Pitching and Deducing
Bastard“…This is a lot.” Mei Lin can’t keep herself from blinking and the only reason why isn’t hanging open like a Venus flytrap is because it has gone dry.
“She was a woman.” Yi Fan smirks into a snarky laugh at Mei Lin’s bewilderment. “And a rich one at that, what did you expect?”
“Didn’t you want to donate all the clothes? Why are they all here?”
“In case you wanted anything,” Yi Fan lies.
“You mean you didn’t want to sort through them.” Mei Lin rolls her eyes, “These aren’t my style and they aren’t my size. And I’m not going to wear your mother’s clothes. That would be weird. How old do you think I am—”
“I don’t need to think, I know,” Yi Fan says, chucking a skirt right at Mei Lin’s head.
It dishevels her hair, earning her childish boss a familiar glare. “Be gentler with these, would you? Each article is probably worth more than a week of my salary.”
“Not like you ever really cared about what you looked like,” Yi Fan teases, pointing his eyes at Mei Lin’s fitted jeans and white camisole.
“I’m not at work; why should I care?” Mei Lin says, flipping her head even though her hair is up in a messy bun.
“You should always care about your image. At least be a bit more decent than this.”
“It’s tiring moving all this stuff around to the right piles,” Mei Lin complains. “My apologies for removing my cardigan,” she bows dramatically. “Do my shoulders disgust you?”
Quite the opposite actually. Yi Fan snorts when Mei Lin wiggles her eyebrow in question. “Where’s Tao?” he asks, not that he minds being alone with Mei Lin as they sort through the mountain of boxes.
“He said he was getting us lunch.” Mei Lin sits herself before a new box.
What a little liar.
“Wu Yi, do you want this?” Mei Lin asks, holding up a worn, stuffed plush donning a felt pirate hat and soft pink vest. The instant change in demeanor causes Mei Lin to tilt her head in question. Is it even my place to ask?
“Put it in my room, would you?” Yi Fan asks, clearing his throat. I can’t believe she kept that thing.
Mei Lin comes out to see that Yi Fan’s eyes have turned a warm pink. “Sir? Are you…” What am I even asking? Of course something’s on his mind.
Yi Fan sniffs once and chucks another article of clothing at Mei Lin; though, this time she caught it even though she was surprised by the sudden choice of action. He rubs his nose and clears his throat, “We’re not in the office, don’t use such formalities.”
Mei Lin runs her hand over Yi Fan’s head as she walks back to the previously opened box and sits down behind it. Her eyes can’t help but challenge the look of daze Yi Fan is donning. “Casual enough for you, sir?”
“You’re a hypocrite.”
“And you should be playing baseball,” Mei Lin retorts. “Stop pitching clothes.” She walks over to the other side of the room. “If you’re going to throw them, at least throw them towards the pile.”
“But you’re such a better target,” Yi Fan whines.
Mei Lin stops and pivots on her feet, placing her hands firmly on her hips. “Are you implying that I am a bigger target than that hill of designer clothing?”
Yi Fan stops laughing and his eyes widen at the sight before him and at what he just said. “N-no!”
“Did Wu Yi Fan just stutter?” Mei Lin asks, raising both her eyebrows. She tisks and shakes her head before walking over to rub his head of undone hair. “My, my, my, do I hear fear?” she taunts, leaning down to his eye level, “Do I scare you, sir?”
Yi Fan’s mouth is suddenly overly wet and coupled with the choking feeling in his lungs he swallows. Air decides to stop flowing as if there is no nose between his eyes, which at the moment, can’t seem to find a place to focus. They are drawn to Mei Lin’s ivory hands (and subsequently her hips) and the dangling silver necklace (and subsequently her collarbones…and what’s below them). “A little,” he finally admits when he realizes that he had been staring for too long. “Only when you’re composed though,” he adds, not wanting to sound weak.
“Oh?” Mei Lin asks. She straightens herself and walks back to the box she had been going through. “Why is that?”
“It’s almost not human, if that makes sense,” Yi Fan says freely. “I like you better when you’re honest about your thoughts and feelings; you’re more human.”
“What’s so great about being human?” Mei Lin challenges. “We’re selfish, ignorant, wrongfully prideful and can’t even stop death even though we can give birth.”
