Ying Qingcang was in the midst of changing Xin Qing"s clothes when he heard the words she screamed. He ceased moving at what he heard. Instantly, the worry and anger on his face vanished. His eyes contained nothing but warmth and tenderness. He could no longer contain his smile.
"Argh... What on earth am I going to do with you?" Ying Qingcang said as he carefully positioned Xin Qing under the covers. He kissed her forehead and stroked her face, staring at her. She called out his name when she felt endangered. No doubt the most instinctive reaction she performed. It was clear that she was unable to let him go. It was clear she still loved him deeply, and yet she chose to leave.
Ying Qingcang released another sigh. He was afraid that Xin Qing would keep trying to avoid him if he was too nice to her. For this reason, he appeared before her in a way that he knew infuriated her. That way, she would at least remember him, even if in anger. If she really wanted things to be this way, then he would play along. Regardless, she still had to return to his side, be it after two years, or any number of years for that matter.
Xin Qing felt like her head was ready to explode. Just when she reached up to ma.s.sage her head, she felt a hand pressing down on her forehead with just the right amount of strength. Feeling comfortable, Xin Qing said, "Thanks. But you can press a bit harder!"
"Alright," a voice answered. Satisfied, Xin Qing tried to go back to sleep. All of a sudden, her eyes shot open. She was awake now.
"You... How... What are you doing here?"
Ying Qingcang ma.s.saged her temples. "I pa.s.sed by your house and saw you pa.s.sing out in front of your door. Out of the kindness of my heart, I picked you up and carried you inside. But you didn"t want me to leave. You even dragged me into bed, demanding I sleep with you," Ying Qingcang said, lowering his head. Xin Qing worried about this. Xin Qing lowered her head and followed his gaze. She found that she practically laid on top of Ying Qingcang, clinging to him like an octopus.
"Ah!" she shouted and scrambled off of him. She fell off the bed in a heap. Ying Qingcang changed his posture and leaned casually against the headboard. "You don"t have to get so worked up. I won"t ask you to take any responsibility."
Xin Qing covered her face and rushed into the bathroom. Ying Qingcang pursed his lips and dressed before he headed downstairs. By the time Ah Che brought lunch, Xin Qing still had not come down. Ying Qingcang had no choice but to go upstairs to call her down.
"Are you planning to live there?" Ying Qingcang said, knocking on the door.
Xin Qing"s hidden voice seeped out. "Just leave me alone and go!"
"I took care of you for the whole night, and this is how you repay me? By chasing me out?" Ying Qingcang laughed mockingly. "Fine then. I"ll go."
The door opened. Xin Qing stood there with both hands covering her face. Her eyes peeked through from the gaps between her fingers. "I... I"ll go prepare lunch."
When she got down, she found the table already set and filled with various dishes. Now she felt even worse. "I know this restaurant. It always has a long queue, and it"s so far from here. You... Go get some rest after you eat!"
"Now that"s more like it," Ying Qingcang said. He sat down and ate his meal, not once did he think of Ah Che, the actual person who queued up for the food.
Xin Qing sat opposite of Ying Qingcang. She lowered her head and shoved food into her mouth robotically.
"You"re seriously eating that?" Ying Qingcang said all of a sudden, staring at her.
Xin Qing inserted her chopsticks into her mouth. "What?" she asked. Then she jumped.
She spat out the thing she placed in her mouth.
"Why spit it out now?" Ying Qingcang asked goadingly.
Xin Qing gulped a mouthful of water. Even then, her mouth overflowed with the taste of the star anise from moments prior. After that unfortunate accident, she dared not s.p.a.ce out again. She finished her meal carefully. When she finished, Ying Qingcang once again handed her the box containing the diamond.
"I"ve already hired CK and left them specific instructions to a.s.sign the design task to you. CK decided to use your design for this necklace for the compet.i.tion at the end of this year."
Xin Qing took the box calmly and thanked him. "I"ll give it my best."
When she locked herself in the bathroom, she thought things over clearly. This was her path. It was the choice she had made. Now, it was no longer any of business of her"s what woman he married. What right did she have to be upset since this was her choice all along? Xin Qing could only comfort herself in such a way. At this point, comforting herself was all she could do.
"You won"t try to sabotage the design right?" Ying Qingcang asked all of a sudden.
In an instant, all of Xin Qing"s melancholic feelings wafted out the window and straight into the Pacific Ocean. She glared at Ying Qingcang. "Do you think I"m that type of person? You"ve just insulted my professionalism." She noticed Ying Qingcang still wore that strange look on his face, so she went on, "Plus, why would I even try to sabotage the design?"
"Why are you so testy? I was just messing with you," Ying Qingcang said, taking a sip of coffee. "Alright then, I"ll go take a nap. I"m flying back this afternoon."
Xin Qing panicked. "This... You"re leaving this afternoon?"
"Not willing to part with me?" The corners of Ying Qingcang"s lips curled as an evil smile shaped. Xin Qing lowered her head and went back to her soup. "As if," she mumbled incoherently.
Ying Qingcang stood up and nodded his head. "It"s best if you don"t. It"s not like I"d stay for you, anyway."
"Hehe. I can"t ask for anything better!" Xin Qing said, baring a toothy smile at Ying Qingcang"s back. With the way this man spoke these days, it was difficult to miss his presence. "Go away quickly, then. I can live my life in peace once you"re gone," she mumbled softly.
She did not notice the sudden pause in Ying Qingcang"s steps in the middle of the staircase. Xin Qing felt the sudden drop in temperature...
