Xin Qing"s entire body was drenched and her cotton dress clung to her body. She shuddered and then realized that she was still wrapped up in Ying Qingcang"s arms. To Xin Qing, the feeling of his warmth was a long time coming, and it made her lose all her self-control as her arms snaked around his waist.
"Heh!" Ying Qingcang"s voice sounded from above her head. "I won"t hold anything back since you"re so forward." Xin Qing went into a daze. When she realized what she had just done, she quickly pushed him away. The next thing she knew, Ying Qingcang gave her another forceful shove and she was pressed up against a tree trunk.
"It"s been a very long time since I"ve had a reaction to women. I guess this is to be expected from a woman that I once had feelings for. Here, touch it for yourself. It"s functioning again," Ying Qingcang said, pulling Xin Qing"s hand. Xin Qing could do nothing else but gape at him and feel the warmth inside her palm. Then, she glanced down and stared at the bulge in his pants.
"Let me go..." Even Xin Qing herself was able to tell just how weak her voice had come out. Fear began to course through her; it was obvious that her body was still familiar to Ying Qingcang"s touch. Right now, she felt as if every cell in her body was screaming for this man to come closer.
But when her eyes met Ying Qingcang"s eyes, which was filled with mockery and ridicule, she felt a sharp pain in her heart. It was like someone had just stabbed her with a knife.
"Ying Qingcang, please let go of me," Xin Qing pleaded, fisting her hands.
Ying Qingcang stared at her with a faraway look in his eyes. "I"m finally able to have a reaction to a woman, and now you"re expecting me to let you go? I tell you what, how about we make a fair deal? You satisfy my needs, and then I"ll tell you what I know about Ted and Yuna. I"ll also let you have the dealership. How about that?"
"No need. Just let go of me!" Xin Qing began to struggle. Some time during her struggle, her tears had fallen. Then, she realized in horror that Ying Qingcang"s belt was already unbuckled. "No! You can"t do this! Please, I beg you. Ah Cang, how could you violate me like this..."
Ying Qingcang"s hands wandered along the curves of her body. All of a sudden, Xin Qing"s body was turned around and violently shoved up against a tree trunk. Then, she felt a familiar sensation, one that she had not felt for a long time, and she was too powerless to resist it. In fact, she even found herself taking pleasure in the sensation. She did not know how much time had pa.s.sed, but when she regained her senses, she and Ying Qingcang were already seated on the swing.
The swaying motion of the swing as well as the feeling of the man behind her brought her a sense of guilt and shame, both of which were too difficult for her to bear.
"Ying... Ying Qingcang... Hurry up and let... let go of me." Her words had come out in a hoa.r.s.e, yet strangely seductive, whisper.
"You really don"t say what you mean, do you?" Ying Qingcang said. "Why are you insisting that I let you go when you"re clearly feeling good?!" Ying Qingcang licked a broad stripe along her back, causing Xin Qing to shudder.
Warm sunlight shone over the gra.s.sland. Xin Qing sat down limply on the gra.s.s between hedges of wildflowers. Her skirt had long since been torn to shreds, though it was as if she did not even care. She rose to her feet, holding on to the large tree for support. She walked forward and stumbled two steps. Then, without so much as a backward glance, she spoke:
"Ying Qingcang, I don"t care what reasons you possibly have for doing this. But right now, I really hate you. I hate you so, so much..." Her voice had come out monotonous, like it had been uttered by an emotionless automaton.
For a moment, Ying Qingcang"s body went taut, and he was dazed. He unclenched his fists. Then, he got dressed and slowly brushed past Xin Qing.
"You"ve consented to this," he said. "If you want the dealership, come see me at the workshop first thing in the morning tomorrow."
Xin Qing went back inside and threw herself into the bathtub. Every single bruise on her body reminded her of just how consenting she had been when Ying Qingcang touched her just now. That type of knowledge made her feel nothing short of pathetic.
"Wuwuwu..." Xin Qing sobbed into her hands. "a.s.shole! Ying Qingcang, you"re an a.s.shole!"
