Journey of Lies

Jiang Xia slept very poorly that night.

She kept having dreams: dreams of being rejected when she confessed her feelings to Xu Xiujie in high school, dreams of him approaching her during her freshman year of college and bringing up the nude model incident, dreams flashing back to the past ten years, until finally…

On her wedding day, she walked up the steps in her dream wedding dress and smiled sweetly as she stood before him.

"Xiu Jie".

"Jiang Xia, where is my painting?"

"What?"

"Where did my painting go? My painting!"

Xu Xiujie's expression gradually contorted. Jiang Xia was held tightly by his arm and couldn't move. She struggled weakly, saying, "Xiujie, let go of me! You're hurting me..."

Jiang Xia opened her eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling fan. Her brain went blank for a few seconds before she finally woke up from her dream, her back soaked with sweat.

I still couldn't move my arm. Looking down, I realized it was tangled in the thin blanket.

*

At 8:30, Jiang Xia, dressed neatly, waited for Ren Jiayi at home.

Hearing the car horn, she quickly grabbed her bag and went out. Ren Jiayi, sitting in the car, rolled down the window and waved to her: "Get in quickly, we're going to be late."

Jiang Xia opened the passenger door and got in, listening to Ren Jiayi explain the situation of the real estate agency.

"This Thai agent is quite capable. Although he is Thai, he speaks excellent Chinese and is a well-known agent in Chiang Mai."

Jiang Xia nodded, then hesitated, "Won't it be very expensive?"

"I met him as soon as I arrived in Chiang Mai, so I'll definitely give you a friendly price. But he's usually quite busy. You know, popular agencies like his have a lot of listings and clients. He only gave us a little time."

Jiang Xia glanced at the navigation system mounted in the middle; it would take another twenty minutes to arrive.

As Ren Jiayi drove, she observed Jiang Xia's complexion: "Your dark circles are so heavy, are you having trouble sleeping?"

"Hmm..." Jiang Xia rubbed her throbbing temples and couldn't help but ask, "Jiayi, is the neighborhood safe?"

"Not bad, right? What's wrong? Are you scared at night?"

Jiang Xia simply told Ren Jiayi that there were no paintings in the house.

Ren Jiayi looked nervous. "You mean, you suspect a thief broke into your house?"

Jiang Xia nodded and then shook her head. "If thieves are acting randomly, why would they steal paintings that are hard to take? By the way, Xiu Jie still has a few watches. If they wanted to take them, wouldn't it be easier to take the watches?"

The car slowly came to a stop at the traffic light. Ren Jiayi turned her head and asked with concern, "Jiang Xia, are you sure Xiu Jie left the painting at home?"

"That's impossible. After he returned to China, he mentioned several times that he wanted to sell his house in Chiang Mai..."

"Could he have some mental issues? Didn't you say he has a regular psychiatrist in Bangkok? Maybe he's mistaken?"

Jiang Xia remained silent for a moment, her mind growing increasingly chaotic. "Jiayi, I suspect Xiu Jie put those paintings in that woman's house."

"You've already decided he betrayed you?" Ren Jiayi asked incredulously.

"I really don't know, but there are strange bed sheets in the house, and that kind of aromatherapy... and many other things are weird." Jiang Xia had a terrible headache, so she took out painkillers from her bag and took them.

Ren Jiayi gripped the steering wheel tightly and stopped commenting on the matter.

*

Upon arriving at a coffee shop, Jiang Xia followed Ren Jiayi inside and saw a man in a suit sitting in a corner looking at a laptop.

"Hi, Ah Kuan, long time no see!" Ren Jiayi greeted him familiarly.

The man named A-Kuan looked up at the two of them, grinned, and the tight flesh on his face immediately squeezed his eyes into two slits.

"Jiayi, it's been a long time."

A-Kuan's Mandarin had a Northeastern accent. Jiang Xia stepped forward and shook hands with him. A-Kuan was about the same height as her and looked very approachable. He wore a pink shirt under his gray suit jacket, and his hair, which was styled with hair wax, had each strand pointing in its own direction.

"Hello, may I ask your name?"

"Jiangxia".

"Miss Jiang, you have a great presence, a true beauty." Ah Kuan smiled broadly and gestured for the two to sit down.

Ren Jiayi whispered to Jiang Xia, "Don't mind it, that's how they are in this industry."

Jiang Xia smiled and shook her head, saying it was nothing.

Although Ah-Kuan looks like a character from an anime, he immediately showed his professional attitude once he got down to business.

"Ms. Jiang, your husband's community was very popular ten years ago. Our government once planned to develop that area. That year was also my first year in the industry. At that time, housing was in short supply, and as a newcomer, I could only watch my seniors promote it."

Ah-Kuan clasped his hands together, frowning as he stared at the computer screen. "Did your husband tell you how much this house cost on the secondhand market?"

"Seven hundred thousand RMB, but that price is based on exchange rates from a few years ago. How much could it sell for now?"

Ah Kuan shook his head repeatedly, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper. "These days, it's hard to sell for even a million RMB..."

"How could that be?" Jiang Xia raised her voice involuntarily, but since it was a public place, she could only lower it and say, "I checked online, and similar apartments in this area can sell for 1.6 million. My husband bought it for 700,000 because the landlord at the time..."

