Chapter 424 - An Old Friend

When Zoey went inside the building, Matthew also went back to the car. Without further ado, he began driving away.

"Zhou Zoey..." As he drove, Matthew muttered. Earlier when he fainted, he had a dream... or so what he wanted to believe and not those memories that had been causing him painful headaches. 

The dream was vivid, as if it had already happened. Matthew pulled over when he was in a seemingly less crowded place. He searched for a parking lot and immediately found one before he hitched outside. 

'It was like this,' He thought internally, looking from side to side as he gravitated over which path to take. 

After a second, Matthew turned to the right. He walked and walked without any destination in particular. 'It was a night like this that someone wanted to kill me.' He said, his eyes glanced at the narrow and dark alley on his left. 

'I managed to get out alive, leaving their bodies in an alley that looks like this.' His mind continued, narrating the dream he had after he fainted. 

'However, years of not touching a gun or knife, they managed to injure me and someone survived. So...' Matthew resumed in his tracks, and his inner voice was only heard when he reached a much livelier place. 

'I ran in a place like this and hid inside a random person's car. The doors were unlocked, luckily.' This time, Matthew stared at a random car that was parked just on the side of the street.

'Not long after, the owner of the car returned. She hitched in singing, extending her hand towards the empty passenger seat as she expressed her heart through her toneless voice.' Matthew's mind recalled the detail in his dreams, having a glimpse of the woman's side profile while she sang. 

'But she's keen and quick to realize that someone was inside her car. Since I was watching her and the man that was after me was nearby, I covered her lips before she could cry for help.' After a while, Matthew decided to resume his night walk as the scene of how he threatened and pleaded the lady played inside his mind. 

Fortunately, she was logical enough to listen to him. Well, she's at his mercy and she was probably afraid of testing him, he thought. 

However, after reaching her destination, which was a funeral parlor, Matthew already lost more blood despite putting pressure on it. And then he fainted. 

'To be honest, I actually believed I would die before Paul could find me. But she didn't leave... instead, that stranger brought me to the hospital despite being held captive.' Matthew stopped in the middle of the busy street. 

People passed by him while he stood there motionlessly. 'When I woke up, she was calling Browny... and everyone calls me Mr. Brown. What an odd name with a strange excuse why. However, she grew close to me in an instant... spending her 29th birthday with a person she barely knew.' In his eyes, the figures of the people seemed to flash as they passed by him. 

Their time was continuously ticking while his, on the other hand, had stopped. It stopped, or rather, he was lost in a time he was unsure if it was the present or future: a dream or a lost memory. 

While he stood there, someone bumped into him. Matthew snapped from his trance as he moved his gaze to the person who collided with his shoulders. 

"Oh, sorry!" The man bowed his head, placing his palms against each other while he apologized. 

As usual, Matthew stared at the man. His features told him he was someone from outside the country. He was tall and had a lean physique beneath his casual shirt; his pair of deep hazel eyes matched perfectly with his narrow nose.

"It's alright." Matthew waved his hand casually, gesturing that there was no need to apologize. 

Well, people had been brushing his shoulders the moment he stopped in the middle of the busy street. Thus, Matthew didn't expect that they would make a way as they didn't know him. 

"You shouldn't stop by just anywhere, though. Damn." The man who bumped into him muttered in another language. Little did he know, Matthew understood him. 

"You're right." Matthew nodded his head. His gaze scrutinized the man briefly. "My apologies." Matthew slightly bowed his head while the latter glanced at him with little reaction. 

How weird he wasn't surprised that Matthew replied with the same language. He watched Matthew begin to walk away. Meanwhile, the man's gaze followed his figure as the corner of his lips curled into a smirk. 

*****

Since Matthew was having his night walk, he decided to stop by the bar to grab a drink. Well, not that he was frequently in these places, but the situation made him want to have a drink. 

As he plopped down the bar stool in front of the bar counter, he ordered. "Whiskey, on the rocks." 

The bartender just nodded his head before he started preparing for his drinks. As he waited, Matthew remained silent as he stared with his fingers. 

"One whiskey, on the rocks, please." Despite the surrounding noises inside the bar, Matthew heard a man's voice ordering the same as his. 

Normally, Matthew wouldn't care less. However, for some reason, he turned his head to the side where the person perched. His right brow arched upon laying his eyes on the foreign man who he had bumped into earlier.

"Oh! It's you!" At the same time, the man turned to him. When their eyes met, his eyes widened as he recognized Matthew as well. "What a coincidence!" He said, while the bartender served their drinks.

The man glanced at the same whiskey on the rocks they both ordered. "Hehe! I like you." Out of nowhere, the man expressed as he picked up his glass.

As usual, Matthew didn't say anything as he returned his attention back to his drink. "Coincidence, huh?" As he raised his glass, Matthew swirled it before as he cast him a side eye. "I don't want to think you're following me." Blunt as always, Matthew said before taking a sip from his glass.

"Haha! How straightforward — you remind me of my old friend." The man chuckled, shaking his head before taking a sip from his glass. "But, no, I didn't follow you. I stay around the area and I frequently come here. Right, bro?" The man perked his chin up towards the bartender who nodded in confirmation.

Matthew watched the bartender nod his head which caused his slight suspicion to vanish. "I see…" He replied casually.

"This is the nicest bar around here… although you might already know that." In a matter-of-fact tone, the man continued their conversation despite Matthew's lack of interest. "Drinks are nice, women are not." Out of nowhere, the man muttered which made Matthew turn his head to him.

"Hmm?" He hummed a tune, seeing Matthew stare at him. 

"Nothing." After a minute of studying the man, Matthew shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly before returning his gaze back on his glass. 'That sounds familiar… where did I hear it before?' He wondered internally as what the man said somehow sounded familiar — very familiar.

"Haha! You really remind me of a good old friend of mine. Sadly…" The man paused, the corner of his lips curled into a bitter smile. For some reason, Matthew attentively waited for his next words. "He chose his cat over me. Heh, guess he really loved his cat.." He shrugged before drinking from his glass of whiskey.