Pick The Second Male Lead

07.5 - Easton Zed

                Despite her initial resentment, Maida quickly appreciated Uncle Nsia and his care. Unlike the rest of the Gobi members, Uncle Nsia was an anomaly. While the other members are straight-up brutes or cold, emotionless creatures, Uncle Nsia was kind to Maida. Not only did the old man helped nurture her malnourished body, but he patiently taught her how to communicate with her hands.

Fortunately, Maida was a quick and determined learner, so she picked up on sign language after a few months. Still, there are limited factors on communicating through hand signs. In fact, trying to communicate as a mute is limiting itself. For instance, in order for Maida to express what she want to say, one, the other person has know what she is signing or read what she is writing. And two, the other person has to be willing to "stop" and "see" what she was saying.

Many of the Gobi members know basic sign language and understand it well enough due to Uncle Nsia's position in the group as the main caretaker and the lair's head steward. If the members didn't know how to converse with Uncle Nsia, how would they eat or tell the old man what they need for their living quarters? The essential issue isn't with Uncle Nsia or the Gobi members. It's due to the fact that Maida have no importance in the group. And because Maida was nobody - only a little girl that the boss bought on a whim, no one cared to give her any attention. Maida can write a novel or sign until her hands fall off, it doesn't matter because none of the Gobi members would take the time to stop and see what she wanted to say.

Luckily, Maida still have one person who cared enough to give her attention. For Uncle Nsia, Maida became like a little niece to him. Therefore while everyone can treat her coldly or ignore her, no one could bully Maida. Why? Let's not forget that Uncle Nsia is a respectable figure in within the Gobi group. None of the members dared to go against the old man by bullying Maida. After all, no one wants their food supply to be cut short, or worst, no one wants to die suddenly due to food poisoning.

Recognizing Uncle Nsia's influence - especially his importance on the group's domestic needs, Maida used it to her advantage. Playing the sweet, innocent little girl, it didn't take long before Maida buttered her way into the old steward's heart. She knew if Uncle Nsia was on her side, it would make things easy for her to navigate around the lair. More importantly, if Uncle Nsia was on her side, she would have opportunities to get close to the second male lead, AKA, the mafia boss.

How?

Uncle Nsia rarely trusts others to deliver the big mafia boss his coffee or meals. Most of the time, Uncle Nsia would personally make the delivery. If not, he would ask the right-hand man to pick up the coffee or meals. The old man took extreme precaution to prevent anyone from tampering with the boss' food and drinks. Therefore, it took Maida months before Uncle Nsia trusted her enough to allow her to make the coffee delivery. It took even longer before the old man let her make meal delivery.

And why does Maida insist on being the delivery girl? Why does she put in so much effort?

Well... how else would she have the chance to get close to the story's second male lead? Even if she had to act as a maid and cater to the man, Maida had to do what she must in order to win big.

Unfortunately, capturing the mafia boss' attention is harder than catching honey badgers. Every time Maida entered the man's private office to make the coffee or meal delivery, the man always focus on his work. Not once does he ever lift his head from the file in his hands. Not once does he say a word to her. Worst of all, if she even linger in the room longer than necessary, the mafia boss' right-hand man would give her a stern look - letting her know without words that she better leave or there will be consequences to the disturbance. Knowing well its best to retreat, Maida bitterly left every time.