After she woke up that morning and saw her own reflection through the mirror, Xin Qing jumped in fright.
It was true that Xin Qing had always been a heavy sleeper. Even so, how could she not know a thing when her lips had been abused to such a state? The mere thought of that felt pretty scary to Xin Qing.
Had her dreams come true? Was her dream of being kissed by Ying Qingcang real?
"Mother, what"s wrong with you?" w.a.n.gw.a.n.g stared at her. Xin Qing lowered her hands, revealing her red, swollen lips. The moment she did that, w.a.n.gw.a.n.g yelled, "Mother, were you punched by someone?"
Xiao Rui handed a meat bun to w.a.n.gw.a.n.g all the while keeping his face neutral. "That isn"t the result of punching. It"s a result of kissing."
Clank! The medical kit that had been in Monica"s hands just moments ago fell to the floor.
"Xin Qing." Monica rushed over. "You... Last night, did you..."
"No. Nothing happened," Xin Qing said. When she noticed the way Monica kept trying to stare down her collar, Xin Qing glared at Xiao Rui. "I got hungry around midnight, so I came down to have some snacks. But I accidentally ate one with egg yolk in it. It was too dark, so I couldn"t see clearly."
"Oh," Monica said, sighing in relief. They all knew that Xin Qing was allergic to egg yolks. "Then you should take some medication. After that you should ice your lips."
While Xin Qing was carrying w.a.n.gw.a.n.g to the car, w.a.n.gw.a.n.g whispered smilingly into her ear, "Mother, don"t lie to me. Brother Ruirui told me I"m a genius with a high IQ. You were kissed by someone!"
"Xiao Rui!" Xin Qing was beyond mortified.
Xiao Rui took w.a.n.gw.a.n.g from her arms and calmly climbed into the car. "I"ll stay at the school dorms tomorrow. Otherwise, I won"t be able to stop myself from snooping around at night and then catch the guy in the act."
The car drove off, leaving Xin Qing standing after it in stupor. Catching the man in the act? Could it be that it really was Ying Qingcang last night? Xin Qing did trust Xiao Rui. That kid was literally a human radar. Xin Qing touched her lips with her fingers. "D*mn you, Ying Qingcang. How dare you sneak around like some kind of burglar. I"ll get you for this! Just you wait!"
Meanwhile, the man in question had no idea that his snooping had been found out. He was currently sitting in the living room, staring at the front door.
There was a knock on the door, though Ying Qingcang pretended he had not heard it. Instead, he rose to his feet and donned his jacket. When Rong Siman pushed open the door and saw Ying Qingcang there, she went still instantly.
"Ah... Ah Cang? You... Why are you still here?"
"Is it that strange for me to still be here?" Ying Qingcang paused and stared at her. Then, he went on, "I woke up late today. What have you been up to?"
Rong Siman schooled her features and banished all traces of panic from her face. Her mind raced. Then, she smiled and said, "Oh, I went out to get breakfast!"
Ying Qingcang kept staring at her. Rong Siman cleared her throat awkwardly. "Oh, come on. I thought you had already gone to the company. Besides, you"ve always had your breakfast at the company!"
"I was just wondering if it"s really necessary for you to dress like this just for breakfast?" Ying Qingcang walked towards her and gave her clothes a once-over.
Only then did Rong Siman remember that she was still dressed in the same low-cut dress that she had worn last night when she visited a bar to hook up with guys.
"Oh, well. I didn"t mean anything by it. The summer has just begun. It"s still cold in the mornings." Ying Qingcang smiled at her. "I"ll be off, then."
Rong Siman was instantly touched. "He"s just worried that I would catch a cold," she thought, sending Ying Qingcang off with her teary eyes.
The first thing Ying Qingcang did when he arrived at the company was to change into another jacket, one that looked exactly the same as the one he was currently wearing. His secretary entered the office carrying a few plastic bags.
"Boss, the clothes are here."
Ying Qingcang knotted his necktie and said, "Put them in the closet."
The secretary quickly got to work and walked into the room in the office. There, he began to hang the clothes carefully in the closet. Deep down, the secretary could not help but feel curious: Why did the boss always buy several pieces of the exact same clothes?
