Chapter 526 The Obedient Sister
"Why can I only choose one?" Diana asked, her face scrunched up in confusion, her dark eyes wide with doubt. "Can't we all just play together?"
Lon, looking dead serious, replied, "Nope."
"Why not?" she pressed.
"No reason," Lon said flatly. "You can have lots of friends, but only a few best friends."
"Are you mad 'cause I hung out with Noe all day and didn't spend time with you?" Diana, usually carefree, could be pretty sharp when she wanted to be.
Lon didn't answer, which was answer enough.
All summer, he'd been her go-to playmate.
Whenever Diana called, he'd show up if he was free, unless he was ticked off.
But today, even though Diana was making up for his birthday, she spent the whole time with Noe. Anyone would feel a bit left out.
"I played with Noe 'cause it was his first time here and meeting us," Diana explained. She had a point, but it wasn't the whole picture. "I didn't want him to feel shy. I couldn't just leave him alone."
Lon shot back, "You could've."
"No way," Diana insisted, "My mom says when you bring a friend home, you gotta take good care of them and not make them feel left out."
"What about me?" Lon asked.
"You're different. We already played role-playing games," Diana said innocently, not worried about getting scolded, "We're close friends."
That simple statement wiped away all of Lon's bad vibes for the day.
He bit his lip, not sure what to say next.
Diana looked at him with her big, round eyes, waiting for his response.
Lon nodded and was about to leave.
Thinking ahead, Lon reminded her, "Next time we play, you can't just hang out with Noe and ignore me."
"Okay," Diana agreed.
Who knew if she really meant it or was just saying it.
But Lon took her word seriously.
After seeing them off, Diana happily went back to the living room with Daphne and Benjamin.
Seeing Louis chilling on the sofa watching a movie, Diana ran over and accused him, "Louis! Why'd you rat me out to Noe today?"
"If I had really ratted you out, I would have shown those exercises you did earlier to him," Louis denied, "Instead of just using dinner to mess with you."
"I don't care," Diana insisted, "You still ratted me out."
Louis asked, "And what now?"
Diana replied, "You gotta make it up to me!"
Louis asked, "How?"
Diana answered, "Give me Lon or Noe."
"I'll go tell Mom," Louis said smoothly, "and ask her to bring them back for you."
Diana panicked and blocked his way, "Louis!"
Weren't they supposed to keep their stuff from their parents? He was such a traitor!
"If I remember right, you told Noe that I usually scold you and call you stupid," Louis began to settle the score. "Isn't that slander?"
Diana's bravado crumbled instantly. She hung her head and fiddled with her fingers.
Louis kept going, "Pretending you don't know the answers to questions you do know, isn't that lying?"
"I just wanted to hang out with him more. Lon's brother doesn't talk much. I couldn't just leave him alone," Diana tried to justify.
Louis didn't buy it, "Are you sure it's not 'cause he's good-looking?"
Diana puffed her cheeks, clearly annoyed.
"Go stand in the corner and think about what you did," Louis ordered with that big brother tone, "Stand for half an hour, promise not to do it again, and I won't tell Mom and Dad."
"Louis!" Diana was desperate.
Louis wasn't budging, "Calling my name won't help."
Diana didn't want to stand. "Seriously? You're gonna make your cute, obedient, and sensible sister stand in the corner? What a meanie!"
Louis shot back, "Slandering me is sensible? Scolding me is obedient?"
Diana felt totally wronged.
Louis's eyes drifted back to the TV, his voice still firm. "You have one minute to decide."
"Fine, I'll go," Diana knew better than to push her luck with Louis.
To her, Louis was the best person besides their parents.
Even if he was being strict now, Louis was still super reliable in other ways.
When Daphne and Benjamin walked over, they saw Diana stomping off and looked puzzled, "What's going on with you two?"
"Louis is making me stand in the corner and reflect!" Diana grumbled as she went to her spot.
Daphne and Benjamin exchanged confused looks.
Benjamin glanced between Louis and Diana. "Come over and explain what's happening."
Diana looked at Louis, then obediently stood in the corner without moving.
This was the first time Benjamin's words didn't carry more weight than Louis's.
"Louis," Daphne turned to him, "What did Diana do wrong?"
"Nothing much, she just wanted to stand in the corner," Louis covered for her. He had promised that if she stood quietly, he wouldn't spill the beans.
Daphne looked at Diana.
Diana felt upset but was honest, "Yeah, I wanted to stand in the corner."
This left Daphne and Benjamin scratching their heads.
Daphne asked Diana to come over, but Diana shook her head after glancing at Louis and stayed put.
This was the first time Daphne realized how much Diana listened to Louis.
Seeing that neither Louis nor Diana wanted to spill, Daphne and Benjamin let it go. They figured Diana must've done something wrong that Louis found out about, and as her brother, he was handling it.
After all, knowing Diana's personality, if she hadn't done something wrong, no one could make her stand in the corner.
When Louis saw Benjamin and Daphne sitting next to him, he felt a surge of curiosity. "Mom."
"Yes?" Daphne responded gently.
Louis glanced at Benjamin and asked the question that had been bugging him, "How did you meet Dad?"
Hearing this, Daphne paused and looked at Benjamin.
Their minds drifted back to that summer long ago.
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