Perplexed, Ailey stared at Xin Qing. "What do you mean by that?"
From that alone Xin Qing could tell that Ailey was actually a good girl. Xin Qing wondered why Ailey's family had not nurtured her with the upbringing of a princess. Ailey did not possess the same kind of refined, elegant aura that Dianne had in spades. Still, Ailey was unlike the typical foreign women, who were far too casual with their sex lives as well as their interactions with men. That was why yesterday Xin Qing had warned Young Master Shen not to mess with Ailey.
"Yesterday, he went out with his girlfriend to have fun," Xin Qing said. "Pretty sure she'll get it if I put it that way," Xin Qing thought.
"Girlfriend? He has a girlfriend?" The look on Ailey's face changed instantly.
Xin Qing glanced at her. "It's a model he met yesterday," she explained.
"Then she can't have been his girlfriend," Ailey said, seemingly relieved.
"He changes women more frequently than he changes his clothes. It'll be over after he sleeps with them." Xin Qing thought she might as well be forthcoming about things. Despite everything, Ailey was still Meyer's younger sister. Xin Qing did not want Ailey to get into trouble later because of Young Master Shen.
Ailey was just about to say something else when the doorbell rang. Xin Qing got up and opened the door. Young Master Shen had a playful look on his face as he walked in with a box of cake. "Xiao Qingqing, this is a gift. I had to stand in queue for an hour just to buy this, you know!"
"Hey!" Young Master Shen noticed Ailey's presence. "Who's this little beauty?"
He had obviously forgotten about the meeting with Ailey yesterday.
"You don't remember? We met just yesterday!" Ailey was a bit disappointed, though deep down, she secretly felt happy when he referred to her as "little beauty". She had no idea that "little beauty" had always been Young Master Shen's moniker for women in general.
Young Master Shen looked towards Xin Qing. "During the fashion show?"
"I don't know," Xin Qing said in annoyance. "Hurry up. Go take a shower and get changed." The guy's collar still had lipstick stains on it, and his entire body smelled like perfume.
Ailey had obviously noticed those things too. She pouted and mumbled to herself, though her words were inarticulate. Young Master Shen gave two chuckles before heading upstairs for his shower.
"Xin Qing, I'm heading off first," Ailey said, walking towards the door dejectedly. That surprised Xin Qing a little. She had been worrying that this girl would want to keep hanging around here. Shortly after Ailey's departure, Young Master Shen came down, feeling refreshed. He noticed Xin Qing's incessant staring.
"What? Finally realized that I'm more handsome than Ying Qingcang?"
Xin Qing glared at him. "Didn't we agree never to mention him again?"
"Right, right, right. I forgot." Young Master Shen picked up the bowl of soup that Xin Qing had been drinking. He finished it in one mouthful, smacking his lips in appreciation. "I heard about the mining site you're visiting for the trip. It's Ying... ahem. It's yours?"
Xin Qing's mood instantly turned sour at Young Master Shen's mention of that particular issue. "If I had known about it earlier, I would have requested for another site," she said in annoyance.
"It's perfect this way!" Young Master Shen said, looking at her. "Come on, think about it. Like it or not, that property is still yours, so this is the perfect opportunity for you to go have a look around. Also, this will help you gauge your own net worth." Seeing that Xin Qing was about to come up with some kind of rebuttal, Young Master Shen raised a hand. "Enough. Don't say things like the place isn't yours and whatnot. A gift is a gift. Do you really think it's possible for a gift to be returned once it had been given?"
Xin Qing said nothing, so Young Master Shen went on, "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking of going there as a normal student of the academy. But you seem to have forgotten something. Even if low-level personnel are clueless, there's still the manager, who will no doubt recognize your name. At this point, I'm pretty sure the academy has already submitted the name list!"
"Ugh," Xin Qing said, frowning. She had completely forgotten about that part.
"Then what should I do now? I won't be going alone, you know. I can't let the others know that I own the site."
Young Master Shen released two chuckles. "That's easy! Just call them and give them a heads up. Tell them not to disclose your identity."
