A cold sweat went down her back, but she answered. "Sorry, but it wasn't me who called your name. You have mistaken me for someone else." She knew she was wearing a face mask, so he couldn't possibly realize it was her.
ZhangWei smiled and said," Do you think I can't tell who you are?" Xiaomei didn't mind him and proceeded to walk towards the exit with Bao and LiMei following her. "Huang Daiyu, correct? Did you forget that I saw your maid many times now? Where are you going," he said, stopping her from escaping.
She turned back and acted like nothing had happened, " Oh, I didn't expect to see Mister Wei here?" She acted as if she had thick skin, showing no shame.
He smirked and said, "I too didn't expect to see you here, but I swear that I heard someone say my name.."
"Your name?" She smiled innocently before saying, "Mister Wei, perhaps the person who called your name had already left. There were many people who were here and left already. It's also possible that you were hearing things." She continued to act thick skin since she couldn't possibly let him know that she knew his name, or he would start questioning her since he had never told his name to her. "Well then, since you have things to take care of. We will be taking our leave,'' she said, trying to end this conversation quickly. While she moved Bao and LiMei towards the exit again. He could easily tell what she was doing.
"Alright, I will accompany you back home since things are taken care of," he said with a smile. He thought there were many opportunities for him to catch her.
"That is not necessary," she refused him quickly. "It's not safe for a young lady like yourself to wander the streets. There are many robbers, sex traffickers, and more," he said.
She forced a smile and said, "Thank you for your consideration, but if you haven't noticed, I have a guard with me."
"I don't see the harm in having more people to protect you," he shrugged his shoulders.
Her eyes twitched in frustration before she said, "Mister Wei, I think you are forgetting your friend, who is standing beside you." ZhangWei glanced at the person who was paying for the damage they caused.
"Junfeng, is everything settled? You can go back and send words. I will be back later tonight to continue our discussion," ZhangWei said to the other person.
"Yes," the person obeyed his orders. Xiaomei listened to their conversation and realized that the story doesn't go in-depth with how sneaky and secretive ZhangWei's character was. She did know that he could easily obtain information and know many things since, in the book, he would give the main characters so much information when they were piecing the clues together.
"It looks like everything is settled," ZhangWei smiled, looking at her as she got out of her thoughts.
She thought, "Great."
_____
ZhangWei followed her home and entered her residence. She tried to find any excuses to send him away, but he would resolve those excuses instantly. On their way to her house, he tried to make her spill up and say his name again, but she was not blind to see what he was trying to do. However, he just smiled, seeing that he couldn't outsmart her, and let it go.
"Mister Wei, aren't you bored here? Why haven't you left yet? I don't have anything here to entertain you anymore," Xiaomei said while she was back in the kitchen, cooking with her back facing him. ZhangWei was watching her from outside the window.
"I feel this is entertaining," he said, leaning on his hand with his elbow on the window frame.
"LiMei, who is he?" Bao asked LiMei, as they were watching Xiaomei and ZhangWei.
"Um, he is someone we know by accident," LiMei also didn't know how to explain who he was, since she didn't know who he was.
"Should I kick him out? Our Miss doesn't seem to like him," Bao said.
"No, our Miss and Mister Wei have this kind of bond," LiMei said, smiling in their direction. Bao scratched the back of his head and said, "Really? I guess a weird bond?"
"Are you sure?" Bao asked again, still having his guard up. "Yes, no need to worry," LiMei said since she was used to seeing ZhangWei.
Xiaomei's mouth twitched in irritation as she was peeling the shrimps she bought on their way back. After she finished peeling, she chopped the shrimp. Then she chopped some bamboo shoots before mixing them with the chopped shrimp and adding seasoning to it. She set it aside before grabbing a bowl of flour and adding water. She formed a round dough before rolling it into a cylinder and then cutting it into pieces. She then flattens the small dough pieces to make dumpling wrappers for the shrimp filling. She started making shrimp dumplings and placed them in a bamboo steamer. Once she used all of the fillings, she placed them under a pot of water. She steamed the shrimp dumplings for a couple of minutes before she set the table. They ate again since they didn't finish their lunch due to the incident.
"Mister Wei, I don't recall inviting you to join us," Xiaomei said as an additional person was eating with them. Both LiMei and Bao sat there, looking at ZhangWei. However, he didn't mind their stares and continued to eat.