Xin Qing stared at Young Master Shen in stupor, her eyes pleading and hopeful at the same time.
"Xiao Qingqing..." Young Master Shen trailed off, unable to bring himself to express the words that were now stuck inside his throat.
Zhang Mi grew anxious. "Just spit it out, d*mn it!"
Xin Qing sat down slowly and stared down at her hands. "Whatever it is, just tell me," she said.
Young Master Shen took the seat across from her. After a moment, he finally said, "That listening device inside Ah Cang"s body is actually a miniature bomb."
"Ah!" Zhang Mi yelled, covering her mouth.
Xin Qing felt her body sway from side to side. "And then?"
"There"s one in Rong Siman"s body as well. The trigger condition for the bomb has something to do with her heart. The moment her pulse drops below a certain rate, the bomb inside Ah Cang"s body will go off."
"What rate...? What?" Zhang Mi asked stupidly.
"The human heart will beat somewhere between 60 to 100 times per minute. So if her heart beats less than 60 times per minute, there"s a huge possibility that the bomb will go off. Also, there"s no way to dismantle or remove the bomb because it is buried directly underneath Ah Cang"s heart. It would totally impossible to remove it using present-day surgical techniques," Young Master Shen explained.
"Also, the moment the bomb inside Rong Siman"s body is removed from her body, the bomb inside Ah Cang will go off as well." Young Master Shen"s face turned grim. "That woman would rather put her own life on the line to obtain Ying Qingcang."
"In other words, Ying Qingcang won"t be able to survive even if Rong Siman dies?" Zhang Mi leaped to her feet. "What kind of crazy sh*t is this? Is that woman a f*ck*ng psychopath?"
A long silence ensued, and they both noticed the way Xin Qing was just sitting there quietly without moving a single muscle.
"Xin Qing..." Zhang Mi took the seat beside her. "Um... Hey, don"t panic first, okay? It"s not like the problem can"t be solved, right? I mean, Boss Wan and the others are still working on it!"
Young Master Shen, too, offered his words of encouragement, "That"s right. Nothing is certain yet. With modern technology, pretty much anything can be solved."
Xin Qing slowly raised her head, revealing her face that had become as pale as a sheet. Even her lips had a tinge of green in them. With hazy and unfocused eyes, Xin Qing glanced around her office. Then, she stood up suddenly. "I need to see him... I need to see him."
Before they knew it, they saw Xin Qing"s eyes rolling to the back of her head and her body tipping backwards. Young Master Shen sprang to his feet and caught her just in time. "We"ve got to get her to a hospital!"
Xin Qing felt as if she was in some kind of dream. In the dream, she was all alone, and she was running. She ran, and ran for dear life. After a while, she saw Ying Qingcang standing inside a light beam, reaching out his hand to her. Xin Qing screamed his name sprinted towards the light beam, though she never seemed to be able to get close enough to take his hand no matter how hard she ran.
The next thing she knew, Ying Qingcang"s body was shattering into pieces like a broken mirror.
"No! Don"t!" She screamed loudly and finally opened her eyes.
Zhang Mi, Young Master Shen, Monica, Ah Nan and Ah Che were all standing around her bed. Seeing that Xin Qing was now awake, everyone could finally breathe again.
"Xin Qing, how are you feeling?" Zhang Mi asked. There was a strange expression on Zhang Mi"s face, and it was not just Zhang Mi; in fact, Xin Qing found that everyone else had very strange looks on their faces.
Xin Qing closed her eyes. "What"s wrong with me?" She asked.
Zhang Mi gazed at Xin Qing steadily. "There"s nothing wrong with you," Zhang Mi said. "You"re just pregnant, that"s all."
In an instant, Xin Qing"s eyes were as wide as saucers. She stared at everyone, her mouth agape.
Everyone nodded at her. Then, Monica reached out to stroke Xin Qing"s belly. "Yes, you"re pregnant. Just over 40 days."
"I... I"m pregnant?" Xin Qing stared down at her own belly. "Seriously?"
A conflicted look formed on Zhang Mi"s face. "The most important question is this. Who"s the father? Jiang Qianren?"
"Idiot!" Young Master Shen said, smacking Zhang Mi upside her head. "Of course it belongs to Ah Cang."
"Since when have those two been having secret liaisons?" Zhang Mi paused, staring at Xin Qing. Then, she asked, "Is it true?"
