After 18 hours, the plane landed at Beijing International Airport.
"Will someone pick you up?" Alen asked Zhan.
He shook his head. "I told Houxuan not to let the Wangs know about my arrival." Alen looked at him with a frown after taking the luggage. "And I thought you want to meet them?" he asked Zhan.
"Not today, Alen. I need to think carefully about what I should tell them..."
"Honey, the vacation I asked from office is only for two weeks. We must be back in Houston then," he reminded Zhan as he carried the two pieces of luggage to the cart.
"That's long enough." Zhan gave him an encouraging smile.
Alen drove him to Haoxuan's house, and he didn't even get out of the taxi and left immediately. The security guard didn't want to let Zhan in because he didn't know him. He called one of the housemaids to identify Zhan, but she didn't know him either. The security guard didn't even pay attention to his identifications, for guards reason it is easy to fake those. In three years, the guard worked for Haoxuan, he had no known relatives of Wang Haoxuan.
In frustration, he sat on the low fence outside. In his desire not to announce his arrival, Haoxuan did not inform the servants of Zhan arrival either.
"Do you have a phone?" Zhan asked the guard.
It shook its head. "Just the intercom, sir."
"Use it and ask the maid to call the Wangs' house. Talk to the Wang couple, they knew me, I'm the--" he stopped. "Please, I assure you that the Wangs know me."
The guard didn't know whether to pity him or be annoyed with him. The guard is just being careful to keep out the bad guys and a pretty face is an old tactic of big time thieves. Even so, the guard picked up the intercom and called the maid. Zhan heard him repeat what he instructed. Shan let out a sigh and sat on the fence again. Looking at the guard and waiting.
Soon, the intercom rang. Zhan stood up and approached the guard house. The guard glanced at him while listening to what the person on the other line was saying. Then it puts the receiver back in the cradle.
"The Wang couple are not at the mansion, Sir. They left this morning for Qiongdao Island with their granddaughter, Mianmian." there was suspicion in the guard's eyes when he looked at him.
Shan cupped his forehead. Why has the Wang couple left now? And why didn't Haoxuan think that the maids in this house didn't know him?
"I want you to call the maid inside again to call the village gate guard to find me a taxi," he ordered the guard. And when the guard was about to protest, Zhan's eyes narrowed. And with anger he added:
"I know you're just doing your job, but I'm tired. I showed you my ID's but you don't want to believe me. Now, if you don't get me a taxi, I assure you I will ask my cousin to fire you, that you can believe!" he continued to say angrily and tiredly. Do not add the hunger. He hates airline food and doesn't eat anything except fruit and coffee.
Although with hesitation, the guard obeyed the authority of Zhan's voice.
"Damn the rich!" he whispered as he returned to his seat.
20 minutes passed when a taxi parked in front of the house. He asked the driver to carry his suitcase and get in without looking back at the guard.
"What is the nearest hotel?" Zhan asked the driver.
"Mandarin Oriental or Four Seasons Sir Beijing," the driver's replied and glanced at him in the rear-view mirror.
"Take me to the Four Seasons," he ordered and leaned back in annoyance. It doesn't really matter if he stayed at the hotel. He can afford to stay at the hotel if only for a few weeks. But it wouldn't be comfortable. In addition to that, Alen will be surprised and will invite him to his condo to stay.
He is thinking who he could talk to, to instruct the maids in Haoxuan's house to let him in. Without the couple Quiren and Carmen, he had no choice but Wang Yibo.
He gritted his teeth. He wasn't expecting to see him now. Perhaps a week or so. But not when he first set foot in China.
After the hotel boy who brought his left, Zhan closed the door and took a shower. It's past 2PM and he hasn't had lunch yet. After showering, he will go down to one of the hotel's restaurants to eat.
He dropped his clothes on the floor and glanced at the bathroom mirror. He frowned at the sight that got his attention. He stepped closer to the mirror and stared again at that particular area of his chest. How many thousand times has he stopped every time he saw that? And to this day he still can't be sure how he should feel about why it was put there.
Just a little over his left chest there is his brand for life. Wang Yibo's brand!
On his white skin was the rosebud, and below it was the name Wang Yibo.
He lightly caressed the tattoo. Who was that who sang the song Rose Tattoo? How ironic, perfect for him. And smiled bitterly. The last time he saw the man who branded him was more than three years ago. He couldn't forget the hatred in Yibo's eyes watching him while Yibo's friend puts the tattoo on him.
Until now, he still shivered at the thought. Is he part of the blame? Did he taunt him so much and added to the insult that he felt?
But he only did that to cover his own pride.
Staring at his reflection in the mirror, the past slowly came to Zhan's mind. Fifth day after Wang Yibo's accident, at Teax County Hospital....
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