Xin Qing had begun counting the days until the auction next week. Tonight, Ying Qingcang snuck in to see her again. While the man on top of her was peppering her neck with gentle kisses, the tunes of the symphony filled Xin Qing's mind. "Will I get so used to the music that sex would feel meaningless without it?" She mused.
"You're not focusing," Ying Qingcang whispered into her ear. Then, he bit down on her earlobe with just the right amount of strength.
Xin Qing wrapped her legs around his waist and deliberately gave him a sultry look. Ying Qingcang gritted his teeth. "You little minx!" he said in a muted tone. After that, his thrusts became much harder and faster.
When he was leaving, Ying Qingcang told her to wear her white cheongsam to the auction. Xin Qing just winked at him, not even bothering to ask why.
Other than Young Master Shen and Zhang Mi, Boss Wan, too, was present on the day of the auction. It was already late when the four of them arrived; they were basically the last ones to arrive at the event. The moment Xin Qing entered the auction hall, she saw Ying Qingcang already there, dressed in a black suit. Coincidentally, there was a dark floral pattern on the sleeves of his blazer which matched the exact pattern on Xin Qing's cheongsam.
Xin Qing suddenly remembered the dinner party at Caesar last year. Back then, Ying Qingcang's attire had matched hers too. Was it possible that he had known what she would be wearing to the event beforehand?
Rong Siman had obviously noticed their matching attire as well. She glared daggers at Xin Qing and grumbled to Ying Qingcang, "You shouldn't wear clothes from this designer. They match hers every time."
"I did ask you before. You're the one who doesn't want to wear them." Ying Qingcang squinted slightly and shot a quick glance in Xin Qing's direction.
Deep down, Rong Siman was furious. The clothes from that store were leaning more towards Chinese style. She did not like them at all.
"Whatever. What's the big deal, anyway? The auction is starting. Let's go inside and grab our seats." Ying Qingcang's seat just so happened to be one row behind Xin Qing's. His eyes followed Xin Qing as she took her seat. While she moved, the emerald earrings on her ears swayed gently. At the sight, Ying Qingcang's heart felt as if it were floating.
The items to be auctioned consisted of mostly porcelain items which dated back to the late Qing dynasty. Rong Siman had virtually zero interest in such things. Not long after the auction began, she received a phone call. After hanging up, she told Ying Qingcang, "Ah Cang, a lady I know wants to start a game of Mahjong, but they only have three players right now. They need one more. Can I leave first?"
"Sure! I told you not to come. You don't like this kind of thing anyway. Go on, then!" Then, Ying Qingcang stood up. "I'll walk you out?"
Rong Siman nodded at him with a smile. Before leaving, Rong Siman did not forget to glare at Xin Qing. Too bad Xin Qing was not even looking at her.
After sending Rong Siman off, Ying Qingcang headed straight for the suite behind the auction hall. A while later, Xin Qing sneakily poked her head through the doorway from outside of the suite.
Ying Qingcang laughed silently and waved at her.
Xin Qing noticed that his phone was still on. In fact, there was an audio feed playing on it. When she heard the voice of the auctioneer through the phone's speaker, she immediately knew that the audio was meant for Rong Siman's ears. She crept forward silently and sat down on his lap. Ying Qingcang embraced her. Then, he kissed her before he wrote a line on the tablet.
"She won't be returning tonight. I'll go home tonight!"
Go home. Xin Qing's eyes became red-rimmed when she read those two words. When would they both be allowed to go home together openly?
Ying Qingcang had probably noticed the sudden change in Xin Qing's mood. He kissed her eye lids gently and wrote again.
"I haven't made good on any of the things I said to you before. I promised you that I would cook for you, wash your clothes and serve you for the rest of my life. And that you're free to order me around like I'm your personal slave!"
Xin Qing muffled her laughter with her hands and gave the man a flirtatious look. Ying Qingcang sank his teeth into her lower lip.
He wrote, "I won't be able to stop myself from putting it inside you if you keep looking at me like that!"
