Xin Qing commented no further regarding the matter. She packed her belongings and return to France. She had to bring the baby food Ah Sha ate for the return trip, since those products were unavailable for purchase in France. A sudden dietary change risked irritating the baby's digestive tract, causing diarrhea. Also, she had to see someone at least once before she left.
"You haven't changed much, I see!" Chen Ming said, looking at the girl sitting before him. Although she cradled a baby in her arms, she still appeared very lady-like.
Xin Qing laughed. "How much change could there be in just one year! What about you? No girlfriend?"
"My parents did introduce me to a few. Too bad neither of them worked out," Chen Ming said helplessly. "Maybe I should take a trip to France and have a look around. Who knows, sparks might fly there."
"Sounds good! I'll remember to introduce you to a few beautiful women."
The two people smiled at each other. All of a sudden, silence fell. After a long while, Chen Ming broke the silence. "You and Ying Qingcang-"
"There's nothing between us now," Xin Qing said, cutting him off. "This time, I'm taking Ah Sha back to France with me."
Chen Ming's frown gave away his confusion. "Why on earth would you two split up?"
"Hm, how should I put it?" Xin Qing tilted her head sideways. "Well, I suppose it's fate. Or should I say that we're destined to be apart."
"That's just an excuse," Chen Ming said, not agreeing with her at all. "If you no longer love him, why not give me a chance? Let me take care of you both."
Xin Qing glared at the man. "Don't joke around!"
"Who asked you to leave and break up with me on a whim," Chen Ming grumbled. "I wouldn't have backed away if I'd known back then that things would turn out this way."
"Let's not talk about this anymore," Xin Qing said, patting Ah Sha, who already fell asleep. "I just want to bid you farewell and catch up for a bit, see how you're doing."
Chen Ming sighed. "Stop acting so mature. You know you're just twenty."
Chen Ming dropped Xin Qing off at the house. While getting out of the car, Xin Qing reminded him once again. "Listen to me. Find a girlfriend soon. Don't let uncle and auntie fret over you at that kind of age." Chen Ming smiled at her and said, "I'll try." The two waved goodbye and parted ways.
By the following night, Xin Qing finished packing her luggage and was set to board the plane the next day. Ying Qingcang, whom she had not seen for almost a month, suddenly stopped by.
"This is for you," he said, handing a beautiful box to her. Xin Qing nearly shouted when she opened the box. "This is... Happiness?"
The box contained the exact necklace she designed for the competition last time. Ying Qingcang nodded. "I'd originally planned to give it to you as a Christmas gift. But then I was very angry at the time, because I felt you were unwilling to return to my side. So I kept it. I thought I'd give you it after you changed your mind."
"I don't want it. And I haven't changed my mind now either." Xin Qing shoved the box back into his hand. "You can give it to your next fiance in the future."
Ying Qingcang avoided her attempt. "I have no intention of doing that." Suddenly, he grinned. "Are you jealous?"
"Jea- jealous? Stop spouting nonsense!" Xin Qing averted her eyes, refusing to look at him.
Ying Qingcang loosened his tie. He flicked a sideways glance, and out of the corner of his eyes, noticed Shi Qianqian in the kitchen, who eavesdropped on their conversation. Ying Qingcang ignored the intrusion and sighed at Xin Qing. "Argh. This was meant for you from the very start. I never had any fiance or whatever. Didn't you already know those were fake?"
"The one with Molly was fake, but the real one will come at some point in the future." Xin Qing said with resolution in his tone at her refusal.
Ying Qingcang stood up. "If you don't want it, then deal with it however you like. You're free to throw it away or give it to someone else." He headed towards the door. "I won't be sending you off tomorrow. Have a safe trip!"
"Hey!" Xin Qing was just about to give chase to the man when Shi Qianqian suddenly emerged and snatched the box away from her hand. Xin Qing watched helplessly as Ying Qingcang waved at her as he left.
