"I am not letting Ah Dai go." Si Ning said softly wondering if it was the best decision.
Si Ning might not be a great person but he knows right from wrong and after seeing how Ah Dai had to work after losing his arm yet acting like he wasn't in pain just to please him was something he couldn't ignore and he wasn't about to let Ah Dai go because he lost an arm. All the snacks and tea Ah Dai made for him was satisfactory, he had no idea of who made the meals he had been eating but it doesn't taste so good but after Ah Dai woke up and made him tea and the meal Ji Ran brought for him after was delicious and he suspected Ah Dai might have one or two things to do with it.
"I heard the arm he lost wasn't even your fault." Xiu TianZhao stood up. "I will leave you to sort out things but I will still leave Xiao Pei with you and also quit looking at me like that, if I didn't know you well I will think you are trying to seduce me."
Si Ning frowned at Xiu TianZhao's last statement since he had no idea about his expression but he could bet his eyes were half-closed and the way he slouched on his seat wasn't sexy at all so he had no idea what Xiu TianZhao was talking about. He watched Xiu TianZhao leave probably to go back to sleep and he couldn't help the jealousy he felt of how lax Xiu TianZhao looked.
Now to deal with Ah Dai.
"General." A tall lean man with a serious hard face walked in dressed in black robes and knelt on one knee. "Xiao Pei reporting in."
For Si Ning to be honest, he doesn't want to order someone with a serious hard look on an errand.
"Stay around, I will call you when I need you." The best solution Si Ning could come up with was to keep Xiao Pei at arm's length.
For Si Ning to get used to the unfamiliar faces around him was a huge task and he wasn't mentally prepared to add Xiao Pei yet, at least not when he was tired and wouldn't be able to look at Xiao Pei carefully for him to be able to judge him. It was one habit Si Ning had no control over.
"Yes General." Xiao Pei saluted him and exit the room swiftly like he never even appeared before Si Ning.
"Call me Ah Dai, the rest of you stay outside." Si Ning ordered without looking up at the first person that came in as soon as Xiao Pei left.
"General... General.." Ji Ran called shifting from one foot to the other. "If you need a massage, I can do it since Ah Dai...."
"Just do as I say." Si Ning cut Ji Ran off. The last thing he would ever want was Ji Ran to give him a massage.
Ah Dai came in immediately and fell on his knees, his hand trembling. Si Ning doesn't know much about this world and he had never met Ah Dai till he transmigrated to this world but looking at him, he could tell Ah Dai wasn't a bad person. Si Ning had always wanted to be a filthy rich famous Actor and have a lot of maids in cute maids outfits and butlers that would dress up and would be a feast for his eyes and the maids kneeling in front of him to serve him wine but seeing Ah Dai serving him tea shattered his dreams but yet he knew he doesn't want Ah Dai to stop working for him.
"Take a seat, I will ask you questions and I want you to only reply." Si Ning had to give his instructions clearly when he saw tears welled up Ah Dai's eyes as he took his seat, sitting at the edge, looking like he had committed a great sin and waiting for his judgment.
"Ah Dai will do his best to answer correctly Young Master." Ah Dai replied his head slightly hung down, probably to hide his teary eyes.
First was for Si Ning to try to understand the person behind the mask. Si Ning blinked to focus his attention on Ah Dai, trying to see if Ah Dai really loves working for him or only works for him because he was ordered to do so or he just accepted it because he had no choice as his duty.
"So Ah Dai, do you want to continue working for me, or do you have something you want to do perhaps learn a trade?" Si Ning asked staring at the vacant space Ah Dai's left arm should be.
"No Young Master, Ah Dai only wants to serve you." Ah Dai said too quickly a little self-conscious about his missing arm.
"If you want to start a business like involve in a trade, I will give you the money and I do not expect you to return it." Si Ning tried a different approach. If he would give Ah Dai money without asking for a return then Ah Dai had no choice but to accept it.
"No young master, you have done many things for me, Ah Dai dares not leave you." Ah Dai said, his eyes beseeching.
Dealing with Ah Dai was more complicated than Si Ning thought and Si Ning was itching to slap the stack of papers on the table on Ah Dai's head.
"Ah forget about the past, pretend me in front of you is a stranger, now act like you are drunk and talking to me the stranger you just met in a tavern now tell this stranger what your dream is?" Si Ning nodded, a bit impressed with the way he constructed his words.
"Young master please do not throw me away." Ah Dai cried as he quickly jumped out of his chair to kneel.
Si Ning slammed his hands on the table making Ah Dai jolted and shivered in fright. "Ah Dai, just answer my question!" He was too tired to yell but seeing unreasonable Ah Dai gave him the strength to do so.
He had his hands full trying to cope with his reality, a world and position he wasn't used to, a world without technology and oddly he had been coping well even though he was annoyed and kept showing how displeased he was but he couldn't help it and all he was asking of now was for Ah Dai to be truthful.
"Ah Dai does not have a dream... Please young master, let me continue to serve you, Ah Dai dares not have a dream." Ah Dai started fidgeting, his eyes pleading.
Si Ning could now see it was difficult to understand people in this world and being frustrated made him stood up and swing his ponytail backward since he couldn't rack his hands in his neatly packed hair, he was feeling like he would run crazy if he continues his discussion with Ah Dai.
The discussion was impossible, trying to understand Ah Dai was impossible.