Small-Talk

After sitting, the young woman tried to engage in small-talks. "Ah. Sorry I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Wei Hui. I'm a post-doctorate researcher in the university 30 min. away from here", she stated and extended her hand for a handshake. Tian Long reluctantly shook her hand and said, "Tian Long". He was slightly impressed with her firm handshake, because when conducting business, he often measures a person's confidence with his/her handshake.

"So where are you from? If you don't mind me asking." mused Wei Hui. "China." replied Tian Long as he glanced from the side of his eyes at Wei Hui's curious gaze.

-This guy treat his words like gold. Too expensive. Schade. This poor lady can't afford to ask anymore questions.-

Thought Wei Hui.

-But it is suspicious…wait…did I just invite a sketchy stranger back to my place??…Again???-

Unbeknownst to Tian Long, his taciturn and aloof character labeled him as a possibly suspicious character to watch for by Wei Hui, who now rummages to her satchel to firmly grip on her trusty pepper spray as precaution. One is taciturn by nature and the other is an exaggerated worrywart, who is coming up multiple escape plans and visualizing some self-defense moves in her head.

Their conversation fell short for the rest of the bus ride.

…

The bus drove away from the town-center and headed in the direction of a plain road and rows of corn fields. Tian Long started to grow suspicious of her home and voiced his suspicions, "Woman this better not be a kidnapping stint."

-…His directness rivals that of Germans here.- Thought Wei Hui but responded, "It's too much work to kidnap you. Everyone here may serve as a witness. If anything happened to you, I'm a prime suspect. It's already a dumb plan from the get-go."

Tian Long scoffed but did not comment any further.

"The next time the bus stops, we need to head out. My house is a 5 minute walk from there," commented Wei Hui.

…

As promised, the two arrived in front of Wei Hui's small little German cottage in a short time. As she fumbled with her keys and slightly cursed under her breath, Wei Hui managed to turn the rusty lock and pushed the wooden door open.

"Willkommen zu meinem Hause!" elated Wei Hui as she turned on the light switch. "Make yourself at home."

Tian Long silently observes the inside of her cottage. Nothing entirely remarkable, the cottage is large enough for two people. The living room stood before them with a rustic vibe from the wooden coffee table, the brown sofa couch, and the two sets of large wooden bookcase on the far left and right. Typical German decorations fill the space, such as an ornate cuckoo clock, small potted plants, and some placate with German phrases. There is an arch that leads to the kitchen to the right. Another arch on the right leads to the bedrooms. Wei Hui quickly beelines through the right arch before returning with a phone charger.

"Here. This charger should work. Make yourself comfortable anywhere in the living room. Would you like some tea or coffee?" suggested Wei Hui.

"Black coffee." replied Tian Long as he accepted the charger from her hands.

Tian Long, not only aloof but unabashed, set himself comfortably on the sofa after charging the phone. He loosened his tie slightly to relax.

…

Wie Hui busied herself with filling the electric kettle with water and prepared the filter for the coffee. She hummed a little tune to calm her nerves and felt her back pocket here and there to make sure that she still had her small pepper spray bottle if anything happens. With a cup of coffee on one hand and cup of Camille tea on the other, she returned to the living room.

"Ah sorry I forgot to tell you the WIFI password. Here pass me your phone." stated Wei Hui as she extended her hand. Seeing a skeptical look in his eyes, Wei Hui commented, "I usually have a lazy habit of having only one password for most things, so I feel more secured if I enter in the password, since we're practically strangers."

"It's good that you know." remarked Tian Long sarcastically.

-...this fellow...makes me want to stop doing good deeds for others.- Thought Wei Hui.