78 THE INVALUABLE PERSON

All three of them coincidentally met outside the teashop. Excited to see someone other than Xuan Chaya who had been confusing him with unexplainable feelings these past few days, Cheng Jian threw his arms around Hua Zhendan's in a warm embrace.

Xuan Chaya's face immediately changed complexion while Hua Zhendan chuckled at the cheer glee of it. As Cheng Jian had never reacted that way before, he said, "You seem very happy to see me."

"Of course, I am." Cheng Jian said.

Xuan Chaya cleared his throat drawing both Cheng Jian and Hua Zhendan's attention to him.

Cheng Jian pulled away from the hug.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" Xuan Chaya asked.

"Of course," Cheng Jian replied. "This is my friend Hua Zhendan."

"Hua Zhendan, this is Xuan Chaya."

Xuan Chaya stretched out his hand for a handshake, but time had seemed to stop for Hua Zhendan, whom instead of taking the hand, stared at Xuan Chaya blankly.

Xuan Chaya dropped his hand and scratched his left ear in embarrassment.

Cheng Jian tapped Hua Zhendan lightly. Bringing him back to life.

Hua Zhendan cleared his throat. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I just happen to know someone who answers the same surname."

"It's a very common surname, isn't it?" Cheng Jian asked.

Hua Zhendan nodded. "It is. But I haven't met anyone who went by it in a while."

Xuan Chaya wasn't impressed. What was the need to be so emotional over a surname?

As if reading his mind, Cheng Jian said. "Oh, your boyfriend also went by the same surname, right?"

Hua Zhendan glanced at Cheng Jian, then corrected him. "Ex-boyfriend."

Xuan Chaya finally understood. The ex must have meant a lot to this person.He pointed at the entrance to the teashop and asked, "Do you guys want to go in?"

"Of course." Hua Zhendan nodded.

To Hua Zhendan's surprise and Xuan Chaya's embitterment, Cheng Jian grabbed Hua Zhendan by the arm and followed him into the teashop. Hua Zhendan glanced sideways to look at Cheng Jian. How was it that this person who had always been cold to me was suddenly clinging onto him so tightly?

Xuan Chaya walked behind them silently.

They all took their seats, placed an order for various types of tea and started their conversation.

It was Xuan Chaya who broke the ice. Straightforwardly, he said, "Cheng Jian tells me you help your father out at his company. May I know its name and your position there?"

Hua Zhendan threw Cheng Jian a glance. Cheng Jian looked away and took a sip from his cup of tea.

Hua Zhendan cleared his throat and said. "My father doesn't have a company. He's currently an independent contractor, but I'm planning to register his business so it can become an official one."

It was Xuan Chaya's turn to throw Cheng Jian a glance. He was now honestly a little bit angry at him. Cheng Jian had made him believe he was going to work with a company that was just starting out. That in itself was bad. This scenario is just terrible. "Do you have your father's portfolio then? I'll like to have a look at some of the jobs he has worked on in the past."

Hua Zhendan was very embarrassed to say the least. He knew how unprofessional he was coming off to Xuan Chaya, but he couldn't give up just yet. "I'm sorry. All the previous projects my father has worked on are associated with the company he used to work with. He could get into big trouble for showing any of those projects to you."

Xuan Chaya wasn't suddenly excruciatingly tired. He only knew one thing at this point. He didn't want to hire Hua Zhendan. Thoughtfully, he glanced at Cheng Jian, how would he dare say this in front of him. Imagining Cheng Jian would get pissed and walk away from their own deal if he dared offend him, he started sweating.

Hua Zhendan could see the uneasiness in his eyes. He too had been deceived. On phone, Cheng Jian had led him to believe that this was more of a contract signing than an interview. If he had known what this was exactly, he would've been better prepared.

Cheng Jian was the one who broke the silence. "You can't show Xuan Chaya your father's portfolio, but surely you've seen some of his works, haven't you? They were very good, right?"

Hua Zhendan almost signed. He couldn't believe Cheng Jian wanted him to sign a business contract based on conjectures. Just what world did this idiot come from?

Clearly, Xuan Chaya was thinking the same thing.

Hua Zhendan cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. On phone, I was led to believe that I already had this job and that this was a business meeting. It may seem like a lousy excuse, but I didn't realize it was an interview so I hadn't come prepared. Now, I realize that I should have anyway."

"What are you talking about? Xuan Chaya already gave you the job." Cheng Jian said. Turning to Xuan Chaya, he asked, "Right?"

Xuan Chaya scratched his left ear, causing Hua Zhendan's eyes to widen in surprise.

The only other person he knew who did this was Xuan Tianyi. When he was shy, embarrassed or uneasy. It suddenly gave Hua Zhendan a confidence boost.

"If you don't want to hire me, I can understand. But before you turn me down, you should know I have a successful track record of personally running one of the most prominent companies in all of China. You should know a small company is nothing I can't handle."

Xuan Chaya looked up at him. He had heard, of course. And compared to the company Hua Zhendan was talking about, his was no match. His eyes wandered to Cheng Jian again. He couldn't help wondering how Cheng Jian had come to know such a prominent person. Now that he had been reminded about Hua Zhendan's status, he became a bit terrified of turning him down. Despite his seemingly calm nature, he might take it hard and Xuan Chaya wasn't ready to make enemies in business this early.

"You could give me a chance," Hua Zhendan said. "A trial run. For a certain length of time. If you don't like walking with us, we'll walk away."

Xuan Chaya nodded uneasily. He wasn't entirely on board, but he likes the idea of the trial run. "A trial run sounds like a great idea."

"This," Cheng Jian smiled. "I'm such an invaluable person. Solved both of your problems just like that."

Xuan Chaya and Hua Zhendan turned to glare at Cheng Jian at once. He had almost put them in trouble simultaneously, yet he thought of himself as an invaluable person who solved people's problems.

Hua Zhendan couldn't help but think about how he had almost given up until the thought of that person crossed his mind. That person was the true invaluable one.