Song Chunli had reserved a table in a highly praised restaurant ran by a private chef. She and Jiang Qianren were already there when Xin Qing arrived.
"Sorry that I'm late," Xin Qing said.
Jiang Qianren pulled out a chair for her. "Not at all. We were early, that's all!"
Jiang Qianren was dressed in civvies today, which made him look handsome and buff like some kind of hotshot celebrity. Having noticed the way Xin Qing was staring at him, Jiang Qianren pursed his lips and kept a straight face. "From now on, I'll be wearing civvies every time I come see you."
Xin Qing gave him a strange look, though she made no comment.
Jiang Qianren felt that Xin Qing might not feel as overwhelmed by his presence if he avoided putting on his uniform. He knew how imposing his presence could be. Before he came here, the rookies in his unit had given him some special advice: women needed to be coaxed, not ordered around and treated like a soldier; in other words, he had to take things slow.
The most important thing was that he was aware that the man had returned. He had already seen Ying Qingcang's photo while running a background check on Xin Qing last time. At the time, he thought Ying Qingcang was just another man with good looks. He had entertained the notion that Ying Qingcang was not nearly as charismatic as he was. But when he accidentally saw Ying Qingcang on TV a few days ago, he realized that Ying Qingcang was no ordinary man at all. At least Jiang Qianren could now admit to himself that Ying Qingcang made him feel threatened, be it in terms of physical appearance or charisma.
If he were to really go toe to toe with Ying Qingcang, Jiang Qianren felt that he might not necessarily come out victorious. Then again, that man was no longer his opponent; Ying Qingcang himself had chosen to abandon Xin Qing. It was for this reason that Jiang Qianren had insisted on coming to S City. Nevertheless, he did find it rather strange that his mother would go behind the family's back by tagging along.
"President Xin, are there any foods that you avoid?" Song Chunli asked with the menu in hand.
Xin Qing took a sip of water. "You can just use my name. And no, I can have pretty much anything," Xin Qing answered cordially.
"She can't have anything too spicy," Jiang Qianren remarked casually.
Song Chunli flicked him a glance and handed him the menu. "Why don't you order for all of us, then!"
The restaurant's signature dishes were all part of the Huaiyang cuisine, which was renowned for its mild flavor. Xin Qing enjoyed it very much. Throughout the meal, Jiang Qianren never stopped placing food on Xin Qing's plate. Once in a while, he would do the same for Song Chunli, too. Near the end of the meal, they noticed something a bit off with Jiang Qianren's expression.
Song Chunli glared at her own son in annoyance. "Oh, for God's sake, just go if you need the loo. What do you think I'll do, swallow the girl?" Jiang Qianren turned to Xin Qing and gave her a reassuring glance. Then, he quickly left their table.
"Well, it's about time you speak your mind," Xin Qing mumbled inwardly as she stared at Song Chunli.
As expected, Song Chunli placed down her chopsticks. For a moment, Song Chunli seemed to be choosing her words carefully before she finally settled with, "I heard you have three children, Miss Xin."
It had never crossed Xin Qing's mind that Song Chunli would suddenly ask her about this, which was why Xin Qing was briefly taken aback. Then, she nodded. "Mm. Two sons and a daughter."
Song Chunli picked up her wine glass and brought it to her lips. "But I heard that only your youngest son is related to you and your husband by blood..."
"Pardon me for not wanting to discuss my children," Xin Qing said in a serious tone. "I have no idea why you're suddenly taking an interest in my children. But I hope you're aware that nothing in this world could more important to me than their well-being. If anyone does them harm, rest assured that I'll return several times the favor."
This time it was Song Chunli who appeared stunned. She had no idea that the usually calm and composed Xin Qing would become so aggressive when the subject of her children was broached. Song Chunli spent a brief moment in thought, and then she smiled. "Please do not misunderstand my intentions. I'm curious, that's all. I'm a mother, too. So I understand your stance regarding such matters. Please believe me that the people from the Jiang family will never resort to any dishonorable acts. Of that you can be assured."
