Afar, amidst the colorful, strobing lights, a man slowly walked over. The man was momentarily stunned when he noticed Ying Qingcang. But he quickly schooled his features into a neutral expression and entered the booth.
"He'll come by to pick her up every day," Young Master Shen said. "And then he would bring her back here again the next day." Young Master Shen waved his hand; the few men bowed at him before leaving. Ah Hai wrapped Tang Shuang up in a blanket and gently wiped the sweat on her face.
"Shuang Shuang, do you recognize me?" Ah Hai asked in a tender voice. Tang Shuang's expression remained vacant as she stared off into space. Her eyes were completely unfocused.
Young Master Shen frowned. "She did try to resist in the beginning," he mumbled. "She tried to escape. But Ah Hai stood guard at the door. Sometimes, he would be standing right in front of her and watch her be gang-banged by other men. Not a few days later, it was like her mind had broken down. I'm guessing it's because of the extreme trauma."
Ah Hai did not seem perturbed by Tang Shuang's unresponsiveness. Instead, he hugged her and kept talking to her, "You don't know anything right now. I can now take you away and we can be together forever as a family. The three of us will never part again!"
It was like Ah Hai's words never registered in Tang Shuang's mind at all. Sitting there in a complete stupor, she allowed Ah Hai to pick her up. At the door, Ah Hai nodded at Ying Qingcang. "Please arrange a flight for our departure," Ah Hai said. When Ah Hai and Tang Shuang vanished at the end of the hallway, Young Master Shen visibly shuddered.
"The guy is a motherfucking psychopath!"
Ying Qingcang pressed his lips into a tight line. "Do not tell Ah Qing about this."
Both Ying Qingcang and Young Master Shen lamented the kind of twisted love that Ah Hai harbored for Tang Shuang. Ah Hai had allowed other men to rape Tang Shuang, inducing a mental breakdown in her just so he could get Tang Shuang to return with him willingly. What kind of sick, twisted love was this anyway? Could a man actually love a woman to the point where he had no scruples of hurting and ruining her? Would he rather keep the woman by his side, even if she became nothing but a walking corpse?
Ah Hai left with Tang Shuang and his son the following day. By then, Ying Qingcang had decided to put all his work on hold; Xin Qing's birthday was approaching, plus, Christmas was around the corner. This year, he decided to organize a ball. That way, he could use that as an opportunity to make a public announcement regarding Xin Qing's status as the board member of Caesar Royal Academy.
"Why do you insist on making me a member of the board, anyway?!" Xin Qing had been dissatisfied with the title ever since it had been granted to her. A lot of people had begun approaching her, hoping to strike up a connection with her just so they could enroll their kids into Caesar next year. For one, she had been receiving strange phone calls for the past few days. Some callers had been decent enough to begin the call with a few lines of pleasantries, whereas others had totally forgone all forms of decorum and jumped straight into the boot licking and arse kissing.
The front door opened with a loud bang before Ying Qingcang could even speak. Zhang Mi came bursing, towing a huge suitcase with her.
"Xin Qing!" Zhang Mi pounced on Xin Qing. "Are you okay? Is Ah Sha okay?"
Zhang Mi had gone overseas on a business trip on the day of Xin Qing's return; there was a clash in their respective time zones. When Zhang Mi did not release Xin Qing from her embrace, Ying Qingcang frowned and pulled Xin Qing into his own arms. "You came back so soon?"
"Haha!" Zhang Mi stared at him with a fake and unnatural smile. "You're shitting me, right? I've been gone for a whole week. It's about time I return, don't you think?" Then, Zhang Mi narrowed her eyes and stared at Ying Qingcang maliciously. "Don't forget, President Ying, that you're now staying in my home!"
Smiling, Xin Qing tugged at Zhang Mi's arms. "It's my birthday the day after tomorrow. I really thought you couldn't make it back in time."
"Well, I had to make it!" Zhang Mi stretched her body. "You know what? I'm going to take a shower first, and then we can have dinner with Qianqian tonight!"
"She's having dinner with me tonight," Ying Qingcang said, pulling Xin Qing back to his side. Then, he whispered a threat to Xin Qing. "I'll fuck you until you can't get off the bed if you even think about going!"
