"What are you planning to do, then?" Ying Qingcang"s hand tapped out a random rhythm against the surface of the couch.
Rong Siman"s beautiful eyes glinted. "Is there a way to speed up the holiday home project?"
"I already told you before. The speed of the construction will depend on geographical conditions. Unless..." Ying Qingcang eyes went dark. "We compensate for it with more manpower."
"But we still wouldn"t be able to make it in time. The post-construction renovations will take at least three months to complete." Rong Siman frowned. "If we make our move now, at most she would lose the 30 million she invested."
Ying Qingcang nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. You"ve learned your math."
"Hey! You"re making fun of me!" Rong Siman shook his arm. "You have another way, don"t you?"
"I"ll invite her to survey the site for the holiday homes in two days. We"ll see how it goes," Ying Qingcang said, pushing Rong Siman away from him. "You"re not allowed to go."
Rong Siman, who was already coming up with various schemes in her mind, seemed taken aback. "Why?"
Ying Qingcang looked at her in annoyance. "Can you guarantee that you won"t end up doing something foolish?"
"I promise!" Ying Qingcang suddenly stood up before Rong Siman could throw herself at him. He opened the door. "Your promises don"t work."
Xin Qing and Monica were having a conversation in the living room that weekend when Xiao Rui and w.a.n.gw.a.n.g walked up to them hand in hand.
"Mom, w.a.n.gw.a.n.g is allowed to skip grades."
"Skip... Skip... What?" Xin Qing was nonplussed.
"I"ve been asking him to recognize words and characters for the past few days. He can totally take the first grade cla.s.ses right now." Xiao Rui picked up w.a.n.gw.a.n.g and placed him on the couch.
Monica ruffled w.a.n.gw.a.n.g"s hair. "Ah, so he has activated his genius mode already?"
"Mother!" At four years old, w.a.n.gw.a.n.g"s voice still sounded like a baby who was still in his breastfeeding stage. w.a.n.gw.a.n.g gazed up at Xin Qing with a pair of huge eyes. "I now know everything that brother had taught me. Isn"t w.a.n.gw.a.n.g great!"
When Xin Qing heard her son"s tone, she sighed in relief. "Thank G.o.d he doesn"t sound like Xunxun," she thought. Chen Huan once told her that the brat, Xunxun, already sounded like an old man the moment he turned three. Devious, arrogant, and narcissistic.
"w.a.n.gw.a.n.g will miss out on a lot of fun if he starts skipping grades." Xin Qing pointed a finger at Xiao Rui. "See, your brother is very clever too. But your brother never skipped grades!"
For several seconds, w.a.n.gw.a.n.g glanced at Xiao Rui as he chewed on his index finger. "Mother, that"s only because big bro has to protect sis. That"s why he stayed in first grade with sister."
Monica shot Xin Qing a sympathetic glance. Woe to the parents whose children have high IQs.
In the end, Xin Qing did not agree to his request no matter what w.a.n.gw.a.n.g said; however, she did promise him that he could start skipping grades after he had entered primary school as long as he could pa.s.s the required examinations.
When she returned to work on Monday, Ah Nan told her about Ying Qingcang"s invitation to the holiday homes.
"Sure!" Xin Qing nodded. "Tell him that we can do it tomorrow."
Next morning, Xin Qing set out into the mountain on time. But when she arrived at the stable near the foot of the hill, she saw Rong Siman sitting beside Ying Qingcang, smiling provocatively at her through the car window.
"You got to be sh*tt*ng me. I can"t believe he brought that d*mn woman along," Zhang Mi yelled in disbelief. Then, she punched Ah Che in the arm and said, "Hey, is your Young Master not right in the head or what?" Poor Ah Che, who had taken a beating for no apparent reason at all, could only shake his head helplessly. "How am I supposed to know..."
Xin Qing sat inside the car for a long time, scowling. She was still in the middle of figuring out how she could give Ying Qingcang a piece of her mind when her phone rang. Her eyes brightened the moment she saw the caller ID. She picked up.
"h.e.l.lo!"
"Ah Qing, where are you?" Jiang Qianren"s voice sounded from the phone"s speaker.
Xin Qing gave a brief laugh. "Mission accomplished, commander?"
"Yep. I"ve got two days off and I"m here in S City to see you!"
"Huh? You"re in S City now?" Xin Qing covered her mouth. "But I"m out of the city at the moment."