"What do you do that Xin Qing needs reassurance from you?" Jiang Qianren, who had rushed back to their table, fixed his gaze on Xin Qing for a few seconds. When he did not detect anything out of the ordinary, only then did he sit down.
Xin Qing smiled. "Oh, it's nothing. We were engaging in a little girl-talk, that's all."
When Jiang Qianren walked Xin Qing back to her car after dinner, he whispered to her, "I'll come see you tomorrow."
Before Xin Qing could even voice out her protest, he had already turned around and begun walking away. Resigned, Xin Qing waved at Song Chunli who was still standing at the restaurant's entrance and cued Ah Che to start driving.
"Shall I send you back to your hotel?" Jiang Qianren asked his mother.
"Don't you own a house in the city? I'll just stay at your place, then."
On the way to Jiang Qianren's place, Song Chunli asked, "Do you know Xin Qing's children?"
"What's the matter?" Jiang Qianren watched his mother cautiously. Song Chunli frowned. "Seriously? You really think I'll try to harm the children?" She said.
A quick laugh escaped Jiang Qianren's lips. "Hah! This is my mother we're talking here! My righteous and virtuous mother with her impeccable moral standards! She'll never resort to any irrational means, am I right?!"
"Quit talking nonsense. I just heard that her children were adopted."
"Mm. Her two oldest children were indeed adopted. One of them was her stepbrother's daughter. The other one... Well, I must say I have no clue about the other one."
The expectant look on Song Chunli's face morphed into a look of mild disappointment. She stared at her son for a long while. "Nobody could find out anything about the other one? Not even you?"
Jiang Qianren's face fell. "Couldn't find anything," Jiang Qianren said. "All I know is that the kid suddenly appeared three years ago." He paused, flicking a glance at Song Chunli. "Mom, I realized that you're taking a special interest in Xin Qing's children. What is it that you're trying to find out?"
Something flickered in Song Chunli's eyes. "I'm just curious," she said. "She's a woman who doesn't even have a husband. Why would she adopt so many children? I mean, it's not like she is infertile."
"It goes to show just how kind-hearted she is!" Due to the dimness of the car's interior, Jiang Qianren had failed to notice the strange look on his mother's face. "Now you know why I'm so crazy about her. A pure girl like her is hard to come by these days!"
Song Chunli laughed. "Then I guess it's too bad that the woman doesn't have eyes for my son!"
"She will eventually..." Jiang Qianren's foot slammed down on the accelerator.
The following day, the first thing Song Chunli did when she got back to her home in the capital was to make a phone call.
"Hello. Help me find out everything you can about a person," she said. "A child."
The days always seemed to pass quickly whenever one was busy. Jiang Qianren had pestered Xin Qing for no more than a few days before he was recalled to his unit for his next deployment. Meanwhile, Xin Qing's attention was fully focused on making preparations for the product launching at the end of this year. In a blink of an eye, it was Christmas, which also happened to be her birthday.
Tonight, Xin Qing had managed to sneak away from the Christmas dance party organized by the Caesar Academy. After that, she drove all the way to the beach, alone. She had almost arrived at the beach when her phone rang.
"Huanhuan?"
"Xin Qing, did you run off to the beach again?" Chen Huan asked interrogatively.
Xin Qing let out a bitter laugh. Ever since that time when she had secretly removed the GPS tracker from her body and went missing for an entire day, Chen Huan had been threatening to install the GPS device inside her brain if she dare pull off that stunt again.
"I'm just going to have a look around. I'll go back once I'm done, I promise!"
There was a brief moment of silence on Chen Huan's end of the line. Then, Chen Huan sighed and said, "Come back earlier, okay? You still have a product launching event to attend tomorrow!"
Xin Qing hung up and parked her car. After that, she removed her shoes and walked barefoot towards the beach.
This was the place where Ying Qingcang had proposed to her back then. It was also the place where they had their wedding. Xin Qing walked the familiar path and arrived at a spot behind a sandbag. Then, she crouched down and began digging. Slowly, a tightly-sealed box peeked out from the sand. Xin Qing pulled the box from the sand and held it in her hand. The box contained the contract that she had reburied the last time she was here.
