"Xin Qing!" Zhang Mi ran inside. "Mr. Special Forces is here again!"
A scowl formed on Ah Nan's face instantly. "It's just been a month, and he has completed his mission already?"
"I know, right? His enemies must have been a bunch of noobs. How could they let him return alive!" Zhang Mi said with nothing but fury on her face.
Xin Qing looked at them with an amused expression. "Hey, hey. The person you're talking about is actually a formidable person in the Capital. You'll most like rot in jail if it turns out that your curse is the cause of his death."
"Not even bullets can kill me, let alone these two," said a deep voice of a man. A uniformed man emerged from the doorway and walked straight towards Xin Qing, completely ignoring the fierce glare that Zhang Mi was giving him. "I only have three hours. May I ask you to join me for dinner?"
Xin Qing smiled. "Will I be thrown into jail too if I decline?"
"Nobody other than me would dare do such a thing!" Jiang Qianren's glistening eyes were fixed upon Xin Qing.
Two years ago, he had run into Xin Qing at a party. On that fateful night, his heart, which had never been so deeply affected by a woman before, had begun to race uncontrollably at the sight of her. For the first time in his life, he had used his position and status in the military to investigate Xin Qing and then forcefully insert himself into her life.
Xin Qing gave Ah Nan a subtle shake of her head. "Mr. Jiang and I will have dinner. You guys should call it a day as well!"
Jiang Qianren had picked a quiet restaurant situated on a hilltop. The two of them now sat in a private booth facing the sea. The night breeze glided past, bringing with it a mild intoxicating effect to one's heart.
"Why don't you ever reject my invitations?" Jiang Qianren poured a glass of wine for Xin Qing before fixing his dark eyes gazed upon her intently.
Xin Qing tilted her head. "Will it count as a valid reason if I say it's because Xin Enterprises has no intention of pissing off the world's youngest general?"
Jiang Qianren was born into an affluent military family. The Jiang family had produced as much as three generals across five generations. In his generation, Jiang Qianren had become the commander of an army at the mere age of 23. Apparently, he was also deemed as the most likely person to become the youngest five-star general in history.
The scariest part was that he had risen to his rank with his own abilities alone. The power and influence of the Jiang family had nothing to do with his success. For someone so young, his contributions to the military were outstanding! Indeed, Xin Qing did not wish to piss off a man like that, especially when he had the entire force of the Capital City backing him.
"Xin Qing, I'm going to say this one more time. Pursuing you is my own business and has nothing to do with my background or status." Jiang Qianren frowned. "I will not force you. I just hope you can give both of us a chance."
Xin Qing stared at him quietly for a few seconds. "I don't know why you've chosen me," Xin Qing said in a serious tone. "I'm older than you, and I have three children." There was a brief pause, after which Xin Qing's eyes were filled with resolve and strength. "Most importantly, I have a husband!"
"He is dead," Jiang Qianren said, staring back at her with a look which conveyed the clear message that he had no intention of backing off. "Do you really think that a man who is missing for three years could still be alive?"
Xin Qing stared right into Jiang Qianren's eyes. "He didn't die."
For the past three years, Xin Qing had become so much braver. She had tried to imitate Ying Qingcang's behavior, which made her look calm and aloof almost all the time. The only times when she would laugh and smile sweetly like she used to was when she was with Zhang Mi and the others.
"Mr. Jiang," Xin Qing said slowly. "As long as you're part of the Jiang family, you can never have the final say in your marriage. You claim that your pursuit of me has nothing to do with status or background. But will your family really allow you to be involved with a married woman?" Xin Qing reclined herself in the purple velor chair, her eyes sincere and clear.
There. There it was, that same look in her eyes. Jiang Qianren clenched his hands into fists. Back at that party two years ago, he had seen a girl sitting alone in the garden, speaking to an injured bird. The girl had been talking to herself, but the sparkle in her eyes had instantly captivated him. Not once had it crossed his mind that the girl was the legendary President of Xin Enterprises, the woman who had murdered her own husband in order to rise to her current position.
