Wild Young Miss: Mister, Let's Kiss!

"Hide and seek, huh?" Under his breath, Matthew clicked his tongue. 

It was apparent that she was trying to salvage the spilled tea, which was impossible to do so then. A lot had happened, and Matthew would be a fool to believe a lame excuse as that. 

"Uhh..." Zoey darted her gaze at the three people as she pondered over the outcome. Just as she was still thinking, she noticed the slight movement of the intruder's finger. 

In a fraction of a second, a bottle of water came flying towards the man's hand, causing him to forcefully let go of his pistol as she caught him off guard. "Don't even think about it, my friend." Zoey's tone gradually changed, emanating killing intent, which was felt by the three of them. 

Matthew, who was witnessing this dangerous side of her for the first time, was rendered speechless. However, he was equally shocked and in awe of her. 

On the other hand, Ivan instinctively pinned the man down as soon as he let go of his weapon. His brows then knitted as he glanced at the bottled water and the pistol on the floor. 

'That's a perfect aim.' Ivan murmured internally. Although it happened in a flash, Ivan got the gist of what happened. 

The bottle of water flawlessly hit the gun's muzzle, enough to tip it off of the man's hands and not trigger it accidentally. It was a risky move, but with enough force, it wasn't that risky. Zoey knew that, hence, the reason she wasn't afraid to make such a move. 

With this information surging inside Ivan's head, he could not help but slowly raise his gaze towards Zoey. 'How?' He wondered internally. 

In his perspective, Zoey hadn't trained nor was she involved in these activities — racing aside — for years. Yet, it was evident to Ivan that Zoey's skill hadn't rusted a tiny bit yet. If anything, she seemed to have improved as if she had been training to sharpen her skills. 

How could that be possible? They'd been watching her all this time and none of the reports about Zoey included anything that could relate her to her previous job, one of the reasons why Nikolai was slightly convinced that she had truly turned a new leaf. 

"Keep your wits intact," Zoey's indifferent voice snapped Ivan from his deep thoughts. "Make him sit down there. I need to talk to him." She then tilted her head to the chair nearby, arching her right brow because Ivan was staring mindlessly at her. 

"What?" Zoey's arched brow raised even more, suspicious of the blank stare from Ivan. 

"Nothing, sis." Ivan snapped, shaking his head before he forcefully grabbed the man by the back collar of his black jacket, pointing his gun at him, and then pushed him to move. 

"Put the gun down, will you? We're not gangsters here — this is an office!" While Zoey watched how Ivan push the man towards the chair, she rolled her eyes as she complained. 

However, Ivan didn't listen to her and forced the man to sit down. "Don't even think of doing anything funny." Ivan threatened, scoffing as he stood behind the man. His hand held the wrist of the hand that was holding his gun, resting them in front of him. 

In this case, whatever the man tried, Ivan could knock him out before he could make any move. After all, his position was perfect to restrain someone who planned to retaliate. 

Meanwhile, Zoey and Matthew subconsciously looked at each other. As soon as their eyes met, Zoey gulped before she immediately retracted her gaze and trudged towards the seat opposite to the man. 

In a short time, Zoey was sitting across the man, Ivan standing behind the man, and Matthew leaning on the side with his hands shoved inside his coat, observing what was about to unfold before him. For some reason, Matthew was a little interested to see how this would go. 

"Now, speak." After a moment of silence, Zoey raised her hand, gesturing him to speak up while nodding her head. 

"Speak? Hah!" Despite the situation he was in, the man scoffed at her and cast her a ridiculing look. However, Zoey was left unfazed as she rolled her eyes in response. 

"Tell us, who sent you?" Unlike Zoey, Ivan had less patience as he immediately pressed his gun's muzzle against the back of the man's head. 

"Chill, Ivan." Zoey's nose scrunched up, being reminded of how the Silva Family got their answer — inflicting fear. "Let's talk peacefully, okay? I don't want violence." Zoey declared, neutralizing the air as her smile was more angelic than a real angel. 

"If you don't want to speak, just answer my questions, okay?" Still bearing the same angelic smile, Zoey proposed to the man.

"Did you come to kill me?" Without further ado, Zoey asked calmly. She studied every little detail of the man's movements. "I see..." Even before the man could respond, Zoey nodded her head in understanding which rendered the man confused. 

"Ivan, put him inside a tank with cement and toss him into the sea." Zoey yawned as she languidly leaned back. She glanced at Ivan, winking at him before a smug smile formed on her lips. 

"Sure." Ivan flatly responded, placing his palm on the man's shoulder. Ivan didn't understand what Zoey said as it was spoken in another language. But he was certain it was an order. 

"Wait — what are you doing?!" The man panicked, struggling to push Ivan but the latter was undoubtedly strong. Hence, his struggling was all for naught as he remained seated while he stared desperately at Zoey. 

"Disposing you, duh?" In a matter-of-fact tone, Zoey answered. She gazed at him in disdain, scoffing at how obvious the answer for his question. "Why would I let you off if you're here to kill me?" Zoey inquired, shrugging her shoulders as if she didn't have a conscience anymore. 

