Ying Hao pressed a hand to his chest. Uncle Fu quickly poured Ying Hao a gla.s.s of water. "Old master, you shouldn"t lose your temper with Young Master. You need to be mindful of your health."
"The r.e.t.a.r.d can afford to have a vacation in Egypt despite being banged up. I a.s.sure you, the state of his health is much better than yours." Ying Qingcang mocked, sarcasm dripping from his every word.
"I"m not here to quarrel with you. I"m here to tell Xin Qing what the behest says."
As it turned out, a day after Ying Qingcang and Xin Qing had obtained their licence, Ying Hao discovered that the previous lines on the behest had vanished; two new lines took their place. The new lines stated: Experience the trials and tribulations of the world without the wavering of heart and the swaying of will; only by working together as a pair can you navigate the world with ease and comfort; always bear in mind never to let your marriage be nullified.
The obvious implication of the two lines was that Ying Qingcang and Xin Qing had pa.s.sed their test and could now finally be together; it also urged them to treasure each other.
"Uncle Ying, so what you"re saying is..."
"Father." Ying Hao frowned. "Call me father!"
"Father," Xin Qing corrected herself. "So what you"re saying is that everything that happened before was our test? And now that we"ve pa.s.sed the test, we once again have the behest"s blessing?"
"Ha! Ha!" Ying Qingcang barked out two fake laughs. "Is that the behest or just the work of a computer? You can even add words onto it on a whim."
Ying Hao shot him a scornful look. "That"s exactly what"s so magical about the behest!"
Ying Qingcang could not understand Ying Hao"s relentless devotion to the ancestral behest. To him, the behest was nothing more than a stupid piece of paper. To Ying Hao, however, that piece of paper was something that was worth more than his own life. If the behest were to claim that Ying Qingcang"s existence would obstruct the growth of the Ying family, he had no doubt that Ying Hao would send him away without the slightest hesitation. Not a single word had appeared on the ancestral behest during Ying Hao"s generation; Ying Qingcang did not even know of its existence during his childhood. Why did it have to wait until he was all grown up before kicking up a fuss?
Ying Hao, who held unwavering belief in the behest, found his beliefs further reinforced by these two new lines. The way he saw it, the fact that the behest appeared on Ying Qingcang"s body heralded the Ying family"s glorious future. Ying Hao would never allow anyone to destroy that prospect; he had once sacrificed everything in order to protect his family"s interests.
"I"ve come bearing a gift for Xin Qing this time," Ying Hao said, ignoring Ying Qingcang"s scowl. From a bag, Ying Hao took out a palm-sized box which exuded a mild fragrance. Despite how clueless Xin Qing was, even she could tell that the box contained some awesome object in it.
Ying Hao handed the box to her. "This bracelet is pa.s.sed down in the Ying"s family from generation to generation. It is a token that represents the wearer"s status."
Xin Qing opened the box and as soon as she did, a heavy aroma of sandalwood wafted out of the box and straight into her face. A jade green bracelet sat inside the maroon box. The green of the bracelet looked lush, almost succulent, as if its color could drip from its surface any second.
"It"s emerald jade!" Xin Qing was stunned.
"Yeah, you"re acting so respectable right now," Ying Qingcang said sarcastically as he pinched her cheek, "Isn"t it just a bracelet?"
"Bu-but it-it"s em-eme..." Xin Qing gaped at Ying Qingcang for a moment before her eyes went back to the bracelet she was holding in her hand. She knew very well just how much emerald jades were worth. Such outstanding jade was pretty much nonexistent these days. Not many of them had been handed down from previous generations, too. Bracelets like this were utterly priceless.
Ying Hao nodded in satisfaction. "Go on, then. Put it on!"
Smack! Xin Qing shut the box. "I think it"s better to put it in a safe deposit box..." Yeah, right. As if she had the guts to wear it. What if she got careless and banged it into something and it broke? How was she ever going to face the ancestors of the Ying family if that happened?
"Then you must wear it during the wedding," Ying Hao added.
Xin Qing thought for a moment before nodding. "Fine. I"ll get a Chinese style wedding dress!"
"You"ve presented your gift. Now get out!" Ying Qingcang said, chasing the other man out. Ying Hao pointed at his suitcase at the doorway. "Didn"t you see that I"ve brought a suitcase along? I"m staying until your wedding."