"All those are my affairs," Jiang Qianren said, his tone laced with frustration. This was always Xin Qing's attitude whenever they were on the subject of their relationship with each other. Did she really think so little of him that she found him untrustworthy? "As long as you agree to be with me, you can leave the rest to me."
Xin Qing set down the cutleries she had been holding in her hands. "But..." The corners of her lips lifted gently as she smiled at him wanly. "I don't have feelings for you."
"Ping!" Jiang Qianren's glass slamed down on the table. "How do you know you won't ever have feelings for me if you've never even tried?" He stood up suddenly and walked over to Xin Qing's side before bending himself at the waist. Xin Qing was now trapped by his arms which were gripping the arms of her chair. They were in such close proximity that their foreheads were almost touching; once in a while, strands of their hair would become entwined as the breeze kept them afloat in the air.
"Let's just try, okay? You might actually find that I have very good qualities, too," he said. The man was breathing right into her face. If Xin Qing raised her head slightly, their lips would touch. Jiang Qianren lifted Xin Qing's chin with a hand. Just when he was about to kiss her, his face suddenly fell. He turned his head and stared out of the booth.
The surrounding air had picked up speed some time during their conversation. A whirring sound, like some kind of fan, could be vaguely heard.
Xin Qing smiled. "Looks like your time is up!"
A chopper appeared outside the booth where a young man dressed in combat fatigues gave Jiang Qianren a salute. "We're here to fetch you, sir."
Jiang Qianren had never hated the fact that he was a soldier more than he did in that moment. With a sullen look on his face, he grabbed the ladder that had been tossed down from the chopper. He turned his head around to face Xin Qing. "I meant what I said. My words will never change," he said. "I hope you'll have an answer for me the next time we see each other!"
Only when the chopper became a tiny dot in the sky did Xin Qing allow herself to release the breath that she had been holding. She rubbed her forehead. Then, all of a sudden, a look of hurt flashed in her eyes and she pouted like a child: "Hmph! Another man is about to snatch your wife away if you don't come back soon!"
Monica was playing a game with Wangwang when Xin Qing got home. Wangwang pounced on Xin Qing happily the moment he saw her.
"Mommy, kiss!"
Xin Qing picked up Wangwang and planted a few kisses on his face. Wangwang happily returned the favor, and Xin Qing ended up with her entire face covered in drool.
At the age of three, Wangwang was still a plump looking child; whenever he sat down, he literally looked like a white and fluffy ball. Nobody could resist the urge to pinch him upon seeing his face. It was for that reason that Wangwang hated crowded places.
Right now, Wangwang was the only child at home. Xunxun was already fourteen and had chosen to attend boarding school. It remained a mystery how Xunxun had managed to pull it off, but he had convinced Ah Sha - who had always wanted to stay home with Xin Qing - to attend boarding school as well. Naturally, this meant that Xiao Rui would not be coming home as well. All three kids were now staying in Caesar Academy, coming home only on weekends.
Wangwang was the one happiest person of all with regards to how things had turned out. He would spend the day in kindergarten only to be brought home by Ah Che in the evening. Then, he could finally have mommy all to himself. Not to mention that at night, he could even share a bath with mommy and sleep in the same bed as mommy!
Xin Qing had brought a cake home for Wangwang today. "I heard that man came to see you again," Monica whispered while Wangwang was busying himself with the cake. Then, Monica raised her palm in a salute.
"We had dinner," Xin Qing said as she changed out of her work clothes.
Monica stared up at the ceiling wistfully. "That man is actually very distinguished!"
"Why don't I set you up with him, then!" Xin Qing said. Then, in a more serious tone, she said, "But what about Ah Nan?"
Over the past two years, everyone in Xin Enterprises had found out that Monica was head over heels for Ah Nan. However, Ah Nan barely gave any reaction at all. He was, for all intents and purposes, just like a block of wood.