"Miss Jiang, if you only look at things online, then you don't need to come to me. I'll explain it to you using my professional knowledge." Ah Kuan crossed his arms, sat back, and his face showed displeasure.

Jiang Xia was speechless for a moment.

Ren Jiayi tried to smooth things over, tugging at Jiang Xia's arm and whispering in his ear, "You must have been looking at those posts on Xiaohongshu, right? The real estate agents there are targeting Chinese buyers, exploiting the information gap to give people the illusion that Thai real estate is a great investment opportunity..."

At this moment, Ah Kuan got up to answer the phone.

Ren Jiayi then said, "Let me tell you the truth, I've been in Chiang Mai for so many years and I've saved up quite a bit of money. Have you seen me buy a house? If speculating on real estate and investing in property is really that profitable, why wouldn't I buy one?"

Jiang Xia pondered. Along the way from Bangkok, he had seen quite a few villas and apartments for sale, mostly in a combination of English and Chinese, with almost no Thai written in them. It seemed that the target market was foreigners like them.

"Take Xu Xiujie for example. I remember you said he bought it at almost half price. Even if the price has dropped, it's still worth a million now. Chiang Mai builds a lot of properties every year. The sale here includes the land, and apartments are even cheaper..."

"I don't really know much about it, but I might need to discuss this price with Xiu Jie's parents."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Ah-Kuan returned.

"Jiayi, I don't think Miss Jiang has made up her mind yet. Why don't you find someone else to help you? I have other guests who want to view the property, so I'll have to go now."

Seeing that Ah Kuan was about to leave after shutting down his computer, Ren Jiayi quickly stood up and persuaded him, "Ah Kuan, this is my friend's first time in Thailand. She doesn't know anything about these things. Please be understanding."

Ah Kuan straightened his shirt collar, sighed softly, and sat down again: "I really did it for your sake."

Jiang Xia was a little embarrassed and said that he would add A-Kuan's contact information first, and then contact him after discussing it with his family.

Since there was still time, A-Kuan put away his computer and, in a friendly tone, explained the details of the house in Thailand to Jiang Xia.

The pandemic has had a significant impact on Thailand, as it is the only country in Southeast Asia whose economy is primarily based on tourism.

The relationship between China and Thailand is that China is a major source of tourists, and the entry and exit process involves quarantine periods and numerous procedures, so many people naturally give up the idea of ​​traveling abroad.

"Jiayi knows that Chiang Mai lost 80% of its population in those years, and I almost had to change careers," A-Kuan said with self-deprecation.

"After China lifted its lockdown, tourism to Thailand boomed again, but it's hard for property prices to recover. If I had to give a suggestion, I would recommend renting it out, as the rent-to-price ratio here is much better than in China."

"Yeah, Xiaxia, it's good to rent it out. Hire a property manager and let the manager manage a portion of the rent each month. You don't have to worry about anything while you're in China," Ren Jiayi said to A-Kuan. "Do you remember my landlord? He's a Malaysian Chinese. I haven't seen him for over a year."

Jiang Xia nodded silently. If they really couldn't sell it for the ideal price, renting it out would be a fallback option.

However, Mr. and Mrs. Xu are getting old, and they are unlikely to choose to settle abroad, let alone deal with renting a house here when they get old.

"By the way, Ms. Jiang, does your unit come with a swimming pool?"

"Will bringing it increase the price?"

Ah Kuan shook his head in disappointment. "The maintenance cost of the pool is very high. Young people here like to buy apartments, while older people in Europe and America prefer villas. However, they are too lazy to maintain the pool, which is a downside."

"What about the school district? Isn't a new international school going to open nearby?"

Upon hearing this, Ah Kuan checked the news on his phone and found the local reports he had saved before. They were all in Thai, and only a few pictures were recognized by Jiangxia as on-site survey photos of land planning.

"As you all know, Thailand's infrastructure is poor and slow. The approval was issued three years ago, but there have been many issues in between, and construction has only just begun. It will take at least three years to complete. Thailand's speed cannot compare to China's speed."

Jiang Xia's head throbbed even more, and she couldn't help but exchange a glance with Ren Jiayi, feeling utterly uncertain about her future.

Ren Jiayi squeezed her hand and asked in help, "When you sell it, you can use the school as a selling point. Who knows, some families who bring their children to accompany them to study might be willing to buy it as an investment property?"

"You're the ones in a hurry now, the buyers aren't."

After separating from A-Kuan, Jiang Xia's hopeful heart had long since plummeted to rock bottom.

She called Xu Xiujie's mother, but didn't dare to tell her the result directly. She only said that the price might not be ideal.

Just half a month after Xu Xiujie left, when the topic was brought up again, the person on the other end of the phone still couldn't stop choking up, and Jiang Xia could only hang up hastily.

"Don't think about it anymore. Let Ah Kuan look for a buyer first. Maybe he'll find a suitable one?"

Hearing Ren Jiayi's words of comfort, Jiang Xia nodded, "I hope so."

Ren Jiayi suggested having hot pot at her house, but Jiang Xia was worried it wouldn't be convenient, only to be told—

"I had a fight with Oscar, and he moved out last night."