Ying Qingcang gave Xin Qing a deep stare and muttered something inaudible. Then he carried Ah Sha away in quick steps. Xunxun followed Ying Qingcang unhesitatingly. "Take me with you, wherever you go with her."
"Take him," said Ying Qingcang.
Young Master Shen nodded and gave Xin Qing a worried glance. Then, he picked up Xunxun and hurried after Ying Qingcang. Tang Shuang was the only one who remained there, smiling gleefully at Xin Qing. "Hmph! Prepare to collect your daughter"s corpse!"
At the door, Ying Qingcang"s movement stilled when he heard that comment. "I"ll leave you behind if you don"t move now," he said in a strained voice, as if he had to squeeze the words out of his throat.
Tang Shuang shot Xin Qing a final glare before running off. Xin Qing sat down numbly on the ground, wiping her tears twice. Then, she clenched her teeth and stood up. She grabbed the car keys and bolted out the door.
"Ah Cang, Xin Qing is following your car." Boss Wan"s voice sounded in Ying Qingcang"s ear. "Don"t worry about my son. He"d rather die if he fails to protect his own bride."
Ying Qingcang reached up and touched the mini receiver attached to his ear. "Find a way to stall her. I don"t want her to be in danger. As for your son, I"ll keep an eye on him," said Ying Qingcang, glancing at Xunxun beside him. Xunxun was holding Ah Sha with a serious look on his face. Xunxun returned Ying Qingcang"s stare with a mocking look.
Ying Qingcang shook his head quietly. He was pretty sure this was what the little brat was trying to tell him with that look: See, you can"t even protect your own woman and child. Ying Qingcang sneered inwardly. "This brat dare mock me..."
The car drove all the way to a small town near S City. The town was famous for its cultivation and production of strawberries; greenhouses were established in all premises. The address provided by the kidnapper led them to the southern side of the town, where a red greenhouse lay. From the looks of it, the greenhouse had long since been abandoned. Its vicinity was barren and lifeless.
"Ah Sha," Ying Qingcang said, crouching down, "you must follow Xunxun"s instructions later. Don"t run around on your own, okay?" Still carrying Ah Sha in his arms, Xunxun glowered at Ying Qingcang. Ah Sha, who was still clueless about the goings-on, nodded her head happily.
Tang Shuang was worried about her son. "Hurry up, let"s go inside!" she implored anxiously.
"Watch yourself, man," Young Master Shen said, giving Ying Qingcang a look. Ying Qingcang, who was just about to say something, suddenly reached up to touch his earpiece. A look of disquiet morphed on his expression. Young Master Shen seemed to have heard it too. Young Master Shen took several steps backwards. "You guys go on ahead," Young Master Shen said, "I"ll check out the area."
Nodding at Young Master Shen, Ying Qingcang held Xunxun"s hand and entered the building.
Tang Shuang trailed after Ying Qingcang. The moment they were inside the building, she began shouting: "We brought the girl! Return my son to me!"
The interior of the greenhouse was filled with decaying rhizomes and a bunch of wilted, dried up strawberries. A man emerged from behind a broken shelf, carrying a baby in his arms.
"Hahaha! President Ying, so you"re hard-hearted enough to see this through after all!" The man had deliberately kept his voice low and deep. A black coat was draped over his figure whereas a mask kept his face hidden. Tang Shuang shook her head in disbelief the moment she saw him. "It"s... It"s you?"
This was the same man who had been a.s.sisting her by coming up with schemes and plots on her behalf.
Having recovered from her initial shock, Tang Shuang looked at her son and cried: "Why are you doing this? Give me back my son! We"ve already brought the one you want." She pushed Xunxun forward. Xunxun turned around and stared at her. Startled, Tang Shuang patted her own chest. "Must be nerves," she thought. How on earth could a ten-year-old kid be so scary!
Ying Qingcang stared at the masked man. "Do you love William that much?" Ying Qingcang asked.
