This Is The Only Way

Feng Xuan knew that she was going to regret whatever it was that she was about to do when the door opened. It was only a crack but it was enough for her to see the eyes of the person behind.

The man was smaller than she thought and his face was lined with age. His eyes light and surprised as he looked over Ma Min and her. She could not even make her face show an expression.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Hello," said Ma Min in a cheery voice. "We are renting from the floor above. We just learned that we have a leaking pipe from under our sink and wanted to make sure that your ceiling is doing fine so we can call someone who can fix it."

The man looked over his shoulder. "I don't think there's anything wrong with my ceiling."

"Can we take a look?" Ma Min's voice was sweet as honey. Feng Xuan didn't think that she would be capable of that. "My friend knows a thing or two about ceilings."