Ying Qingcang balked instantly at the suggestion. He barked out an order, "Uncle Fu, toss out the suitcase." Quietly, Uncle Fu pushed the suitcase into the guestroom instead. Ying Qingcang stared after the old man before he coldly threw out a word. "Traitor!"
"Ah Fu has always been on my side," Ying Hao said smugly, "Now where"s my granddaughter? Bring her out for me. I"m planning to spend the following two months bonding with her!"
Compared to old Mr. Ying"s sudden attempt to take up lodgings in Ying"s residence, Young Master Shen had much scarier problems to deal with over on his side.
"Ah Cang, is there anything I can help out regarding the matters overseas?"
"Nope."
"Then... Are there any child companies that require surveillance?"
"Nope."
"Send me to France for the negotiation with Smith?"
"No need."
Ah Nan did not have the heart to keep watching the pitiful state of Young Master Shen who was now practically sprawled on top of Ying Qingcang"s desk, acting all subservient like an obedient dog. Ah Nan decided to put the poor man out of his misery.
"Young Master Shen, because of the wedding, the young master had decided to push aside all activities these 2 months."
Young Master Shen covered his head and hollered dramatically, "But what about me? What the h.e.l.l am I supposed to do!"
Ying Qingcang shook his head. "It"s not like your dad will swallow you. Aren"t you overreacting?"
As it turned out, Ying Hao did not come alone this time. In fact, Ying Hao had dragged his good friend, who happened to be Young Master Shen"s father, along with him. How could the elders not be present for the younger generation"s wedding!
"He"ll be here the day after tomorrow," Young Master Shen said dejectedly, "The cat will be out of the bag by then."
The fact was that Young Master Shen"s father had sent him back to the country for a job; he wanted Young Master Shen to restore their family"s influence in the southern territory so that it could return to its former glory. As it turned out, all this while, Young Master Shen had content himself with playing the idle rich instead of doing what his father had asked of him. Nowadays, people in the underworld only knew Young Master Shen as some kind of rich playboy who lived and breathed women.
Ying Qingcang had never questioned Young Master Shen about that particular matter. For one, Ying Qingcang knew that Young Master Shen had his own reasons for his actions. He also knew that Young Master Shen wanted to prolong his stay in S City. Ying Qingcang stared at Young Master Shen. Seriously, with that kind of face, Ying Qingcang thought the man might have just lost his mother or something. Ying Qingcang patted Young Master Shen"s shoulder. "If Uncle Shen kills you, I"ll make sure to deal with your dead body properly."
Shen Batian was a legend in the Chinese underworld. That year, he had single-handedly brought together the eighteen powers across northen and southern China as well as twenty-seven rival gangs, putting them all under one banner. In other words, he had unified the Chinese underworld. After that, he created a blank slate for the underworld, a tabula rasa; funds and a.s.sets were poured into overseas investments. Nowadays, Shen Batian stayed mostly in the United States. When word about his impending return got out, not only Young Master Shen, but the entire Chinese underworld started to feel a little twitchy.
"Argh..." Young Master Shen sighed again. "My days of fun and comfort have come to an end."
By mid month, the hard-to-acquire stylist flew into the country from Hollywood in order to meet Xin Qing. Over a meal, they had a chat about ideals and life goals. After that, the stylist returned.
"Why did he even come here, then?" Xin Qing asked Ying Qingcang. Ah Sha was currently sitting in Xin Qing"s arms. Bright and early that morning, Ying Qingcang had taken the mother and daughter pair out of the house, claiming that they were having an outing in the countryside. With his head lowered, Ying Qingcang was in the middle of working through a bunch of doc.u.ments. Xin Qing"s question made him pause in thought. "He probably just wants to get to know you better, see what kind of vibes you give out." What he had left unsaid was the fact that he had requested the stylist to make a dress that was less revealing. But after Ying Qingcang had voiced out the request, the look on the stylist"s face was nothing but conflicted. According to the stylist, Xin Qing had beautiful legs, which was why he had originally intended to design a mini cheongsam for Xin Qing. Well, obviously, that was out of the question now.
"Ah Che, stop the car!" Xin Qing knocked on the separator. Ah Che immediately complied and pulled up at the roadside.
"What"s wrong, young miss?"
Xin Qing placed Ah Sha into Ying Qingcang"s arms. "Hold her. I"m going to buy some sweets from that shop."
"Allow me to go!" Ah Che offered dutifully. Ah Che was just about to get out of the car, but Xin Qing beat him to it. "I"ll go. It"s not like you know what I"m craving for!"
