Chapter 290 Wen Pintang’s AgendaWan Qingsi had been keeping An Ru under close surveillance ever since she was hospitalized. But this morning, An Ru disappeared after the doctor had examined her.
“Did she run off on her own?” Ah Sha asked in confusion.
“Doesn’t seem like it. Back at the hospital, all she had was a phone.” Wan Qingsi’s brows furrowed. Something didn’t smell right. Even if An Ru somehow managed to persuade one of her fans to provide her with the money and means to leave the hospital, how was a mere fan able to sneak into the hospital and then bring her out completely undetected?
Ah Sha thought for a moment. “Have you done a background check on An Ru before?”
“I did.” Wan Qingsi had always been careful in all his business dealings. He had looked into An Ru’s background and history before he signed her on. An Ru was a born in a rural area. Before her career with Stars Entertainment, she had been singing in bars and living a simple life. She had stayed with the drummer of her band for two years. Other than the drummer, she had no other friends.
“How did she… attract you back then?” Ah Sha asked pensively.
Wan Qingsi reached over and pinched her lightly. “What do you mean, ‘attract’? That day at the bar, she performed your favorite song.”
The penny dropped. “‘Tangled’?” Ah Sha asked in a tone of surprise. She rarely listened to music. “Tangled” was the only song she listened to.
“Mm,” Wan Qingsi said with a nod. “At the time, my mind was filled with images of you singing that song.”
Ah Sha’s cheeks turned rosy. “So, you’re saying that it’s impossible for her to have connections with powerful people,” she remarked, skillfully redirecting the conversation back to the original topic.
“I’ve already ask the guys to look into it.” Wan Qingsi didn’t want Ah Sha to be troubled by things like this, so he decided to change the subject. “Depp said you’d definitely win an award for your role in this movie.”
Ah Sha’s face looked as if she thought that was the most obvious thing in the world. “No sh*t, Sherlock! With my level of acting skills, that’s pretty much a given! You just have to look at what the public is now saying about me to know that I’ve fooled them all with my acting skills.”
Wan Qingsi laughed. He thought about those comments and remarks that he’d read on the newspaper: the boss of Stars Entertainment has outlandish tastes in women (he’s attracted to the brainless, loli type); young starlet, Mei Jing, to star in a blockbuster movie with her idiotic acting skills; Wan Qingsi abandons the daughter of a wealthy family to become another woman’s sugar daddy.
Ah Sha curled her lips in contempt. “If I appear before them today as the daughter of the Ying family, I doubt that any of them would say that I’m an ‘innocent’, ‘naive’, ‘cute’, and ‘pure’ woman.”
Bootlicking the powerful while oppressing the weak was a common practice in the showbiz.
Wan Qingsi took the opportunity to tease her. “You’re the one who brought this upon yourself,” Wan Qingsi said. “It’ll be fun watching you try to switch back to your real identity later.”
The first thing Wan Qingsi did when he came home every day was remove the layer of synthetic skin from Ah Sha’s face. Actually, even if Ah Sha had disguised herself as Mei Jing, those who really knew her could still identify her at a glance.
It was because of her eyes; only his Ah Sha possessed a pair of eyes so pure and clear that not even her career as the poison queen could taint them.
Today, however, all thoughts of removing Ah Sha’s mask were forgotten the moment Wan Qingsi opened the door.
“Bai… Qi…” Wan Qingsi growled, his teeth clenched and his face green with anger. At the door, Wan Qingsi glared daggers at the man who was lounging on their couch, enjoying their red wine.
Ah Sha ran her hand down Wan Qingsi’s spine as if to smooth out his raised hackles. “For once in your life, can’t you act like a normal person?” Ah Sha said in annoyance.
“This seems pretty normal to me,” Bai Qi commented, raising the wine glass in his hand as if to prove his point.
The veins in Ah Sha’s forehead bulged. “Right. You call randomly appearing in other people’s homes ‘normal’,” she thought.
That was when Bai Qi began welcoming them enthusiastically as if he owned the damn place. “Come on, don’t be so formal. Have a seat!”
“If your intel proves to be worthless, I swear to God I’ll poison you and turn you into a mute!” Ah Sha said, dragging Wan Qingsi over to the couch.
“You have three minutes,” Wan Qingsi said in an eerie voice.
“Gee. Can’t you guys have begun the conversation by asking me where I’ve been to these days?” Bai Qi sprawled on the couch, stretching out his limbs. “Oh, by the way, we’ll be having hot pot tonight! I’ve already made reservations for us!”
