"Are you done crying?" Ying Qingcang"s eyes swept across the women before his eyes. "If you"re done, leave quickly. Don"t linger at my house."
The group was chased out, and Ying Qingcang looked at Xin Qing, who was hugging Le Le. The scowl on his face faded slightly. "You"re finally back, my woman!" He thought.
Ah Sha was evidently the happiest person of all now that she could be together with both her daddy and mommy. Ah Sha had always slept beside Xin Qing when they were in France. That was why her tiny, innocent soul thought that she could now sleep beside her daddy and mommy at the same time. When it was time for bed, Ah Sha was placed into her crib in the baby room. Now lying in her wooden crib, Ah Sha finally realized that she was not going to get her wish after all. She opened her mouth and started bawling.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Ying Qingcang had Xin Qing on the countertop. He bit down on her earlobe as his hand continued its endless ministrations below them. Xin Qing peered at him through narrowed eyes. At the same time, her two hands moved to pinch his chest and she brought her lips closer to kiss him.
"Very good. You"ve got to keep that up!" Ying Qingcang withdrew his hand and joined their bodies together. Xin Qing attempted a glare, though her l.u.s.tful eyes rendered it completely ineffectual. She had no clue what had gotten into her these days. Now, she found herself reciprocating Ying Qingcang"s at will. She even yearned to stay by his side. She felt contented as long as she was in his arms.
Being separated for one year was not without its benefits after all. At least now the two of them felt the same urge and desire to join their bodies together.
Ying Qingcang carried Xin Qing to the bed and was about to carry on with their activities. That was when Aunt Tian knocked the door. "Young Master, Ah Sha"s crying and looking for you."
"Do not enter. Take her to bed."
"Wa..." At Ying Qingcang"s harsh tone, Ah Sha"s cries became louder. She kept calling for mommy as she cried.
Xin Qing shoved Ying Qingcang away and put on her night dress. She opened the door and took Ah Sha, whose body was convulsing with sobs. Ah Sha buried her head against Xin Qing"s chest and rubbed her face there. Both of her tiny arms wound themselves around Xin Qing"s neck, clinging tightly.
Ying Qingcang lay on the bed, glaring at them whereas Xin Qing stood there at the foot of the bed, cradling Ah Sha in her arms. Four eyes stared back at him. Well, as it turned out, n.o.body would be able to resist the gawking of two pairs of watery, pitiful eyes. Ying Qingcang shot out his arm. "Come here!" He said. Xin Qing released a cheer and pounced on him. Ah Sha, now lying between Xin Qing and Ying Qingcang, waved her tiny arms happily. Ying Qingcang held Xin Qing as he kissed her. Ah Sha quickly nuzzled her face at him. Ying Qingcang kissed the child too.
"Let"s sleep!"
Dimming the light, Ying Qingcang glanced down at the woman and child in his arms. His insides were instantly reduced to a pile of soft, gooey mush. Both of them were his life"s greatest happiness. He would kill anyone who tried to ruin his happiness.
Xin Qing went back to school the following day. After taking care of the paperwork and formalities, she could officially return to school during September in order to complete her fourth year. The school welcomed her return with zeal. Not only had the school exempted her from all academic fees, but they had also given her the best scholarship they could offer. Even though they knew that Xin Qing had no financial troubles whatsoever, they decided to use it as an incentive to keep Xin Qing in school. That way, they would be able to use Xin Qing"s fame as a top jewelry designer in order to promote the school, saying that she was a beautiful student with excellent achievements. That would definitely make the school look better in the eyes of the public. Also, the main campus had been extended during recent renovations. Their current building would be converted into a gymnasium. Because of that, the design department would be relocated to the main campus when the semester began.
Xin Qing finally yielded to the princ.i.p.al"s ardent demands and had agreed to give a speech during the welcoming ceremony for the school"s freshmen. After that, Xin Qing went to the hostel to help Zhang Mi with packing.
"The main campus is near my house, so I won"t be staying on campus starting from next semester," Zhang Mi said in the middle of packing. "Neither you nor Qianqian are here. So I"ll be alone like some kind of idiot."
Xin Qing nodded. "Mm. True."
"It"s pretty d.a.m.n far from your house, though. You practically have to cross half the city!"
