Ying Qingcang had gone back to China. He had not spoken a word to Xin Qing when he left, because Xin Qing had made herself clear that she would not return with him even if it killed her.
"If you push me again, I"ll marry William." Those were the words that had made Ying Qingcang turn around and walk away. On the day he left, Xin Qing caught a glimpse of the plane soaring across the sky above her head. Then she started to cry. Her sobs were so intense that it was as if she was tearing her viscera apart. All that had scared Ah Che so much that he nearly called Ying Qingcang and begged for his return.
Young Master Shen stared at Ying Qingcang who had been working non-stop ever since their return from France. Young Master Shen could not stand it anymore, so he said, "Even if you exhaust yourself to death, it"ll be no use. You won"t be able to get Xiao Qingqing out of your mind."
Ying Qingcang was poring over a doc.u.ment. "Who says I"m trying to get her off my mind?" He answered without lifting his head.
"Then what"s with the long face you"ve been putting on every day..." Young Master Shen thought.
Young Master Shen pursed his lips. "Actually, if you look on the bright side, those who are getting married nowadays aren"t even virgins, right? Besides, didn"t Xiao Qingqing lose her virginity to you? Come on, man. This is just an accident. You need to stop brooding over it."
"Smack!" Ying Qingcang had tossed a folder to Young Master Shen. "Xin Qing didn"t," Ying Qingcang said.
Young Master Shen removed the folder that had hit him square in the face. "Didn"t? She didn"t what?" Young Master Shen stared at Ying Qingcang, his eyes growing wider by the second. "You mean Xiao Qingqing didn"t... That night with William—"
"Man, shut your trap," Ying Qingcang said, pretending that he was about to toss another object to Young Master Shen.
Young Master Shen slapped a hand over his own mouth, covering it. "How"d you know?" He asked through the gaps between his fingers.
"Because I know Xin Qing," Ying Qingcang said, leaning back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling. "If she really thought something had happened between William and herself, she wouldn"t have been that composed. Also, she wouldn"t have acted as if nothing had happened. That girl takes everything to heart."
"So you mean... Xin Qing knew that she hadn"t been... Well, you know. And that"s why her reaction was as if everything was fine?" Young Master Shen pulled in a breath. Something still did not sit right with him. "But what if she"s wrong?"
Ying Qingcang glared at the other man. "Good-for-nothing scoundrels really are incapable of kind words."
"Okay!" Young Master Shen raised his hands up high. "Fine. Just a.s.sumed that nothing happened, then. Are you planning to keep that Ailey in prison?"
"Serves her right for becoming someone else"s p.a.w.n. I wouldn"t have had the chance to get my hands on her if the person pulling the strings from behind didn"t have plans to frame her." Ying Qingcang rapped the surface of his desk. "I"m suspecting that this person is still targetting me."
Young Master Shen frowned. "But I"ve got to admit that I admire that person. You"ve found a worthy opponent this time around!"
"He"s not worthy at all," Ying Qingcang said in disdain. "He"s always targetting the people around him and the people I care about. I cannot respect such underhanded and lowly tactics."
Meanwhile, Xin Qing was curled up on the couch, wallowing in her own shame. She had been in such a state ever since Ying Qingcang left. She felt that this really was the final straw, and that the two of them really were over after this. Ying Qingcang was a proud man, and he would not want a woman who had slept with another man. It was by Xin Qing"s own connivance that Ying Qingcang had come upon that misunderstanding. She had deliberately refrained from explaining to Ying Qingcang that nothing had really happened between herself and William that night. Xin Qing stared at the rose on the table, and then she closed her eyes. Would everything be resolved if she married William? Would her suffering come to an end too? Ying Qingcang would be able to let go as well.
"Mommy!" Ah Sha waddled over to the couch. When Ah Sha saw the flowers on the table, she pushed them to the floor and gave them a few stomps. Behind the little girl, Ah Che inwardly made a V-gesture.
"Well done, Ah Sha! Bravo!" Ah Che thought.
"Ah Sha?" Xin Qing picked up the girl. "You don"t like flowers?"
