The two women shut down the computer then lowered their head to mourn Chen Huan's fate.
Chen Huan really did come to visit them the following night, though Xin Qing had never expected it.
"You came alone?" Xin Qing stared at her. Liuliu was cradled in Chen Huan's arm. Ah Che was just about to bring Chen Huan's huge luggage upstairs.
Chen Huan placed Liuliu down beside Wangwang. "Come, Wangwang. Say hi to your little sister!"
Wangwang was very curious about this sister who was even younger than he was. He offered the toy car he had in his hand to her. "It wasn't an easy task, escaping from that hellhole. You guys must let me stay, okay?"
"We have no problems with letting you stay here. But are you sure that Boss Wan won't come here to drag you back?" Xin Qing asked. Chen Huan picked up an apple and bit into it. "Hah! We'll see about that!" Chen Huan said.
Boss Wan called Xin Qing the next day, though he did not call to demand Chen Huan's return.
"Can you look after them for a few days? I've been very busy these days and don't have too much time on my hands."
Xin Qing agreed, of course. What she did not know was that Boss Wan was currently with Young Master Shen.
"When did this happen?" Young Master Shen's expression was a mixture of shock and happiness.
"Last week," Boss Wan said, tapping the photo on his desk. "One of my men discovered it by accident. He wasn't sure at first and thought that he was mistaken. So he followed them for a few more days before he managed to take these pictures."
Overwhelmed by emotions, Young Master Shen picked up the photo, which showed a man dressed in a black coat. The coat's collar consisted of a long strip of ermine fur, which hung from his shoulders all the way down to his waist, giving him an impression of an ancient emperor. Only the man's profile was caught on the photo, though Young Master Shen would never have mistaken that face for anyone else's.
The man who had been missing for three years had finally reappeared...
It had been snowing in the southern part of France. A black sedan pulled up on the roadside.
Two foreign men stepped out of car and carefully opened the door.
"Boss, we're here."
Another man stepped out of the vehicle. Just when the man was about to take a step, two more men approached him from the front.
"Ah Cang!" There was a slight tremble in Young Master Shen's voice, though the happiness and surprise in his eyes were completely unconcealed.
"Oh? So you managed to find me after all?" Ying Qingcang said, turning around slowly. "Long time no see," Ying Qingcang said again.
Boss Wan frowned slightly. "You... Are you okay?"
Ying Qingcang's eyes swept over the two men. Only then did Young Master Shen allow himself to take a good look at Ying Qingcang. In the three years they had not seen each other, Ying Qingcang's aura seemed to have turned even colder. Not a single shred of emotion was held within Ying Qingcang's eyes as he stared back at them. It was like he was staring at two strangers.
"Where have you been for the past three years? Why didn't you come home?" Young Master Shen walked up to him in quick steps.
"I got injured. But someone saved me," Ying Qingcang said, his face inscrutable and unreadable.
"Why didn't you contact us?" Boss Wan stared at him. "Your wife and children have been waiting for you."
Right from the beginning, the man standing before them had been giving them a strange vibe, something that neither of them could quite put their fingers on. But now, they realized what it was.
Ying Qingcang had never once mentioned Xin Qing, the woman he loved most. How could that not be the first thing he asked? He did not even mention his children. That just felt all kinds of wrong.
"Since you're both here, help me pass a message to Xin Qing." Ying Qingcang suddenly smirked. "Tell her that I'm taking back what's mine."
"What did you just say?!" Young Master Shen yelled out in disbelief.
"You still don't understand?" Ying Qingcang arched his brows. "I want Xin Enterprises to change its name to Ying. It was mine from the start. Tell her that if she hands everything over to me, I will pay her and the children alimony. If she refuses..." A cold look formed in the man's eyes. "Then we'll see each other in the business arena."
"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" Young Master Shen roared. "She's your wife."
A female voice cut in. "I'm his wife!"
Rong Siman? Boss Wan frowned. "So you've been the one supporting this woman from the shadows. No wonder her company is called Ying Trading." Boss Wan gave Ying Qingcang a look. "Are you under her control?"
"Hahaha!" Rong Siman looped her arm into the crook of Ying Qingcang's elbow and stared at the two men smugly. "You actually think he can be controlled? He's doing this voluntarily, of course! He had fallen in love with me after I saved his life three years ago. Right now, he's my man!"
Ying Qingcang glanced down at Rong Siman, and the cold vibe surrounding him diminished considerably. Even his eyes had become warmer.
"It's cold out here. Let's go back inside!" Ying Qingcang said. Then, he wrapped an arm around Rong Siman's shoulder and guided her away.
Young Master Shen wanted to stop him, but Boss Wan shook his head at him. Ying Qingcang paused after a few steps and gave them a backward glance. "Remember what I said before. Don't forget to tell that woman."
"What the hell is this?" Young Master Shen said as he stared after Ying Qingcang's leaving form. "Has he lost all his memories? Or has he gone off his rocker?"
Amidst the camouflage of the night, two shadows zipped along the walls of a small villa and climbed their way to the balcony of the second floor. Soundlessly, the shadows crept into the building.
There was a loud snap, and all the lights in the house were suddenly switched on. A man was sitting on the couch, watching the two men who had just entered. "I knew you guys would come," said the man on the couch.
Young Master Shen did not panic even when he knew that they had been caught red-handed. "Ah Cang, there's no one else here other than us. Spill it. What the hell is going on? Does that woman have some kind of hold on you?" he asked Ying Qingcang anxiously.
Ying Qingcang released a derisive laugh. "Which eye of yours saw that I've been controlled?"
Boss Wan had begun pacing around the house, touching objects here and there. After a while, he came to stand before Ying Qingcang. "I've checked. There aren't any surveillance cameras or recording devices in this house. You can tell us the truth."
