Chapter 139 Yousre the Lady of the Ying Family (2/2)
Young Master Shen covered his head and hollered dramatically, ”But what about me? What the hell am I supposed to do!”
Ying Qingcang shook his head. ”It's not like your dad will swallow you. Aren't you overreacting?”
As it turned out, Ying Hao did not come alone this time. In fact, Ying Hao had dragged his good friend, who happened to be Young Master Shen's father, along with him. How could the elders not be present for the younger generation's wedding!
”He'll be here the day after tomorrow,” Young Master Shen said dejectedly, ”The cat will be out of the bag by then.”
The fact was that Young Master Shen's father had sent him back to the country for a job; he wanted Young Master Shen to restore their family's influence in the southern territory so that it could return to its former glory. As it turned out, all this while, Young Master Shen had content himself with playing the idle rich instead of doing what his father had asked of him. Nowadays, people in the underworld only knew Young Master Shen as some kind of rich playboy who lived and breathed women.
Ying Qingcang had never questioned Young Master Shen about that particular matter. For one, Ying Qingcang knew that Young Master Shen had his own reasons for his actions. He also knew that Young Master Shen wanted to prolong his stay in S City. Ying Qingcang stared at Young Master Shen. Seriously, with that kind of face, Ying Qingcang thought the man might have just lost his mother or something. Ying Qingcang patted Young Master Shen's shoulder. ”If Uncle Shen kills you, I'll make sure to deal with your dead body properly.”
Shen Batian was a legend in the Chinese underworld. That year, he had single-handedly brought together the eighteen powers across northen and southern China as well as twenty-seven rival gangs, putting them all under one banner. In other words, he had unified the Chinese underworld. After that, he created a blank slate for the underworld, a tabula rasa; funds and assets were poured into overseas investments. Nowadays, Shen Batian stayed mostly in the United States. When word about his impending return got out, not only Young Master Shen, but the entire Chinese underworld started to feel a little twitchy.
”Argh...” Young Master Shen sighed again. ”My days of fun and comfort have come to an end.”
By mid month, the hard-to-acquire stylist flew into the country from Hollywood in order to meet Xin Qing. Over a meal, they had a chat about ideals and life goals. After that, the stylist returned.
”Why did he even come here, then?” Xin Qing asked Ying Qingcang. Ah Sha was currently sitting in Xin Qing's arms. Bright and early that morning, Ying Qingcang had taken the mother and daughter pair out of the house, claiming that they were having an outing in the countryside. With his head lowered, Ying Qingcang was in the middle of working through a bunch of documents. Xin Qing's question made him pause in thought. ”He probably just wants to get to know you better, see what kind of vibes you give out.” What he had left unsaid was the fact that he had requested the stylist to make a dress that was less revealing. But after Ying Qingcang had voiced out the request, the look on the stylist's face was nothing but conflicted. According to the stylist, Xin Qing had beautiful legs, which was why he had originally intended to design a mini cheongsam for Xin Qing. Well, obviously, that was out of the question now.
”Ah Che, stop the car!” Xin Qing knocked on the separator. Ah Che immediately complied and pulled up at the roadside.
”What's wrong, young miss?”
Xin Qing placed Ah Sha into Ying Qingcang's arms. ”Hold her. I'm going to buy some sweets from that shop.”
”Allow me to go!” Ah Che offered dutifully. Ah Che was just about to get out of the car, but Xin Qing beat him to it. ”I'll go. It's not like you know what I'm craving for!”
Xin Qing did not expect to run into a familiar face at the shop. Glancing at Li Xiaoru, Xin Qing decided to act like she did not recognize the woman.
”Senior Xin Qing!” Clearly, Li Xiaoru had different ideas. In fact, she seemed rather happy to see Xin Qing there. She took a few steps and closed the distance between herself and Xin Qing. ”So you like the cakes from this shop too!”
Xin Qing nodded blandly. ”My daughter likes them.”