The man"s arm, which was holding the baby, shook twice. Calmly, the man said, "So you know who I am. Then I"m guessing you already know what my true purpose is? If you don"t want me to hurt your wife and child, take your own life!" He tossed a gun towards Ying Qingcang.
"What are you guys talking about?" Tang Shuang stared at the two men in front of her. "You two know each other?"
Ying Qingcang turned her head and smiled at her. "I"ll explain everything later. Now"s not the time!"
The man laughed. "Looks like you really like her. I"ve been curious, though. Why do you like her anyway? Her appearance is mediocre. She has quite a temper, and her IQ isn"t that high, either. Aren"t you worried about the future generation of your family?"
Tang Shuang was about to pounce at the man, but she was held back by Ying Qingcang. "That"s my business," Ying Qingcang said calmly. "It"s got nothing to do with you."
"Fine, then! I"ve changed my mind. It"s better to stick with the original plan. Ask your daughter to come over to me," said the man, holding the baby forward. "Tang Shuang will follow behind your daughter. I"ll pa.s.s her the baby when she"s within reach."
Tang Shuang quickly glanced at Ying Qingcang. "Ah Cang," she said, "Hurry up and agree!"
Before Ying Qingcang could speak, Xunxun picked up Ah Sha and took a step forward. "I"ll bring Ah Sha to you," Xunxun said. Ying Qingcang wanted to reach out to stop him, but Xunxun gave him a look. Ying Qingcang withdrew his hand and clenched his fists.
The masked man appeared to be laughing at something. Tilting his head to one side, he watched Xunxun"s slow approach. Tang Shuang followed Xunxun with an anxious look on her face. Finally, they were both standing in front of the masked man. Just when the masked man was about to hand the baby over to Tang Shuang, a loud shriek sounded.
"No!" the voice yelled. A shadow burst through the door and ran towards the masked man in lightning speed. The figure reached out and was about to pick up Xunxun from the ground. Clenching her teeth, Tang Shuang glanced at the newcomer with a venomous look in her eyes. Tang Shuang pushed Xunxun forward quickly and retreated with her baby.
Xin Qing saw Xunxun fall into the arms of the masked man. She released a grief-stricken cry: "Ah Sha..."
"Mommy!" Ah Sha cried, wrapping her arms around Xunxun"s neck. Ah Sha had already realized something wrong with the whole atmosphere.
Ying Qingcang held Tang Shuang up with his hand. "The people you"re after are all here," he said coldly. "It"s your show now. We"ll get out of your way." After that, Ying Qingcang turned around and left together with Tang Shuang. Young Master Shen, who had just entered the room, eliminated all traces of worry from his face. He glanced at Xin Qing blandly. "Do whatever he wants you to do. Well... I"ll call the cops for you. After all, we"re friends." Young Master Shen left.
In a blink of an eye, Xin Qing was left alone, sitting on the floor of the empty greenhouse. The sight of Xin Qing startled Ah Sha so much that she began to cry. Xunxun patted Ah Sha"s head and whispered something into Ah Sha"s ear. Surprisingly, Ah Sha stopped crying and shot a piteous look at Xin Qing instead.
Xin Qing"s mind was beyond confused; she had no idea what to do next. Before, when Ying Qingcang brought Ah Sha away, the words he had muttered to her were: trust me! But now? What the h.e.l.l was she supposed to do now?
"Now you see the type of man he is!" said the masked man when he circled Xin Qing. "Stand up. Pick up the child and come with me."
Xunxun noticed that Xin Qing didn"t move, so he ran towards her. "Quick, stand up. Now isn"t the time to be s.p.a.cing out," Xunxun said.
It took Xin Qing several attempts to stand up. The masked man led the way and walked towards the door. At the door, he glanced outside carefully before stepping out.
"What are you doing?" Xunxun asked suddenly, carrying Ah Sha and taking two steps backwards.
"Hand her over to me," said the masked man, s.n.a.t.c.hing Ah Sha from Xunxun.
