Xin Qing felt that Ying Qingcang once again returned to that despicable and shameless personality of his. She knew none of her cold, icy looks bothered him at all. Xin Qing decided to ignore him entirely and went back to packing for their trip to the farm.
"You can"t go tomorrow," Ying Qingcang said, shooting her a glance.
Xin Qing dropped the suitcase onto the floor harshly. "Where I go is none of your business. What right do you have to stop me from going anywhere?"
"You can go the day after tomorrow. Someone"s coming here tomorrow," Ying Qingcang said, picking up the fallen suitcase. Then he took the towel which lay nearby and asked, "Are you bringing this?"
Xin Qing s.n.a.t.c.hed the towel from his hand. "What the h.e.l.l are you trying to do? Aren"t you already engaged? What are you doing crashing at my place instead of spending time with your fiance?"
"Ugh!" Ying Qingcang sighed. "There you go acting jealous again."
Xin Qing felt a strong urge to shove the towel right into the man"s mouth. "Oh, get over yourself. I already told you that things are over between us. If you"re here to see Ah Sha, then I won"t stop you. But you need to stop harra.s.sing me."
"I"m not hara.s.sing you. I asked you to postpone your trip for a day because Monica is coming. She wants to see Ah Sha. We could all visit the farm together," Ying Qingcang said, looking at Xin Qing with nothing but calmness in his eyes.
Xin Qing"s heart ached. Monica was his fiance now. Just when she started to say something, Ying Qingcang beat her to it and cut her off. "If you don"t agree, then I have no choice but to see this as jealousy on your part."
"Fine! I agree!" Xin Qing nodded and smiled. "I"ll postpone the trip for a day then." She opened the door to her bedroom. "I"m going to take a bath. Do you mind going downstairs?"
Ying Qingcang flashed a devilishly attractive smile. "Good night!"
Monica arrived the following night and screamed in excitement when she saw Ah Sha. "Oh my G.o.d! She looks exactly like you. Are you sure she"s really adopted?" Monica stared at Xin Qing. "Did you have her with someone else in secret?"
Xin Qing facepalmed herself. "In terms of family relations, she"s technically my niece. It"s normal for her to resemble me."
"Tsk, tsk. You seriously look so alike. With just one look, people will have no problems believing that you two are mother and daughter!" Monica walked around Ah Sha in circles. Ah Sha did not seem frightened by Monica"s presence at all. In fact, she even offered her toy to Monica. Xin Qing sneaked a glance at Ying Qingcang and found his face to be completely neutral. She moved in and tugged on Monica to sit down. "Stop walking around in circles. You"re making me dizzy," she said. "And I guess congratulations are in order," Xin Qing went on. "When you get married, I"ll design some jewellery for you!"
"Huh?" Monica nearly jumped up from her seat as if electrocuted. Ying Qingcang, who sat beside her, held her down before she jumped up. "Xin Qing"s suggestion sounds fine," he said. "Tell her later the kind of jewellery you prefer."
Monica was on the verge of tears at that point, but the warning look in Ying Qingcang"s eyes was so obvious that she played along.
"Ahem! Ahem! I"ll have to think about it. I need to think about it! I"ll tell you once I"ve decided." Monica"s eyes darted towards Xin Qing. "You... You"re not mad at me, right?"
"Why would I be mad at you?" Xin Qing smiled. "You have my blessing!"
"I don"t need your blessing at all," Monica thought. "Oh," Monica said with a grief-stricken face. "I"m tired. I"m going to bed."
"I"ll take you to the guestroom. You should rest early because tomorrow we"ll be visiting a farm!" Xin Qing said. After she got Monica settled in the guestroom, Xin Qing prepared to leave, but Monica stopped her. "Will you start ignoring me in the future?" Monica asked. "Actually, I..." Since Ying Qingcang was not there, Monica wanted to clear things up with Xin Qing.
"Monica!" Xin Qing hugged her. "It"s over between me and Ying Qingcang. Whoever he chooses to be with is his business. Even if it"s not you, it"ll just be somebody else. You"re my friend, so I"ll give you my blessing." Xin Qing paused in thought and then went on, "Don"t feel burdened because of me. Don"t worry! We"ll always be good friends."
As she lay in bed, Monica replayed the words Xin Qing told her.
