15 Mr Jiang

After school,Shi Ai dragged herself home.Ever since,Aunt Wu passed away,the house did not feel like a home.She thought of the article she had read today and the face in it kept flashing in front of her eyes.She wondered if she should call him and if he would remember her.The landlady had been kind to her predicament and let her stay in the house till the end of the autumn holidays. Shi Ai was wondering where she would stay after that.To move into a hostel,she was underage and would require parent's permission slip and that was not possible once the authorities realized that she was orphaned.She had already been refused by the top and safest hostel and even her school's dormitory required a guardian's signature.She was hesitant to live in any other place as it would not be safe.Fate had something against her maybe..That is why she had been orphaned not once but twice.Maybe she was supposed to suffer..and persist. She wondered if she should ask Yao Yao for a place to stay. Maybe her family had an empty servant's quarter.She would definitely pay them rent..But she wasn't too sure about that.She was somehow uncomfortable asking for charity.Some might say that it was not charity if she was paying rent or asking a friend but even so Shi Ai was unsure.

As she reached the house,she saw an unfamiliar older man standing there at the gate.She was instantly on alert.The man was dressed in a stylish navy blue suit and looked to be in his late 40's.She put a hand in her pocket and clutched at the pepper spray tightly.As she reached the gate,the man turned to her and smilingly asked,"Is this the house of Mrs Wu?"

Nodding cautiously,Shi Ai answered,"She is presently not at home.Would you like to leave a message?"

The man narrrowed his eyes at her and said,"Then you must be the young Ms Shi Ai."

After this statement Shi Ai was even more scared.The man seemed to know her.If he was someone Auntie Wu knew she would have told her about it.And everybody who was acquainted with them had come to pay their respects at Aunt Wu's wake.She was preparing to run for help and the man seemed to recognize that and hurriedly said,"I am Lawyer Jiang!I came here to discuss Mrs Wu's last will and testament with you.Here is my card."

Shi Ai controlled her flight instinct and took the card cautiously.She was still prepared to run but she seemed to remember that Auntie Wu had indeed said something about informing a lawyer but in her shock she had forgotten.Bowing to him,she said,"Hello.I am sorry for not recognizing you."

The lawyer smiled at the girl.Mrs Wu had described the girl as smart ,well mannered and timid.And he had seen the girl almost run away from him.He was satisfied that Mrs Wu had made good arrangements and pitied the girl that she had to suffer so much alone.

"Ms Shi Ai,I would like to apologize to you for not coming sooner.Mrs Wu had made arrangements for you long back but I had no idea when she passed away so I could not do much!I was just glad that I came to know about this before you moved out!

If you do not mind,I would like to come inside and explain the contents of the will.If you feel unsafe,we can meet up in a nearby cafe or you can invite a trusted neighbor to sit in with you."

Shi Ai thought for a while.She would have preferred a public place but she did not know if the contents were sensitive or not.

Finally she decided to let the man enter her domain.But she was going to be on alert and not let her guard down.If the man tried anything dangerous..

Shrugging her shoulders,she said casually,"You can come in at your own risk.If you are honest you will not be harmed.Otherwise,I will just harm you a bit."

With that she nonchalantly entered the gate leaving him to decide.Listening to this confident girl,Lawyer Jiang wondered if he needed to reassess the girl's character!!