Smiling, Leena didn't answer him, but instead, asked another question in return. "What do you think?"
"I think you've had some, but you never say anything," Richard said honestly. He furrowed his brows, skeptical that she didn't have any protests when his father rarely stayed at home because of his work.
"My dear son!" exclaimed Leena. "My feelings towards your father are not something that you can understand at your age right now. You may want to know if I've ever had any complaints about being with him, but I prefer not to tell you directly." She threw a meaningful glance at him. "You'll just have to find out when you get married in the future." Spousal relationships were challenging to explain to those who hadn't experienced it yet. So no matter how hard she could try to explain it to him, Richard would only end up being confused about it. For that matter, she preferred to let him experience it himself.
"I know, you two went through a lot of gunfire," Richard said, shrugging. Although he had a hard time understanding their feelings, the one thing he definitely knew was that his mother loved his father so much, that she was willing to endure so much for him.
"Pfft! What are you talking about? Gunfire? Do you think we're in a time of war?" Leena joked, amused by his words. 'Sons be raised in frugality, and daughters in abundance' was a famous proverb for parenting strategies on raising kids. Parents who believed in it thought that a son would grow up into a responsible and solid man, while a daughter would turn into an elegant lady who could resist being materialistic. Their son, however, was strictly raised and had no other choice. As Richard's father was a Commander, he had to follow in his footsteps and be influenced by his morals.
"I think it's pretty much the same thing. I heard from uncles that dad and you experienced a lot of hardships back then," Richard said solemnly. Despite being clueless about his parents' love, he always believed in the truth. That true love was powerful.
"All of those things happened in the past. So let's not mention them anymore. Oh, no," Leena said abruptly. "Have you fallen in love?" An instinctive feeling told her that her son might be in love. That would explain the young man's curiosity. So she threw him a strange look, waiting expectantly for an answer.
"Hey! Mom, that's a funny thing to say. Don't you remember what school I go to?" Richard said, shaking his head. As someone who was attending military school, he rarely had the chance to meet the right girl for him. How could he fall in love when he hadn't met her
though, as they thought it was merely platonic.
"Little Jasmine, you're at home! I thought you were busy hanging out with others," Richard said cheerfully. He always saw Jasmine Ouyang as his little sister, and so he never noticed that she was looking at her in a different way.
"Why did you turn off the phone at noon today? I tried calling you but it never got through," Jasmine said, pouting her lips as she was a bit upset.
"Oh! At noon, was it? Let me think," said Richard, appearing to think. "Oh right. My cell phone must have run out of battery. Why, what's going on? Were you trying to find me?" The young man seemed distracted in their conversation, as he was also looking for the legendary Eden.
"I asked Joyce to have dinner with my brother Justin. I wanted you to join us, but who knew you won't even give me the opportunity to ask?" Jasmine said, still upset. When Jasmine became a teenager, she bloomed like a beautiful flower, and so everyone doted on her. She was pampered like a princess, much like she was the Leena of their generation.
"What? I've made you upset? I am so sorry!" Richard said earnestly. "To show my sincere apology, how about I treat you another day?" The moment he noticed that Jasmine was upset, he withdrew his attempt at finding Eden, and concentrated on her.
"Okay, that's a deal! Richard, you need to keep your promise, okay?" Jasmine said, a smile lighting up her face and a sense of happiness filling her heart. Leena had left them, and sought for Belinda.
"In the name of a soldier, I make my promise to you. You can totally trust me that I will keep it, okay?" Richard said seriously, smiling at the young lady. As soon as he saw Owen come out, he waved at the guy at once.
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