She wrote back, "Aww. Be a dear, would you? Wait until tonight before you put it in me!" Xin Qing's merciless and deliberate teasing caused Ying Qingcang's eyes to grow a shade darker. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
The pair kissed and touched each other for quite a while. At some point, the door was slowly pushed open again and Boss Wan walked in. When he heard the live audio feed from the auction playing on Ying Qingcang's phone, Boss Wan frowned and picked up the tablet.
"I was waiting for you to call me into the room. Are you done kissing? If you are, it's time we get down to business."
Looking sheepish, Xin Qing gave Boss Wan a forgive-us gesture. Ying Qingcang stroked her head and wrote down a line of words.
"Why don't you head out first, babe. I have some things that I need to discuss with Boss Wan."
Xin Qing wrote her reply and then stared back at him, "Why can't I be part of your discussion?"
Admittedly, Ying Qingcang felt a little helpless at that point, so he secretly gave Boss Wan an eye signal.
With a completely neutral face, Boss Wan wrote, "The things that I'll be saying to him later involve some of my darkest secrets. I'm very sorry, but I don't want my secrets to be known by too many people."
Xin Qing thought for a moment. "True. Boss Wan was involved in a lot of dangerous things. When he said that he doesn't want too many people to know his secrets, I'm pretty sure he meant he doesn't want me to tell Chen Huan!" That was how Xin Qing had construed Boss Wan's words. After that, Xin Qing nodded at Ying Qingcang and left the suite.
Boss Wan and Ying Qingcang never reappeared even when the auction had ended. Xin Qing wanted to go in to check on them, but Young Master Shen dissuaded her from it. He told her that she should just leave them be; if they had not come out from the room, it meant that the discussion must still be going on. Xin Qing figured that she would still see Ying Qingcang tonight, so she followed Young Master Shen and Zhang Mi out.
"You guys head back first. I'll stay and wait for Boss Wan." After he had escorted the women to the car, Young Master Shen ordered Ah Che to drive them both home.
Zhang Mi poked her head out from the car and gave him a threat, "Come straight home after you meet him. You're not allowed to go out drinking!"
"Yes, my queen!" Young Master Shen blew a flying kiss at her.
When the car drove away, a grave look formed on Young Master Shen's face. He quickly walked back to the auction hall and entered the suite behind it.
An hour later, the three men left the room together. Ying Qingcang nodded at them and left first.
Boss Wan and Young Master Shen climbed into their car.
"You have to act as soon as possible," Boss Wan said. "I've already made arrangements."
Young Master Shen started the car and said, "No problem. I'll need one week at most!"
That night, Xin Qing was in the middle of a hazy snooze when she felt someone hugging her. Her first instinct was to open her mouth to speak, but then she came to a sudden realization and quickly covered her mouth.
The tablet appeared before her face. A line of words was written on the screen.
"You're sleepy! Hm?"
Xin Qing felt like kicking his ass. "What's with the 'hm'? I'm already not allowed to speak! Who is he trying to seduce! Geez!"
When she turned around to snuggle him, she realized that he was already naked.
Xin Qing wrote a few words, "You... That was fast." Then, she sat up and glanced at the nightstand. Indeed, a glass of water had already been placed there.
Ying Qingcang took the glass and handed it to her. He watched as Xin Qing gulped down the water. Then, he rolled them over so that he was on top of her. He did not forget to write out another line:
"You dressed up sexily just for me, right? Stripping myself naked is me playing along with you!" After that, he tore her lingerie apart. As Xin Qing worked on playing the symphony, she had to stifle her moans at the feel of his wet lips on her chest. Since Wangwang was away, she decided to max out the volume.
Ying Qingcang flipped her body over fearlessly. After planting a trail of wet kisses down her spine, he bit on her earlobe again and said, "Babe, let me hear your voice!"
Now that they did not have to worry about being heard, Ying Qingcang had his way with her until it was nearly dawn. Xin Qing looked at him through heavy-lidded eyes, laying still while he wiped her body down. When he was done, he placed the blanket over her and spent a long time just kissing her. Finally, he whispered into her ear, "Sweet dreams, babe. Remember to eat lunch later. I'm leaving first!"
The symphony stopped. Silence descended upon the house.
Xin Qing felt so tired, though her phone kept ringing insistently. She closed her eyes and picked up the phone.