Xin Qing nodded and ran upstairs to retrieve the document containing the phone number. Surprisingly, when the call got through, the person on the line apologized to her, claiming that it was impossible to confirm that she really was Xin Qing due to the fact that President Ying himself had not notified them ahead of time. In other words, Xin Qing's words lacked credibility.
She hurried downstairs and asked Young Master Shen, "Hey, this document isn't a fake, right?"
Young Master Shen took the document and looked it over. "Well, I don't see any problems here! Why?"
"They didn't believe what I told them," Xin Qing said, feeling a bit disgruntled. She plopped herself down on the couch. "They said I'd have to wait until they verify my identity. By that time, won't my identity be known by everyone already? Seriously..."
A thought came to Young Master Shen's mind. "Ah, then perhaps you should give a certain someone a call."
Xin Qing shot him a glance. "Can't you call them?"
"Pfft. I'm no more useful than you are in this case!" Young Master Shen said, stretching himself. "It only works when the word comes from a certain someone."
"Then you call him for me. Otherwise, I'll allow Ailey to come to look for you every day," Xin Qing said threateningly.
"Huh? That Ailey? Nah, forget it. I have no energy to serve a big princess," Young Master Shen said, pulling out his phone.
For the next few days, Young Master Shen stuck around Xin Qing. He did not even whine about wanting to go check out hot chicks. There were a few times when Xin Qing had asked him to go out and have fun, but he had come up with all sorts of excuse to remain by her side. This lasted for an entire week, all the way until the day of his departure.
When Xin Qing was sending him off at the airport, Young Master Shen lingered at the security gates, reluctant to leave. He was stammering and stumbling over his words.
"Just spit it out if you have something to say. You've been holding back for so many days. Won't you die from all that pent up stress?"
Young Master Shen stared right at her. "What do you think of that William?"
Xin Qing was taken aback. She had assumed that if there was anything capable of making Young Master Shen hesitate in his words, then it would have something to do with Ying Qingcang. She did not expect him to mention that name.
"William?" Xin Qing asked. Then, something came to her mind. "How do you know about that person?"
"I went to CK to check out the necklace you'd designed," Young Master Shen said without batting an eye. "I ran into him there. Well, I told him I'm your brother. That fellow was very amiable, and we chatted for a while." Young Master Shen gave her a pointed stare. "Looks like you've made quite an impression on him!"
"How is it possible for you to chat with just anyone?" Xin Qing glared at him. "You're such a gossiper, like Mimi."
"My God, don't mention that crazy woman." Young Master Shen shuddered. "You really don't feel anything for that William?"
Xin Qing looked at him strangely and asked, "Feel what? We barely know each other, for goodness' sake!"
"Oh..." Young Master Shen nodded, staring at her again. Xin Qing was just about to ask him what was going through his head when Young Master Shen threw out a quick "Goodbye!" before turning around and went through the security gates.
As she left the airport, Xin Qing heaved a sigh of relief. "Finally sent off that clown," she thought. Once again, she thought of Zhang Mi. "Those two are really alike..." she thought, smiling.
Xin Qing headed home, thinking that she could finally have time to relax. But when she got home, Ailey was sitting in front of her door. Ailey sprang to her feet the moment she saw Xin Qing's return. "Xin Qing! Where were you?"
"Went to send off my friend," Xin Qing said, opening the door. Ailey followed her inside. "Is your friend the one called Young Master Shen? Wait, send him off? He's gone?"
"Good thing he left today," Xin Qing thought, silently reveling in the fact that Young Master Shen had lucked out.
"Yup. Went back to his country."
Ailey was getting riled up. "So fast? But I haven't even had a proper conversation with him yet!" Ailey exclaimed.
"What's there to talk about between you two?" Xin Qing asked, feigning surprise. "It's not like you two are close."
"Then... well I'm sure we'll get closer after a conversation or two!" Blushing, Ailey clung to Xin Qing and asked, "Xin Qing, when are you returning to your country?"
"Me?" Xin Qing asked, pointing to herself. Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this. "I don't know."
"Aren't you going to go back during the summer holidays?" Ailey said in disappointment.
"I've got a lot of things to do this summer. I don't have time to go back."