”Oh!” Li Xiaoru said. Xin Qing's aloofness caused her to take a step back awkwardly. Still, Li Xiaoru could not help herself. ”Senior, if you're free, come to our house for dinner some time!” she said.
Xin Qing, who was in the middle of browsing through the array of cakes on display, frowned at that remark. ”Miss Li, I don't think we're that close with each other. Although I'm your senior, I have no plans to befriend you.”
”But, but I don't want you and Aunt Zhao to keep going on like this. She's been sad all this while due to your rejection.” Li Xiaoru hurried out an explanation. ”My mom died when I was very young. Aunt Zhao has treated me well. I can see that she's been hoping for your acceptance.”
”Haha!” Xin Qing laughed coldly. ”Miss Li had a kind and considerate heart. Too bad I have a heart of steel. Someone like Zhao Jiali makes me want to puke. If you insist on treating her like some kind of treasure, then good luck. I hope you won't come to regret it one day.”
The door opened just when she got the words out. Ying Qingcang walked in. ”Still not done?” he asked. Ah Sha was sitting in his arms. Without sparing Li Xiaoru a single glance, he walked up to stand beside Xin Qing. ”What's going on here?” he asked in a low voice.
”Nothing. Ran into a mother Mary, apparently,” Xin Qing answered, her lips downturned. Then, seeing that Ah Sha was practically licking the glass of the display cabinets at this point, she reached out and took the child into her arms. ”Mommy will buy it for Ah Sha. Ah Sha, hold on, okay!”
Li Xiaoru had no plans of giving up. She appraised Ying Qingcang for a while, and then she spoke, ”You're senior's husband, right? Will you please persuade her to stop giving Aunt Zhao trouble?”
”Do you have a loose screw or something?” Xin Qing tossed the tray onto a nearby table. ”How am I the one who's giving her trouble?”
Seeing that she had angered Xin Qing, Li Xiaoru lowered her voice and mumbled, ”You rejected her and then you refused to see her...”
”Why should I accept her? And why the hell would I even see her?” Xin Qing stared at Li Xiaoru coldly. ”Shouldn't you ask your 'kind' Aunt how his ex-husband ended up in jail, and why her only biological daughter refuses to accept her? Do that, and then we can talk about whether or not I'm giving her trouble.”
After that, Xin Qing grabbed the cake she had just bought and dragged Ying Qingcang out the door. She was still fuming when she got into the car. Her anger did not dissipate even after a long while.
”Still angry?” Ying Qingcang said, slicing the cake before dishing out a slice for Ah Sha. Then he tied the bib around Ah Sha's neck.
Xin Qing buried her head into the crook of his neck. ”Say, how can someone be so retarded? She doesn't even know half the stuff that Zhao Jiali did, and yet she gave all her kindness to her. Looking at her makes me pity and hate her at the same time.”
”Why bother hating a pitiful person?” Ying Qingcang ruffled her hair. ”It's got nothing to do with us. Just pretend that she's invisible next time.” Xin Qing reached out for a slice of cake. She took a bite before bringing it to Ying Qingcang's mouth. Ying Qingcang had never been one to enjoy confectionaries. Still, he would eat them if Xin Qing fed them to him. Beside them, Ah Sha, whose entire face was covered in cream by then, did the same by bringing her own slice of cake towards Ying Qingcang's mouth. Even though her slice had been pinched and kneaded into a miserable state, she still wanted to give her daddy a taste.
Xin Qing chuckled and began wiping the cream off Ah Sha's face. Then she picked up a new slice to feed Ah Sha. At about noon, the car pulled up in front of a reserve park.
”Why are we here?” Xin Qing asked Ying Qingcang curiously as they entered the park and switched to an electromobile. Something flashed in her eyes the moment she caught a glimpse of ”horseback riding track”. Suddenly, she yanked at Ying Qingcang's forearm and yelled, ”Please don't tell me it's not what I think it is?”