Shi Qianqian took out the necklace from the box and held it up against Xin Qing's body. "So this is the winning design. Tsk, tsk. So pretty!" Shi Qianqian said, gesturing with her hand as if to emphasize her point.
"Why did you stop me from returning it to him?" Xin Qing snatched the necklace and placed it back into the box. "Help me return this to him after I leave."
Shi Qianqian nodded. "Oh, okay. Then I'll just keep it for myself."
Xin Qing glared harder than usual. "Since when have you become as shameless as Zhang Mi?"
Shi Qianqian poked Xin Qing's forehead. "Use your head for once, will you? Look, let's ignore the fact that you're the only woman Ying Qingcang loves. Even if he does end up falling for someone else, do you think he'll really give his wife something you designed?"
"No..." Xin Qing shook her head. It took her only a second to come up with that answer.
"Then it's decided!" Shi Qianqian gave the box back to Xin Qing. "You keep it!"
Young Master Shen dropped by the following day at noon just when leaving for the airport. She needn't ask to know it was Ying Qingcang who sent him here. This time, Xin Qing did not bother to comment. She got into his car and drove with them to the airport. "At least he won't be following me all the way to France this time," she thought. When they arrived at the airport, she saw a grinning Aunt Tian already standing there, waiting for her.
"Little Ah Sha, did you miss grandma? Grandma missed you so much!" Aunt Tian squeezed Ah Sha in her arms and showered her with kisses. She said to Xin Qing, "It's impossible for you to attend your classes while looking after the child. It's not safe to find a nanny either. So don't ever say you don't wish for me to come along or anything of the sort. Whatever happened between you and Young Master is your business. Ah Sha shouldn't have to suffer because of it!"
At Aunt Tian's words, Xin Qing swallowed her pride and retort. She smiled and hugged Aunt Tian. "Then from now on, we'll both be in Aunt Tian's care!"
"Now that's a good girl!" Aunt Tian said happily and headed to the boarding gates with Ah Sha. Young Master Shen looked at Xin Qing and blinked with skepticism. "Why can't I go with you too?"
Xin Qing thought about how to respond. In the end, she finally threw out the question that she kept to herself for the past few days.
"That thing you guys are investigating, it has something to do with me, doesn't it?"
Young Master Shen gawked at her in mild surprise before grinning. "Yeah! That's right! Now you know just how much Ying Qingcang cares for you. Why don't you stay? Don't leave!"
His words made Xin Qing feel that it was not the case at all. She praised Young Master Shen for a long time, then turned around and walked away with a sneer.
On the second day of her return to France, Xin Qing visited the bank. She wanted to store the diamond necklace in the bank's safe deposit box. Her mind would not be at ease if she kept something so valuable at home.
Ah Sha had not reacted poorly to the change of surroundings and was her usual boisterous self. A small park was near her house, so Aunt Tian took Ah Sha there for her playtime every morning. Everytime Xin Qing stood at the doorstep, watching their return from the park, she felt life was good. She wished everything else to be like this for the rest of their lives.
Classes began in mid-February. Xin Qing ran into Meyer at the academy on the first day of class.
Here you go. A gift," Xin Qing said as she passed a bag to Meyer. "There's one for Ailey and your fiance!" She did not dare single Meyer out in her gifts. She would run into trouble if people misunderstood the nature of their relationship again.
Surprised, Meyer took the bag happily. In response to Xin Qing's earlier statement, he said calmly, "No more fiance."
"Huh?" Xin Qing said with raised eyebrows.
"The engagement was called off."
Meyer explained in a self-deprecating manner. "Mira's family got on someone's bad side. They filed for bankruptcy."
"Oh, because the marriage would no longer be beneficial?" Xin Qing asked. "How utterly realistic," she thought. All of a sudden, something hit her. "Then you're free!"
"Hehe! Yup. They haven't been able to find a suitable candidate yet. So I can relax for a while." Meyer smiled wide. "That's why I've put in a request for a one-month break. I'll be going on a cultural trip to Africa."
