Ying Qingcang gave Xin Qing a ravishing which lasted until night-time. Xin Qing"s body would feel completely worn out every time after they made love. Ying Qingcang drew a bath and carried her into the bathroom. After the bath, they changed and went downstairs for dinner. Ah Sha had napped through the afternoon. When Ah Sha saw them both, she happily demanded a hug.
Concerned about Xin Qing"s exhaustion, Ying Qingcang guided her towards the dining table and then went to pick up Ah Sha. Ah Sha"s motor skills had seen substantial improvements these days, likely thanks to the parent-children workshop she and Xin Qing had been attending. Right now, Ah Sha was could already grab her own toys and then put them into the right boxes.
At the dining table, Ah Sha grabbed the spoon happily before placing it into a bowl. After that, she took the spoon out of the bowl and repeated the whole process.
"Come to the office with me tomorrow!" Ying Qingcang said as he settled Ah Sha into her baby chair. Dinner was about to start.
Xin Qing mashed a few pieces of fish meat and placed them into Ah Sha"s bowl. Then she picked up the bowl and began feeding Ah Sha. "Why? What"s wrong?"
"Last time Monica told you about Fang Lu, her old cla.s.smate. She"s seeing me tomorrow." Ying Qingcang took the bowl from Xin Qing and took over feeding Ah Sha, giving Xin Qing the opportunity to eat.
Xin Qing blinked a few times. "Why are you seeing her? Does she look pretty?"
"Jealous already, aren"t you?" Ying Qingcang ruffled her hair happily. "Don"t worry. In my eyes, you"re the prettiest!"
Xin Qing pouted. "And yet you"re meeting her."
At that, Ying Qingcang gave Xin Qing a brief rundown about the situation. "I"ve got no idea what that woman is planning. What if she has inappropriate intentions towards me?"
"Pfft!" Xin Qing nearly spat out the congee she had just placed into her mouth.
Ying Qingcang patted her back hurriedly. "Eat slowly! Is what I said that funny?"
"It"s not funny at all. I actually think you"re right. I"ll be there to protect you tomorrow!" Xin Qing smiled at him sweetly. Unable to help himself, Ying Qingcang planted a kiss on her, though Xin Qing shoved him away before he could deepen the kiss. "Ah Sha"s here!"
Ah Sha was staring back at them with round, watery eyes. Suddenly, Ah Sha pouted her lips, waiting for Ying Qingcang"s kiss. At the sight, Xin Qing picked her up and kissed her a few times. Ah Sha was satisfied after that. It was fine as long as she got her kiss; it did not matter whether it came from mommy or daddy.
The following day, Ying Qingcang arrived at the company very late; it was already after 10 am by the time he arrived. His tardiness was out of concern for Xin Qing"s wellbeing; he did not want Xin Qing to feel tired, so he had waited for her to wake up before they left the house together. On the other hand, Fang Lu had arrived at the company as early as 9 am. After over an hour of waiting, Ah Nan informed her that she could now enter.
Fang Lu had always looked down on Ah Nan. She even fantasized about having this gigolo fired once she was together with Ying Qingcang.
Fang Lu schooled her features when the door was about to be opened. "President Ying!" Fang Lu greeted with an affectedly shy voice. But her voice got stuck in her throat the moment she saw Xin Qing sitting there on the couch.
Ying Qingcang stood behind Xin Qing, watching Xin Qing design a bracelet on her laptop. She had been a.s.signed this task by CK a few days ago. Although Xin Qing had left France, she was still under CK"s employment. Ying Qingcang was expressionless when he noticed Fang Lu"s presence. He bent down and kissed Xin Qing"s forehead. "I"ll be done quickly," he said tenderly, "Then we"ll have hotpot for lunch!"
Xin Qing nodded and returned his kiss. Xin Qing refocused her attention to her laptop without even looking at Fang Lu.
Ah Nan pulled out one of the chairs in front of Ying Qingcang"s desk. "Miss Fang. Please, have a seat."
Fang Lu schooled her features immediately. Swaying her hips, she sauntered towards Ying Qingcang and sat down in the chair opposite his. She had deliberately dressed herself up in a thin tulle dress today. Her chest was covered with see-through dark lace, revealing her deep cleavage. She struck a perfect pose and then set a folder onto Ying Qingcang"s desk.
