22. Unwanted People Everywhere
754 1 15
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

 

 After the Muller’s banquet, another event in her itinerary came next. 

The Ren family was one of the biggest clients that closed a deal with her. The house was bought by an old couple as an independent for their son who just returned to the country. The introductions via agents were done seamlessly, and with her wit coupled with a detailed explanation of this new property, the family immediately bought it without bargaining for the price.  

It was a fully furnished contemporary cantilevered modern home built on the side of the hill that also uses modern home automation. The bold design standing on a wide patch of green lawn easily catches everyone's eyes. From the gate winding upwards the garage you will see the generous land area planted with tropical trees and shrubs. 

To say this is a bachelor’s house would be no exaggeration. 

It could have been an okay night if not for the fact that she saw someone she had forgotten along with growing up. Who hadn’t had a few nasty encounters during adolescence?

Lyndon Miles.

The man standing on the porch chatting with a few agents from other brokerage companies perfectly embodies that horribly awkward crush a girl wants to desperately forget. Now that she has stepped into the Ren house, there is no avoiding it like last time. 

Lyndon noticed her when he turned his head and the impeccable smile he had been flashing to everyone wavered subtly. Whether he remembered a few memories, Sena didn’t care. She just wants to get inside for a change of view.

The owner of the house, a youth with adorable dimples in the corners of his lips quickly came to her side.  

“I’m glad you came. I was afraid you wouldn’t appear until the last minute.” Tsukiya endearingly pulled her inside towards the sunken living area and offered her a shockingly pink cosmopolitan. 

Most of the people had gone out to the garden looking around the newly renovated koi pond and rows of exquisite potted niwaki trees so they have this space all alone for themselves.

“Did you decorate the garden yourself? It’s impressive.” 

“Oh, well I wouldn’t have the inspiration if you did not show this property to my parents.”  

“I’m glad to be of help.” Sena smiled, taking small sips of her cocktail. 

“I saw your agent Elia frantically looking for you— oh, speaking of. She’s here.”

“Boss!” Elia hurried to her side on her ten centimetre high heels and peach-coloured trousers before grumbling, “You’re late.” 

“Sorry, sorry, my afternoon nap got extended.” 

Elia made a face and began a barrage of complaints, “A minute more and I’d die of frustration. The witch from Hollyhock and Yi Ran had been glaring at me as if I stole their purse or something.”

Tsukiya heard her twitter in anger and began laughing. “No wonder you keep flitting from here and there. I thought you were looking for your boss.”

“That was me desperate to live.” Elia replied deflatedly. 

Hollyhock’s head Miss Pam, tonight will be the first time Sena met her so she pretended not to recognize the woman when she turned her head to the swimming pool on their right. Currently, her attention was on the young female agent who brought her a glass of brandy. Based on how deep her frown is, it looked as if she was given arsenic instead of liquor. Then she started yapping. 

“That lady over there…”

“Ah, you mean that one who looked like period cramps?” Elia turned her head a little before snorting rudely. “That’s her, Miss Pam of Hollyhock Brokerage.” 

Tsukiya, this equally rude house owner did not even stop himself from hysterically laughing until he could not straighten his waist.  

“Just look. Look at her boss, she’s been nitpicking and terrorizing her people since they came. Did you know that they’ve been dying since you sold this house? It was them who let it go first, now they make it look as if it was them who got robbed.”  

She really doesn't know which golden nest these celestial beings crawled out from, and because Sena wasn’t here yet they had been eyeing her badly. Miss Pam, in particular, is as annoying as her face, she even demanded she call Sena immediately and every word was issued to her like a command. 

Freakin’ menopause! What does she want with her boss? Elia had no choice but to flee and wait for her lifesaver.

Somewhere in the middle of the party, Lyndon made his way to the unsuspecting Sena who was chatting up the other agents from the buyer’s side. He walked cautiously, intent not to scare her off until he made his way. 

“We haven’t seen each other since middle school.” He greeted her casually. 

With a slow turn of her head, she looked Lyndon squarely in the eye while making no other expression except indifference. Some things buried at the back of her mind threatened to break out, it was a good thing she was much calmer now when dealing with a situation like this.

Once upon a time, Sena had been that girl who was vivacious and mischievous. In a classroom full of adolescence who are slowly learning the attraction of the opposite sex, she was carefree. Never did she consider herself as a part of that pink bubble where her classmates suddenly got caught into. 

He could watch soccer and basketball without putting in so much thought in those handsome boys the girls fall in love with. In her opinion, almost every girl had at least two crushes at school and a dozen celebrities they wanted to chase. On the other hand, she was busy tricking her mother to enroll her in a jiu-jitsu and kickboxing class. 

“Don’t you ever blush when you see someone you like?” Her seatmate once asked. 

Her answer was a giggle, the idea itself was bizarre and too funny for her. To like someone? It never crossed her mind, there wasn’t even a person who tried to actively approach her but she knew that if she spoke her mind nobody would believe her.

Perhaps because she was a figure in their school that people assumed she had been pursued countless times and already fancied someone. Sure she has plenty of friends, however, friends are still different. 