"Even if it"s not you, it"ll just be somebody else..." All of a sudden, Monica sat up. That was why Ying Qingcang chose her. He knew that she would not try to harm Xin Qing. If it were anybody else, Ying Qingcang would not have been able to see Xin Qing whenever he desired! Having figured out the crux of the matter, Monica could not help but feel excited.
"So I just need to keep up the act, that"s it!" she thought. Monica fell asleep shortly after her mind cleared. The last conscious thought she had was that it was too bad Ah Nan did not come along.
Bright and early the next morning, Xin Qing, Monica, and Ah Sha, all of whom looked fully revitalized, readied to depart for their trip. Aunt Tian had declined to join the trip, claiming that she was not up for long car-trips. When they were all getting in the car, Monica originally intended to join Xin Qing in the backseat; that way, she would be able to play with Ah Sha. That idea, however, was shattered by one vicious look from Ying Qingcang. Just like that, Monica was forced to sit in the pa.s.senger seat with a lowered head. Ah Che kept grinning at her as if he enjoyed her predicament. Seeing Ah Che"s face, which was practically a mirror image of Ah Nan"s, Monica felt like tossing her shoe at him.
"What are you doing?" In the backseat, Xin Qing gave Ying Qingcang wary looks.
Ying Qingcang picked up Ah Sha, who sat between the two of them, and placed the child on his lap. That way, he could get close to Xin Qing. "Riding in a car? What else would I be doing?"
Xin Qing placed Ah Sha"s doll between them, using it as some kind of childish barrier. "Then you look after Ah Sha. I"ll take a nap." For some reason, she kept having dreams last night; the dreams were jumbled and chaotic, the whole lot of them. Because of that, she felt hazy and drowsy.
"Go ahead and sleep, then!" Ying Qingcang said as he helped tilt back her seat. "Ah Sha will be a good girl and won"t disturb you!"
From the city, it took around 3 hours to reach the farm. They arrived by the time Xin Qing woke up. The reality that she could not accept, however, was the fact that she woke up in Ying Qingcang"s arms.
"Where"s Ah Sha?" Xin Qing sat up abruptly. When Ah Sha heard her name being called, she poked her head out and grinned at Xin Qing. "Mommy!"
"Ah Sha!" Xin Qing shouted in pleasant surprise. "Did you just call me?"
Ah Sha reached a hand towards Xin Qing. "Mommy!"
"My precious baby can say "Mommy" now!" Overjoyed, Xin Qing took Ah Sha into her arms. Before, Ah Sha could only say "Ma". Xin Qing always detested the fact that Ah Sha had long since started calling Ying Qingcang "Daddy".
Ah Sha"s tiny figure arched in Xin Qing"s arms. Then she leaned her body towards Ying Qingcang beside them. "Daddy!"
Ying Qingcang reached out and took Ah Sha from Xin Qing. He kissed the child. "Ah Sha is so awesome!"
With that interruption, Xin Qing forgot all about waking up in Ying Qingcang"s arms. In the front seat, Monica and Ah Che looked at each other. "Young master is such a pro!" one of them thought. The other felt nothing but pity for Xin Qing. "No wonder she was always taken advantage of by Ying Qingcang. They aren"t even in the same league!"
Ying Qingcang stealthily pulled Xin Qing into his arms while she slept. He even asked Monica to teach Ah Sha to call Xin Qing "Mommy", which Monica did throughout the entire car ride. Either Ah Sha somehow figured out her daddy"s subtle scheme and decided to be in cahoots with him, or she just so happened to reach that stage where she say, "Mommy". Whatever it was, Ying Qingcang could not tell. Anyway, the point was that she learned how to call for "Mommy". Just for that, Ying Qingcang decided to give Ah Sha a present once they arrived at the farm.
Most farms in France were privately-owned. The one that Xin Qing had chosen for their trip was the largest in the area. This farm in particular received and accomodated outsiders as guests. Tourists could rent a hut and enjoy all of the farm"s facilities including the opportunity to partic.i.p.ate in the milking and herding of goats, the collection of grapes from the vines, and also horseback riding. Meals would be delivered on schedule, though tourists were given the choice to make their own meals if they so desired.
Because there were four of them, Xin Qing decided to rent a cabin the size of a villa. She and Monica would take the second floor with Ah Sha whereas Ying Qingcang would share the same floor with Ah Che.
