Things turned out slightly different from what Ying Qingcang had planned; he did not manage to hospitalize Ah Hai since the guy possessed rather exceptional fighting abilities. The most miraculous thing of all was that Ah Hai had the ability to climb onto walls with astounding speed, just like a lizard.
Good thing that Young Master Shen had summoned the reporters to the scene long ago, thus the fact that the President of Ying Enterprises had gotten into a fight out of jealousy had made it to the headlines the next day. Tang Shuang could barely contain the joy in her heart when reading the newspaper early that morning. The way she saw it, Ying Qingcang still saw her as his no matter how much he had claimed to hate her; he would still get mad if she spent time around other men. Tang Shuang was thrown into a good mood, and was unable to wipe the grin on her face as a result.
"Ah Hai, eat! I"ll take you out later to have some fun."
Watching Tang Shuang"s exhilaration brought a mixture of sadness and hatred straight into Ah Hai"s heart. He had been in love with her since they were little kids. At first, his plan was to make his move after Uncle Tang"s funeral had been dealt with. He would first approach the elders of the village and ask them to tell Tang Shuang about her engagement with him. After that, they would wait until the following year to get married. He never expected Tang Shuang to marry someone else after she had been gone from the village for just half a year. Ah Hai had virtually planned out the remaining half of his life, and all of them involved Tang Shuang. Right now, it seemed like he would be all on his own.
"I don"t feel like going," Ah Hai said. Then, he stayed tight-lipped, not making a sound. "Why?" Tang Shuang asked in surprise.
"Do you love him that much?" Ah Hai asked. The way Ah Hai saw it, that man did not love Tang Shuang at all; there was no affection in the way he looked at Tang Shuang.
Tang Shuang gave him a smile through pursed lips. "I love him so much. I fell in love with him at first sight."
"But he doesn"t love you!" Ah Hai frowned. "Can"t you see that?"
"So what if he doesn"t?" Tang Shuang was starting to feel annoyed. "Do you have any idea how he treats other women? I a.s.sure you, he treats me very well compared to other women. It won"t matter if he doesn"t love me now, anyway. He"ll fall for me eventually."
Tang Shuang stood up and glared at Ah Hai before he could say anything else. "Keep saying things like that and I"ll get mad!"
Back at Ying Enterprises, Ying Qingcang tossed the newspaper onto his desk and glanced at Young Master Shen. "Why are you still here?"
"What"s the hurry? I"ll just bring the medicine over later today," Young Master Shen said, yawning. "Seriously, it"s like I"m your errand boy nowadays."
Ying Qingcang snorted. "Don"t even. This is the perfect excuse for you to avoid having to deal with matters relating to the mafia and the underworld."
"I"ll let them tear each other apart for a while longer before I make my move. That way, I can take them all out in one fell swoop!" Young Master Shen stood up and gave him a wave. "See ya."
Xin Qing had worn a pair of heels today because, in Zhang Mi"s words, the heels would give her a killer aura.
"You must have something to say if you"re inviting me out here today. So. Just get straight to the point and state your business!"
The man sitting across from her and staring back at her lazily was none other than Randa. His face broke into a grin. "Argh, I can"t believe it. I lost to a Chinese doll," said Randa, coughing twice. A helpless look formed on his face. "Don"t worry. I"m not here to declare war with you." He handed a piece of paper to Xin Qing. "I have Aids."
For a moment, Xin Qing did not know how to react to that piece of news. All that fighting spirit she had acc.u.mulated before she came to the meeting was suddenly pulverized, smashed into smithereens, and then scattered into the wind. "You..." Xin Qing trailed off, glancing at the test result. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked Randa warily.
"CK kicked me to the curb because of you. Before you came along, I had been the one with the greatest prospects of becoming CK"s princ.i.p.al designer," Randa said, staring at her deeply. "I"m not satisfied with that. So I wanted to prove that I"m not inferior to you. The Christmas product line I"ve created is based on the concept you have come up with. And I"m here today because I"m interested to hear your opinion about my designs."
Xin Qing thought it over carefully. "The designs are excellent," she said earnestly. "But still... they aren"t yours. You have based your design on my concept. No matter how closely you"ve followed the concept while coming up with your designs, they won"t be able to represent you."