"What I've told you during the day is the truth. Well, I can't help it if you guys don't believe me." Ying Qingcang remained seated on the couch, looking as aloof as ever. "You guys have to make a choice whether to be on my side or Xin Qing's side."
Young Master Shen burst forward and siezed Ying Qingcang by the shoulders. "Are you nuts? That's Xin Qing. The person you love most!"
"When I was buried underneath the piles of debris, I nearly died. In my near-death experience, I've gained a new understanding about love." Ying Qingcang pushed Young Master Shen away. "I no longer love her. To me, she's my past. The only thing I want to do right now is to reclaim Ying Enterprises."
Ying Qingcang clapped his hands together. "Look, I won't force you guys into anything. You should go back and think things over. Think about the side you want to be on."
The door opened and in came a few foreign security guards.
"Escort my friends out," Ying Qingcang said as he began walking towards the door which would lead to another room in the house. Still refusing to give up, Young Master Shen asked, "When are you coming back?"
The man's answer came just a few moments before the door slammed shut: "Haha! Very soon. We'll meet again very soon."
"Who's going to tell her? You or me?" Young Master Shen asked. It had already been a few days since he and Boss Wan returned to S City. Still, none of them dared mention their encounter with Ying Qingcang to Xin Qing.
Boss Wan rose to his feet suddenly. "I'm going away for a few days. You do as you see fit."
"Fuck! Don't you dare run away!" Young Master Shen yelled in disgruntlement. "How am I supposed to tell Xiao Qingqing alone?"
"You won't be able to drag this out even if you don't tell her. He will come back here eventually." Boss Wan pushed Young Master Shen away. "I'm going to dig deeper into this. I want to know what the heck really happened during those three years to turn him into that."
Indeed, not a few days after Boss Wan's departure, Ah Nan received a phone call. After hanging up, Ah Nan walked into Xin Qing's office.
"Young miss, we've just received a call from Rong Siman's company. They are sending over a representative to discuss the terms of a partnership."
Xin Qing raised her head. "Are they using their newly acquired company?"
"Indeed!" Ah Nan paused in thought, and then he went on, "I'm guessing they're trying to sell the pearls to us."
"Why don't you make a few arrangements. I'll meet them the moment they're here." Xin Qing narrowed her eyes. "I look forward to see whom they'll be sending over!"
Little did Xin Qing know that her world would fall apart the moment she met the representative...
That morning, Xin Qing found everyone wearing strange expressions the moment she arrived at the company. Even Zhang Mi, who was usually rather insensitive and obtuse about such matters, had noticed something wrong.
"What's the matter with them? They all look like they'd seen a ghost."
Xin Qing answered with a shake of her head. When she arrived at her office, she was surprised to see that Ah Nan was not in his usual post. She opened the door of her office and saw Ah Nan standing inside with an emotional look on his face. A man sat on the couch.
Xin Qing felt a powerful thump in her heart. That figure, it was the same figure as the one belonging to the person in her dreams.
"Ah... Ah Cang?" It took every ounce of her strength just to call out that name.
The man stood up and turned around. Beside her, Zhang Mi screamed: "Ying Qingcang!"
Ying Qingcang ignored Zhang Mi entirely, keeping his gaze focused on Xin Qing. "Long time no see," he spoke in a glacial tone. "I'm back."
In her fantasies, Xin Qing had come up with over a thousand scenarios of how her reunion with Ying Qingcang would go. None of them were even close to something like this. The coldness of the man's facial expression and words instantly had her heart plunging into a deep, bottomless chasm.
"Ah Cang! Is it really you?" Xin Qing approached him with slow steps, reaching out with her hand. But just when her hand was about to touch Ying Qingcang, he pulled away.
Stunned, Xin Qing stood rooted on the floor with her outstretched hand still hanging in mid-air. Ying Qingcang flicked a glance at her. "I'd like to remind you that I've been missing for three years. Legally speaking, we're already divorced. Miss Xin, from now on, we are strangers to each other."
Divorced... Strangers... Those two words echoed in Xin Qing's mind. Then, she heard Zhang Mi's furious roar beside her followed by Ah Nan's disbelieving questions. Then, she heard nothing else. Her vision went dark as she passed out.
Once again, she was back inside the small, dark house. This time, Xin Qing realized that the bed in the middle was unoccupied.
"Ah Cang?" She started to panic. "Ah Cang, where are you?" Frantic, she started searching the house from top to bottom. It was a very small place, though she could not reach the end no matter how far she walked. It was like she could never reach the wall even if she walked on forever.
"Ah Cang, come on out, please! Don't scare me, Ah Cang!" Xin Qing shouted as she ran. Slowly and gradually, the only light in the room dimmed into oblivion and she was surrounded by darkness. She could see nothing.
"Xin Qing! Xin Qing, come on, wake up." Someone was shaking her forcefully. Xin Qing's eyes snapped open. Zhang Mi's worried face was the first thing she saw. Zhang Mi threw her arms around Xin Qing and yelled, "You nearly scared me to death, Xin Qing!"
Xin Qing massaged her forehead and glanced around. She realized that she was still in her office. Suddenly, her eyes went wide. "Where's Ah Cang?" she asked, glancing around again. Then, she sighed in relief. "I dreamt of Ah Cang's return just now. But I didn't like what he said to me, not one bit." Xin Qing pushed Zhang Mi away and stood up.
Beside her, Young Master Shen just sat there, saying nothing. Then, he sighed and shared a look with Ah Nan. "You weren't dreaming," Young Master Shen said. "He's really back."
Shudders shook Xin Qing's body, and she slowly turned around. "You... You... What?"
Zhang Mi stared at Xin Qing with clenched jaw. "That wasn't a dream."