I Can’t Help You

    When Sara tells him the tea is ready,  Li Shaoting puts down the vegetables he is washing, “Thank you Song Sara.”

   “Don’t thank me. If it weren’t for you I don’t know what I would do.”

  “Well it was my good fortune to meet you.”

   She smiles brightly as she hands him the wooden tray, “Hurry while the tea is hot.”

   After he leaves the kitchen she sighs, Tang Wu’s brother is cute and it is obvious they have a good relationship. It would be nice to be part of a loving family. She touches her stomach, Baby, I have you now anyway.

   Li Shaoting enters the guest room as his brother walks out of the bathroom. Li Feng is wrapped in a towel and drying his hair with another one, “Shaoting, why does your little chick think my name is Tang Feng?”

   “Listen, she doesn’t know I am Li Shaoting. No one in the industry except a few close friends know my background. When I met Song Sara…well…I haven’t told her my real identity yet for a few reasons. So since you are only going to be here a few days just play along.”

  “ Your girlfriend is very beautiful. Do Mom and Dad know you are living with a woman? Mom will be happy but Dad…”

  Sitting on the couch Li Shaoting crosses his legs, “Don’t mention Song Sara to them, it will only get complicated. We are only friends. Song Sara met with some difficulties and will be staying at my villa for awhile. That is all you need to know. Now tell me why is that bastard, Tian here in Bashu City?”

   Li Feng walks to his suitcase and responds, “How the hell would I know.” He smirks, “Do you think anyone would tell me? Dad just said he was riding with me to Bashu City and going to stay at your villa.”

  “Fuck that shit!  He can stay at our hotel in the city.”

  Pulling out a comfortable Adidas track suit from the suitcase Li Feng responds, “Well you don’t have to worry, apparently he knows someone in this community and is staying with him. He dumped me out of the car..my car..and told me to walk here. It was so fucking cold!”

  “Who does he know here? There are only three other villas.”

  “The villa has a tall iron gate and a guardhouse…on the side of the mountain.”

  “Sun Zhi. Makes sense… he owns a high tech security company. ”

  “I am really pissed the fucker kept James and the car! I want to go see Han Chao.”

  “My driver can take you after we eat dinner. Don’t mention I am in Bashu City to Han Chao we have the same agent” He picks up a bottle of water from a rosewood table. ” Better to have Cousin Tian at Sun Zhi’s villa than here.”

 Li Feng pulls on a black long sleeved t shirt over his head then says, “Yeah. Riding in the car with that guy was suffocating.”

  “Well, drink the tea, then come downstairs to eat. I don’t want to get involved that is for sure. I’m here to relax and de stress.”

  Li Shaoting walks downstairs and smells a delicious aroma wafting out of the kitchen and his eyes light up. He sees Sara setting the table and smiles, “Wow. What are you making..smells so good!”

  “I hope you like it, I made Braised Cola Chicken Wings, Spicy Sliced Pork with Scallions and Garlic, Rice and a few side dishes.”

  “Sounds great. Feng will be down soon.”

   He walks into the kitchen to help Sara bring the dishes to the table while thinking about Li Tian. I would lose my appetite if he came to dinner. He gazes at Sara spooning sauce over the neatly arranged sliced pork. …and his cold and domineering presence would scare Song Sara.

   Li Tian sneezes as Mrs. Mu opens the door of Sun Zhi’s villa. “Mr. Li,  here are a pair of slippers and i will show you to the guest room.”

  He follows the plump woman to a staircase and a pretty young woman holding a stack of towels stops in front of them. She stares at Li Tian with an infatuated gaze, then flutters her eyelashes, “Mrs. Mu, I have extra towels for the Young Master’s guest. I can show him to his room.” He is so handsome and obviously very wealthy from his designer suit. The black diamond watch must have cost a small fortune!

  Mrs. Mu usually maintains a calm attitude when dealing with the servants but she told the young woman earlier to ready the room.She doesn’t want to reprimand the maid in front of the guest, she frowns and stretches out her short arms, “Give the towels to me.”

   The maid holds onto the towels, clutching them to her chest. “Mrs. Mu, your husband was looking for you…I can take the towels and finish fixing the room.

  Li Tian is getting impatient and doesn’t like the smell of the maid’s perfume. He purses his lips and grabs the towels from the maid, shocking both women. He growls, “Which room? I don’t want to be disturbed.”

   “The second floor, the third room on the right..” Mrs. Mu remembers Li Tian from when he stayed at the house outside Catang City. He was overbearing and the Young Master was pretending the house wasn’t his for some reason. I am not going to say anything.

  After Li Tian walks up the stairs, the pretty maid turns to Mrs. Mu, “Who is that man?”

 “ Silvia, the Young Master has a good temper but that man…don’t try your tricks on him.”

 “Mrs. Mu, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

 Mrs. Mu shakes her head, “I’m going to find Mr. Mu. Remember my warning.”

  Li Tian tosses the towels on a chair then takes off his suit coat. After removing his tie he sits on the couch then undoes the buttons on his black silk shirt. Song Sara where the hell are you? I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since you disappeared.

   He calls Han Weisheng, “What are you doing? I’m in Bashu City.”

  “I’m finishing up at the hotel then going to my brother Chao’s house for dinner. He is in town.”

  “I need to discuss something with you. Do you have time?”

  “Why are you in Bashu City?”

  “ I need you to get the surveillance footage from the train station in Catang City. Someone tampered with it, Song Sara took a train from there and disappeared. I need to know where she went. I will text you the details.”

  “Wait. Song Sara? I thought she was opening a restaurant with Wang Xiaoming.”

  “Song Sara is pregnant with my baby and left.”

  “WHAT THE FUCK!”

  “Find Song Sara for me and I will sell you the land for the resort you want to build on Shingu Island.”

  “According to my sister Bi, the restaurant was Song Sara’s dream. If she walked away from that and is hiding from you there must be a reason.”

  “She misunderstood me, she thought that I wanted her to get rid of the baby.”

  “You don’t?”

  “No. I have decided she can keep the baby.”

  “You are going to marry Song Sara?”

  “No…but I will allow her to give birth to my baby.”

  “…”  Han Weisheng takes off his gold rimmed glasses and rubs the crease in between his eyebrows. “I see why she left. I can’t help you.”

  “I will support the little woman and the baby. What more could she want?”

  Han Weisheng looks at his watch, “Tian, let the woman go. I have only met Song Sara a few times but she is my sister’s best friend. Bi said she is smart..kind and loving. Song Sara deserves better than a cold hearted bastard like you.”

  “I guess you don’t want that land.”

  “I do, but I have to respect Song Sara’s decision. If you had said you love the woman and want to marry her..raise your baby I would have agreed.”

  “You know I have obligations I can’t ignore. I had to set aside looking for the woman to come here and deal with a problem with the new airport.” He thinks he needs to convince Han Weisheng so he says, “ I care about Song Sara…It’s not that I don’t want to marry the woman but I can’t right now.”

  “There is a problem with the new airport? I thought the construction was going smoothly and it was set to open in the Spring.”

  “Shit…Old man Guo threw a wrench in the plans. My father sent me here to deal with him.”

 Han Weisheng’s secretary knocks on the door, “CEO Han, Miss Guo is waiting.”

  He raises an eyebrow and tells Li Tian, “I have an appointment. Come to Chao’s…if you can give me a good reason to help you I will reconsider.”

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