Are you talking about me? Yi Fan shakes his head of those thoughts and to disagree. “You’re none of those things.”
“So does that make me not human?” Mei Lin asks sarcastically.
“A little bit, but in a good way,” Yi Fan says honestly. Not trusting his eyes anywhere near Mei Lin’s direction, he focuses on the pile of photos in front of him.
“You just said you liked it better when I was more human but now you’re saying that I’m not completely human. Make up your mind, Wu Yi, jeez.”
Yi Fan smiles unconsciously at the sound of not being addressed as “sir” or something degrading by Mei Lin. “I don’t like myths, Mei,” Yi Fan says. “They’re not relatable.”
“And where in my job description does it say that I have to be relatable?” Mei Lin says, thinking that they’re back to joking around.
“There’s a lot of things that aren’t in your job description that you do,” Yi Fan points outs, playing along. “But you do it anyways.”
“My job description had one line—no, one sentence, it wasn’t even a full line.” Mei Lin leans her back against the wall to recall the line. “‘Job description: To make Wu Yi Fan’s life easier by just about any means necessary,’” she quotes in Cantonese.
“And you signed that contract even though you know that that description was louche and vague as all hell?” Yi Fan laughs.
No. “Are you not satisfied with my performance?” Mei Lin asks, putting her hands on her hips again. “Am I more than what you bargained for yet?”
“Not sure, have you been dying to tell me anything I want to hear?” Yi Fan chuckles. “Or is that just who you are this week?”
“Absolutely not,” Mei Lin laughs, delighted that Yi Fan understands her reference. “Not this week or any week,” she says, much to the disappointment of Yi Fan. “I’m not going to be just a notch in your bedpost.”
“There aren’t any marks on my bedpost; you got me new furniture, remember?” And a new life. Yi Fan tilts his head and squints his eyes, “Not ever, Mei?”
“That wouldn’t be appropriate,” Mei Lin says. “Must I remind you of the rumors that are still up in the air?”
“Let the media talk,” Yi Fan waves off. “You don’t find me attractive at all, Mei?”
“I have standards, Wu Yi,” Mei Lin says, sticking her tongue out.
“They’re pretty low if Lau fits those standards,” Yi Fan scoffs, though a small voice in his head is yelling at him for making such a jab so soon.
“Height isn’t a standard,” Mei Lin fires back. “Everyone is short compared to you.”
“So what is a standard?” Yi Fan is very curious now.
“Honesty,” Mei Lin says but that sentence never gets finished as her mind rushes elsewhere. She starts a new line of thought without realizing. “Granted, I’m not one to talk because I can put on a mask faster than any theater major, but there’s a difference between lying and not revealing all of yourself at once.”
“And what would that difference be?”
“The former ensures that you’ll never get hurt, but you’ll also never be happy; the latter helps in preventing you from getting hurt but happiness is a gamble.”
“So happiness is what you value then? That’s what you want at the end of the day, right?”
“Yeah, but doesn’t everyone? I mean, everyone has something or a different combination of somethings that they value and therefore would make them happy.”
“What’s yours?”
“In order to be happy? Well, I don’t expect things to be perfect, clearly, because you can still be happy even if there’s one or two things out of place—at least, I can.” She pauses to think and mumbles to herself quite audibly, “Or maybe I’ve just learned that settling with contentment was good enough…”
“Mei?” Yi Fan asks after a solid minute of no movement.
“I have to be doing something that’s making someone’s—or more preferably—multiple people’s lives better in terms of my job. Money was never really a goal of mine even though I came from a lower-middle class family, but it would be nice to make enough to live the way that I want—”
“Which is the same way you were raised,” Yi Fan interjects. This time, it’s Mei Lin to chuck an article of clothing. “And what do you mean ‘would be nice’? You do make enough to live how you want.”
“Apparently, it’s still not enough for my parents,” Mei Lin rolls her eyes. “I send them a good chunk but they still complain and say that I could be doing better. It would be nice to be good enough for them but I guess that’s one of the reasons why I have to be able to be happy even if everything isn’t perfect, because I know that they’ll never be content.” Mei Lin shakes her head and flattens the empty box. “Anyways,” she sighs, “if those that I care for are happy and doing well, then I have no reason not to be happy as well, whether that be genuinely or at least for them, you know what I mean?” Mei Lin isn’t asking because she wants to know, she’s simply asking because she’s seeking approval for her way of thinking. “And lastly, even though this never lasts very long, I would like to be unconditionally loved.”