Xin Qing did not go to the airport that afternoon. She sent Ying Qingcang off at her door instead. She still stewed over her parting words when Ying Qingcang waved at him and got in the car.
It was Ah Che who poked his head out the window to say goodbye to her. As the car drove further away, Xin Qing"s eyes watered and reddened. She sniffed and went back inside. She ran into her bedroom and saw the diamond box on her desk. Opening the lid, she glanced at the sparkling pink diamond, cut to perfection. Unable to help herself, Xin Qing"s grinned.
Women really had no resistance for this type of thing. Things like diamonds won over any woman"s heart instantly, regardless of the type. She placed the lid back on the box and booted up her laptop. She had some researching to do.
The end of the year was still two months away. She owned no luxury of time. She had to come up with a design plan as soon as possible.
Inside Ying Qingcang"s office, Young Master Shen looked at him plaintively.
"If you keep this up, you might as well move the entire company to France," Young Master Shen said, hugging the throw pillow on the couch. The look on his face right then was like a wilted plant. "You went around chasing after your wife while leaving me behind to do the heavy lifting."
At those words, Ah Nan cut in. "I was the one who did most of the heavy lifting. You just signed your name on a few papers, that"s all."
"But you"re getting paid!" Young Master Shen pointed at Ah Nan. "But what about me? I"m literally doing free service!"
Ying Qingcang regarded the deadbeat way Yong Master Shen acted. After a while, he said, "You"re right. It"s been tough on you these days."
"You see! I told you!" Young Master Shen added hurriedly, "How are you planning to thank me, then?"
"I"ll arrange a vacation for you!" Ying Qingcang said.
Young Master Shen regarded him for a long while. He stood up. "No thanks. I can plan my own vacation." He turned to leave.
"Why, since when have you become so smart?" Ying Qingcang asked with mild surprise.
Young Master Shen rolled his eyes. "Hehe. Considering how despicable you are, I bet this vacation will take place in France. While I"m enjoying this vacation, I should take care of Xiao Qingqing on your behalf, am I right?"
"You"re wrong," Ying Qingcang said in a serious tone. "That wasn"t my plan at all. And speaking of taking care, it"s still uncertain who you"ll end up having to take care of once you"re there."
Young Master Shen"s eyes shone brightly. "Where are you sending me off to?"
Ying Qingcang tossed a folder to him. "This is what I"ve got on William. Take a look."
"Just one sheet?" Young Master Shen took out a piece of paper from the folder.
There were only a few lines on the paper, containing William"s date of birth, location of birth, his educational background, his current occupation and also a brief introduction of his family background.
"This is all we can find no matter how hard we tried," Ah Nan said, feeling a bit ashamed. There was nothing at all in that information that they could use.
Young Master Shen frowned. "This is way too suspicious."
"So you find it suspicious too!" Ying Qingcang leaned back in his chair. "How could anyone"s background be so clean? And let"s not forget the fact that he is a British n.o.bility through and through. His status and position doesn"t match anything on that piece of paper at all."
Young Master Shen chuckled humorlessly. "So... This is a fake. It"s been fabricated."
"What type of person can you think of that would require him to fake his entire life story?" Ying Qingcang said. "n.o.body knows what he"s really hiding. h.e.l.l, even his current ident.i.ty could be a fake."
"You want me to go to England?" Young Master Shen looked at him. "You know I don"t have much influence in England."
Ying Qingcang shook his head. "No. You need to go back to New York."
"No!" Young Master Shen balked at the mere notion of returning to his home.
"You have to go back. It"s much easier for you to dig up something useful once you"re back at your home base!" Ying Qingcang shot a glance at him.
Young Master Shen contemplated silently. "So what you"re saying is that this William is connected to the mob?"
"I don"t know," Ying Qingcang said with a shake of his head. "But since we can"t find out anything on our own, we can only ask your old man for help."
Young Master Shen planted himself face-first onto the couch. "Argh... I don"t want to go back and see him!"
"Fine. Then I"ll go. You stay here and take the helm of Ying Enterprises."
Young Master Shen jumped to his feet. "No, dont. I"ll go. You stay back!" After that, he ran out without a single backward glance.
"It"s like he"s afraid to stay here. What did you do to him?"
Ah Nan rolled his eyes. "Nothing. The main reason is that our floor is full of men. He said he"d go nuts if he hung around men all day."
Ah Nan changed the subject. "Young master, shall I post the photo of your stay in the young miss" home onto the academy"s website?"
Ying Qingcang thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No need. That family picture last time had done its job. Now everyone will know that she"s a married woman. There"s no need to post any more photos in the future."
"There"s one other thing," Ah Nan said, stroking her chin. "Xin Haoyu"s dead."
Ying Qingcang frowned. After a while he asked, "How did he die?"
"We sent out a couple of guys to encourage his gambling. But he ended up owing money to a bunch of loan sharks. He was hacked to pieces."
Ying Qingcang nodded. "And Zhao Jiali?"
"She has a sugar daddy now. Some old man, a nouveau riche from the north. She looks like she"s living a good life. She"s staying at a villa. Her daily activities consist of shopping and card games."
"Her comfort is my discomfort," Ying Qingcang said, smiling. "Find something to entertain her. We don"t want her to live too freely that she ends up forgetting the debts she still owes."
On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Xin Qing had no idea that Xin Yudie was the lone survivor of the Xin family. She kept herself busy in the library every day doing research. During that time, Meyer brought her lunch. Her busy life caught up to her, since she completely forgot about Ying Qingcang"s warning.
Stay away from Meyer...
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