Ah Sha was very much surprised at her sudden acquisition of a younger brother, so much so that she ended up staring at Xin Qing's belly for a long time.
"Ah Sha, he isn't the same one in my tummy," Xin Qing said in amusement. "Little brother Xiao Rui has been staying at your Aunt Mi's place due to certain special circumstances. Let's bring him back home, okay?"
"Bring him back! Bring him back!" Ah Sha nodded eagerly. Then, holding on to Xiao Rui's hand, Ah Sha said, "Don't be scared, little bro. Your sis will sleep beside you at night!"
Xunxun flicked a glance at Xiao Rui and chuckled. "Your bed is too small. It can't fit so many people. Besides, brother Xiao Rui is a boy. He needs to have his own room."
"There's a ready-made bedroom available since we've had an extra nursery set up last time. Xiao Rui can move in straight away." Xin Qing paused in thought and then turned to Young Master Shen. "Please have someone set up another nursery for us!"
"Will do. I'll have someone swing by tomorrow," Young Master Shen said. Seeing Xin Qing so excited about everything had put Young Master Shen's mind at ease. "Ah Nan told me to ask you when you are ready to make a press conference. The public is going nuts right now. As the president of Xin Enterprises, you've got to make a public appearance at some point."
Xin Qing picked up Ah Sha and held Xiao Rui's hand at the same time. Just like that, she felt all the courage flooding back into her system. Then, all of a sudden, she felt Xiao Rui scratching the center of her palm. Xin Qing glanced down at him.
"Mo- Mommy, let me accompany you. I'll work hard," Xiao Rui said, staring back at her with pure, untainted eyes.
This kid's mind was extremely good with details. Had it been anyone else here, they would have suspected that there might be an ulterior motive to this child's offer. He was an adopted child after all, and considering how large the Ying family was, running into inheritance problems in the future was pretty much inevitable. But still, Xiao Rui had opened his heart before Xin Qing in such a direct manner.
"Thank you!" Xin Qing looked back at Xiao Rui, the sincerity in her eyes mirroring that of his own. "Then, I'll be relying on you in the future, Xiao Rui!"
Only then did Xiao Rui allow a tiny smile to show on his face. He lowered his head and said nothing else.
Having observed the interaction just now, Ah Sha shouted as well, "Ah Sha will also work hard to help mommy!"
Xin Qing pinched Ah Sha's tiny nose. "Oh, but you don't have to, Ah Sha. Ah Sha is our little princess. You can do whatever you want to do!"
"You just have to be a good girl. I will help your mommy," Xunxun said, taking Ah Sha from Xin Qing. "School will be starting soon. Right now, the task for both you and Xiao Rui is to do well in school."
Xin Qing glanced at the calendar. The time for the summer holidays would arrive soon, which meant that Caesar Academy's first intake should be starting.
"Ask Ah Nan to set up a press conference next Monday. What about the construction work at Caesar? How's the progress so far?"
Sensing Xin Qing's interest in the matter, Young Master Shen gave her his suggestion, "Why don't we drop by the company tomorrow and find out?"
"Sounds good. From now on, I'll be going to the company every afternoon. Speaking of managing a company, I've still got tons to learn from Ah Nan!"
It turned out that Xin Qing was a woman of her word; she really did pull herself together. The next day, she arrived at the company and, in the presence of Ah Nan and Monica, had a meeting with all the employees of Xin Enterprises as the new president.
"How did I do just now?" Xin Qing asked Ah Nan worriedly when they got back to the office.
"Young miss, you did superbly!" Ah Nan told her with a smile.
"Indeed! That went so much better than I thought," Monica said, helping Xin Qing into a chair. "You shouldn't stand around so much. You'll wear yourself out."
Xin Qing settled into a chair and went still for a brief moment. Slowly, her hand reached out and slid along the desk's surface.
Neither Ah Nan nor Monica dared make a sound. Ah Nan deeply regretted his decision not to switch Xin Qing into another office. "Xin Qing must be thinking of the young master again," Ah Nan thought.
