Xin Qing"s stomach was in knots lately and she yearned for Ying Qingcang"s company. Surprisingly, the man himself came to her that night.
Now Xin Qing was in Ying Qingcang"s arms and Ying Qingcang was leaning against the headboard. He wrote, "I have to go away for a few days. But it"s nothing for you to worry about."
Xin Qing quickly wrote down a few words, "Where are you going?"
"It"s part of what I had discussed with Boss Wan before. I"m going to his base to see if there"s a way to remove the listening device." Ying Qingcang kissed her forehead. "It"s still just a test, though. It"s not a guaranteed success."
Xin Qing shifted inside his arms and wrote, "Having options is always a good thing. If once isn"t enough, you can try it for the second time, and the third time. Keep on trying, and you will succeed eventually."
"Yeah! I"ll succeed eventually."
Due to her not being able to see Ying Qingcang"s face, Xin Qing was unaware of the look of hopelessness that had formed in the man"s eyes as he wrote down that last line.
Xin Qing began writing again, "There"s something I have to tell you." After that, Xin Qing told him everything she knew about Xiao Rui"s past. When she was done, Ying Qingcang turned her body around so that they were now facing each other. He wrote, "So, now that you and that soldier are relatives, are you planning to see each other often?"
"But that"s not the point..." Xin Qing thought. Xin Qing raised her head and was immediately met with his profound and penetrating stare.
Xin Qing"s lips curved into a wide grin. She appeared to be laughing, but no sound came out, which made her look weird.
Ying Qingcang pinched her nose and wrote, "What do you think about him?"
"Who? Jiang Qianren?" Xin Qing froze for a moment before quickly writing out another line. "What"s that supposed to mean? You don"t trust me?"
Seeing her reaction, Ying Qingcang quickly hugged her and patted her back comfortingly. He raised the tablet to her eye-level, "I didn"t mean it like that. Since Xiao Rui is a child of the Jiang family, I was just wondering if we could trust Jiang Qianren. Or, in other words, whether we could trust the entire Jiang family."
"I think they are genuine about reconnecting with Xiao Rui." Xin Qing stopped writing and thought for a moment. Then, she wrote another line, "We"ll discuss this with Xiao Rui once he gets back. He isn"t an ordinary child. I"ll find a chance to ask his opinion once he"s back."
Ying Qingcang left around midnight. After he left, he secretly met up with Young Master Shen, who then placed him inside a box; it was the only way to prevent Rong Siman to hear the sounds of the helicopter. They arrived at Boss Wan"s island at dawn. Ying Qingcang had a scowl on his face as he stepped out of the chopper; being trapped inside a crate for a few hours straight would put anyone in a foul mood. When they arrived at the underground base, Boss Wan greeted him with a nod.
Boss Wan led Ying Qingcang and Young Master Shen into a metallic room. Chen Huan was already there, setting up some kind of equipment. Chen Huan greeted them the moment she saw them entering, "Oh, there you are!"
Still worried, Young Master Shen asked softly, "Are you sure that this thing can block the signal?"
Chen Huan glared at him. "Do not insult my IQ."
"Ah Cang, you can speak now," Boss Wan said with a nod. "This room disables any satellite and surveillance systems."
Ying Qingcang"s eyes swept past all three people in the room. He touched a hand to his chest and said, "You guys already know the specifics. I"ve already thought of the worst case scenario. If all else fails, you"ll have to kill me and then tell Xin Qing that I died."
"Are you nuts!" Chen Huan shouted. "Xin Qing will follow you even in death!"
Ying Qingcang sat down slowly. "Before I die, I"ll confirm that Jiang Qianren is ca[able of taking care of her. Time changes everything. In time, she"ll forget all about me."
"Look, things aren"t that bad yet. We haven"t even tried, how do you know that it won"t work?" Boss Wan said in a tone of anger. "Why bother coming back if you"re giving up that easily?"
Ying Qingcang ma.s.saged his forehead and closed his eyes. "In my whole life, I never thought I would come to love a person that much," he said slowly. "For her, I can abandon anything. As long as she"s happy, I"m content."
