Avril waited for a long while for a response, but she did not get one. She raised her head and was instantly met with the man"s amused expression. A strange thought occurred to her, though she tamped it down. "Is something the matter? This kind of thing should be a piece of cake for you guys, right?"
The man chuckled humorlessly. Then, he shoved Avril to the floor. Avril glared up at him with her hand clutching her waist, fully prepared to unleash her anger. But she saw the man waved his hand. Two subordinates appeared shortly and dragged her towards the door.
"Hey! What do you think you"re doing?" Avril yelled out in panic.
The first man followed behind them in an unhurried pace until Avril was dragged all the way into a small alley. Then, he crouched down and patted her cheek. "I don"t know whether you"re naive or just plain stupid."
Avril would really have to be an imbecile if she failed to realize that something had gone horribly wrong by now. "You guys know each other, don"t you?" she said, struggling against the men holding her down. "I... I was just joking. My family and President Ying are business allies. You guys can"t touch me."
"You have enough b.a.l.l.s to try to mess with Miss Xin, and yet here you are, hoping for President Ying to show you mercy." The man gave another wave of his hand. "Give her the injection. Then bring a few more men over here."
His subordinates chuckled lecherously and made a grab for Avril"s arm. He was just about to inject the needle into Avril"s arm when a voice sounded from the end of the alley. "What are you guys doing?" A long shadow crept into the narrow confines of the alley. The shadow lengthened until a man appeared before the group. The newcomer glanced around and noted the drug canisters carried by each of the men in the alley. "Young Master Shen"s men?" he said, frowning.
The leader of the group gestured for his men to stand down. "Yes, we are," he answered politely. "May I inquire as to who you are?"
"My last name is Wan," said the newcomer. Although the newcomer possessed handsome facial features, there was a strange and eerie air about him.
There was a complete change in the leader"s demeanor the moment he heard that name. "Ah, so it"s you, Mr. Wan," the leader said in a subservient tone. "We"ll notify our young master immediately. Shall I prepare the lounge for you?"
"No need. I"m going to see them straight away," Boss Wan said, turning to leave. Then, he turned back around and added, "Those are some s.h.i.tty drugs you got there. I wouldn"t recommend using it."
"Understood!" said the leader of the gang, waving his hand again. All his henchmen stood at attention and watched Boss Wan"s departure. One of them whispered to the leader. "Boss, who"s that?"
"Someone like our young master. A total bada.s.s," the leader answered. Then, he flicked his hand at them. "Come, we gotta hurry up and notify the young master that Boss Wan is here." The few men left in a hurry. n.o.body gave a single d.a.m.n about Avril who was still haphazardly sprawled on the ground.
Avril staggered to her feet and left the alley hurriedly with a dejected look on her face. She hailed a cab and rode all the way back to her hotel. After a shower, she managed to calm herself down. She sat in front of the mirror, staring stupidly at her own reflection. Then it all came flooding back to her: the fact that she had nearly become a victim of a gang rape tonight. She shuddered at the thought.
"But who"s that Boss Wan?" she wondered.
Young Master Shen and the others were engaged in a game of mahjong. More accurately, it was Zhang Mi who had first suggested it and dragged Xin Qing into the game. As to be expected, Young Master Shen joined in as well. With that, they still lacked one player, which was why Ying Qingcang, who had always thought mahjong to be a complete waste of time, was forced to join the game.
Young Master Shen had just fed a tile to Zhang Mi when his phone rang. He picked up and listened to a few lines spoken to him on the phone. Then, laughed in mild surprise. "He"s not that kind of guy," Young Master Shen said. "There must be some kind of misunderstanding."
"Boss Wan has arrived," Young Master Shen told Ying Qingcang after hanging up.
Ying Qingcang arched his brows and revealed his winning hand. "Then he should be here soon," he said.
Zhang Mi glared daggers at Ying Qingcang. "Son of a b.i.t.c.h! That"s my Thirteen Orphans!"
Xin Qing chuckled and stood up. "I"ll go get Xunxun upstairs."
A knock sounded from the door while they were clearing the mahjong table away. Uncle Fu answered the door. Indeed, the person standing at the door was Boss Wan, who was dressed in a black attire from head to toe.
"Haha!" Young Master Shen laughed, sitting back down on the couch. "What happened to your rule of never traveling on your own? What made you come all the way here alone?"
