Chapter 57 - The Nameless Man

The nameless man was awakened by the sound of the captain's voice over the speakers announcing their arrival at Chengshi. He yawned and badly wanted to stretch his legs but the economy seats in the plane meant limited movement and his build of over six feet could only move for a few inches.

Now he regretted not having taken a first class seat. But then again, the economy seats would add a layer of his anonymity in the crowd. He didn't really want his presence to be known here. After all, he came unannounced.

He smiled at the elderly woman beside him who had generously offered him snacks throughout their 7-hour flight (which the nameless man took with gratitude). His grandmother loved them but she was not this tender and sweet. The nameless man was pretty sure he'd miss this old lady once they leave the plane (which was soon).

She also had talked about her granddaughter and told the nameless man he should pay them a visit. Clearly, she was trying to brew romance. She even showed a picture of her granddaughter, a beautiful gal in her graduation suit. The nameless man only chuckled and told the old lady he might be too old for her. But she just playfully slapped his arm and said, "I'm sure you're not over thirty. And you're really handsome. Tell me, where do you live?"

He answered that he lived in the city but that he was just there for a visit and that he would be leaving almost immediately. It was true. It was not like he didn't plan to stay. It was that he wasn't allowed to stay.

The old lady looked sad and with that the nameless man made the mistake of promising that he would pay a visit before he leaves the country. He took her address, which was about forty-five minutes away from where he lived. She looked pleased.

The nameless man was pretty much baggage-less. It was an ease for him to get out of the airport with a bag hoisted up his shoulder. He grinned when he saw the car waiting for him outside. He nodded at the valet who handed him the keys. He quickly pulled a few bills out of his pocket and gave it.

He didn't even bother opening the door of the convertible black car. He threw his bag on the backseat and leaped inside the driver's seat. In less than ten seconds, he was peeling out of the driveway. He wanted to pull up the roof of the car and roll up the windows because of the pollution, but he thought about it and he only had a few days in his country home. It made him terribly miss the mountains though.

The sun was just beginning to rise, tinging the sky with light purples, white, and the eventual orange and yellow. He thought about going home, but he knew he had to make a stop first. He took out his phone and inserted a new card. He used the online map to help him get where he needed to go.

He had been in this country not long ago. Most of the time, his family didn't even know that he was already in the country. And most of the time he left without them knowing he was there in the first place. It was for the best anyway.

His dot on the map moved closer and closer to the red pin as he drove to the far side of the city. All he could think about was, "Why on earth was the house there?"

He came to a stop in front of a looming building and a tall gate. It was made out of a whole sheet of steel. There was no way in hell he could climb that. He popped the roof of the car and got out. Fortunately, the walls surrounding the house were a little lower than the gate.

He climbed to the roof, not minding that he was scratching its surface. He tested his weight and leapt—his fingers clutched the smooth wall, his forearms would surely bruise later—and hauled himself until he was straddling the wall. He might've ripped his pants at some point but he had the audacity to wave his arms exaggeratedly at the CCTV camera that just focused on him. He widened his smile and winked before swinging his leg and land lightly on his feet.

The grass seemed to go around the house and looked green. He took a good look at the outdoor kitchen, living rooms, and the glorious swimming pool. The overlooking view of the sea was the most captivating of it all. A flicker of noise made his head turn to the house.

Footsteps were going down the stairs. He hid beside a wall and followed the sound until he reached a huge window to the kitchen. "Ah, there's the wife," he thought. "He did really well, then."

Then he minded his pants. "Damn," he whispered.

His eyes roamed but there had seem no way to get upstairs other than going inside. He huffed a breath before walking around the house to the huge front door. There was a small doorbell on the left side.

The nameless man pressed it.

**

It was about a couple of hours later when they finally settled with the last guest of the hotel in hysterics. Qing Chen finally gave himself permission to go home. He was half-asleep on the drive and was only awakened by the sound of the gate opening. Then he noticed the flashy car on the side of the road and felt a creeping nervousness settle in him.

"Whose car is that?" he asked the driver.

"I don't know, sir. Better you stay in the car and let me check the house first."

But as soon as the car stopped, Qing Chen bolted out and was already pushing the door open. His eyes were wild as he scanned almost every surface for anything out of place. Nothing was. He could smell the food from the kitchen and could hear Feng Xuan's soft humming.

He sighed in relief when he saw her fixing a plate.

"Oh," she smiled, her hair up in a ponytail. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Yeah," he answered, his eyes still scanning then rested on a set of keys on the counter.

Feng Xuan saw what he was looking at. "He's upstairs. He tore his pants and needed a change," she chuckled.

"He? Who's up there?" Qing Chen's heart going straight to his soles.

Feng Xuan just gave him a look and shook her head. She turned her back to flip something from a pan. "Call him and we'll have breakfast."

Qing Chen's hand quickly enclosed on a metal vase he passed by in the living room. He lightly stepped on the stairs, not making a sound. First, he went to his closet and found that it was just as how he left it. Then he noticed the open door to his office.

He swallowed. He was flexing his arms, ready to hit something. When he pushed the door wider, a voice spoke that made him stop dead cold in his tracks. "You should make your house safer now that you have a wife."

Then his humongous chair swiveled, revealing the man whose legs were crossed, poised like a king on his throne. The man who almost had the same face as him, grinning.

"How have you been, little brother?"