Be My Strength 209 I am not Douglas

The sound of the curtains being pushed open along with the sudden bright light that penetrated through his eyelids along woke him up from his sleep. With a low groan, Ghost turned over to bury his face in the pillow while he tried to go back to sleep. When he heard someone moving around in the background, he grumbled, "Douglas...It's too early to clean…"

"I'm not Douglas."

The unfamiliar voice that had just spoken out loud caught his attention and he immediately sat up in bed. The first thing he saw was the figure of a woman he had never met before. He frowned as he watched her move from one end of the room to another. "Is she a maid?" Ghost cocked his head as he thought. She was dusting the room and opening the windows to air the room out...but she was not wearing any uniform. He scratched his head as he thought, "She can't be one. Douglas would have fired her for not following protocol..."

Glancing around, it took his muddled brain a short moment before he realized that he was not in his room. In fact, he was in a stranger's bedroom which appeared to be the size of his private bathroom.

When the woman turned and he saw her side profile, Ghost recognized her immediately. He met her before at Kai Xin's graduation.

He did not remember how he got here or if he was right about her identity. "Are you Daisy's mum?"

An Qi Yan turned around and looked at him oddly, "Daisy?"

Ghost shook his head, "I mean Kai Xin. Are you Kai Xin's mum?"

An Qi Yan nodded. With her arms folded, she smirked, "You know. Usually people visit with a gift basket and not with vomit…"

Vaguely recalled what he did last night, Ghost shifted his eyes to the side guiltily before apologizing.

"Go get ready. Kai Xin has gone out to buy breakfast with her brother. They would be back shortly."

Ghost nodded. When he felt a light chill, he glanced down at his half-naked body and yelped. Embarrassed, he quickly pulled the blanket higher up to cover his nipples before looking under the blanket. "That is not my pants..." mumbled Ghost before he looked up at her. Nervous, he asked, "Did you..." He was unable to finish his sentence as his face turned red at the thought of being stripped and seen naked by Kai Xin and/or An Qi Yan.

When she saw his moves, An Qi Yan laughed, "Isn't it too late to cover now? Stop playing around. There are some clean clothes in the cabinet inside the bathroom."

Ghost nodded. However, he waited until she was out of the room before rushing to the bathroom to change. It was fun to tease Kai Xin but it was completely horrifying to be half naked in front of her mum! When Kai Xin and Kai An came home, An Qi Yan asked, "Did you guys managed to get a cab for Erden?" Placing the breakfast on the table, Kai An replied with a smirk, "Don't worry, mum. Your little boy toy is safe." "Fuck!" He cursed out loud when he felt the sudden sting. His cheeky reply had earned him a spank from her. While he rubbed the back of his left thigh furiously to get rid of the sharp pain, he glowered at his mother for the unjustified assault. However, instead of feeling sorry for him, she merely said, "You deserved it..." Ignoring her son's angry look, An Qi Yan continued, "...Erden is not someone you can make jokes about...Go get the plates!" Meanwhile, Kai Xin knocked on the door and waited for a reply before entering. When she saw Ghost wearing her brother's T-shirt and joggers, she grinned, "Young Master seems to have fallen..." "Shut up..." said Ghost. However, even though he told her to shut up, he had a smile on his face. "Are you feeling better now?" asked Kai Xin. Ghost nodded, "Sorry to bother you last night..." "What happened? I thought you went to Japan for a holiday. Why did you drank so much yesterday?" asked Kai Xin in a succession of questions. Without any warning, he pulled her towards him and hugged her tightly. When she tried to push him away, he pleaded softly, "Just for a short while. I just need you to stay like this for a short while..." She gave up struggling and hugged him back. With a soft voice, she said, "It's not fair. I cannot do anything to you when you are being sad... What happened in Japan?" He hugged her tightly and took in her scent. If possible, he did not want to let her go. He was afraid that he would lose her too if he released her. "Ghost..." "She's not mine..." thought Ghost sadly before he slowly released her from his embrace. With a smile, he lied, "Japan was fine but the girls were a little smaller in size..." He used his hands and let it hovered around her chest for her to understand his meaning. Annoyed that he made her worried for nothing, she gave him a kick in his left shin before going to the kitchen. As he jumped around in pain, he thought, "I wish you are mine...Even if it's for a day..."

Over breakfast, Ghost did not know why Kai An kept growling at him. He glanced at Kai Xin who merely shrugged and ignored him. She was still angry about earlier.

"Did I do something wrong?" asked Ghost as he looked at their mother for the answer.

Seeing that her daughter had no intention of answering him, An Qi Yan answered for her. "Ignore my stupid son. He felt a bit insecure now because he was exposed to another man's ding dong."

"Another…" Ghost glanced down at his pants and blushed. Even though his butler used to change his clothes for him whenever he was drunk, it was still embarrassing to have a man whom you have never really met before changed your pants.
With a sigh, he thought, "At least it was not their mum who changed my pants..."
"Oh yeah, Kai Xin forgot to tell us your name," said An Qi Yan before she picked a piece of Taiwanese sausage and dropped it on Ghost's plate.

Glancing at the simple food, Ghost thought back about the days he spent with his mother. They used to eat simple meals such as the ones on the table. No, theirs were simpler. Just salted eggs and porridge. Even though life was hard, it was a happier time for him. To avoid anyone seeing his flushed face, he kept his face down as he answered her, "Luo Guang Ying…"

"So...Xiao Ying is it? I have never met you before and I don't know what is your relationship with my daughter, but you are welcome to visit us anytime you like...Just try to be sober when you come next time," said An Qi Yan as she placed a drumstick on his plate.

When she entered the room to clean earlier, she heard him calling for his mother the entire time. For an adult man to call out for his mother, he must be very close to his mother. Call it a mother's intuition but An Qi Yan had a feeling that something must have happened.
Ghost smiled and nodded quickly, "Thank you..." Since he had no friends when he was young, he was never invited to dine with anyone. Even when he got older, because of his status as an illegitimate child, people were not keen to invite him for anything. If they did, it was as a matter of courtesy towards his grandfather. After he met Kai Xin and Phantom, to avoid his enemies, they only met at AVENGE and ate bar food.

"What are you waiting for? Eat. If you get sick again because you ate cold food, I am going to kill you myself," said Kai Xin. She appeared to be cold towards him but when she took the last salted egg and placed it in Ghost's porridge, he smiled.

With his right hand, he picked up the spoon and after a moment of hesitation, he started to dig in.

Chapter end

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