Not long after that, the bus he was waiting for arrived. He found it incredibly strange as he felt relieved when the girl was riding on the same bus.
The bad thing was that the bus was so crowded that it was difficult to walk. Finally, Vincent stood in the middle while holding the pillar beside the bus seat.
The girl was also doing the same right behind him. As soon as the bus was running, all the standing passengers struggled to hold on to their place.
For several minutes, the bus ran smoothly. No passengers fell or bumped into other passengers. Occasionally Vincent glanced back while trying to dig into his memory.
Without warning, the bus stopped suddenly, causing all the passengers to push forward. Vincent managed to stay firmly standing in his place, but not with those behind him.
Vincent felt a small head hit against his back.
"Sorry," came the honey-like voice from behind.
Vincent turned his head to see the girl who was shorter than him.
"No problem," he replied.
The girl returned with a faint smile before deciding to stare out the window.
He saw the girl's pearl-white side face. Some parts of her hair covered her cheeks with her hair flowing down, making her like some model doing a catwalk show.
Well, he had no time to enjoy the girl's beauty as the girl's side face rang a bell in his mind. He was sure he has once met the girl before.
'Have we met before?'
The girl raised her head to meet his eyes with a confused look. This was the first time Vincent saw a beautiful light brown and some golden fleck inside the pupil.
Why did that girl look at him strangely? Why did that girl look at him in disgust?
Only then did he realize he had said what he thought.
Gosh, Vincent !! What's up with you today? He complained to himself.
The girl must have thought he was flirting with her using an old-fashioned lame question. So he preferred to stay still and turn
towards the front. He didn't know whether he felt embarrassed or frustrated with himself, which made him unable to face the girl's accusing gaze.
Having not finished calming his mind, he felt someone slightly tugged on his camera bag. Vincent shifted his gaze on the girl with a raised eyebrow.
What this girl wants now?
"You work at V collection?"
Hearing the girl's question, Vincent frowned. He didn't like his identity as V being known. Not even his family... nor the tigress knew that he was V.
Nobody even knew that he owned the V collection gallery. His family apprehends he was just an unemployed person who sometimes receives services for model or advertisement shoots.
But still, his family knew nothing about the V collection.
Then why could this girl guess that he works at V collection? She couldn't possibly know that he was V, right?
He knew it was impossible, but he wanted to confirm it.
"Why do you think like that?"
The girl did not answer but pointed her finger at his camera bag. There was a V-shaped hanger attached to the chain of the camera bag.
An eyebrow raised in disbelieve. Just looking at the accessories with the letter V, this girl guessed he works there?
Well, he did work there if he had to say that, but this hanger was very common. There was absolutely no sign or symbol associated with the V collection.
"This hanger was just an ordinary hanger. It has nothing to do with the V collection."
"So you don't work there?"
"No." because I am the owner, he continued in his mind. "But, you could also say I work there. You know, just spreading brochures or posting them on the internet and so on. But they didn't pay me."
"They didn't pay you? And you don't mind?"
"Nope. My friend worked there, so I helped him to lessen his work. You could say we help each other." in this case, Vincent was not lying.
"So you know V?"
Vincent could see the hopeful eyes of the girl. At the same time, the girl had an expressionless face, which made it difficult for him to know the girl's true intentions.
The good news was that his identity as V was still safe.
"You can say that," came the indifferent answer.
"Can I meet him?"
What's wrong with people today? Why are there so many who want to meet him? What's more, the one looking for V is a woman!? Can't he live peacefully without a woman disturbing him?
"One question, why in the beginning did you ask me to work at V collection? How can you ask that?"
"Those are two questions."
Vincent rolled his eyes lazily. Of course, he knew he was asking two questions, but the point was the same. This was why he doesn't like having a conversation with a girl.
"Fine, two questions." he continued trying to be as patient as possible.
"The answer is two things." replied the girl while bringing out the index and middle fingers in a half fist.
"The first is the camera bag, and the second... maybe you don't remember, but earlier we had a chance to meet in front of the V collection gallery. Didn't the second one answer your question earlier?"
Ah, it turned out that the girl had indeed glanced at him. And just as he thought the girl was pointing at V's accessories, he was wrong. The girl was pointing at his camera bag!
But, why was that girl silent when he inquired about the accessories earlier? Instead, she shot him straight away with a question he could barely avoid.
It seemed he had fallen into the trap of the girl's words. He had to be careful when talking to her.
Not finished with his thoughts, the petite girl in front of him uttered a line that made him even more shocked.
"That's why I thought you were V's right-hand man or his disciple. But I felt that you were his assistant, so I'm asking you to confirm it."
So this girl did not think that he is V at all, but just V's assistant?! He should have felt relieved that his identity was still secure, but somehow hearing the way she spoke, seeing her body language, the look in her eyes... made him feel irritated for reasons he didn't know.
"See you later." the girl continued and disappeared from his sight before he even reacted.
See you later? Hmph!
He hoped he wouldn't see that girl again.
Vincent remained standing in place, and he saw the girl walking opposite the direction of the bus.
Even though he was irritated, he was still curious about the girl.
'We passed each other in front of the V collection gallery. Didn't the second one answer your question earlier?'
'Have we met before?' He did ask it and heard the answer.
But that was not the answer he was looking for.
He felt... he was sure he had indeed met that girl before long before they passed in front of the gallery.
If he couldn't remember their names or meeting places, then there was only one possibility.
The girl was once the object of his analog camera. If that was the case, why would he even care?
Vincent just needed to stay out of the gallery for a while. With that, the chances of meeting that girl were very slim.
Vincent laughed at himself. How could he be sure that the girl would come to the gallery again? He barely knows the girl.