"Hey, I just arrived here. Where have you run off to?" Jiang Qianren said, not sounding too happy at all.
"I"m doing a site survey right now. It"s at that holiday home in the woods last time."
"Oh, that one!" Jiang Qianren laughed. "Wait for me, then. I"ll be right there."
After hanging up, Xin Qing got out of the car and walked towards where Ying Qingcang"s car was parked.
"My apologies. Let"s head over to the stable, first. I"m still waiting for a friend"s arrival." Then, without waiting for a response, Xin Qing strode in the direction of the stable. Zhang Mi and Ah Che followed closely behind her.
Rong Siman still wanted to say something, but then she saw that Ying Qingcang had already stepped out of the car. She curled her lips and followed him.
They lingered at the stables for nearly an hour. Xin Qing and Zhang Mi had spent that time on horsebacks, going a few laps around the race course. After that, they saw Jiang Qianren standing at the entrance. When the man saw Xin Qing, he smiled and waved back at her.
Xin Qing and Jiang Qianren were walking ahead of the group. "Did you get here by plane?" Xin Qing asked. Judging from how fast he had gotten here, she knew that he could not have taken a car ride. It would be impossible to travel from S City to here in just two hours by car!
Jiang Qianren handed her a lunchbox. "Bought it on the way here."
Xin Qing opened the box and saw her favorite pea pudding inside. She laughed. "By "on the way" you actually meant "far away"!" That pea pudding place was on the south side of the city. Right now, they were on the north side.
"Well, it"s like you said, air travel. So it isn"t really that far!" While keeping a straight face, Jiang Qianren shot a furtive glance at Ying Qingcang who was walking behind them. "Now, let"s hurry up and get this survey over with so that we can go home earlier. You still owe me dinner!"
"What, you came all the way back here just for a meal?" Xin Qing glared at him. Jiang Qianren answered with a tender smile while allowing his gaze to linger on her face. "You know d*mn well what I came here for. Could it be that you want me to repeat myself?"
Xin Qing quickly waved her hand. "Alright, alright, my bad. Just pretend that I never said anything. Come on, let"s get on with the survey. I"ll treat you to dinner once we"re done, old sir!" Xin Qing quickened her pace and turned around to wave at Zhang Mi and Ah Che.
Ying Qingcang never said a single word the entire time. Once in a while, Xin Qing would sneak glances at him and saw that his face was as nonchalant as ever. It was like, to him, this was just another casual stroll. Rong Siman, on the other hand, was nothing but chatty. A few times, Xin Qing could even hear what the woman was saying; something about new lovers and kissing up to people out of one"s league.
After that, the group was brought up to speed on the progress of the construction works. Xin Qing discovered that the hot springs in the underground cave were even more interesting than any of the hot springs that she had been to in the past. Temperature sensitive LED lamps were installed in the upper portion of the cave. The light emitted from the lamps would change colors over time, thus making it appear as if the water in the hot springs was constantly changing colors as well. That, plus the plethora of stalact.i.tes hanging down from the cave"s ceiling everywhere made the whole place seem like a mythical realm. She believed that it would be even more beautiful once the construction was completed!
They returned to S City before dinner time. When they arrived at the city, Ah Che sent Zhang Mi home while Xin Qing, as promised, treated Jiang Qianren to dinner. They had just finished their orders when she saw Ying Qingcang and Rong Siman approaching their table.
"There aren"t any tables left. Are you okay with sharing a table, President Xin? Dinner will be on us," Rong Siman said the moment she arrived at their table, which surprised Xin Qing a little. She was just about to decline when she saw Ying Qingcang taking a seat at their table. Then, he picked up her wine gla.s.s from the table and turned to look at Jiang Qianren. "I"m sure Mr. Jiang won"t feel threatened if I join you guys for a simple meal... right?" He said.
Jiang Qianren released a mocking laugh and switched into a new posture. "Please, have a seat!"
It turned out to be the most uncomfortable dinner Xin Qing had ever had; Rong Siman kept chattering away in a creepy voice while both Ying Qingcang and Jiang Qianren looked like they wanted to murder each other. It had not been easy, but she managed to stay until she finished her food. When she was done, she stood up.
"We have other matters to attend to, so please excuse us. I hope you both have a good time," Xin Qing said. Then, she pulled Jiang Qianren to his feet and they left together.