The truth is that she was well-cared for by Linda and Leo that she gets to be as spoiled as she can be. She didn’t have any thoughts of seeking others to supplement some feelings of being cherished. Another thing was, Sena herself dedicated herself to only having fun. And she doesn’t see shrieking and chasing some boy equates to fun.

“You’re weird,” Chang’an said on their way home that time. 

“What’s weird with that? Aside from big brother Leo, are there any good young men out there?” 

Chang’An’s nose flared. “Are you saying I’m comparable to those good-for-nothings?”

“That came out of your mouth.”

“Well, you implied it.”

“Did I lift a finger to point at you?”

Just as they were about to bicker, someone intervened. 

“Missy, aren’t your standards a bit too high?” One of Chang’an’s buddies commented, a playful smile on his lips. 

Is it? She’s only speaking the truth though. Big brother Leo is responsible and sensible, others are wimps compared to him. 

It went on for quite a while until she began to notice something odd about it. She was a bit naive, but she’s not entirely stupid. As everyone else in her surrounding matures emotionally, she seems to have been left out by the crowd. 

Gradually, she came to differentiate between feelings from family to feelings from another person outside. 

So there is something like that.

Although it did not give any blow to her self esteem, it still kindled some longing inside her. 

And each day, that longing grew larger. 

What was it like to be special to someone?  

For the first time, she began to question herself. Was she really that slow?

She wanted to ask Linda about it but the question remained at the tip of her tongue. It was also during that time that she began to pay special attention to people she usually hung out with. 

There were plenty of them, then she noticed him. 

It was the person who would usually tease her along with Chang’an. Whenever Chang’an speaks any annoying retort, he would come to amend. Sometimes he would take care of her in place of Chang’an who was so reluctant to follow Leo’s order. 

In a bunch of rowdy teenage boys, he was collected and responsible like an adult making Sena think this person is a bit different. He looked calm and steady, and he stood out.

And just like that, her eyes followed him like a magnet. She can find him amongst the crowd with his outline alone. She smiles more whenever he’s near to the point that it completely freaked Chang’an out of his mind.

Slumped on the desk after sweating like a pig from basketball, he suddenly asked. “What have you been eating lately?”

“Nothing.”

“No wonder you look like you are about to eat the person whole,” he muttered on the side while rolling his eyes. 

Sena kicked him under the table. “Shut up.”

What’s wrong with looking anyway? The little mundane thing makes her happy.  

“Does big brother know, you found yet another big brother aside from him?” 

Her cheeks burst scarlet. Chang’an, on the other hand, frowned and ignored her. 

Sena enjoyed the fresh emotion for a while and as a young girl new to feelings of admiration she wasn’t spared from the fever called daydream. Oftentimes she would sit by the corner imagining what it would be like if she finally confessed. 

Will they be like any other couples? It would probably feel nice to hold hands while walking back home from school, pass by the ice cream shop and walk around the park. Before she couldn’t find any meaning for those seemingly ordinary things girls her age do but since she realized she liked someone she finally thought it wasn’t that bad.

Due to excessive imagination, she unknowingly spurred herself to come forward to confess earlier than planned. 

She learned from her mother that it was better to be assertive and know what you want than just sit on the side and wait.  

Unfortunately, before her budding feelings could fully bloom and flourish, it was trampled on by the person himself. 

The gestures and special attention turned out to be her misunderstanding all this time. She stood on the side rigid as a plank while he scratched his nape awkwardly after she told him she liked him. 

“You… you’re not really serious, are you?”

Sena felt like she had been doused with cold water. 

“I’m telling the truth.”

Why does the person look unconvinced? Confused even. What has gone wrong? 

“Okay, uh… stop.” He whispered, looking slightly panicked. “What is this?”

He made a step back which was the last thing that snapped the thread-like courage she gathered for her confession. 

“I didn’t expect you to…” 

Ah, so it's not possible. 

She looked at him, noting his panicky reaction to his evasive and vague words. Fine, she understands. 

When it did not turn out well, why push it? Seeing how he took her confession was enough.

She breathed in deeply and shrugged, “I thought I’d let you know at least.” 

“You see me that way?” He asked, looking everywhere but on her. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not expecting anything,” Sena said to assure him. She just did not anticipate the kind of stuffy feeling suffocating her chest at the moment. “Anyway, there is no harm done, right?” 

The novel feeling of having someone to admire quickly came and gone. She couldn’t help thinking that the person seems to blame her for having misunderstood his ‘kindness’. It was as if what she did was wrong. 

Sena couldn’t find where she was wrong. 

She wasn’t twisting his arms or forcing him to like her in return. She just told him how she honestly feels. Did he have to look like she offered him poison? 

“I’m not going to bother you or anything.” She quickly added unless he assumes she becomes one of those stalkers. 

“Well, this is… I don’t know what to say.” He said helplessly shaking his head.

Maybe it wasn’t his fault he caught her eyes because he treated her with extra care, it wasn’t his fault that she was blind but was it her fault for admiring a person who gave her special attention? 

Sena turned her back carrying the same grace she had as she arrived. It wasn’t until she was out of his sight that her eyes reddened and pearls of tears rolled down her cheeks. 