Xin Qing rushed to the workshop early next morning; she was worried that Ying Qingcang would really reveal the truth to Ted, which would blow any of her chances to partner with Ted. When she arrived at the workshop"s entrance, however, she saw Ted sending Ying Qingcang off. Ted was grinning from ear to ear, and when he saw her, he even spoke to her happily:
"Oh, so you"re here? President Ying said he had some leads regarding the incident that year. He"s on his way to meet Yuna right now. He told me he"ll help us in our reconciliation!"
Xin Qing forced out a smile, grabbed Ying Qingcang"s arm and started walking.
"What"s the meaning of this?"
The corners of Ying Qingcang"s lips tugged into a smirk. "It means exactly what you saw. I"m prepared to reveal the truth to Ted."
"But yesterday you said that..." Xin Qing ground her teeth together. She could not even bring herself to say it out loud. What was she supposed to say? That she had satisfied him yesterday, so now he had an obligation to fulfill his end of the bargain?
"Hahaha!" Ying Qingcang burst into laughter and stared at Xin Qing mockingly. "Women really are brainless. You were a consenting partic.i.p.ant in our activities yesterday. Besides, didn"t you derive a lot of pleasure from it, too? Even now, I can still remember that last moaning sound you made!"
Xin Qing raised her head abruptly. "Ying Qingcang!"
"I"m here," Ying Qingcang said, staring at her. "I lied to you. What I said yesterday was just talk, that"s all. I never expected that President Xin would take off her clothes so eagerly." Ying Qingcang released a mocking laugh. "You think I would just hand the dealership over to you? Please."
Ying Qingcang turned around and slowly walked away. He suddenly turned his head around and laughed. "Well, I suppose if you service me again... I might consider letting you have other opportunities!"
Xin Qing ran up to him and slapped him right across the face. "Get out of my sight!"
Ying Qingcang pressed his lips into a tight line. After a deep and profound stare into her eyes, he walked away.
Failure in securing this dealership would mean Xin Enterprises" defeat in the first battle. As Xin Qing slowly made her way back to workshop, bitterness leaked out from her heart, which then turned into tears. She sniffed and steeled herself for one final attempt in negotiating with Ted. Suddenly, her phone rang.
After a glance at the screen, she picked up. "Ah Nan," she said.
"Young miss! We have a lead for that thing you asked me to look into."
"What?" Xin Qing uttered in surprise.
Inside the office on the workshop"s second floor, Xin Qing stared at Ted.
"Thirty years ago, you had a customer named Ken whom you were on friendly terms with. You and Yuna were already in love with each other back then. Every time Ken was here, he would stay with you for a few days. You and Yuna would frequently invite him to your meals. The last time Ken showed up here, you and Yuna were about to get married, so Ken invited you both to dinner. That night, you drank too much and fell asleep. When you woke up, you realized that Ken had already left and Yuna was nowhere to be seen."
Ted returned Xin Qing"s stare and nodded. "Yes. That was indeed what happened that year."
"After that, you couldn"t find Yuna anywhere, and for some reason, you began to suspect that she had eloped with Ken. But around that time, Yuna suddenly came back. When you went to see her, you found out that she was pregnant. So you confronted her, and during the heat of your argument, you accidentally pushed her down the stairs, causing her to miscarry."
Ted"s expression was becoming more and more unsettled. The truth that he had been trying to find out for all his life was finally about to be revealed.
"That child was yours," Xin Qing said slowly.
Ted"s eyes slowly widened. Then, he smacked his palm against the tabletop in disbelief. "That"s nonsense. I"ve never even touched Yuna!"
"You did," Xin Qing said, staring pointedly at Ted. "It was during that night when both of you had dinner with Ken. Ken bought a drug to knock you out so that he could violate Yuna. But Ken was swindled. The person who had sold him the drug gave him a hallucinogenic aphrodisiac instead. That night, you saw Ken undressing Yuna, so you killed him by accident. But you were still under the influence of the aphrodisiac, so you ended up having s.e.x with Yuna. Afterwards, Yuna saw that you were out cold, so she dealt with Ken"s body all by herself. She feared that the cops would arrest you, that was why she decided to run away. She figured that if she ran and Ken"s body was somehow discovered, everyone would a.s.sume that she had murdered Ken before taking off."
