Mike Xiao

Mike Xiao, a character from the Wishful Thinking book, is the CEO of an energy company and Charlie Carmichael's best friend. He is first seen in Chapter 6.

Appearance
Mike has short black hair, brown eyes and tanned skin. He wears a white dress shirt, a gray tie with vertical white stripes, and a black suit.

Personality
Although he appears to be calm and friendly, he is smooth, shrewd, and confident. He is prepared to bribe his way if needed.

Wishful Thinking

 * Chapter 6: Mind Games
 * Chapter 12: Second Thoughts (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 13: Mind Over Matter (Mentioned; physical appearance determinant)
 * Chapter 14: Think Again (Mentioned)

Charlie Carmichael
Mike has known Charlie since they were 10 years old. During a Boy Scout camping trip at Waterstone Park, Mike had gotten lost and Charlie had found him. They've been best friends ever since. Charlie keeps inviting Michael to go hiking, not realizing that Michael gave up hiking, as revealed by the latter's thoughts. In Chapter 12, it is revealed that Mike is the CEO of Cycron, an oil company that Charlie Carmichael is a silent partner in. Cycron built a pipeline in Oak Hills which resulted in the water getting contaminated and numerous people and livestock getting sick. Shortly afterwards, men from Oasis Unlimited came to the farmers, including the Morgensterns, and offered them money checks to keep them silent.

Anna Koishi
Anna Koishi is Charlie Carmichael's campaign manager. They are shown interacting on a professional level, as Mike refers to her as Charlie's right hand. It is Anna who brings up the name Oasis Unlimited, which appears to be a shell company as it has no physical street address, working phone number, nor website.

Your Character
In Chapter 6, when Charlie invites you to his party, if you try mingling first, you try striking up a conversation with him and fail. It takes Anna to help reintroduce you. You overhear that he stopped vacationing after buying his first island, indicating that he owns several islands. If asked about current projects, Mike tells you that his company's operations are dull and that he doesn't want to bore you. In a premium scene, you can give him advice on how to deal with two of his executives fighting with each other before it affects his business. In the same scene, he also asks Barbara Ebert if she is going to attend the yacht party next weekend since he hasn't seen her there for some time.

If you took the premium scene in Chapter 6, you can contact either Barbara or Trey Sheldon for information on Charlie and Oasis Unlimited in Chapter 10. Both of them pulled their funding from Charlie Carmichael, and both tell you to investigate Oak Hills to find your dirt there. In Chapter 12, if you have gained enough trust with Justin Morgenstern, he will show you a picture that he took of Mike when the latter came to their farm with one of said checks from Oasis. If you took the premium scene in Chapter 6, it gives you Mike's contact information and opens a scene in Chapter 13, where you confront him in his office. You record his reaction without him noticing: even if you tell him to do what is right, he says it is more cost effective to make the farmers sell their land to him. He wants to bribe the others. His security then ushers you out of his office. In Chapter 14, you play your recording of his statement, and show Justin's photo of Mike bribing the farmers live on TV as proof for Carmichael's involvement.

Ellen Thompson
In Chapter 4, Ellen Thompson starts her investigation into what is happening in Oak Hills. Even though her story is bumped from feature in favor of your story of the library fundraiser, she still works to uncover the truth behind the scenes. Eventually, she comes to your apartment to compare notes about Cyron, Oasis Unlimited, Oak Hills, Mike Xiao, and Charlie Carmichael.

Trivia

 * His character model is frequently used in the Choices universe, but was first used as Michael Kim in Veil of Secrets.
 * Since his first name is Michael, he shares the same name as Mike Darwin from the Endless Summer series, Michael Harrison from the High School Story series, Michael Kim from Veil of Secrets, Mickey Dalton from The Nanny Affair series, Michael Spoors from the Queen B series and Michael from Open Heart: Third Year.
 * The name Michael is of Hebrew origin and means "gift from God".