Even though Rong Siman kept telling herself that everything was fine, her heart remained troubled. When Ying Qingcang noticed the way she was staring off into s.p.a.ce every day, he did not try to comfort or rea.s.sure her. Instead, he even deliberately told her things that he knew would unnerve her further.
In the meantime, Xin Qing"s suggestion was expeditiously approved by the town"s mayor. The townsmen were very happy with the new plans as well, and would very soon move into the new and free premises provided to them by Xin Enterprises. On the day of the relocation, Xin Qing had shown up at the residential area to meet with the townsmen. That alone had helped her earn even more brownie points with the townsmen.
"See anything suspicious?" Xin Qing had returned to the car after interacting with the townsmen.
Ah Che pointed at one of the cars. "Those guys loaded two large wooden boxes into the car just now."
"Based on the current situation, it looks like we won"t have get a chance to act today. Good thing we didn"t make our move," Zhang Mi said. "Tsk, tsk. Looks like my man can be quite reliable at times."
Their orginal plan had been to act while the relocation was taking place; however, Young Master Shen had disagreed with that plan on the grounds that there would be too much hustle and bustle during the relocation. The area would be too crowded with people to carry out a covert operation successfully. Also, they were still completely in the dark about Ying Hao and the chieftain"s circ.u.mstances; hence, Young Master Shen thought they should play it safe by doing some reconnaissance first. So in the end, they had a change of plans...
There was an abandoned storeroom in the backyard of one of the residential premises. That night, the storeroom"s back door was suddenly pushed open from the inside and Young Master Shen stepped out.
"Which one of you knuckleheads was in charge of digging the tunnel? Whoever you are, you sure did a sh*t job of cleaning up your mess. It"s like a sh*thole down there," Young Master Shen grumbled as he patted the dust and grime off his clothes.
Boss Wan"s voice sounded in his headset, "We had time constraints, so quit whining and stop making unreasonable demands. Listen, they"ve sealed up the underground cellar, so I"m guessing that"s where they"re keeping the hostages. You be careful, pal."
The people inside the house were still awake; four foreign men were drinking alcohol while the mute woman was cleaning the dishes in the kitchen. Young Master Shen did not intend to waste any more time. Before, they did not even have the chance to access the backyard of this house. Things were so much easier now. Without ado, Young Master Shen tossed a grenade through the window. In just few seconds, the entire house was filled with sleeping gas, knocking out everyone inside.
"Standby. I repeat, standby. I"ll bring the hostages out if the coast is clear," Young Master Shen said. Then, with much swagger, he yanked open the door of the underground cellar and walked down.
In a hotel nearby, Xin Qing and Zhang Mi were seated behind Boss Wan. All of them were waiting for Young Master Shen"s signal to move in. Boss Wan"s men were already lying in wait near the house; they could move in to rescue the hostages at a moment"s notice.
A while later, Young Master Shen"s voice sounded in the comm links, "Stand down. I repeat, stand down. Abort mission."
Xin Qing lunged forward and stood in front of the communication equipment. "Why?" She yelled.
"I"ll tell you when I get back." Young Master Shen said before turning off the headset.
Young Master Shen explained the situation to them when they returned to S City the next day.
"I did speak with the chieftain, but I couldn"t bring him out because Uncle Ying wasn"t there."
Xin Qing slumped against the couch, slightly dejected. "Why were they kept in different places? Where are they keeping father? Didn"t the chieftain tell you anything?"
"He doesn"t know as well. Nor does Ah Cang." Young Master Shen poured a gla.s.s of wine for Boss Wan. "That was the reason why Ah Cang hadn"t made any moves yet."
After a long time spent in discussion, they still failed to come up with a satisfactory solution. Suddenly, Boss Wan stood up and said, "I"ll head back to base and keep on looking. There had to be a loophole somewhere that we can exploit. As long as they are both still being held captive, I know I"ll find it eventually."
"I"ll walk you out," Young Master Shen said, rising to his feet. "Mimi, you stay here with Xin Qing. I"m going out to take care of some business."
Once they were out of Ying"s residence, Young Master Shen grabbed Boss Wan"s arm. "There"s something else I hadn"t mentioned back in there," Young Master Shen said.
Boss Wan"s heart sank when he noticed the grave expression on Young Master Shen"s face.
In a blink of an eye, the summer holidays were around the corner. As usual, Caesar Academy had to organize a ball, which was why Xin Qing was once again buried herself in work and busy schedules. Xunxun had selected a little island in the Pacific Ocean for the academy"s summer vacation trip this year. w.a.n.gw.a.n.g kicked up a fuss and insisted on joining the trip, though that did not sit well with Xin Qing.
