Chapter 151 Santa Claus (1/2)

”Ying Qingcang?” Xin Qing called out tentatively.

Santa Claus did not react, though it was obvious to Xin Qing that his eyes had become warmer.

”I'm opening it, okay?” Xin Qing thought he must be waiting for her to open her gift.

Carefully, she opened the box. There was a fluroscent object sitting inside, which emitted a faint, greenish glow. Basking the dim yellow lighting of the room, the object glittered and gleamed.

”This is...” Surprised, Xin Qing stared the jade pendant in the box which, upon a closer look, seemed to possess an almost devilish quality. ”Emerald jade! You— Where did you even get this?”

”Do you like it?” Finally, the Santa Claus spoke. His voice was low and deep, like an aria of the night. ”Happy birthday, babe!”

Xin Qing dove into his arms. ”I love it! I love it so much!” She raised her head, wanting to kiss Ying Qingcang, though she did not know how to initiate. Ying Qingcang's shoulder shook in quiet laughter. He reached up and peeled off the beard from his face. Then he lowered his head and sealed his lips over hers.

”I love you!” Xin Qing craned her neck as she looked up at him. The milky, white complexion of her skin resembled white jade. The moment she stepped into his arms, it was like the entire room was suddenly filled with a warm and pleasant fragrance. Ying Qingcang held her tightly against him. If he could, he wanted to merge this woman into his own blood just so they would never have to part with each other.

Ying Qingcang was especially turned on by the fact that Xin Qing had taken the lead. From the carpet to the bed, and finally, to the bathtub, Xin Qing was thoroughly ravished. Even now, they were holding each other tightly as they soaked in the hot tub.

With her skin as the backdrop, the pendant on her neck radiated an emerald glow, transforming her into a woman with transcendent allure.

”It's so beautiful!” Xin Qing commented as she caressed the patterns engraved on the pendant's surface: a tiny calabash that symbolized protection and security; a tiny bat climbing over a pea pod, a symbol of longevity and blessing.

Ying Qingcang planted a series of closely-packed kiss marks all over her shoulder. ”You didn't wear the bracelet because you were worried that you might smash it into something. But that's not going to be a problem with this pendant. You can wear it everyday!”

”Mm hm!” Xin Qing narrowed her eyes and touched the pendant again. ”Where did you get this? It seemed like an antique.”

Ying Qingcang pinched her face, ”It is an antique. Found it on the black market. Apparently, it's one of the items belonging to some palace of the Qing Dynasty.”

Xin Qing glared at him, ”It's one of the looted items from Yuanmingyuan, isn't it?” Why else would it appear on the black market?

Ying Qingcang's response was neither a denial nor affirmation of Xin Qing's pointed question. ”So! It'll be considered our contribution to the nation by bringing the item back where it belongs,” he said.

”Then it will have to be returned to the palace's treasury at some point,” Xin Qing said. Then she glanced at him in annoyance. ”I like it a lot. I want to keep it.”

Ying Qingcang kissed her forcefully, ”Of course you're going to keep it. It's value will only be fully manifested when it's on my woman's body.”

”Pfft! What a load of nonsense,” Xin Qing said and tried to stand up. ”I'm hungry. Let's go eat, okay?”

Ying Qingcang rolled his hips a few times, eliciting a moan from Xin Qing.

”Be a good girl and feed me one more time!”

It would be the Chinese New Year in another month, so they had to return at some point; however, according to Ying Qingcang, there was another place that they had to stop by before leaving. As a final stop, they went to visit Australia's Great Barrier Reef, an archipelago consisting of the world's largest coral reef system. When the pleasure craft arrived at the beautiful Lindeman Island, what surprised Xin Qing was not the endless expanse of green forest and white sand she saw there. Instead, it was Ying Qingcang's words.

”This is the island that had received the most investment from the proprietors of the Great Barrier Reef. Now, you're its new owner!”

That news had thrown Xin Qing into a complete daze, one that she had failed to recover from even as they got to the hotel; she just stood there like an idiot.

”Snap out of it!” Ying Qingcang said, pinching her nose. ”There're a lot of fun things to do here. Come on, check out the catalogs and decide where we should go first!”

Xin Qing blinked her tears away forcefully, ”This... This place is yours?”

”It used to be mine. But now it's yours!” Ying Qingcang found her reaction highly amusing. ”Are you really that surprised?”

”Of course!” Xin Qing was shouting at that point. ”I mean, in the past I could only see this place on TV! This is the island with the longest history among all the island in the entire Great Barrier Reef archipelago. And now you're telling me that it's mine! Argh!!!” Xin Qing gripped her hair and spun around on the spot in circles.

Ying Qingcang held her still. ”Alright, enough! Even your hair has become a mess.” Ying Qingcang tidied her hair and toss a long dress at her. ”Get changed. Let's go eat first.”

Xin Qing decided to check out the dolphins first; there was a gulf in Lindeman Island where the dolphins usually frequented. Like she said, she knew about this island through a TV drama in the past. Back then, she was still wondering if there would be a day she could finally visit the island. Oh, she visited the island all right. In fact, she now frigging owned the place and everything else in it.

No wonder Young Master Shen had once asked her, ”Do you know how much money you make every minute?”

Well, now she knew...

Perhaps Xin Qing felt a sense of belongingness to her new island, since she was unwilling to leave even after a week's stay. Ying Qingcang did not bother reminding her of that, though. He could hug his babe to sleep every night after all, the place did not matter at all.

Half a month later, Zhang Mi called.

”Say... Are you guys not planning to return?”

”We do. We're returning before the Chinese New Year.” Xin Qing was sprawled on the white sand, basking in the sun. Ying Qingcang was running his hand all over her body as he rubbed sunscreen on her.

”It will be the Chinese New Year in a week, and you're still not coming back?!” Zhang Mi yelled enviously.

”Huh?” Xin Qing was shocked. ”A week?”

”You don't say. How much longer do you think it is? Hurry up and come back already. And remember to bring souvenirs.” Zhang Mi nagged on the phone.