Chapter 116 Ism Leaving (1/2)

At first, Xin Qing's heart had softened when she heard about his departure; however, the latter part of his statement had caused the flames of anger to return.

”How do you think I ended up owing him a favor? Isn't it all thanks to you?”

Ying Qingcang went silent for a very long time. After that, he stared deeply into her eyes and said, ”I'm sorry.” He went into his room.

Fuming, Xin Qing ran upstairs. ”Why did that man have to remind me of my horrible experience that night?” She thought angrily. Monica was in the middle of packing her things when Xin Qing entered. Seeing the look on Xin Qing's face, she asked in a soft voice, ”Got into another fight?”

”As if I have the energy to fight with him!” Xin Qing said. She shot a glare at Monica before she left to take a bath.

”Everytime those two get into a fight, the rest of us poor bystanders have to suffer...” Monica thought.

When Xin Qing woke up the next morning, Ying Qingcang had already left. Monica had left a card beside Xin Qing's bed. On the card, these words were written: The engagement is fake. In a fit of frustration, Xin Qing crumbled the card into a ball and tossed it into the trash can. After lunch, she decided to take Ah Sha out to buy a wooden pony. Xin Qing had avoided buying something like that because Ah Sha had refused to sit on the wooden pony at the playground. She would start crying whenever she was placed on top of that wooden pony. Now that Ah Sha was the owner of a pony, Xin Qing figured it was time to try again. She wanted to see if Ah Sha had grown to like wooden ponies.

Ah Che tagged along too, of course. The mall had three floors devoted to toys. Xin Qing had put Ah Sha down on the floor and allowed her to run on her own. Ah Sha was laughing merrily as she trotted around with her tiny strides. Ah Che trailed after Ah Sha while keeping a watchful eye on her. A few times, Ah Sha had wandered to the doll's section, and Xin Qing had to drag her away. Ah Sha ran on ahead without crying, most likely because she was seeing toys everywhere and had thought that they all belonged to her.

There were at least ten types of wooden ponies on display. Xin Qing was surprised to see one that had been designed to resemble a real pony. High quality flannel was used as the pony's surface, rendering it lifelike. It even came with a variety of colors. When Xin Qing placed Ah Sha on top of the white one, Ah Sha squealed happily.

”Ah... Bai!” Ah Sha looked at Xin Qing and pointed at the wooden pony she was sitting on. ”Mommy... Baibai!”

Xin Qing nodded. ”Yes, that's right. This is Xiao Bai. Let's buy it and take it home, shall we?”

Ah Sha seemed completely unaware of anything else other than her own joy. ”Baibai! Baibai!” She screamed incessantly.

The wooden pony was too large in size, so Xin Qing gave their address to the mall's staff, who would then deliver it to their house. After that, Xin Qing resettled Ah Sha into her stroller and together, they went around to explore the mall. Someone called her when they were at the women's clothing section.

”Xin Qing!”

”Ailey?” Xin Qing had noticed Ailey waving at her the moment she turned her head around. Ailey ran towards them. ”Long time no see!” She said boisterously.

”Yeah, Meyer told me you've been abroad,” Xin Qing said and took a step back subconsciously.

Ailey noticed Ah Sha, who was sitting in the stroller. From inside her bag, Ailey took out a mickey-themed alice band. ”I bought this in Disneyland. Can I give it to the baby?”

”Oh, no. Please, you don't have to!” Xin Qing wanted to refuse, but Ah Sha had already reached out to grab the Mickey ears.

Ailey smiled. ”Look at that! The baby likes it too!”

”She's just grabbing whatever that she sets her eyes on,” Xin Qing thought, feeling a little helpless now. Still, she said, ”Thank you! Are you here alone?”

”Actually, I snuck out,” Ailey said, glancing around. Then she grabbed Xin Qing and began pulling her forward. ”Let's go talk at the rest area.”

It turned out that Meyer's family had turned their sights on Ailey now that they were unable to find a suitable marriage partner for Meyer. Notwithstanding the fact that Ailey was still underage, her family had already begun arranging all kinds of social balls and events just so Ailey could have a chance to make a public appearance. If they managed to find a suitable family, they would arrange for an engagement first. The emotional bonding would only come after.

”Seriously, your family...” Xin Qing had listened to the end as Ailey got her up to speed on everything. As for the behavior shown by Ailey's family, Xin Qing was rendered too speechless to even come up with a judgement.

Ailey showed no compunction at all in her complaint. ”You were about to say how shameless they are, right? Yeah. You don't have to hold back. They are indeed shameless. What right do they have to make me their sacrificial lamb? If they're so great, why don't they rely on themselves?” She said. Ailey finally had a chance to get someone to listen to all her grievances. Now that the floodgates were opened, she could not bring herself to stop complaining. ”The family is already doing quite well right now. But they aren't satisfied with that, and are willing to sacrifice their children's happiness for more wealth. Aren't they afraid of karma? Who knows the family will end up with some kind of curse that'll prevent us from producing anymore offspring!”

”Ahem, ahem!” Xin Qing quickly put a stop to Ailey's rant. ”You shouldn't say things like that so casually.”

Ailey shot her a crestfallen look. ”They never saw us as their children at all. In their eyes, we're just tools. Tools to be used to secure the family's interests,” Ailey said, growing more agitated with each word. ”I won't be like my brother. I'd be damned before I allow myself to be manipulated by them. I won't ever become their puppet!”

Xin Qing sighed. She had now decided to stay away from this girl at all costs. Who knew what atrocious things this girl would end up doing. Ah Che, who had been sitting at another table, immediately noticed the troubled look on Xin Qing's face. He decided that it was time for him to intervene and get her out of the situation.

”Young Miss, it's time for us to go back. Ah Sha is sleepy.”

Xin Qing looked at Ah Che approvingly and quickly stood up. ”Oh, yeah, that's right. It's her nap time already. Ailey, we have to go. Don't go running off on your own, okay? You'll get into trouble.”

”Can I stay at your house for some time?” Ailey looked upon Xin Qing with a beseeching look.

Instantly, Xin Qing found herself in a confounding predicament. Good thing Ah Che had kept his wits about him when he said, ”Excuse me, this young lady. Right now we have a nanny staying at the Young Miss' place. We don't have any rooms left.”

”Ah... Really?”

”Yeah,” Xin Qing said, nodding hurriedly. ”Look, just go home. Even if you stay away from home, they'll find you eventually.”

Only then did Ailey nod. Then she waved at them and left. Xin Qing released the breath that she had been holding. Ah Che stared after Ailey's departing form. ”Young Miss, this woman reeks of trouble. It's best if we minimize our interactions with her in the future.”