"You"re only allowed to join the school trip after you turn 10," Xin Qing told w.a.n.gw.a.n.g during dinner.
"Even though I"m just four, I already have an IQ of a 10-year-old," w.a.n.gw.a.n.g grumbled in dissastisfaction.
"Who told you that?"
"I felt so myself," w.a.n.gw.a.n.g said with a straight face. "In fact, I"m smarter than Aunt Monica."
Xin Qing glanced at Monica, whose face was practically buried inside her bowl at this point.
"Since when have you become smarter than her? How come I didn"t know that?" Xin Qing pinched w.a.n.gw.a.n.g"s cheek. "Oh, my little boy is so adorable," she thought. "Just please don"t let him acquire a sharp tongue like Xunxun, or Xiaorui"s poker face."
w.a.n.gw.a.n.g pointed at Monica and said, "I played a game with Aunt Monica a few days ago. She lost."
"What did you play with him?" Xin Qing asked Monica.
Monica raised her head from her bowl. "Tetris..." She said dejectedly.
"Aunt Monica didn"t win a single round," w.a.n.gw.a.n.g said, smiling at the two women. "She even said that you would do even worse than her if you played."
Xin Qing shot Monica a dirty look. "Oh, you"re on! Let"s go two rounds."
In any case, Xin Qing would never allow w.a.n.gw.a.n.g to join the school trip. In the end, it was Xiao Rui who came up with the idea that finally managed to dissuade w.a.n.gw.a.n.g from joining the trip: Xiao Rui would take w.a.n.gw.a.n.g with him and stay at Boss Wan"s base for two months.
When Xin Qing asked Xiao Rui about his reason for picking Boss Wan"s base to spend his summer holidays in, he told her that he wanted to do some training. Plus, Chen Huan gave Xin Qing her word that she would take good care of them. That had put Xin Qing"s heart at ease, so she allowed w.a.n.gw.a.n.g to go with Xiao Rui.
After she had sent off all four children, there was nothing else in the company which demanded Xin Qing"s attention. With that much time on her hands, Xin Qing suddenly realized that it had been nearly a month since she last saw Ying Qingcang.
Today, Xin Qing finally caved. "Are there any invitations for me lately?" She asked Zhang Mi.
Zhang Mi was doing some work on the computer. "Oh, there are! Two, in fact. I didn"t inform you about them," Zhang Mi answered without raising her head.
"Why?" Xin Qing asked briskly.
"Because your appearance isn"t necessary!" Zhang Mi thought Xin Qing"s tone sounded rather odd just now, so she stared Xin Qing for a long time. "Why, are you itching to attend social activities?"
Xin Qing shook her head immediately. "Nope. It isn"t... Well, it"s just that I suddenly have so much free time on my hands!" She said with a smile.
"Something"s very weird with that smile of yours," Zhang Mi said, pointing at her. "Okay, so you feel like you have a lot of free time now. Well, that"s easy, isn"t it? Just visit the hot springs in the underground cave. The main construction was wrapped up last week. I didn"t tell you because you were too busy with things at the academy."
Xin Qing eyes brightened instantly. "Then let Ying Qingcang know. We"ll go tomorrow."
"Ask Ah Nan to do it. I don"t feel like speaking to him," Zhang Mi said. All of a sudden, Zhang Mi"s eyes widened. "That"s what this is all about! You wanted to see Ying Qingcang!"
Xin Qing was just about to argue further when her phone rang. When Xin Qing saw that it was from Boss Wan, she immediately thought that something had happened to the kids, so she quickly picked up.
"Hey, Xin Qing, I"ll be visiting your neck in the woods soon."
Puzzled, Xin Qing asked, "Didn"t you leave to find out where father is being held?"
"My people are working on that. I need to see Ah Cang. Think you can help us set up a meeting?"
"Ah! Of course I can. We"ll be seeing each other tomorrow. I"ll find a chance to tell him." After hanging up, Xin Qing turned her head and looked at Zhang Mi. "Rong Siman will most definitely be there tomorrow. You"ll have to help me distract her."
The prospect of seeing Ying Qingcang again made Xin Qing extremely excited. Still, in fear of exposing herself, she had decided to walk in front of everyone with her head hung low. The area at the foot of the mountain had been reconstructed in such a way that it now left the hot springs exposed to view; the area had been turned into a huge observation deck made of gla.s.s.
