"MISS. XIU. MEI..." Feng Dingxiong gritted his teeth and enunciated word by word. "Who wants your villa? I think you don't understand my sentence before…. I will repeat it for you…" Feng Dingxiong felt irritated and raised his voice an octave, "My son is recovering from injury and I want you.... Mark my words….. I WANT YOU…..YOU….. to keep him in your villa until he recuperates completely. That means you have to be by my son's side to take care of him personally until his recovery,"
He let out a long sigh and took a glass of water to soothe his dry throat.
" huh?" Xiu Mei panicked.
Hearing that small cat-like voice Feng Dingxiong smirked, "What? Not willing? It's ok if you don't want to do it….no need to force yourself. I will arrange something else for my son. Although keeping a sick person in your villa, giving him a friendly company is not much of a task but if you are unwilling.... It's fine.
I can completely understand your predicament, it's not an easy thing to keep a stranger in your house and live with him under the same roof." Feng Dingxiong keeps reminding her about her promise to make her feel guilty but acted as if he cared nothing about it.
"....."
Xiu Mei closed her eyes and thought about the situation. She was uncomfortable in inviting a stranger to her villa and above that she has to take care of him personally.
"Mr. Feng how about I call you after an hour? If you are comfortable with it?" Xiu Mei asked for some time.
"No! Sleepover it…..And tell me tomorrow morning," Feng Dingxiong said trying to give her more time. "And yes Miss Xiu Mei! I hope you will keep this conversation to yourself only," He reminded her.
'No matter how much time you take, everything will go according to my plan little girl. I've trapped you in my setup and will never let you go.' Feng Dingxiong evilly smiled and thought as he picked his pipe tobacco and let out a ring of smoke.
He was oblivious of the fact that his wife was standing near the door holding a glass of water and heard the entire conversation and the evil expression on her husband's face didn't go unnoticed from her eyes.
Liu Ning frowned and thought about the situation but she neither went inside nor she tried to confront her husband. She retraced her steps and went back to her bedroom.
On the other side, Xiu Mei's sleep flew out of the window.
She went to the balcony for some fresh air and brewed a cup of chrysanthemum tea for herself. Holding it between her hands she settled down on the bamboo swing hanging from the ceiling.
She sniffed her tea before taking a sip, the aroma calms down her nerves to think about the situation through and through.
But she could not understand why Mr. Feng was so hell-bent on sending his son to her villa? Being the wealthiest man in this world he can build an advanced rehabilitation center just for his son's recuperation. Then why her?
AHHHHH... Her face scrunched in frustration...
"Anyway.....Whatever his reasons are why should I care! I better pay attention to the important issue here….someone is trying to intrude into my privacy"
"If I say no- it questions my credibility. If you say yes- Then I'm digging my grave. So, this is how it feels being stucked between a rock and a hard place,"
She pondered about the situation for a long time, measuring the situation from every angle as this would be the first time she was allowing someone to enter her villa except her best friend Fei Hong.
"Hong? Oh yes, how I can forget, I should discuss this matter with her. Phone? Where is my phone?" Xiu Mei placed the teacup on the side table and was about to call her best friend when she recalled Feng Dingxiong's last words to keep the conversation to herself.
She rolled her eyes and fell into deep thought. She was living a secret life for many years and has decided to not disclose her identity until her mission is complete.
There are very few people who know her real identity.
But what she can do, she owes a favor, and this was not a big demand from Feng Dingxiong. And accommodating a sick person inside her villa won't be that difficult.
However, she was oblivious to the fact that she would regret her decision later.
Lost in thoughts, slowly her body takes her to a deep slumber.
She woke up early in the morning when the sun rays directly hit her face making her eyes feel irritated. Lightly rubbing her eyes she opened them slowly but felt confused seeing the unfamiliar environment around her.
'Huh? Where am I? ' Xiu Mei thought inwardly.
Upon realizing that she had slept the whole night in the balcony she hit her head playfully and went to the bathroom to freshen up.
Instantly she dialed Feng Dingxiong's number.
At Feng Manor:
Feng Dingxiong was sitting in the garden reading newspaper. His wife was preparing tea sitting beside him.
"Careful it's hot," Liu Ning said turning towards her husband, handing him a cup of tea.
"RING"
Before Feng Dingxiong could hold the teacup, his phone rang.
"Sorry, it's urgent… I have to take this call… I won't be able to accompany you for today's morning tea," Feng Dingxiong apologized, gave a kiss on his wife's forehead and went to his study.
Liu Ning looked at her husband's departing back, her brows furrowed thinking about the name Xiu Mei.
After reaching his study room he closed the door and answered his phone.
"Good Morning Miss Xiu Mei… I didn't expect that you will be so eager to reply to my proposal... And you will call this early in the morning." Feng Dingxiong said pretending to be amused.
"Umm! Mr. Feng, I am sorry but can we discuss it now? I don't want to prolong it much further," Xiu Mei comes straight to the point.
Hearing her said that Feng Dingxiong chuckled and sat on his chair. "Yes, tell me… I am all ears,"
"I am ready to accept your proposal, but I have a few requests…." Xiu Mei stated her point. "I know I owe you a favor and have no right to put any conditions before you, therefore, I am putting some requests." she continued further.
"What requests?" Feng Dingxiong asked.
"First- You will never disclose my identity to anyone. Second- you will not tell about this place except a few necessary people who are related to this matter. Third- No one will interfere with my personal matters." Xiu Mei disclosed her requests.
"And in return, I promise that your son can stay in my house until he is full recovery and I will take utmost care of him in all the ways and will not disappoint you."
"And not only that…. I know you have lots of enemies in your business circle so I will make sure that my house is safe for your son. He will get no harm here." Xiu Mei gave him an equally lucrative offer and waited patiently for the man's reply.
"OK," Feng Dingxiong gave a short reply.
"Ok? That's it?" It surprised Xiu Mei.
"Yes… but I want these conditions on a contract. If you don't mind." Feng Dingxiong stated his point.
"Contract? But what if any of us breached it?" Xiu Mei asked curiously.
"Simple! If you failed to fulfill your promise, then you still owe me the favor and if you can do it, then you are free from my debt. And if I failed to comply with your requests, I'll not only call my son back but you'll be free from my debt."
"All right! Fair enough…..You can shift your son to my house after 2 days," she said positively.
"2 days? Why not today?" He asked.
"I will take care of security issues. So I have to make some necessary changes in my house's security and upgrade it," She reasoned for the extra time.
"Ok… I will give you 2 days and after that, I will shift him," Feng Dingxiong said and hung up the phone.
Her diligence to take care of his son and her wittiness when she tried to hit two birds with one stone by stating her so-called conditions in the name of requests impressed Feng Dingxiong.