“But Gale and Lau—”
“Oh no, I know,” Mei Lin says quickly. “I know that they still love me even though they’re not here—like Junsu. But it’s not the same when they’re not here—it’s easier to forget and harder to remember. I know that people care but it’s hard to keep that in mind when they’re all out of the country,” Mei Lin laughs awkwardly in hopes of relieving the atmosphere she created. “This country has almost one point five billion people and not one—” Zi Tao coming in with take-out interrupts Mei Lin. “Well, maybe ‘not one.’ Forget what I said anything. Tao, did you eat already?”
Zi Tao nods and scans the room at the progress the two are making. “What do you want me to help with?”
“Take the clothes to the local charity,” Yi Fan says as he opens a Styrofoam tray.
You just want to be alone with her again. “Anything else I should be taking there?”
“No, just those boxes that are marked,” Mei Lin says, splitting the cheap chopsticks. “Thank you.”
Wanting to leave the tense gaze of Yi Fan as soon as possible, Zi Tao works quickly. As soon as he made his last trip down to the car, Yi Fan says, “It sounds like you’re not very happy at the moment.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being unhappy,” Mei Lin says before taking another bite. “Expecting someone to always be happy is unrealistic and naïve. It’s only an issue if someone is not happy for an extended period of time.”
“So what should they do if that’s the case?” Yi Fan asks with his mouth full.
Mei Lin throws him a dirty look and elbows his arm for his rice-filled words. “Make a change in the way they view things.”
“Is that why you settled?”
“It’s called being reasonable.”
“Is that really happiness though? Are you really happy? Isn’t there a line between being reasonable and settling?”
Luckily, Mei Lin is interrupted once again. However, this time it is by a man that Mei Lin is unfamiliar with. He bows deeply and is startled only for a brief, mental moment when he sees that Yi Fan has a guest, and a female one at that. There is a short tense moment as he asks silently for permission to speak in front of Mei Lin. After a subtle nod, he bows again. “My apologies for intruding,” he says formally. “There’s nothing new to report but it was indeed the K Gang that broke into your home, Ms. Chen.”
“Keep an eye on them if you can but don’t get caught,” Yi Fan says. “And keep me updated.”
“Yes, sir.” Zhou Mi turns to leave but stops himself. “If I may speak freely…”
“Of course.”
“My condolences for your loss,” he says gravely. “Ms. Chen, sir.”
“May I ask who that was?” Mei Lin asks, expecting that she’ll have to play a game of deduction once again seeing how it relates to the K Gang.
“He’s the family’s personal PI,” Yi Fan says. “He’s been working for us for a long time. Not sure how long but I know we’ve used his services at least since I was born.”
“You’re awfully comfortable around me today,” Mei Lin points out.
I always feel comfortable around you. “I can’t be comfortable in my own home?”
“Of course you can, and I’m sure you are,” Mei Lin says, referring to his sweats and t-shirt. “If you have information on them, why don’t you just inform the police?”
“In which country is it ever a good idea to inform the police? Nothing ever gets done. That’s not to say that they’re ineffective but they certainly are unreliable.”
“So what’s the plan then? Have Tao as my personal bodyguard forever?”
“They haven’t done anything wrong since being in the country…aside from giving me a few more bruises than I would’ve liked. They were released early on good behavior and are on here on legal work visas—”
“You’re not answering my question; you’re just reiterating what your PI reported.” She tosses the empty trays and dirty chopsticks before opening a new box.
“The plan is to get something incriminating on them. It doesn’t have to be much—”
“So you’re waiting for them to slip up, is what you’re saying,” Mei Lin sighs. “What do you want me to do with these papers?”
Yi Fan looks up and sees Mei Lin holding up indiscernible papers and documents. “File them for me, would you?”
“Into what categories?” Mei Lin asks as she gets up to look for files.
“Personal, business, other,” Yi Fan says as Mei Lin marks each new file.