"Nah. I"ve already arranged things with the princ.i.p.al," Xin Qing said, smiling gleefully. "He had agreed to allow me to skip the morning cla.s.ses. I"m also allowed to graduate regardless of my credits!"
Zhang Mi glared at her fiercely. "Wow. You designers are really something else! Literally using a backdoor."
"Oh... But I"ve applied for an internship position at CK on your behalf. You"ll be able to start your internship there once you graduate. Well, looks like you won"t be going then!" Xin Qing looked at Zhang Mi with a feigned conflicted look.
"Ah!" Zhang Mi yelled at the same time she pounced on Xin Qing. "Really? They agreed?"
Xin Qing raised her chin. "Of course!"
"You know, sometimes backdoors are meant to be used when the opportunity arises!" Zhang Mi patted Xin Qing"s shoulder.
Xin Qing booed at her. They threw themselves at each other in a tangle of hugs and cheers.
Just when they were walking out of the campus gates with their suitcases in tow, Ying Qingcang"s car approached them.
"Dang. Can he be even more G.o.dlike than that? Or did he plant a radar on you?" Zhang Mi said, staring at Ying Qingcang. Then she saw Young Master Shen poking his head from behind. "It"s called chemistry and being in sync. It"s a concept that"s beyond the comprehension of a nutty woman like you."
Zhang Mi sneered. "An animal like you would understand it even less."
Everyone had already gotten used to the fact that Zhang Mi and Young Master Shen would start bickering with each other the moment they met. Ah Che helped them with their suitcases, and then he asked Ying Qingcang, "Young Master, where shall we eat?"
"I want Thai!" Zhang Mi said, raising her hand. Her suggestion was outright ignored. Ying Qingcang glanced at Xin Qing. "There"s a new private restaurant in the New City. Why don"t we give that a try?"
Xin Qing nodded, smiling like a little bunny. Unable to help himself, Ying Qingcang pulled her into his arms. Facing them, Zhang Mi huffed in dissatisfaction. "The more you engage in PDAs, the quicker you"ll break up! Don"t say I didn"t warn you," she said.
Ying Qingcang glanced at her before he knocked the separator. "Ah Che, stop the car in front. Zhang Mi will get down there!"
"Ah! Don"t you know that you guys are the most compatible couple in the world? A talented man plus a beautiful woman. A heavenly match!" Zhang Mi threw an oily smile at Ying Qingcang. Young Master Shen tilted his head and looked at her. "Yeah. That doesn"t sound pathetic at all," he said.
Xin Qing did not expect to run into a familiar person at the restaurant. Of all people, she had to run into the person she hated the most.
"Long time no see indeed!" Zhao Jiali wore a purple cheongsam. A thick pearl necklace hung around her neck and her hair was pulled back into a tall bun behind her head. She looked wealthy and elegant. No wrinkles could be detected on her face, which was already pretty to begin with. For someone in their 40s, she was no doubt a beautiful woman.
Xin Qing frowned. She had no idea what Zhao Jiali was doing here. From the looks of it, she seemed to be the one in charge here?
"This is my restaurant!" Zhao Jiali declared boastfully. After that she covered her mouth and chuckled. "Of course, this is nothing compared to what President Ying has." Zhao Jiali clapped her hands. Immediately, a waiting staff came up to them and handed Zhao Jiali a golden card.
"Today, your meal is on me. Come often in the future. This is the VIP card!" She did not give the card to Xin Qing. Instead, she handed it to Ying Qingcang. Ying Qingcang did not even spare her a single glance. He turned to Xin Qing and spoke in a tender voice, "Let"s go. The food here is tainted. I don"t think it would taste good!"
Sneering, Zhao Jiali stared after Xin Qing and her companions. "Such uncultured people. Coming and going as they please!" A young woman stood behind Zhao Jiali.
The young woman looked at Zhao Jiali expectantly. "Aunt Zhao, are they your friends?" Zhao Jiali"s countenance immediately morphed into a smile. She turned her head and tugged at the young woman. "Xiaoru," Zhao Jiali said, "that"s the woman I told you about before. The one who kicked me out. She"s the daughter of my ex-husband." A pained look formed on Zhao Jiali"s face. "Looks like she still hates me."
