65 THE ROAD TO MANIPULATION AND DECEPTION STARTS HERE (1/2)

Hua Zhendan pulled his wallet out of his pocket. He removed his business card, then the piece of paper on which he had written the address to confirm if he was in the right location. He was.

He placed the wallet, his business card and the piece of paper with the address on it on the passenger seat of his car. He then picked up his phone and texted Qiu Dawei, \”I'm outside the house Su Yang said my birth parents live.\”

Qiu Dawei's reply came very quickly. Like he had been expecting a text from Hua Zhendan. \”Really? Where's the place?\”

\”On the outskirts of Tianjin. The apartments around here are all so cozy and small. I kinda like it.\”

\”Are they home?\”

\”I'm not sure. But Su Yang said they should be by this time.\”

\”What do you plan to do?\”

\”I don't know. I'm nervous. But I think I'll just go in and tell them who I am. Then watch what happens next.\”

This time around, Qiu Dawei's reply was a lot slower than before. Like he was contemplating what to say. When he finally replied, his text said, \”Good luck.\”

Hua Zhendan sighed. He placed the phone on the passenger seat as well and pinned down the car. He rubbed his palms together to calm himself down before alighting from the car.

With small, cautious steps, he walked towards the green painted house that matched the address on the piece of paper. He looked around but there wasn't a bell he could ring. He knocked on the door casually.

No one replied.

Hua Zhendan took a step back and stared at the windows and door. They were all locked. No-one was home. He sighed and thought of texting Qiu Dawei to let him know the latest development.

Hua Zhendan searched his pocket for his phone and immediately realized he had left it in his car. That wasn't the only thing that occurred to him at that moment, he also realized that he hadn't pulled his car key out of the ignition.

In a moment of pain, Hua Zhendan frantically searched his pocket for either his phone, wallet or car key. None were there. He hurried to the car and desperately tugged on the door. Almost begging it to open. The door refused to budge. Just then, he heard the soft voice of a female teenager talking to him.

The voice asked, \”Sir, is there a problem?\”

Hua Zhendan turned around with a start, but was immediately stunned into silence. That female teenager was the girl in the picture Su Yang had sent him. It was his sister. His panic rose to a new level as he stared at the girl. His head couldn't think of the right thing to say to her. He wanted to introduce himself to her, as her brother. But he knew that that was both instinctive and stupid. So, he kept quiet and tried to maintain his calm.

\”Sir,\” the girl called. \”Do you have a problem with your car?\”

Hua Zhendan smiled and immediately felt like an idiot because the girl withdrew from him. Like his smile had freaked her out. He cleared his throat and maintained his calm. It wasn't like him to be this nervous. \”No, the car doesn't have a problem. But, I locked my wallet, phone and keys inside.\”

The girl moved closer to the car, put her face to the window and peered into the car. With concern in her voice, she asked, \”How did that happen?\”

\”I...\” Hua Zhendan scratched his head. \”I don't know. I've never made this kind of mistake before.\”

\”Maybe you were thinking about someone special.\” The girl pointed an accusing finger in his face.

Hua Zhendan stared at the finger. Not sure about how to respond. He didn't feel like this girl was very respectful.

Dreamily, she said, \”I'm in love with a boy in my class. He's very handsome.\”

Hua Zhendan raised a brow. Just what did this little girl know about love?

Frowning, she continued, \”Sadly, I don't think we'll ever be together.\”

With an amused grin on his face, he asked, \”Why not?\”

\”Well, he doesn't know I exist. There are so many other girls in the class who are a lot more beautiful than I am. Why would he spare me a glance?\”

Hua Zhendan's amused grin was gone. This girl was so full of life. But her self-esteem, it just reminded her of the stupid man he's in love with. The one who could never see the good in himself. And this girl, she was cute to him; if she were taller, she could even get a modelling job at Shenhua Corporations. Having learnt from his experience with Xuan Tianyi not to try talk people out of their insecurities, he didn't do that. Instead, he asked a different question. \”If he doesn't notice you, why don't you make him notice you? You know, sometimes, it's not outer beauty that attracts people to you, it's your inner beauty. And I can already tell you are beautiful on the inside.\”

The girl blushed. Peering at Hua Zhendan, she asked, \”How can I possibly make him notice me?\”