Xin Qing nodded weakly. Her expression right then was a mixture of shock and joy, until she remembered Ying Qingcang and the crisis that he was in. That was when her face fell.
"Listen to me. You"re not living just for yourself right now. You have to be strong for the sake of the baby." Young Master Shen patted Xin Qing"s head. "All of us are putting out minds together to find a solution, including Ah Cang himself. Everything he"s done so far was all because he wanted to return to your side. What is he supposed to do if you"re the one who gives up first?"
Drops of Xin Qing"s tears splashed down on the back of her hand. Slowly, her tears acc.u.mulated on her hand to form a transparent droplet. After a while, she sniffed and started rubbing her face with her hands. Then, she raised her head to face everyone.
"You"re right," Xin Qing said. "Ah Cang is still waiting for me to save him. I need to stay brave and strong. I can"t quit!"
Her words brought smiles to everyone"s faces. Then, Young Master Shen asked, "Do you want us to tell Ah Cang about your pregnancy?"
"Please do!" Xin Qing answered without even the slightest hint of hesitation. "It will give him a reason not to give up. He hadn"t been by my side when w.a.n.gw.a.n.g was born. This time, I want him to witness the birth of this baby with his own eyes!"
After his meeting, Ying Qingcang noticed his secretary skulking around.
When Ying Qingcang returned to his office, he saw that his secretary had followed him into the office as well. "Is there something you want to tell me?" Ying Qingcang asked.
Secretary Ding shook his head. "Oh, it"s nothing, boss. I was just wondering if I may get off work earlier, I mean if you"ve got no other tasks for me today. I"ve got some family matters that I need to take care of!"
"You may," Ying Qingcang said and frowned when he saw Secretary Ding placing a slip of paper onto his desk.
"Thank you, boss!" Secretary Ding left the office.
Ying Qingcang felt blood rushing into his brain the moment he opened the slip of paper. He was stunned.
"Ah Cang, Xiao Qingqing knows everything. Also... You"re about to be a dad again."
It had been more than half a month since Rong Siman got in touch with that male model. Today, he had suddenly called her to ask her out. Of course, she knew what he really wanted. When she remembered the euphoric bliss which came with being in bed with the man, Rong Siman agreed.
Ying Qingcang was not the slightest bit surprised when he received Rong Siman"s call.
"You"re attending a concert with friends? And you"ll be staying over at her place? I see." Ying Qingcang hung up the phone with a smile. Then, he picked up the slip of paper and read through it again. After that, he tossed it into the paper shredder.
When w.a.n.gw.a.n.g came home that night, he was prancing around Xin Qing in circles happily.
"Mother, am I about to get a little sister?"
Xin Qing stared at the boy and immediately thought of Ying Qingcang. Holding back her tears, she asked, "w.a.n.gw.a.n.g likes having a little sister?"
"Yeah!" w.a.n.gw.a.n.g caressed Xin Qing"s belly carefully. "I"ll like her as long as she looks nothing like that chubby Liuliu."
"Maybe it"ll be a little brother!" Xin Qing did not have any preference at all between a boy and a girl. Right now, she could not care less about anything else, not when she considered the state that Ying Qingcang"s body was in.
When Monica saw Xin Qing"s behavior, she knew immediately that Xin Qing was still feeling upset. Monica took w.a.n.gw.a.n.g"s hand. "Listen, w.a.n.gw.a.n.g, your mother is pregnant with a baby right now, so she needs to rest, okay?" After that, Monica ordered Xin Qing to take a nap upstairs. As if sleep would come to Xin Qing at all. She had been lying flat on her back in bed, just staring up at the ceiling. Once in a while, she would wipe her tears away from her cheeks.
Some time later, Xin Qing saw the door of her room being pushed open. Ying Qingcang stood at the doorway, just staring at her.
"Woo..." She pressed a hand to her mouth and met the gaze of the man standing at the doorway. She allowed her tears to flow.
Ying Qingcang closed the distance between them in a few strides and then held her tightly. Xin Qing fumbled with the tablet, trying to get the symphony playing. The moment the music began, she could no longer keep her emotions at bay. She fell apart right then and there, burying her tiny face into her hands as she sobbed.
Ying Qingcang wrote on the tablet, "Don"t cry, babe. You"re living for two people right now. You have to take care of your own body!"
Xin Qing wrote down her reply quickly. "Why didn"t you tell me about the bomb? Were you planning to abandon me?"