Boss Wan came over and sat down beside Ying Qingcang. "I"m here to see my son."
Ying Qingcang waved a hand in annoyance. "Great. Hurry up and take your son away."
"That won"t do. The girl is too young. She still needs maternal love."
"Oh, so you"re still planning to take my daughter away from me?" Ying Qingcang sneered at him. "Guess your son had inherited his shameless att.i.tude from you."
Young Master Shen was giggling like a girl. Zhang Mi came down from upstairs. When she saw Young Master Shen"s behavior, she came over and pinched his waist. "Why in the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l are you laughing like a pervert?"
Boss Wan raised his head and saw Xunxun carrying Ah Sha towards them. The serious look in Boss Wan"s face intensified the moment he saw the kids. This was Ah Sha"s first time meeting Boss Wan. Terrified by the scary look on Boss Wan"s face, Ah Sha burrowed herself deeper into Xunxun"s chest.
"You"re scaring Ah Sha," Xunxun said, his face expressionless.
The corners of Boss Wan"s lips lifted, revealing a smile that was even more terrifying. "Ah Sha," he said. "I"m your father-in-law!"
"Wa!" Ah Sha burst into tears and stretched her hands out towards Ying Qingcang, demanding a hug. Ying Qingcang took Ah Sha happily. Xunxun, on the other hand, was staring at Boss Wan with a look of pure hatred. "Why are you here?"
Boss Wan gave Ying Qingcang a sidelong glance. "Sure, enjoy it while you still can. Your daughter will be ours when she grows older anyway," he thought.
"I"m here to see her," Boss Wan said, pointing at Xin Qing.
"Me?" Xin Qing repeated in a strange tone, pointing at herself.
Ying Qingcang yanked Xin Qing into his arms. "What do you want with my wife?"
"I want to have a daughter!" Boss Wan said with a joyful lilt in his voice, one that was highly uncharacteristic of him. Ying Qingcang"s face darkened instantly. "What did you just say?"
Boss Wan stared right at Ying Qingcang. "I think Ah Sha is very cute," he said. "I want to have a daughter too."
Xin Qing chuckled. "Okay, so you want to have a daughter of your own. But what"s that got to do with me?"
"Uncle Fu, escort our guest out!" With his daughter still cradled in his arms, Ying Qingcang stood up and began guiding his wife upstairs. Xunxun"s glare was so intense that it might bore two holes straight through Boss Wan"s body.
Observing the scene before them, Young Master Shen and Zhang Mi laughed until they were both gasping for air. Boss Wan shifted in his seat lazily. "I want Xin Qing to organize a gathering on that island of hers."
"Ah!" Realization dawned on Xin Qing. "And then you want me to invite Chen Huan to the gathering, is that what you have in mind?"
Boss Wan nodded. "She would run for the hills if I"m the one doing the asking."
All of a sudden, Xunxun broke out into a grin. "Oh, ho. How are you planning to keep my mouth shut, then?"
Women are pa.s.sionate about things like gatherings, especially women like Zhang Mi. Plus, she had not been to Xin Qing"s island yet. At first, they planned to invite Shi Qianqian and her family to join them. But it turned out that Shi Qianqian was pregnant once again, and the foetus was quite unstable at the moment. Shi Qianqian had no choice but to decline the invitation.
Xin Qing and Zhang Mi had come up with a romantic scheme to aid Boss Wan in his I-wanna-get-a-daughter plan. Once everything was settled, they called Chen Huan and invited her to join everyone for a vacation trip during the Chinese New Year. Chen Huan agreed instantly. But of course, she had no idea that Boss Wan would be coming along for the trip as well.
Boss Wan was staying at Shen"s residence for the time being. One night, Boss Wan pa.s.sed a box to Young Master Shen.
"What drug is this?" said Young Master Shen, opening the box. A neat row of small gla.s.s bottles lined the interior of the box.
"I saw a couple of your guys trying to drug someone. This drug is far more potent than the one they had been using," Boss Wan introduced. "The ones your men were using would cause hallucinations. But with this one, the victim would not only remain conscious but would also have their senses heightened."
A strange look formed on Young Master Shen"s face as he accepted the box and thanked Boss Wan.
Indeed... What happened in the alley that night was not some kind heroic display by Boss Wan to save the damsel in distress that was Avril; Boss Wan had merely been concerned about the drug"s quality, that was all.