Monica snorted and shot Xin Qing a look of disapproval. "What I mean is that he's the kind of man meant only to be admired from afar, not played around with." Then, Monica suddenly had a thought. "Hey, Xin Qing. Let me ask you a question, okay? If you don't have Ah Cang, will you choose Jiang Qianren?"
"There are no ifs. I do have Ah Cang."
"But...what if... what if..." Monica could not even bring herself to say it.
Xin Qing gave Monica a sharp look. "Ah Cang will return."
Monica rubbed her nose sheepishly and shut up instantly. "Good lord! Xin Qing's eyes look so terrifying right now. Just like Ah Cang's..."
Not a few days later, Xin Qing received word that there had been new developments on the Rong Siman front.
"She snatched away a company that we've been looking to acquire," Ah Nan said, showing Xin Qing his report. Beside them, Zhang Mi knocked on the table a few times with her notebook. "The company we've been trying to acquire is a small business that specializes in the deep-sea extraction of natural pearls," Zhang Mi said. "We wouldn't have had our eyes set on a business of this small scale if it weren't for the fact that we now need a supply for pearls due to your partnership with CK."
Xin Qing rapped her knuckles on her desk a few times while she processed Zhang Mi's words. "So, in other words, she did it on purpose."
Zhang Mi went on, "Your design concept for the next season revolves around pearls. This is what CK and we have agreed on last month. And now she just so happened to have acquired the company that we've set our eyes on? Oh, yeah, it's obvious that she did it on purpose."
"The problem most likely didn't come from our end. Looks like there's a leak from inside CK." Xin Qing paused in thought. "Are there any other similar companies we can acquire?"
Zhang Mi shook her head. "There are, but none of them are comparable to this one in terms of the technical skills offered. You know the largest black pearl extracted last year? That was their work. They were the ones responsible for the extraction."
"Haha!" Xin Qing laughed. "Well, I guess we should stop looking for now. Let's just sit back and wait!"
Ah Nan frowned. "Young miss, so what you're saying is..."
"Mmhm, we've been unable to figure out the person backing Rong Siman all this while, right? But now she's made the first move, so we should wait and see what she'll do next." Xin Qing's eyes were sparklingly bright. "If I'm not mistaken, she will soon get in touch with CK. When that happens, we might just be able to find out who's supporting her without even trying."
A request for a video call on Xin Qing's computer interrupted the conversation. Xin Qing glanced at the screen briefly and accepted the call.
"Hi, aunties! Good job aunties, thank you for all your hard work!"
The face of a beautiful baby appeared on the screen. Two huge, black eyes were staring back at them. The eyes blinked, their long and thick lashes fluttering like a pair of wings.
"Wow! Liuliu!" Zhang Mi said, bringing her face closer to the screen. Suddenly, the image on the screen changed. Chen Huan, who was now sporting dark circles around her eyes, appeared on the screen. Xin Qing jumped a little at the sight her.
"You... What happened to you?"
Chen Huan brought her face closer to the webcam and shook her arms wildly in the air. "I swear, I don't want to spend a second longer with Boss Wan! I'm going over to see you guys!"
"Why?" Xin Qing and Zhang Mi asked at the same time.
A look of resignation formed on Chen Huan's face and she pulled her shirt collar aside to reveal a bunch of reddish, purplish kiss marks.
"Hiss!" That seemed rather intense...
"That savage thought it was a good idea to torture me every single day," Chen Huan said accusatorily. All of a sudden, both Xin Qing and Zhang Mi's face changed. Zhang Mi swallowed and said, "Oh, come on. It only proves just how much Boss Wan loves you. It's a good thing for a couple to, you know, get along."
"Pooh!" Chen Huan said viciously. "He can go screw whomever he wants. I'm not going to satisfy his needs anymore!"
A deep and dark voice sounded behind Chen Huan. "Is that so? Do you care about me so little?"