Xin Qing did not expect to run into a familiar face at the shop. Glancing at Li Xiaoru, Xin Qing decided to act like she did not recognize the woman.
"Senior Xin Qing!" Clearly, Li Xiaoru had different ideas. In fact, she seemed rather happy to see Xin Qing there. She took a few steps and closed the distance between herself and Xin Qing. "So you like the cakes from this shop too!"
Xin Qing nodded blandly. "My daughter likes them."
"Oh!" Li Xiaoru said. Xin Qing"s aloofness caused her to take a step back awkwardly. Still, Li Xiaoru could not help herself. "Senior, if you"re free, come to our house for dinner some time!" she said.
Xin Qing, who was in the middle of browsing through the array of cakes on display, frowned at that remark. "Miss Li, I don"t think we"re that close with each other. Although I"m your senior, I have no plans to befriend you."
"But, but I don"t want you and Aunt Zhao to keep going on like this. She"s been sad all this while due to your rejection." Li Xiaoru hurried out an explanation. "My mom died when I was very young. Aunt Zhao has treated me well. I can see that she"s been hoping for your acceptance."
"Haha!" Xin Qing laughed coldly. "Miss Li had a kind and considerate heart. Too bad I have a heart of steel. Someone like Zhao Jiali makes me want to puke. If you insist on treating her like some kind of treasure, then good luck. I hope you won"t come to regret it one day."
The door opened just when she got the words out. Ying Qingcang walked in. "Still not done?" he asked. Ah Sha was sitting in his arms. Without sparing Li Xiaoru a single glance, he walked up to stand beside Xin Qing. "What"s going on here?" he asked in a low voice.
"Nothing. Ran into a mother Mary, apparently," Xin Qing answered, her lips downturned. Then, seeing that Ah Sha was practically licking the gla.s.s of the display cabinets at this point, she reached out and took the child into her arms. "Mommy will buy it for Ah Sha. Ah Sha, hold on, okay!"
Li Xiaoru had no plans of giving up. She appraised Ying Qingcang for a while, and then she spoke, "You"re senior"s husband, right? Will you please persuade her to stop giving Aunt Zhao trouble?"
"Do you have a loose screw or something?" Xin Qing tossed the tray onto a nearby table. "How am I the one who"s giving her trouble?"
Seeing that she had angered Xin Qing, Li Xiaoru lowered her voice and mumbled, "You rejected her and then you refused to see her..."
"Why should I accept her? And why the h.e.l.l would I even see her?" Xin Qing stared at Li Xiaoru coldly. "Shouldn"t you ask your "kind" Aunt how his ex-husband ended up in jail, and why her only biological daughter refuses to accept her? Do that, and then we can talk about whether or not I"m giving her trouble."
After that, Xin Qing grabbed the cake she had just bought and dragged Ying Qingcang out the door. She was still fuming when she got into the car. Her anger did not dissipate even after a long while.
"Still angry?" Ying Qingcang said, slicing the cake before dishing out a slice for Ah Sha. Then he tied the bib around Ah Sha"s neck.
Xin Qing buried her head into the crook of his neck. "Say, how can someone be so r.e.t.a.r.ded? She doesn"t even know half the stuff that Zhao Jiali did, and yet she gave all her kindness to her. Looking at her makes me pity and hate her at the same time."
"Why bother hating a pitiful person?" Ying Qingcang ruffled her hair. "It"s got nothing to do with us. Just pretend that she"s invisible next time." Xin Qing reached out for a slice of cake. She took a bite before bringing it to Ying Qingcang"s mouth. Ying Qingcang had never been one to enjoy confectionaries. Still, he would eat them if Xin Qing fed them to him. Beside them, Ah Sha, whose entire face was covered in cream by then, did the same by bringing her own slice of cake towards Ying Qingcang"s mouth. Even though her slice had been pinched and kneaded into a miserable state, she still wanted to give her daddy a taste.
Xin Qing chuckled and began wiping the cream off Ah Sha"s face. Then she picked up a new slice to feed Ah Sha. At about noon, the car pulled up in front of a reserve park.
"Why are we here?" Xin Qing asked Ying Qingcang curiously as they entered the park and switched to an electromobile. Something flashed in her eyes the moment she caught a glimpse of "horseback riding track". Suddenly, she yanked at Ying Qingcang"s forearm and yelled, "Please don"t tell me it"s not what I think it is?"