"Magnificent!" Zhang Mi said, raising her head in awe. She had already felt the hot springs" presence before they even entered the area.
A manager welcomed their arrival. After a meal, the manager recommended them to take a soak in the hot springs.
Seeing this as an opportunity for Xin Qing to meet Ying Qingcang, Zhang Mi told Xin Qing, "Your body is indisposed. Go back to bed. I"ll check out the hot springs alone." Then, smiling at Rong Siman, Zhang Mi said, "Want to join me, Miss Rong?"
"I"ll go with Ah Cang," Rong Siman said, looking at Xin Qing smugly.
Ignoring Rong Siman"s taunt, Xin Qing stood up and retreated to her room.
The wooden cabin was redesigned. Right now, it looked even more high-cla.s.s than it used to. Xin Qing had deliberately left the door unlocked. Now, she was sitting on the couch with both eyes trained on the door.
When he did not show up after a while, she was starting to lose her patience. "Why hasn"t he come yet," she thought, pacing back and forth in the room. That was how Ying Qingcang found her later when he finally opened the door and walked in: pacing the room in circles with a frown marring her forehead. Xin Qing covered her mouth the moment she saw Ying Qingcang, though the two arcs above her eyes had betrayed her grin.
Ying Qingcang closed the distance between them in quick strides, and the couple jumped into each others" arms. For a long time, neither of them moved away from their tight embrace.
Xin Qing pushed him away slightly to reach for the tablet. She wrote, "How did you know that I wanted to see you?"
Ying Qingcang pinched her cheek and took the tablet from her, "You think I wouldn"t know when your real time of the month is? You lied about having your period so you can stay in your room. All because you wanted to see me!"
Seeing a pout forming on her lips, Ying Qingcang kissed her and started writing again, "Plus, I would"ve find ways to come see you even if you hadn"t done this." He then carried Xin Qing to the couch where they both sat down. His hands slid under the hem of her skirt as he nibbled on the tender flesh of her neck.
Ying Qingcang raised his head and wrote another line on the tablet, "G.o.d, you have no idea how much I missed you!" After that, he kissed her on the lips.
Xin Qing wrapped one arm around his neck while she wrote with the other hand, "Boss Wan wants to see you."
Ying Qingcang did not seem surprised at all. He wrote, "There"s an auction next week. Ask him to attend the event, I"ll figure out a way for us to meet." When he finished writing, he immediately started working on the zipper of Xin Qing"s skirt.
Xin Qing held up the tablet, "Is it really okay to do this?"
"Yes. I told her I"d be sleeping in the room because of a headache. Zhang Mi is following her around." After he wrote that line, he played the symphony on the tablet while Xin Qing began undoing his belt boldly.
At first, Xin Qing still had enough wits about her to worry about whether or not Zhang Mi had called to give her updates about Rong Siman"s whereabouts. But after that, Ying Qingcang had taken their lovemaking up a notch, and she ended up falling asleep in an euphoric haze. The next time she opened her eyes, she realized that the man was still lying beside her. Somehow, she had been carried to the bed.
Ying Qingcang began to write, "You"re awake! Why don"t you take a bath. I need to return first."
Xin Qing hugged him and nuzzled his chest. Ying Qingcang planted a tender kiss on her forehead and started writing again, "From now on, I"ll start finding ways to come see you at night!" After that, Ying Qingcang raised her chin and looked at her fiercely.
When Xin Qing read what he had written on the tablet next, she had to cover her own mouth to stifle the sound of her laughter, "And don"t you dare forget what I told you last time. Stay the h*ll away from that army guy."
Zhang Mi only returned when it was nearly dark outside. It turned out that she and Rong Siman had gotten into a horse race.
"Ying Qingcang isn"t here?" Zhang Mi glanced around the room.
Xin Qing picked up her handbag, preparing to head out. "What time do you think it is now? He left already."
"So, I bet you"ve relayed the message!" Zhang Mi followed her outside. "And you didn"t do anything else?"
"No... Nope." Xin Qing blushed. "Hurry up. It"s going to be dark soon."
Xin Qing relayed Ying Qingcang"s message to Boss Wan after they got back to the city.
"What"s so urgent that you have to see him?"
On the other end of the line, Boss Wan hesitated slightly. Then, he said, "Nah, it"s nothing. Chen Huan came up with a gadget. I want him to try it out and see if it can block the signal of the listening device inside him."
"Really?" Xin Qing exclaimed in joy. "It would be so great if it turns out that it can!"