Before going to his meeting, Ying Qingcang sniffed himself a few times. The crease in his brows eased. "Finally gotten rid of that foolish woman"s scent..."
Her encounter with Ying Qingcang was pushed to the back of her head the moment Xin Qing read the sales data for The You Of My Dreams.
"The summer holidays will start next month. We"ll let Ah Sha be the endorser for The You Of My Dreams," Xin Qing announced.
Ah Nan thought about her suggestion for a moment and said, "Usually, female celebrities are used for products like this. Don"t you think that female celebrities have a stronger persuading power?"
"It"s not like our brand involves cosmetic products. Our emphasis is on creating a brand of all-natural, skincare products. That should be our main pitch." Xin Qing rapped her knuckles on her desk. "Ah Sha is a child star. Using a child star to endorse our brand sends the message to everyone that even children can use our products. This is the same concept like last time when we used a mother and a baby as Serene"s endorsers."
Everyone was looking for a brand with products which were perfectly safe, organic and non-allergenic. From the very start, Xin Qing had never thought of shying away from Ying Enterprises. She wanted to compete with Serene in order to secure over 40% of the market shares nationwide. They did not have to outdo them. Securing half of the total market shares would already be enough to put them in the same league as the current Ying Enterprises.
"By the way, these are the test results for the spring water we collected from the cave last time." Monica handed the reports to Xin Qing. "There aren"t any problems with the water"s quality. In fact, the water quality is better than the other hot springs that we own."
Xin Qing finished reading the report with a frown. "Something doesn"t feel right. Why would Ah Cang insist that we make an investment if there aren"t any problems?"
Zhang Mi had picked that exact moment to enter the office. At Xin Qing"s comment, Zhang Mi snorted and said, "What, you think he should push you into making the investment only if the place is full of problems?"
"Yeah, of course!" Xin Qing nodded. "That will be more fitting for his current stance."
"Young Miss is right," Ah Nan said in agreement. "Rong Siman was there as well on the day of the survey. And she fully agreed with the collaboration. There has to be something wrong with all this."
Xin Qing smacked the surface of her desk. "Keep digging. There has to be something that we"ve all missed."
Boss Wan called when she was about to head home for the night.
"You"ve found new leads?" Xin Qing said, putting a lid on the excitement bubbling inside her heart.
Boss Wan"s voice was not flat and emotionless like before; in fact, his tone sounded rather happy.
"It"s just like you said. All of Elder Li"s a.s.sets had been transferred to France, and they are currently placed under the name of a woman called, Daisy. And this woman was listed as Ying Muhai"s legal mother."
"Ying Muhai?" Xin Qing suddenly found herself unable to remember who that person was.
"Rong Siman"s son," Boss Wan reminded her.
"Ah! Yes, that"s him," Xin Qing said. Then, in an anxious tone, she asked, "Daisy must be somehow connected to Rong Siman!"
"Well, that"s something I haven"t been able to find out about," Boss Wan said, pausing briefly. "However, three years ago, there was a huge withdrawal from Daisy"s bank account. The amount withdrawn was equivalent to two thirds of the account"s total funds."
Panic surged inside Xin Qing"s heart. Then again, she knew that now was not the time to panic. "Have you guys checked out Daisy"s address?"
"Ah. I was just about to get into that." There was a strange hint of joy in Boss Wan"s tone. "I think something"s fishy is going on with the house that Daisy is currently living in. Unless I"m very much mistaken, Ah Cang"s father is most likely being held captive inside that house. And I don"t think it"s just Uncle Ying, either. I think the old chieftain is there, too."
"The old chieftain?" Xin Qing shouted. "Are you positive?" They all thought that the old chieftain had perished.
Chen Huan"s voice sounded from the speaker. "Our guess is that Rong Siman only thinks that she has control over Ying Qingcang"s mind. But in reality, Ying Qingcang never forgot about you. If that"s the case, then someone must have done something in between and that someone can"t be Ying Qingcang himself. I think it"s most likely the old chieftain."
"That"s right!" Xin Qing nodded vigorously. "With his level of skills, the old chieftain must have helped Ah Cang in secret."
Then, Boss Wan picked up where he had left off, "Too bad we haven"t been able to find out the situation inside the house. My guys will keep watching it. They"ll sneak inside the moment there"s an opening."
