a distance.
A dazzling smile came upon Celesta's face as she waved her hands happily and shouted,
"Mom! Mother, I am here~!!"
Isla's eyes soon found Celesta, as she softly smiled and nodded back towards her as she made her way closer to her.
Running a few steps ahead, Celesta tightly hugged her Mother, relishing the warm embrace of her parent. Isla, too, returned the hug with an arm, while her other hand softly patted Celesta's hair as she spoke to her,
"My Good Baby, you didn't have to wait for me here. It's already so late in the evening. I bet that you haven't had anything to eat till now. I could have gotten home by myself, too, you know?"
Celesta rubbed her head against Isla's neck, spoilingly as she replied,
"I didn't wanna do that~! I wanted to meet you as soon as possible!"
"My, my. Baby Celesta has become so spoiled already! And with just a few days of my absence, too. Hmm, maybe I should take a vacation sometime soon~?"
"M-Mother..?"
Isla giggled heartily upon seeing the devastated look on her eldest daughter's face. She caressed her soft cheeks lovingly as she playfully spoke to her,
"Just joking~!! Owww, my poor baby. Mommy can't bear to be apart from my dear daughters for so long ever again. I missed you all so much~"
Karime watched the two hug each other and chose to endure. She couldn't bear to interrupt the touching family reunion. Isla, however, quickly noticed her and spoke to her,
"Oh? Karime is here, too? I didn't expect that."
"G-Good evening, Landlady. I was just free and had nothing special going on, so I came along as well."
Karime tried to lightly dodge Isla's query as she greeted her simply. Isla's eyes shone with a weird light as she let Celesta pull her luggage towards the taxi stand, while she approached Karime and whispered to her,
"Well, thank Carene, from my side. She had been so busy taking care of me these days~"
Karime's steps froze abruptly, as cold sweat drenched her spine. She glanced at Isla in horror, while Isla kept smirking like a clever fox, as she rapidly made her way out of the Airport.
As her fists tightened subconsciously, Karime chose to ignore the disturbance within her heart and to act as if she didn't hear anything. She quickly followed the taxi stand to catch the ride back home.
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