"If it weren"t because that woman wanted to get her hands on Xin Enterprises, I never would have returned. I need to eliminate anything that might put Xin Qing in a position of disadvantage." Ying Qingcang took a deep breath. "Only then I can leave in peace."
"Oh, shush!" Chen Huan leaped up. "What are you guys doing, huh? Things haven"t escalated to that point yet. Let me examine you first!"
Xin Qing, who was currently thousands of miles away, had no idea that the thing inside Ying Qingcang"s body was not just a simple listening device. Nor did she know that the man had already been preparing to sacrifice his own life for her.
"Hey, why don"t you ask Young Master Shen when he is coming back!" Xin Qing pushed the bowl of ice cream towards Zhang Mi.
A crab leg was dangling from Zhang Mi"s mouth when she answered, "That"s your reason for treating me to amazing seafood? To ask me when your man is coming back?"
"Hehe!" Xin Qing gave her another piece of lobster. "Here, eat more! Eat more!"
"Say, I already called and asked yesterday didn"t I?" Zhang Mi glared at her. "I told you already. Whatever it is that they"re doing over there, they"re not done yet. Not done. Why are you getting your panties in a bunch? Why don"t you just fly over there to see him?"
Xin Qing poked a piece of shrimp with her fork and mumbled, "Of course I"m anxious. I don"t even know if the device has been removed."
"Don"t you think he"ll call you as soon as it"s removed?" Zhang Mi rolled her eyes. "Oh, for heaven"s sake, use your head, will you?"
"Huh? What?" Xin Qing failed to understand.
Zhang Mi sighed. "Even if they are confident that they can remove it, they"d still have to wait until both Ying Hao and the old chieftain are rescued first, right? If they remove it now, their cover will be blown and Rong Siman will realize what"s going on."
Xin Qing went into a state of stupor. She had completely forgotten about that part...
"Alright, fine. I won"t ask anymore." Xin Qing took a sip of fruit juice dejectedly. "Are you done eating? Let"s head back to the company."
Zhang Mi tossed a piece of bone at Xin Qing. "Shut it! I"m still hungry! Also, I can"t believe you guys kept me in the dark about the listening device inside Ying Qingcang"s body. If it wasn"t because I had noticed something weird and had threatened Young Master Shen to tell me, I"d still be clueless now!"
"Oh, come on. We were just worried that you might let it slip." Then, Xin Qing gave her a fawning smile.
Xin Qing soon found herself too occupied to worry about Ying Qingcang; someone had come to her and thrown a bunch of wild accusations at her.
She was inside the car on the way home from the company when it happened. Their car was just about to leave the parking lot when Ah Che suddenly braked hard. Monica had been looking at her phone"s screen when the car suddenly braked and, as a result, nearly broke her nose when her face slammed into the screen.
"Ah Che, are you trying to murder us?" Monica yelled, rubbing her nose.
Ah Che turned his head around to look at Xin Qing. "Someone"s blocking the car," he said.
Xin Qing rolled down the car window. She felt a little bit confused when she saw the woman standing outside.
"Hey, do you know her?" Monica asked her furtively.
Xin Qing shook her head. "I think we met before."
Li Susu had obviously overheard their conversation. "How typical of you, Miss Xin. I mean, really! People of your social standing tend to be so forgetful. We met just half a month ago."
"Ah!" The memory came to Xin Qing the moment Li Susu opened her mouth to speak. "Miss Li? What are you doing here?"
"If I didn"t come here, I would still be kept in the dark like an idiot." Li Susu glared at Xin Qing with hatred. Having heard the exchange, Monica realized that Li Susu was here to provoke Xin Qing.
"Hey, who the h.e.l.l are you? Just shut your trap if you don"t have anything nice to say. Geez, people would think we owe you money or something."
No one in the capital had spoken to Li Susu like that before, which was why Monica"s remark had immediately caused Li Susu"s temper to flare. Li Susu pointed a finger at Xin Qing and went on an angry tirade, "Didn"t you say that there"s nothing going on between you and Qianren? Then why were you out having a meal with him? You even touched his hand."
"Hah! You didn"t even look at yourself in the mirror, did you? What kind of status do you have, really? A woman who was abandoned by a man and who later took away all his possessions from him? You think that a woman the likes of you can actually marry into the Jiang family? In your dreams!"