Liking someone sucks. 

The rejection was a hard thing. Especially if it was done so perfunctorily showing how insignificant you are to them. It was something that made one feel dispirited. At first, she thought he must not have any kind of special feeling towards her that is why he acted that way.  

In the end, why did he do it? But no matter how much she thought about it she couldn’t find a satisfactory answer. 

That was her rude awakening. It turns out you can freely like a person when they deliberately lead you on but you absolutely cannot speak of it. Just grin and bear with it!   

It was she who misunderstood. She put too much meaning in those ordinary things he did when he purposefully drilled into her life. That was the little comfort she made herself believe. But life had to make fun of her one way or another. 

Sena was on her way out of the teacher’s office when she heard boys laughing in the fire escape stairs. He was there, listening, making a few comments and laughing along as his other friends satirize what she told him not many days ago.

She was only fourteen, not yet fully matured. Although smart, she was still a kid herself and their jokes left a huge slap to her. Such was her harsh experience with young love. 

Remembering it now wasn’t as painful as it was. Her grievance and insecurities had long melted with youth and maturity from her other lifetime. 

The person went from an idol to a shitbag in no time and he still had the gall to show his face near her. So aside from disgust, she couldn’t even scrape up the tiniest emotion to be civil. 

“Hi,” Lyndon smiled, displaying a row of clean teeth as white as his undershirt.

She blinked once and turned her head back to the agent who helped the Ren family to connect with their company. She’s in the middle of a business talk only to be interrupted by an old acquaintance. A particularly not so favourable one. 

“What happened before… do you still…”

“Excuse me, I’m in the middle of something. Do you mind?” Her tone was neutral, not even a slight tremor in it. 

Lyndon was stunned. Her reaction was unexpected. 

Perhaps she did not recognize him? Yeah. maybe that’s it. “M-Miles, Lyndon Miles from middle school. We...”

Sena merely tipped her head. After that, nothing. 

The person reluctantly turned his back seeing she was unwilling to greet him in return. Lyndon went to his own circle of friends but his eyes remained glued to her all throughout the evening.

What happened in middle school was indeed done out of mischief. He had no malice towards the pure innocent girl but the thrill of seeing her slowly change under his eyes gave him a sense of satisfaction. At first, she was indifferent, worriless and free; he began to wonder what she would be like when she fancied someone.

Sena was like a soft marshmallow in his hands. Amiable and obedient while she was mean and snappy to the rest of the boys. It felt good having her attention solely to him until she burst that bubble. Lyndon had always been confident with his effect on people that is why he was not worried she would treat him differently after her failed confession.

Most of the girls who went after him maintained the same level of friendship despite the rejection. Some even closer. He thought she would be the same but he miscalculated.  

After so many years he still thinks of her and once in a while, he would smile. She was a beauty, an unforgettable type even in her juvenile years. Yet now, he could no longer see the former soft disposition, not even a shadow of that sweet innocent girl he always likened to a marshmallow. 

For the second time, he came to initiate a conversation. 

Elia just handed her a plate of crab souffle when Lyndon took the opposite couch. He was directly facing her with his arms spread relaxed and legs crossed. While she took spoonfuls of her dinner, he remained silent half smiling as though amused with something.  

“You want more of this boss?” Elia asked sneaking glances at the odd guy across then frowned.

“Hm, let’s try the shortcakes next.”

“On it.” 

When Elia disappeared, Lyndon tilted his head and spoke.  

“I heard a lot about you recently, congratulations by the way. There are more than thirty million in sales on your part this month.”

“Thank you,” she said succinctly and opened her phone next. 

Tsukiya left a message saying that he badly needed her help to introduce how home automation works to his group of caveman friends then he added a distressed emoji at the end. 

“Is that your boyfriend?” Lyndon teased not minding if she’s blatantly ignoring him. 

“Sena has a boyfriend?” 

The mocking tone came from Zhang Min who popped out of nowhere like a mushroom. 

“If she had one, she wouldn’t be coming alone and lonely. Right, Sena?” Zhang Min extended her hand to the handsome man and cooed, “Liu Zhang Min.”

“Lyndon Miles, Miss Liu.” 

Great, a creep and a gold digger. Sena raised her eyes briefly and was greeted by a blindingly silver mini dress.  

“Hello, Zhang Min.”

“Who’s on the phone?” Zhang Min asked familiarly, sitting next to Lyndon. 

“Client.” 

Zhang Min looked at the guy beside her with a triumphant smile. “See? Sena is busy with her career and she barely goes out to play.”

“I was just making conversation.” Lyndon said, answering her smile. 

“Sena, you came here dressed like that?” Finally she could not hold it and asked with disdain at the one-piece floral print dress Sena wore. 

Sena smiled at her and said, “Yeah, it’s not like I’m daring enough to bind myself with a foil wrap.” 

Before Zhang Min could retort furiously, a long shadow extended from behind her until it covered the area where she sat. 

“I was told you would be here. Looks like you got caught up.” the person said softly. 

Sena recognized the voice and stiffened. 

Nicholas Vaughn-Aiguille.   

15