Randa let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Yeah. A fake is still a fake, right? Well, then. I guess I"ve run out of opportunities to beat you."
"Yeah? Says who?" Xin Qing laughed. "Aren"t you fine right now? Will you be able to rest if you don"t beat me?"
Randa went into a sudden daze as he stared at her blankly. Then, a smile spread over his face, one that hinted at some form of cathartic release. "Yes. I can"t allow myself to die without making peace with this. I lost my job and my reputation because of you. How can I let you off the hook that easily!"
After parting ways with Randa, Xin Qing called CK and asked them to hire Randa back. CK had fired Randa in the first place out of fear that Xin Qing would be unwilling to come on board as CK"s designer as long as Randa was part of them. Now that Xin Qing was fine with it, CK was naturally willing to hire Randa back. When Randa found out about it, he called Xin Qing to thank her as well as to officially declare his challenge to her: they would compete with each other to see whose design would become the first pick for CK"s summer product line.
In a sense, the incident with Randa had brought Xin Qing a great deal of liberation. Life was short, and things could fall apart and disappear in a blink of an eye. At that moment, she suddenly felt very lucky. At least she had left behind some evidence of her existence after her death; she had a legacy. In the future, people would remember her when they saw her designs. In this vein, Xin Qing had decided her theme for her summer designs: grat.i.tude!
Early that morning, Zhang Mi burst through the front door. "Xin Qing!" she greeted.
"So early? You didn"t come home last night?"
Zhang Mi s.n.a.t.c.hed a piece of toast from Xin Qing"s hand. "Anthony brought me to a hotel last night."
Xin Qing nearly choked to death. "You... did you... with him..."
"Here. Have some water." Zhang Mi kindly handed Xin Qing a gla.s.s of water. "What were you even thinking? Nothing happened."
Xin Qing sighed in relief. Then, she glared at Zhang Mi again. "They why didn"t you come home last night?"
"We slept in separate rooms!" Zhang Mi glanced at her in annoyance. "Get your mind out of the gutter, will you? By the way, when are we going back to China?"
"Back to China?" Xin Qing went into a daze. After a while it hit her. "Ah, right. Chinese New Year is approaching."
Zhang Mi nodded. "I must return so that I can spend the new year with my grandfather. Plus, I miss Qianqian. I wonder if her baby is all grown up now!"
"Well, I"m not going back. So, you"ll have to return on your own!" Xin Qing paused in thought, and then she went on, "I don"t have any elders to visit. As for Qianqian and Yudie, you"re going to have to prepare gifts on my behalf."
"Is she not going back because of those adulterers?" Zhang Mi thought. Zhang Mi suddenly slapped the table. "It"s not like the Ying family owns S City. Why should you be the one avoiding it?"
"But it"ll be so awkward if I run into them," Xin Qing said. She really did not want to run into Tang Shuang. Although she knew that everything was a hoax, seeing the way Tang Shuang was acting around Ying Qingcang would still bring a bad taste to her mouth.
"No! You have to go back!" Zhang Mi yelled at her fiercely.
Zhang Mi was h.e.l.l-bent on getting everyone to return to China for the upcoming Chinese New Year, regardless of what Xin Qing"s opinions on the matter were. Somehow, Zhang Mi had even managed to persuade Xunxun to follow them back to China and spend the Chinese New Year there.
"I"ve never been to China. So I figure I"d go and have a look." That was Xunxun"s excuse. Still, Xin Qing found it inappropriate to just bring other people"s kid with them, which was why she wanted to call Boss Wan to ask him for permission, but then Xunxun suddenly told her something else.
"My mommy will come over this weekend. You can tell her about it then!"
Both Xin Qing and Zhang Mi were excited at the prospect of meeting the legendary woman face to face. That weekend, they both got up early to get dressed and make themselves presentable. After that, they eagerly awaited the arrival of Xunxun and his mother. Even Ah Sha seemed rather pensive as she allowed Xin Qing to curl her hair.
"Brother Xunxun told me that Ah Sha"s granny will come today. Ah Sha wants her granny to like Ah Sha!"
