After the dance class, Zoe stepped out as usual when she believed everyone must have left and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Zhang Wei leaning against the wall again.
She thought they were done with the harassment, so what was it this time? What did he want again? Hadn't she told him where he saw her? Why was he waiting for her again? Was he possibly gay and was interested in her?
With slumped shoulders, she walked over to where he was standing. She decided she wasn't going to avoid him this time.
"What do you want this time?" She asked in a resigned voice.
"How old are you?" He asked idly.
"I'm twenty-four. Why?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.
He didn't know how to say what he wanted to say. He felt lonely and needed a friend to hang out with. He didn't have many friends because of his condition. People had always seen him as a weirdo, especially when he started acting up in public, trying to put things in order.
He had noticed that Zane kept to himself just like him, and he also noticed the other guys in his class didn't interact well with him, so he was hoping they could be friends with each other.
"Do you have any plans for the evening? Is there somewhere you need to be?" He asked, ignoring her question.
What was this? Why was he asking her such a question all of a sudden? She wondered.
"I have to go home. Is there something you want?" She asked, moving from foot to foot impatiently.
"I was hoping we could catch a drink together and get to know each other," He said in a low voice.
"What? No! Look, I respect your choices, and I'm not going to judge you for being who you are. But the thing is, I'm not that kind of person," She said gently, making him frown.
What was he talking about? Zhang Wei wondered.
"I don't understand," Zhang Wei said with a frown.
"I mean, I'm not interested in guys," Zoe said, lifting her hands to tuck in an imaginary strand of hair before remembering she was supposed to be a guy. So she quickly took her hands to her chin to stroke her imaginary beards, as she had seen some of the guys occasionally do.
"Neither am I," Zhang Wei said with a confused frown. Why was he telling him he wasn't interested in guys?
"So why are you asking me out on a date and stalking me?" Zoe asked with a frown.
"I wasn't asking you out on a date. I don't have friends and was hoping you could be my friend. That's what guys do, hang out together, gist about things, and drink. If you don't want to, I understand," Zhang Wei said, pushing away from the wall and turning to leave.
Zoe looked at him and suddenly felt bad for him. "Wait!" She called after him and bit her lips for being so impulsive when she had to be at the house.
"I can't stay out for long. Will an hour be okay?" Zoe asked and blinked in surprise when he flashed her a smile. He looked really handsome, like breathtakingly handsome, when he smiled. She hadn't realized he had such lovely dimples either.
"For a start, yes," He said, nodding his head with delight.
"Wait. I have to warn you about something first," He said with a frown.
"Okay?" Zoe asked cocking a brow.
"I have this condition... I can't stand things not being in the right order, and it could really be embarrassing for you. I can't stand dirt and other things. It's called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I don't know if you know about it," He said with an embarrassed smile.
"I've read about it somewhere before. It won't be a problem," She assured him.
"I hope so," He told her and turned in the opposite direction from the exit door.
"I thought we were going out?" She asked him, pointing at the door.
"Yes, we just have to stop by my office to pick up something before leaving," He said before leading her in the direction of his office.
The moment he stepped into his office, an elegantly dressed lady blew up in his face. "How dare you arrogant oaf stand me up on a date?" Mei Jin asked angrily.
Zoe cringed at the voice and threw her face to the side lest Mei Jin recognizes her. Mei Jin was one of Grace's three friends. She never liked Grace's friends, and neither could she understand what Grace saw in them that made her hang out with them. Maybe it was because they were all an arrogant lot.
"Who are you?" Zhang Wei asked at a loss.
"Didn't you have a blind dinner date yesterday? Weren't you supposed to show up or at least call to explain you couldn't make it?" She asked, flaring up angrily.
"I didn't arrange for the dinner date, and neither was I the one who invited you. I don't even know you, so why would I do any of that?" Zhang Wei retorted before walking past her to pick up his briefcase.
His secretary watched them helplessly, not knowing what to do. He had tried calming the lady, but she had refused to stay quiet.
"To think I was doing you a favor by showing up. Do you think I don't have better suitors? You're the one who isn't even normal, yet you're being so picky!" She said with a condescending sneer before turning to look at Zoe, who turned to look at her as she gasped in surprise at the insult.
"Let's go," Zhang Wei said to Zoe.
"Wait. You look familiar," Mei Jin said, narrowing her eyes at Zoe, who avoided her gaze.
"Let's go," Zhang Wei said, walking out and leaving Zoe to hurry after him. At the same time, Mei Jin glared at the secretary before hurrying after them. Zhang Wei's attitude badly hurt her pride.
Was he, by chance, into boys? Was that why he had turned her down? She had bragged to her friends, Ki and Yon, that she was going to get him after they had all heard how he had stood up several other girls. Maybe that was what she was going to tell them. That she had seen him with a guy, and he was gay. Only that would explain why he had stood her up.
She quickly took out her phone and snapped them as they left. She had a silly smile as she went to where her car was parked. When she met up with her friends later in the evening, she was going to show them the picture as her evidence.