Chapter 94 Xin Qings Diamond Mine (2/2)
Young Master Shen stared right at her. ”What do you think of that William?”
Xin Qing was taken aback. She had assumed that if there was anything capable of making Young Master Shen hesitate in his words, then it would have something to do with Ying Qingcang. She did not expect him to mention that name.
”William?” Xin Qing asked. Then, something came to her mind. ”How do you know about that person?”
”I went to CK to check out the necklace you'd designed,” Young Master Shen said without batting an eye. ”I ran into him there. Well, I told him I'm your brother. That fellow was very amiable, and we chatted for a while.” Young Master Shen gave her a pointed stare. ”Looks like you've made quite an impression on him!”
”How is it possible for you to chat with just anyone?” Xin Qing glared at him. ”You're such a gossiper, like Mimi.”
”My God, don't mention that crazy woman.” Young Master Shen shuddered. ”You really don't feel anything for that William?”
Xin Qing looked at him strangely and asked, ”Feel what? We barely know each other, for goodness' sake!”
”Oh...” Young Master Shen nodded, staring at her again. Xin Qing was just about to ask him what was going through his head when Young Master Shen threw out a quick ”Goodbye!” before turning around and went through the security gates.
As she left the airport, Xin Qing heaved a sigh of relief. ”Finally sent off that clown,” she thought. Once again, she thought of Zhang Mi. ”Those two are really alike...” she thought, smiling.
Xin Qing headed home, thinking that she could finally have time to relax. But when she got home, Ailey was sitting in front of her door. Ailey sprang to her feet the moment she saw Xin Qing's return. ”Xin Qing! Where were you?”
”Went to send off my friend,” Xin Qing said, opening the door. Ailey followed her inside. ”Is your friend the one called Young Master Shen? Wait, send him off? He's gone?”
”Good thing he left today,” Xin Qing thought, silently reveling in the fact that Young Master Shen had lucked out.
”Yup. Went back to his country.”
Ailey was getting riled up. ”So fast? But I haven't even had a proper conversation with him yet!” Ailey exclaimed.
”What's there to talk about between you two?” Xin Qing asked, feigning surprise. ”It's not like you two are close.”
”Then... well I'm sure we'll get closer after a conversation or two!” Blushing, Ailey clung to Xin Qing and asked, ”Xin Qing, when are you returning to your country?”
”Me?” Xin Qing asked, pointing to herself. Somehow, she had a bad feeling about this. ”I don't know.”
”Aren't you going to go back during the summer holidays?” Ailey said in disappointment.
”I've got a lot of things to do this summer. I don't have time to go back.”
At Xin Qing's words, Ailey released her hold on Xin Qing. ”Oh,” Ailey said. ”Then I won't disturb you.”
Xin Qing sent Ailey to the front door. As Xin Qing was closing the door, Ailey squeezed in through the gap and said, ”If you have plans to go back to your country, you must let me know, okay!”
”Fine, fine. I'll let you know!” Xin Qing said. Xin Qing stared after Ailey as she left, and then shrugged. ”It's not like she'd follow him all the way back to China!” she thought.
It was the end of the month, and Xin Qing received an air ticket from CK. The next day, Xin Qing arrived at the airport on time. She saw many students from the academy there. Everyone had been assigned a different location for the trip. Despite the throng of people, Xin Qing had spotted Dianne in just one glance. Dianne had spotted her too, considering the fact that Dianne was waving at her from afar. Xin Qing nodded. Then, she sat down on a bench not too far away from where everyone was and waited for boarding.
CK had been generous with their top students and had provided them with business class tickets. Although not as spacious as the first class cabin, they could at least be spared from having to squeeze themselves in the crowded economy class cabin. After they all boarded, Xin Qing noticed that Dianne had chosen a seat quite far away from her own, which made her feel oddly relieved. It was not that Xin Qing was timid. Well, she was pretty sure that any woman would feel unbearable pressure in the face of someone whose every movement seemed to have been measured out with a ruler!
Xin Qing imagined a scenario where she had an opportunity to put Dianne and Zhang Mi together in the same room. She was pretty sure both would end up in a mental asylum after that experience.
The guy who had been assigned to her group was sitting in front of her. When he saw Xin Qing, he had greeted her politely before returning to his book. Xin Qing did not know much about the guy. His name was probably Mark or something. He was usually very quiet and taciturn during class. She did not think he would be selected to be a part of the trip.
The plane flew over the Indian Ocean. Around midnight, they landed in South Africa. They would have to stay in the hotel for one night. The transportation that had been arranged for them would come to pick them up tomorrow morning and take them to the mines. While they were checking in at the hotel, Xin Qing learned that it was not just students from CK that were part of this trip. There were students from other countries too. In fact, she found that the trip was not just limited to students as there were a couple of employees from a jewelry company among their group. Those two women from the jewelry company were staying in the room right beside Xin Qing's room. They did not seem friendly at all.
Several SUVs were parked in front of the hotel the next day. Each group of three was assigned to one SUV. The vehicle traversed the deserted plains. At first, they could still see several buildings. After that, the road became bumpy, as if they had moved past several mountains. The SUV stopped in front of a pile of rubble. Xin Qing looked beyond the rubble and noticed the tall barbed wires that encircled the mining site. The wooden signboards had made it clear that this was private property, and that any unauthorized intruder would be shot to death. Underneath the barbed wire fence, several men with guns were patrolling the area.
Xin Qing had a strange feeling in her heart. ”So this is the place I own?!” she thought. Before she could even finish lamenting the sorry state of her property, a voice in front urged them to hurry up. ”Come on, everyone. Get a move on. Get down quickly. We're here!”
Dianne had noticed the dazed look on Xin Qing's face. When they got out of the car, Dianne smiled at her. ”I guess you don't see a lot of guns in China. Don't be afraid.” Mark, who was standing together with them, nodded at Xin Qing.
Xin Qing managed a smile. ”I'm fine,” she said. ”I'm just shocked at the sight of my own property, that's all...” she added in her head.
The diamond mine's layout was simple and spartan. They would spend the day here and leave during the evening since the site had no place to accommodate them. A bearded man came out to greet them. He introduced himself enthusiastically.
”I'm Rang! I will be your tour guide today. I hope we can all enjoy a pleasant, diamond-laden trip!”
Xin Qing was at the back of the group as Rang watched each of them enter. When it was Xin Qing's turn, she noticed Rang squinting at her. Xin Qing stared at him at first, thinking that perhaps she had mistaken that squint. But there could be no mistaking it when she saw Rang heading straight at her.
He reached her and whispered beside her ear, ”Oh. I can't believe our boss is so pretty!”