An icy look formed on Xin Qing"s face. Monica had already gotten out of the car by then and was fully prepared to slap the other woman.
"Monica!" Ah Nan suddenly rushed out and stopped her.
"What are you doing?" Monica pushed Ah Nan away. "This b*tch just disrespected Xin Qing. I"m going to slap her until her mouth rots!"
Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Ah Che quickly got out of the car too. The two brothers held back Monica, preventing her from doing anything stupid. They both knew Li Susu"s status. Things would escalate quickly if they antagonized the Li family.
Xin Qing gave Ah Nan a hand signal before she stepped out of the car. Ah Nan took the cue and dragged Monica back into the car while Ah Che stood guard beside Xin Qing. If Li Susu really ended up resorting to violence, Ah Che would never let Xin Qing be in a position of disadvantage.
"Miss Li, I had never expected to see this kind of behavior from a daughter of one of the most prominent families in the capital. Is this really all your good breeding amounts to?" Xin Qing retaliated mercilessly. She was never one to be bullied by another person.
Li Susu went pale; she never thought that Xin Qing was capable of such words. Xin Qing cut her off before she could say anything else.
"Who do you think you are to be saying those things to me just now? Who are you to Jiang Qianren? His girlfriend? His wife? Haha. You"re none of those. In fact, you"re nothing to him." Xin Qing released a cold sneer. "Putting aside the fact that Jiang Qianren has no feelings for you, even if he does, you have no right to say those things to me."
"Wait, I know what you"re going to say," Xin Qing said before Li Susu could speak. "You"re going to say that you"re from the capital"s Li family, right? And that your family has the power to put pressure on Xin Enterprises, right?" Xin Qing turned around and prepared to climb back into the car. "I don"t believe for a second that you people are influential enough to control everything under the sun. If you"re that good, just forbid Jiang Qianren from seeing me. Otherwise, don"t come to me and humiliate yourself before me."
Monica poked her head through the window and started clapping. "Well said..." Ah Nan shoved her head back inside.
Xin Qing slammed the car door with a loud bang. "Ah Che, drive!" Trembling in anger, Li Susu watched as the car drove off in style. Then, she pulled out her phone and dialled a number. "Aunt Song, that Xin Qing bullied me..."
The car sped along the road. None of its occupants dared make a sound. None of them had ever seen Xin Qing speak to someone in a manner that aggressive before, not even to the people from Xin family that year.
"Are you okay?" Monica asked tentatively.
Xin Qing curled her lips. "This just p.i.s.ses me off. Where did that crazy b*tch even come from anyway?"
"I think she"s feeling angrier than you right now," Monica told her frankly. "Tsk, tsk. You were truly a bada.s.s back there!"
In the beginning of her relationship with Ying Qingcang, Xin Qing was like a porcupine with barbed quills all over her body. But after that beginning stage, she had mellowed out and she rarely had angry outbursts. Over the years, all the quills on her body had slowly retracted under Ying Qingcang"s protective care.
Song Chunli"s call came through before they even got home. Song Chunli told Xin Qing not to worry. She also told Xin Qing that Li Susu would not dare make any moves against her. Xin Qing felt a bit touched by the fact that Song Chunli had chosen to stand on her side without even asking.
That night, Jiang Qianren called her too. His shouting voice was the first thing she heard when she picked up his call.
"S*n of a b*tch! Ah Qing, just you wait. How dare that woman bully you. I"ll teach her a lesson once I get back!"
"Why do you think she"s bullying me, huh?" Xin Qing retorted in a tone of disapproval. "Isn"t it all because of you? Treat her nicely if you like her. And stop giving her any wrong ideas."
"I already told you that there"s nothing between me and her. She"s the only one who"s nuts," Jiang Qianren explained quickly. "Look, I"m on a mission right now. I"ll be back next week, and then we can talk. If she comes looking for you again, you don"t have to hold anything back. Just kick her a.s.s!"
Xin Qing thought that Li Susu would let the whole thing go in deference to the Jiang family. Little did Xin Qing know that she had completely underestimated this rich princess. Not a few days later, Xin Enterprises received a notice from the government claiming that the government would be reclaiming a piece of arable land owned by Caesar Academy.