She skims each document before placing them in their respective files, humming as she goes. Having not heard Mei Lin be this relax for quite some time, Yi Fan finds himself smiling as he opens another box. “If you ask me, how I’m doing/ I would say I’m doing just fine,” Mei Lin sings to herself. “I would lie and say that you’re not on my mind/ But I go out, and I sit down, at a table set for two—”
“Since when do you go out to eat alone?” Yi Fan interjects.
“What?” Mei Lin asks, not really hearing Yi Fan’s question and not realizing what she was doing. Yi Fan only laughs quietly to himself, so Mei Lin continued through the box. “Come stop your crying, it’ll be alright/ Just take my hand, hold it tight/ I will protect you, from all around you/ I will be here, don’t you cry.”
Mei Lin continues to hum but it’s Yi Fan who decides to continue the lyrics, “For one so small, you seem so strong/ My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm—” I wish. Yi Fan catches himself and realizes that Mei Lin had stopped humming. “Mei? Come on now, was my singing that bad?”
“What? Uh, no, sir…” Mei Lin’s attention returns to the faded paper in her hand. “Just not sure where to put this…” Is this real? Is this right?! Surely 99.99% means that there’s a chance for error, right?
“What is it?” Yi Fan asks and crawls over to read over Mei Lin’s shoulder but she slips it into the “personal” file before he could set eyes on it.
Mei Lin ignores Yi Fan’s proximity and reaches for the next closest article from the pile in the box. “Wow Wu Yi, you looked angry even when you were a newborn.” Yi Fan pouts, matching the faded photograph and Mei Lin throws her head back in laughter. “Ow!” The back of her head had collided with Yi Fan’s shoulder. “You have some sharp shoulder blades.”
“And you have a hard head,” Yi Fan says. He rubs his shoulder for show as he sits back to watch Mei Lin undo her hair to rustle her fingers through it and to get better access to the surely bruised patch of her skull. “That just goes to show you shouldn’t laugh at me.”
Mei Lin rolls her eyes and picks up the next faded piece of paper. What on Earth…? Her eyes scan the paper again and again. After verifying that it was indeed Mrs. Wu’s name and Yi Fan’s birthday on the appropriate lines, she now has no reason to suspect that the report that she had held in her hand a few moments before wasn’t real. “Wu Yi, can I ask you something?” Mei Lin asks as she slides the birth certificate into the “personal” file. Yi Fan pauses and gives Mei Lin is full attention. “Who named you?”
“…What do you mean?” Yi Fan asks instead of admitting that he doesn’t know.
“Henry gave me my name…in a way,” Mei Lin explains. “Where did yours come from?”
Yi Fan shrugs, “My father I guess… given its meaning. Why do you ask?”
“I just find it ironic,” Mei Lin says.
“What? Do you disagree with his choice?” Yi Fan smiles at the potential indirect compliment.
“No,” Mei Lin says, taking Yi Fan’s smile away. “I disagree with the fact that he named you at all, considering…” Mei Lin steals a quick glance at her boss to gauge whether or not she would proceed with her sentence and whether or not she knows too much and has said too much. The blank look of shock and dread tells Mei Lin that she had struck a nerve but the lack of surprise in those eyes is what makes her curious. “Wu Yi—”
“How did you know?” Yi Fan asks, not trusting himself to look at her. Two worn papers are slid across the floor and Yi Fan looks at them quickly. “It’s crossed out…” he says slowly, referring to the original name written after the colon.
“The ink is different,” Mei Lin says. He must’ve signed his name as the father much later. He wasn’t even there when his wife was going through labor. “Would you prefer to be called Lǐ Jiā Héng now, sir?” Mei Lin’s attempt at lightening the mood failed. “It’s a wonderful name.” Very fitting.
“You shouldn’t,” Yi Fan says. “I wouldn’t want my father to be upset with you.”
“He’s already upset with me for removing all the tracking devices that he had planted to keep track of you,” Mei Lin smiles. “I don’t see why he’s still so concerned, it’s not like you’re the same boy as before.”
Yi Fan tries to hide his smile of content from the fact that Mei Lin is acknowledging how he has changed. “You’re right, I’m a man now.”
“I would certainly hope so, sir.”