"What? I didn't say that! You spoke before I can even answer you! I'm here just to scare you off — I swear —" Out of desperation, the man fumed as he explained his side. Well, half of his argument made sense and rational, but half of it was the very information he was opting to keep to himself. However, he blurted half of it before he could realize it. 

"So, you're receiving orders from Feng Jimmy, huh?" While the man was blurting out the information he was keeping, Zoey interrupted him midway, leaning closer with her arm on the table and a smirk on the side of her lips. 

"I..." Upon hearing her question, the man trailed off as his eyes widened in disbelief. "You!" When he realized that what Zoey said was her method to make him blurt things out, he ground his teeth as he glared at Zoey. 

"Come on... I'm just confirming if you're from Feng Jimmy — to avoid misunderstanding." Zoey chuckled, shrugging her shoulders once again. After all, this man could be working under Iñigo. 

Still, if he was Iñigo's man, he would've sent someone a lot more capable. But, since this was the year 2012, there's a small possibility that Iñigo's resources weren't that solid yet. 

"You see, it's better if you're working under Mr. Feng. You'll leave this office unscathed... worst case scenario, you'll go into hiding if Mr. Feng hears that you failed." Zoey raised her index finger as she lectured him. "Because if you were working for someone else, the only report your boss will receive is your finger." Slowly, a sweet smile resurfaced on Zoey's lips as she explained. 

However, in contrast to her sweet smile, the aura around her felt disturbing. Even Matthew, who was standing farthest from the three, felt the sinister vibe that enveloped her fragile figure. 

'This woman...' Matthew blinked his eyes, gulping as he could not believe that there was a person who would intimidate him indirectly. Yet, instead of feeling alarmed, he was rather... thrilled?

Meanwhile, Ivan and the nameless intruder, who was positioned nearest to her, felt a chill run down their spine. Especially the man as he gulped a mouthful of saliva, suddenly feeling relieved at something he was unsure about. 

"Now, listen to what I'm about to say because I want you to relay my message to Mr. Feng." Zoey stared directly at the man's terrified eyes. "If he wants his secret to remain a secret, he shouldn't test my patience. I am as desperate as him the only difference is, I have nothing to lose at the moment... but he has." Her words didn't falter, sending strong threats to the man. 

"Y — yes!" The man nodded his head as he stuttered unwillingly. 

Zoey studied the man for a minute before a satisfied smile plastered on her lips. "Good. Now go — I haven't had dinner yet." She muttered, glancing at Ivan who got her hint and retracted his hands away from the man's shoulder. 

The man was reluctant at first, slowly rising from his seat as he darted his gaze from Ivan to Zoey. He took one cautious step, and then another one, and then he sprinted out of the office, leaving his pistol as he ran for his life. 

'What kind of office is this?! It's worse than a loan shark business!' As the man scurried away with his tails in between his legs, he could not help but weep because the two, especially Zoey left a strong impression on him. 

****

"Huh? Why is he so scared?" While the man dashed away, Zoey tilted her head to the side as she looked at Ivan who was not surprised by the man's reaction. 

"Sis," Ivan, who wanted to scold her to stop pretending, paused. "You got a bigger problem." He said, cocking his head in Matthew's direction. 

Upon realizing that, Zoey's eyes widened as she slowly moved her gaze to him. "I'll leave you two." Zoey heard Ivan speak before he picked up the snacks she had bought for the two of them. 

When Ivan left, silence dawned inside the small office as neither of them talked. Matthew wordlessly straightened his stance, walking towards the desk and picked up the paper bag he bought. He then trudged in her direction. 

Zoey raised her head when he stopped near the table and then placed the paper bag on top of it. "You need to eat proper dinner." Unlike what she expected, Matthew kept his blank face as he slightly perked his chin towards the paper bag. 

"Huh?" Confused at the moment, Zoey creased her brows. "Shouldn't you be asking what just happened? Why am I in such a situation? Why is Feng Jimmy after me? Why are we armed? And so on, so forth?!" Rattled by his confusing take in the situation, Zoey threw a series of questions she had anticipated from him. 

"Will you tell me?" Calm and composed, Matthew dragged the chair where the intruder sat earlier and perched on it. He then began taking out the food he bought for her. 

"Uhh..." Speechless, Zoey blinked her eyes many times as she could only watch him take off the lids of the food containers. 

"Miss Zhou," After opening the last lid of the tupperware, Matthew looked up. "I prefer honesty more than white lies. I know if I ask you tonight, you wouldn't give me the hundred percent of the truth — perhaps you'll even lie. That's why I'm not asking." In a matter-of-fact tone, Matthew explained his reason for not probing further. 

"I have more patience than you, so..." He paused, the side of his lips curled up as he picked up the chopstick and clipped a small piece of meat. "I'll wait for the day you'll tell me things even before I can ask." With that being said, Matthew extended his arm. The piece of meat hovered inches before her lips. 

Zoey, who was watching him from the start, pursed her lips. Slowly, her lips parted as she ate the meat that he offered. "Too sweet." While she chewed, Zoey looked away as she murmured her comment. Her cheeks flushed while the tip of her ears reddened. 

Seeing this reaction, Matthew smiled widely. He had to bite his lower lips to restrain his lips from stretching wider, but failed miserably. 'So cute....' He subconsciously thought as the incident from earlier slowly faded from his mind.