Adam stopped.
The mont John interrupted them, the conversation ended in his mind.
He could not continue from where he had left off. Not here. Not with John standing beside their table with that gentle smile on his face.
Adam did not want John to know that he had so idea about Monica’s background. More than that, he did not want John to feel that Adam knew his real nature.
That was the dangerous part.
Monica’s family background was one thing. John’s real personality was another.
Adam still feared John.
He did not deny that inside his mind. Fear was not the problem. Acting like he had no fear would only make him careless. John was not like the people Adam had moved in the underworld. John did not need a gun in his hand to hurt soone. He watched first and touched the right place later.
That was why Adam did not want even a small leak in his face.
With most people, a wrong expression passed like nothing.
With John, a wrong expression beca information.
And information in John’s hand beca pressure later.
John pulled a chair and sat near the table like he had only co to join two friends. His smile stayed soft, but his eyes were on Adam.
He was reading every small movent.
Adam understood that much.
John wanted to confirm what Adam knew. Did Adam know that John had helped push him out of college? Or did Adam know sothing deeper?
That was why Adam had to control even the small things.
The speed of his answer.
The way his hand rested near the plate.
The direction of his eyes when John’s na entered the conversation.
All of it could beco a clue.
Adam gave no clear reaction.
He did not stiffen.
He did not look away too quickly.
He did not show anger.
Still, John reached one conclusion.
Adam knew sothing.
Not everything, perhaps. Maybe not the full face behind the smile. But Adam was not blind anymore.
That surprised John more than he showed.
He had underestimated Adam.
That thought did not make him worried. It only made the ga more interesting.
Even if Adam had climbed back into college sohow, John still believed he could beat him. He believed he could break him ntally if he pushed from the right direction. He only needed to understand the new shape of the board first.
At the sa table, Monica also felt the silence.
She opened her mouth once, as if she wanted to shift the mood, then stopped.
Normally, Monica was useful in awkward monts. She could say whatever ca into her mind and break the silence without thinking too much. Today, even she could not do it.
Her mind was still stuck on Adam’s question.
Are you really from the sa world as ?
The words had not left her.
Adam saw that too.
This was not what he wanted.
He had shaken Monica more than he had planned, and now John had arrived before the situation could settle. If Adam stayed stiff, John would read it. If Adam tried too hard to avoid him, that would also say too much.
’If I want to fight him, I cannot keep turning away,’ Adam thought.
He took a slow breath.
Then he smiled at John.
"So," Adam said, "how is your study going without ?"
The line was light.
It sounded like sothing an old friend would say after returning from a short absence.
John’s smile beca warr at once.
"Terrible," he said. "If you were going to cheat, you should have made cheat too. At least I would have passed easily."
If soone else had said it, Adam might have paused.
The cheating case was still fresh.
It was still the reason people whispered when he walked through the corridor. It was still the stain John had helped place on him.
But Adam did not let that pause appear.
He reminded himself again.
This man was his enemy.
If he wanted to face him, he had to face him directly.
Adam smiled back.
"Don’t worry," he said. "Next ti I cheat, I will cheat with you. If the college catches again, I will take you with too."
John laughed.
Adam laughed with him.
For a mont, the table looked normal from the outside. Two friends joking about a sensitive matter. One returning after trouble. One welcoming him back with a smile.
Monica looked at both of them and felt even more confused.
John had kept Adam’s father near him for days. Adam had thanked him before leaving with his father. Now they were joking about the cheating case as if it was only an old problem between friends.
They really looked close.
That was what made it harder for her to understand what she had felt earlier.
John rested one arm on the table.
"We should spend ti together again," he said. "Like before."
Adam’s smile stayed in place.
For a second, he did not answer.
Then he picked up his plate.
"Sure," Adam said. "If I get ti, we will."
He stood up.
"I have so work."
He gave both of them a small nod and walked away from the table.
Adam had tried not to look like he was escaping.
Still, he knew staying longer was risky. The more ti he spent near John, the more chances John would have to pull sothing out of him.
So he left casually.
That was the safest way.
John watched him go.
He had expected Adam to avoid a longer conversation.
What interested him was how Adam had done it.
There had been no panic on his face. There had been no open hostility either. Adam had laughed before leaving, and the distance he kept was not too obvious.
John’s smile remained on his face for a mont.
’Well done, Adam,’ he thought. ’Nice play.’
He didn’t expect Adam to react this way to this situation, but Adam surprised John with his quick thinking.
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