Xin Qing shook her head in resignation. "Do you know what a granny means?"
"I know!" Ah Sha raised her hand in the air. "It"s Brother Xunxun"s mother!"
Beside them, Zhang Mi was keeling over in laughter.
A blare of horns sounded at their front door when it was almost 9AM. Heavy patters of tiny feet reverberated around the room as Ah Sha ran towards the door. Xin Qing and Zhang Mi followed closely behind. Both of them felt a little bit nervous. When the door opened, they saw Xunxun dragging a young lady with him by hand...
The woman"s appearance was not over the top at all; she looked just like a young lady who was dressed in a pair of jeans and a pullover. Over her clothes, she wore a thick and furry rabbit fur coat. "Mommy. Have you opened your eyes yet? We"re here," Xunxun said as he walked.
Xin Qing and Zhang Mi"s movements were a bit stiff and awkward as invited their guests inside. Xunxun led his mommy to the couch and then pressed her down onto it. Reaching out, he took Ah Sha"s hand and said, "Mommy, this is Ah Sha!"
"Oh..." The person in the furcoat shifted slightly. All of a sudden, she sat bolt upright. "Ah Sha! My daughter-in-law? Where? Where is she?"
With a stern face, Xunxun hid Ah Sha behind him, away from his mother"s view. "Mommy. You"re being impolite."
"Ah! So we"re already here!" The young lady on the couch removed her coat. Then she took out a wet napkin from the coat"s pocket and wiped her face down. That was when her eyes landed on Xin Qing and Zhang Mi.
In the next second, the woman sprang to her feet and grabbed Xin Qing and Zhang Mi each with one hand. "Ah hahahaha! Nice to meet you both! I"m the mother of that kid over there. I"m Chen Huan! Hm. Let me guess! You must be Xin Qing! And you"re Zhang Mi? Ah hahaha! I"ve guessed right, haven"t I? Oh, I"m so awesome!"
Xin Qing and Zhang Mi glanced at each other and silently communicated their internal panic to each other.
"Ahem! Ahem! Er... Chen Huan, right? It"s so nice to me you! I"m Xin Qing!" Xin Qing held out her hand, though Chen Huan dove straight into her arms. "Nice to meet you, in-law!"
Xunxun shoved Chen Huan aside. "Mommy, you"re scaring Aunt Qing."
Chen Huan glared at the boy. "Nonsense! How can I scare her when I look so pretty?" She turned her head. "Right, Xin Qing?"
"Yes! Yes, that"s right!" Xin Qing quickly gestured for her to take a seat. "Come. Have a seat first."
Chen Huan was just about to sit down when she noticed the tiny figure standing behind Xunxun. Once again, she leaped up in excitement. "Ah Sha! Come, let your granny give you a hug!"
"Ah Sha, come greet your-" Xin Qing had wanted to say "greet your Aunty", but in the end, she was cut off abruptly by Chen Huan. "Call me granny!"
Ah Sha walked up to Chen Huan and stood beside her. "But you"re young like my mommy. You don"t look like a granny at all!" Ah Sha said as she stared at Chen Huan.
Chen Huan pressed a hand to her mouth. "Oh! Hahaha! So you think I"m young, too? Hehehe!"
"Ah Sha, you need to address my mommy as granny. That way, we can get married in the future. Come on, call her!" Xunxun prompted Ah Sha.
Only then did Ah Sha open her mouth to speak with her melodious voice. "Granny! Will you let me marry Brother Xunxun?"
"Of course, of course!" Chen Huan picked Ah Sha up and kissed her cheek. "Our Ah Sha is so cute and pretty. That brat will be hitting the jackpot if he"s paired up with you!" After that, Chen Huan took out a small box from her pocket and then placed Ah Sha on the couch. "Come, let granny give you a needle shot!"
In a blur, Xin Qing saw the woman producing a small syringe from the little box. Then Chen Huan picked up a small vial filled with some kind of drug which came in a strange color. Chen Huan drew the fluid from the vial into the syringe before she patted Ah Sha"s cheek. "Now, be a good girl and show me your b.u.t.t!"
"Hold... Hold on a second." Xin Qing was panicking at that point. "Wha... What is this?"