Watching them leave, Rong Siman tossed her chopsticks onto the table in dissastisfaction. "Ah Cang, what the h.e.l.l are you doing?" She grumbled. "Didn"t we agree to figure out Jiang Qianren"s hidden agenda? How come you never said a word the whole time?"
"You took the words right out of my mouth. What"s left for me to say?" Ying Qingcang kept staring out the restaurant"s display window. Outside, Xin Qing was climbing into Jiang Qianren"s military issued Humvee.
"It"s obvious that Jiang Qianren is sweet on Xin Qing," Rong Siman said in a tone of jealousy and hatred. "What should we do? If the Jiang family gets involved, it will be even harder for us to take over Xin Enterprises."
Slowly, Ying Qingcang finished the remainder of his tea. "Let"s head back," he said after staring at the tea leaves in the cup for a long time. "I still have work to do tonight."
"Ah Cang!" Rong Siman"s hand shot out to grab him, though Ying Qingcang had already stood up. When he glanced down and saw the hurt look on her face, he gave her a cryptic smile and said, "Let"s go. I do have a sense of propriety, you know."
That night, after her bath, Rong Siman saw that the light in Ying Qingcang"s study was still on. She pushed open the door and saw that he was still going over doc.u.ments.
"Go to bed. Read them tomorrow," she said. Ying Qingcang noticed her presence and smiled at her. He pointed at the gla.s.s of milk beside him. "I was just about to bring this to you. You didn"t eat well during dinner just now, right? Have a gla.s.s of milk before bed."
Having experienced Ying Qingcang"s gesture of endearment, Rong Siman stared back at him in shock. "Ah Cang! You..."
"Drink," said Ying Qingcang, handing her the gla.s.s.
"Thank you!" Rong Siman took the gla.s.s and gulped down every single drop of its content. After that, she obediently bid him goodnight and went back to the bedroom. The moment she climbed into bed, she felt a swell of heat inside her chest. Her mind was filled with images of Ying Qingcang. After tossing and turning for a while, she got out of bed and quietly got dressed. She crept to the study and peeked through the door. Seeing that Ying Qingcang was still at work, she grabbed her handbag and sneaked out of the house.
After Rong Siman"s car had driven off, a human-shaped shadow appeared on the second floor"s window. Very soon, another car drove out from the garage and sped off in the direction opposite of where Rong Siman"s car had just left.
The villa district was eeriely quiet during midnight. Amidst the moonlight, an elongated shadow was cast on the walls of Ying"s residence. A person keyed in the security code and unlocked the door with ease before stepping inside. After that, the person crossed the living room, avoiding the furniture with practiced ease, and headed straight upstairs.
The innermost room on the second floor had a huge door which was pale purple in color. A wooden plate hung above the door. A bunch of letters were carved on the plate in Amadeus font: Little Ying. The person stretched out a hand and ran his fingers over the surface of the plate. After a while, he gently pushed the door open.
Through the yarn curtains, the moon cast a pale light over the huge purple bed. The person lying on the bed was curled up like a shrimp, forming a small bundle, just like a bun. Upon a closer look, her sleep seemed rather disturbed, probably because she was dreaming.
The intruder frowned. Once in a while, he would mumble something inaudible with his mouth. Two sets of slender and pale fingers tugged on the edge of the blanket. Slowly, a large hand ran itself over the delicate features of the slumbering woman, stroking the spot between her eye brows repeatedly.
The person on the bed had most likely felt the touch as she shifted and wiggled slightly. All of a sudden, a tiny, blue pill appeared inside the palm of the caressing hand. The pill slid between two fingers where it was pinched, producing a wisp of white smoke. Xin Qing had only just opened her eyes and was straining to make out the silhouette on her bedside. Then, she felt a wave of comfort course through her entire body and slowly drifted back to sleep.
Early morning.
"Hey, what"s wrong with your lips?" Seated at the dining table, Monica kept staring at Xin Qing"s face. "Why are they swollen like that?"
Xin Qing frowned and ran her fingers over her lips. "I don"t know. They are like this when I woke up. Ouch! It hurts!"
"Did you eat something yesterday that caused an allergic reaction?" Monica stood up. "I"m going to get the medical kit."
Xin Qing glanced at Monica guiltily. She had no idea if it was just a dream, but last night she thought she had seen Ying Qingcang in her sleep. That man had climbed into her bed without saying a word and had started kissing her; and yeah, they had kissed for a long, long time. Long enough for her to nearly die of suffocation.