Leo hugged Claire tightly.
"I missed you too, Claire," he said softly.
Claire was surprised.
"You… remembered me?" she asked in disbelief.
Leo smiled gently.
"Of course. I never forgot you."
Hearing that, Claire's eyes softened, and she hugged him back warmly.
Later, they sat together in a small café.
"So, how is your university life going?" Leo asked.
"It's going well," Claire replied. "What about you?"
Leo leaned back in his chair.
"I'm working in my dad's company now."
Claire looked impressed.
"Oh wow, that's great."
As they talked, Claire noticed something strange. Several people in the café were secretly looking at Leo.
She sighed slightly.
"I have to say… you're still very popular. Everyone is staring at you."
Leo smiled casually.
"Oh, them? Let them stare. I don't care."
Claire crossed her arms with a slightly annoyed expression.
"Yes, I know. You never care."
Leo chuckled.
"Oh? I see."
"See what?" Claire asked.
Leo smirked a little.
Claire narrowed her eyes.
"Why are you smirking?"
"Oh, nothing," Leo replied, looking at her gently.
They continued talking for a while, enjoying each other's company.
Suddenly, Leo's phone rang.
He checked the screen.
"Oh… it's Werren calling. Excuse me for a moment."
"Sure," Claire said.
From her seat by the window, Claire watched Leo as he stepped outside to answer the call.
After the call ended, Leo returned to the table. But something about him had changed.
He looked slightly upset.
Claire noticed immediately.
"Hey… what happened? Is everything okay?"
Leo forced a small smile.
"Oh, yes. Everything's fine."
"Are you sure?" Claire asked.
"Yes," Leo replied, though his expression still seemed a little sad.
Claire wasn't completely convinced, but she didn't push him.
After a moment, Leo suddenly said,
"Hey Claire… let's meet again tomorrow."
Claire stood up and smiled.
"Yeah, sure. Why not?"
Before leaving, Leo stepped closer and hugged her again.
Claire blushed slightly but hugged him back.
After that, they said goodbye and went their separate ways.
When Claire returned home, she lay on her bed with a small smile on her face.
"Ah… that was so strange," she whispered, her cheeks slightly red.
Meanwhile, Leo arrived home.
Inside the living room, he saw Werren arguing with his father.
"Dad, we can't do this!" Werren said angrily. "We shouldn't help someone like him."
"Werren," his father replied firmly, "just do what I told you. It's good for the company."
Werren stared at him in shock.
"I don't want to hear any more arguments about this," his father continued.
"No," Werren said firmly. "I can't do that."
His father looked surprised.
"What did you just say?"
Before things could get worse, Werren's mother spoke gently.
"Werren, dear… don't talk to your father like that."
But Werren didn't say anything more.
He simply turned around and walked away.
His father sighed.
"I wonder what's wrong with him."
Just then, Leo entered the room.
Leo was not their biological son. He was actually the son of Werren's father's younger brother. After Leo's parents passed away in an accident, Werren's family took him in.
Werren's father looked at Leo.
"Leo, go talk to Werren about this."
Leo nodded.
"Okay."
Outside, Werren was standing alone near his car.
"Hey, Werren," Leo called. "I want to talk to you."
Werren sighed.
"Leo, if you're here to talk about that… I'm sorry, but I'm not interested."
Without waiting for a reply, he got into his car and drove away.
Leo watched him leave.
"Sometimes I really don't understand him," Leo thought.
Just then, someone called out behind him.
"Hey, Leo! How are you?"
Leo turned around.
It was Emily.
"Oh, Emily," Leo said. "How are you? What brings you here?"
"Oh, nothing special," Emily said with a small smile. "I just wanted to see you."
Leo looked slightly surprised.
"What?"
Emily quickly corrected herself.
"I mean… it's been a while since we met. You've been really busy with work lately."
Leo nodded.
"Yeah, that's true. By the way, how are you doing? How are your parents?"
"I'm doing well," Emily replied. "My parents are doing great too."
As they walked together, Emily quietly looked at Leo.
"He's really changed," she thought.
"Back then, he was always cold to everyone… even to me."
"I guess it was because of what happened to his parents."
"I feel sorry for him."
Leo suddenly noticed her staring.
"Hey… what's wrong?" he asked. "Is there something on my face?"
Emily quickly shook her head.
"Oh no, nothing like that."
"I was just thinking about something."
"Oh," Leo replied.
Emily nodded quietly.
"Yes… just thinking."