Chen Huan arrived one day before they were set to leave for the island. When she arrived, Chen Huan brought another hair clip for Ah Sha; the previous one was damaged after its first use. At first, Xin Qing thought the hair clip was too dangerous. Then, she thought about Ah Sha going for her advertis.e.m.e.nt filming every day as well as her own high-key status in S City. What if Ah Sha ran into some unknown troubles or threats? In the end, Xin Qing put the hair clip on Ah Sha. Still, she felt a tinge of fear after that. "What if Ah Sha pressed the b.u.t.ton accidentally?"
Xunxun noticed Xin Qing"s worried look, yet he did not feel like divulging to her that Ah Sha barely remembered the function of the hair clip. It would only work when Xunxun himself reminded Ah Sha of it.
Other than the hair clip, Chen Huan also gave Xin Qing and Zhang Mi a few gadgets. Apparently, the gadgets could kick the a.s.s of any pervert or s.e.x predator within seconds.
In a flashy manner, the group boarded the flight bound for the Great Barrier Reef. Boss Wan had flown to the island a few days ago. He had conjured in his mind the perfect scenario: once Chen Huan got there, he would pretend to run into her by chance. After that, he would join their group.
Too bad, nothing ever goes smoothly as planned when things involve a perfect romantic setup. For the live of him, Boss Wan never thought he would be hara.s.sed by some mindless, desperado chick while he was here.
"Mr. Wan!" Avril greeted him with zest. Through the private investigator she had hired, Avril had learnt that Boss Wan was the owner of the Casino in the Genting Highlands of Malaysia. To her, a man of such status was pa.s.sable, just good enough for her to deem it acceptable. This man had saved her life, and not to mention that he was totally her type. She wanted to marry the man, even if he was merely a casino owner. With Genting"s prestige, her family would never dare slight her again.
Boss Wan stared at the woman in the hotel lobby with nothing but distaste. This woman claimed that he had saved her life even though he had no recollection of it at all. Every day, the woman would dress herself in a bikini and cling to his side the moment she saw him. It was downright disgusting.
Boss Wan walked past Avril with an impa.s.sive expression. "Got to shake her off quickly," he thought. "Huanhuan will be arriving today."
"Where are you going?" Avril caught up to him. "Hey, I hear there are dolphins over at the gulf. Let"s go check it out!"
Boss Wan sidestepped her swiftly, and Avril ended up hugging empty air. "Hey, what"s your problem!" she whined, staring at him with large, teary eyes.
"I don"t know you, and we"re not familiar with each other at all," Boss Wan said, frowning. Then, he stepped around Avril once again and stalked away. Boss Wan had done some digging into this woman the first day she showed up. A daughter of the Smith family, and a woman with chests the size of melons but a brain the size of a pea, that was pretty much all Avril was. The only things she was good for were: A) s.e.x, and B) being a man"s arm candy. Boss Wan had about a hundred ways to make this woman vanish. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he did not want to cause any trouble while he was on Xin Qing"s island.
Refusing to give up, Avril caught up to him again; she thought Boss Wan was merely playing hard to get. She was confident that he would start pursuing her on his own accord the moment he found out about her true status. Boss Wan left in a hurry and headed straight to the villa for his "chance-meeting" with Chen Huan. He managed to ditch Avril after walking a few rounds. Relieved, he strolled in front of the villa in a lazy gait. According to the satellite data he had been receiving, Chen Huan and the other had already got off the plane and were currently heading to his location!
"Why are you walking so fast?" Avril ran over to him, panting. Boss Wan"s hands clenched into tight fists as he tamped down the urge to punch the woman to death. Trailing behind Avril was someone who, from his attire, seemed to be the villa"s staff. When he saw Boss Wan, he said, "You and your girlfriend got separated. Good thing I saw you on my way here. Then, I saw your girlfriend panicking. You shouldn"t leave her like that, you know? She"s such a pretty girl. What if she runs into trouble?"
Avril, on the other hand, decided it was a good time to start playing coy. She clung to Boss Wan"s arm. "Honey, let"s go have lunch!"
Just when Boss Wan was about to push Avril away, a voice sounded behind him, "Have lunch, I see? You might as well have dinner together, too!"
"Oh, c.r.a.p!" he thought as he turned around.