Right then, Ying Qingcang"s heart hurt so much that it felt as if his heart had been twisted into a knot. He had no idea how to comfort her. All he knew right then was that he wanted to skin Rong Siman alive. His woman was sobbing her hearts out before his eyes, and yet he could not even come up with a single word to comfort her.
Xin Qing raised the tablet again, "If you end up dying, I swear to G.o.d I"ll abandon the child and die with you."
Ying Qingcang sighed and stood up to grab a towel. With the towel, he carefully wiped away Xin Qing"s tears. But Xin Qing kept crying and crying. There was nothing he could do to stop her tears.
Feeling helpless, Ying Qingcang took the tablet and wrote, "I promise you I"ll never think about dying again. But you have to promise me something too. Take care of your body. And don"t cry. Otherwise, you"ll literally give birth to a cry baby that will cry every day after it"s born."
Xin Qing tugged his sleeve, staring up at him with red, piteous eyes. Her face was telling him: promise me that this isn"t just a lie to make me feel better!
"I promise," Ying Qingcang wrote. He stopped writing for a moment, and then he picked up where he left off, "We need to have faith in Boss Wan. I believe he"ll come up with a solution soon."
Xin Qing nodded and snuggled up to him. After an entire day of high stress and crying, Xin Qing was long since drained of all her energy. Now that she was able to relax, she quickly drifted off to sleep. Ying Qingcang lay her down on the bed carefully and covered her body with a blanket. After that, he sat down beside her bed and just watched her sleep.
Xin Qing woke up around midnight. She shifted slightly and realized that she was still in Ying Qingcang"s arms. Satisfied, she fell asleep once again. The next time she woke up, it was already morning and the man beside her was nowhere to be seen. There was a message on the tablet left by Ying Qingcang.
"I won"t be able to stay by your side every day, but you have to remember not to worry and stress yourself out. Don"t let your imagination run wild, and take good care of yourself. Don"t ever forget about the things that we had talked about last night. For us, you need to take good care of yourself!"
Xin Qing rubbed her eyes and then balled her fists to pep herself up. "That"s right! I have to be strong for Ying Qingcang, for the baby inside me, and for all our children. Have faith. Have faith in Boss Wan and Chen Huan. They will find a way to remove the bomb."
Chen Huan found out about Xin Qing"s pregnancy when she arrived in the afternoon. Almost immediately, Chen Huan felt the heaviness inside her heart easing away; at least now she did not have to worry about Xin Qing doing something stupid because of what happened to Ying Qingcang. Indeed, when Chen Huan saw Xin Qing, the latter was diligently shoving food into her mouth.
"The doctor said I was too thin," Xin Qing said, meeting Chen Huan"s eyes. "I"m confident that you and Boss Wan will find a way!"
Chen Huan thought for a moment and decided to share her thoughts with Xin Qing.
"Xin Qing, I have an idea. But I don"t know if it"ll work."
Xin Qing"s eyes brightened. "Anything will do as long as it can help Ah Cang," she thought. "Please, go ahead! Tell me!"
"I suggest we ask the Jiang family for help," Chen Huan said in a serious tone.
"The Jiang family?" Xin Qing did not see this coming. "You think they might have a solution?"
"There have always been questionable experiments conducted all over the country. I"ve seen quite a few inside the army"s research lab. If the Jiang family is willing to intervene, we might be able to figure something out." Chen Huan frowned. "The problem is that a huge favor like this will surely come at a cost. I fear you might have to return Xiao Rui to them after all."
Realization dawned on Xin Qing. What Chen Huan meant was for her to use Xiao Rui to ask the Jiang family for a favor, a favor that could potentially save Ying Qingcang"s life.
Xin Qing shook her head without the slightest hint of hesitation. "No. I would never betray Xiao Rui. He still doesn"t know his true connection with the Jiang family. How can I just tell him that his real parents had actually died a horrific death? And what about the terrorists who are still after him?"
Even if Xin Qing agreed to let Xiao Rui return to his family, it was still too soon. They had to at least wait until he was older.
"Mother, I agree!" Xiao Rui suddenly ran into the kitchen. Xin Qing jumped in fright. "When did you come back?"
Xiao Rui sat down beside her. "Mother, tell me about the Jiang family. You know that I"m not an ordinary child. I"m not afraid. Please tell me everything."