In Ying"s ancestral home, England.
"Have you made up your mind to take up internship there?"
"Yes, I"ve decided," a beautiful oriental woman said and threw the newspaper in her hands into the trash can. A picture took up a whole page of the newspaper, that was, Ying Qingcang and Xin Qing embraced in the jewelry exhibition.
Shi Qianqian did not go to school, and her brother-in-law, Ding Lei, called to help her ask for leave. Xin Qing and Zhang Mi came to see her after school. In Shi Qianqian"s home, they encountered the woman again who had been with Shi Qianqian"s brother-in-law in the previous exhibition.
"Miss Xin, h.e.l.lo!" she greeted with great civility at the sight of Xin Qing and introduced herself, "My name is Jian Jie, working for President Ying."
Xin Qing knew instantly why Jian Jie was so courteous to her and nodded politely. "h.e.l.lo."
"Qianqian, are you ok? You look so bad," Zhang Mi looked at Shi Qianqian"s hand with great concern. The hand was wrapped in thick gauze.
Shi Qianqian waved her hand and said, "It"s ok. To wrap it is to avoid being infected. It just looks scary."
"Since you are here, I should not disturb you," Jian Jie was about to leave tactfully and remembered to remind Shi Qianqian, "Qianqian, don"t touch the water. Please take medicine on time. I will come to see you tomorrow."
Shi Qianqian replied with a straight face, "No, I can take care of myself. And my brother-in-law will look after me as well."
"Hehe. Well, take care of yourself. I am leaving now!" Jian Jie did not feel embarra.s.sed at Shi Qianqian"s words, instead, she left with a smile.
Xin Qing looked at Shi Qianqian and said, "You dislike her?" Shi Qianqian seldom resisted people in that way, let alone show her aversion so markedly.
"No." Shi Qianqian said with a serious look, "I hate her. I hate her very much."
"Why?" Zhang Mi asked in wonder, "She looks not bad!"
Shi Qianqian did not utter a word. Xin Qing contemplated for a moment with knitted eyebrows, and then stammered in great astonishment, "Isn"t...it...that way?"
Shi Qianqian nodded and said, "That"s it."
"What? What are you talking about? What is that?" Zhang Mi asked, unable to catch up with what charade they were playing.
Xin Qing looked at Shi Qianqian prudently and replied, "Qianqian...likes her brother-in-law."
"Poof..." Zhang Mi puffed the fruit juice in her mouth, "Do you have a heavy taste?" She goggled at Shi Qianqian and said, "He is your BROTHER-IN-LAW!"
"Besides, he is over ten years older than you!" Xin Qing remembered that Shi Qianqian was ten years younger than her sister, in other words, Ding Lei must be more than a decade older than Shi Qianqian.
Shi Qianqian replied lightly, "Just twelve years."
"It is a dozen of years! Bestie, are you crazy?" Zhang Mi touched Shi Qianqian"s head and said, "Your brother-in-law has been taking care of you for these years, so you consider him as your father. It is not love."
Shi Qianqian"s family suffered a car accident after her sister and brother-in-law"s engagement party, and only Shi Qianqian and Ding Lei survived. During these years, Ding Lei cared about her as a daughter, sister and family member.
"I am not a kid now. I know what I want," Shi Qianqian took a sip of water, glanced at Xin Qing, and said, "Do me a favor."
"Go ahead," Xin Qing looked nervous. Because Shi Qianqian was the most strong-minded among them, and Xin Qing and Zhang Mi inclined to listen to her, no matter what happened. But now, Shi Qianqian asked Xin Qing for help, which made Xin Qing worry about Shi Qianqian"s resort. How terrible it would be.
Shi Qianqian patted her with her injured hand, "Why are you so nervous? I just want you to get some information about Jian Jie. The more, the better."
"Me?" Xin Qing could not get what she meant.
Zhang Mi flipped her eyes and said, "Your man."
"I see!" Xin Qing reacted to it and said. Jian Jie was an employee of Ying Enterprises.
"She made acquaintance with my brother-in-law while doing business. Now even a blind can tell she shows interest in Ding Lei," said Shi Qianqian with a cold look. At that moment, Xin Qing felt that Shi Qianqian"s expression resembled Ying Qingcang"s.
"What"s your brother-in-law"s response?" Xin Qing asked, "If he is also interested in her, I advise you to give him up."
Shi Qianqian shot a glare at her and said, "My brother-in-law takes no interest in her. But it is she who is eager to snuggle up."
"How do you know he does not have interest?" Zhang Mi twisted her mouth and said, "Your brother-in-law has been over thirty years old, but still single."
Shi Qianqian waved her hands and said, "You don"t know. I"m speaking his thought."
Xin Qing returned home with a daunting task, and Ying Qingcang also looked sullen when he came back.
"Are you not feeling alright?" Xin Qing asked. If Ying Qingcang was in bad mood today, she would not mention Shi Qianqian"s matter.
Ying Qingcang held her into his arms and said, "Nothing... Er, Qingqing, just one thing."
"Well, go ahead. I also have something to tell you."
Hearing Xin Qing had something to tell him, Ying Qingcang said, "You go first."
"The thing is..." Xin Qing retold Shi Qianqian"s story to him. Ying Qingcang felt nothing surprising. After all, it was others" business. So he thought for a second and said, "Later, I will send the information about Jian..."
"Jian Jie!" responded Xin Qing immediately. It was impossible for Ying Qingcang to remember every employee"s name. She guessed he might not even know what Jian Jie looked like.
Ying Qingcang nodded, "I will send her information to you."