Two photos sat at the corner of the desk. One was a single photo of Xin Qing while the other one was a family photo of the three of them together. The latter included Ah Sha's pony and had been taken back at the stable; Ying Qingcang was holding Ah Sha whereas Xin Qing was leaning against Ying Qingcang, smiling prettily like a flower.
"Oh, Xin Qing... This is all my fault. I wasn't meticulous enough. I'll switch you into another office tomorrow," Monica said, staring at her worriedly.
"Why switch to another office?" Xin Qing raised her head and smiled. "This was once Ah Cang's workplace. And from now on, it will be my workplace." Xin Qing lowered her head and ran her fingers over the photo.
"You'll be with me every step along the way, right? You'll watch me grow, and then one day you will show up before me and tell me, 'my girl has grown up!'."
"I'm waiting, no, anticipating, the arrival of that day..."
The main construction of Caesar Academy had already been completed last month, and by the end of this month, the interior design of all the main buildings would also be completed. Xin Qing had decided to launch a press conference on the construction's official date of completion. The press conference would be held at Caesar Academy itself.
Xin Enterprises' PR department had gotten the word out immediately. The reporters were once again making all kinds of speculations. A lot of insiders in the business world had remained skeptical about Ying Enterprises' recent transfer of ownership. Meanwhile, Xin Qing had been following Ah Nan and Monica around every day in order to learn more about management. Needless to say, she knew that experience was the best teacher of all, which was why Xin Qing had actively participated in every decision-making process since she took on the job as the company's president. The experience Xin Qing had gained from her involvement allowed her to pick things up very quickly.
Zhang Mi and Xin Qing were hanging out together after dinner today, and Zhang Mi was staring right at Xin Qing with a serious look on her face. "Ah Qing, I've decided to stay here to assist you!"
The swell on Xin Qing's belly was becoming more and more conspicuous, though her body had remained skinny. The reason for that was the fact that she had not been eating well before. In fact, her face seemed slimmer than the time before she was pregnant. At the moment, Xin Qing was engaged in some sort of a death battle with a bowl of chicken soup; finishing the soup was Aunt Tian's daily mission for her.
"You're not going back to New York? But... Has Uncle Shen agreed to this?"
"It's not possible for Young Master Shen to leave, too. He's worried about leaving you on your own. We'd literally be staying in two different parts of the world if I go back. The old man was practically begging me to stay behind!" Zhang Mi said excitedly. "Starting from tomorrow, I'll be your personal assistant!"
Young Master Shen came in just then. Behind him, Xiao Rui walked in, looking disheveled from head to toe.
"You shouldn't cause more trouble for her," Young Master Shen said. "You think being a personal assistant is a game?" He bent down and pecked Zhang Mi on the lips. Zhang Mi shoved him away. "Don't you dare underestimate me!"
Xin Qing glanced at Xiao Rui worriedly. "You're in this state again? Go upstairs, now. Take a shower and get changed. Then come down to eat!" Xin Qing had actually wanted to follow the boy upstairs. The problem was that Xiao Rui would rather die than allow her to bathe him.
When Xiao Rui had gone upstairs, Young Master Shen said, "The kid is a genius. It won't take him more than a few years to surpass all my guys."
"I don't want him working this hard. He's still just a kid." Xin Qing felt a sharp pang inside her heart. Xiao Rui had volunteered to let Young Master Shen train him, though Xin Qing knew deep down that the kid had done it for her sake.
Young Master Shen glared at her. "You shouldn't go soft on her," he said. "That kid is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future!"
"I adopted him so that he can grow up in a healthy and happy environment, not to turn him into some kind of badass character," Xin Qing said in annoyance. Zhang Mi nodded and said, "Exactly. A kid should act and look like a kid. Look at the children around us. Is there even one of them that's normal?"
Young Master Shen shut up after that. He ate his meal quietly, keeping his head low. Messing with two women? No thanks.
The end of the month arrived in a blink of an eye. Bright and early that morning, Ah Che drove Xin Qing and Zhang Mi to Caesar academy.