Xin Qing lowered her head wordlessly. Zhang Mi shot her a disapproving look. "Oh, you're so pathetic, Xin Qing," Zhang Mi said. "How can you yield to Ying Qingcang's threat?"
Just then, Young Master Shen walked in. His eyes brightened immediately when he saw Zhang Mi. "You came back ahead of schedule?"
"Oh, so you don't want me back as well? Is that it?" Zhang Mi glared at him as if she wanted to tear him apart. "What? No, that's impossible," Young Master Shen amended quickly. "What I mean is you should've given me a heads up if you're returning ahead of schedule. That way I can go fetch you!"
Zhang Mi curled her lips at Young Master Shen and prepared to head upstairs. Young Master Shen beat her to her suitcase and helped her carry the thing upstairs. Xin Qing watched the two of them bicker as they go. Then, she gave Ying Qingcang a look. "Say, Young Master Shen hasn't been fooling around with women these days, right?"
"Nope," Ying Qingcang said with a shake of his head. Then he turned to look at her, the corners of his lips lifting into a smirk. "I'm tired. Let's head upstairs for a nap," he said.
Just like that, Xin Qing was dragged away by Ying Qingcang. "Just to sleep, okay! Sleep!" Xin Qing said insistently as they walked.
"Mmhm! Just to sleep."
That night, Xin Qing inwardly cursed Ying Qingcang as she hobbled down the staircase with her hands on her waist: "Shameless liar! Ying Qingcang, you son of a bitch!"
On Christmas Eve, for the first time in its history, Ying Enterprises held a dinner party in one of the hotels it owned. Every business associate and client of Ying Enterprises were invited to the party. Even the women from the upper-class society of neighbouring cities had made an appearance that night; this type of event was the perfect setting to fish for wealthy husbands.
What surprised Ying Qingcang was Smith's attendance. Smith had arrived that morning. Apparently, the man had some business in the neighbouring city and had decided to drop by after hearing about the event.
"I hear this is the first time that President Ying had organized such a dinner party. So I decided to crash your party. Aren't you glad that I'm here!" Smith shook Ying Qingcang's hand smilingly. A meaningful smile formed on Smith's face when he saw the woman in Ying Qingcang's arms. "You two really do know how to put on a good show," Smith said. "You managed to have everyone fooled with that stunt you pulled. I just knew it was impossible for Ying Qingcang to change his heart that easily. And it turns out that I was right indeed! He's still stuck with you!"
"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that," said a sultry voice of a woman. A dark-haired woman with green eyes emerged from behind Smith. "Oh, you know what they say," the woman went on. "It's not about whether men are able to resist temptation. Instead, it's about whether the lure is strong enough. Given a temptation that is powerful enough, no man would be able to resist!"
The woman was about the same age as Xin Qing, though she exuded an air of maturity from head to toe. Wrapped in her black, figure-hugging evening gown which accentuated her voluptuous breasts and supple ass, the woman was dressed to kill. This woman right here was chock-full of allure. To any man, this was the very definition of lethal temptation.
"Come, come, come!" said Smith. "Let me introduce you to my cousin, Avril!"
Avril offered a hand to Ying Qingcang: "Hi, I've heard a lot of great things about you."
Ying Qingcang glanced at her and gave her a brief nod. Avril frowned and turned to Xin Qing. "My, my," Avril said. "I didn't think Mrs. Ying would be so petty as to get mad when Mr. Ying only shakes hand with another woman!"
"Well, I'd be unhappy if my wife doesn't get mad," Ying Qingcang said. "Besides, everyone knows just how much I despise women. The scent of any woman other than my wife disgusts me." Ying Qingcang had shoved those words right into Avril's face without a hint of remorse. A huge change went across Avril's face. She had been spoiled since young. This was actually the first time a man had openly humiliated her like this.
"You..." Avril growled, seconds away from going off in an angry spiel. A cold look from Smith silenced her before she could say anything else. The warning and dissatisfaction in Smith's eyes caused Avril to clench her teeth together. She turned her head away and stayed quiet. The truth was that the idea of getting on Smith's bad side terrified her. Right now, Smith was in control of the entire William family. She herself was not even related to the family by blood. Heck, she would not even be a part of the William family had it not been for her good looks. Before coming to this event, Smith had already warned her not to mess with Ying Qingcang. At first, Avril's plan was to seduce Ying Qingcang. She figured that by doing so, she was able secure her position in her family. Little did she know that she would be at the receiving end of such uncivil treatment...
