Chloe almost blurted out, “Appearance is important.” But seeing Leo’s darkening face, she swallowed her words.
“Alright, let’s start now. I’ll watch you,” Leo said, opening the bag and handing Chloe a bottle of eye drops.
Chloe took the eye drops but stood still.
“What’s wrong?” Leo asked, puzzled.
“I don’t know how to use them.”
“It’s simple. Lie down, keep your eyes open, and drop the eye drops into your eyes,” Leo explained while demonstrating with a bottle of eye drops.
Chloe pouted, still reluctant. “I just can’t do it!”
Leo grew frustrated and his tone became stern. “Will you do it or not?”
Chloe, not one to be intimidated, tore off her face mask and shouted back, “I won’t! What are you going to do about it?!”
Neither was willing to back down.
Suddenly, Leo scooped her up by the waist.
Chloe screamed, surprised by Leo’s strength as he effortlessly lifted her onto his shoulder.
“Put me down! What are you doing?!” Chloe pounded on Leo’s back and kicked her feet, losing her slippers in the process.
Leo laid her down on the sofa, pinning her with his body. He held her head with his left hand and aimed the eye drop bottle at her right eye with his right hand.
Chloe watched in terror as the tip of the bottle approached her eye. She tried to break free but Leo’s grip was firm.
“Don’t move! If you hit the bottle, you could go blind,” Leo warned like scolding a child.
Chloe immediately went still.
But her eyelids instinctively closed.
Leo pried open Chloe’s eyelids with his left hand and coaxed, “It’ll be over soon.”
Before he finished speaking, he had already dropped a bit into her eye.
Chloe yelped, closing her eyes as excess drops trickled out like tears.
She blinked and felt a refreshing clarity.
Opening her eyes again, she saw Leo’s annoying smile through a watery veil.
“What are you smiling at? There’s still the other eye!” Chloe smacked Leo and repositioned herself for the second drop.
After the first experience, Chloe found using eye drops wasn’t as scary as she had imagined.
Her gaze shifted downward, noticing Leo sitting on her waist in a rather compromising position.
Remembering how she had struggled against him earlier, her pajamas had slipped down significantly.
Chloe’s face turned red like a ripe apple.
Leo didn’t notice, focused on administering the eye drops.
Though Chloe no longer feared the drops, her eyelids still reflexively closed.
Leo held her eyelids open with one hand and applied the drops with the other, amused by Chloe’s discomfort but holding back laughter.
Peeking at Leo’s expression and feeling his breath on her face, Chloe’s heart raced as she feigned anger. “What are you laughing at?”
“Nothing. I’m applying the drops now, don’t move.” Leo quickly dropped the solution into Chloe’s left eye and then climbed off her.
“See? It’s not that scary.”
Leo smiled reassuringly. “Next time you do it yourself, just like I did. Slowly approach your eye, drop it in the corner, then move your eyeball to spread it around. Got it?”
“Now, you try it yourself.” Leo handed her another bottle of eye drops.
“Why so many?!” Chloe grumbled but took the bottle anyway.
She sat up, leaned back on the sofa, tilted her head, and used her hand to open her eyelid. “Like this?”
Leo didn’t respond.
Chloe’s pose was incredibly alluring, exposing her long neck and a stretch of pale skin from her chin to her chest. Leo felt parched.
“Hmm? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Chloe put down the eye drops in annoyance and noticed Leo’s gaze fixed on her chest.
“Pervert!” Chloe said softly but made no move to cover herself, just smiled teasingly at him.
Leo felt a strange tension in the air.
“Uh, well, I’ll be going now.” The atmosphere was getting quite awkward. Leo feared something unpredictable might happen if he stayed longer.
“By the way, I heard you’re leading a team to locate the treasure?” At the door, Leo remembered something and turned to ask Chloe.
“Yes. Want to come along?” Chloe didn’t know why she wanted Leo to join her so much.
“Sorry, I’m quite busy these days,” Leo made an excuse.
A flash of disappointment crossed Chloe’s eyes but she said nothing more.
Leo didn’t dare look into Chloe’s eyes again. He stepped out and closed the door behind him.
Leaving Chloe’s place, Leo headed to Henley’s Corp.
When Sophia finished work, as usual, Leo drove them both back to Cloud Dream Mountain Villa.
Leo had promised Sophia that after returning from the capital, they would live at Cloud Dream Mountain Villa again and he would drive her to and from work like before.
On their way home, Leo told Sophia about what had happened in the capital.
Hearing how those two Koreans crawled out of the stadium like dogs at the end, Sophia felt immense satisfaction as an Atrarian and couldn’t help but kiss Leo in praise.
Arriving at Villa No. 9, they parked the car and entered the living room together.
Jessica was watching a mindless TV show on the sofa. Hearing the door open, she instinctively turned around. “Soph…”
She only got out two syllables before her eyes widened in shock. She jumped up from the sofa. “Leo!”
“Mom, it’s me.” Leo forced a smile.
“Leo, you’re finally back! I’ve missed you so much!” Jessica rushed over to him and looked him up and down. “You seem thinner.”
“Nora! My dear son-in-law is back! Cook some extra dishes tonight!” Jessica called towards the kitchen.
Jessica’s sudden change in attitude was expected by Leo. If his status hadn’t changed after showing such strength, he would have doubted her sanity.
Nora hurried out of the kitchen. Seeing that it was indeed Leo who had returned, tears welled up in her eyes. “Leo!”