Chapter 5

Mia's gaze towards Leon may seem to be casual, but it contained a hint of coldness. She looked at the man with caution, occasionally her thoughts would drift as she pondered what he really wanted.

If he just wanted some chit-chat, then he could've done it in Mr. and Mrs. Wang's restaurant. Even if some people would pay attention to them, it wouldn't really matter much.

However, the more Mia thought about it, the more she couldn't get the answer, even Leon's relaxed expression didn't give away any of his current thoughts.

"You can stare as much as you want." Another voice that Mia had marked as annoying sounded again, filled with the same teasing that made Mia silently glaring at him coldly.

"Oh, why? Are you this impatient?" The man in front of her raised his eyebrow. "I don't know that after many years passed, your temperament had changed so much."

Mia didn't say anything. However, his words made her narrowed her eyes in an almost unnoticeable manner. It was hard to determine what he truly meant with those words then.

"Don't waste the time," Mia said coldly. She had just taken some bite of the food she had ordered. She really didn't have any appetite, even more, it was also due to Leon's teasing.

Leon was silent this time, he didn't speak. He had been observing Mia's expression this whole time, that was also why he had forced her to eat, so he could observe her more.

Mia also didn't speak a word. She just calmly waited.

"You didn't even say any farewell when you left." Leon finally said his words after the uncomfortable awkward silence between the two of them.

Mia's pupil shrank slightly. She didn't expect that this man would be so straightforward to bring up the past in their first meeting after so many years. Mia could only find herself unable to answer his question, or rather she didn't want to.

As Mia pondered about it, she decided to take the safe route. "The agreement had ended. One year, right? What do you expect? The money had been paid and I have fulfilled the job according to the deal."

"One year..." Leon muttered softly with a pondering look in his eyes. Then, he just calmly looked at Mia. "How about I am giving you more money?"

Mia looked at him with a disbelieving look plastered on her face. Her calmness had cracked completely. She was rather furious after hearing his words. She glared at him and gritted her teeth, not caring anymore about keeping her calmness. She found that his words were too outrageous. "What do you mean by that?"

Leon was surprised seeing Mia become so angry. She was so calm before; suppressing her irritation the whole time. Now, she unexpectedly exploded in anger. Only then, Leon seemed to realize something.

"Let me rephrase it then. Are you willing to make another deal again?" Leon looked at her angry face that was flushed red and sighed slightly.

Mia continued to glare at him, though her feelings inside were complex. There was also some bitterness mixed within. She looked at Leon in defiance. "No way I would do that!"

"Why don't you think about it more clearly first? I think that this deal will greatly benefit you." Leon said as he looked at Mia as if he had been expecting her to reject it.

This time, Mia only maintained her silence.

"I don't mean to offend you by saying those lines." Leon sighed, finally relented, and he offered the explanation. He knew that his words must've incited her displeasure and offending her.

"Leonardo Kingston." Mia suddenly said with some emphasis on each word. This made Leon completely shifted his gaze attentively at the woman in front of him.

"There are a lot of women in this world, not only me." Mia finally said. Her meaning was pretty clear. So, with Leon's intelligence, he should be able to easily understand the meaning behind her words.

Leon shook his head. He ignored her words and instead persistently said, "I will give you time to consider this. Just contact me later."

He brought out a pen and a paper and wrote his own number there. "Just tell me the time when we are going to meet up again then."

Mia frowned deeply. She secretly gnashed her teeth. This man was indeed really difficult to deal with. Looking at the paper placed on the table near her, Mia couldn't even say anything.

In the end, Mia could only steel her heart to grab the paper. She stared at it with complex feelings before storing it away in her bag.

"Consider it deeply so that you won't regret it," Leon warned with what seemed to be a charming smile at her. She inwardly scowled at that.

However, she was also feeling quite complex. How could she not understand the deal that this man was talking about? He was clearly stating about repeating the past...

Mia didn't want to. But, she knew that escaping from this man was also a very difficult thing to do. She had to tread very carefully so that she also wouldn't be found out.

This man was so intelligent that it was scary. His schemes were also run so deep that it sometimes makes you question whether you'd already fallen into his trap or not. He was completely unpredictable.

This time, Mia really regretted it going out. She had always been so cautious every time this man appeared somewhere near her before, yet this time she was too careless and had been discovered.

The past encounters where he couldn't find her every time they crossed path had given her a false sense of security. She subconsciously thought that he would never bring up the past and demand her some explanation. She thought that even if he noticed her, he would just ignore her existence. Yet, what was happening today was the opposite.

It seemed that she was still unable to extricate herself from him again now that he had taken the initiative for something.

"I will wait for only one month." Leon continued, gazing at Mia with the arrogant look that she had grown to despise.

"Alright." Mia would still think over again about it though. She had the urge to run away, yet she was also worried. This man was giving her time, it seemed that he was confident she wasn't going to run away.

This confidence greatly deterred Mia's plan to escape from him. Sure enough, he was an expert at scheming.

By giving her time and not rushing it. He would give her some doubts; the fact that he may have some moves up his sleeve, or that this was the real trap.

Mia had a month of time to ponder about this.

After the conversation about the deal, the two didn't speak. The silence was not so uncomfortable as before, but it still brought the sense of some suffocation for Mia.

"I am already done. Can I leave?" Mia asked him, not bothering to act politely. She had been angered, and she wanted to let him know that.

Leon glanced at her, then at the food on the table. They had been here for almost two hours now, and the sky had gradually gotten dark.

"You want me to drive you home?" Leon asked slowly.

Mia frowned. "No."

Leon raised his eyebrow, then he asked in a voice as if he was teasing her. "Why? This man was responsible for bringing you here. So, the responsibility of bringing you home safely should also be my next job."

"No need. This woman can also take care of herself." Mia shook her head and answered coldly.

"Alright then," Leon said curtly, not insisting further. Mia gazed at him with an unreadable look, and then just looked away.

As Leon called the waitress, Mia took out her own purse. But, before she could even open it, Leon's voice resounded again in her ear.

"If you insist on paying, I will drive you home then." Leon looked at her with a teasing gaze, his mouth curved up into what looked like to be a smirk.

Mia's lips twitched, but she just smiled sarcastically at him and nodded. Leon looked pleased with himself. Then, he just paid the whole thing by himself after the waitress handed the bill.

The two began to exit the restaurant. Mia finally heaved a sigh of relief as she thought that she was about to be free.

"Are you sure you don't need to be escorted home?" Leon asked again in a casual manner.

"I will wait for a taxi," Mia said calmly.

Leon just shrugged. "It's getting dark now. If you still refuse my offer, then, I will accompany you until the taxi comes." Leon stated, gazing at Mia.

Mia didn't know how she should feel right now. She was rather confused, so she didn't speak. This was tantamount to her silent acknowledgment of Leon's offer.

The silent atmosphere strangely didn't feel uncomfortable at all as they stood there together. Mia felt a lot calmer.

Yet, as time passed, the moment also ended.

The taxi had come. Mia took a glance at Leon before she entered the passenger seat.

As she looked at the man in front of her, Mia didn't know why she suddenly had a bad feeling about what was going to happen. Especially when she caught the sight of that smile on his lips. He looked exactly like a sly fox right now. Her calmness had completely dissipated.