“Mei, do me a favor,” Yi Fan says seriously. “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
“About what?” Mei Lin asks as she continues to sort through papers as if nothing had happened. She flashes him a knowing smile before the two return to work in silence. I wouldn’t dare. If your father finds out about this, you could lose your inheritance of the company—you could lose everything.
“How’s the Gala coming along?” Yi Fan asks, wanting to hear Mei Lin’s voice.
Since when did you ask things like that? You never attend it anyways so why do you care? “Pretty well,” Mei Lin says. “It is the fourth one that I’ve planned. If it’s not easy by now, then I might as well quit.”
“Do you mind planning it?”
Mei Lin stops to examine him, “Are you actually considering planning the company’s annual Gala from now on?”
“Well, it is my job,” Yi Fan shrugs.
“You’ve already taken over every public event and fundraiser and now you want the Gala too?” Mei Lin makes a show to crawl over and touch Yi Fan’s head with her own. “Are you sick, sir?”
“If I was, then you wouldn’t be this close to me,” Yi Fan smirked.
The intimate eye contact changes Mei Lin’s expression for a second before Zi Tao opens the door unannounced. “Did I interrupt something?” Zi Tao asks, seeing how stiff and awkward the two suddenly are.
“Maybe that’s my cue to go home,” Mei Lin says as she stands up. “It’s getting dark and we all have work tomorrow.”
“Take those boxes when you leave,” Yi Fan says. You have such terrible timing, Tao.
“Hey, Tao,” Mei Lin says casually as they drive back to her apartment. “Do you know how I can get into contact with the Wu family’s personal Private Investigator?”
“Zhou Mi?” Zi Tao asks. “Why? Do you need his services?”
“No,” Mei Lin says. “Not exactly. I just want to talk.”
“About what?”
“Do you know how I can contact him or what?” Mei Lin asks, getting a bit irritated now. Unsure of whether or not Zi Tao knows what she discovered today, she decides to keep this from him.
“Only those in the family have a way of contacting him…” But seeing how upset Mei Lin seems to be, Zi Tao adds, “But I think there’s a way to get around that at the office.” Zi Tao quickly makes a left turn instead of a right and heads for the office. “Everything all right, Ms. Chan?” he asks after a long and uncomfortable silence.
Mei Lin says nothing until they get out of the car. “Would you mind staying outside?” she asks.
“Ms. Chan, I have to stay with you—”
“I’m aware,” Mei Lin says. They ride up the elevator together and the lights flick on due to the motion sensors. “Just wait in the lobby, would you? I’d like to talk to him alone.” Zi Tao is reluctant so Mei Lin tacks on an extra, “Please?”
Within five minutes Zhou Mi is in Yi Fan’s office. “Miss.” Zhou Mi greets her with a bow.
“I’m surprised you showed,” Mei Lin comments aloud.
“My services do not extend pass the family but for you I will be willing to make an exception—however, I doubt that that is the reason for you calling me here tonight.”
“What makes you say that?” Mei Lin asks, curious now by his deduction.
“You are not the kind of young lady who would need my services, and even if you did, you have other means of obtaining information, I am sure.”
“Suppose I had asked you here to find Gale’s location,” Mei Lin says.
“You respect your friend far too much to go that far. Besides, I doubt that I could. She seems very capable of disappearing.”
“Is it safe to assume that you run background checks on everyone that works in this building?”
“Facts are always safe to assume.” Mei Lin laughs to herself but Zhou Mi straightens his jacket. “Shall cut the small talk? Tao seems a bit anxious waiting for you out there, Ms. Chen.”
Mei Lin motions for Zhou Mi to sit down on one of the small couches while she sits across from him in the other. “I don’t want your services,” Mei Lins says as she pours each of them a cup of water. “I’m just curious to see if you could shed some light on a matter.”
“Does this have to do with young Mr. Wu?”
“Now, you and I both know that that’s not his real name.”
Zhou Mi flinches internally but Mei Lin knows that she struck a chord. “I knew you were a good secretary, Miss, but I did not expect you to be this good.”
“I only came across this information just today. What I want to ask you is a bit personal, so I don’t suspect that you’ll have an answer, but with Mrs. Wu in the other world now, I figured that you would be the only one who might know something.”
“What is it that you wish to inquire?”
