Chapter 182 - I THINK I LIKE YOU
"Whose husband is he?"
Kevin asked the other man after the man finished speaking. The other man said that he had more information about Felix Smith, so he was so excited when Luke White started telling him a story.
Unfortunately, the story didn't meet his expectation.
"Senior Felix is my auntie's husband. He is my uncle."
Luke repeated the explanation, but Kevin was still speechless.
It was true that the information was new to him, but he needed more information than just a piece of personal information like that! Did he need to hear information about their family affair? No! He didn't need it!
Kevin groaned inwardly. The cold man named Luke White was unexpected! The grey-haired man told him about his family tree out of the blue. Even when he didn't want to know about it, the man insisted on continuing the story.
The raven-haired man inhaled the oxygen deeply before exhaling the carbon dioxide from his mouth. He didn't want to lose his cool in front of his colleague.
"So, that's the information you wanted to tell me?" Kevin asked while gritting his teeth.
He couldn't show his true anger in front of his colleague because he knew that he couldn't blame the green-eyed man. That information was still new information for him, anyway.
"Yeah," Luke answered calmly. "You are the first one to know about my relationship with Senior Felix."
Luke White was telling the truth. Both he and Luke had worked under Orka for years, but he had never known that Luke was Felix's cousin. He didn't know the reason, but it seemed that the two men deliberately hid their real relationship.
"We just wanted to work professionally, so we agreed to keep our relationship a secret," as if he could read Kevin's mind, Luke casually explained to the latter.
'How could he read my mind again?' Kevin wondered in his heart as he stared at Luke in horror.
Kevin was stunned for a moment, but then he relaxed once again when he asked, "So, you must know a lot about your uncle, right?"
The black-haired man chose to dismiss his previous disappointment when he saw another light shine brightly above Luke's grey head.
Unfortunately, the light seemed to lose its power as it dimmed right away when Luke answered, "That's not true. I'm not that close to my uncle, so I don't know much about him."
Kevin once again gritted his teeth to hold back his anger. This Luke fellow was just playing with him! What was the point of telling him that he was Felix Smith's cousin if he didn't know much about the senior?
Luke could easily read his mind and his mood, but it was hard for Kevin to see what was on the other man's mind.
"Then, there's no point for us talking about him now," Kevin finally surrendered.
The other man raised an eyebrow when he heard the weak tone coming out of Kevin's thin lips.
"Why?" He asked calmly. "You don't want to talk about my uncle with me because I'm not close with my uncle?"
'You've known the answer, so why did you still ask me?' Kevin was frustrated, but he couldn't say it out loud.
"My uncle resigned from Orka two years ago, right?" The green-eyed man asked again despite getting no response from Kevin for his previous question. "His resignation was controversial back then, not only amidst the people in Orka but among my big family as well."
It seemed that Luke's story successfully won Kevin's attention, and the fair-skinned man finally looked up at Luke and focused on him again.
"My father is also a scientist, and he questioned my uncle's decision back then. My uncle said that he wanted to be a teacher instead, but my father was against the idea. My father believed that teachers' salary is small, so he couldn't accept my uncle's decision."
Luke looked down at his plate as he paused the story.
Kevin didn't want to force the other man to continue the story, and he patiently waited for the continuation in silence.
"They fought at that time. My father called my uncle a useless person, while my uncle called my father a busybody. They are only in-laws, and my uncle believed that my father didn't have the right to control his life. Even my mother, who is my uncle's real sibling, said nothing about his decision, but my father was so stubborn to control my uncle back then."
The family matter was quite complicated, and Kevin said nothing for a few minutes. It was a family matter, so it must be a very sensitive topic for the emerald-eyed man. Kevin didn't even know what to say, so he kept quiet.
"I'm not very close with my uncle, and the conflict makes things get worse. But, that's the reason why I started investigating my uncle some time ago."
Kevin, who was still silent, was slightly taken aback by Luke's confession.
"You are investigating your uncle?"
"Yes."
Kevin was speechless. The situation was still vague for him, but if he looked at Luke's expression and tried to read the expression, it seemed that Luke was suspicious of his uncle.
It seemed that he wasn't the only one who smelled something fishy about Felix Smith.
"My father once told me that he was suspicious about my uncle's sudden resignation. My uncle told us that he just wanted to be a humble teacher without a huge burden on his shoulders, but my father didn't believe in him. My father believes that there's another reason besides that."
Even Luke's father was also suspicious about Felix Smith, and the fact increased the suspicion inside Kevin's heart. He was even more sure that there was something wrong with his senior.
"So, you and your father believe that your uncle is hiding something?"
"Yes. That's why I'm investigating him with my father."
Kevin was stunned. Even the father was also investigating his in-laws. Luke's family was surely complicated. They couldn't trust each other, and that was such an irony.
"Then, did you find something after you investigate your uncle?"
Kevin wasn't very sure when he voiced the question. It might be true that Luke was suspicious of his uncle, but no one could guarantee if the young man was willing to collaborate with him to find more information about the former scientist.
No one could guarantee if Luke was willing to share the result of his investigation with him.
Luke didn't immediately answer either, and that made Kevin feel nervous.
'Did I offend him?' The raven-haired man couldn't help but wonder.
"Yes. I found something about my uncle."
Luke finally broke the silence, and the answer made Kevin's heart skip a beat.
"Will you mind sharing it with me?" Kevin asked again a little more carefully this time.
Luke was such an unpredictable guy, so Kevin must be careful with his colleague. Even if he was so eager to find new information, he shouldn't press Luke.
"Can I trust you?" Instead of answering his question, Luke asked him back.
The question made Kevin sigh. "I've told you my secret, and that means I already trust you and see you as a friend, but you still doubt me?"
Kevin was helpless. He had dropped his pride and told everything to Luke like a desperate person, but the grey-haired man was still doubting him.
And to his surprise, he suddenly heard Luke chuckle the next second.
"So, you see me as your friend now? We are no longer strangers?"
Kevin rolled his eyes. He was tired of the man's pleasantries.
"We're friends now, alright? And friends have to trust each other."
"But, what if I don't want to be your friend?"
The black-haired man was fuming again. Luke was more annoying than his annoying lover!
'No, Kris is not annoying,' Kevin corrected his thought in his heart.
"I will go back to the laboratory now. Let's not see each other again after this."
Kevin was about to get up from his seat, but then he heard the other man speak.
"So, you want to dump me because I don't want to share the information with you?"
Kevin was on the verge of screaming now! Why did the cold man suddenly sound like a whiny kid? And why did he use the word 'dump'? They weren't dating or something, for God's sake! They were just lunch buddies!
He glared at the green-eyed man and found the man casually rested his chin on his palm and stared at him playfully.
Damn! He was being played all the time!
Kevin huffed and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"You are so annoying!" The blue-eyed man snapped at the other man. "Stop toying me and just tell me what you want!"
Luke bit his lips as he tried to hold back his smile. "I'm not toying you," he denied the accusation.
"If you're not toying me, then what are you doing?"
"I'm not toying you, but I'm flirting with you.. I think I like you, Kevin."