I AM

Chapter 13

"It was Zhu Jiu again," Zhao Yunlan started and then explained what had happened at the restaurant.

Zhao Yunlan took out his phone, and together with Jia Qia, talked until late in the night.

The next morning, Shen Wei woke up and looked at his phone in a panic. He had lost time since last night - he was with Zhao Yunlan, who must have safely brought him home. He sighed with relief; yes, confiding in Zhao Yunlan had been a good thing.

He got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast, and was surprised to see Zhao Xin Chi also sitting at the breakfast table! Had he missed an important meeting or something?

"Good morning, Shen Wei," Zhao Xin Chi said carefully. Zhao Yunlan was also watching his face.

"Good morning all, and I sure need that workout today to work off last night's steak," he replied, letting them know in a subtle way that he was indeed Shen Wei. They had to be discreet in front of the house staff.

"We know what happened last night, Shen Wei. We ALL do," Zhao Xin Chi said.

"ALL?" Shen Wei asked in a small voice, looking quickly at Jia Qia who nodded.

"It was Miss Zhu Hong last night. Zhao Yunlan brought her home safely," Jia Qia said.

"It is time you take care better of yourself and get some professional help," Zhao Xin Chi continued.

"But I've been doing so much better lately," Shen Wei looked crestfallen.

"You obviously cannot handle Zhu Jiu outside of the office, yet. We thought being successful at work, plus having a new confidant -" he nodded towards Zhao Yunlan, "- were helping. And they do, but not enough."

"How long have you known, Jia Qia?" Shen Wei could not look at him, not knowing whether to feel betrayed, or pitiful.

"For some time. We've met several of the personalities, but could not tell you since you did not feel comfortable telling us," Jia Qia said. "I do not blame you, Sir. We were going through some staff changes back then, and we did not know who we could trust. We told the suspicious ones that you had "mood swings," of course. But now, all the present staff have been here for years, and they have all proven themselves loyal to you and your father," he finished, as everyone stood up and bowed with him.

Shen Wei recalled the changes in the staff years ago. He had not felt comfortable with most of those who had left; he felt they were spying on him, things were going missing, and when no one else was around, they treated him as though he was a stray animal, ignoring him, giving him inferior food. How could he have confided in any of those? Were they planted there by Zhu Jiu and his father?

Now he looked at those who stood, bowing to him. There were fewer staff compared to before, but as Jia Qia had said, they had been there for many years. Things remained in their places, his food was excellent, and until he became CEO, they treated him as a friend. They had kept his secret for all these years, respecting his privacy and never confronted him. He also now had Zhao Yunlan who had become a good friend and confidante, but if Zhu Hong had appeared last night just because of a few insults from Zhu Jiu, it was not enough.

"The doctor would have to be discreet," Shen Wei said resignedly with a sigh.

"I already have someone in mind. This person can be trusted," Zhao Xin Chi said.

Shen Wei took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It had been so long since his last session with a psychiatrist, and that was in the States. Although that doctor was not able to cure him, he was able to talk to someone about his problem and felt less alone. Who knew, now that he had more people around him, maybe he could make more progress.