Nicholas naturally didn’t care about what Jason thought or felt. He turned to Leo and said gratefully, “Dr. Leo, thank you for saving my son. Whether Jackson recovers or not, the Bloomer family owes you a favor. You can call on it anytime.”
Leo shook his head decisively. “I appreciate your sentiment, but there’s no need for a favor. Jackson will wake up in two hours. Make sure he takes the medicine I’ve prescribed on time. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to Langstel.”
“Dr. Leo, how about staying for a meal?” Nicholas suggested.
“No need, I have matters to attend to at the clinic,” Leo declined.
Having achieved his goal of treating Jackson, Leo didn’t want to linger.
“Dr. Leo, let me see you off!” Jenna said tearfully, her eyes filled with joy.
“Brother, I’ll come too!” Xavier quickly added.
Leo returned to Langstel on the Bloomer family’s private jet.
Upon arriving in Langstel, Leo didn’t go back to the clinic because it was almost time for Sophia to get off work. He took a cab directly to the Henley’s Corp.
After work, Sophia handed the car keys to Leo and smiled, “Let’s not go home. Let’s head to Evergreen Plaza!”
“What are we going to do at Evergreen Plaza?” Leo asked curiously.
“There’s a huge party there today. Let’s go have some fun and relax,” Sophia said enthusiastically.
In truth, she hadn’t mentioned the main reason: Charles was rumored to be attending. Sophia was a fan of Charles.
They first found a restaurant for dinner and then headed to Evergreen Plaza.
Upon arrival, they parked in the underground lot and took the elevator up to the plaza.
Though called a plaza, it wasn’t very large-just an open space surrounded by four tall buildings, about two thousand square meters.
More and more young people were arriving for the party.
People were milling about, some already stumbling from drinking too much.
Leo wasn’t used to such noisy scenes.
Unlike the formal banquets he had attended before, this place felt like an open-air nightclub with everyone moving to the beat of electronic music. Some women in bikinis were jumping into a central swimming pool with cheers.
Leo and Sophia stopped at a row of food stalls.
Sophia ordered grilled squid, but Leo wasn’t fond of such things and had no appetite for junk food.
Seeing Leo acting like an ascetic monk, rejecting everything, Sophia playfully pushed a skewer of grilled squid to his mouth, making him take a bite.
Under Sophia’s stern gaze, Leo took a bite as if forced to eat poison.
Despite his preference for bland food, the grilled squid was delicious, with oil dripping from his mouth.
As they wandered around the plaza, a large screen in the center displayed live footage from various corners of the area.
People were dancing, and DJs were skillfully mixing music with headphones on.
At a makeshift bar, bartenders performed juggling tricks with bottles, even setting them on fire and blowing flames like dragons. There was even a gambling table where a dealer was dealing cards. Sophia eagerly joined in but quickly lost several hundred dollars before moving on excitedly to another spot.
Leo found it amusing but rare to see Sophia so happy.
He let her enjoy herself.
A middle-aged man stood in a cafe on the second floor of Evergreen Plaza, looking down through large windows.
He wore a small black device in his left ear, barely noticeable unless closely observed-a mini earpiece.
A man’s voice came through the earpiece: “The target is by the swimming pool in the southwest corner with a female companion. Should we proceed?”
“Wait,” the middle-aged man commanded before taking his coffee to the terrace and leaning on the railing to watch below.
Under his gaze, Leo was talking to Sophia by the pool.
“Sophia, really?” Leo looked at her in surprise.
“Watch this,” Sophia said impulsively, claiming she could jump over a protruding part of the pool and clear about two meters of water.
Leo pulled her back. “Don’t jump. What if you get hurt?”
He almost suspected she had secretly had a few margaritas at the bar; otherwise, why was she acting like those tipsy bikini girls shouting as they jumped into the pool?
Sophia was just having fun and dropped the idea after Leo’s persuasion. Suddenly, a gust of wind sounded from the large screen above.
Everyone looked up simultaneously.
In a green forest, a woman in sheer fabric stepped gracefully down some steps, her white toes touching the soft grass like a fairy descending.
A young man in white put down his ancient flute and watched her intently.
The breeze rustled their clothes as nightingales sang softly around them, but their eyes were only for each other…
“It’s Western Xia Serendipity!” Sophia whispered excitedly to Leo.
Western Xia Serendipity was a movie starring Charles, an adventure-fantasy romance that gained popularity following Western Xia Treasury’s success.
The screen froze on Charles’s handsome face.
A chorus of female screams erupted in the plaza, with many calling out Charles’s name.
This world truly favored good looks.
While everyone else seemed mesmerized by Charles’s image, Leo felt something was off.
It was like sensing someone standing by your bed watching you sleep-an unsettling feeling.
Leo scanned his surroundings and spotted a young man in a cap leaning against the DJ booth, swaying to the music.
The man wasn’t looking at Leo; his eyes were hidden under his cap’s brim, making it unclear whom he was watching.
Leo’s instincts kicked in.
Feigning nonchalance, he walked to the bar and ordered a margarita before heading back to Sophia with the drink.
Using the reflection in his glass, he saw the distorted image of the young man in the cap again.
Leo handed the drink to Sophia. She took it and sipped while watching the screen as it finished showing the movie trailer. Suddenly, fireworks exploded into the sky from the plaza center, and everyone cheered.