CHAPTER 17: Played Chase

When I saw him jogging in my direction, I stood up immediately. He didn't seem to notice me at first. His eyes were glued straight ahead to the pathway, completely locked in his zone.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

I took a subtle step closer to the edge of the path. The exact second he jogged past, I stuck my foot right out in front of him.

"Fuck!"

I watched him stumble hard, almost taking a full face-plant onto the concrete. I couldn't stop the quiet snort of laughter from escaping my chest.

I instantly spun on my heel and walked away like nothing happened, but behind me, he immediately erupted.

"Hey! Fuck you! Whoever the hell you are, don't mess with me! Fuck you!"

I rolled my eyes under my hood, my temper flaring up again. The absolute nerve of this guy to swear at me after everything he pulled.

All the anger I’d been suppressing came rushing right back, my hands curling tightly into fists inside my jacket pockets.

"Fuck you! If you're having a bad day, keep it to yourself, you fucking peasant!"

That was the absolute last straw. I snapped, spinning back around to face him, my jaw clenched so tight.

His eyes widened in genuine shock the second he realized the "peasant" he was cussing out was the exact same guy he had violated.

My teeth gritted together inside my hoodie pocket."What did you just call me?"

He pulled down his black mask, and a faint, smug smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Oh. The delivery driver..."

My blood boiled instantly. Delivery driver? I have a damn name, you idiot!

"Juan," I spat out sarcastically.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's Yuan, not Juan. Are you deliberately mispronouncing my name?"

I glared at him, utterly unbothered. "Yeah. It suits you better anyway," I replied flatly. "And my name is Neo. Not 'delivery driver'."

The smirk on his face widened into a mockingly amused grin. "Well, I'm not wrong, am I? You are a delivery driver," he said, his tone heavy with condescension.

My temper flared to a dangerous high. Yeah, it was true, I worked as a delivery driver. But so what? Delivery drivers have names and deserve basic damn respect. Not like this jerk, who made it his personal mission to look down on my job.

I threw him a look that could kill.

"Why are you here, anyway? Are you stalking me again?" he asked, a playful, teasing glint in his eyes.

The audacity of this guy. Calling me a stalker after what he did to me?

I arched an eyebrow. "What did you just say? Stalking? Do you have a hole in your brain, or are you just naturally this braindead?" I shot back frankly.

I glanced around the park. It was bright daylight and there were people scattered nearby. If I punched his face in right now, there’d be way too many witnesses, so I forced myself to hold back.

"So why are you here?" he asked again, completely ignoring my insult. A subtle smirk lingered on his lips. "Wait... are you considering my offer?"

My jaw locked again. The sheer audacity of this man. If we weren't in a public space right now, I would have launched his ass into outer space ten minutes ago.

I raised my hand and flipped him off with my middle finger. "Fuck you."

"Let's fuck, then," he replied smoothly, giving me a deliberate wink.

I felt physically sick. He sounded so used to saying shit like that, like throwing sexual propositions at people was second nature to him.

Gross. This bastard was really ruining my morning.

"Fuck yourself!" I barked, turning my back on him.

He wasn't worth my time. If I allowed myself to fall for his petty taunts, I’d lose control and end up doing something stupid.

But damn! I didn't expect him to actually follow me. I picked up my pace, but he matched my steps effortlessly, staying right beside me.

God damn this guy.

I stopped dead in my tracks and whipped around, glaring daggers at him. "What is your problem?!" I demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you following me, asshole?"

He just gave me a mischievous, infuriating grin. "Following you? I'm not following you," he lied without blinking.

He was blatantly trying to get under my skin. The sheer nerve of him! After everything he pulled, instead of feeling an ounce of guilt, he acted completely shameless and arrogant.

"Don't play games with me, Juan," I said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not playing games. I really want to fuck you."

I bit my lip so hard I nearly drew blood. My head was practically smoking, my temper seconds away from detonating. To hell with holding back, I desperately wanted to cave his stupidly handsome face in right here, right now.

I held up my clenched fist in front of his face. "You want a taste of this?"

He chuckled, taking a casual step backward. "Chill, okay?"

I pressed my lips into a tight line. "You're really testing my patience, you bastard," I warned, my voice trembling with rage. "Do you value your life at all? Because you're gonna regret ever meeting me."

He shook his head, a strange, intriguing glint flashing across his eyes. "No, I don't regret meeting you. You amuse me."

A bitter smile tugged at my mouth. "Well, we're opposites then, because you disgust me. Stop following me, asshole!" I yelled into his face before spinning around and breaking into a full-on sprint down the pathway.

But the bastard actually ran after me.

So there we were, the two of us sprinting through the park paths like absolute lunatics, him keeping pace right behind me. A couple of kids on bikes stopped to stare at us, making me sprint even faster out of sheer embarrassment, though I couldn't deny the guy was frustratingly fast.

"Hey! You know, chasing you is actually pretty good exercise!" he called out from behind, effortlessly keeping up.

I veered toward the front section of the park, where all the crowded food stalls were lined up. I figured a high-profile celebrity like him would back off the second he risked being recognized by a crowd.

And I was right. After weaving through the dense crowd near the food carts, I looked back and didn't see him anymore.

I shouldn't even have had to run from him in the first place. If I had my way, I would have dragged him by the throat and beaten him senseless. But I knew that wouldn't stop him, I already punched him hard and he still didn't learn his lesson.

What I really needed was to wipe him off the face of the earth. Maybe I should just hire a hitman to take him out and pay them off.

I nodded to myself. Great idea. Except...

I didn't have a single cent to my name. For the first time today, a fresh wave of bitter rage hit me at the realization...I was dead broke. Fuck!

What if I just killed him myself?

I let out a dark laugh at my own thoughts.

Me? Kill him? Ha! I wasn't going to ruin my life and dirty my hands for a piece of garbage like him.

I looked around the busy square. Since I couldn't spot him anywhere, I slowed down to a casual walk. I saw rows of food carts lined the street, and my eyes naturally wandered over the options, especially when I passed a cart selling fried isaw.

Even though I only had twenty pesos left in my pocket, I couldn't resist."Sir, two sticks of isaw, please."

I handed over my twenty-peso coin 'cause per stick cost ten pesos.

Once he handed me the hot, fried isaw, I dunked them straight into the jar of seasoned vinegar, loaded with crushed onions, garlic, and chili. My mouth was watering before the skewers even hit the liquid.

After giving them a generous soak in the spicy vinegar, I took a massive, satisfying bite.

"Tastes good?" a smooth voice asked from directly behind me.

Still chewing happily on my isaw, I turned around without thinking. "Yeah, it's really good."

My brain was still on autopilot, focused entirely on the food rather than whoever was talking to me.

"Really? Because if you ask me... you taste way better."

I froze mid-chew. My whole body went completely stiff as my brain finally registered the familiar, deep voice.

I slowly looked up, and my jaw dropped.

Standing right in front of me, smiling casually as if waiting for my reaction, was the exact same jerk who had humiliated, insulted, and harassed me.

Yuan.

Shit! Should I just murder this bastard myself?