Ah Sha glared at the roses on the floor as if she was staring at some kind of abomination. "Don"t like!"
"But didn"t you like them before?" Xin Qing asked, feeling odd. Everytime they went to the park, Ah Sha would always pick up a wild flower and then wear it on her head.
Ah Sha puffed out her cheeks. In her eyes, tears were churning and swirling. "Have flowers, then no daddy!"
"What are you talking about?" Xin Qing said in shock. "What do flowers have to do with daddy?"
Ah Sha wailed and began to cry. "Mommy doesn"t want Ah Sha and daddy anymore. Mommy wants to go with flower uncle."
A dark look formed on Xin Qing"s face. She glanced at Ah Che, who was about to sneak away.
"Hold it right there!" Xin Qing yelled. "What kind of nonsense have you been telling Ah Sha?"
Ah Che turned around. "I... I"m stating the truth!" He stole a glance at Xin Qing. "Young Miss, isn"t it your plan to go away with William?" Ah Che had been smart to replace the term "marry" with "go away". That was the only way Ah Sha could understand him.
"Waa..." Indeed, Ah Sha"s wailing grew even louder.
Xin Qing shot Ah Che a menacing glare, and then she quickly began to soothe Ah Sha. "Ah Sha, don"t cry. How can mommy not want Ah Sha!? Ah Sha is mommy"s precious baby." Ah Sha kept sobbing against Xin Qing"s chest. After a while, Ah Sha fell asleep after she became exhausted from crying. Xin Qing pa.s.sed Ah Sha to Aunt Tian, who brought the child upstairs. Just when she was about to start giving Ah Che a piece of her mind, the doorbell rang.
"I"ll get the door!" Ah Che sneaked away hurriedly. When he opened the door, a cold look went across his face instantly. "You still dare to show your face here?"
Xin Qing peered towards the door and saw Meyer standing at the doorway. The guy had a dispirited look on his face and his suit was full of creases and crinkles.
"What"s wrong with you?" Xin Qing invited him in. "Have a seat. Ah Che, help me prepare a cup of tea." Ah Che glared at Meyer before he went to the kitchen resentfully.
Meyer threw Xin Qing a pained look. "I know I"ve got no right to come see you let alone beg you." He grabbed Xin Qing"s hand all of a sudden. "Can you please not press charges against Ailey? I will take her overseas and never come back."
Xin Qing sighed. "Calm down first. Have some tea."
"She"s my little sister. Our parents had been so busy since she was young. I was the one who raised her. This is all my fault for not properly educating her!" Meyer covered his head with his hands. "I hate her too. But... She"s still my one and only sister. There were always only the two of us when we were young. Everyone just ignored us. We only had each other."
"Don"t you think your actions are doing more harm to her than good?" Xin Qing said, unable to hold back anymore. She was not a saint who could just forgive someone after they had schemed against her like that.
Meyer nodded. "I know, I know! I will educate her well from now on. Please give her a chance?" Meyer thought for a moment, and then he said, "I know that something like this isn"t acceptable for conservative easterners, but I heard that William had already proposed to you, and that he will take responsibility for you. Well... Since that"s the case, will you let Ailey go this once? Please?"
That was the last straw for Xin Qing. Now she was p.i.s.sed off. She never expected to hear those words from Meyer at all.
"Meyer, get out! From now on, we"re no longer friends. I don"t have a friend like you." Xin Qing stood up. "As for your sister, I won"t press charges. But you mark my words that she will run into even more trouble if things go on like this. Sooner of later, she will do something that brings death upon both of you."
"Thank you! Thank you, Xin Qing." Meyer stumbled towards the front door. Then he looked at Xin Qing deeply, his eyes filled with guilt. "Goodbye. You will definitely be happy!" A loud bang sounded as Xin Qing slammed the door shut.
Xin Qing could no longer bring herself to care about Meyer and his sister. Those two people had nothing to do with her life anymore. A few days later, Ah Che told her that Ailey had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
"Why was there even a trial?" Xin Qing could not believe her ears upon hearing the news.
