"No, nothing else for now. That's all I need. And also, give me your phone number. I would need to call you, old man. Wait, you use a phone, right?" I speak in a casual tone, and for a second Xu looked speechless…
"YES, I use a phone. I don't send letters, young man…" Xu speaks in a calm tone, but I could sense his annoyed tone under his calm facade…
"Ha, that's good. I thought I would have to teach you how to use a phone or something. By the way, how are your children doing? Hmm? I hope you're not treating them too harshly, old man." I spoke in an amused tone, and I could feel how Xu's body tensed up…
"My children are fine… Why did you ask?" Xu spoke in a cold tone; this time he was not joking or calm…
With a smile on my face, I answered, "Well, because your daughter has a bad habit of peeking, hmm? Don't you know? old man." And I look at the door of the study room… and the door moves just a little bit… like someone was leaning on it to hear what was going on inside…
And Xu's eyes go wide… He looks at the door… And Xu spoke in a stern tone, "Xialing, come out. I have told you not to peek at me when I am in the study room, right?"
And well, a second later the door opens, and there was a young girl there… She was wearing a traditional dress, holding her dress tightly, almost as if she was scared that she got caught…
"Is that your daughter? old man? You should treat her better, you know?" I speak in an amused tone as I stand up and walk to the little Xialing… and I could feel Xu again tensing up in his seat…
I look down to Xialing's eye level, and I put my hand out and pat Xialing's head, and I speak in a soft voice, "Hey, Xialing, aww, don't be scared. No one is going to scold you for peeking, ok? If your dad ever bullies you, just tell me, ok?? I am your mom's friend…" And Xialing's eyes grew wide when she heard what I said, and she felt warm because of my actions…
And so Xialing spoke fast like a young girl speaks fast… "What? You know, Mama?? Woah!" She spoke like a giddy girl… And well, Xialing was not the one who was shocked the most in that room… There, the most shocked person was Xu…
He could not believe James's words… or his actions…
"REALLY? You know, Ma? "What's your name?" She spoke in a happy tone, the fear in her eyes going away as she spoke...
"My name? I'm James, but you can call me Big Brother, ok?? And yes, I know your Ma; she was super strong!" I speak in a giddy way, matching her voice playfully...
And all this time Xu was too shocked to speak...
"Hmm, I'll tell you stories about your Ma later, ok? I have to leave now. See you later, Xialing. And also make sure to tell Shang I said hi." I keep speaking in a soft but cheerful voice, and Xialing actually looks a little down when James says he is going to leave, and Xialing does a little respectful curtsy with her dress, and she speaks, "Um, ok… Bye, thanks for coming, and sorry for peeking…"
And then I stand up and look at Xu, and I smile and speak, "Ok, old man, I am going now. I'll call you, and when I do, you better have the 3 people I want, ok? Till then, do the other 2 tasks. I'll give you updates through the phone…" I walk to the window and, with a smile, put my leg out and then fall down…
And Xialing was stunned! She runs to the window and peeks out, and she sees nothing…
And Xu steps closer to Xialing, and he keeps his hand on her shoulder, and Xu speaks, "You did well, daughter, but what was that giddiness? I don't remember telling you to act that way…"
And Xialing speaks in a shy tone, "I don't know why; I just felt better when he patted my head, and, uh, is it true? that he knows Mom?" And hearing Xialing's questions, Xu was well stunned himself…
And Xu sends Xialing away, and then he walks around the study room like he was walking in a crime scene… And then Xu speaks: "Check everything… find out who he is…" And a second later a whole team of people was now in the study room. There were people looking for the smallest fingerprints, and even the hidden cameras in the room were removed…
After 13 minutes…
Xu was sitting on his seat and reading the report he just got…
"No fingerprints, no hair follicles, no sweat drops, zero leads... just as I expected in the hidden cameras, the window just opens, and then there was a flash, and he just came out of thin air…
The worst part… he looked at every single hidden camera almost like he knew this whole room was a setup… He did not even try to hide that he knew this was a setup… His face was a little different… The cameras have his face, but he did not hide it. That means he does not care if we find that face or track it…
And the test I did with Xialing showed me that he does not have any plans about my family… If he did, he would have acted differently, and what was that?? He pretty much lied to Xialing about knowing…
No, he did not know her; if he did, she would have told me… Is he making me doubt my own family?
Ha… I still can't understand him. He just keeps getting harder to read… But it's not like I don't have anything… I have leads… He will slip, and when he does, I will know everything… But still there is a part of me that feels…
Like, even if I knew who he was, it wouldn't matter…
Ha, he really is like a ghost.