Chapter 13 - Not that I know of

Once he prepared the files that DX would need for the meeting later, Han Ye left the office and went to Xiao Lei's place. As he stood outside the house, he had a complicated expression written on his face.

He felt that this was something private that Callum and Guang Ying was supposed to handle it themselves. Even if they could not handle it today, could they not do it tomorrow?

"What to do, Han Ye? You're just way too capable… If you're not careful enough, they might even ask for your s.p.e.r.m," thought Han Ye as he blew air toward his bangs. He then glanced down at his crotch and wondered if his s.p.e.r.ms were usable, given that it had been years since he had done anything.

"But I've been mas- Well, it's not like I've been giving up completely on touching you. So, you're still fine, right? Wait... Why do I feel like a p*rvert now?"

He shook his head, took a deep breath, and looked straight ahead before he knocked on the door. It had been more than 12 years since he had been with a woman. He wondered if he could even do it with another woman other than his wife.

Han Ye shook his head again and scolded himself. Thinking about it would affect his emotions, and he had to focus on his work for now.

Just then, the door opened and a make-up free woman smiled at him. As Han Ye looked up at her, they both stared at each other.

"Have I met her before?"

"Have I met him before?"

Both of them thought in unison as they stared at each other for a long time. There was a weird feeling bubbling in their heart as if they had seen each other before.

HONK!!!!

The loud honk from an old and dilapidated black van coming from the street caused them to jump a little. However, it brought them back to their senses.

Han Ye muttered a curse under his breath as he glared at the driver of the van who stuck his middle finger out at an overweight woman down the road.

"Uh hum."

When he heard the woman behind him cleared her throat, he turned back to her, adjusted his glasses, and nodded in acknowledgment.

Looking at him curiously, Xiao Lei asked, "Are you Director Shenlong's assistant, Assistant Han?"

Callum had given her a call earlier to let her know that he could not be here in person and that he would be sending his assistant over. After the call, he sent Han Ye's photo over as well so that she would know who to talk to. So Xiao Lei actually knew who the man standing in front of her was. She merely asked the question as a matter of courtesy.

She did a quick look at him from top to bottom and thought, "Hmm… He's better looking in real life than in the photo. Less stoic. I guess it's the glasses. The glasses make him look s.e.xier. Another dashing young man… Less muscular, but that chiseled chin of his is pretty s.e.xy… I wonder if that Du Corporation only hires handsome men?"

Noticing that Xiao Lei was looking at him with a weird grin, Han Ye cleared his throat. "Yes, Ms. Xiao Lei... I presume?"

Xiao Lei dropped her grin and nodded. "Director Shenlong told me about you. Please come in, Assistant Han."

"You can call me Mr. Han. I heard that you have a husband. Should I call you Mrs. or Ms. Xiao Lei?"

"Just call me Xiao Lei is fine," said Xiao Lei as she stepped aside to let him come in. In her mind, she was thinking, "Man, one hot guy after the other. I wonder if all the hot guys hang out together? So if I know one, I would know a few more?"

She thought about her husband's friends and sighed. Her husband looked like a rugged model, but his friends looked like... meh. Thus, she dismissed her theory that hot guys hung together and that this was merely a coincidence.

Once she served him a cup of hot tea, she sat down on the red plastic chair while she looked at Han Ye who was sitting at the couch. She had sent her son back to Imperial Secondary, so there was only the two of them at the moment.

Han Ye took out his phone and turned on a notepad app. "So, before we begin, I need to know a few things. First of all, your real name."

"Xiao Lei."

Han Ye typed down her answer while asking, "Surname?"

"Erm. Xiao Xiao Lei.[1]"

Han Ye looked up at her for a few seconds before he pointed it out to her bluntly. "Ms. Xiao Lei, if we want to go through with this, I'm going to need your surname."

Xiao Lei lowered her gaze as she mumbled, "Xiao Xiao Jie is my name."

Han Ye sighed and placed his phone on his lap before he explained, "Ms. Xiao Xiao Jie, I hope you don't take offense at what I'm going to say. Director Shenlong and Mr. Luo are not your common everyday man. They are important people in Imperial City. I've no doubt that they would be doing a background check on you. If they find out later that you're lying, the consequences would be serious. Furthermore-"

"Wait!" Xiao Lei interrupted him. She was afraid that he might dismiss her if she did not tell him. She needed that money, so she quickly stammered, "I-I don't have a surname. Really…"

She looked at Han Ye in the eyes as she continued, "I grew up on the street and my husband practically raised me."

"What?" Han Ye frowned. He was thinking along the line of "child grooming" when he asked, "Your husband raised you?"

Xiao Lei waved her hands around nervously as she explained, "It's nothing weird. He's just a few years older than me. We met while I was homeless, and he took care of me… But em… I don't really have a surname. I- I don't remember much about my past, so I've been using his surname since then."

Han Ye narrowed his eyes at her. After a while, he sighed. "Your husband's name then."

"Xiao Yun Jie."

"Son?"

"Xiao Zhi Hao."

"Your age?"

He asked all the basic questions about her and her family.

"Do you have any health problems?" asked Han Ye. As a candidate for surrogacy, she must be of great health and must not have any sickness that could be passed down to the child.

Xiao Lei frowned as she thought back to her past. She had a few fevers before but nothing serious, so she shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"How about your immediate family members?"

There was a pained expression that flitted past her face before she closed her eyes as if she was trying to will them away. "None."