Ah Che nodded. "She had bought the aphrodisiac from two of her online buddies. But the two buddies ended up dead after meeting with her. All evidence from the crime scene points to the fact that she had been the last person the deceased had come in contact with. In the computer of one of the deceased, there was a journal. One of the entries in that journal stated that Ailey had threatened to hire people to bring them harm if they didn"t obtain the drugs for her. The police suspect that the three of them had gotten into a quarrel and then Ailey murdered them."
For a long time, Xin Qing sat there in silence with a hand over her mouth. She knew just how out of control Ailey was. But to commit murder... She was far too daring!
"She brought it upon herself. Young Miss, you don"t have to feel bad for her," Ah Che said. From the way Xin Qing was acting, Ah Che thought that she was feeling sad for Ailey.
Xin Qing waved a hand. "I"m not feeling bad. Just a bit emotional, that"s all. I never expect things to turn out like this."
The next day, she went to the Academy"s library to do some research. There, she heard someone talking about Meyer"s withdrawal from the academy. He had even abandoned his plans to go to the United States. n.o.body knew where he went. Xin Qing pitied him. Everyone had to choose their own path. If Meyer could not pull himself together, then n.o.body could help him.
William had never shown up too, though he kept sending flowers to her place. Sometimes, a card would come with the flowers. Printed on the card were the words, "Have you come to a decision?" Xin Qing never responded to them. In truth, she had no idea what to do, so she avoided thinking about it. In the meantime, she had already completed the design for the jewellery she had recently been a.s.signed to, so today she had come to CK to hand in her design drawings. When she was on the way out, she b.u.mped into Randa, who she had not seen for a very long time.
"Hi!" Randa took the initiative to greet her.
Xin Qing looked at him warily. "Hi," she said, and then she stepped around him to be on her way.
"Come on, don"t be in such a hurry!" Randa right stepped into her path. "I need your opinion about a design-related problem. Come with me to my office!" Then, noticing Xin Qing"s refusal to move, Randa sighed. "Miss. This is the office, for G.o.d"s sake. What can I do to you? I"ll be screwed the moment you start screaming."
"Will it really just be a discussion about design?" Xin Qing asked doubtfully.
"What else will it be?" Randa looked at her funnily. "I know your status. There"s no way I"d do anything to you!"
Xin Qing followed Randa into his office. She had deliberately left the door open, just in case. Randa handed her a design drawing. "Take a look at this," he said. "Tell me whether this cabochon would go well with this ring."
"Not bad." Xin Qing glimpsed at the ring on the drawing. "It looks very nice."
Randa grinned and sat down beside her. "Do you know that Mr. Ying already has a fiance?"
"Why are you asking about this," Xin Qing said, moving her chair away in order to distance herself from him.
"Previously I went on a vacation to China, and I just so happened to run into him and his fiance at a dinner party. Looks like... You no longer have a sugar daddy now. Otherwise, you won"t be taking this job at CK. I mean, raising a child alone? Must be tough, right?" Randa"s hand was slowly sliding towards his pants.
Xin Qing sprang up to her feet. "That"s none of your business. I think we"ve got nothing more to discuss now." She turned around in preparation to leave.
"Drop the prudish maiden act! It"s not like you"ve never slept with a man before!" Randa stood up and tore his clothes off, revealing the ugly manhood between his legs. With his hand, he grabbed his manhood and gave it two pumps. The act was followed by his two moans which sounded downright revolting. "Why don"t you be with me? I"ll give you so much pleasure that you"ll feel like dying!"
"Ah!" Xin Qing screamed. She picked up the coffee pot on the desk and tossed it at the lower portion of Randa"s body. Randa never saw it coming. He never thought she would be able to keep enough wits about her to resist him. He did not manage to dodge in time. The freshly-brewed, hot coffee splashed him in just the right spot.
"Arrgh!" This time around, it was Randa who was screaming in agony. Xin Qing took the opportunity to run out. In one breath, she dashed out of CK"s building and kept running. She stopped only when she had reached the next street. With a hand on her chest, she sat down on the roadside, panting and gasping for air. In between gasps, her tears started to flow uncontrollably.
A voice sounded right then. "Why are you crying on the roadside again?"