Xin Qing was dressed in a red business suit. She had even used a red lipstick. This was the first time in Xin Qing's life that she had picked such a strong color. In Zhang Mi's own words, red could make one look formidable and powerful. Caesar Academy was established in the east side of the land with its entire compound abutting the hills. The only difference between this Caesar Academy and the Caesar Academy back in France was the architectural style of the buildings: Here, Eastern elements were integrated into the European style buildings, creating a perfect harmony between ancient Chinese style and the European Gothic style. The entire academy exuded a majestic aura while retaining its enigmatic beauty at the same time.
The press conference would take place in a garden located at the dead center of the academy's compound. The reporters had arrived early. Xin Qing was not surprised at all to see Smith among the attendees. She and Ah Nan had met with Smith before this, though Smith's stance on whether he would like to continue his partnership with Xin Enterprises was still unclear. Xin Qing knew that he was observing and assessing from the sidelines and that today would be the day he came to a decision.
Xin Qing gave the speech that had been prepared beforehand. As a result, her sincerity and beauty had won the applause of her audience. During the Q&A session, other than the reporters, one of their business partners suddenly revolted.
"President Xin, we believe that having a woman running such a huge financial group is a major problem. We've decided to terminate our partnership with Xin Enterprises starting from today," said a middle-aged woman who was staring at Xin Qing with a look of smugness and jealousy.
Standing beside Xin Qing, Zhang Mi shot a worried glance at Young Master Shen, who was sitting downstage. The latter gave Zhang Mi a reassuring look.
Xin Qing laughed. "Are you sure?" she asked.
The woman's face fell. "Of course I am. I believe a lot of other firms are of the same view. None of us are confident in partnering with a financial group led by you."
"And you are..." Xin Qing took a document from Ah Nan's hand and glanced at it. "Hong Yuan Trading, right." Xin Qing glanced back at the woman. "The transactions between your firm and Xin Enterprises has always been carried out on a monthly basis. There has never been any delay in our payments to you."
The woman laughed smugly. "Indeed. If President Xin still wishes to partner with us, then you'll have to alter the terms of our contract so that we'll receive an on-the-spot payment in all our transactions."
"Haha!" Xin Qing smiled at the woman and said, "Then I guess there's no point in extending our partnership." When she was done, Xin Qing sat back down and gave Ah Nan a look. Ah Nan nodded.
"Are there any other questions?" Ah Nan asked the crowd.
Dissatisfied with being so blatantly dismissed, that woman yelled out: "A woman like you knows nothing about business! Where are you going to find another business partner in such a short amount of time if you don't partner with us? You'll be facing more than just a hefty fine if there are any delays in the export of your goods!"
"I think you're the one who doesn't understand," Xin Qing said, leveling an icy stare at the woman. "Up to fifty percent of your firm's sales originated from Xin Enterprises. Here's a question for you, then. If you terminate your partnership with us now, where are you going to find another firm capable of covering half of your firm's overall production costs?"
"I..."
"Well, do as you please, then!" Xin Qing smirked. "Xin Enterprises is a huge firm. The loss of your partnership has minimal effect on us. If you don't partner with us, there'll be hordes of other firms who would jump at the opportunity." Xin Qing paused and let her gaze sweep across the crowd. "Is there anyone else who would like to end our partnership? If there is, then by all means, please step forward!"
The crowd broke out in whispers. The woman who stood up first began shooting looks at a few of her associates. For a while, those associates hesitated. When they were about to stand up, a few people arrived at the press conference.
"Ding Enterprises will sign the contract to resume its partnership with Xin Enterprises. Other than Caesar Academy, we will be providing funding for any of Xin Enterprises' future investments." Ding Lei was leading the group of people who had entered. His words reverberated throughout the entire conference hall in a clear-cut manner.
"The same goes for Li Financial Group!" said Chen Ming, who was walking behind Ding Lei. Chen Ming had even winked at Xin Qing when he spoke.
Smith stood up all of a sudden. "Our family has no intention of changing our business partners in the Greater China Region. Therefore, we will continue our partnership with Xin Enterprises. If the opportunity arises, I hope that President Xin would join me for a meal so that we can get better acquainted with each other!"
The few people who had been ready to cause trouble just moments ago were instantly put in their places, and they all nodded. The woman who had been leading the charge went pale instantly. "You guys... How can you change your mind?" she yelled.