That night, when Ying Qingcang and Young Master Shen returned for dinner, Xin Qing recapped what happened during the day, though not without feeling a sense of lingering fear. Ying Qingcang glanced at Shen Batian, who was now sitting on the couch engaging Ying Hao in a game of Morra. "That year, Grandpa Shen got into a fight with someone. He suffered over twenty stab wounds and was shot five times in his shoulder and thigh during that fight. Not only did he survive, but he also killed his enemy. After that, he got to the hospital all on his own. The doctor in charge was so startled by the state of his injuries that he passed out."
"Uncle Shen is a hero!" Xin Qing nodded. "Too bad Young Master Shen is nothing like him."
Ying Qingcang smirked. "You'll know in the future!"
Xin Qing stared at him. "What does he mean by that?" she wondered.
"Alright! Let's eat!" Ying Qingcang kissed her and then led her into the dining hall.
Noticing that Ying Qingcang's approach, Ying Hao slapped the table in order to get his attention. "We've talked things over and decided that we'll celebrate Ah Sha's birthday again."
Ying Qingcang pulled out a chair for Xin Qing. When Xin Qing was seated, he sat down in the chair beside hers. After that, he gave Ying Hao a cold stare. "Yeah? Who are 'we'? How come I don't know anything about this?"
Shen Batian waved his hand at Ying Hao. "Ying brat, you're getting married soon. The media will dig out the old stuff about Ah Sha. So why not just have a grand birthday party? That way you can make a statement and let everyone know that Ah Sha is the daughter between you and Xin Qing."
"I think that'll work," Young Master Shen said, nodding as well, "Otherwise someone will ask you that question to your face during the wedding day. It'll be such a mood killer."
Ying Qingcang thought for a moment, and then he turned towards Xin Qing. "What do you think?"
"That sound's fine. Besides, this weekend will be her birthday based on the solar calendar. So let's celebrate it again." Xin Qing had no intention of letting anyone dig up Ah Sha's past on her wedding day; she did not want such an important day to be tainted by those unhappy memories.
The following day, the members of S City's media as well as the people of status received invitations. The President of Ying Enterprises was holding a birthday party for his daughter! A lot of people who had just entered society were dying to get their hands such an invitation just so they could attend the party. However, one day before the party, another unwelcome guest appeared at Ying's residence.
"What are you doing here?" Shocked, Ying Hao glanced at the person who had just entered the house. Xin Qing, too, was gawking at the newcomer.
Rong Siman, whom they had not seen for a long time, remained as beautiful as ever as she stood under the light. A seductive smile adorned her lips. Beside her stood her son, Ying Muhai.
"I want to see Ah Sha, too!" she said smilingly, though her eyes were fixed upon Ying Qingcang. "Ah Cang, long time no see!"
Xin Qing sneered inwardly. "Does this woman think of everyone else as idiots?" she thought. "Seriously? Making eyes at her own stepson, right in front her own husband no less? Oh, and while her stepson's wife was standing there as well?"
"Daddy. Big brother!" Ying Muhai greeted. Frowning, Ying Hao answered the greeting with an "mm". Ying Qingcang, on the other hand, ignored them completely. Instead, he shot a glance at Ying Hao and said, "You guys can stay at a hotel."
Rong Siman stared at Ying Qingcang and said, "I can't even be here to see your daughter?" As she spoke, Rong Siman's eyes became misty. With a scoff, Xin Qing turned around and stomped upstairs. Ying Qingcang's cold gaze swept from Rong Siman to her son. After that, he trailed after Xin Qing. Ying Hao sighed.
"Ah Fu, prepare the bedroom."
When Ying Qingcang returned to the master bedroom, Xin Qing was glaring at him angrily.
"Haha. What's wrong? Who has made my wife Her Excellency so mad?"
"If you don't explain this clearly today, then you should forget about coming to bed tonight!" Xin Qing said, her lips downturned. She did not even feel as bad just now when she noticed Rong Siman making eyes at Ying Qingcang. Right now, she felt disgusted down to the core.
