Chapter 9：Chance Encounter

Winter is still smirking to herself when she finally turns away and enters the convenience store.

Of course, she would notice that there was someone following her. That luxurious limousine is too attention-catching to go unnoticed, to begin with. Feeling quite confident that she has finally piqued the curiosity of that ever scrupulous and heedful Marcellus, she also doesn't doubt that he is the one who is trailing after her.

'Well, following me was just probably a decision he made in the spur of the moment. He can practically do anything, so it will only be a matter of time before he makes an in-depth research on my background or something...' Winter mused quietly, not at all that bothered.

'It is fine if he finds out everything about who I am. In fact, that will work better for me. Anything that can draw his interest to me is a good thing. That way, I will finally be able to start my plan for revenge for real-'

"Huh? Winter... Agreste?"

At someone's call, she suddenly halts on her tracks and snaps out of her train of thoughts. She then turns to the direction of the person who has recognized her.

That is when she finds this roguishly charming teenage boy with unkempt platinum blonde hair and amethyst purple orbs. For a young man, he already has quite a well-developed frame and toned figure.

His striking features alone have helped her recognize him as that famous guy at school who keeps topping the popularity poll. He is claimed to be a campus heartthrob who possesses both the looks and the talents - the star player in the basketball club, an aspiring musician who sweeps ladies off with his heart-songs and soulful music, and a student leader in the making.

More than any of that, though, Winter recognizes him because he is her classmate.

"Oh, you are..." she trailed off before tilting her head quizzically.

"Who are you again?"

"How cold. We're seatmates, you know," he muttered with a deadpan look.

"Huh? We are?"

"As I thought, you were really acting odd these days, Agreste."

"Uhhh... Y-Yeah... I hear that a lot."

Now, this is awkward.

Winter thought for sure that she knew him. While she does recall all those things about him, she can't remember his name at all. Then again, he is not wrong about her acting odd. At school, she has become more distant and unsociable than ever. She no longer pays that much attention to what is happening in her surroundings - even those people who are around her everyday.

She is too focused on her schemes, and even if she is not, she doubts that she will be any less reserved due to certain reasons.

"It's Ace, you blockhead. I can't believe you seriously forgot my name-"

"Oh, right...!" she then blurted out, cutting her classmate off.

"Right, right. You're Ace. Right."

"Weirdo..." he chuckled while she only fell quiet and gave him a look.

"By the way, what are you doing out here? I thought little girls have curfew. It's already almost midnight."

"Well, maybe because I'm not a little girl."

"Hmmm... I doubt that."

"Well, maybe you are right. I am still a little girl, so I gotta get home..." Winter continued before turning back around and taking her leave.

"See you around."

"Huh...? Already...? Oh, but don't forget my name next time, okay...?" Ace said with a playful smirk while she only shrugged nonchalantly in reply.

"How cold."

Little does she know that this chance meeting may not be that meaningless to a guy like him. To her, that might be the case since she is one who easily disregards things like a seatmate's name. But to him, it has made his day - perhaps, more than enough to get his feet making small leaps on his way back home.

"And there she goes."

As soon as Winter is out of sight, Ace drops his playfulness and slackens a little, feeling quite disappointed at himself for not even managing to say a proper goodbye.

---

It had been a week since Marcellus last saw Winter.

At any rate, he did not give up after failing to know her home address. In the first place, he did not even need to follow her like a stalker. It was just an impulsive action on his part. He had more than one means of digging out her personal information - and that he did.

'Ms. Winter Agreste... Seventeen years old, student at Marie Claire High School, adopted child of the deceased Agreste couple, currently living with her adoptive older brother...' Marcellus pondered deeply, recalling all the basic data that he collected about Winter.

'No matter how I look at it, she is only a normal girl.'

At the moment, he is waiting for his date near the entrance of one of the most popular attractions in the city - the amusement park.

The woman he is going to meet up with is another one of his targets - Anne Collins, the sole heiress of the Collins Firm. This theme park is only one of their continuously thriving enterprises. Their corporation may still be no match for the Lexington Empire, but their wide-ranging influence reaches even outside of the country's borders.

Per the lady's request, he agrees to go on a date with her in this amusement park, though he kind of presumes that she only chooses this place so that she can brag it to him or something.

"Good day, Sir Lexington!"

A little taken aback by that sudden greeting, Marcellus stills for a second before turning around, expecting that he will see Anne. But much to his nonplus, it turns out to be someone he has not been anticipating at all. Once more, this person caught him off guard. He should have probably expected it even just for a bit at the very least, though.

Winter appears before Marcellus out of nowhere - still in her school uniform like always.

"What now? You're here to play around or something?" he flatly greeted back and crossed his arms.

"Play around? Hmmm... Well, you can say that..." she coyly mused out loud.

"Anyway, what do you think of a news headline about a prestigious businessman fainting inside a haunted house?"

"Huh? What?"

"Isn't that ridiculous? What a way to advertise oneself~"

"You're not making any sense."

"Well, don't hope for it to make sense. It won't be good if that really happened, wouldn't it?"

Again, he has been thrown in a world of bewilderment. This girl just keeps saying the strangest, most random things. Worst, she doesn't seem to be lying. What's more, the mentions of these 'prestigious businessman' and a 'haunted house' are like something out of a forthcoming premonition. It unnerves him a little for some reason.

"This date won't be good for your heart, Sir Lexington. Run while you still can," Winter then quipped, making Marcellus raise a brow.