Ah Sha burst into tears, calling for "daddy" as she cried. This was supposed to be a fun outing with daddy. But now her daddy was nowhere to be seen and she was carried away by some strange man she had never met before.
"You"re scaring the child," Xin Qing said, trailing after the masked man anxiously. She tried to take away Ah Sha from him.
The masked man slapped Xin Qing"s hands away. "Just go. I"m taking the child away."
"Please, I beg you. Take me. Take me with you. But let the child go, please. I beg you," Xin Qing said, kneeling on the floor. Xunxun clutched the leg of the masked man tightly. "You just want a hostage, don"t you? Why don"t you take me instead and let Ah Sha go?"
The masked man frowned. Then, he kicked Xin Qing away. "Come along," the masked man told Xunxun. Once again, Xin Qing reached out and tried to make a grab for the man. But Xunxun thwarted her attempt by shaking his head at her. Xin Qing fell limply onto the ground. She sat there, seeing the man take both Ah Sha and Xunxun away.
After a while, Xin Qing stumbled to her feet and ran out to the streets. That was when she saw someone waving at her from afar.
"Xin Qing!" Zhang Mi ran towards her, panting. "Come, let"s go. I"m here to take you back."
Xin Qing stared at Zhang Mi stupidly with tears streaking down her cheeks. Then, she released a sob and pa.s.sed out. Zhang Mi quickly placed Xin Qing on her back and carried her towards the car. Her phone rang just when she had fired up the engines. Zhang Mi glanced at the caller ID and snorted. She did not pick up. Back home, Young Master Shen was waiting for them at the door. "Why didn"t you pick up your phone?" he yelled.
"Forget about that stupid phone call and get your a.s.s over here. Xin Qing"s pa.s.sed out," Zhang Mi said, opening the car door. Young Master Shen picked up Xin Qing and carried her into the house. Once inside, Young Master Shen placed Xin Qing on the couch. "Go grab the medical kit," he said. "There"s an ointment in it."
Instead of arguing with him, Zhang Mi quickly brought the kit over. She uncapped the ointment bottle and brought it to Xin Qing"s nostrils. "Mm," Xin Qing said, her eyes fluttering open. Xin Qing"s knees. .h.i.t the floor in a loud thump the moment she saw Young Master Shen.
"Please. I beg you. Save Ah Sha. Please. I beg you!" Xin Qing looked at Young Master Shen while crying and her eyes became red and swollen. Zhang Mi wiped her own tears and pulled Xin Qing to her feet. At that point, Young Master Shen was like a cat on a hot tin roof.
"Xin Qing," he said. "Xin Qing, you need to calm down, okay? We have people tailing the kidnapper. Ah Sha is fine. The man just wanted to see Ying Qingcang"s reaction, that"s all. The less we act, the safer Ah Sha will be. Please don"t do this to yourself. It truly pains me to see you like this!" Young Master Shen knelt down on one knee and looked at her with a look of panic.
Zhang Mi gave him a kick. "If anything happens to Ah Sha, Ying Qingcang can forget about seeing Xin Qing ever again. I don"t care what tricks you guys have up your sleeves. You"ve just allowed a mother to helplessly see her child being taken away from her. You might as well just grab a knife and stab Xin Qing with it!"
Frustrated, Young Master Shen ran a hand through his hair and sat down on the couch. He sent a text to Ying Qingcang.
Xin Qing refused to eat anything. Zhang Mi helped Xin Qing upstairs so that she could rest. Ying Qingcang came over that night. "Things don"t look good, man," Young Master Shen said with a sigh. "Prepare yourself! She"ll most likely ignore you."
"I"ll go see her now," Ying Qingcang said. Ying Qingcang himself did not look well, too. He seemed to be exhausted and he even stumbled as he climbed up the stairs. When he pushed the door open, he saw Xin Qing lying there on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in stillness with wide eyes.
"Ah Qing..." Ying Qingcang said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached out to hug her. Xin Qing glared at him and shoved him away. "Get the h.e.l.l away from me!"