Jeff and Karen stood up and saw Luke and Selina off.
The new neighbors said goodbye as well, but didn’t leave with them.
After Luke and Selina left the house, they returned home.
Luke washed his hands and started cooking in the kitchen.
The dishes that Selina had been asked to make could only be cooked by him. After all, Selina was better at eating food than making it.
The food she made was far inferior.
To quote Selina herself, what she made was swill that she would never eat.
Naturally, there was nothing Luke could say about someone who had the courage to recognize her shortcomings.
He took a couple of beggar’s chicken that had already been prepped out of the fridge. He then set the timer on the oven and waited for it to heat up.
Selina was in the kitchen too. Leaning against the wall, she said, “They’re indeed strange. You tested them when you shook hands with them, didn’t you? Even though Natalie’s a woman and it was her left hand, it was still too rough. But, maybe it’s because she cooks too much?”
Luke shrugged. “Neither of them is left-handed, and there weren’t any noticeable scars on their hands. However, the shape of Mr. Tim’s fists suggests that he has frequent professional boxing training. He’s a writer, not a boxer. Unless he happens to be an avid fan of boxing, not many rich people would have hands like that.”
Selina exclaimed, “You could see even that?” She felt helpless.
She was observant, but she really hadn’t noticed anything unusual about Tim’s fists. After all, Tim had been mindful to keep his hands in a position where it was difficult to observe them.
What Luke didn’t say was that his eyes were sharp enough to detect the calluses on the couple’s right hands that were caused by long-term gun use.
While they had covered them, and Natalie took special care of her hands — perhaps due to a woman’s vanity — Luke could still see traces of them.
Secondly, while the smell of gun oil and gunpowder on them wasn’t heavy, it suggested that they had fired weapons in the last few days.
There were plenty of people who liked to play with guns; it didn’t necessarily mean that they were all criminals.
It was quite interesting, however, that a husband and wife, one a travel writer and the other a food blogger, both liked to play with guns.
Thinking for a moment, Selina noticed another suspicious point. “A man who does professional boxing training doesn’t know Brazilian jiu-jitsu?”
Luke chuckled. “He was pretending to be an amateur when he said that Brazilian jiu-jitsu was invented by the Japanese.”
Therefore, Luke had also talked nonsense and claimed that Brazilian jiu-jitsu originated in China.
He could bullsh*t too if needed!
Selina realized it as well, and clicked her tongue. “Those two are quite good. When they were describing their experiences, I was almost convinced that they were a writer and a blogger.”
Luke nodded and said, “Then why are they approaching Jeff?”
Selina thought for a moment before she replied, “Is it because of Jeff’s job? He works for Mcwell Bonn Incorporated, a major aerospace company with projects that involve various kinds of missiles and fighter jets.”
Luke nodded. “I think so too. I don’t think anybody would be interested in Karen’s interior design.”
Selina suggested, “Then… should we keep an eye on Tim and his wife?”
Pondering for a moment, Luke shook his head. “They’re professionals. Let’s be careful. It would be better to first keep an eye on our good neighbor Jeff.”
Selina said, “That’s different.”
Luke said solemnly, “Of course it’s different. Jeff is our neighbor, and we should take care of him.”
Selina glanced at him. “It’s actually because it’s easier to monitor Jeff’s place, isn’t it?”
Luke said, “What you say is true. Remember to work with me later.”
Selina snorted. “Tch, it’s not like you’re installing a camera in Jeff’s bathroom. Will it be that hard?”
Luke was unable to reply.
It really would be too easy to set up cameras outside Jeff’s house in this ordinary neighborhood.
While chatting, Luke put the two beggar’s chicken into the oven. Seeing that Selina was still being idle, he reminded her, “This is going to be the first community gathering we’re attending. Are you sure you’re going to wear that?”
Selina slapped her forehead. “That’s right. Meg will definitely talk sh*t. I need to find something appropriate to wear.” She then went to her room.
Los Angeles was already pretty hot in April. It was dry without rain, and it could be very hot in the afternoon.
Selina soon came out in a new outfit and did a twirl in front of Luke, who was testing the cameras. “What about this one?”
Luke raised his head, only to see that she was wearing a knee-length dark red dress that highlighted her figure. He quickly shook his head. “Do you want all those housewives to envy you? How many of them would dare show off their legs and waists? Wear something more low-key if you don’t want to become a public enemy.”
Selina looked at her breasts gloomily. “But certain assets can’t be covered up no matter what, right?”
Luke couldn’t agree more, but he still said, “Try to cover them up a little. You’ll still be pretty. Be good, go and change.” If she went out like this, it would be a pain when a bunch of old men hit on her later!
Selina could only put on a pair of capri pants and a white silk shirt that was clean and practical, but didn’t detract from her beauty. “What about these?”
Luke nodded. “That’s it. Let’s go. Don’t forget to dish out your specialty.”
Selina glared at him and went to the kitchen to pack her “specialty” into some food containers, before they went straight to Jeff’s backyard.
It was ten to six, and a lot of people had arrived.
According to Jeff, most of them were neighbors, while some were his colleagues. Danny, Meg’s husband, was also Jeff’s colleague, except that he was in the R&D department of Mcwell Bonn Incorporated.
Jeff had quite a few friends, and the people at the party ranged from middle-aged men in their forties to interns in their twenties.
Some of them brought their kids too, which made the backyard even more lively.
Jeff’s backyard was in fact a common area shared with two other neighbors who were also at the party. It was fairly spacious, so it wasn’t very crowded.
Looking at the unfamiliar old neighbors, Luke thought they were interesting.
Some of them, mostly in their forties, were dressed casually in big T-shirts and shorts; some were even wearing flip-flops.
It didn’t seem very polite, but they didn’t really care, and nobody criticized them.
The youngsters were dressed more formally. They were Jeff’s young co-workers from the company, and weren’t as uninhibited as their seniors.
But there were also some who had completely let themselves go after work, and were wearing trendy and individualistic styles.