FENG LANG
I blinked at Chairman Xu's words.
"I'd like you to meet my youngest, Meilin."
Meilin… the name didn't ring a bell.
She sent me a coy smile, her eyes assessing me as she extended her hand.
And neither did her face…
Slowly, I stood up from my chair. She looked exactly like she did in her photos. Her pupils were black. Like almost every other person in this country. Her hair was black. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Not what I was expecting… or rather, dreading. I released a breath. A mixture of relief and disappointment.
Relieved to rule out Chairman Xu as a possible suspect—that would've been catastrophic—, and disappointed … well, I didn't need to spell out why I was disappointed.
I didn't bother to hide my displeasure as I shook her hand, sending a subtle head shake to Chen Yu, who immediately understood what I meant.
Why was her scent so similar though? Two people couldn't share the same scent… could they?
Or was I the one who made the mistake? Did I just smell her in passing and wrongly associate her scent with the incident? That was a possibility. But I was never wrong when it came to things like this.
If that were true, it'd automatically take one major clue off the table. I'd only have 'white hair' and 'purple eyes' to work with.
I held onto her hand for a while, trying to see if it would trigger any familiar feeling. Anything that could link her to that incident.
"Ehem!"
A cough brought me out of my trance.
"Meilin, dear. Why don't you show Mr Feng around the estate?" Chairman Xu chirped, his eyes lingering a bit too long on my hand, which was still stuck in the handshake.
Immediately, I let go, offering a quick apology.
"It's fine, Mr Feng." She dipped her head. "So, where would you like to go first?" She peered up at me with wide eyes, blinking a few times too many. A move that had been reused so much that it had lost its kick.
As expected, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
My eye darted to Chairman Xu, who was watching me with a stern gaze. If only my company's project wasn't on the line.
I swallowed my pride and forced a smile, turning to whatever-her-name-was.
"How about the kitchen? I'm feeling a bit thirsty." She beamed. "After you," I said, taking a step back to allow her to lead the way as I signaled Chen Yu to follow.
"Ehem!" Was there a sore throat pandemic going on in this house that I didn't know of?
The man who met us at the entrance earlier suddenly brought his arm out, blocking Chen Yu. "I'd like to discuss some … matters with you." He looked at Chen Yu like he was daring him to go against him. Chen Yu let out a breath, his irritation clear on his face.
He turned to me, and I subtly shook my head. "Chen Yu, why don't you take a break while I take my tour with the lady" My gaze lingered on the man for a while before I turned to the girl. "Shall we?"
She nodded and immediately led the way while I followed.
After a few seconds of walking, she slowed down, starting up a conversation. "So… How are you liking it in the mainland so far? You just arrived from Thailand, right?"
I nodded, "Right."
"A lot changed since you were last here?" She asked.
"Yes. I was away for —"
"Seven years, yes."
"A while." I ended my sentence, coming to a stop. I sent her a wary glance, and she giggled at my expression.
"We went to the same high school… and university," she explained as she continued walking.
"We did?" I asked in surprise.
She nodded. "You probably didn't notice me. You were three years my senior after all." She breathed out. "Your friend group was very popular, so everyone knew you." I nodded in understanding. "You might know my older brothers though, Xu Yan and Xu Ze. They were only a year behind you."
I shook my head in disagreement. "Don't ring a bell."
"No worries," she shrugged. She tried to hide her disappointment, but I caught it before she masked it with an overwhelmingly wide smile.
We turned a corner, walking into an empty corridor. There was no staff member in sight. And I couldn't smell anyone's scent.
"We rarely use the kitchen," she explained before I even asked. We walked for a few seconds in much-needed silence before she spoke again, causing me to groan internally. "Mr Feng..."
I offered her a tight smile as she turned to face me, walking backwards the rest of the way.
"Since we went to the same school…" she breathed out, "Can I call you… Gao? Lang Gao?" Her lips pulled into a long irritating pout and I forced back a sneer. I'm sure if we had met under other circumstances, I wouldn't have found her half as annoying as I did. But as it stood…
"If that's what you want, Miss Mulan," I answered, unsure whether or not that was her name. It wasn't something I deemed worth remembering.
"It's Meilin," she corrected.
"Right. Sorry."
"That's fine, Lang Gao. You'll learn it as we get closer."
'As we get closer,' she said… What a silly little bird she was.
We came to a stop at an archway.
"We're here, Lang Gao," she announced, her cheeks tinting red after calling me by my first name.
Just then,
Crash!
A loud clatter sounded, causing whatever-her-name-was to yelp, immediately clinging to my arm in surprise.