"President Ying, I believe Monica had mentioned this to you before. This is our proposal. Please have a look!"
Ying Qingcang picked up the folder and flipped through a few pages. He raised his head and gave Fang Lu a glance. "So. You"re willing to relinquish your hold on that piece of land for a joint venture with Ying Enterprises to establish a resort?"
"Indeed!" Fang Lu said, smiling beautifully. She had always been aware of how to make herself look best. Naturally, she would present the best of her appearance in front of Ying Qingcang today. She went on, "You know as well that Li Enterprises also has plans to build a resort. Even if Ying Enterprises obtained that piece of land and established another resort, the size of it will be roughly the same as the one owned by Li Enterprises, which means you"ll be lacking a compet.i.tive edge. However, it won"t be the same if you add our land into the picture!"
Amidst her speech, Fang Lu had shot Xin Qing a few sidelong glances.
Fang Lu had seen Xin Qing before in the newspaper. Back then, she thought Xin Qing was quite pretty. Now that she had seen Xin Qing in the flesh, she found that not only was Xin Qing beautiful, but was elegant and refined as well. She knew that Xin Qing was only 2 years younger than herself, and yet the woman looked so young. It was no wonder that Ying Qingcang treated her well.
"Humph! Young and pretty, so what?" Fang Lu thought, chagrined. A man would require their women to have skills in the bedroom too. Even if Ying Qingcang did not have much interest in women, there was not a man in this world that was not interested in s.e.x. As long as she could let him have a first taste of her, he would no doubt be taken by utter bliss, which would then lead him to be obsessed with her!
Ah Nan noticed the sudden pause in Fang Lu"s speech, during which the woman was staring right at Xin Qing. Ah Nan cleared his throat. "Miss Fang, is there anything else you would like to add?" he reminded.
"Oh!" Fang Lu snapped out of her daze. "Sorry. I got a little distracted," she said hurriedly before returning her gaze towards Ying Qingcang. "If we combine the lands owned by each of us and use it to build a resort, we"ll definitely crush Li Enterprises."
All of a sudden, Fang Lu"s hand slid across the contract papers. Her nails, which were covered in red nail polish, tapped on the desk slowly and gently. Now in full-blown seductive mode, she spoke in a low, and sultry voice, "How about it, President Ying? I"m sure my proposal will benefit Ying Enterprises. In fact, it"s a win-win situation!"
Ying Qingcang stood up. "Sure. We"ll a.s.sess your proposal and gauge the potential return of investment profits that might result from it. We"ll be in touch with you again in the future. Ah Nan, please escort Miss Fang out."
"Pre-President Ying?" Fang Lu did not see this coming. She had not been expecting Ying Qingcang"s blatant dismissal. She stood up hurriedly. "Then, give me a face and let me treat you to lunch!" She had said "you" instead of "all of you". "What an imbecile!" Ah Nan mocked inwardly.
"Oh, he"s joining me for hotpot later, so he won"t be able to have lunch with you!" Xin Qing said all of a sudden. Ying Qingcang was obviously satisfied with that remark since he quickly walked over and wrapped an arm around Xin Qing"s waist. "Alright. Let"s go!"
Fang Lu remained rooted in her spot even after Ying Qingcang and Xin Qing had left. Just then, Monica walked in and saw Ah Nan standing there as well. "Why are you still standing there? Come join me for lunch!" she told Ah Nan.
"Monica!" Fang Lu yelled. "We need to talk." Fang Lu approached Monica with hurried steps. Fang Lu grasped Monica"s arm and was about to drag her away when Ah Nan stopped her. "Miss Fang, allow me to escort you out."
Fang Lu glared at Ah Nan. "You? What are you? How dare you speak to me in that tone?"
"If it weren"t for the fact that you"re standing here right now, I will not bring myself to say a single word to you," Ah Nan said. He walked towards the door and then extended his arm through the doorway in a gesture for her to leave.
Fang Lu turned her head and looked at Monica. "Wow. You guys have got some guts, I"ll give you that. You"re openly flirting with each other at the company."
"Have you gone blind?" In Monica"s eyes, women like Fang Lu were nothing but crazy b.i.t.c.hes. "When exactly have you seen us flirting with each other?"
