Chapter 144 - Du Mansion Party (10)

When she glanced back and caught a glimpse of the scars on her back, a sad expression appeared on her face. She then turned back to the front and sighed. "How am I going to wear a backless dress like this... "

The man-made accident that took her parents away from her did not leave her unscathed. Not only mentally, but she was constantly plagued by the memory merely by looking at her own body.

Shaking the bad memories out her head, she quickly put on the pajamas before putting on her makeup. She had been careful when she showered earlier, so she only needed to do a little bit of touchup at the hairline where she accidentally washed the foundation off. 

When she squirted out the MAC foundation on the back of her hand, she was surprised to see that the foundation was not that far off from her skin color. 

"Did he choose this for me?" she thought curiously. After getting ready, she slowly limped out of the bedroom. 

When she stepped out of the room, to avoid meeting the wrong people, she slowly walked out until she saw a maid. 

With a polite smile, she then asked, "Hi, do you know if I can get any spare t-shirts and jeans around here?" 

The maid smiled and nodded. "Yes, miss. We keep different types of clothes here. Please come with me." 

While walking to the room where they kept the clothes, Xiao Lei saw the young woman that she met earlier. To her, the woman appeared to be making signs with her hands while speaking to a young boy.  

"Jun Ling?" Xiao Lei thought when she recalled her name. She was about to walk away with the maid when she saw the young boy's face. A name then popped up in her head. "Caleb?" 

She was sure that it was the same boy from this afternoon. He was dressed in a tuxedo and had his hair gelled back, but he was definitely the same boy. 

Caleb noticed that someone was staring at him and frowned. When he turned and saw the person staring at him, he gasped. "Xiao Lei?" 

Xiao Lei limped over to him and with a gentle smile, he asked, "Are you here with your parents?" 

For her sake, Caleb adjusted his hearing aid as he spoke verbally, "With my dad. He's talking to Uncle Du."

Xiao Lei noticed that Caleb's tone when he was speaking was almost completely flat. Since she knew he was deaf, she figured that he was probably born deaf. "Uncle Du? President Du is your uncle?" 

Caleb shrugged. "In a way... My father and Uncle Du are good friends. What are you doing here?" 

"Work." 

He folded his arms and leaned on one leg as he gave her a skeptical look. "In your pajamas?" 

Xiao Lei glanced down at her pajamas before chuckling awkwardly. "Erm... My dress was dirty, and I'm about to look for something else." 

Jun Ling frowned and tapped on Caleb's shoulder. When the boy looked up at her, she signed, "Tell her I can help her. I'm bored anyway."

When Caleb translated it for Xiao Lei, the latter gasped. 

"I didn't know you are..." She felt that she was rude earlier when she talked to Jun Ling. If she had known the real reason why Jun Ling did not say anything back to those women, she would have never said anything. 

With a smile, Jun Ling waved her hands in front of her to tell Xiao Lei that it was fine. 

"She's not like me. She can't speak, but she can hear fine," Caleb said. "She's my teacher whenever I'm back in the country."

Xiao Lei nodded. She gestured at the maid who was patiently waiting for her and said, "I don't need help actually. I'm going with this kind maid here." 

"It's ok. She's bored, and she got nothing much to do," Caleb translated while Jun Ling signed. 

Xiao Lei saw the woman looking at her eagerly, and she smiled. "Alright."

"I'll come with you guys for now. Otherwise, it's hard for you guys to talk," Caleb offered. He then took Jun Ling's hand and followed the maid. When Jun Ling tapped his shoulder and signed something, Caleb glanced at Xiao Lei's leg. 

He then let go of Jun Ling's hand and went over to Xiao Lei. "Your leg is hurt? Lean on me." 

"It's fine."

Caleb took her hand and placed it on his shoulder. He then looked up at her and said, "I'm a man. One day, I will carry my wife's burden on my shoulder. If I can't even carry your hand, I will never be a man good enough for my woman."

Xiao Lei and Jun Ling exchanged glances before they chuckled at his precociousness. They then followed behind the maid. 