Ah Sha chuckled darkly. “If you don’t mind me saying, I don’t think we’re that close with you yet.”
“All the more reason for us to share a meal!” Bai Qi said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Right now, we’re allies! We’re all in the same boat, see?”
Wan Qingsi shot a brief glance at Bai Qi. “Two minutes.”
“What kind of stupid-ass watch is that?” Bai Qi glared. “That’s way too fast.”
Ah Sha and Wan Qingsi sat there quietly, just staring at Bai Qi.
Bai Qi snorted. “Fine, fine! I went to Eastern Europe. At first it was for a mission, but then I came across some intel on Ying Muhai.” Bai Qi raised his brows. “So, is this intel worth treating me to hot pot?”
Wan Qingsi stared him down. “And then, what? You killed him?”
“I didn’t have a chance to kill him,” Bai Qi said, pausing to look at Ah Sha. “But I overheard him talking to someone else about the prescription formula.”
Ah Sha tensed up immediately. “You mean the prescription formula that can help my mommy stand up again?” Ah Sha asked anxiously. Wan Qingsi drew her back into his arms. “Calm down, okay? Let him finish.”
Bai Qi frowned. “I think so. He was speaking on the phone with someone. And I heard him say, I quote, ‘can’t let the Ying family get their hands on the formula no matter what’.”
“There’s no mistake. It has to be the formula. He has to know where to find the formula.” Ah Sha clutched Wan Qingsi’s collar. “I’m going to Eastern Europe! Now!”
Wan Qingsi patted her head. “I’d be surprise if you could still find him by the time you get there.”
“Exactly!” Bai Qi went on. “He was no longer there by the time I left.”
Ah Sha leveled a cold stare at Bai Qi. “And you couldn’t have called me right away?”
“Hey, Miss. Have you been listening to anything I said?” Bai Qi released a helpless sigh. “At the moment, he’s also looking for the formula, which means he doesn’t have it yet. If he did, he would’ve come knocking on your door a long time ago!”
Wan Qingsi kissed Ah Sha. “The man’s right. The formula definitely isn’t with Ying Muhai right now.”
Ah Sha lowered her head. “I’m sorry…”
Seeing the dejected look on Ah Sha’s face, Bai Qi picked up a throw pillow on the couch and hurled it at Ah Sha. “Hey! The reason I’m telling you this is so that you guys can be prepared. Now that you know that Ying Muhai is also looking for the formula, you guys need to step on it. He’ll be able to leverage you with it if he finds it first.”
Bai Qi continued in a sharp tone, “I didn’t tell you all that in order to see you acting like you’ve just lost a piece of your soul.” Out of nowhere, Bai Qi drew out his long and thin knife. “I’ll kill you if you act all depressed again!”
Wan Qingsi shot him a dirty look. “I take it you no longer want the hot pot?”
“Of course I do!” Bai Qi leaped up from the couch. “Come on! Let’s get going, people!”
The hot pot meal managed to restore Ah Sha’s spirits. The night, she contacted Johns and asked him to help track down the prescription formula. Wan Qingsi informed Ying Qingcang, so that he would also have a preparation.
Meanwhile, Ying Qingcang had other things on his mind.
“Say that again.” Ying Qingcang’s eerie gaze brought chills down Ah Nan’s spine.
Ah Nan dared not meet Ying Qingcang’s eyes. “Wen… Wen Pintang… Um… He um… He invited you and Young Miss to dinner.”
Ying Qingcang released a sneer. “Dinner? What the hell is this guy up to?”
“He said he’d bring Mo Nan if you don’t bring the young miss along.”
“I won’t be intimidated even if he brings his whole family with him,” Ying Qingcang said, pulling a face. “The people from the Wen family are a real piece of work, aren’t they?” Ying Qingcang snorted. “Where do they think this is, huh? The capital?”
Ah Nan thought for a moment. “Shall we contact the Jiang family?”
“Him? No thanks.” Ying Qingcang huffed in annoyance. “I’ll go on my own.”
Ying Qingcang was in a foul mood for the rest of the day because of Wen Pingtang’s dinner invitation. When he went home that night, he never planned on bringing up the invitation. Then again…
“Ah Cang! Mr. Wen invited us to join him for dinner tomorrow night!” Xin Qing said excitedly the moment she saw him.
Ying Qingcang’s face fell. “Who told you about it?”
“Oh, he called the house!” Xin Qing said. Then, a puzzled look formed on her face. “But how did he know our house’s phone number?”