Fang Lu sneered. "I don"t care. I"m telling you that I want another shot at Ying Qingcang. You better arrange another meeting between us as soon as possible."
"Miss Fang. No one other than our young master can decide whether or not there will be a next meeting between you. This isn"t something that anyone can arrange. Please, leave." Ah Nan waved his hand, and two security guards appeared at the door. Noticing Fang Lu"s motionless form, Monica laughed and said, "Don"t tell me you"re waiting for the guards to toss you out?"
"Just you wait!" Fang Lu spat out those words viciously before stomping away.
Fang Lu never saw Ying Qingcang again after that. Monica no longer replied to her texts too. When she resorted to the same threat, claiming that she would disclose the thing between Monica and Ah Nan to Ying Qingcang, Monica only responded with two words: suit yourself!
That, of course, nearly drove Fang Lu mad with fury. If she failed to convince Ying Qingcang to collaborate with her, she would have trouble coming up with a decent excuse to tell her stepfather. Today, she was loitering in a mall alone. When she turned her head, she accidentally saw Xin Qing pushing a baby stroller past her.
Fang Lu picked up her pace followed Xin Qing. After a while, she saw Xin Qing entering a coffee shop with another woman with the baby stroller.
"This shop makes special cakes for babies and it tastes great!" Xin Yudie settled her twins into their respective high chairs. Xin Yudie glanced at Ah Sha who was sitting in her own chair, grinning happily. Unable to resist, Xin Yudie ruffled Ah Sha"s hair and praised, "This kid is so obedient and so easy to bring around. My twins had refused to sit in these high chairs at first. Feeding them is enough to exhaust me to death!"
Xin Qing smiled gleefully. "Hm. Ah Sha is obedient indeed. At first, I thought most children are obedient like her. Well, that is until I saw the tantrums of other children back in the workshop we attended just now."
"Right. As if that"s even possible." Xin Yudie pa.s.sed the menu to the waiter and stared at Xin Qing with wide eyes. "I"m telling you, you haven"t seen those annoying kids."
Dessert was served, and the two mothers busied themselves with scooping dessert into the tiny bowls specially designed for children. When the children began digging into their dessert, Xin Yudie leaned back against the couch comfortably.
"You have your marriage licence now," Xin Yudie said. "So. When are you planning to have kids?"
Xin Qing spent a brief moment mulling over the question. "Don"t" know. We"ll just let nature take its course, I guess!"
"What about contraception? Are you guys using birth control?"
Xin Qing had an implant before. But even with the implant, she had gotten pregnant once, so she was no longer convinced of its effectiveness. She shook her head and said, "No."
"That"s strange. It"s been so long already, how come you"re not pregnant yet?" Xin Yudie asked, chuckling. "I know Ying Qingcang"s capable. I mean, just by looking at the love bites on your neck, I can already tell how pa.s.sionate you both are in bed."
Xin Qing glared at the other woman and tugged at her own collar. "How did you even notice?"
Xin Yudie chuckled. "Oh, come on. That"s nothing!" Xin Yudie glanced around their surroundings, and then she pulled down the front of her dress, revealing all the kiss marks on her pale chest. Xin Qing nearly screamed as she covered her own mouth. "Your husband did this?"
Xin Yudie rolled her eyes. "Who else if not him! He hasn"t been seeing other women for the past two years. In fact, he"s suddenly become so obsessed with my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He even tries to hug them to sleep every night!"
Xin Qing covered her face, too embarra.s.sed to speak. Xin Yudie pulled Xin Qing"s hand off her face. "I was talking about myself. What are you acting shy for?"
Xin Qing could not help but marvel at the sight of the current Xin Yudie, who was smiling so beautifully.
"You"re really happy, aren"t you?" Xin Qing remarked suddenly. "I almost forgot how you used to look like back when you were dead set on bullying me."
Xin Yudie laughed. "Yeah! Scheming against others is the most pathetic way to live one"s life. Good thing I didn"t wallow in that mistake forever!"
The two women chatted happily. Soon, the topic switched back to children. Xin Yudie suggested Xin Qing see a traditional Chinese doctor in order to get her health back on track. Neither of them realized that someone else had been eavesdropping on their entire conversation. In fact, the beginnings of an evil scheme had already formed in the eavesdropper"s mind.