Li Xiaoru would not be considered beautiful. Her appearance was average. Delicate, and maybe a little bit pretty. When she heard Zhao Jiali, she instantly began to comfort her aunt. "I think that"s just because she doesn"t understand you yet. Didn"t you say that she"s overseas? Now that she"s back, we should invite her to the restaurant more often. You"ll bond after interacting with each other for some time. It"s human nature."
"Ah!" Zhao Jiali patted Xiaoru"s wrist. "At least Xiaoru had a good head on her shoulders."
In the end, Zhang Mi got her wish and got to enjoy the Thai food she had been craving for. "I need to thank that woman!" Zhang Mi said gleefully as she chewed on crab meat. "But then she looks like she"s been living a good life."
Ah Che noticed the look that Ying Qingcang was shooting him. "I did plan to deal with her before," Ah Che hurried out an explanation. "But something happened to Young Miss, and somehow it just fell by the wayside."
"Look into it. See who she"s with now." Ying Qingcang wrapped an arm around Xin Qing. "Don"t worry. I won"t allow her to live so comfortably."
Because of her wounds, which had yet to fully recover, Xin Qing was not allowed to eat anything spicy. Right now, she was drinking stuffed coconut. When she heard Ying Qingcang"s comment, she mumbled something inaudible.
"You"re planning to let her off the hook, aren"t you?" Ying Qingcang knew his woman far too well. Just by looking at Xin Qing"s face, he could tell that she was being a saint again.
Xin Qing chuckled. "Well, it"s not that. I mean, I have you now and I"m living well. I"ve almost forgotten about everything that had to do with the Xin family. But when I saw her today again, everything came back all of a sudden. It feels like something from another lifetime. I guess I was a little shaken."
Ying Qingcang was pleased at what she said. It proved that Xin Qing was now feeling happy and secure because of him. Otherwise, she would not be reacting this way.
"Fine, then. As long as she doesn"t cause trouble for you, we"ll ignore her." Ying Qingcang placed more food on her plate. "Come on, eat before the pig gobbles up everything."
"Pfft..." Both Zhang Mi and Young Master Shen spit out whatever that had been in their mouth.
"Who are you calling a pig?"
"He"s the pig!"
Young Master Shen stared at Zhang Mi in annoyance. "He"s talking about you."
"Ah Che!" Zhang Mi asked Ah Che as she pointed a finger at Young Master Shen. "Who do you think Ying Qingcang was referring to? Me or him?"
Silently, Ah Che picked up his soup bowl. "I just know it"s not me," he mumbled.
Xin Qing watched the two bicker as she ate. Meanwhile, Ying Qingcang kept his eyes on her, fearing that she might choke herself if she kept laughing like that.
After the meal, Ah Che drove Xin Qing and Zhang Mi home. Ying Qingcang and Young Master Shen went back to the company.
"You"re really letting Zhao Jiali off the hook?" Young Master Shen sat on the couch haphazardly, staring at Ying Qingcang. He did not believe Ying Qingcang would be that merciful.
Ying Qingcang handed him a few pieces of paper. "Do you think that"s even possible? These are Ah Nan"s findings from before."
"A nouveau riche from the north east?" Young Master Shen read through the introduction printed on the paper. "Not exactly young, is he? Almost 70 years old!" He read a few more lines and was amused. "This woman"s got some luck, that"s for sure! I mean, how did she even encounter this type of thing?"
Zhao Jiali was chased out due to her attempt to seduce her cousin"s husband. But it seemed like the Universe had lent her a kind hand by setting up this cliched meet-cute with her current husband. She became homeless after she was chased out, and while roaming the streets, she was knocked down by a pa.s.sing car. When she woke up in the hospital, she saw an old man looking upon her with deep, affectionate eyes.
The old man was Li Guicheng, who was in the fur clothing business. He was quite well-off and had come to the south to make some real-estate investments. He knew there was nowhere for Zhao Jiali to go. Not only had he taken her to his home, but he had also nursed her back to health. When Zhao Jiali realized that Li Guicheng was a rich man, she immediately began to spill her sob story. She told him that her ex-husband had gone to prison, and that she had been kicked out of the house by her ex husband"s daughter. She told him all kinds of pitiful things. She would have been happy to be the man"s bed mate or the like, but little did she know that Li Guicheng would propose to her straightaway!