I think Arthur has gone mad.
Clearly, he didn't think so. Holding the cup of cola, he spoke to me in a calm, polite tone:
"What flavor of beverages do you like? I'll buy it for you. Any brand is fine."
His tall figure loomed in front of me, blocking the sunlight from the floor-to-ceiling window, his expression focused, radiating a kind of eerie warmth.
Suddenly, a sentence flashed in my mind:
"A genius and a madman are separated only by a single thought."
The office was eerily quiet.
My colleagues were all cautiously eyeing him, unable to focus on their tasks. I simply pushed my keyboard aside and asked him:
"Shall we go downstairs to the café and talk?"
He pressed his lips together, glancing at the cola in his hands, looking somewhat hesitant. "I..."
I tugged at his sleeve and pulled him along.
The moment my fingers brushed against his sleeve, he obediently leaned in, following me without question.
Like a loyal dog.
---
In the café, I ordered a coffee and tried to stay calm as I asked him, "What exactly do you want? Can you just tell me?"
"I just want to know what flavor of beverages you like."
He tossed the cola he had been holding into the trash, pulled out a tissue, and wiped the sweat off his palms. His expression was tinged with sadness:
"Since we were little, I've never done anything that you liked."
"I just wanted to buy you a drink you like, to make you a little happy."
"Why do you want to make me happy?"
"I like you."
He said it without hesitation.
I stared at him, unblinking. This was all too strange.
Really, it was too strange... The way he looked at me with so much affection, it didn't match the image of the proud, free-spirited person I had known.
"Did something happen?" I asked, testing him.
"I remember you weren't like this before."
"People change," he said softly, "Besides, you've never really gotten to know me."
---
I fell silent, wanting to tell him to leave, but those words seemed useless. The atmosphere grew thick with tension.
He spoke again: "Give me a month. Let me try, okay?"
"If I don't try, I'll never give up. Just let me try chasing you, can I?"
I didn't speak.
He gently pinched his palm and continued:
"I know seeing me disgusts you... So I bought the apartment you're renting. A month from now, regardless of how you feel, I'll transfer it to you. Consider it my apology for making you feel disgusted, alright?"
I was stunned for a moment, even more confused. "What exactly do you want from me?"
"What do I have that's worth all of this effort?"
"I've told you, I like you, but you've always hated me... It's become an obsession for me." He gazed into my eyes:
"Lily, please, give me a chance to put my heart at ease. Can you?"
I still didn't feel right about his reasoning, but I couldn't quite pinpoint what was wrong.
The apartment in the center of a southern metropolis cost nearly five million fully paid. He really was wealthy. I stared at him for a long while, my thoughts complex. After a while, I sighed.
Whatever.
What does it matter how he feels? What does it have to do with me? "You have only one month, are you sure?"
He nodded.
I said, "Alright, but after one month, you must completely disappear from my life."