Ying Qingcang entered the bathroom. "I'll explain everything after I take a bath!"
Xin Qing prepared some potato chips and a glass of fruit juice. When Ying Qingcang emerged and saw what she had done, he chuckled. "Preparing yourself for a good story, I guess?"
"Yep! I'm all prepped to hear cliched love story about wealthy families!"
Ying Qingcang lay down on the bed and pulled her into his arms. "I guess I'll have to start by telling you about the old man's lover. When the old man was forced into an arranged marriage with that woman, he already had another woman whom he was deeply in love with. But he gave up a life with her for the sake of the family."
Not everyone could do what Ying Hao had done.
"But that woman, the one he was arranged to be wed with, couldn't accept it. She was upset that she couldn't stay with her own lover, so she took out her frustration on others. She ended up hiring a bunch of people to gang-rape the old man's lover. The old man's lover was then thrown into a red-light district somewhere overseas. By the time the old man tracked her down, she had already been tortured beyond saving. And she even had a three-year-old girl at the time."
"Whose child is she?" Xin Qing felt an ache in her heart at what she just heard. "One of the guys who gang-raped her?"
"Yeah," Ying Qingcang said, patting her hand. "Before she died, the old man's lover begged him to take care of her daughter. After that the old man took the girl to some unknown place and hid her there. Then when I was about six or seven years old, he brought the girl back. Well, Monica has told you the rest!"
"You grew up together, and she liked you. But how did she end up marrying your father all of a sudden?"
A cold and bone-chilling aura exuded from Ying Qingcang right then and there, causing Xin Qing to raise her head from his chest. "What's wrong?"
"That's the most disgusting memory of my life," Ying Qingcang said, clenching his fist, "When I was seventeen, she drugged both of us, me and herself. By the time I woke up, she and I were naked on the bed."
Xin Qing sat up all of a sudden. "You lied to me. You told me I was your first. You, you slept with her!"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Ying Qingcang glared at her. But his heart ached when he saw the redness in Xin Qing's eyes, so he pulled her into his arms once again. "Let me finish first," he coaxed. "Nothing happened between us."
Xin Qing raised her head. "Really?"
"Really!" Ying Qingcang kissed her. "When she was about to get on top of me, the old man came and rescued me. When she saw that the old man was trying to take me away, she went crazy and drank up every single drop of the aphrodisiac. Basically, she forced us into a situation where we either have sex with her, or watch her die from the aphrodisiac."
Xin Qing drew in a breath. "No... It can't be..."
"Oh, yeah. That's exactly what happened," Ying Qingcang said, nodding, "The old man knew my personality. He knew that I'd kill her afterwards if I was forced to have sex with her. So he did it instead."
"All this is really... bizzarre." Xin Qing lamented. "I mean, what kind of situation is this!"
"After that, the old man married her. For some reason, whatever happened that night had her believing that both me and the old man were in love with her. She thought that was why the both of us had tried to prevent each other from sleeping with her. Plus, I left for England straightaway after that. Until now, she still held on to that misguided belief."
"What about her son? How come she has a son?" Xin Qing suddenly thought of Ying Muhai. "Did she have it after the first time? Or did father... I mean with her... afterwards..."
"Humph!" Ying Qingcang smirked. "The old man had a vasectomy after I was born. Besides, other than the night she drugged us, the old man never touched her once."
Xin Qing covered her mouth. "Then who does the child belong to?"
"No idea," Ying Qingcang said, frowning, "We've been looking into that for so many years, but we couldn't find anything."
"I actually kind of pity father," Xin Qing said. She thought Ying Hao was the real victim in all this. Put aside the fact that he had made so much effort in order to save Rong Siman but still ended up being cheated on. What was worse was that he actually ended up having sex with the daughter of the woman he once loved.
Ying Qingcang's next reply was spoken in a cold voice. "I did feel pity for him at first. But Rong Siman has been taking things too far during recent years. She even became chummy with some higher-ups in the company. It's obvious that she has her eyes set on the Ying family's assets. The old man knew about it from the start, and yet he failed to rein her in. Instead, he allowed her to do as she pleased and now she became like this."