"Why separate me and Monica?" Ying Qingcang asked while standing in the living room. He seemed rather dissatisfied with the sleeping arrangements.
Xin Qing looked on with a blank facial expression for a moment, and then smiled awkwardly. "Oops, sorry. I forgot that you"re engaged. I"ll share the ground floor with Ah Che. Both of you can take the second floor." Xin Qing looked at Monica, who kept her head down, not daring to make a sound. Monica knew that if she and Ying Qingcang really did end up in the same room, the man would never stay in the room for longer than a second.
"Don"t bother," Ying Qingcang said, smiling all of a sudden. "I was just asking. Just stick to the original arrangement, then!" After that, he headed straight towards the bedroom on the ground floor. Ah Che towed Ying Qingcang"s suitcase and followed him.
Monica heaved a sigh of relief. "Let"s go upstairs then, Xin Qing!"
"What the h.e.l.l is he trying to do by coming here?" Xin Qing growled. Monica released two chuckles. "Don"t ask me, girl. I wish I knew..." she thought.
After preparing their rooms and changing into casual attire, the four of them, with the addition of Ah Sha in Ying Qingcang"s arms, gathered in the living room.
"Here"s today"s schedule," Xin Qing said. "First, we"ll grab lunch at the farmstead. Then we"ll head down to the pens to check out the sheep. I heard that there"s a special activity that involves feeding milk to lambs. Ah Sha is allowed to join too." That was also Xin Qing"s main purpose for coming here. She wanted Ah Sha to have more exposure to Mother Nature. Small animals made the best kind of playmate for young children. All of a sudden, Xin Qing was reminded of Le Le back at Ying"s residence. She only saw Le Le once the last time she went back. Even then, the meeting had been hurried. Le Le was still as excited as ever when it saw her. Too bad she could not bring Le Le along too.
"I don"t have any problem with that," Monica said, nodding in agreement. Not that she dared to have objections of any kind to begin with.
"Neither do I!" Ah Che said, raising his hand. He had no problems as long as his Young Master and Young Miss were together.
Xin Qing glanced at Ying Qingcang, who smirk with devious curled lips. He grinned at her, his eyes squinting in the process. "I"ll listen to everything you say."
"Ahem, ahem. Fine, then. Let"s head out!" Xin Qing lowered her head, completely unwilling to admit that she blushed right then. Everytime Ying Qingcang smiled at her like that, she fell under his spell.
Lunch consisted of pure organic green vegetables and pork. The latter obtained from pigs bred here on the farm. After lunch, the group fed the lambs as planned. Ah Sha screamed relentlessly with joy when she saw a bunch of white, fluffy, dumpling-shaped bundles lying around, all of which were even smaller than her. She kept moving and shifting around in Ying Qingcang"s arms, wanting to get down. When freed, Ah Sha dashed towards the lambs and stood among them. The little lambs had probably just turned a month old as they seemed rather clumsy in their posture and barely stood up straight. They waddled about unsteadily and were slow in their movements. Even if Ah Sha"s presence frightened them, there was nothing more they could do other than allow the child to paw endlessly on their bodies. Ah Sha made quite an effort to heave a lamb off the ground and ended up falling flat on her b.u.t.t. She did not cry at all. Instead, she carried on laughing as she embraced the little lamb towards her chest.
The startled lamb bleated non-stop, which, to Ah Sha"s eyes, was a display of joy. At that, Ah Sha screamed with even more enthusiasm, reciprocating each of the lamb"s bleat with a squeal of her own.
Xin Qing stood there, watching Ah Sha with a smile. During some unknown time, Ying Qingcang wrapped his arm around her waist. "Such a beautiful picture!" he said.
"Mm!"
"Then let"s make a boy!"
"Mmmhmm.... What?" Xin Qing snapped back to reality and shoved him away. "What kind of a screw do you have loose?"
"You body doesn"t reject me, see?" Ying Qingcang pulled her closer. "I"ve had my arm around your waist for so long, and you didn"t even notice."
Deep down, Xin Qing cursed and chewed herself out. She took two steps back and grabbed for Monica, who was just about to run away. "Here. Your fiance"s here. Now the two of you can embrace each other all you want!" Xin Qing said and ran towards Ah Sha. Xin Qing took Ah Sha"s hand and fed the lambs together.