Chapter 98 A Love-Hate Family (1/2)

Silence pervaded the room after Ying Qingcang's words had dissipated. It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room, like a state of vacuum. Ah Sha had accidentally got the bath towel on her own head. Now that she could no longer see Xin Qing's face due to the towel, Ah Sha began mumbling, which snapped Xin Qing back into reality.

”Fine. You sleep here. I'll take the guestroom,” Xin Qing growled and turned away, deliberately refusing to look at Ying Qingcang's naked torso.

Ying Qingcang ignored her and went to work on his pants. Xin Qing rushed out of the bathroom with Ah Sha in her arms. She ran to the guestroom and sat there motionlessly. After that, she realized that all of Ah Sha's clothes were still in the master bedroom, so she crept back, wanting to grab them. At the door, she saw no signs of Ying Qingcang in the room. There were sounds of running water from the bathroom. Panicking, Xin Qing hurried inside and quickly grabbed Ah Sha's clothes. She dumped the clothes into the cot, which she pushed all the way to the guestroom. She went into the guestroom, not forgetting to lock the door behind her. After placing a milk bottle in Ah Sha's mouth, Xin Qing settled the baby in the cot. After that, she went to take her bath in peace.

Xin Qing had a towel wrapped around her body and was humming a song when she opened the bathroom door. She stepped out and saw Ying Qingcang on the bed. The blanket was covered up to his lower abs, leaving his taut muscles completely bare. Under the light, it was as if his muscles had some kind of fluorescent effect, sparking one's desire to reach out and touch them. At that thought, Xin Qing nearly jumped out of her own skin.

”How did you get in?”

Ying Qingcang's eyes swept towards the door. Xin Qing followed his gaze and saw a bunch of keys dangling from the doorknob.

”Where did you get those keys?” Xin Qing was at the verge of going insane at this point. She did not even know where the keys were kept in this house.

”Downstairs, in the storage room. Why? Didn't you know?” Ying Qingcang's face had a look of surprise. Too bad his eyes had given it all away by having ”I knew you wouldn't have known” written all over them.

She would most definitely strangle Young Master Shen to death the next time she saw him. Xin Qing glared at Ying Qingcang. ”Fine. You sleep here. I'll sleep in the next room,” Xin Qing said, fuming.

”Oh. Go on, then!” Ying Qingcang said, already lifting the covers off of him. Xin Qing rushed forward in a few steps and pressed down on the side of the blanket. ”Don't you dare move!” she yelled.

He was most certainly naked from the waist down. She could not allow him to come out from under the covers.

”Fine! I won't move.” Ying Qingcang's eyes darkened all of a sudden. Right now, his intense stare was aimed straight at Xin Qing.

Xin Qing soon realized that it was not her face that he was staring at. Hopelessly, she glanced down, and then she released a shriek. She did not even bother picking up her bath towel, which had fallen off her and was then lying in a heap near the bathroom door. Instead, she leaped onto the bed and slipped under the blanket to cover herself.

”Hehehe...” A deep and low chuckle could be heard beside her ear. Ying Qingcang's voice was like a devil's curse. ”So. Seems like you can't wait to sleep with me!”

Xin Qing did not think she would be able to shed a single tear even if she wanted to. She crawled to the edge of the bed, distancing herself from him. Only her head was visible while the rest of her was hidden under the blanket. ”Can we not do this?”

”Do what?” Ying Qingcang asked, though he knew d*mn well what she had been referring to.

Xin Qing gritted her teeth. ”We've already broken up. Please respect me, and please respect yourself also.”

”If I have no respect for you, do you think you'll still be under the covers right now?” Ying Qingcang said coldly. ”Have you forgotten what I'd done to you at the beginning when I held no respect for you?”

Xin Qing shuddered at the memory of the seven nights they had shared when they had first got together. She looked at him warily. ”You can't do that. You've given me your word. It hasn't been two years yet.”

”You're thinking too much.” Ying Qingcang rolled off the bed. Xin Qing flinched and was just about to close her eyes when she saw the pajama bottoms covering the lower half of his body. ”Ying Qingcang gave her a sidelong glance. “I was just here to check on Ah Sha to see if she has fallen asleep. There's nothing for you to worry about. I'm no longer interested in you.” After throwing out those words, Ying Qingcang left, shutting the door behind him.

Xin Qing heaved a sigh of relief. The tautness of her body slowly eased. After that, she tasted saltiness at the side of her lips. When she reached up to touch, she realized that the taste was a result of her own tears. She sniffed, picked up Ah Sha from the cot, and carefully hugged the baby to her chest. Ah Sha had fallen asleep during sometime between all this.

”Ah Sha...” Xin Qing said, poking the baby's plump face. ”If I could erase those memories, would I feel better? He has a fiancé now. He doesn't need me anymore!” Xin Qing hid herself under the covers. Amidst her muffled sobs, she mumbled, ”It's alright this way. It's alright...”

Outside the door, Ying Qingcang's hand were clenched into tight fists. His eyes, deep and pained, stared intently at the floor. After a while, he raised his head, taking a deep breath. Slowly, he headed back to the next room.

At first, Xin Qing thought that being in a new environment would affect Ah Sha's sleep. But the little girl had only woken up once during the night, and even then, it was already dawn. Xin Qing had got up and fed Ah Sha more milk. After that, the baby fell back to sleep with the milk bottle still in her mouth. Xin Qing woke up in the morning with puffy and swollen eyes. She watched the sleeping form of the little person, whose mouth was covered with foamy drool. ”How nice to be a child again,” she thought. ”Innocence is indeed bliss!”

She washed her face to clear the sleep from her head. When she was done, she caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the mirror and noticed how puffy her eyes were. She could not help but scorn herself. ”So what? Why do I even bother?” she thought. She smacked her face a few times and headed downstairs. She walked into the living room at the same time the front door opened. Ying Qingcang walked in carrying a few plastic bags in his hands. He still looked as handsome as ever, a fact that had once again stirred Xin Qing's emotions into instability. ”What right does he have to look all fine and dandy whereas I could barely sleep a wink for the whole night?” she thought. As her mind drifted along those thoughts, her mood and attitude grew sullen.

”Come eat breakfast!” From the bag, Ying Qingcang took out the soup buns, Chinese crullers and chicken porridge that he had bought. Xin Qing recognized the food that had been served on the table. It was from a Chinese restaurant at least five blocks away.

”Not hungry,” Xin Qing said, pressing a hand to her stomach.