“Wu Yi’s name…” Mei Lin stares into her glass. “His first name that was crossed out on the birth certificate—just his birth and naming in general. Why was—”
“Why do you care?” Zhou Mi asks sharply.
“Because I’m not satisfied with only knowing parts of the story. I want to have a better understanding of this family—or what’s left of it.”
“Family?” Zhou Mi scoffs and laughs a bit. “What does an outsider want with this kind of family anyways?”
“Aren’t you an outsider? Isn’t Tao an outsider? You just said that for me, you would make an exception. Now, I assume that based on that, tit means that I’m on fairly good terms with you. You’ve been working for this family since long before Wu Yi was even born—why such loyalty?”
“That is none of your business,” Zhou Mi coldly.
“Then why is it that I should have to explain myself for wanting to better understand him? He told me who you were, Wu Yi trusts me—for heaven’s sake I’m not trying to exploit this family for money! If anything, I—”
“You’re not getting paid enough,” Zhou Mi chuckles. “I know.” All the pent-up frustration that colored Mei Lin’s face is now gone and replaced by horror. Zhou Mi chuckles some more, “Worry not, no one else knows. I only report what I think is important—not to say that this is not important but… I know you have your reasons for doing this.”
“It’s also safer for me this way,” Mei Lin sighs. “In case anything happens.”
“You mean with the K Gang?”
Mei Lin nods, “If necessary, I’ll leave the country if it gets too rough.”
“That will not be necessary, Tao is more than capable of protecting you.” The two glance out at Zi Tao who is pacing in the lobby. “You are aware of the fact that that boy harbors feelings for you, yes?” Mei Lin nods but Zi Tao was not the “boy” that Zhou Mi was speaking of. “Are you also aware of the relationship that Mr. Wu has with his family?”
“I can guess,” Mei Lin says.
“Mrs. Wu—Ms. Li was a fairly wealthy woman even before marrying Mr. Wu. Shortly after they were married, Mr. Wu founded GIBI and started this company, but unfortunately—or fortunately, however you want to look at it, that was also about the same time that Ms. Li became pregnant with young Mr. Wu. With a new company to manage and get off the ground, there is no need for me to say that he was rather busy. So does it really come as a shock when I tell you that he was not present when his son was born?”
“That’s a lie,” Mei Lin says. “Wu Yi is not Mr. Wu’s biological son.”
So she saw the DNA results. “Mr. Wu and Ms. Li met when they were both attending college. They courted each other for a number of years before getting married. She was happier then…”
“And his name?” Mei Lin asks.
“Ms. Li named him herself, using her maiden name on accident.”
More like subconsciously. Why name a child after a boy that wasn’t his?
“Mr. Wu arrived three or so days after young Mr. Wu was born and had his name changed, claiming that his wife was not in the right mind when they had asked her—which, she was not.”
“Wu Yi is set to take over the company one day, correct?”
“Yes, it is in the contracts. But those would be invalid should he ever find out that he is not indeed his son.” Zhou Mi sighs and rubs the skin between his eyes. “There was no more love from her husband so she focused on her son—but she was even shut out from him. Well, that is until recently.”
“Is that why you’re a bit more fond of me?” Mei Lin asks.
“You gave her time and her son back,” Zhou Mi says with a faint smile. “What’s not to like about you?”
“Can I ask you one more question?”
“Of course, I just may not answer.”
“You loved her, didn’t you?” Mei Lin asks slowly to gauge his lack of reaction. “But then you hated her for that moment of weakness, and even more when it wasn’t with you.”
“You should not make such wild assumptions, Ms. Chen.”
Mei Lin ignores him. He’s not the only deductionist. “Why are you still here when the one thing you care for is gone?”
There’s a long silence and a staring contest; Zhou Mi blinks first. “Because the one thing that she cares for is still here.”
Author's Notes/Translations:
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"'Am I more than what you barganed for yet?.... '...marks on my bedpost'" = is in reference to the song Sugar, We're Goin Down by Fall Out Boy
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The first song that Mei Lin sings is Not Over You by Gavin DeGraw.
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The song that Mei Lin and Yi Fan sing together is You'll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins from Disney's Tarzan soundtrack.
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"99.99%" = Not even DNA tests nowadays are 100% accurate.
#bringbackgale2k14
- Kim
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