Chapter 167: Back in Jakarta!
"My son!" Right after Sheva went out of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, he was greeted by his mother’s bear hug, enough to suffocate him within a second. "You are finally back! I heard about your adventure from Anna, bless that kind girl. You must be suffering a lot there. Are all the warm clothes I pack for you enough? I mean, I heard the temperature is below 10, right? It must be freezing there! Come on, let’s go home first! I have already made a warm soup for you!"
"Mom... Not here..." Sheva groaned weakly as the mother gushed over his current state. "The others are looking at me, you know? They would’ve laughed at me later!" He complained. Still, the boy didn’t reject the attention he received; either he was too tired to do so or he knew his mother was just worried about him, so he let her do as she wanted.
"Oh, hush you!" His mother slapped him on the shoulder playfully before fixing the imaginary mess on his collar. Then, she frowned a little bit, noticing something was wrong with his state. "What is wrong with you? Your eyes are so red, and you look exhausted. Did you get no sleep on the plane?"
Sheva could only smile wryly at the question, not even having enough energy to answer that. Indeed, for the second half of the journey, from Frankfurt to Singapore and even from Singapore to Jakarta, he didn’t get much sleep. The boy thought so hard about the newbie pack he received from the system, wondering what kind of gift this mysterious being had prepared for him.
[Newbie Pack: You are the man who aspires to be the best chess player in the world! Three days from now, the system will send something that will solve your budget problem in the future. Don’t let money hold you back on your journey to the top, Young Man!]
This short but powerful message had been haunting him for most of his time on the plane, keeping him awake even in the middle of the night, where most people were sleeping. He kept wondering how the system would solve this matter, as indeed, this was a huge problem for him. Even though the boy knew that Bagas’s father would help him, sooner or later, he would have to get out of the man’s umbrella and walk into the world on his own feet.
Unfortunately, the system was tight-lipped, not even giving him any hint of an answer for that. In the end, he had to suffer from the torturous feeling of waiting for every second to pass, hoping that he could speed up time until the system’s reward arrived.
"Don’t worry, Mom, just having a little bit of a headache." In the end, this was the excuse that Sheva used to reassure his mother. "Anyway, how did you get here? I mean, Bagas should’ve been picked up by his driver, right?" He couldn’t help but ask.
Yeah, Bagas—a rich second-generation bastard he was—left immediately as soon as the boy got out of the airport, havingbeen picked up by his family’s driver. Irene also left the group quickly, having already ordered a taxi long before the plane landed. In the end, Sheva and Claudia were left alone there until their families picked them up, which was exactly right now.
’Speaking of Claudia, where is she, by the way?’ He turned around, scanning the entire building to search for the little girl.
"Oh, you are searching for Ia? Don’t worry about the girl, she will be here soon with us." His mother noticed his gaze, smiling secretly as if she knew something he didn’t. "Anyway, I come here with—Ah, here they are! Let me introduce you to someone here." She dragged Sheva forcefully, not even giving him time to react.
To Sheva’s surprise, though, he was dragged by his mom to the place where Claudia and her family were gathering. He could see Anna was there, together with a middle-aged man with thick glasses and a gorgeous woman who looked like the older version of the two teenage girls, gushing over Claudia as if she had just come back after being gone for years.
The older woman seemed to notice their presence here as she turned around, looking at Sheva in surprise before smiling genuinely at him, making the boy blush instantly. "You must be Sheva, right? Thank you for taking care of our daughters in the last couple of months. Also, thank you for keeping an eye on Claudia during the trip. I know she could be a handful."
"Mom... Not in front of him..." Claudia groaned weakly, wiggling in an attempt to get out of Anna’s bear hug.
"Aw... Does my little Ia have a crush here?" The older woman, whom Claudia just called her mom, said with a faux childish tone, enough to make everyone shudder on the spot. The older man—who probably was the father here—frowned immediately, clearly not liking the prospect of his daughter having a crush on a boy like him.
"Me? Having a crush on Sheva?!" Claudia widened her eyes in disbelief. When she turned around and looked at the boy, the little girl shuddered immediately, as if she had just imagined the vilest thing in the world. "Ew, Mom! That is disgusting!"
Honestly, if only Sheva didn’t see her as a sister, he would be offended by her reaction. Fortunately, Anna also had had enough of the antics, as the older sister finally interrupted the interaction.
"Okay, Mom, that is enough. They should be tired from their journey already. Let’s go home first and talk about this later." She said firmly. It was clear by the sheepish look on the mother’s face that Anna was the one responsible in their household most of the time. Then, the girl turned around, smiling apologetically to Sheva before saying, "Anyway, we are sorry for being rude. Let me introduce you to our parents. This is our dad, Nabiel Hasan, and this is our mom, Audrey Marisa. Dad, Mom, this is Adrian Sheva, the friend whom I have been talking to you guys."
"Nice to meet you, Uncle, Aunty..." Sheva bowed his head politely, somehow feeling stiff at the introduction.
"Sheva, they are also the people who helped me pick you up today." His mother suddenly nudged, telling him the crucial information here. "They are kind enough to let us join their car since I told Anna that I wanted to pick you up, you know? So, show your gratitude here."
"Ah..." Sheva rubbed the back of his head confusedly, still trying to process what was going on here. Still, being reminded by his mother, of course, he would follow the instruction. "Uncle, Aunty, thank you for taking care of me! I am forever grateful for your help!"
The father was quiet, just staring at him intently. This was enough to make Sheva squirm under his gaze. Fortunately, it only happened for a short moment before the man himself finally let out a deep sigh, seeming to be as exhausted as Sheva was.
"Well, at least you are polite, not just like the other scoundrels who try to approach my daughters." He grumbled. "Anyway, let’s go back first! We have been here for too long, so I am sure you and Claudia are exhausted right now!"
With that, Sheva followed the group from behind, inwardly sighing in relief. This was going to be the last part of the trip, and honestly, the boy really missed his small bed in the cramped house where he lived.
’Finally, everything is over now...’