Rebirth: Enchantment at the Golden Summit

Chapter 7: Understanding

Adit led Ge Sihan out of the old lady’s room. As he closed the door with both hands and looked down at Ge Sihan, all he could see was the top of her head.

He raised an eyebrow and bent down to look at her face.

Adit had already gained some insight into how to observe this little girl.

　　They couldn’t communicate purely through words, so whenever Adit wanted to speak to Ge Sihan, he had to watch her closely—observing every flicker of her eyes, every physical gesture, and every subtle expression—to confirm whether she understood him.

　　So he could easily tell now that the little girl was thoroughly frightened, merely holding back her tears.

　　Poor thing, he thought. What will become of this child after I’m gone?

　　With this thought, he felt a slight sense of unease.

　　Although this child was his own, she felt more like a helpless, vulnerable child he’d encountered in the middle of nowhere—once you’ve reached out to help, you can never just walk away. Because you know that this little life’s very existence depends entirely on you.

　　Ge Sihan felt a shadow fall across her vision. She knew Adit was watching her, so she took a deep breath to steady her emotions, looked up at him, and waited for him to speak. But Adit didn’t say anything; he was just frowning slightly, gazing at her with a look of distress.

Her eyes widened, and she tilted her head slightly in confusion. Adit just smiled, sighed, and ruffled her hair.

　　Two weeks later, a Golden Top sedan picked up a woman in her thirties from the city.

Usa attended middle school in the city from Monday through Friday. The Golden Top driver dropped her off at school every morning and picked her up in the afternoon. The day before, Adit had specifically instructed the driver to pick up someone at the address he provided after dropping off Usa.

　　The person Adit had specifically asked the driver to pick up was a private tutor found by one of his subordinates: “A woman, reliable, gentle, kind, and patient”—and the truly most important thing, which Adit didn’t say but the driver understood—

　　She must be discreet.

　　Since she must be discreet, naturally they had to choose someone they could control—one of “their own.”

　　After the tutor entered, she introduced herself to the servant, Ging, and mentioned that Adit had invited her. Ging asked her to wait in the hall for a moment and hurried upstairs to fetch Adit.

　　Adit was in his study handling paperwork. Upon hearing the news, he tidied his desk and went downstairs to greet the guest.

　　After exchanging greetings with a wai, Adit asked Ging to prepare refreshments for the guest and led Ms. Tasapong into his study.

　　Although Adit was young, he had a profound demeanor; his half-smile conveyed an air of unwavering authority. Though Ms. Tasapong was more than a decade his senior, she did not dare to underestimate him.

She came from a respectable family, which allowed her the good fortune to receive an education. When she sought employment, she smoothly became an elementary school teacher and married a man from an equally well-to-do family.

　　But tragedy struck: her husband had died in an accident six months earlier. Besides their daughter, she had two elderly relatives to care for. Although their family was well-off and a primary school teacher’s salary was respectable, the medical bills from her husband’s treatment had nearly depleted their savings. Now, they were barely scraping by, managing only to maintain a semblance of dignity.

　　If she wanted her child to grow up well and continue her education, the financial costs involved were simply beyond their means given their current income.

　　As a native of Chiang Mai, how could she not be deeply impressed by the Sirodom family?

　　So, when someone approached her, telling her that a family needed a private tutor and mentioning that renowned surname, she agreed without much hesitation.

　　Adit and Ms. Tasapong chatted over coffee for over twenty minutes. Finally satisfied, he picked up the phone on his desk and called the living room, instructing the servant to bring Ge Si-han to the study.

After hanging up, he said to Ms. Tasapong, “Saengkea is a bit special. She isn’t in the best of health, so I hope you won’t be too surprised later. Please treat her with kindness and patience.”

　　Teacher Tasapong was taken aback but smiled and replied, “Certainly.”

She had already braced herself for the possibility that this child might be a little terror.

Amid Teacher Tasapong’s lingering nervousness, there was a knock at the study door.

The door was ajar, so when Teacher Tasapong turned to look, she could clearly see a pale-faced yet beautiful and well-mannered little girl walking in.

　　The little girl stood in the center of the study, nodded to Adit in greeting, and said in a delicate voice, “Khun Lop.”