Once they got to the clothes room, Xiao Lei's mouth gaped open. The entire room was like a departmental store! There were clothes of all kinds, of both genders and sizes, and different types of shoes, make up, wigs... EVERYTHING! 

"This..."

With a smirk and his arms folded, Caleb remarked, "Old Mo is very thorough when it comes to preparing for an emergency." 

Jun Ling picked out a long white dress with a slit at the side and asked Caleb to translate for her. 

"What about this one?" 

Xiao Lei was walking in front of them, and when she heard Caleb's voice, she turned around to look at the dress. When she saw that it was bareback dress, she sighed and said, "I can't wear bareback." 

"Why not? You are tall, you will look good in this even without wearing heels," Caleb translated for Jun Ling. He then added his own opinion, "She's right, you know. Put your hair in a bun, add a few pins, and you can look quite beautiful. Not as beautiful as my Mummy, but at least, you can get into the competition list." 

Xiao Lei laughed and patted his head. She pointed at her lips and said, "I can't wear bareback. I have... a smudge, on my back. It's a huge smudge, and it's very ugly." 

Caleb looked at Jun Ling, who shrugged, and put the dress back onto the rack. They then continued to look at the dress. After a while, Caleb called out, "Sister Xiao Lei!" 

When both women turned to look at him, he pulled a dress out from the rack and asked, "How about this?"

Xiao Lei walked to him to take a look at the dress. When she saw it, her eyes twinkled with excitement. It was an off-shoulder dress that was black at the top. The shade slowly faded to a lighter black until it completely turned white at the bottom. From top to bottom, sparkling sequins were scattered all over, giving it a magical feel. 

"This is beautiful... but it's a little young for me." 

Jun Ling tapped Caleb's shoulder and signed, "What's wrong with wearing something younger? You can pull it off anyway."

After Caleb translated it for her, Xiao Lei shrugged while looking at the dress."I don't know... It looks expensive."

"It probably is," Caleb murmured. He shrugged. "Just wear it. Don't worry too much. Uncle Du doesn't differentiate his guests, and if you ruin this, at most, Old Mo will just get someone to replace it. This is not a limited edition, you know. My uncle is generous, but he's not THAT generous!" 

"But I'm here to work today..." Xiao Lei mumbled as she touched the sequins on the dress gingerly.

Caleb frowned. After a few seconds of thought, he added, "It's fine then. You can be MY date."

While Jun Ling giggled at his precocious behavior, Xiao Lei looked at him with a curious gaze. 

"I just came back after almost one year of absence. Dad didn't tell anyone other than my uncle and aunt that I'm coming back with him, so I need to make a grand entrance. Having a beautiful, older woman by my side as my date will be a great appearance, don't you think?" Caleb winked at her. His father always winked at his mother when they thought he was not looking at them, but Caleb always caught them. 

He felt like the winks were secret signals used by his parents, but for some reason, no matter how much he pouted or how hard he tried to act cute, they wouldn't tell him the meaning behind those winks. 

Xiao Lei could not help but laugh at his attempt to flirt. "Oh god... Who taught you this kind of stuff?"

"Dad, mostly."

Jun Ling smirked and signed, "Your dad must have been openly showing his love to your mum all the time."

"All. The. Freaking. Time!" Caleb groaned and said, "He even took her away during my time with her!" 

Xiao Lei grinned. "Ah, you cute little boy. You're just like my son when he was younger!" 

"Oh, right! You have a son. Where is he? Home?" Caleb asked when he recalled the older boy. 

"He's here... I think he's at the gaming room."

"Gaming room?" Caleb groaned and quickly pushed her toward the changing room. "Ah, then you better change fast! I want to play games with my friends!" 

....

Han Ye was back at the West Garden. He was talking to some directors with DX when he saw someone walking toward them from the corner of his eye.

While explaining about the sponsorship that Du Corporation wanted to do for a charity event, Han Ye did a quick glance at the person who was walking toward them. 

It was really a quick glance, but when he realized who it might be, he started to slur, "And... erm... and... Excuse me, sir..." 

Han Ye turned his body around to take a good look, and his eyes went wide open upon realization. "It's her..." he mumbled while he kept his eyes on the woman who was walking toward him while accompanied by a young boy.