“I told you he isn’t a good person. Would a good person secretly dig into other people’s phone numbers?” Ying Qingcang picked her up and carried her into the dining hall.
Xin Qing pouted. “So are we going or not?”
“You want to go?” Ying Qingcang fed her a piece of vegetable. “Give me a reason.”
“A reason…” Xin Qing thought. To be honest, she didn’t have any specific reason at all other than the fact that Wen Pintang had helped her that day. But if the man was targeting Xin Enterprises, wouldn’t helping her be part of his plan?
“Fine, then. I won’t go.”
Ying Qingcang gave her a look. “Well, if you feel like going, then let’s go!”
Xin Qing set down her chopsticks. “So do you want me to go or not?” Xin Qing said exasperatedly.
“Since he’d invited you, then let’s attend together!”
Since Wen Pintang had made it clear that Xin Qing was his target, then Ying Qingcang would show the man just how much he and Xin Qing loved each other. That might dissuade the man from trying any funny business behind his back.
The next day, Ying Qingcang and Xin Qing were an hour late; Ying Qingcang disapproved no matter which dress Xin Qing wore. When Xin Qing got mad in the end, he finally relented and carried her out the door.
At the restaurant, Wen Pintang acted as if he himself had just arrived too. He greeted Xin Qing gently.
“Miss Xin, we meet again.”
Ying Qingcang didn’t hesitate to correct the man. “I’d prefer it more if you address the lady as ‘Mrs. Ying’, or ‘President Xin’.”
Wen Pintang kept his eyes on Xin Qing. “Do you mind my style of address, Miss Xin?”
“Well, my husband minds, so naturally, I do too.” She smiled at Wen Pintang. “Just call me ‘Mrs. Ying’, Mr. Wen.”
Wen Pintang smiled and handed them a menu. “Let’s order, then.”
Xin Qing had expected the two men to quickly launch into a discussion about corporate matters once the dishes were served. That couldn’t be further from the truth though; the two men ended up talking in circles about inconsequential matters. Something caught Xin Qing’s eyes when Ying Qingcang’s was helping her cut her stake. Her eyes shone brightly.
“Xunxun!”
Ying Qingcang frowned. By then, Xin Qing, too, had realized that she shouldn’t have called. Thank God she hadn’t called “Ah Sha” just now.
“Aunt Qing!” Wan Qingsi walked over with one hand placed on the small of Ah Sha’s back. Ah Sha’s surprise only lasted for a brief moment. After that, she recovered and greeted Ying Qingcang and Xin Qing in a sweet voice. “Good evening, Mr. Ying, Mrs. Ying!”
The smile on Wen Pintang’s face held its usual gentleness. “So this is the future son-in-law of the Ying family, am I right?” He nodded at Wan Qingsi. “I’ve met Boss Wan, your father, once. You resemble him a lot.”
Considering the sheer amount of resources at their disposal, it wasn’t surprising at all that the Wen family knew about Wan Qingsi. Of course, Wan Qingsi knew who the man was as well. He nodded politely, fully prepared to take his leave.
“I have to say that I find the ways of the Ying family rather refreshing! I mean, doesn’t it bother the future father-in-law to see his son-in-law acting familiar and intimate with a woman other than his daughter?” Evidently, Wen Pintang had no plans on letting them off the hook so easily. Once he was done talking, he deliberately appraised Ah Sha a few times.
Ah Sha beat everyone to a response. “No, no! There’s nothing between me and President Wan. This is all just for show in order to promote the movie!” Ah Sha gave Wan Qingsi a serious look. “Right? Boss?”
Ying Qingcang gave Wan Qingsi an eye signal, asking him to leave. Wan Qingsi knew as well that this wasn’t the time to get into a standoff with Wen Pintang. But when he turned around to leave, he saw Tang Yue heading over towards them.
“Senior Wan, Mei Jing! You guys are having dinner here as well?”
Tang Yue stopped in front of Wan Qingsi and Mei Jing. Only then did she see Wen Pintang at the table. Her face changed instantly.
“Big… Big brother?”
Wen Pintang didn’t even spare her a single glance. Instead, he picked up his wine glass and said, “Do not misuse that honorific, Miss Tang. My brother and I are the only children of the Wen family. We don’t have a sister.”
Tang Yue felt as though she had just been plunged into an ice cave.
Wan Qingsi took the opportunity to start leading Ah Sha away. In the middle of all that, Ah Sha and Xin Qing had somehow found the opportunity to make faces at each other!