Chapter 107 When Are We Getting Engaged? (2/2)
William patted her shoulder. ”Rest well, okay? I'll be off first.”
Ying Qingcang turned around and left before Young Master Shen could get another word out. At the carpark, they brushed past William.
”Please take care of her.” Ying Qingcang said all of a sudden.
William had just been about to enter his car. He turned his head around when he heard Ying Qingcang's words. ”Are you giving up just like that?”
”The Ying family needs me. I have no choice but to go through an arrange marriage.” Ying Qingcang said, still looking at William. ”It's probably better this way. Now she can forget about me.”
Even after Ying Qingcang's car had left, William was still standing there, rooted to the same spot. Whatever that was going through his mind was anyone's guess...
”What did you mean by what you said just now? Are you still suspecting William?” Young Master Shen did not believe for a second that Ying Qingcang would give up on Xin Qing. Xin Qing was the man's life.
Some time throughout all of this, the pain had receded from Ying Qingcang's eyes. Now, they were filled with clarity. ”I never stopped suspecting him.”
”Then why are you still allowing him to be near Xin Qing?” A change went across Young Master Shen's face as he suddenly thought of something. He was just about to open his mouth when Ying Qingcang shot him a look. ”Nothing happened between them,” Ying Qingcang said.
”You're that sure?” Young Master Shen said, pursing his lips.
”I can tell just by looking,” Ying Qingcang said flatly. He and Xin Qing had made love so many times. Nobody knew better than he how Xin Qing would look like after coitus. ”If his real target is me, then telling him about my engagement would diminish Xin Qing's value as a tool that he could use against me. Instead bringing further threat to her, she will actually be safer.”
”You're that confident?” Young Master Shen felt a bit concerned. ”From the looks of it, the guy seems to have taken quite a liking to Xiao Qingqing.”
Frowning, Ying Qingcang stared out the window. After a long stretch of silence, he said, ”It's better if he genuinely likes her. At least he won't try to harm her.”
Just like that, a soul-stirring competition had come to an end. Relief only came to Xin Qing when the plane touched down at the airport. The competition that had brought her international fame was also the one that had given her the worst possible nightmare. Representatives from CK were there at the airport to welcome her return. Xin Qing declined their offer to hold a celebratory party for her. All she wanted was to go home and sleep.
Lying amidst the familiar place and smelling the familiar scent, Xin Qing managed to sleep through the entire day. When she woke up that night, she realized that Zhang Mi and Shi Qianqian had left her quite a number of calls. She quickly went online and was surprised to see those two still online.
”Xin Qing!” Zhang Mi yelled. ”Are you alright? Are you okay?”
”I'm fine. I'm still alive and talking to you, aren't I?”
Shi Qianqian barked with a humorless laugh. ”If we didn't asked, you weren't even planning on telling us about it, were you?”
Regardless of what was going through Ying Qingcang's mind, it did not sit right with Young Master Shen to have Xin Qing misunderstand Ying Qingcang like that. That was why Young Master Shen had told Zhang Mi about everything that had happened. Of course, he had left out the part about the deal between Ying Qingcang and Molly. There was too much at stakes regarding that deal. If things got screwed up, all Ying Qingcang had done previously would go to ruins. The only thing Zhang Mi and Shi Qianqian knew was that Ying Qingcang had justifiable reasons that had forced him to act the way he did.
”No, I was just too exhausted. See, I called you guys straight after I woke up!” Xin Qing said unctuously. ”Hey, can we not talk about this anymore? I want to forget everything as soon as possible.”
Zhang Mi's wide-eyed stare could be seen on the video. ”What about Ying Qingcang? Are you really planning to ignore him forever?”
”I don't want to talk about him either,” Xin Qing stated in an icy tone.
Zhang Mi smacked her desk. ”Yeah! ”Just ignore him. What b*llsh*t reason does he have, anyway? What reasons could possibly justify the fact that he had left you for death? I can't believe he's that type of person. I must've been out of my frigging mind to have idolized him all this time.”
”You be quiet.” Shi Qianqian said in protest. ”Xiao Qing, just ask yourself what type of man you think Ying Qingcang is? Sometimes what we see isn't necessary the truth. You've been with him for so long. Don't you believe him?”
Xin Qing shook her head. ”I know that he has his reasons. I also believe that if William hadn't been there that day, Ah Che would've saved me.” Xin Qing's hand went to cover her chest. The image from that night, the way that Ying Qingcang had turned his back on her, flashed across her mind once again. She took a few ragged breaths. ”You guys won't be able to understand what I was feeling at the time. It was complete hopelessness, as if the whole world had abandoned me just because a man had turned his back on me.”
Zhang Mi was about to say something else, but one look from Shi Qianqian held her tongue. ”Let's not talk about this anymore. There's still half a month until Chinese New Year. Why don't you come home!”
”Let me think about it,” Xin Qing said, and ended the call. With both hands on her head, she walked into the bathroom.
In S City, Molly strode haughtily into Ying Qingcang's office.
”Ah Cang, when are you planning to publicly announce our engagement?”
Ying Qingcang kept his head down. ”Get out!” He yelled without even looking at her.
”What? Don't tell me you're regretting it?” Molly wiggled her ass and sat on his desk. ”Don't tell me you're no longer interested in knowing the truth?”
There was a loud smash. Ying Qingcang had given the woman a harsh kick, causing her to end up on the floor. ”Get out of my sight.”
”Ah!” Molly screamed out, holding her waist. ”You... If you regret everything now, you'll never be with Xin Qing for the rest of your life!”