"Father had promised his lover that he would look after Rong Siman. Rong Siman's mother was in that miserable state because of father's actions. Your father must have been living with that guilt all this while." Xin Qing sighed. Then, something else came to her. "Now that I own half of Ying Enterprises' assets, she's probably so furious at me she could die!"
Ying Qingcang pinched her nose. "That's why she's been getting more and more out of hand lately."
"Don't tell me that she still believes that both of you are in love with her even now?"
"God knows." Ying Qingcang shut off the light. He wrapped an arm around Xin Qing and got her to lie down with him. "She's definitely planning something by coming here this time. Remember to never leave my side during the party tomorrow. Both you and Ah Sha."
Enveloped in Ying Qingcang's embrace, Xin Qing hugged her arms in front of her chest. "Mm!" she said.
Having been told the melodramatic story about Rong Siman, the next morning, Xin Qing had begun to look at Ying Hao and Rong Siman in a whole new light.
Especially when she looked at Ying Hao. She really pitied the old man. Ying Qingcang was always getting on his nerves, too. That was why she felt compelled to treat Ying Hao better from now on.
Ying Hao was not an idiot; he knew from the Xin Qing's behavior that his son must have betrayed his secret. At the same time, he also felt embarrassed, so much so that he had no desire at all to speak to Rong Siman again.
The birthday party was held at 8 pm in a hotel owned by Ying Enterprises. Every big and small name in S City were in attendance. Needless to say, the media came in swarms.
Ah Sha was dressed in a pink princess dress; when Ying Qingcang brought her in, she looked just like a pink dango. Xin Qing, dressed in a dark pink cheongsam, walked in with her hand hanging in the crook of Ying Qingcang's elbow. The family of three drew the attention of every pair of eyes present.
Following the entrance of the three of them, everyone noticed a beautiful woman they had never seen before.
Soon, whispered words began circulating among the crowd: that's Ying Hao's wife, Ying Qingcang's stepmother. The little boy beside the woman would, of course, be a child of the Ying family. From that fact, people quickly sniffed out the potential for gossip. Was tonight involve a feud between two heirs over the inheritance of the Ying family?
Ah Sha was not at all frightened by the crowd. Her eyes roamed over the place constantly, taking everything in. By the time the cake was cut that, Ah Sha began to feel sleepy. In the end, Xin Qing and Zhang Mi had to bring the child to a hotel room so she could rest. Ying Qingcang had intended to tag along; however, he was stopped by a guest before he could follow. After listening to the guest's some words, Ying Qingcang requested Young Master Shen to have a conversation with that guest and him elsewhere.
In the hotel room, Xin Qing and Zhang Mi chatted with each other as they watched the video that had been recorded just moments ago. There was a knock on the door. Thinking that Ying Qingcang had arrived, Zhang Mi answered the door straightaway. However, it was not Ying Qingcang at the door at all. Rong Siman and Ying Muhai slowly entered the room.
"Xin Qing!" Zhang Mi called out. Xin Qing turned her head and then frowned. "What are you doing here?"
The corners of Rong Siman's lips twitched. Rong Siman pulled her son to take a seat. "Why, are you that afraid to see me?"
"You're wrong. It's not that I'm afraid to see you. I'm just unwilling to see you, that's all," Xin Qing said, waving to Zhang Mi before taking a seat casually. "Spit it out if you have something to say. Otherwise, Ying Qingcang will throw you out when he gets here!"
Zhang Mi gave Xin Qing a thumbs-up.
Rong Siman's smile faltered, and her expression turned colder. "Do you really think you're the one Ying Qingcang loves?" Rong Siman said with her eyes fixed on Xin Qing.
"Who else if not me?" Xin Qing grinned brightly. "Are you trying to tell me that you're the one he loves?"
Rong Siman smiled complacently. "Since you already know, then I guess you won't be feeling that bad after you hear what I'm about to tell you."