Xin Qing grinned, her enthusiastic nodding giving away her envy. "How nice! I'll go on a vacation too when I'm free."
"You won't be having a lot of classes this May. You can always go during that time if you feel up to it!" After that, Meyer extended an invitation to her. "Why don't I put my trip on hold and then we can go together? I have a couple of classmates who are interested in tagging along!"
Xin Qing quickly waved her hand in refusal. "Don't. I can't confirm anything yet anyway. I'm staying with my daughter now. Might not have the time anyways."
"You brought your baby here!" Meyer said happily. "Can I go see her?"
Xin Qing glanced at her watch as she walked to the classroom. She waved at Meyer. "Sure! Anytime is good!"
Meyer really did come over that weekend. Xin Qing sighed in relief when he saw that he came alone. Meyer seemingly read her mind. "Don't worry!" Meyer said. "I came alone." Then he noticed a tiny figure waddling towards them. The tiny person's eyes stared at the teddy bear in his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Ah Sha!" Meyer bent down and handed Ah Sha the teddy bear, which Ah Sha happily took. Then, she planted a kiss on Meyer's cheek. The people in Ah Sha's family always kissed her like this; to her young mind, that was a gesture of affection.
Meyer felt a bit emotional. This was the first time he had been kissed by a child this young. For a brief moment, he did not know how to act. Xin Qing laughed at him and gestured for him to take a seat in the living room. Ah Sha sat down on the floor and played with her new toy.
"I didn't know raising a child was this easy! So obedient."
Aunt Tian heard Meyer's words when she came out to serve tea. "That's because our Ah Sha is so obedient. Other kids aren't like that at all," she said with a grin.
"Meyer, this is Aunt Tian." Xin Qing said, introducing the two, "Aunt Tian, this is Meyer, my senior from the academy."
Aunt Tian gave Meyer a praiseful nod. After that, she muttered something under her breath before returning to the kitchen.
"Hey, you know what? This is perfect. Now you can stay and have lunch. Try out Aunt Tian's culinary skills," Xin Qing said. Just then, the door bell rang and Xin Qing's eyes darted to Meyer instinctively. "Don't tell me it's Ailey?" Meyer stood up and followed her to the door. "That's impossible," Meyer said. "She went to Disneyland and will return next week!"
A shadow rushed in the moment the door opened, causing Xin Qing to jump with fright.
"Meyer!"
"Mira?" Meyer, too was in shock, and stared at the person clinging to him. "Ho- How did you know I'd be here?"
Mira looked to be in a bit of a flustered state. There were wrinkles all over her clothes and her hair was thrown back in a haphazard manner. An sickly color flushed her usual healthy face. She clung to Meyer and cried. "Meyer, is it true that you don't want me anymore?"
"You need to calm yourself," Meyer said, throwing Xin Qing an apologetic look, to which Xin Qing responded with a shake of her head. "Why don't you come in first!" Xin Qing asked.
Neither of them anticipated Mira's action following that. "It's all because of you, you bitch!" Mira roared at Xin Qing all of a sudden. "Otherwise, Meyer would not have abandoned me!"
"Mira!" Meyer said harshly. "This is between our families. It's got nothing to do with Xin Qing. If you keep acting like this, I have no choice but to chase you out."
Those words destroyed any of Xin Qing's intention of inviting Mira inside. Xin Qing turned around to leave, but Mira grabbed her. "Don't you dare walk away. Tell me. Was it you? Were you the one who drove our family business to bankruptcy?!" Mira trapped her forearm in a vicegrip, the force causing Xin Qing a great deal of pain. Xin Qing responded with a strong shove and pushed Mira away.
"I don't know what you're on about. This is my home. Please leave!"
It was as if Mira became deranged. She pointed a finger at Xin Qing. "It had to be you! Why weren't you sold off by those people! Why did you even come back?"
"What did you say?" A sudden change swept across Xin Qing's countenance. She stepped forward and grabbed Mira. "What did you just say?"