When I Was A Wallflower

Chapter 354 Leo’s Acting Strangely
At 6.00AM, Amelie left home with a basket on her arm. Her father, Steven, had been suffering from a cold and coughing, so she
was worried that it would get worse if he left the house. As such, she deliberately got up earlier to help with the groceries.
Shopping online was more convenient now, plus her company had a section dedicated to electronic shopping. It had held live
shopping events for agricultural products, and she could always ask her own company to send some over. However, Steven
wasn't sold on the idea and felt that it would be better if he picked them out himself. She couldn't argue with him and was willing
to give in, so their family maintained the habit of going to the market.
Waking up at 6.00AM wasn't easy for Amelie. When she pushed open the lobby gate, a figure suddenly appeared. She assumed
it was another resident who had risen early, but upon taking a closer look, she froze.
"Leo?"
What is he doing here so early in the morning?
Leo turned to her with a confused look, seemingly surprised to see her there as well.
"Were you drinking?" She rarely saw him this confused and couldn't help asking the question warily.
"No." He threw away the cigarette between his fingers.
Right then, Amelie noticed the multiple cigarette butts littered on the ashtray above the rubbish bin and tilted her head in
surprise. She recalled that he was obsessed with cleanliness and never touched a cigarette, so what was this about?
"I was taking a walk and didn't realize I had wandered here." He stepped toward her, his arm nearly touching hers. The coldness
emanating from it made her shiver briefly. How long had he stood in the cold air?
"Did you walk from Clouson City to Halport, then?" She had seen him acting cheesy with her too many times and did not take
him seriously, teasing him instead.
Leo didn't answer, only forcing out a rueful smile.
"Elie," he murmured, looking sideways at Amelie, who was at chin height. He then lifted his arm.

She did not miss that movement, instinctively taking a step back when she saw that he was about to touch her. However, he did
not lift his hand.
Instead, he muttered, "You don't have to be so guarded against me, nor do you need to deliberately avoid me. I will never disturb
you again."
With that, he nodded his head at her and turned away before leaving.
Is he leaving just like that?
Amelie stared at his back, her lips slightly open. He left just as abruptly as he had come, and his words even more so. She was
confused and could not react for some time, staring at where his figure had been while even wondering if it had merely been a
hallucination.
At 6.00AM, Amelie left home with a basket on her arm. Her father, Steven, had been suffering from a cold and coughing, so she
was worried that it would get worse if he left the house. As such, she deliberately got up earlier to help with the groceries.
After breakfast, Bria insisted on going ice skating. She had fallen in love with the sport and always practiced at home. Amelie
was willing to indulge her as well; her lessons were twice a week, but she had applied for an additional annual pass so that they
could go every day.
When they arrived at the practice rink, there were already many people skating about on the freezing ice. Since the surface had
to remain frozen, the temperature within was colder than outside the rink.
Bria changed her clothes and dragged Amelie onto the ice excitedly, stumbling slightly before starting to skate. She looked
around for someone with wide eyes as she did so, and Amelie knew whom she was looking for. Leo had practiced skating with
them without fail all this while, so Bria was looking for him. Amelie was usually irritated by him, but she couldn't help looking
around as well when she remembered his appearance that morning.
Leo wasn't there.
Bria pursed her lips, the disappointment clear in her eyes, but she did not give up. Dada is busy with a lot of things and is
probably late. He will be here soon.
However, he did not show up even after they had warmed up.

Amelie had always considered him annoying, yet his sudden absence made her anxious. She couldn't avoid replaying the way
he appeared that morning, but she couldn't figure out anything from that.
"Let's start practicing." She didn't think too much about it.
Leo did not appear even when Bria's practice had ended, and she walked out of the rink despondently with hunched shoulders.
There was no sign of him for several days, but Amelie was too occupied with work to ponder over it.
It was soon Friday, and the lawyer called to report that the documents for the share transfer were already done and would be
effective once both sides signed them. The lawyer could help send the files to Halport but considering Julia didn't know about it
and Amelie would have to personally persuade her to accept the shares, Amelie drove to Clouson City.
After meeting the lawyer, she brought the documents to Julia's office in Starlight Media.
"Why did you come without saying anything?" Julia looked eye-catching and practical in her white work outfit. She did not call for
her assistant and poured out the coffee beans herself to brew freshly ground coffee for Amelie.
Amelie made a noise of assent, noticing that Julia's makeup did not hide her dark circles despite being thicker. "Have you been
busy recently?"
"Just like usual." Julia shrugged lightly. "What happened with you and Leo, though? I saw him being quite close to a woman a
few days ago when I was out. Their relationship didn't seem casual. I asked around, and it's said that she's Toby Walsh's
younger sister or something. They were on a date, and it looked pretty serious since Melissa, Jodie, and even the girl's parents
were there."
Amelie froze slightly as she heard the news regarding Leo. "Really?"
Toby didn't have a sister, but he did have an unmarried cousin.
Did Leo and Michelle go on a date?
It wasn't like she didn't consider the fact that he would date the people around him and get married in the future, but this was far
too sudden. She remembered that he hadn't really cared about Michelle much, even telling Bria that he wasn't close to her, and
their outings together had been arranged by Melissa without his knowledge.
Had that been just to reassure Bria?

Amelie was somewhat familiar with Leo. She knew he was a serious and honest person who disliked lying. So, did he eventually
decide to be with Michelle?
After coming to that conclusion, she couldn't help feeling more puzzled. However, since she didn't plan on developing anything
with him, she did not wish to make too many guesses. "That's good."
Julia did not say much and placed the ground coffee beans into the special filter which contained a piece of white filter paper.
The brown coffee beans were ground finely and smelled aromatic.
She took the jug with a narrow spout and tested the temperature, only pouring the water along the edge of the filter when she
estimated its temperature to be around eighty degrees. Her movements were smooth and practiced, but it did not seem like her
style. She was extremely grandiose and exuberant and disliked such simple and rustic habits.
Amelie also remembered that with Julia's temper, she would have called Amelie much earlier after seeing Leo having such a
high-profile date to tear him apart. She wouldn't have waited days before mentioning it. She was behaving far too unusually.
"Did anything happen to you recently?" Amelie couldn't stop herself from asking.
Julia paused her actions abruptly, freezing on the spot.