At Xin Qing's words, Ailey released her hold on Xin Qing. "Oh," Ailey said. "Then I won't disturb you."
Xin Qing sent Ailey to the front door. As Xin Qing was closing the door, Ailey squeezed in through the gap and said, "If you have plans to go back to your country, you must let me know, okay!"
"Fine, fine. I'll let you know!" Xin Qing said. Xin Qing stared after Ailey as she left, and then shrugged. "It's not like she'd follow him all the way back to China!" she thought.
It was the end of the month, and Xin Qing received an air ticket from CK. The next day, Xin Qing arrived at the airport on time. She saw many students from the academy there. Everyone had been assigned a different location for the trip. Despite the throng of people, Xin Qing had spotted Dianne in just one glance. Dianne had spotted her too, considering the fact that Dianne was waving at her from afar. Xin Qing nodded. Then, she sat down on a bench not too far away from where everyone was and waited for boarding.
CK had been generous with their top students and had provided them with business class tickets. Although not as spacious as the first class cabin, they could at least be spared from having to squeeze themselves in the crowded economy class cabin. After they all boarded, Xin Qing noticed that Dianne had chosen a seat quite far away from her own, which made her feel oddly relieved. It was not that Xin Qing was timid. Well, she was pretty sure that any woman would feel unbearable pressure in the face of someone whose every movement seemed to have been measured out with a ruler!
Xin Qing imagined a scenario where she had an opportunity to put Dianne and Zhang Mi together in the same room. She was pretty sure both would end up in a mental asylum after that experience.
The guy who had been assigned to her group was sitting in front of her. When he saw Xin Qing, he had greeted her politely before returning to his book. Xin Qing did not know much about the guy. His name was probably Mark or something. He was usually very quiet and taciturn during class. She did not think he would be selected to be a part of the trip.
The plane flew over the Indian Ocean. Around midnight, they landed in South Africa. They would have to stay in the hotel for one night. The transportation that had been arranged for them would come to pick them up tomorrow morning and take them to the mines. While they were checking in at the hotel, Xin Qing learned that it was not just students from CK that were part of this trip. There were students from other countries too. In fact, she found that the trip was not just limited to students as there were a couple of employees from a jewelry company among their group. Those two women from the jewelry company were staying in the room right beside Xin Qing's room. They did not seem friendly at all.
Several SUVs were parked in front of the hotel the next day. Each group of three was assigned to one SUV. The vehicle traversed the deserted plains. At first, they could still see several buildings. After that, the road became bumpy, as if they had moved past several mountains. The SUV stopped in front of a pile of rubble. Xin Qing looked beyond the rubble and noticed the tall barbed wires that encircled the mining site. The wooden signboards had made it clear that this was private property, and that any unauthorized intruder would be shot to death. Underneath the barbed wire fence, several men with guns were patrolling the area.
Xin Qing had a strange feeling in her heart. "So this is the place I own?!" she thought. Before she could even finish lamenting the sorry state of her property, a voice in front urged them to hurry up. "Come on, everyone. Get a move on. Get down quickly. We're here!"
Dianne had noticed the dazed look on Xin Qing's face. When they got out of the car, Dianne smiled at her. "I guess you don't see a lot of guns in China. Don't be afraid." Mark, who was standing together with them, nodded at Xin Qing.
Xin Qing managed a smile. "I'm fine," she said. "I'm just shocked at the sight of my own property, that's all..." she added in her head.
The diamond mine's layout was simple and spartan. They would spend the day here and leave during the evening since the site had no place to accommodate them. A bearded man came out to greet them. He introduced himself enthusiastically.
"I'm Rang! I will be your tour guide today. I hope we can all enjoy a pleasant, diamond-laden trip!"
Xin Qing was at the back of the group as Rang watched each of them enter. When it was Xin Qing's turn, she noticed Rang squinting at her. Xin Qing stared at him at first, thinking that perhaps she had mistaken that squint. But there could be no mistaking it when she saw Rang heading straight at her.
He reached her and whispered beside her ear, "Oh. I can't believe our boss is so pretty!"