Chapter 176 Lie on Top of Me (1/2)

”Hehe, what gave me away?” The man's face broke into a grin.

The corners of Young Master Shen's lips twitched. ”Can you please not make that kind of expression with his face. It creeps the hell out of me.”

”Not bad at all. I see that your observational skills haven't gone dull.” A second Ying Qingcang walked out of the office's lounge. ”Seems like a fake is still a fake, no matter what kind of high-tech gimmickry is involved.”

Two Ying Qingcangs who were the exact carbon copies of each other now stood before Young Master Shen. One of them arched his brows. ”That's impossible. I could have sworn that we were exactly alike when I put the thing on. Everyone told me that they couldn't tell a single difference.”

”Everyone? Even your boss?” the other Ying Qingcang asked.

The fake Ying Qingcang paused in thought. ”Nah. The boss just shook his head at me and told me that there's only one Ying Qingcang in this world.”

Evidently, it was still possible to tell them apart.

”If he can't tell the difference, then I would have had the opportunity to make fun of him.” Young Master Shen walked around the fake Ying Qingcang in a circle. ”Well, I'm afraid you would have been able to fool me as well if you've shown me a photo instead.”

”Hah! It means the resemblance is that close!” said fake Ying Qingcang smugly. ”By the way, I'm Xiao Qi.”

Young Master Shen's lips twisted downwards. ”The whole comportment is wrong,” he said, pointing at the real Ying Qingcang. ”If he's a lion, then you're a mountain dog. Seriously? You think that's a good match?”

”Come on, surely that's an exaggeration?” Xiao Qi wiped a hand across his face. The action revealed a young, scholarly face that looked as if it belonged to a university student.

Young Master Shen took the object Xiao Qi had removed from his face and touched it. ”The texture feels real,” Young Master Shen commented. ”What is it made of?”

”A high-tech artificial skin.” Xiao Qi said, taking the object carefully and placing it into a box. ”You better not ruin this thing. It would cost you a cruise ship just to buy one of these!”

”Well, you'll have to destroy it eventually after it has served its purpose,” Ying Qingcang remarked nonchalantly.

”Huh?! Why?”

Young Master Shen patted Xiao Qi's shoulder. ”Did you actually think he would allow another person to run around wearing his face?”

Xiao Qi rolled his eyes. ”As if anybody would want to run around dressed up like him for no reason...” he thought.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, Xin Qing got up early and, together with the two children, hung couplet scrolls in the house. After that, she joined Aunt Tian in the kitchen where they flatten out noodles to be used for the dumplings. Young Master Shen called to inform them that Ah Che and Ah Nan would come over tonight for reunion dinner. After a giving it some thought, Xin Qing decided that it was better for them to call a restaurant and have their dinner delivered to them.

Then, Xin Qing realized something strange. ”Where's Monica? What's taking her long?” she thought. She was still in the middle of wondering about Monica's whereabouts when she heard Xunxun's yelling voice from the living room. ”How did you get in here, you crazy woman? Put Ah Sha down, right now!”

Xin Qing rushed into the living room and saw Monica raising Ah Sha high above her head. Then, Monica said to Xunxun. ”What a pretty kid. Are you Xin Qing's bastard child? Nah. That can't be right. You're way too old.”

”What nonsense are you on about?” A dark scowl formed on Xin Qing's face. ”You're really a bad influence on the kids.”

The moment Monica saw Xin Qing, she haphazardly dropped Ah Sha back onto the couch and went straight for Xin Qing. Ah Sha lost her balance as a result and nearly fell off the couch. Startled, Xunxun quickly reached out to steady Ah Sha before glaring daggers at Monica.

”Xin Qing! Oh, how fortunate it is that I'm able to make it back alive to see you,” Monica said, wrapping Xin Qing in a hug. Then, Monica began dry sobbing. ”You didn't know what that cheating bastard Ying Qingcang did to me. He thought I was getting in his way so he sent me away to that Godforsaken place in Eastern Europe. Look at me now. Do I look darker? Uglier?”

Xin Qing appraised Monica. ”Nah. I think you're in rather high spirits. Also, I think you've put on some weight.”

”Hah! That's because I was instantly revitalized after seeing you and little Ah Sha.” Monica pointed a finger at Xunxun, who was still shooting daggers at her with his eyes. ”Who's this pretty boy?”

”A friend's son. He's temporarily in my care.” Xunxun was obviously dissatisfied with Xin Qing's introduction of him. He walked towards them while carrying Ah Sha in his arms. ”I'm Ah Sha's fiance! That's who I really am!”

Pfft... Monica was laughing her head off at that point. ”Oh my God! That's just too cute. Seriously, how old are you right now? And yet you're already trying to make moves on our Ah Sha?”

”This has nothing to do with age. Aunt Qing had already accepted the wedding gifts. We'll marry when Ah Sha is older!”

Monica glanced at Xin Qing, who quickly changed the subject. ”Come on, go put your luggage away and get changed. After that help me cut up the fruits.”

Xin Qing kept feeling as if Xunxun was trying to remind her of the fact that Ah Sha had been sold off whenever he mentioned the two words ”wedding gifts”. Admittedly, there were occasions where Xin Qing would find herself worrying about this betrothal. What if Ah Sha did not love Xunxun when she grew up? Zhang Mi, on the other hand, thought that Xin Qing was fretting over nothing. ”Xunxun will definitely grow up to be a man who is even more outstanding than Ying Qingcang. What reason does Ah Sha have to not like him?” Zhang Mi had told her.

Like Xin Qing, Tang Shuang was busy as well, though she was busy dressing herself up. She had survived through the long and arduous day until the evening. Even by then, Ying Qingcang did not return. He called home instead and asked her to come to a hotel.

”Why aren't you coming home?” Tang Shuang asked him curiously.

”There are strangers at home. It won't be nice for them to hear,” Ying Qingcang said on the phone.

Tang Shuang blushed. ”Mm,” she said and then hung up. She had totally forgotten about the fact that Ah Hai was still staying here. She did some final touch-ups on her appearance and put on the bra she had deliberately chosen for the occasion. When she was leaving, she ran into Ah Hai who was just returning home.