10. All Defence In Shane

"Let it be; it's already happened; what else can we do?" Lea said resignedly.

"Well, you could try negotiating with Grace's boyfriend?" 

"Freddie?"

"Yeah, talk to Freddie, ask him to arrange another meeting with Shane, tell him you want to apologize," Amanda suggested, including some reasonable advice.

Lea immediately rejected the idea.

"No way! I don't want that. Am I supposed to chase after him now?"

"Well, not really. There's a reason behind it. Do you want to apologize, don't you?" Amanda tried to convince her stubborn friend. But based on experience, Lea needed to be more easily swayed from her stance. The girl remained stubborn and refused to humble herself by apologizing first.

"I don't want to! Shane can be so arrogant. He'll probably bully me even more. No way!" Lea insisted.

Amanda was at a loss for words to persuade her friend. She knew Lea was stubborn but didn't expect it to be this difficult!

"You're so stubborn! I want to meet this 'ice block' Shane. It must be entertaining to see an ice-cold meeting a stubborn head. Seriously, I'm curious!" Amanda commented, frustrated with Lea's unwillingness to be advised. Amanda wasn't sure she could endure being with Lea if it weren't for their long-standing friendship.

"I might apply for a national record someday," Amanda said.

"Oh, what category are you thinking?" Lea asked.

"The category of the most patient person being friends with a blockhead like you!" Amanda said with a laugh, amused by her joke.

Lea shot her a piercing look, but deep down, she was grateful that, up to that moment, Amanda was still willing to endure being her friend. Amanda had endured facing her with all her flaws, continuously confronting her about anything.

Amanda Lewis. That was her name. She was a friend who had known Lea since high school. Their friendship continued into college even though they both attended in the same college, majoring in different fields. Lea studied Accounting, while Amanda studied Business Management Economics.

They maintained their enduring friendship not because their attitudes and personalities differed. On the contrary, they were quite different. However, Amanda, who was sensitive and caring, somehow felt compatible with Lea, who was indifferent but easily affected. And, oh, one more thing united them—their shared love for culinary delights.

They both loved trying different foods. If there were a new viral menu, they would quickly go hunting for it. They were also notorious for being food lovers who couldn't cook. While others who loved eating tried various things to be able to cook their favorite dishes, Lea and Amanda never had any interest in cooking, no matter how enticing the menu.

They rarely stepped into the kitchen. They wouldn't bother entering their kitchen if it weren't for extreme circumstances. This contradiction often irritated both Lea's and Amanda's mothers.

Amanda came from an influential family. She was one of the descendants of a respected family with a large property company. After graduating, Amanda was, of course, recruited by her father to continue the family business. Easily, she secured the position of Manager. But that didn't mean she was idle. She worked diligently, applying the knowledge and skills she gained during her education.

Amanda once offered Lea a job in her family's company, but she preferred applying to BISCO Corps, which was the closest to her house. This way, she didn't need to spend too much time commuting.

"So, if you don't want to fix things with Shane anymore, what do you want, hmm?" Amanda asked again, trying to understand Lea's intentions.

"I just want to vent. When I vent like this, I feel relieved," Lea defended herself.

Amanda looked at her suspiciously, "Are you relieved now? It seems to me that you regret the blind date not going smoothly, to be honest."

"Well... yeah, maybe. But that doesn't mean I have to go to him and apologize and ask to start over from the beginning, right?" Lea expressed her reluctance. Her pride wouldn't allow her to do such a thing.

Amanda shook her head. "Well, that's just a suggestion. If you don't want to, it's entirely up to you. It's probably best to forget about Shane from now on. Because you and the ice block are just not destined to be together!"

"Come on, let's go home. Suddenly, I feel irritated, tired of arguing with you," Amanda grumbled and proceeded to the cashier to pay for their orders. Lea followed from behind, and they went home together that night.

At home, Lea tried to talk to her mom. Mrs. Anna, curious about Lea's story about the blind date the night before, listened attentively. Several times, the middle-aged woman shook her head in surprise at her daughter's behavior in front of a man. When Lea finally finished telling the story, Mrs. Anna scolded her,

"Oh dear, no wonder you can't find a partner. Your attitude toward a guy you just met is like that. Hoo... the police candidate as a future son-in-law is canceled! Look, you're wasting your fortune."

"So you also think I'm the one at fault here, huh?" Lea asked irritably.

"Well, yes, it's clear your attitude is the problem. You shouldn't be so arrogant. You shouldn't have responded to his words with a counterattack. Maybe he intended to let you know so you could change, that means it was a good intention. But instead of obeying, you attacked back by insulting him. Who wouldn't feel ill at ease?" Mrs. Anna tried to explain to her daughter.

"You've always been difficult to advise since you were a child. You never want to be blamed even though no one in this world is always right. No one! So you have to start accepting the shortcomings and strengths of others, including yourself.”

“No one is perfect. If you're looking for perfection, it's difficult, you won't find it anywhere. Everyone is created as a package with pluses and minuses. It's about how two people who are paired up want and are willing to accept and complement each other to create a conducive relationship," Mrs. Anna advised Lea.

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