After hanging up, Xin Qing went home with a grin on her face; however, the she sat down on the couch to watch the news, she found herself no longer capable of smiling.
"Say..." Monica stared at the TV screen with wide eyes. "Isn"t that Jiang Qianren"s mother?"
Xin Qing nodded her head numbly. The screen showed a live broadcast of some dinner party held in the capital. A reporter had blocked Song Chunli"s path and asked her whether the rumors involving Jiang Qianren and a certain female president of a corporate were true.
"Those aren"t rumors. They"re the truth!" On the TV screen, Song Chunli was beaming at the camera. "And this woman you"re referring to is the President of Xin Financial Group, Xin Qing. I"ve already met the woman. She"s both beautiful and mature. I like her very much."
"Madam Jiang, are you"re suggesting that the Jiang family has agreed to accept a single mother into the family?"
Song Chunli glared at the reporter in annoyance. "Why can"t she be accepted into the Jiang family? Xin Qing is a good woman. Her children will be the children of Jiang family in the future."
Monica nudged Xin Qing a few times. "Is the old lady out of her mind?"
"I think so too," Xin Qing said, turning off the TV. "Hey, what she said before, I haven"t misheard anything, right?"
"No, you probably haven"t," Monica said, shaking her head. "So. The awesome, future daughter-in-law of the Jiang family, huh?"
The only response Monica received for that remark was a bolster hitting her square in the face from Xin Qing.
Meanwhile, Ying Qingcang, too, was sporting a scowl on his face. The moment he saw the woman praising Xin Qing on TV, he had picked up an ashtray and tossed it straight out the door.
"What"s the matter?" Rong Siman ran in after hearing all the noise. Ying Qingcang turned off the TV and stood in front of the window with a frown.
Rong Siman could tell that he was angry, so she dared not approach him. Instead, she stood from a distance and just watched him.
Still staring out the window, Ying Qingcang suddenly said, "The Jiang family has agreed to let Xin Qing marry into their family."
"What?" Rong Siman shouted in disbelief. "How"s that even possible? Why would a prominent family like the Jiang family accept a divorced woman with children?" Rong Siman spun around a few times and then rushed towards Ying Qingcang. "Could it that they"re after Xin Enterprises?"
"There are so many prominent businesses in the capital. The whole city is practically teeming with VIPs. Is Xin Enterprise even worth their troubles?" Chaotic emotions swirled inside Ying Qingcang"s eyes. Whatever his thoughts were, they were completely inscrutable.
Rong Siman patted his arm gently. "I"ll have someone look into it. I"ll let you know again once there are any news."
The following day, Xin Qing made the headlines in all newspapers in S City. Jiang Qianren"s status was thrown into limelight as well: The Jiang Family of Capital; Xin Enterprises had really done it this time by securing itself such a powerful connection. At the same time, the public could not help but make comparisons between the old flame and the new love interest.
Xin Qing was already in a state of frustration when she received Jiang Qianren"s call early that morning.
"Ah Qing, I"m now your new love interest!" Jiang Qianren joked.
Social decorum and courtesy were the least of Xin Qing"s concerns at this point. "Did your mother get possessed by a demon yesterday?" She said snidely.
A brief silence ensued.
"To be honest, I asked that exact same question when I found out last night." Jiang Qianren laughed. "But the old lady was very much awake."
Even the son was finding it hard to believe. That, per se, made Xin Qing feel even more suspicious.
"You better clear things up with your family and ask them what the devil they are up to." Xin Qing shook her head. "Look, I"m not in a good mood right now, okay. I"m hanging up first."
Jiang Qianren did not pressure her. After all, he himself was confused as well. All he could do was wait until he completed his military exercise at the end of the month. Any discussion would have to wait until he got home.
Needless to say, the old flame was in an even fouler mood. He tossed the newspaper into the trash can just as his secretary entered the office with an invitation card.
"Boss, the wife of the mayor is organizing a private auction. Are you planning to attend?"
"Throw that sh*t away," Ying Qingcang snarled and glanced at the card with contempt.
The secretary visibly trembled. "What is it again this time..."
Before the secretary could reach the door, that cold voice sounded again, "Wait. Keep it."