The tip of her fingers brushed across Ying Qingcang's name as her tears dripped onto the words. Just like that, Xin Qing sobbed soundlessly. After some time, she raised her head and sniffed loudly. Then, she placed the agreement back into the box, sealed the box, and then buried it back into the sand.
"If I'm here alone again next year on my birthday, I'll burn this agreement to ashes and then we'll have nothing to do with each other. I'll forget all about you..."
She stood up and dried her tears. As she turned around in preparation to leave, she suddenly noticed a human-shaped shadow nearby.
"Who's there?" Slowly, she reached into the pocket of her coat where she kept the anti-perv spray that Chen Huan had given her.
The shadow shifted slightly and slowly made its way towards her. Xin Qing's palms were now sweaty due to her anxiety. Technically, the hour would not be considered late. Still, it was the winter season and nobody would be here on the beach at this hour. She took several steps backwards. Just when she was trying to decide whether or not to make a run for it, she heard a voice.
"Would you like some flowers?"
As Xin Qing was driving home, she kept glancing at the lilies on the passenger seat. It was a huge bouquet of lilies that belonged to a luxurious, foreign cultivar. She was still frowning when she arrived home. When Chen Huan saw her walking in with the bouquet, she joked, "Yo, look who's been given flowers by her admirer even when she had run off to the beach in the dark?"
"You think this is weird as well, right?" Xin Qing quickly said. "Who would be selling flowers in that kind of place? Then he even said that he had to leave because there's something he had to take care of, and that it would be too troublesome to take the flowers with him. He ended up giving me the flowers."
Chen Huan stared at Xin Qing and chuckled. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"I'm telling the truth!" Xin Qing raised the bouquet. "It was a teenage boy. He gave me the flowers and then he just took off."
At that comment, Chen Huan placed Liuliu down on the carpet. A series of thuds sounded as Chen Huan dashed upstairs. It did not take long for Chen Huan to run back downstairs again, only that this time, she had a cubic box with her. She circled the bouquet of lilies with the cubic box several times.
"I didn't detect any explosives," Chen Huan remarked.
Xin Qing rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I would've felt it if there're any? It would've have been heavy!"
"No, this won't do. Give me that thing. I need to check it thoroughly," Chen Huan said, carrying the bouquet to a table. Then, she carefully removed the packaging. That was when she discovered a small card tucked in between the flowers. When Chen Huan took the card and glanced at it, a cryptic smile formed on her face.
Curiously, Xin Qing took the card from Chen Huan. "What did it say..." Xin Qing's words got stuck in her throat. Written across that pink card was a single line of beautiful cursive.
"Xin Qing, happy birthday!"
Reassured, Chen Huan placed the lilies into a vase. "Someone had obviously given it to you on purpose!"
"But... But who could it be?"
"Jiang Qianren?"
Xin Qing shook her head. "No, it couldn't have been him." Jiang Qianren had already given her his gift when he came to see her last week because he knew he would not be able to make it back today; it was a jewelry box made out of sandalwood.
Chen Huan suddenly lowered her voice, "Then, could it be... Ah Cang?"
"Ah!" Xin Qing covered her mouth with her palm. In that split second, a multitude of emotions coursed through her heart.
Just then, Liuliu, who had been playing with the TV remote, accidentally switched on the TV. Chen Huan let out a squeak when she saw the screen. "Ying Qingcang!"
Xin Qing turned around and looked at the TV screen, which showed Ying Qingcang and Smith shaking each other's hand.
"He's signing the contract with Smith today?" Chen Huan asked.
"Seems like it," Xin Qing said a bit dejectedly. Since he was in the middle of a contract signing, it could not have been him that had arranged to have someone deliver the flowers to her at the beach.
The following day, Xin Qing promptly forgot about the incident. It was the day of the product launching event. She could not allow these strange emotions to affect her on a day as important as this. She arrived at the event's venue on time, by which time the bedding products had already been placed in their display cabinets and the jewelries worn by the models. Satisfied, Xin Qing glanced at her watch. Her face changed entirely when her gaze landed at the entrance.
"Hey," Zhang Mi said with a frown. "Why is Ying Qingcang here?"