Chapter 281 - Mr. Huang (1/2)
Mr. Huang stared at me as if he was surprised at my introduction. I smiled and stepped closer to him, offering a hand. “Well, I must say, as Huang Li’s former classmate, I’m sorry to hear what she’s gone through. Considering our friendship, I felt it right to come and meet you.” With feigned embarrassment, I scratched my head, trying to look as sheepish as possible before I went on, “We’re sorry we came empty-handed; we don’t want to be untactful since you being in your office might attract a lot of unwanted attention.”
A look of comprehension broke on his face just as immediately before a slight hesitation, then he took my hand and shook it.
The shake of hands was deliberate. Before this, my shaking hands with Huang Li, Cao Xuedong, or even Sergeant Zhan at the police’s District Headquarters had always resulted in me experiencing hallucinations as soon as we came into contact. It was my own way so far of determining if anyone was a descendant of Tribe Nine Li. Yet, nothing happened as Huang Li’s father and I shook hands. He spied the troubled frown on my face and asked, “Anything wrong, young man?”
“Nope, nothing at all, Mr. Huang,” I sputtered hastily, “It’s just that recent events, devastating they might be, must not affect you. Do rest well and take care of yourself. You look quite awful.” Mr. Huang nodded gratefully and gestured us towards the sofas.
Once we were settled comfortably into our seats, I started the ball rolling with some small talk, “Huang Li told me that she came here to help you, Mr. Huang?” He nodded. “You know how poorly disciplined she could be. She dropped out of university without heeding my advice then. Truth be told, her mother and I were quite appalled when we heard about her decision.” Mr. Huang paused a moment, as if drifting in the sea of his recollections, before he said again, “You might have heard about my estrangement with her mother when she was a girl. She grew up with her mother and I admit, I have not been a very good father… So when she announced about her dropping out of school, I could only stand by the side and watch through a looking glass as my daughter sank further down into depravity…”
A pall of gloom over us as we felt sorry for him. The sullen, gloomy look on his face was so infectious that we would have believed it real. “There’s no need to blame yourself, Mr. Huang,” I consoled and said, “This is the path Huang Li chose for herself. You can only do so much for her as a parent.” He nodded and extracted a pack of cigarettes that he distributed to us. When I took the pack, I looked and gasped quietly, Gods, high-end cigarettes that cost more than a hundred yuan!
With a click of my lighter, I set Mr. Huang’s cigarette aflame and said through the cigarette between my teeth, “Well, about Cao Xuedong…” The mention of the name hardly affected Mr. Huang. He looked calm and ready, as if he was expecting us to speak about him. He nodded and picked up where I left off, saying, “I know all about Xuedong. That is why I asked my people to bring them here. It was only then I realized how difficult their life was. Xuedong’s a nice chap… Dependable… Responsible and level-headed… yet…”
He paused, supposedly for a beat of grieve, and he spoke again, “I should have predicted all these, knowing my daughter’s temperament. Yet I was mistaken, choosing to believe that she had become a more sensible person after everything. I mean, she’s already of marrying age, and God knows how happy I was for her when I heard she has found herself a man. They have lived together for so many years, so I trust them. That is why I bought them that villa house, so that they have a better place to live in after their marriage… Yet! Goddammit!” He stopped to choke and hold back tears. We consoled him a bit and he finally cooled down, nodding his head.
I decided on a change of pace, so I thought it best to speak about Huang Li’s mother. “So,” I began and said, “Have you recently been in contact with your ex-wife?” It would have been a sensitive question, but Mr. Huang was neither perturbed nor affronted since he was under the impression that this was part of a police questioning. “Actually, she did approach me a few times, citing her intentions for us to re-marry. I know it was all for our daughter. But my company was doing poorly then and I was sailing perilously close to ruin…” He sighed before he went on, “Then a decade passed without any contact between us. I still went to see my daughter, but I only went to her school and she had been careful to avoid mentioning her mother.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Mr. Huang,” I smiled gently and said, “Worse things happen at sea. Who knows, you could be landing on your feet after this. Ah, yes. That reminds me. Huang Li has another friend, who is also a former classmate of hers from university by the name of Lu Shengnan. Last I heard, she’s come here to work at Huang Li’s invitation?”
The question stunned Mr. Huang until he could shake his head with a bewildered look on his face. “Lu Shengnan? I’m afraid I have not heard about this before. But I suppose you can go down to Human Resources and speak to them. My daughter has quite a considerable position here and she is accorded certain freedoms; I’m afraid I do not really vet every decision she’s made.” I nodded. This at least, I’m willing to believe, I thought. No owner of such a large company could ever hope to know every single detail about every member of his staff.
I stole a look at my watch and realized that it was almost noon. I rose to my feet, still smiling, and I said, “Well, I guess that’s all for today, Mr. Huang. We’d best not to take up too much of your time.” With a brusque wave, I motioned for everyone to leave. “How about lunch together?” Mr. Huang invited. The notion of food slowed Chongxi to a dawdle although Lin Feng, quick to note Chongxi’s penchant for food, gave him an inconspicuous shove and eased him out of the door. “You’re too kind, Mr. Huang. But I’m afraid we still have other business to get to.” Mr. Huang just said that for politeness. Realizing our persistence to leave, he decided to walk us out and only returned to his office once he saw us into the elevator.