Xin Qing sighed deeply. "But soon after the incident, she discovered that she was pregnant. Half a year later, when there wasn"t any news to call for her arrest, she came back. It could be the drug"s side effect, but you didn"t remember anything about that night..."
Just like that, a single misunderstanding had wasted the lives of two individuals. What a painful price to pay indeed.
"You... How did you even find out about all this?" Ted asked in a shaky voice. His two hands were pressing down the tabletop tightly.
"My people managed to track down the person who had sold Ken the drug that year. The drug dealer is a buddy of Ken"s. According to him, Ken didn"t die back then. After Yuna had dumped Ken"s body off a cliff, someone saved him. After that, Ken told the truth to his buddy."
Xin Qing paused briefly, and then said, "If you"re planning on revenge, don"t bother. Ken died last year due to illness."
"No wonder Yuna hated me so much that year. She thought I wanted her to take the fall for me," Ted said, looking utterly dejected as he sat there. All of a sudden, he seemed to have aged so much.
"You"re wrong," Xin Qing said, shaking her head. "She loved you. Her actions clearly show that she had been meaning to take the fall for you anyway. What she hated... was the fact that you killed the child you had with her with your own hands."
Ted sprang to his feet. "I"m going to see her!"
"Go, then. And I wish you the best!" Xin Qing said, opening the door for him.
Ted went out of the door and then turned back around to face her. "I"m a man of my word," he said. "The dealership is yours."
Xin Qing gave him a tiny smile. "Thank you! I eagerly await your good news."
Xin Qing had deliberately waited until it was night time before she returned to Yuna"s place. How Ted managed to persuade Yuna Xin Qing had no clue, but when she got back, the two of them were cuddling with each other at the garden. Xin Qing smiled and quietly sneaked back upstairs. w.a.n.gw.a.n.g was sprawled on the carpet, fast asleep. In his hand, he was holding a straw plaited cricket.
Xin Qing carried her son to the bed and then started packing their luggage. The torn dress in the trash can caught her eyes. She lowered her head and ruminated for a long, long time...
Yuna felt very thankful to Xin Qing. Knowing that Xin Qing was leaving, Yuna had made a lot of goodies for her as a parting gift. Xin Qing and Ted had already signed the dealership contract. Ted even gave her a handkerchief which, apparently, was made from the luckiest cotton plant. That cotton plant, according to local tradition, had been blessed by the G.o.ddess of Luck.
"Thank you, Aunt Yuna. I hope to see the fruits of your hard-earned romance the next time I visit!"
Yuna glared at Xin Qing. "We"re already so old! What nonsense is this girl even on about?"
"Oh, come on, you"re not that old. You both still look very attractive! Besides, Ted"s is so skilled with his hands. He even knows how to weave a cricket out of straws, which he gave to w.a.n.gw.a.n.g. I bet he"ll be nice to your future kids, too."
Yuna looked confused. "You mean that straw cricket? Oh, no. The old man didn"t make the cricket. w.a.n.gw.a.n.g had it with him when he returned from the sheep pen. I just a.s.sumed that you were the one who had made it for him!"
Huh? Xin Qing"s heart skipped a beat. Somehow, it made her think of Ying Qingcang. But then she quickly shook her head. It could not be that shameless man. Impossible. Just then, Ted suddenly opened the door and came in.
"President Xin, come on outside. The cops are looking for you!"
Shocked, Xin Qing hurried outside. The two foreign cops showed her their badges and IDs. In a grave voice, one of them said, "Miss Xin, there"s something we have to tell you. But I hope you remain calm after we tell you."
"There was a kidnapping in Candy Town," the cop said. "The target is your son and daughter."
Dark spots formed in Xin Qing"s vision. Yuna steadied her just in time before she could collapse. "My children, have they been abducted?"
"No. The kidnappers got the wrong kids," said the cop in a tone of resignation. "Their intended targets were indeed your children. But they messed up and ended up kidnapping the children of other tourists. The kidnappers had realized their mistake and were now looking to make the best out of it. They"ve already made a ransom demand. Look, we have to understand something. Have you had any enemies in the past?"