She heard an unfamiliar voice over the phone. "Miss Xin? I'm Song Chunli."
Xin Qing was instantly awake. She reached for the glass on the nightstand and took a few sips of water. "Aunt Song? What can I do for you?" She asked.
"I'm in S City right now. I'd like your to join me for a meal."
Xin Qing glanced at her watch and noticed that it had just turned 11:00. Xin Qing rolled her eyes and, in a hopeful tone, she asked, "Tonight?"
She heard another voice over the phone; someone else was speaking to Song Chunli and Song Chunli answered the person with a hum of agreement. "At noon. I'm already at the hotel. Are you available now?"
Song Chunli spoke again before Xin Qing could answer, "You sounded like you just woke up, which is perfect! You should come here for lunch!"
Ugh... Resigned to her fate, Xin Qing scratched her hair. "Okay. Please give me an address. I'll be right there."
This time, Song Chunli had picked a French restaurant that was ran by a famous Michelin star chef. All of the restaurant's lobsters had been delivered by air early that morning, so their freshness was legendary! Of course, the food prices were legendary too...
By the time Xin Qing arrived, Song Chunli had already ordered their food. They both sat in a quiet corner which was separated from other parts of the restaurant by a partition wall. The wall served to obscure the view of the rest of the restaurant and block out any outside noise. Xin Qing swallowed a mouthful of lobster meat and smiled. "Please, go ahead and speak your mind!" Xin Qing said.
"Xin Qing, let me be straight with you then." Judging from her appearance, Song Chunli seemed a bit nervous. She handed Xin Qing a catalog envelope and said, "The child that you've adopted is my grandson."
Clang! Xin Qing's fork dropped onto her plate.
"You'll understand once you read all the documents inside the envelope."
Xin Qing's hand was trembling so violently that it took her quite a while to open the envelope, which contained photos of a couple and several sheets of paper.
After a while, Xin Qing returned the envelope and its contents to Song Chunli.
"None of this proves anything. They don't look alike at all."
The documents she had read just now contained the personal details of a man and a woman. They were a married couple. The man was a Captain in the armed forces whereas the woman was a biology professor who was part of the country's top-secret research group. The couple had been assassinated while they were on vacation. Their one-year-old son was missing.
"Xiao Rui looked just like my son when he was younger. Plus, Xiao Rui' sage matches the description of the profile. I believe he is the lost grandchild of the Jiang family." Song Chunli sounded a bit emotional when she spoke next. In a trembling voice, she said, "Miss Xin, please, I beg you. I beg you to let me meet the boy seeing as I'd already lost the boy's father. I won't demand you to hand the boy back the family right away. But at least let me see him, please?"
Xin Qing pressed a hand to her forehead. "How I wish Ah Cang is here. What am I supposed to do now..."
She remembered what Young Master Shen had told her last time, that Xiao Rui's birth parents were likely members of the military. Plus, from what was written in the files just now, Xin Qing found herself unable to doubt Song Chunli's veracity. "But still..." Xin Qing could not finish that thought. All of a sudden, Chen Huan's words came to mind. "If someone learned about Xiao Rui's true lineage, then the consequences..."
"No!" She stared at Song Chunli firmly. "Xiao Rui is my son and he has nothing to do with your family." The moment those words were out of her mouth, Xin Qing stood up to leave.
Song Chunli pulled her arm. "Miss Xin!"
The sadness she had detected in Song Chunli's pleading voice nearly made Xin Qing turn back around. Still, Xin Qing took a deep breath and steeled her resolve, "I will not allow you to see Xiao Rui. Even if you see him behind my back, he will never acknowledge you as long as I don't grant him the permission."
"Xin Qing," Song Chunli said, a sudden calmness washing over her voice. There was a long stretch of silence where Song Chunli seemed to be hesitating. Then, finally, she said, "Have you noticed anything different about Xiao Rui?"
Xin Qing's body grew taut. She turned her head around. "What? What did you just say?"
"I said, have you ever noticed anything different about Xiao Rui compared to other kids?" Song Chunli stared right into Xin Qing's eyes. "You can't protect him. Please hand him over to me!"