Standing at the entrance of the restaurant, Ximena saw Aaron, who was in a dark gray suit. The precise tailoring of his clothes made him look taller. His back still looked lonely and arrogant, but it was undeniably attractive. Nobody could take her—or even a "he"'s—eyes away from him.
Perhaps it was because he felt he was being gazed at by somebody that he turned around slowly. As soon as he saw Ximena, who looked cool and sophisticated, his eyes was sparked with loving gentleness and the rigid profile of his face turned softer.
He strode towards her and stopped in front of her, so close that she could feel his breath. Before he opened his mouth, Ximena said, "Is it necessary to make so much fuss? We're only here to have lunch." Looking around, she estimated that it might have costed about ten million to book the whole restaurant. Although Aaron wouldn't care about money, she really thought it was wasteful. She could not imagine why he chose to have lunch in such an extravagant way.
Aaron didn't answer her question and instead, only bent slightly like a gentleman would, indicating that Ximena could now go to the table and take her seat. Seeing that he was not going to answer her, Ximena rolled her eyes and walked to the table at the center of the restaurant. As she approached the table, Aaron pulled out her chair for her, and then let her sit. It was not until Aaron sat down at the other end of the table opposite her that she opened her mouth again. "You haven't answered my question," she asked looking straight at Aaron.
"My answer is your answer!" Aaron replied, making Ximena more confused.
Once again, she rolled her eyes. However, after a few moments, she realized what he meant when he said what he said. She showed no sign that she finally understood Aaron, except for a little warm smile on her lips.
It seemed that Aaron didn't mind her cold response. He said, "Now that you're planning a new start, I want to try my best to do my part too." While saying that, he fixed his eyes on Ximena, carefully examining her face and not missing any expression on it. "Since you have decided, I guess you won't try to escape?" he asked.
"No, I won't," Ximena answered in a calm and matter-of-fact tone. "I want to try to throw away the burdens that I have on my mind, though I'm still scared that I might fail. I guess that's the same with you. It takes a long time for a person to throw away something that has lingered in his or her mind for a long time..."
"Well, one of my best traits is I'm patient!" Aaron said, as he stared at Ximena, as if she was a business partner that he was negotiating with. "Since I was able to face and survive the past one and a half years, do you think I wouldn't be able to survive the following years?"
"I'm afraid that you wouldn't be able to bear loneliness..."
"Why don't you try me?"
"Sometimes the occurrence of a problem doesn't bring people hope. It makes them retreat because of how difficult it is."
"The word 'retreat' has never been in my dictionary!"
"Well then, I think you should start considering adding it, then."
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