Words I Was Afraid To Hear

Mantarou Xiu snickered as he walked the other way. His cousin was already gone before he took his second step.

XCG once owned the mall where they were at, but circ.u.mstances made the group sell it.

When his father, Masaichi Xiu came back to run the company, he considered taking it back, but in the end, purchased another.

Mantarou Xiu kept a slow pace, looking leisurely at the shops he was passing by.

Suddenly, his eyes caught a familiar face.

Not minding where he was, he immediately entered the shop and made his way towards the familiar face.

All the women inside the shop looked at him, some whispered to each other.

However, Mantarou Xiu seemed to filter out others and was focused on his target.

"Hi!" He greeted with a flash of smile. He was slightly out of breath as he sort of followed her around the shop until he was able to catch her at a corner.

"You...wha-what are you doing here?" The lady held up the piece of clothing she was about to hang on the rack when he appeared.

Mantarou Xiu blushed when he saw the item which suddenly covered her face. He cleared his throat. He finally looked around and saw all the stares and heard all the mutterings.

"Uh...so...we meet again." He held his nape as his smile became awkward.

"Uhm...this...this store...you should not be..." the lady wanted to point out how he seemed not to belong inside the store, but she saw her manager looking at their direction, so she did not dare to send him away.

"Uh...well, I was..." Mantarou Xiu cleared his throat. "I'm looking for a gift." He decided to lie to save his face.

"Oh...for your wife?" The lady's face lit up instantly. Though she had an awkward first encounter with this man, and this second encounter could be worse, the opportunity of increasing her sales record suddenly boosted her mood.

Mantarou Xiu furrowed his brows. His hazel eyes looked at her intently. 'How dare this woman assume that I'm married! Do I look like a married man?' The second thought was to himself.

"What do you have in mind, Sir?" The lady politely asked. "Does she have any preference? Favorite color perhaps...what's her size?"

"Uh...I dunno their size, but I need two...for twins." He declared.

Mantarou Xiu has had no girlfriend and he cannot possibly buy intimate apparel for his stepmother nor for his aunt.

"Twins?!" The lady had wide eyes. "You mean...you...they are both..."

"What do you recommend I should get them?" He had a teasing smile. He knew this lady had let her imagination run wild.

"Eh...you dunno the size, so...uhm, at least tell me their age then." The lady had an awkward smile.

"They're fifteen." He stoically declared the next moment.

If the lady was drinking something, Mantarou Xiu would have been sprayed wet. Good thing she was not. However, she could not contain her laugh.

"Uhm...is this store not for teen clothing?" Mantarou Xiu pretended to be serious about his inquiry.

The lady was embarrassed, pulled herself together and put on her professional demeanor. "I believe we could offer something for them sir. This way." She gestured for him to follow her in another area of the store.

When he was about to leave the store, he turned back towards the lady and handed her his card.

"Uh, sir..." the lady was puzzled.

"It's my info. Can I at least get your name?"

...

A week prior, Mantarou Xiu came back from City T, immediately checking into one of the hotels owned by XCG in City S to meet a client.

When he was done for the night and had his shower, he was drying his hair before sleeping when a woman suddenly barged into his room and slammed it shut behind her. 

She looked mortified and was pinning her back against the door, as if she was afraid someone will open it.

Mantarou Xiu was shocked, but was curious as to how his door remained unlocked. He was sure that he pushed it close when he went back.

The hotel doors are automatically locked when shut and no one can enter without the key card.

The next moment, someone was loudly banging on the door.

This made the woman lose it and cry.

Mantarou Xiu grabbed her forearm and took her into the bathroom. Then he gestured for her to keep quiet. He shut the bathroom door close before walking towards the main door.

He continued drying his hair with a towel as he opened the door.

"Where is that woman?!" The middle aged man with male pattern baldness was livid in rage as he tried to get inside the room.

Mantarou Xiu stared down at him with dominance. "Who are you?"

Before the man could utter another word, several hotel staff members, including the floor manager, hurried towards them.

"Director Xiu...we are so sorry for interrupting your rest!" The floor manager bowed deeply for sincerity.

The other staff members pulled the middle aged man few feet away from their director. He almost grabbed their boss who was in a bathrobe!

"You! Where are you hiding her?! I don't care who you are! My niece is the general manager of this hotel! I will know if that woman is hiding here or not!" The middle aged man boasted.

The floor manager had drops of cold sweat. He was afraid they will all go down with the general manager after this incident.

Mantarou Xiu looked at all of the people before him. "I'm quite disappointed." He shook his head gently. "This is the level of security our guests are paying for?"

"We...we are so sorry, Sir! This will not happen again!" The floor manager bowed lower then gestured his staff to get the man they were restraining out of the hotel.

When they had boarded the elevator and the floor manager was the only one left before him, Mantarou Xiu asked him, "Do you know how to report this to HR?"

"Ye-yessir!" 

"I will expect a report on the counter-measures for this incident on my desk at the main office tomorrow. Make sure to increase security for guests from now on."

"Understood, Sir."

With that, Mantarou Xiu shut his door, ensuring that it was closed properly this time. As he did, he noticed a gumball inside the door frame.

He remembered that when he went back to the room from his meeting, there was a little boy with his mother walking behind him.

Mantarou Xiu thought he must have been too tired to notice.

He walked back towards the bathroom. When he opened the door, he saw her trembling as she sat on the cushioned chair.

"What happened? Who is..."

"Is he gone?!" She suddenly stood up and walked past him to check if the man she was hiding from managed to get in.

"Uh...he..." Mantarou Xiu was about to explain when she interrupted him with a low bow.

"I'm so sorry. I had nowhere else to hide! Your room was ajar so I entered. I'm so sorry for the inconvinience I caused. I...I will make it up to you some day! Thank you for letting me hide for awhile! I will show myself out!"

She then hurried to open the main door of the room, dashing out, almost slamming it shut.

Mantarou Xiu chuckled. It was an interesting night.

...

The lady who barged into his room that night is now standing before him, better in expression and neat hair.

"Uhm...I..." she did not know what to say. It was still a shock to see him again after only a few days.

"Your name will suffice." Mantarou Xiu gently smiled.

The lady smiled back. "Lin Zhuang."