Adit stood up, and Teacher Tasapong instinctively stood up as well. She watched as Adit walked over to the little girl, placing a hand protectively on her back, and introduced her: “Saengkea, this is Teacher Tasapong. “Teacher Tasapong, this is Saengkea.”

Ge Si-han quietly watched Teacher Tasapong until Adit tapped her on the back. Realizing it was her turn to greet him, she mimicked his gesture, pressing her palms together and saying, “Teacher Tasapong.”

　　Teacher Tasapong returned the greeting with a touch of confusion: “Khun Saengkea.” She didn’t notice anything unusual.

Adit saw through Teacher Tasapong’s confusion and said calmly, “Saengkea is ill and has lost her memory; she can’t understand anything right now… As I said, if you accept this job, you’ll have to be very patient with her… Because she is my precious younger sister.”

　　Teacher Tasapong understood what Adit Sirodom, the young head of the Sirodom family, meant. She pressed her palms together and bowed her head. “Thank you for this opportunity, Khun Adit. I will do my utmost to help, teach, and protect Khun Saengkea, so she may grow up healthy and well.”

　　Adit smiled faintly: “Very well, in that case, we can sign the contract.”

　　Well, Adit was, after all, a top student at law school; naturally, he believed in the power of the law… the power of authority.

　　As for Ge Si-han, she didn’t understand a thing; she simply stood by and watched quietly.

　　A little over ten days after signing the contract with the tutor in the study that day, Adit left.

　　When he left, Usa took Ge Sihan downstairs to see him off. She watched as suitcase after suitcase was loaded into the car. The old lady, who usually only came down to the dining room for meals on rare occasions, was there too, saying some parting words to Adit with obvious reluctance.

Ge Sihan had already begun learning Thai, but since she couldn’t reveal that she spoke Chinese and English—and thus couldn’t receive bilingual instruction—her progress wasn’t particularly fast.

　　Teacher Tasapong stayed at Golden Peak Monday through Friday to teach her, just as one would teach a toddler learning to speak—except she was pleasantly surprised to discover that this “child” was exceptionally quick-witted and had a remarkable memory.

So, she still couldn’t understand a word of what was being said. She could only grip Usa’s hand nervously as she watched Adit.

　　She realized—Adit, the man with whom she had never truly communicated, but who was the only person in this “home” besides Usa who could protect her, was leaving.

　　After a long while, the old lady, overcome by grief and emotion, grew too weak to continue. Adit called for a servant to quickly wheel her back to her room in a wheelchair, and only then did he have time to turn his attention to Usa and Ge Sihan.

　　It was Saturday, and Teacher Tasapong wasn’t there, but Adit had already given instructions in advance: Teacher Tasapong was to send Ge Sihan’s monthly progress reports to his subordinate, who would then fax them to him.

　　The powerful matriarch didn’t care about Ge Si-han’s situation, but he couldn’t ignore it. After all, he was the one who hired the teacher. If Ge Si-han were bullied by a teacher he had hired, what kind of situation would that be?

This was one of the ways he showed he valued Ge Si-han and ensured she wouldn’t be mistreated when he wasn’t around to see it.

Usa was only twelve years old. His parting words to her were simply: “Study hard and take good care of your younger sister.”

　　Usa pressed her palms together in a prayer gesture: “Yes. Khun Adit, I wish you a safe journey and look forward to the day you return.”

Ge Si-han couldn’t say a word; she could only stare blankly and silently at Adit.

She wanted to ask, “Are you leaving? Where are you going? How long will you be gone?” She wanted to say, “If you’re not here, it’ll just be me and my sister. I’m a little scared…”

　　But she also knew that Adit had already done more than enough for her. So she pressed her lips together, pressed her palms together, and sincerely wished in her heart that wherever this handsome young man went, he would have all his wishes granted and be happy and healthy.

　　She couldn’t speak yet, but her eyes had already conveyed her thoughts completely—and to Adit, it was all too clear.

Adit gazed quietly back at her, clasping his hands in return: “Thank you, Saengkea. I also wish for your speedy recovery, and for you to always be healthy and happy.”

Then he left.