Xin Qing had kept quiet throughout the entire exchange. She recalled the words that Zhang Mi had once told her: "Every woman alive would like to spit on your face, because you possess something that they all crave but can't have." That was why she had long since learned to ignore other women's attitude towards her. She would eventually die of anger if she took everything to heart.
"Are you tired?" Ying Qingcang led her towards the rest area. Then, he watched the way Xin Qing's figure moved in her white gown as she lowered herself down onto her seat. When she sat down, the hemline of her skirt spread out around her like a bunch of blossoming white lilies. Ying Qingcang was reluctant to leave her on her own, so he, too, sat down beside her. Then, he grabbed a glass of fruit juice and began feeding it to Xin Qing.
Xin Qing took a sip of fruit juice. "Why don't you go mingle," Xin Qing said, "Mimi can keep me company!"
"I don't feel like parting with you. Not even for a minute," Ying Qingcang said in a tender and softened voice which sounded slightly hoarse. That voice had a special kind of quality to it, especially when uttered in the presence of the extravagant and showy lights. Xin Qing's heart softened just like Ying Qingcang's voice had. Smiling, she rubbed her forehead against the underside of his jaw. "Then don't go," she said. "Young Master Shen and Ah Nan is here after all!"
"Okay!" Ying Qingcang shifted closer towards her and pulled Xin Qing into his arms. He was just about to let his hands wander into her skirt to cope a feel when he saw Zhang Mi stomping towards them in her ten-inch heel. Following closely behind was a scowling Young Master Shen.
Zhang Mi sat down beside Xin Qing. Young Master Shen took off his blazer and draped it over Zhang Mi's legs. "Don't wear a skirt this short in the future. Your thighs are in full view of others, for fuck's sake."
"Oh, and I supposed the number of thighs that you've put your hands on are just a measly few?" Zhang Mi levelled him with a look of disdain. "This is just a normal miniskirt, right, Xin Qing?"
Amused, Xin Qing stared at the bickering pair. "Aren't you guys tired at all? You've been fighting over this even back at home."
"You should take a page from Xiao Qingqing," Young Master Shen said, tugging at Xin Qing's skirt. "I mean, look at her skirt. You can't even see her ankles." Ying Qingcang smacked his hands away. "Hey! Watch where you're touching."
Zhang Mi chuckled. "Ying Qingcang would swallow her whole if she dares wear a miniskirt."
Just like that, the four of them abandoned their guests and sat there in the corner for the whole night, bickering with each other. Ah Che and Ah Nan were the ones who had to entertain all the guests. A few clueless douchebags tried to approach them, but Ying Qingcang managed to scare them off with one cold look. Ying Qingcang left with Xin Qing when it was almost midnight. He drove their car to the same beach where he had proposed to Xin Qing.
"It's almost midnight!" Ying Qingcang said, producing a folder from somewhere in the car. "Happy birthday, babe!"
Xin Qing took the folder from him. "What is it again, this time?" she asked curiously.
"Why don't you find out," Ying Qingcang said with a smile. Xin Qing flipped open the folder, and a dark look formed on her face instantly. "Why on earth would you frame something like this?"
Xin Qing was holding the enslavement contract that she had signed with Ying Qingcang at the very beginning. However, the contract was now encased in a crystal frame. The papers were even plated with gold on the edges, like it was some kind of top-secret, classified document.
"This thing is meant to be kept for the rest of our lives. If you run away from me someday, then I'll knock you out with this thing and then bring you home!" Ying Qingcang kissed her hard. Gasping with laughter, Xin Qing threw herself into his arms. Ying Qingcang yanked her off her seat and held her against the steering wheel...
After Ying Enterprises' dinner party had ended, Avril went alone to a bar to have some fun. She ended up having a good fuck with the local boss in the bar's bathroom. When they were done, she leaned against the man's chest and cooed, "I heard you guys are total bad assets in S City. Can you help me scare a person?"
The man pinched her butt. "No problem," he said. "Tell me! Who is it?"
"The mistress of Ying's Financial Group. A woman named Xin Qing," Avril said, rubbing herself against the man. "I just want you to scare her a bit, okay? You don't have to hurt her!"