"It"s your turn." Xin Qing stared at him and said.
With knitted eyebrows, Ying Qingcang uttered, "After several days, someone will come to our home and live here for a month."
"Who?" Xin Qing asked, comfortable to hear "our home" from Ying Qingcang"s mouth.
"I had a playmate when I was a little boy. The playmate..." Ying Qingcang paused, thought for some seconds, and continued, "I owed a favor to this playmate."
Xin Qing was shocked, and Ying Qingcang"s expression revealed that the playmate must be a girl.
"You have a playmate? A female?"
"She was the daughter of my father"s employee. Her father pa.s.sed away accidentally. Then, my father adopted her. She lived in my home for several years when she was young. Later, I studied abroad and we have never seen each other since then."
Xin Qing nodded and asked, "Well, why will she come here?" The childhood playmate paid a sudden visit, and the playmate was someone with an owed favor. How did it sound like a romantic drama!
"She wants to practise in Ying Enterprises. Just one month," Ying Qingcang knitted his eyebrows and said. He disliked strangers living in his house. But for his father, he would not have admitted.
Xin Qing did not know Ying Qingcang considered his playmate totally as a stranger. In her mind, she was fabricating a wearily out-dated plot, "cousin sister sought refuge with her cousin brother all the way, only to find her cousin had fallen in love with someone else already. Then she tried every means to awaken their childhood memory desperately, with an aim of destroying the happiness between her cousin and her cousin"s lover."
"I see," Xin Qing could not say anything more but just a few words.
Ying Qingcang did not know Xin Qing had imagined so much and just said, "Don"t worry. I ask Uncle Fu to arrange her room downstairs. She cannot hear us."
"...Can you merely think of something like that?"
Since Ying Qingcang"s cousin in the legend had not arrived, Xin Qing fixed her focus on Shi Qianqian"s matter.
"Jian Jie is a manager of Public Relations Department of Ying Enterprises. She is artful and thoughtful, enjoying a relatively good reputation in the business circle. She is 28 years old. Her parents are living in the countryside. And her younger brother is in S City."
Zhang Mi read out Jian Jie"s information like making a report. Xin Qing grabbed it and threw at Shi Qianqian, "You can look at more information by yourself. It is all about her working performance and achievement."
Out of Xin Qing"s expectation, Ying Qingcang gave her such detailed information about Jian Jie, which made Xin Qing feel weird as if having done something bad.
"What a shrewd woman." Shi Qianqian said and scrutinized the material with the thought of knowing the mutant; killing the mutant.
Xin Qing asked, uneasy at her itching expression, "What will you do?"
"I am always straightforward," Shi Qianqian said and gave a designing smile.
Several days later, Shi Qianqian"s wound was healed. She invited Xin Qing and Zhang Mi to come to her home for dinner and had her brother-in-law to invite Jian Jie as well. Around the dining table, Shi Qianqian expressed mannerly her thanks to Jian Jie for her care and added that she hoped Jian Jie would not come to her home any more. Because if word got out, it would stain Jian Jie"s fame—it would be nothing serious if Jian Jie and Ding Lei were misunderstood, but it would bring trouble if Jian Jie was misapprehended as a business spy.
Hearing these words, Ding Lei also thought it was serious. After all, he and Ying Qingcang were compet.i.tors in business. So without a second thought, Ding Lei agreed with Shi Qianqian"s words and asked Jian Jie to mind her behavior, not to come for him frequently.
When Ying Qingcang took Xin Qing home, she told it to him in admiration.
"Qianqian is really awesome. Pity that you can"t see Jian Jie"s look. Her face turned livid." Xin Qing chattered and added enviously, "You say, why can"t I be as awesome as Qianqian?"
Ying Qingcang looked at her lowering her head. Because she was wearing a decolletage sweater, the radian of her neck extended downward, and the tight white sweater curved her perfect body lines.
He swallowed with his throat moving, not knowing why his d.i.c.k always got a tingle every time he saw Xin Qing. With the thought, Ying Qingcang took a turn and stopped it on the mountain path.
"What?" Xin Qing looked out of the window and found they just arrived at the hillside, "Why do you stop here?"
Ying Qingcang loosened their safety belts and laid back his seat with a discontented thought that he should have driven his recreational car since the s.p.a.ce in the back was larger.
Before Xin Qing could react to what Ying Qingcang was about to do, he had held her over his body.
"You... What do you want to do..." She blushed and could sense Ying Qingcang"s intention, thinking that he was too blatant.
Ying Qingcang laughed and kiss her lips. On the tranquil mountain road, a man and a woman were moaning. At that moment, Xin Qing was possessed by Ying Qingcang thoroughly. Even after they returned home, he did not let her go. They continued and intermingled intimately, the sound in the room like a voluptuous love song.
In Shi Qianqian"s home.
When Ding Lei returned home and saw her cooking in the kitchen, he asked curiously, "Are you feeling well?"
"Yes!" Shi Qianqian said as she set the dishes on the table, "Do you like Jian Jie?"
"Don"t talk nonsense," Ding Lei said with a glare, "Isn"t it promised that I will not think about it before you get married?"
Shi Qianqian"s sister asked Ding Lei to make the promise before pa.s.sing away. Shi Qianqian guessed that her sister seemed to know that she also liked Ding Lei, otherwise, her sister would not have left those last words.
"I thought you"ve forgotten it!" Shi Qianqian grinned and said, "Don"t have any contact with Jian Jie. I don"t like her."
Ding Lei nodded in confusion and answered, "Okay!"